India beat South Africa by seven runs to win T20 World Cup

India emerged victorious over South Africa by a margin of seven runs in a thrilling final match to clinch the Twenty20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Opting to bat first on a dry pitch, the 2007 champions India managed to recover from a shaky start to reach a competitive total of 176-7.

Virat Kohli scored 76 runs, his first half-century of the World Cup, while Axar Patel contributed 47 runs to bolster India's innings.

South Africa's Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj took two wickets each to try and contain India's batting lineup.

Despite a top-order collapse, South Africa's Quinton de Kock (39) and Tristan Stubbs (31) revived their chase.

Heinrich Klaasen's aggressive batting, scoring 52 runs, gave South Africa hope, but India's disciplined bowling in the final overs limited South Africa to 169-8.