IND vs SA T20 World Cup final: Virat Kohli announces retirement, says ‘my last T20 World Cup… time for next generation’

Virat Kohli on Saturday announced retirement from T20 International cricket after India lifted the second T20 World Cup after a gap of 17 years.

“This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can't get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation,” Kohli said after collecting the Man of the Match award that it was his last T20I match for India.

“This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. Wanted to Yes I have, this was an open secret. Not something that I wasn't going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward and do wonders as we have seen them do in the IPL. I have no doubts that they will keep the flag waving high and take this team further from here now. It's been a long wait for us just waiting to win an ICC tournament. It's not just me alone. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it as much as anyone else in the squad.”

“Just happy we were able to get the job done and really it's hard to explain the emotions I felt after the game. I knew what kind of mindset I was in. I wasn't very confident in the last few games. I wasn't feeling really good out there. But when God has to bless you with something he shows in ways that you can't imagine and that's why I said I'm grateful and humbled right now and I bow my head. It's been difficult and hence the emotions of the game went as well and the way we came back and the kind of character the guys showed it's really difficult to hold things back.”

I think it's going to sink in a little later, the emotions are going to come to the surface a little later more but it's just an amazing day and I couldn't be more thankful, he said.

Kohli played a brilliant knock today. He anchored the innings with a match-winning 59-ball 76 with two sixes and six fours to lift India from a precarious 34 for three inside the powerplay, to a formidable 176 for seven, cornerstone of India's 7-run victory over South Africa.

India beat South Africa by seven runs in a heart-stopping final to win the Twenty20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Electing to bat on a dry surface, 2007 champions India overcame a top-order meltdown to post a competitive 176-7.

Virat Kohli (76) struck his first 50 of this World Cup and Axar Patel smashed 47 to power India to a healthy total.

Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj claimed two wickets apiece for South Africa.

The Proteas suffered a top order collapse of their own but Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) put their chase back on track.

Heinrich Klaasen (52) then counter-attacked in spectacular fashion but India's impeccable death-overs bowling restricted South Africa to 169-8.