The stage is all set for the T20 World Cup 2024 final as India (IND) takes on South Africa (SA) in the summit clash of the tournament at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday, June 29. Both India and South Africa have put in excellent performances throughout the tournament and have worked resiliently to reach the finals.
South Africa have the weight of history to deal with, India’s brightest stars have resolutely reinvented their games because they really wanted to be here. Winning will mean so much to either side.
IND vs SA Previous Performances
Where India have won their last four matches, South Africa are coming off a winning streak as well. In a clash of the titans, the world will witness both sides going at each other as they aim to get their hands on the sought-after title and become world champions.
IND vs SA Head to Head
The last time India and South Africa met in a knockout game in an ICC tournament was the T20 World Cup 2014 semi-final in Mirpur. Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls to guide India to a six-wicket win in that game.
| Matches | 26 | |
| Won by India | 14 | |
| Won by South Africa | 11 | |
| Tied | – | |
| No Result | – | |
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| Most-recent Fixture |
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IND vs SA Pitch Report
The surface at the Kensington Oval in Barbados is expected to offer movement for the seamers with the new ball. The movement can make it challenging for the batters to get used to. With extra bounce in the early overs, opting to bowl first and chasing the target could be a wise decision.
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. There is a threat of rain over this final but it does have a reserve day.
IND vs SA Big Picture – It’s just a cup… right?
There are no fairytales in life, obviously, but sport does a great deal to make up for it, to the extent that it offers gifts like this Saturday, when, at the end of 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – 11 men will realize the difference between fantasy and reality is that fantasy was never quite as good as this.
What would that feel like for South Africa? At the start, they couldn’t even play in these World Cups. Then, they changed some things that desperately needed changing and have since been specializing in the impossible. Jonty Rhodes switching gravity off in 1992. Twenty-two runs off 1 ball. Lance Klusener upending the natural order in 1999.
Allan Donald run out without the bat even in his hand. There is no team with as rich a history in these tournaments, both good and bad, and there is probably no team that wants this more. The catharsis, should Aiden Markram find himself on that podium, will be seismic, because he will have with him an entire nation that at some point or other thought they might never see the day.
There are those in India who might have felt similarly after November 19, 2023. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, for example. Their days are already numbered. The coach is set to depart and the captain may not have a lot of time on his hands as well. But, together, they are responsible for harassing a great team out of its comfort zone and into 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 keep on this new path despite considerable personal lows – has been in search of silverware.
For 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – nothing will matter as much as the ball and bat they will be holding in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, both India and South Africa should be reminded that they are excellent teams and exceptional people. They should both be able to share their love with family. Toast their time with colleagues. Chase after their children. Enjoy the compassion of their fans. If any of that is contingent on the color of the medal around their necks, we’re doing something really wrong.
IND vs SA In the spotlight – Jasprit Bumrah and Heinrich Klaasen
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.
Heinrich Klaasen 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.
IND vs SA Stats and trivia
- This is only the seventh T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa. The first four squeeze into a five-year time-frame between 2007 and 2012.
- Never has this tournament yielded a champion who has remained unbeaten. That’s about to change.
- There isn’t a lot to separate India and South Africa on bowling metrics: 56 wickets at an average of 15.21 and economy rate of 6.42 vs 59 wickets at an average of 15.23 and economy rate of 5.95
- But the batting is a different story. India average 25.80 and strike at 132.13 with six fifty-plus scores. South Africa average 21.90 and strike at 106.14 with three fifty-plus scores
- This is the first instance of two unbeaten teams facing off in a T20 World Cup final. The last instance of a team having an unbeaten run throughout a Men’s ICC tournament was the Champions Trophy in 2013 which India won
- This is the third ICC tournament final for India under Rohit Sharma in a little over 12 months – in three different formats. He could also become the first to 50 wins as a T20I captain
- Aiden Markram has a 100 percent success rate as a captain in ICC tournaments. Under his captaincy South Africa won six out of six in the Under 19 World Cup in 2014, he led them to two wins in the 2023 World Cup standing in for Temba Bavuma, and the unbeaten run in the 2024 T20 World Cup
- The last time India and South Africa met in a knockout game in an ICC tournament was the T20 World Cup 2014 semi-final in Mirpur. Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls to guide India to a six-wicket win in that game.
IND vs SA Probable Playing 11
South Africa:
Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk.), Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ottniel Baartman
India:
Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
IND vs SA Fantasy XI : Quinton de Kock (wk.), Aiden Markram (c),Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
IND vs SA Probable Top Performers
Probable Best Batter: Suryakumar Yadav
India’s Suryakumar Yadav could be the best batter in the upcoming game against South Africa. Surya was sensational for the Men in Blue in the semi-final against England, where he scored 47 runs in 36 deliveries, helping his side post a total of 171 runs in the first innings
Probable Best Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah
With a pacer friendly pitch, ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah could be the best bowler in the upcoming game against South Africa. Bumrah has been exceptional for India throughout the tournament, and he will look to put in a similar showing.
IND vs SA Match Prediction
Scenario 1
India win the toss and opt to bowl first
PP Score: 50-60
SA: 160-170
India win the match
Scenario 2
South Africa win the toss and opt to bowl first
PP Score: 55-65
IND: 180-190
India win the match