It was a long day. Over two hours of waiting but we got a full game. Thanks for your patience. Hope you had fun and to see you for the crowning of first-time champions or the re-crowning of the champions of the inaugural season. For now, it's goodbye from me, Ekanth, my co-commentator, Alan Gardner, and our scorers, Ranjith P and Venkat Raghav.
Jay: "Finalists are the teams who went through the tough NY pitches."
Naren: "Always a fan of his batting, now a fan of his talking as well. Go Rohit, the cup is waiting!"
Rohit Sharma, India captain: Very satisfying to win. Worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well, conditions were challenging. That's been the success story for us so far. If bowlers and batters adapt, things fall in place. At one stage, 140-150 looked par. But we got runs in the middle, SKY and I were going and thought we can get 20-25 more. I didn't want to give that away, wanted to let the batters play on instinct. 175 was a very good score, bowlers were fantastic. Axar, Kuldeep are gun spinners. Tough to play shots against them in these conditions. They were calm under pressure. We had a chat after the first innings, message was to keep stumps in play. That's what they did. (Kohli) We understand his class. Form is never a problem when you've played for 15 years. Probably saving for the final. We've been calm as a team. Final is a big occasion but being composed helps make good decisions. I thought today we were steady and didn't panic. That's been key. (Can they win an ICC trophy for the first time since 2013) We'll try our best, team is in good shape. All I can hope is to put up a good show come the finals.
Jos Buttler, England captain: India outplayed us. We let them get 20-25 runs too many on a challenging surface. Two years on, different conditions, credit to India. Deserve the win. (Toss-decision rationale) With the rain, didn't think it'd change much. Don't think it did, they bowled better. They've got fantastic bowlers. In hindsight, should've bowled Moeen the way the spin was playing. They had an above-par total and it was always a tough chase. Proud of everyone's effort in the comp. We've had a lot of adversity, played really good in patches
Axar Patel, POTM I've bowled in the powerplay in the past many times. Knew the wicket was assisting and didn't try too many things. Wicket is slow, so didn't want to push the pace too much. Batters told us wicket wasn't easy to hit on, so 150-160 was a good total. SKY-Rohit stand was magnificent. The way they played - take the odd boundary and rotate strike - was what we needed.
Deep: "Sure, success is measured in silverware, but when the red mist settles, Dravid and Rohit can reflect proudly on this 2023-24 season for having created a team that's truly all-format, all-weather brilliant."
The chase was always going to be tricky and early wickets would be vital. But so were runs as the low pitch was expected to get tougher to score off against a softening ball. Buttler tried to keep pushing in the powerplay but fell right after Axar's introduction. Salt was done in by a Bumrah slowy. Bairstow being bowled off Axar made it feel like 2021 all over again. Moeen, Curran fell right after the powerplay and that was the game mostly done. Kuldeep dismantled the lower-middle order and the tail was left too much to do.
4pm: So, the first-ever champions of the tournament will take on debut finalists for the crown in 2024. India had to slay the demons of 2022, along with weather issues, and did it in style. Rahul Dravid's coaching tenure can end on a historic note. Two years of evolution under Rohit's captaincy could finally get rewarded. Remember that sight from 2022 when he sat in the dugout with face buried in his hands after the 10-wicket drubbing? The opposite can be seen in the stands today, where he's sitting on the chair, with a glow from the sunshine hitting his face, as a team-mate walks up to congratulate. Talk about things coming a full circle.
Vishesh: "From 170/0 (16) to 103/10 (16.3)"
JC Archer lbw b Bumrah 21 (17m 15b 1x4 2x6) SR: 140.00
Sheela: "They should have sent Archer at No.4!"
END OF OVER:16 | 14 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 100/9 (72 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 6.25, RRR: 18.00)
- Jofra Archer20 (13b)
- Reece Topley1 (1b)
- Hardik Pandya1-0-14-0
- Axar Patel4-0-23-3
Varun: "Would be so poetic and cathartic if this also ends in 16 overs" Almost but they'll not have to sacrifice much
Deepak: "Adelaide 2022 avenged"
AU Rashid run out 2 (2m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
END OF OVER:15 | 9 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 86/8 (86 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.73, RRR: 17.20)
- Jofra Archer9 (10b)
- Adil Rashid0 (0b)
- Axar Patel4-0-23-3
- Ravindra Jadeja3-0-16-0
LS Livingstone run out 11 (24m 16b 0x4 0x6) SR: 68.75
Asking rate over 15. England need a miracle now
END OF OVER:14 | 4 Runs | ENG: 77/7 (95 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 5.50, RRR: 15.83)
- Liam Livingstone8 (14b)
- Jofra Archer3 (6b)
- Ravindra Jadeja3-0-16-0
- Kuldeep Yadav4-0-19-3
Craig S.: "@Atish: Let us Saffas have our moment, we deserve a bit of luck after the long wait!"
Julian : "Have India brought this pitch with them from home?" No, that was at New York and it came from Adelaide
Around, slip in
END OF OVER:13 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 73/7 (99 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 5.61, RRR: 14.14)
- Liam Livingstone6 (12b)
- Jofra Archer1 (2b)
- Kuldeep Yadav4-0-19-3
- Ravindra Jadeja2-0-12-0