India and
South Africa
, who have both gone undefeated in nearly a month of cricket played in the USA and the Caribbean, will square off in the
T20 World Cup final
on Saturday at the
Kensington Oval
, both hoping to break through their protracted quest for triumph.
Even though the tournament's quality, entertainment value, and attendance have been hit and miss, it has successfully put up a final between the two best teams in the shortest format.
On Thursday, in Guyana, India defeated the reigning champions England by 68 runs after South Africa had destroyed Afghanistan by nine wickets in Trinidad to end an arduous and excruciating wait for a championship match.
Since the Proteas defeated the West Indies in the Champions Trophy final in 1998 in Bangladesh, this will be South Africa's first senior men's final.
BIG PICTURE
It's hard to say who is more desperate to win. An ICC trophy has eluded India for 11 years and it hasn't won a
T20 World Cup
since the inaugural edition in 2007.
South Africa has never got this far in any WC, having lost 7 semis across ODIs and T20s.
For India, this could be the last time we see
Rohit Sharma
and
Virat Kohli
play together in T20Is, and definitely the last time we see Rahul Dravid as coach. A WC win would be a fitting farewell for these stalwarts.
SA have won all 8 games and India 7 (1 washout). It's the first time any team has reached a T20 WC final undefeated.
Rohit's men proved in the semis that India has options other than Rishi Sunak to give England nightmares, with a 68-run rout in Guyana. S Africa hammered Afghanistan in probably the most one-sided WC semifinal ever.
India looks the superior team, with excellent batting depth and a superb attack. But write off Aiden Markram's squad at your own peril, as they fight to shed the tag of 'chokers'. Markram is the only South African skipper to win a World Cup, though in the U-19 tournament in 2014.
KEY BATTLES
Jasprit Bumrah vs Quinton de Kock: A match-up to relish. SA's highest run-getter in this tournament with 204 runs at a strike rate of 143.7 will run into the best pacer in the business.
Rohit Sharma vs Marco Jansen: India's talisman has long been susceptible to quality left-arm pace. Jansen's probing lines outside off stump could pose a bother.
SA middle order vs Kuldeep Yadav: Kuldeep has looked threatening in every game he has played. SA will look to their big guns in Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs to throw him off his plans.
Rishabh Pant vs Keshav Maharaj: Can India's maverick No. 3 take down SA's lead spinner?
VENUE: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
TIME: 8 pm IST
English (US) ·