India's agonising 11-year wait for a World Cup title was ended by the ingenuity of Virat Kohli and the inspirational captaincy of Rohit Sharma as the star-studded team outwitted perennial bridesmaids South Africa on points in a topsy-turvy final on Saturday to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy.

Kohli, who was part of the triumph at the 2011 ODI World Cup, announced his retirement from the format immediately after the end of the match.

“It's time for the next generation to take over. It was an open secret and I would have announced it even if we had lost,” Kohli said.

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Hardik Pandya, who was booed when he was given the IPL captaincy, broke down after six tough months and the lasting image will surely be the kiss planted on his cheek by the man people were rooting for – Rohit Sharma.

Captain Sharma was left starry-eyed as he was emotionally exhausted and his wife Ritika, his soulmate, was in a state of agitation as there was no one who did not feel crushed. When Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 27 balls) went all out against the in-form Indian spinners, it seemed that Rohit Sharma and his men would have to settle for second place in yet another World Cup final, but they fought their way back into the game with plenty of help from South Africa.

Finally, Hardik Pandya, who has been much maligned by his own supporters for the last six months, defended 16 runs in the last over to secure India their first ICC trophy since 2013 and their first T20 World Cup title in the post-IPL era. In reply to India's 176 for seven, South Africa finished on 169 for eight.

The relief and jubilation was palpable among the stars of the Indian team, Kohli and Rohit, who may not stay for another T20 World Cup cycle. The result was also a fitting farewell for head coach Rahul Dravid.

It was the combined performance of Kohli (76 off 59) and Axar Patel (47 off 31) that enabled India to post the highest total in a T20 World Cup final.

Chasing points under pressure, the Indian batsmen took two early wickets before a 58-run stand between opener Quinton de Kock (39 off 31) and Tristian Stubbs (52 off 27) brought the Proteas back into the game.

However, it was Klaasen's stunning knock that almost shocked India. With Rohit Sharma in need of a wicket, he did not rely on his lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah and instead brought in Axar Patel in the 15th over, in which Klaasen hit a couple of sixes and as many fours to single-handedly take the game away from the opposition.

The required rate for a run suddenly dropped and South Africa had no choice but to lose the game. South Africa, not known for keeping calm under pressure, made life difficult for themselves and, with David Miller and Keshav Maharaj in the centre, needed 20 runs from the last 12 balls.

Bumrah, who bowled superbly to dismiss Reeza Hendricks in the Powerplay, made an impression when he was finally brought back for the remaining two overs, taking one wicket and conceding just six runs off his last 12 balls.

With the score at 16-16 off the last six balls, Suryakumar Yadav took a sensational relay catch on the long-off boundary off Hardik on the first ball to bring India to the brink of a thrilling victory.

Earlier, India had posted the highest total in a T20 World Cup final with 34 runs from three. Axar was unfortunate and completely against the run of play, ending his 72-run partnership with Kohli from 54 balls. Kohli slowed down considerably in the middle overs, reaching his first 50 runs of the tournament in 48 balls.

Rohit Sharma (9) did not hesitate to bat first at Kensington Oval, although the pitch was not particularly easy to bat on throughout the contest.

The Indian captain, who had previously won two games in a row, had to leave the field early after hitting two consecutive fours against Keshav Maharaj in the second over of the match.

Maharaj responded well by getting Rohit caught at square leg when the batsman attempted a sweep. Rohit and the incoming batsman Rishabh Pant both fell victim to the sweep shot.

Tension rose in the Indian camp when Suryakumar, who was in fine form like Rohit, was caught at fine leg after failing to get his shot in well enough against Rabada, leaving India three points behind in the Powerplay.

At 45 for three in six overs, it was India's slowest powerplay in the Caribbean match.

Kohli, who had hit three elegant boundaries off Marco Jansen in the first over of the final, watched the wickets fall at the other end, shifted up a gear in the middle overs and let Axar score an odd boundary.

Kohli's knock was such that his first big hit after the Powerplay, a straight six off Rabada, came in the 18th over. Axar, on the other hand, played perhaps the innings of his T20 career, effectively overcoming the South African spinners, picking up a six each from Aiden Markram, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. The highlight of his special knock, however, was the straight six through the line of Rabada.

Shivam Dube (27 off 16), who came into the middle before the start of the death overs, landed some well-timed hits to increase the total.

Kohli also hit a couple of sixes in the last five overs, helping India score 58 runs and lose three wickets.

Grades: India: 176/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 76, Axar Patel 47; Keshav Maharaj 2/23) beat South Africa: 169/8 in 20 overs (Henirich Klaasen 52, Jasprit Bumrah 2/18, Arshdeep Singh 2/20) by 7 runs.