India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa on Saturday. The marquee matchup is set for Kensington Oval, with the first ball scheduled for 8:00 PM tonight. Both the Men in Blue and Proteas are unchanged for this summit clash.
"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," Rohit Sharma said during the toss.
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"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," Aiden Markram said.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, 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
The Rohit Sharma-led team will aim to repeat its 2007 triumph when it lifted the T20 World Cup trophy in South Africa under MS Dhoni's leadership. South Africa, meanwhile, will be determined to win its first ICC T20 World Cup title. Both teams are unbeaten in the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup after strong performances throughout the tournament. India has dominated every opponent it faced, including Australia, Pakistan, and England. South Africa, however, has had some close calls en route to the final. Bangladesh and Nepal challenged them in the group stage, and they nearly lost their final Super 8 game against co-hosts West Indies while chasing a revised target of 123.
