India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma has won the toss and said that India are batting first
JK News Today/ Agencies
India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: India have won the toss and chosen to bat first. Rohit Sharma and Aiden Markram’s teams have been on a ruthless run, but one of them will go back disappointed and the other with the trophy when IND and SA collide for a shot at the T20 World Cup.
India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA:
India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA:
India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma has won the toss and India are batting first against South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Seven months ago, a nation wept seeing its heroes miss out on the grandest stage of them all – the World Cup final. Rohit Sharma and his men seemed to be destined for greatness. They had played spotless cricket throughout the tournament. Notched up a winning streak unlike any before it. Oppositions were outplayed left, right and centre as Rohit’s Team India went on a collision course with the best teams in the world, only to emerge triumphant 10 games in a row. It was the stuff dreams are made of. Nothing could go wrong.
Right?
Well this is sports, it can be cruel. India would know a lot about considering the disappointments they have suffered in major tournaments since the 2013 Champions Trophy final and yet, the one that came on November 19 hurt more. The charm of a 50-over World Cup is something else. Playing every team en route to reaching the summit. No other tournament in cricket comes close to that kind of a grind, or prestige. But tonight could be the start of the healing process… the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket. 11 years after they last won a World Cup, it doesn’t come better than this. Once again, they are unbeaten, once again Rohit Sharma is on song. Once again, India don’t seem to have put a step wrong.
The summit clash has so much riding on it. Tonight could be the last time we see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play T20 cricket for India. The end of an era altogether. Both are one-time World Cup winners – Kohli won in 2011 and Rohit in 2007. Together, they won the 2013 Champions Trophy and have been part of some of Indian cricket’s greatest highs over the last decade. The only thing missing is winning a World Cup together. Rest assured, Ro-Ko will come out all guns blazing, hoping to end their and India’s agonizingly long wait for an ICC trophy.
The wait isn’t India’s alone. Let’s switch attention to South Africa. A team that, until a few days ago, had been identified with the ‘C’ word for years. Think of the catastrophic 22 off 1 in the 1992 World Cup, Allan Donald’s infamous run out in the 1999 World Cup at Edgbaston, the 2015 semis heartbreak in Auckland, and the one-sided defeat to Australia in 2023. For the Proteas, the journey has been as painful as India, if not more, and it’s only fitting to see these two teams compete for the ultimate glory in world cricket, hoping to put the baggage of so many years behind them.
As mentioned above, like India, South Africa too are unbeaten, which spices up the title clash even further. Whichever team wins, will become the first to win a T20 World Cup unbeaten. In the build-up to the final, India have played one game less than South Africa – their league match against Canada was washed out – but it didn’t hamper their momentum. India only improved once the Super Eights arrived, registering comprehensive wins against Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia. With the group nicely holding up, a lot depended on the outcome of the India vs Australia clash. And not only did India beat them by 24 runs, Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh the same evening sent the 2021 World champions packing. For South Africa, there were no hiccups, though. They finished top in their group and bulldozed Afghanistan to reach their maiden World Cup final.
Both India and South Africa have a bowling attack to boast of. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav have spun a web over oppositions, but as have Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi. However, when it comes to batting, India have a lot more depth, something that has bailed them out of trouble on more than one occasion this World Cup. Not to say that South Africa don’t possess a formidable batting line-up. Some are coming off a rousing season in the IPL and SA20, and cannot be taken lightly. But whether they will be able to impregnate India’s bowling attack will make for some fascinating viewing.
India and South Africa have faced each other six times in T20 World Cups and the fact that the Men in Blue leads the Proteas 4-2 will come as music to Indian fans’ ears. But hang on. Not so quick. The last time these two teams battled – in the 2022 T20 World Cup – South Africa emerged victorious by five wickets. Having said that, the only other time India and South Africa played each other in a T20 World Cup knockout was in 2014, where Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 72 off 44 took India home in a tense run-chase.
Kohli is not the same batter anymore. If anything, he is only better now. So what if the runs have fried up. Great players save their best for the last, and the fact that both Rohit and Rahul Dravid have reassured their faith in Kohli, is a testament to the great man. Can Rahul Dravid sign off as a World Cup winner? Can India lay waste to the ghost of their past? We shall find out in a few hours’ time.
Here are some interesting pointers for the India vs South Africa 2024 T20 World Cup final:
- Rohit Sharma won the toss and said that India are batting first
- India and South Africa are unbeaten leading to the final.
- Rohit Sharma is the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 248 from 7 innings.
- Quinton de Kock is not too far behind with 204 runs.
- India lead South Africa 4-2 in T20 World Cup matches.
- South Africa beat India by 5 wickets in their last T20 World Cup game, in 2022.
- A win for either team will see them end years of baggage.
