India 176 for 7 (Kohli 76, Axar 47, Maharaj 2-23, Nortje 2-26) vs South Africa 169 for 8 (Klaasen 52, Bumrah 2-18, Arshdeep 2-20, Hardik 3-20) for seven runs
Rohit Sharma was forced to go to the best bowler in the world when he would have otherwise saved Bumrah for later overs. Bumrah didn’t break up the partnership enough, the batsmen never dared to take him on. But it broke the pace of Klaasen and Miller. Only four rows were shuffled from there.
But the most telling blow came at the start of the 17th over. After the flow of play slowed further due to an apparent knee complaint for Rishabh Pant, Hardik bowled a long line outside off and took Klaasen’s edge, with Pant seizing the opportunity with glee.
Still, Miller was there, though he couldn’t escape the rest.
Bumrah then came back, bowled several ripsnorters in the final over of yet another tournament he dominated. With one of those magic balls, a mischievous pattern, he burst through the defenses of South Africa’s last recognized batsman, Marco Janssen, and grazed leg stump.
The dreamy beat followed. With 16 needed from the final over, bowled by Hardik. Miller tried to lift the first ball, a long toss, over the straight boundary. But it didn’t connect perfectly, and Suryakumar, running at full tilt along the rope, with his feet only inches in, caught the ball, scooped it up as it skimmed over the boundary, then completed the run as it bounced back onto the pitch , sparking wild jubilation in the stands and ecstatic celebrations from the Indian players.
South Africa’s No. 8, 9 and 10 batsmen failed to remove Hardik, except for a single outside edge which he bowled for four.
When Hardik India completed the seven-run victory, the bowler sank to his knees in relief, his teammates cheered and the crowd, which largely supported India, went into euphoria. Their team had become World Champions again, after 13 years.
Bumrah’s spectacular finals display
On a flat track in Barbados, Bumrah bowled two unplayable deliveries that brought him two wickets – both bowled. The first of these was the best. It was one of the best of the tournament, and arguably one of the best in the finals. Angled to Reeza Hendricks, he angled away to hit the top, beating the outside edge of the stroke.
He conceded five runs in that first over, eight runs in the next (one of only two boundaries from his bowling came here – an ill-controlled steer through deep third).
But those last two overs went some distance to decide this match. Four runs from the 16th over, after the 15th had been cut for 24 runs. Two runs from the 17th over. His numbers were 2-for-18.
Arshdeep plays his part
Arshdeep Singh was almost as outstanding, returning 2 for 20. His two powerplay overs cost him only eight and brought the important wicket of Aiden Markram, who left him behind. In the middle overs, he dismissed Quinton de Kock, who was looking to pick up the pace after having overseen a recovery from two early knocks.
And then that fantastic 19th over, in which he bowled two balls to Miller but conceded only three of them, otherwise keeping Maharaj on strike.
This, after India’s spinners had leaked 106 from their collective nine overs.
Klaasen makes a six full charge
One of the best hits of the tournament was Klaasen smashing a wide, Kuldeep Yadav in quick fashion over the cover boundary for six with minimal leg movement. This was his third six (he had hit Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja over the rope earlier).
But it was against Axar Patel that really brought South Africa to the fore. First ball of the 15th over, bullied down the ground off the back foot for four. Axar threw two wide bowls fearfully. Then, later, two massive hits to the ground – one of which hammered the roof of the stadium and then a square away for good measure.
He completed his 50 off 23 balls, the fastest ever in a T20 World Cup final. After his dismissal, South Africa could not manage a single deliberate boundary, the only four coming off Kagiso Rabada’s outside edge.
Kohli drops anchor
Between the fourth and 18th over, Kohli faced 35 balls in which he scored 29 and did not hit a boundary. By the time he reached fifty, he had bowled 48 deliveries and not lifted his bat, having batted most of the time in ODI medium-overs mode. There was an obvious criticism to be made here: was this a period so unambitious that it actually did India harm?
But the counterargument is strong. Kohli was 22 for 16 when the third wicket (Suryakumar Yadav) fell, in the fifth over. And the security he provided at one end allowed Axar (pushed up the order No. 5) and Shivam Dube to prosper with their big hitting.
His stands with these batsmen amassed 72 off 54 (Axar hit 47 off 31) and 57 off 33 (Dube hit 22 off 13), and formed the bulk of India’s innings. 176 for 7 was the most scored by any team in a World Cup final.
Did South Africa drown?
For 35 overs of this game, you couldn’t come to that conclusion. They rose in the first overs when Keshav Maharaj struck twice and Rabada removed Suryakumar – India’s most dangerous batsman. They kept their catches and were excellent abroad.
They also overcame the loss of early wickets very well. But at one point, they needed 26 off 24 balls, had six wickets in hand and just one over of Bumrah left to deal with. They tried to target Hardik, which was the smart play in that situation, but lost both their key batsmen to him.
There are simpler explanations too: India was tough and skilled. South Africa’s XI was small.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf