A haunting in Bridgetown

Ghosts of losses past, the spectre of Jasprit Bumrah, opponents hungry for a trophy, and five overs where anything that could happen did

India vs South Africa, final, 2024 T20 World Cup, Bridgetown

India won by seven runs

It came down to the last five overs, but really it was down to just two. South Africa's men had six wickets in hand, one of the premier six-hitters in the world at the crease, and needed only 30 runs from 30 balls. But the world's best bowler would bowl 12 of those. The spectre of Jasprit Bumrah hung over the climax of T20 cricket's pinnacle trophy.

These were overs bursting with meaning. For South Africa, this was the closest they had ever been to a global championship. For at least 25 years they had been beheld by the cricket world as accursed, frequently excelling at cricket but always falling to pieces at the final hurdles. Here, they were very nearly at the finish line. But somewhere in the back of every cricket fan's mind, there was this thought: it was not just Bumrah's 12 balls that South Africa had to contend with in the home stretch, the ghosts of campaigns past also lay in ambush. Allan Donald dropping his bat in 1999, Shaun Pollock's team getting their maths wrong in 2003, South-African born Grant Elliott crashing that six over long on in 2015…

India's campaign was itself beset by anxiety, though perhaps not as intensely as South Africa's. They had twice lost major finals in 2023, both to Australia. Though they were the runaway financial success story in cricket's 21st century, they had no global trophies to show since 2013, a period in which the likes of West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka - whose cricket economies put together would still be a fraction of India's - managed to win championships. It was, in short, starting to get embarrassing.

It came down to perhaps the greatest cricketer in the three-format age imposing himself. Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller had crashed 24 runs off the 15th over of the innings - bowled by Axar Patel - but dared not hit more than four off the 16th over, bowled by Bumrah. He'd been brought back to break the partnership, but South Africa held their nerve in that over. Bumrah put a dent in their momentum, though.

Keshav Maharaj, Klaasen and Miller contemplate what could have been © Getty Images

With 26 needed off 24, South Africa were still clearly ahead. One over from Bumrah was all that remained. And yet, there was that spectre. The possibility that he could come back next over and take three wickets with three unplayable deliveries. That if South Africa did not score off the other bowlers, Bumrah could still jam them up with the six deliveries available to him.

Where Klaasen, batting on 52, had been clear-headed and efficient in his first 26 balls, he was suddenly muddled facing his 27th. The first ball of the 17th over was a decent ball from Hardik Pandya - a wide, full delivery inviting Klaasen to hit through the off side. But it was hardly the best one Klaasen had faced that evening. His feet suddenly going nowhere, he nicked behind.

Later, with 16 needed off the last over, South Africa's last batter, Miller, holed out to long-off, Suryakumar Yadav pulling off a boundary catch that suggested India were finding a crescendo just as South Africa were crashing. They fell seven runs short in the end. Once more, South Africa players sank to their haunches, while their opponents exploded ecstatically among them.

Earlier in the game, there had been a 76 from Virat Kohli, excellent spells from Anrich Nortje, and Keshav Maharaj, and some decent early hitting from Quinton de Kock. But it is these five overs that will live long in the memory - a passage of glory for one team, of deepening pain and infamy for another.

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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