BRIDGETOWN: India have won the toss and opted to bat first against South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final here at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
PLAYING XIs
Both India and South Africa are unchanged.
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.
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi.
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Speaking at the toss, Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated he asked his team to stay calm while acknowledging South Africa’s dominant performance in the tournament.
“It’s just about understanding the individual role, keep calm, and play like it’s an international match against a top team. South Africa have played really good cricket in this tournament, we have played really good cricket too, two quality teams,” said Sharma.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram shared that he would have chosen to bat on this pitch. He further stated that his side would be aiming to be at their best and play without any pressure.
“At times probably were not at our best, but we’ve found a way to win. Today we’re striving for that perfect game, even if perfect is not attainable. It’s a fantastic opportunity, no pressure for us, we’ve never been in a final. You can’t win a trophy if you aren’t in the final,” said Markram.
HEAD TO HEAD
India and South Africa have faced each other 26 times in T20 Internationals with the formers having a slight edge in the head-to-head record.
Matches 26, India 14, South Africa 11, NR 1
FORM GUIDE
Both India and South Africa boast a perfect record in the ongoing tournament as they are unbeaten in the tournament.
South Africa defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets in a one-sided affair in the first semi-final in Trinidad, whereas, India edged past defending champions England in the second semi-final in Guyana to book their spot in the final.
India: W, W, W, W, W (most recent first)
South Africa: W, W, W, W, W
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