ESPNcricinfo Awards 2024 men's T20I bowling winner: The World Cup final goes boom

Fifteen wickets fell in the T20 World Cup final. Only two of them to defensive shots. Both off Bumrah. There can be no bigger tribute. In a T20 final, he was so good, he drew defensive shots from batters. And he beat them. In this T20 final, the match situation at one point got so dire that the batters could afford to block his two overs out and win if they didn't lose wickets. He bowled one through the gate, and missed the top of the left-hand batter's off stump by the narrowest of margins.

But for Bumrah, India had no business being in the match let alone to win their first World Cup in any format since 2011. He was sublime with the new ball, swinging one late past Reeza Hendricks' outside edge and taking the top of off. It seemed too late - 30 needed off 30 - when Bumrah came back for 12 more balls. South Africa would have much rather chased 30 off 18 if they could have avoided facing Bumrah. With the ball reversing, he nearly ended the game when he went against the angle and past David Miller's outside edge. Marco Jansen was not lucky enough to survive, though. South Africa needed 20 off two overs by the time Bumrah was done with them.

In the 15th over, Heinrich Klaasen monstered a 99-metre six out of Kensington Oval, off the bowling of Axar Patel, one of India's best players in the tournament. The ball had to be changed. It wasn't apparent in the next three balls, because Klaasen took a further 12 runs off them to bring the requirement down to a run a ball, but this changed ball was ripe for reverse swing. It was the break India desperately needed. However, you still have to be good enough to capitalise on your luck, and Bumrah showed how good he was, taking a wicket and conceding just six off his last two overs.

4.17 Bumrah's economy rate in the tournament, the best for anybody who has bowled 100 or more balls in one T20 World Cup.

0 The number of cricketers who have won the Player of the Tournament award in T20 World Cups without scoring a run. Two men have managed the feat in ODI World Cups: Glenn McGrath in 2007 and Mitchell Starc in 2015.

"I only believe on Jassi bhai because game-changer player he is."
- Mohammed Siraj in the aftermath of India's win spoke words fit to be a caller tune or ringtone