In the pulsating 2024 T20 World Cup final against Team India Keshav Maharaj the South African spinner demonstrated his prowess by dismissing both Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in the initial stages. This thrilling encounter took place at the historic Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday June 29. Maharaj outwitted the Indian captain and Pant who departed without scoring a classic duck in cricket terminology.
The dismissals came in the second over of the innings, after Rohit Sharma opened by hitting two boundaries off the left-arm spinner. The right-hander performed a sweep on his third delivery of the innings. However, he mistimed it, and Heinrich Klaasen made a great catch at square leg.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant defended the first delivery he faced, but got a toe end off the bat while playing the sweep, which Quinton de Kock caught.
The Men in Blue set the pitch ablaze as Virat Kohli smashed three boundaries off Marco Jansen in the opening over igniting the match with fiery intensity.
Rohit Sharma after winning the toss decided to bat first maintaining an unchanged team. Aiden Markram the Proteas captain expressed a similar desire to bat first due to the dry pitch conditions and proceeded with an unchanged playing XI.
Rohit Sharma top-scored for Team India against Australia and England
The 37 year-old displaying remarkable form in the tournament kicked off the multination event with a halfcentury against Ireland. Despite encountering a series of low scores the cricketer from Nagpur hit his stride against Australia in St. Lucia and England in Guyana.
The sprinting opener smashed a 41-ball 92 against Australia as the inaugural World T20 champions cruised to a 24-run victory. He went on to score a 39-ball 57 in the semi-final against England, which resulted in a 68-run victory.
In an extraordinary chain of events South Africas mens team has scripted a legendary tale by making it to the World Cup final for the very first time. This remarkable achievement was realized through a dominant performance against Afghanistan in the semifinal. Notably this historic event signifies the inaugural encounter between India and South Africa in an ICC final.
