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Bridgetown, June 28
India will be out to end their global title drought while South Africa are seeking to bury their ‘chokers’ tag at Kensington Oval tomorrow when the tournament’s two unbeaten sides clash in the T20 World Cup final.
Their blemish-free campaigns and comprehensive victories in the semifinals leave no doubt that the 20-team tournament’s best two sides have made the final.
A day after South Africa stopped Afghanistan’s fairytale run in the first semifinal in Trinidad, India ended England’s title defence in Guyana to make the third consecutive final of a global event across all formats.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will hope India, who lost in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-over home World Cup last year, will make it third time lucky.
Both Rohit, 37, and stalwart Virat Kohli, 35, are playing what could be their last T20 World Cup, and winning the trophy would be a perfect farewell for them.
They appear to have both the game plan and personnel to do just that.
At the top of the order, Rohit personifies India’s batting philosophy, which values a string of attacking cameos more than one match-winning knock from any one batter.
Their three-pronged spin attack has served them well in the second half of the tournament, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been almost unplayable so far.
Rohit believes a calm dressing room has been key to India’s strong run.
“We do understand the occasion but for us it’s important to keep calm and composed,” he said.
“That helps us make good decisions. We need to make good decisions through the 40 overs.”
Kohli’s struggles for runs appear to be India’s only worry heading into the final but Rohit has no concerns about the form of his opening partner.
“We understand his class. When you have played for 15 years, form is never a problem,” he said. “He’s probably saving it for the final.”
Out of choke hold?
It will be a test of nerves for their opponents as well as South Africa look to shed their baggage from having reached their first World Cup final in any format after seven semifinal heartbreaks.
For some of their players, who list IPL titles as their biggest achievement, a World Cup trophy in their hands will be the ultimate prize.
Their pace attack has been on the money, bailing them out whenever their batters failed.
Opener Quinton de Kock has used his Caribbean Premier League experience to good use, while there is significant firepower in their middle-order.
In Aiden Markram, South Africa also have a composed leader who has gone 10 matches unbeaten as captain.
“It’s a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final, to earn the opportunity to hopefully lift the trophy,” Markram said. “We feel and we believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. And it’s nice for us to now have that opportunity.” — Reuters
Axar keeps it simple to rise to occasion
Georgetown (Guyana): His exploits in the powerplay set up India’s massive win over England and left-arm spinner Axar Patel said keeping things simple was the key as it helped him make life difficult for rival batters “without doing anything extraordinary”. Coming in to bowl in the fourth over, Axar (3/23) removed England skipper Jos Buttler off his very first delivery before dismissing Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali in consecutive overs to derail England’s chase on Thursday. “Obviously in powerplay, it is difficult (to bowl) but when you know that you are getting help from the wicket, then without thinking much, without doing anything extraordinary, I thought that the more I keep it simple, the easier it would be for me,” Axar said during the post-match presser. PTI
KEY BATTLES
Rohit Sharma vs Marco Jansen
It’s not a fabled rivalry, but the Indian skipper has a certain vulnerable side to left-arm pace as substantiated by Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi in the past. Though it is less pronounced now, Jansen, who has been in fine fettle in the event, could open up that old wound with his probing line outside off-stump to deny India early momentum. However, the numbers are in favour of Rohit. He has faced the SA pacer in nine T20I innings and was dismissed only once while taking 113 runs off him.
Jasprit Bumrah vs Quinton de Kock
De Kock is the highest run-getter for SA in this World Cup with 204 runs from eight matches, made at a strike-rate of 143. His bursts at the top have given them an upper hand in some low-scoring matches. But he will be up against Bumrah, the best bowler on the planet at this moment. The Indian pacer has taken 13 wickets from seven matches at an astounding economy of 4.12. De Kock will have to be at his absolute best not just to score runs off Bumrah, but even not to lose his wicket against him.
Virat Kohli vs Kagiso Rabada
India’s unbeaten run in this ICC showpiece has masked the poor run of Kohli with the bat — 75 runs from seven matches at an average of 10.71. Kohli will run into a formidable opponent in Rabada in the title clash. The SA quick has so far taken 12 wickets from eight matches, but his economy is even more impressive — 5.88 — considering he often bowls in the powerplay and in the death overs. Kohli would do well to exert some care while playing that trademark swat-flick as Rabada’s incoming deliveries can sneak past it.
Kuldeep Yadav vs Heinrich Klaasen
Klaasen is certainly among the most destructive players against spin. But in this World Cup he has made just 138 runs from eight matches at a modest strike-rate of 112. The right-hander will have to contend against Axar and Kuldeep, who have been troubling batters with their exemplary lines and subtle variations. Klaasen will have to regain his range-hitting abilities if South Africa want some steam in the middle overs, either while setting or chasing a total.
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