On paper, Men-in-Blue look favourite against the chokers Protease to lift the cup
India will be locking horns with South Africa for the T20 World Cup 2024 Final on June 29 (Saturday) at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados.
India defeated England by 68 runs in the semi-final at Guyana’s Providence Stadium while South Africa outclassed Afghanistan by 9 wickets at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.
Last time these two finalist teams met was back in December, 2023 where India won by 106 runs after Suryakumar Yadav’s century and Kuldeep Yadav’s five-wicket haul.
Both these players will once again look to pose a similar threat to the strong South African side to get their hands on the prestigious T20 WC trophy.
India and South Africa have met six times in the T20 World Cup where the Men in Blue are ahead by a margin of 4-2. The recent clash was won by the Proteas in the 2022 edition.
In T20 World Cups, it’s 4-2 in favour of India in their six meetings against South Africa, who won the most recent clash in the 2022 edition
The Rohit Sharma-led side registered a massive win over England in the semi-finals to book their spot in the summit clash. On the other hand, South Africa completely outplayed Afghanistan in the first semi-final match. Both India and South Africa are currently unbeaten in the competition. It will also be the last match for Rahul Dravid as India head coach.
The final is special for both sides. India would want to end their streak of losing finals of the last five ICC events while South Africa are looking to leave their ‘chokers’ label behind.
South Africa have played some close games throughout while India have mostly dominated. With India clicking in every department and a fire to end their losing streak, they are favourites to lift the trophy.
It must be noted that the heavy rain is expected in Barbados during the final.
The rain has affected a number of matches in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies as well as the United States as we saw matches like Ireland vs the USA (Florida), Sri Lanka vs Nepal (Florida) and England vs Scotland (Barbados) getting washed out while England vs Namibia (Antigua and Barbuda) was reduced to 10 overs per side.
At times, it feels unfair that Jasprit Bumrah gets to bowl four overs in a T20 game. Depending on allegiance, that is either too much or too few. For a sport that is built around pure spectacle, there can be no better ambassador than a man who detonates the wickets, leaves impact craters on the bat, the pad and even the mind of opposition batters, and does it all with a smile on his face.
David Miller is on similarly good terms with the forces that make simple human beings extraordinary. He shows the ball new places to go to and it takes flight all too willingly. This World Cup is yet to see him at his destructive best but the thing is, players of his quality rarely go too long without making a contribution.
India arrive in the final with six wins from seven games (one rained out) and in almost all of them, they’ve been dominant. The only time they were really challenged was three weeks ago, on a treacherous New York pitch after posting 119 against Pakistan. South Africa arrive in the final with seven wins from seven and they’ve gone through the ringer. Except each time, with the game on the line, and the pressure at a peak, they coped. Given all this context, it is unlikely that either team will be making any changes (unless South Africa decide the conditions warrant an extra seamer).
Outside of New York, Kensington Oval has offered the most wickets to fast bowlers in the T20 World Cup: 59 at an average of 20.22 and economy rate of 7.88. There’s been one total above 200 but the rest fit in a range between 109 and 181 (the latter made by India at the only game either of these finalists have played at the venue this World Cup).
The final will be played on pitch No. 4, which was used for the games between Namibia and Oman, and Scotland and England. It’s the fourth pitch of eight on the square, so neither boundary should be significantly longer than the other.
The former South African captain AB de Villiers while acknowledging the formidable challenge posed by the Indian team but believes that Aiden Markram’s South Africa has the right mix of talent, strategy, and determination to clinch their first T20 World Cup title.
“The moment of truth has arrived. South Africans have been waiting for 33 years to see the Proteas play in an ICC World Cup final. After so many heartbreaks, we know all about them. South Africa will play India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday and I am backing the Proteas to win. It will be close as we all know India are a team of superstars but I believe South Africa’s time has come,” De Villiers said.
On the other hand, Indian men’s team head coach Rahul Dravid has praised the national team for showing incredible consistency during his tenure as he bows out with the Men in Blue after the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados
He appreciated the Indian side for doing an incredible job, as they have reached three finals in ICC tournaments and have been ranked as the top team in all three formats of the game.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly opened up on Virat Kohli’s ongoing struggles in the T20 World Cup 2024 as the Rohit Sharma-led unit is set to take on South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on Sunday.
Kohli, 35, scored only nine runs in the semi-final against England and was bowled by Reece Topley. That was the fifth time in the T20 World Cup that he failed to score double digits.
Many cricket experts advised Kohli to bat at number three, where he has batted for India for a long time, but Ganguly believes that he should continue to open the innings despite many failures.
