Former India head coach Lalchand Rajput expressed his feelings on former skipper Rahul Dravid’s coaching tenure after Men in Blue clinched their second ICC T20 World Cup title on Saturday.
A fine exhibition of death bowling by trio of Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya and stupendous knocks by Virat Kohli and Axar Patel helped India end their ICC trophy drought, securing their second ICC T20 World Cup title by beating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final at Barbados on Saturday.
Proteas are once again left heartbroken, yet to win an ICC title. Meanwhile, India has ended its 11-year long ICC trophy drought, winning their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2013. India is the first team to have captured the title undefeated.
“All of us know that Rahul Dravid’s coaching is very silent and correct. We call him Wall of Cricket… When one wins the World Cup, any person jumps up with joy. He danced yesterday and showed that he has another side also…”, Lalchand Rajput told ANI.
Summarising the final match of the tournament, India won the toss and opted to bat first. After being reduced to 34/3, a counter-attacking partnership between Virat (76) and Axar Patel (47 in 31 balls, with one four and four sixes) of 72 runs restored India’s position in the game. A 57-run stand between Virat and Shivam Dube (27 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to 176/7 in their 20 overs.
Keshav Maharaj (2/23) and Anrich Nortje (2/26) were the top bowlers for SA. Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram took a wicket each.
In the run chase of 177 runs, Proteas was reduced to 12/2 and then a 58-run partnership between Quinton de Kock (39 in 31 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Tristan Stubbs (31 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) brought back SA into the game. A half-century by Heinrich Klaasen (52 in 27 balls, with two fours and five sixes) threatened to take the game away from India. However, Arshdeep Singh (2/18), Jasprit Bumrah (2/20) and Hardik (3/20) made a fine comeback in death overs, keeping SA to 169/8 in their 20 overs.
Virat secured the ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance. Now, by securing their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2013, India has ended their ICC trophy drought.