Sunday, December 22, 2024

India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final: Barbados wakes up to heavy rainfall as IND, SA chase history

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India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: 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.

India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: (AFP)

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:

– 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.

Follow all the updates here:

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 05:05 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: South Africa winning the clutch moments

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: The C-word most associated with South Africa in major tournaments is NOT clutch. It is choke. And yet, we haven’t really seen them succumbing to the latter in this tournament, and instead, they have won the moments defined by the former word. Don’t be fooled by South Africa’s unbeaten run, they have suffered and how. However, while they have withered and collapsed, sometimes spectacularly, in pressure situations in tournaments past, Aiden Markram’s side have somehow kept their eye on the ball and seen themselves through to victory. Mistakes crept into their game in crunch moments against the Netherlands, the USA, Nepal, England and the West Indies. In fact one could say that it was only against Afghanistan in the semi final that they cruised to victory. We all know just how great South African teams have been in the past, this one is an incredible team filled with some of the leading names in cricket, and they seemed to have conquered the devils that plagued the Proteas superstars of the past.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:58 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Could Siraj return for this game?

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: As stated earlier, the Kensington Oval has been the most productive for fast bowlers in this tournament outside of New York. 59 wickets have fallen to pace at an average of 20.22 and economy rate of 7.88. Now Kuldeep Yadav has been simply sensational and the same can be said about Axar Patel. Ravindra Jadeja has been far from his best but one cannot say that his performances have been so bad that he could be dropped. It is more likely that India might be tempted to five Shivam Dube a couple of overs if conditions are conducive to pace as opposed to bring back Siraj in place of the players who have done well for them in the Super 8 and semis.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:53 PM

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    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: India have played one game at this venue before in this tournament while it is a first for Australia in this year’s T20 World Cup. India had faced Afghanistan here and scored 181/8 in almost a perfect T20 batting effort with everyone contributing at a high strike rate and Suryakumar Yadav leading with 53 off 28. India won that match by 47 runs. That is one of the highest scores made at this ground in this tournament, only below the Australia’s 201/7 against England. The Kensington Oval has offered the most wickets to fast bowlers in the T20 World Cup: 59 at an average of 20.22 and economy rate of 7.88.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:36 PM

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    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: The last time India and South Africa met in a knockout game in an ICC tournament was the T20 World Cup 2014 semi-final in Mirpur. Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls to guide India to a six-wicket win in that game.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:24 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: India vs South Africa over the years

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: These two sides faced each other only after South Africa were readmitted to international cricket, which meant that there was no cricket between the two before the ICC implemented the ban in 1970. In fact South Africa’s first international forray after readmission was a tour of India and the first ever match between them was an ODI at the Eden Gardens on November 10, 1991. India won that match by three wickets thanks to Sachin Tendulkar’s 62 and Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar taking two wickets each. India toured South Africa for a four-match Test series the following year and the first red-ball game between then started on November 13, 1992 in Durban. The first T20I between India and South Africa was interestingly not in the 2007 T20 World Cup, unlike what is the case for India with most other Test-playing nations. They had met in India’s first-ever T20I match in Johannesburg on December 1, 2006. India won that match by six wickets.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:11 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Rain seems to have gone away

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: The rainfall had come in before sunshine but the light has brought with it clear skies over Barbados. Let’s hope it stays the same way. As stated earlier, the forecast talks about possibilities of a passing shower that will have almost no bearing on this match.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:03 PM

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  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:50 PM

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    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: This is not the first time Aiden Markram is leading South Africa in a World Cup final. Well yes, this is the first time in senior cricket but he is the only South African captain to lead a team representing the country to an ICC title. It was under him that South Africa won the 2014 Under 19 World Cup. South Africa were unbeaten then and they are unbeaten now which means Markram has a 100 per cent record in ICC tournaments as captain.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:41 PM

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    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: 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, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Ryan Rickelton

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:32 PM

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    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:21 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: India vs South Africa in T20 World Cups

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: These two sides have faced each other six times in the past in this tournament. India lead the head to head 4-2. Four of those fixtures came between 2007 and 2012. The last time they met was in the tournament’s previous edition though, and South Africa won that game by five wickets in Perth. Suryakumar Yadav played almost a lone hand as he scored 68 off 40 and took India to a score of 133/9. Half centuries from Aiden Markram and David Miller, with the latter staying unbeaten, helped South Africa get to the target in 19.4 overs.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:10 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Heavy downpour at the moment in Barbados

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Oh you’ve got to be kidding us, right? Rain… again? Really? It seems as if wherever the World Cup goes, rain seems to be following. The city was doing just fine until a couple of days ago. But from yesterday, the clouds have gathered over the city and are giving the fans a scare. The latest is that as of now, 5:30 AM local time in Barbados, it is pelting down. But with a good four overs to go for the toss, things should get better. Even if it does not, there’s a 150-minute cut-off time in tonight’s game as well. FINGERS CROSSED!

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:00 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Kuldeep Yadav vs Tristan Stubbs – an underrated battle

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Tristan Stubbs was one of the breakout stars of this year’s IPL, scoring 378 runs for the Delhi Capitals. He excelled pretty much against every bowler. All but one… his DC teammate Kuldeep Yadav. Stubbs revealed on the Grade Cricketer Podcast that he couldn’t face Kuldeep even once in the Capitals nets. Despite him trying to persuade Kuldeep through repeated appeals, the India wrist-spinner simply never entertained the idea of bowling to him. And now we know why. With 10 wickets, Kuldeep has become Rohit Sharma’s go-to bowler and he wanted to save every bit of his craftsmanship to bamboozle Stubbs and the rest of the Proteas batter when the time comes.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:50 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: When Marco Jansen last bowled against India in an ICC tournament…

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: It was at the 2023 World Cup in October at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. And it was a match Marco Jansen would want to forget. In 9.4 overs, Jansen bled 94 runs for one wicket and admitted it wasn’t his day. Jansen hasn’t had the greatest of tournaments this time around either, picking up 6 wickets from 8 games, mostly due to Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi inflicting the bulk of the damage. And hence, India need to be watchful of this Proteas bowling line-up.

    Oh, and something else also happened in that match. Virat Kohli scored his 49th ODI century.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:40 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Do you remember? Not too long ago…

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: It wasn’t too long ago that India and South Africa played each other in a bilateral Test, ODI and T20I series. The T20Is were levelled 1-1 with both teams picking up a win each while one game was washed out. In the ODIs, India prevailed 3-2 in series contested that was contested back-and-forth, with Sanju Samson’s maiden international century for India taking India over the line in the decider. Surprisingly, neither Samson or Rinku Singh are part of India’s Playing XI tonight. Oh, and also, during the series, Suryakumar Yadav had peeled off his 4th T20I century for India.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:30 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: A look at the weather in Barbados

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Well, thankfully, unlike the rain threat that loomed over the second semi-final between India and England, no such forecast has been predicted for the final. Yes, it did rain in Barbados yesterday and overnight as the island country woke up to the day of the final, and even though a bit of a thunderstorm is expected, it’ll be nothing more than passing showers. Worst-case scenario, even if rain unleashes and causes interruption, there is plenty of time before the match is officially abandoned. But don’t worry. We should have a full 40-over-per-side contest unless one team bowls out the other inside 20 overs.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:20 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: For South Africa, chance to put the ‘C’ word to rest

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: They have been called ‘chokers’ for as far as the memory can go back, but the kind of run South Africa have been on this World Cup, this is a unit different to all other that have come before it. With players embracing the home-grown SA20, the impact is visible. Aiden Markram has led this team brilliantly, and with contributions from Quinton de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi and the rest of his teammates, if there is any team that can stop India’s juggernaut, it’s South Africa. Like India, they too endured a heartbreak in the 2023 World Cup, going down to Australia in the final. And like India, they too are aware what’s at stake here.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:10 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: For India, it’s time to break the deadlock

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: For 11 years now, India have not won an ICC trophy, and what makes this wait even more anguishing is the fact that in each edition, they come perilously close, only to get knocked out. Between 2014 and 2023, India lost 9 ICC knockout matches, including the two World Test Championship finals and the 2023 World Cup final, which was their best opportunity. Nonetheless, here they are, seven months later, waiting with bated breaths and hopes that the outcome will finally land in India’s favour this time. The players need this. The coach and the support staff need this. And lastly, the entire nation of India needs this.

  • Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:00 PM

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Hello and Welcome to the World Cup final

    India vs South Africa Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 Final, IND vs SA: Hello all you wonderful people! The D-Day is here. Two teams enter, one walks out victorious. Expect ecstasy for one, agony for the other. Because it’s time for the T20 World Cup final, and who better than India and South Africa to headline the occasion? Indian fans… are you nervous? Anxious? Excited? Did you sleep well last night after scrolling through the countless ‘Khada hu aaj bhi wahi’ reels? Or could you simply not sleep? We wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t. After all, life doesn’t often grant a second chance, which Rohit Sharma and his bunch of players have received here. They have a golden opportunity to ease the pain of November 19 and create fresh memories.

    Then again… it’s easier said than done. Standing between Team India and the World Cup is a pretty formidable South African unit that has a point to prove and whose painful memories date back to 1992, which is what promises to make tonight’s World Cup final a riveting affair.

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