Rohit’s Onslaught vs AUS to Kohli’s Resistance vs SA – Top 5 Batting Moments of India’s T20 World Cup Campaign

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Team India ended their 11-year wait for an ICC trophy when they defeated South Africa by seven runs in the thrilling T20 World Cup 2024 final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday (June 29).

After Virat Kohli's first fifty of the tournament complemented by handy knocks from Axar Patel and Shivam Dube took India to a challenging total of 176/7, some brilliant death bowling by the pace trio halted South Africa's charge at 169/8.

Defending 30 off 30 balls, Jasprit Bumrah led a spirited fightback with some tight overs as Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh also followed up by claiming crucial wickets to pull off a victory from the jaws of defeat.

This show-piece tournament was for the bowlers with some challenging conditions on offer for the batters to cope up with, but some of the batting performances from the Indian team have stood out like Kohli's fighting knock in the title clash and some crucial innings from the others.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, who finished top of the run-scoring charts for India, brought his fearless approach no matter the opponent or the conditions and played some attacking knocks.

Suryakumar Yadav, a T20 sensation, was also on song in some games, playing crucial knocks as did Pandya and the returning wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who made some useful contributions with the bat. Here is a look at the top 5 moments with the bat for India during the tournament:

Top 5 Batting Moments of India in T20 World Cup 2024 Campaign

1. Rohit Sharma (92 off 41 balls) vs Australia in Super 8 Stage: The skipper, who announced his retirement following T20 World Cup win, took on the much-fancied pace attack of Australia, smashing 8 sixes and 7 fours.

Rohit hit Mitchell Starc for 4 sixes in a single over. His aggressive approach turned out to be decisive as India posted a massive total and went on to win the match by 24 runs to confirm their semi-final spot.

Even in the semi-final, Rohit took on the England bowlers on testing surface to score a fifty that saw India post a total of 171 before spin played a role in dismantling the opposition for 103.

2. Virat Kohli (76 off 59 balls) vs South Africa in Final: The star batter, who was carrying some poor form, played one of the crucial knocks in the tournament. Although it may have looked very slow, that's what the conditions and situation demanded.

In his first fifty plus score of the tournament, Kohli hit 6 fours, including three in the very first over against Marco Jansen before he struck two sixes off Kagiso Rabada in the closing stages of the innings as he took India past 150.

Axar Patel, who has played some important innings with the bat, also was key to Kohli's resilient knock as he kept finding regular boundaries in his contribution of 47 from 31 balls as India posted 176/7 and then went on to win the match by 7 runs.

3. Rishabh Pant (42 off 31 balls) vs Pakistan in Group Stage: The wicketkeeper-batter, who was on his first assignment for the national team since making an injury return, made some useful contributions batting at number 3, and one of his standout knock came against Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller.

The southpaw joined forces with troubleshooter Axar to take India to a respectable total of 119 with an innings that included 6 fours from his bat. Despite posting one of the lowest totals, India went on to pull off a win by restricting their arch-rivals to 113/7 and claimed a 6-run win in New York.

This knock of Pant was crucial as he got those runs fighting on a tough surface at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York, where run-scoring was not very easy.

4.Suryakumar Yadav (50* off 49 balls) vs USA in Group Stage: Once again on a tricky wicket in New York, where India had lost the top three for 39 in 7.3 overs during the run chase of a meagre 111, Suryakumar, who is known for his unorthodox approach with the bat, played a fighting knock.

His knock included just 2 fours and 2 sixes in a near run-a-ball fifty, and his partnership with Shivam Dube, who also performed in important moments, helped India home with 8 balls to spare.

5. Hardik Pandya (50* off 27 balls) vs Bangladesh in Super 8 Stage: Coming into the tournament on the back of a disappointing IPL, Hardik proved critics wrong with some telling contributions with both bat and ball. His unbeaten fifty against Bangladesh was vital for India to post a big total.

Walking in with the team in a spot of bother, the all-rounder took an aggressive approach, smashing 3 sixes and 4 fours in his unbeaten cameo to power India to 196/5 before the bowlers restricted Bangladesh to 146/8 to seal a massive 50-run win.