Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer lauded Virat Kohli for stepping up in the all-important final against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 at Barbados on Saturday. Kohli, who could only manage 75 runs in the seven matches of the T20I showpiece, brought his absolute best in the summit clash against the Proteas.

The talisman scored a match-winning knock of 76 runs off just 59 balls to help India post a fighting score of 176 runs on the board. Kohli was able to hit the ground running, scoring three boundaries in the first over against Marco Jansen but then had to adopt a sedate approach as India lost three quick wickets of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav.

Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “Virat Kohli hadn’t scored many runs in the tournament, but he chose the right moment to come good. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as we say, his knock of 76 made a lot of difference and kept one end intact.”

Meanwhile, India found themselves under the cosh at 34-3 and thus the team management decided to promote Axar Patel to number five. The left-hander scored a fine knock of 47 runs off 31 balls and added 72 runs with Virat Kohli.

“The most important part I thought was played by Axar Patel. The cameo that he played ensured that the run rate from India never dropped below eight runs per over. He took the attack to the South African bowlers and didn’t let them settle, forming a crucial partnership with Kohli,” he said.

After winning the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli decided to call time on their T20I careers.

“Two giants of the game (Rohit and Kohli) have retired from T20Is and this will certainly form a big gap. However, they rightly chose to go out on a high after winning the trophy and we should bow down to the true greats of the game. We will continue to see them in IPL, ODIs and Tests.”

Ravindra Jadeja has also decided to hang his boots from T20Is after India’s historic triumph.