Prior to the last day of competition, West Indies great Chris Gayle shared his opinions about the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma and his team will be difficult to beat, Gayle continued, pointing out that both South Africa and India have played outstanding cricket throughout this competition. In a special piece for ICC, Gayle also talked about his two T20 World Cup victories with the West Indies, citing them as some of his favourite memories.
This ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 has been incredible, and now that it is coming to an end, we have a fitting finale.
South Africa and India both had outstanding cricket performances, therefore they both deserve to be in Barbados this weekend. Choosing between these two teams, who have both played aggressive and clean cricket throughout the competition, will be quite difficult.
It will be very difficult to defeat India. They bat so deeply, and they have a world-class death bowler in Jasprit Bumrah who can shatter opponents’ hearts. On the other hand, it is truly remarkable to witness South Africa make it to their first final after so many upsets in the semi-finals. I had predicted them as a dark horse before the competition even started.
It would be a fantastic experience for the players and the country to overcome adversity and win a World Cup; if they succeed, the memories will last a lifetime. Two of my most memorable moments in life, outside of cricket, are the victories I’ve had in the T20 World Cup.
Though I have a lot of special mementos from my career, my two World Cup rings are the most valuable. They nearly function as tangible evidence that you have scaled the mountain and emerged as global champions, much like Super Bowl rings.
I am excited to present my daughter with both of my rings from representing the West Indies in the T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016 when she is older.
I’m thrilled to be able to pass them down through the generations to my future grandchildren, so I will encourage her to keep one.
The build-up to the game has brought back a lot of memories of our memorable day in 2012, and Barbados will be looking stunning for the final. However, it’s important to note that a team’s identity and true formation are forged during the voyage to the final.
In our Super 8s encounter against New Zealand, the result was decided by a Super Over, with the victor moving on to the semi-final. I was fortunate enough to perform best under conditions of maximum pressure, knowing that I had to be courageous when I took the pitch.
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When I hit the opening ball for six, I felt we would win the match and the tournament.
In the championship match, we played the host country, Sri Lanka, and we had a lot of trouble. On a pitch with little scoring potential, Marlon Samuels nevertheless played one of his best innings, and our total was passable. And that’s what our bowlers did.
That moment when the last Sri Lankan wicket fell was indescribable. I guess the first thing I felt was relief more than anything, followed by sheer excitement. After earning it, I believe I was awake for almost 24 hours, so I didn’t really sleep that night. We did a photo session the following morning, and I’m not sure I want to see the results! We were both so exhausted and so happy with life.
In 2012, I had a solid tournament, placing fourth in runs scored in six innings.
We had the good fortune to repeat the feat against England four years later, and Carlos Brathwaite produced that incredible innings. Recall the name. Though I believe experience is a major factor in finals, winning it again was still incredible in many ways. India will be quite self-assured on Sunday because of this.
The winner will become the latest member of a unique club of individuals who may claim the title of Men’s T20 World Cup champion. It’s the most incredible sensation in the world, I assure the winners.
India
