Undefeated India and South Africa clash for glory

Match Details

India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 Final
Bridgetown, June 29, 10:30 a.m. local time, 2:30 p.m. GMT

Overview – It’s just a cup…right?

There are no fairy tales in life, of course, but sport does a lot to compensate, to the extent that it offers gifts like this Saturday, when, at the end of 40 overs – more or less a Super Over – 11 men will realize that the difference between fantasy and reality is that fantasy has never been as good as this.

How would South Africa feel? At first, she couldn’t even compete in these World Cups. Then she changed some things that desperately needed it and has since specialized in the impossible. Jonty Rhodes ended Gravity in 1992. Twenty-two runs off a ball. Lance Klusener disrupted the natural order in 1999. Allan Donald ran without even having the bat in his hand. No team has such a rich history in these tournaments, both good and bad, and there’s probably no team that wants that more than that. The catharsis, if Aiden Markram finds himself on this podium, will be seismic, because he will have with him an entire nation that, at one time or another, thought would never see the light of day.

Some in India might have felt the same way after November 19, 2023. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, for example. Their days are already numbered. The coach is about to leave and the captain might not have much free time either. But, together, they are responsible for pushing a great team out of its comfort zone and bringing it to a place where anything seems possible. All of this – the acceptance that what they were doing in T20 cricket wasn’t working and the commitment to continue on this new path despite considerable personal disappointments – has been in the pursuit of trophies.

For 40 overs – more or less a Super Over – nothing will matter as much as the ball and bat they hold in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, India and South Africa need to be reminded that they are excellent teams and exceptional people. They should both be able to share their love as a family. Toast to their time spent with colleagues. Sue their children. Take advantage of the compassion of their fans. If it all depends on the color of the medal around our neck, we are definitely doing something wrong.

Form Guide

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

In the spotlight – Jasprit Bumrah and Heinrich Klaasen

Sometimes it seems unfair that Jasprit Bumrah The player who is allowed to bowl four overs in a T20 match. Depending on your allegiance, that is either too many or too few. For a sport built on pure spectacle, there can be no better ambassador than a man who blasts wickets, leaves impact craters on the bat, the pad and even the minds of opposing batsmen, and does it all with a smile on his face.

Heinrich Klaasen is equally on good terms with the forces that make simple human beings extraordinary. It shows the ball new places to go and it takes flight too willingly. This World Cup has yet to see him at his destructive best, but the fact is that players of his quality rarely go for too long without contributing.

Team News

India comes into the final with six wins from seven matches (including one due to rain) and has dominated almost every match. The only time she was really challenged was three weeks ago, on a treacherous pitch in New York after scoring 119 against Pakistan. South Africa comes into the final with seven wins in seven matches and they have proven themselves. Except that each time, with the match on the line and the pressure at its peak, she coped. Given all this context, it is unlikely that either team will make any changes (unless South Africa decides that conditions warrant an additional player).

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (captain), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (week), 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 (week), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (captain), 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

Terrain and Conditions – Even tougher conditions

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 an economy rate of 7.88. There has been one total in excess of 200 but the rest have been in the range of 109 to 181 (the latter achieved by India in the only match either finalist has played at the venue in this World Cup).

The final will be played on pitch 4, which was used for matches between Namibia and Oman, and between Scotland and England. This is the fourth court out of eight in the square, so neither boundary should be significantly longer than the other.

There is a risk of rain on this final but she has a reserve day.

Statistics and anecdotes

This is only the seventh T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa. The first four span a period of five years, between 2007 and 2012.
This tournament has never produced an undefeated champion. That’s about to change.
There is not much that separates India and South Africa in terms of bowling statistics: 56 wickets at an average of 15.21 and an economy rate of 6.42 compared to 59 wickets with an average of 15.23 and an economy rate of 5.95
But when it comes to hype, that’s another story. India average 25.80 and bat at 132.13 with six scores above fifty. South Africa averages 21.90 and bats at 106.14 with three scores above fifty.

Quotes

“You know, I don’t really believe in ‘Do it for someone.’ I love that quote about someone asking someone else, ‘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 there for anyone, it’s not there for anyone, it’s just there for earn”.
Coach of India Rahul Dravid about the #DoItForDravid campaign

“It’s a game of cricket. Someone has to win, and someone has to lose eventually. That’s the name of the game. You take it in your stride. You get confidence, though, from winning matches tight and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win. It does a lot for your locker room and the atmosphere in the locker room.
South Africa Captain Aiden Markram about reaching the final after winning a bunch of close matches

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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