WEB DESK: In a stunning turn of events, Virat Kohli played his final T20 cricket match on Saturday, announcing his retirement from the shorter format shortly after guiding India to World Cup triumph.
“This was my last T20 World Cup, and this is what we wanted to achieve,” Kohli stated. “One day you feel you can’t get a run, then things happen. God is great, and I got the job done for the team on the day it mattered.”
“Now or never, last T20 for India, wanted to make the most of it. Wanted to lift the cup, wanted to respect the situation rather than force it. This was an open secret, it’s time for the next generation to take over, some amazing players will take the team forward and keep the flag waving high.”
South Africa, chasing a target of 177 in the final, fell just seven runs short. Notable performances came from Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 39 off 31 and 52 off 27 balls, respectively.
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India’s innings saw a rocky start with early dismissals of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav after Sharma had won the toss and elected to bat first. However, Virat Kohli, who had struggled throughout the tournament, delivered a crucial innings of 76 runs off 59 balls, helping India to a total of 176 for seven.
Upon receiving the Player of the Match award, Kohli confirmed that this was his final appearance in a T20 World Cup and T20 International match for India, marking the end of a remarkable T20I career that began in 2010. Over 125 T20Is, Kohli amassed 4,188 runs at an average of 48.69.
This victory marks India’s second T20 World Cup title, the first being in 2007 during the inaugural edition of the tournament where they defeated Pakistan in the final. It also ends a decade-long drought for India, who last secured an ICC trophy in 2013 with their Champions Trophy win under MS Dhoni’s captaincy.
