The finalists of the men's T20 World Cup 2024 have been decided; we are set for India and South Africa to scrap it out for the title on Saturday morning in Bridgetown, Barbados.
This will be the first time that the two teams meet in the final of a men's ICC tournament. India and South Africa did meet in the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final, which India won.
Both India and South Africa are unbeaten in the tournament, and both teams topped their respective groups in the group stage and the Super Eight, although South Africa have an extra win under their belt given India's washout against Canada.
Whoever wins the final will be the first team to win a men's T20 World Cup unbeaten.
South Africa registered wins over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal in the group stage before beating USA and England in the Super Eight. They faced West Indies in their final Super Eight match, knowing that a defeat would knock them out, but eked out a three-wicket win in a tight contest that was shortened by rain.
After a string of narrow victories, South Africa hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets in the semi-final to march into the final.
India, meanwhile, began their campaign with wins over Ireland, Pakistan and USA. Their perfect record in the group stage was marred by rain, as their game against Canada in Lauderhill was washed out. India started the Super Eight stage with big wins against Afghanistan and Bangladesh and capped it off by beating Australia.
In the semi-final, India put in another comprehensive performance to down England by 68 runs.
Well, it is a historic occasion for South Africa because it is the first time they will be competing in the final of a men's World Cup, ODI or T20. In fact, apart from winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998, South Africa have not made the final of any ICC men's tournament.
They have come close on many occasions, reaching the semi-finals in five ODI World Cups (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2023) and two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2014) before this year, but for the first time they have got to within one win of the title.
While India won the first ever T20 World Cup, in 2007, they are without a World Cup title since 2011 and their last ICC silverware was the 2013 Champions Trophy. They have come close since, reaching the final of the T20 World Cup in 2014, and the semi-finals in 2016 and 2022, as well as the semi-finals of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups. Last year, they were unbeaten en route to the final in a home ODI World Cup, but faced heartbreak in the final. Less than 12 months later, they have a chance to heal some of those wounds and end their barren run in global events.
While cricket fans all around the world are eagerly waiting for the summit clash, rain can end up playing spoilsport. According to AccuWeather, there is a good chance of rain during the match with 99 per cent cloud cover. "Mostly cloudy and humid; breezy in the morning, then occasional rain and a thunderstorm in the afternoon," the website's weather forecast stated.
If the match cannot take place on Saturday, there is a reserve day on Sunday. However, there are chances of rain on the reserve day as well with 57 per cent cloud cover during the day.
If the match gets completely washed out across the two days, both India and South Africa will be awarded the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy and announced joint winners of this year's competition.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma was all praise for his side after their T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal win over England and he even had a special message for Virat Kohli.
"Very satisfying to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit. To win this game like that was a great effort from everybody. We adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging, we had to adapt and that's been the success story for us so far till this game."
"We have adapted to the conditions really well, played the conditions really well. The bowlers and the batters, if they play according to the conditions, things falls in place and that's exactly what happened for us today. Very pleasing to see how we came through this game."
"He (Kohli) is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you've played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. He's looking good, the intent is there, he's probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final)," Rohit said after the match.
This will be the first time that the two teams meet in the final of a men's ICC tournament. India and South Africa did meet in the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final, which India won.
Both India and South Africa are unbeaten in the tournament, and both teams topped their respective groups in the group stage and the Super Eight, although South Africa have an extra win under their belt given India's washout against Canada.
Whoever wins the final will be the first team to win a men's T20 World Cup unbeaten.
South Africa registered wins over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal in the group stage before beating USA and England in the Super Eight. They faced West Indies in their final Super Eight match, knowing that a defeat would knock them out, but eked out a three-wicket win in a tight contest that was shortened by rain.
After a string of narrow victories, South Africa hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets in the semi-final to march into the final.
India, meanwhile, began their campaign with wins over Ireland, Pakistan and USA. Their perfect record in the group stage was marred by rain, as their game against Canada in Lauderhill was washed out. India started the Super Eight stage with big wins against Afghanistan and Bangladesh and capped it off by beating Australia.
In the semi-final, India put in another comprehensive performance to down England by 68 runs.
Well, it is a historic occasion for South Africa because it is the first time they will be competing in the final of a men's World Cup, ODI or T20. In fact, apart from winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998, South Africa have not made the final of any ICC men's tournament.
They have come close on many occasions, reaching the semi-finals in five ODI World Cups (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2023) and two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2014) before this year, but for the first time they have got to within one win of the title.
While India won the first ever T20 World Cup, in 2007, they are without a World Cup title since 2011 and their last ICC silverware was the 2013 Champions Trophy. They have come close since, reaching the final of the T20 World Cup in 2014, and the semi-finals in 2016 and 2022, as well as the semi-finals of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups. Last year, they were unbeaten en route to the final in a home ODI World Cup, but faced heartbreak in the final. Less than 12 months later, they have a chance to heal some of those wounds and end their barren run in global events.
While cricket fans all around the world are eagerly waiting for the summit clash, rain can end up playing spoilsport. According to AccuWeather, there is a good chance of rain during the match with 99 per cent cloud cover. "Mostly cloudy and humid; breezy in the morning, then occasional rain and a thunderstorm in the afternoon," the website's weather forecast stated.
If the match cannot take place on Saturday, there is a reserve day on Sunday. However, there are chances of rain on the reserve day as well with 57 per cent cloud cover during the day.
If the match gets completely washed out across the two days, both India and South Africa will be awarded the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy and announced joint winners of this year's competition.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma was all praise for his side after their T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal win over England and he even had a special message for Virat Kohli.
"Very satisfying to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit. To win this game like that was a great effort from everybody. We adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging, we had to adapt and that's been the success story for us so far till this game."
"We have adapted to the conditions really well, played the conditions really well. The bowlers and the batters, if they play according to the conditions, things falls in place and that's exactly what happened for us today. Very pleasing to see how we came through this game."
"He (Kohli) is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you've played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. He's looking good, the intent is there, he's probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final)," Rohit said after the match.
