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T20 World Cup 2024, IND vs SA Final Match Preview

Game details

India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 final
Bridgetown, June 29, 10.30am local time, 2.30pm GMT

Big Picture – It’s just a cup… right?

There are no legends in life, obviously, but sports do a lot to fix it, so much so that they give gifts like this Saturday, when, at the end of 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – 11 men. you will see the difference between fiction and reality that fiction has never been as good as this one.

How would that be for South Africa? At first they could not even play in this World Cup. Then, they changed some things that needed to be changed and since then they have focused on the impossible. Jonty Rhodes turns off gravity in 1992. Twenty two runs in one ball. Lance Klusener proposes natural order in 1999. Allan Donald ran without the bat even in his hand. No team has a rich history in these competitions, good or bad, and probably no team wants this more. The catharsis, if Aiden Markram finds himself on that stage, will shake, because he will have the whole nation that one time or another thought they will never see the day.

There are those in India who may feel the same way after November 19, 2023. For example, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. Their days are numbered. The coach is about to leave and the captain may not have much time on his hands. But, together, they are responsible for pushing a great team out of their comfort zone and into a place where it seems anything is possible. All of this – an acceptance that what they were doing in T20 cricket wasn’t working and a commitment to continue with this new approach despite a huge personal setback – has been their quest for silverware.

In 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – nothing will matter as much as the ball and batting they will be holding in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, India and South Africa should be reminded that they are very good teams and different people. Both should be able to share their love with the family. Enjoy their time with their colleagues. They chase after their children. Enjoy the sympathy of their fans. If any of this depends on the color of the medal around their necks, we are doing it really wrong.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa WWWWW

Highlights – Jasprit Bumrah and Heinrich Klaasen

Sometimes, that feels inappropriate Jasprit Bumrah he gets to bowl four overs in a T20 match. Depending on the credibility, that is too much or too little. In a game built around pure spectacle, there is no better ambassador than the man who blows up wickets, leaves craters on the bat, the pad and even in the mind of the batsmen, and does it all with a smile on his face. the face

Heinrich Klaasen it conforms in the same way to the power that makes ordinary people extraordinary. He shows the ball new places to go and it flies with passion. This World Cup will see him at a high level, but the thing is that players of his quality don’t usually go for a long time without contributing.

Group news

India reached the finals having won six matches out of seven matches (one was rained out) and in almost all of them they were playing well. The last time they were challenged was three weeks ago, on the treacherous ground in New York after posting 119 against Pakistan. The local team has reached the finals having won seven times out of seven and has advanced. Except each time, when the game is on the line, and the pressure is high, they face it. Given all this context, it is unlikely that any team will make any changes (unless South Africa decide that the conditions require an additional seamer).

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.

South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Heinrich Klaasen 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi/Ottneil Baartman

Tone and conditions – Hot conditions again

Apart from New York, Kensington Oval has given the most wickets to fast bowlers in the T20 World Cup: 59 at an average of 20.22 and an economy rate of 7.88. There has been one total over 200 but the others have been between 109 and 181 (the last one made by India in the only match one of these finalists has played at this World Cup venue).

The final will be played on the 4th field, which was used for the matches between Namibia and Oman, and Scotland and England. Pitch four of eight in a square, so no border should be taller than the other.

There is a threat of rain in this final but it has a set date.

Math and trivia

  • This is only the seventh T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa. The first four fall within a five-year time frame between 2007 and 2012.
  • This tournament has never produced an undefeated champion. That is about to change.
  • Not much will separate India and South Africa in the bowling metrics: 56 wickets at an average of 15.21 and an economy rate of 6.42 vs 59 wickets at an average of 15.23 and an economy rate of 5.95
  • But hitting is a different story. India averages 25.80 and scores 132.13 with six fifty-plus runs. South Africa averages 21.90 and scores 106.14 with three and fifty overs

Quotes

“You know, I don’t really believe in ‘Do it for somebody’. I love that quote when someone asks someone, ‘Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?’ and he says ‘I want to climb Mount Everest because it’s there’ I want to win this World Cup because it’s not for anyone, it’s not for anyone, it’s there to win.
Indian coach Rahul Dravid about the #DoItForDravid campaign

“It’s a game of cricket. Someone has to win, and someone has to lose in the end. That’s the name of the game. You take it your way. However, you get belief by winning close games and games that you can win. I thought you wouldn’t win. It does a lot for your dressing room and the vibe in the dressing room .
South African captain Aiden Markram about getting to the finals after winning a number of close matches

Alagappan Muthu is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo


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