MPPSC 2025 Prelims Paper-I · Question 82 of 100

Correct — A, 'It was played in South Africa'. That is the one false statement, and the question asks for exactly that. The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States, and the final was played on 29 June 2024 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. South Africa was India's opponent in that final, not the host — India posted 176/7, held South Africa to 169/8 and won by 7 runs to take its second men's T20 World Cup title. The trap is that the host of the very first T20 World Cup, in 2007 — the one India also won — was South Africa.

• (b)Player of the Match - Virat Kohli — This statement is true, so it is not the answer. Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match for his 76 off 59 balls, the innings that rebuilt India's total after an early collapse; it was also his last T20 International.
• (c)Player of the Tournament - Jaspreet Bumrah — Also true, and therefore not the answer. Jasprit Bumrah was named Player of the Tournament for a campaign in which he was the most economical frontline bowler of the competition, and he bowled decisive overs in the final itself.
• (d)India defeated South Africa in the final by 7 runs — True as well — India 176/7 beat South Africa 169/8 by 7 runs at Bridgetown. Since the question hunts for the incorrect statement, a correct one cannot be the answer.

This is a 'negative-polarity' current-affairs question: three statements are accurate and one is planted as false, so the marking hinges on reading the word 'incorrect'. The underlying facts are those of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup — the ninth edition, expanded to 20 teams and co-hosted for the first time by the West Indies and the United States, with the knockout stage in the Caribbean and the final at Barbados' Kensington Oval on 29 June 2024.

Two designed confusions sit in option (a). First, South Africa appears in the question as India's opponent, so a hurried reader accepts it as the venue as well. Second, India's earlier T20 World Cup triumph — the inaugural 2007 edition — genuinely was staged in South Africa, so the sentence 'India won the T20 World Cup in South Africa' feels half-remembered and true. Anchoring the 2024 final to Barbados and to India's win over South Africa keeps both traps shut.

• 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup: co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States — the first time the USA staged matches of an ICC men's World Cup
• Final: 29 June 2024, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados — India 176/7 beat South Africa 169/8 by 7 runs
• Player of the Match: Virat Kohli (76 off 59); Player of the Tournament: Jasprit Bumrah
• It was India's second men's T20 World Cup title; the first came in the inaugural 2007 edition, which was hosted by South Africa
• It was South Africa's first appearance in a men's World Cup final in any format

• Missing the word 'incorrect' and picking a true statement
• Reading the opponent (South Africa) as the host country
• Carrying over the 2007 edition, which really was hosted by South Africa, to 2024

MPPSC reliably places one or two sports current-affairs questions in Paper-I, usually about the most recent big final — the result, the venue and the individual awards; UPSC has largely abandoned this style since the 2000s, so treat it as a state-PCS specialty and memorise finals as a four-part packet: date, venue, result, awards.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was co-hosted by:

  • (a)The West Indies and the United States
  • (b)South Africa and Zimbabwe
  • (c)India and Sri Lanka
  • (d)England and Ireland

  Answer(a) The West Indies and the United States — the final was at Bridgetown, Barbados.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  India won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007. That edition was hosted by:

  • (a)England
  • (b)South Africa
  • (c)The West Indies
  • (d)Bangladesh

  Answer(b) South Africa — which is precisely why 'played in South Africa' feels plausible for 2024 and is the classic trap.