Undefeated South Africa lock horns with unbeaten Team India in the T20 World Cup 2024 final on June 29 at the Kensington Oval Barbados. India ended up winning the all-important toss and opted to bat first against South Africa in the title clash. However, South Africa captain Aiden Markram too thought of batting first at the Kensington Oval pitch. After losing the toss, Markram admitted that he would have batted first as well had he won the toss.
“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,” Markram after the toss.
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Meanwhile, after winning the toss India captain Rohit Sharma, said:
“ 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 individual roles, I know it's a big occasion but it's important to remain calm and play it like it's another international game against a good team. South Africa have played 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. Same team.”
Notably, both India and South Africa remained undefeated throughout to make it to the T20 World Cup 2024 final. Both India and South Africa have the same ambition, which is to break their respective ICC trophy droughts and potentially remain unbeaten throughout the tournament. India's last T20 World Cup title triumph came way back in 2007. Meanwhile, their most recent ICC title triumph was the 2013 Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni's leadership. They'll be desperate to end this long wait and etch their name on the coveted trophy.
South Africa's Playing XI:
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
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
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