As India and South Africa gear up for their high-stakes clash in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Final at Kensginton Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados. England win the toss and choose to field first. India have won the toss and have opted to bat.

India’s Journey in T20 World Cup 2024

India dominated the group stage with clinical victories over Ireland, Pakistan, and the USA. They continued their winning streak in the Super 8 stage, comfortably defeating Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Their next challenge was Australia, a team that had often troubled them in the past. However, India overcame this hurdle with another convincing win, advancing to the semi-finals undefeated. In the semi-finals, India faced England. Rohit Sharma led the batting with a solid performance, securing a 68-run victory.

Throughout the tournament, India has been impressive, especially when batting first. Out of their seven wins, five have come from setting a target, and each victory has been decisive. So far, no opponent has truly challenged India, highlighting their dominance in the competition.

South Africa’s Journey in T20 World Cup 2024

South Africa’s batting lineup struggled on the challenging surfaces in the USA, often finding it difficult to put up competitive scores. During the group stage, South Africa faced tough competition from the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Nepal, with all three matches being closely contested.

In the Super 8 stage, South Africa secured narrow victories against both the USA and England. They then faced the West Indies in a virtual knockout match and once again, managed to hold their nerve under immense pressure. Their best performance came in the semi-final against Afghanistan, where they delivered a dominant win, completely outclassing their opponents.

South Africa vs India: Who said what at the toss?

Rohit Sharma: We’re going to bat first, looks a good pitch. We’ve played one game here, the scores have been really good. Just about understanding indivdual roles, I know it’s a big occassion but it’s important to remain calm and play it like it’s another international game against a good team. South Africa have been some good cricket but so have we. It’s going to be a really good game between two quality teams. Different individuals have stepped up at different times and that’s what we’re looking forward to today as well.

Aiden Markram: Would’ve batted first as well, looks dry. But we get first crack with the ball so hopefully we can do well. At times we haven’t been at our best but we’ve still managed to win and we take confidence from that. Perfect isn’t possible but we want to be as close as possible to that. There’s absolutely no pressure on us, we’ve never been in a final and we just want to enjoy it and be at our best. Same team for us.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi