South African spinner Keshav Maharaj dismissed Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in quick succession in the second over of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final on Saturday. Introduced after the first over, Maharaj initially seemed to be under pressure as Rohit hit him for two fours. The Indian innings appeared to be cruising in the initial nine deliveries. However, Maharaj quickly adjusted his strategy, delivering a wide length ball that Rohit swept straight to the fielder at square leg.
Pant came in next, expected to stabilize the innings and possibly counter-attack the left-arm spinner. Instead, Pant’s attempted sweep took a top edge, and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock caught it comfortably, halting India’s progress early in the match.
India won the toss and opted to bat first in the final. “We’re going to bat first, looks a good pitch. We’ve played one game here, and 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,” Rohit said.
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The Proteas reached the final after a commanding nine-wicket win over Afghanistan, ending their dream campaign. India defeated England by 68 runs, avenging their loss in the semifinals of the 2022 edition. Rohit Sharma's team has dominated the tournament, defeating top sides like Australia, Pakistan, and England. In contrast, South Africa narrowly avoided defeat several times, including close matches against Bangladesh and Nepal in the group stage and a tight Super 8 game against co-hosts West Indies.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram, after losing the toss, said, “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.”
Playing XI:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa: 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.
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