After 54 games across the US and the Caribbean, all eyes head to Barbados for the T20 World Cup Final. South Africa and India have come up short in ICC tournaments across the last decade, who will finally put an end to that and become world champions?
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Final
South Africa vs India Prediction & Betting Tips
Barbados, Sunday 30th June, 12:30am AEST
South Africa
Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
After a tournament full of close finishes, South Africa produced a stunning Semi Final performance to beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets with 11.1 overs to spare. The Proteas dominated with the ball, bowling Afghanistan out for just 56 thanks to another outstanding performance from their bowling attack.
Marco Jansen was player of the match with his 3/16, Tabriz Shamsi took 3/6, while Anrich Nortje (2/7) and Kagiso Rabada (2/14) also contributed. South Africa have had the best bowling attack at the tournament, and will be needing them to produce another big performance if they are to take down the might of India.
South Africa’s four front line bowlers have been red hot this tournament with Nortje (13 wickets), Rabada (12), Shamsi (11) and Keshav Maharaj (9) all ranking in the top 20 wicket takers at the tournament.
With the bat it doesn’t look as pretty with Quinton de Kock the only Protea with over 200 runs, however given they played a lot of games on poor pitches in the United States, it shouldn’t be read into too much. The big factor for South Africa will be if their middle order of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs can make an impact with the bat.
India
Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
India have followed a similar journey to South Africa to get to the final, close wins on poor pitches in the group stage, an unbeaten tournament and a dominant Semi Final win. Rohit Sharma has hit form at the right time of the World Cup, following up his 92 against Australia with a knock of 57 off 39 to guide India to 7/171 against England.
The bowlers backed their skipper with Kuldeep Yadav (3/19), Axar Patel (3/23) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/12) routed England to ensure a place in the Final with a 68 run win. Like South Africa, India have had a spread of contributors with the ball across the tournament with Arshdeep Singh (15 wickets), Jasprit Bumrah (13), Kuldeep Yadav (10), Axar Patel (8) and Hardik Pandya (8) all having strong tournaments.
Rohit Sharma is India’s leading run scorer with 248 runs at an average of 41.33, while Suryakumar Yadav has put together a quality campaign with 196 runs. Sky has produced some critical runs when India’s top order have faltered, with knocks of 47, 31, 6, 53 and 50* from his last five games.
The only concern for India heading into the Final is the horrific form of Virat Kohli, who has scored just 75 runs from seven innings. The former Indian skipper has produced innings of 9, 0, 37, 24, 0, 4 and 1, and has a record of failing to perform in knockout games in ICC tournaments over the last decade.
Match Prediction
The two best sides of the tournament have made it to their rightful place in the Final, so we should be set for a cracking clash between two unbeaten teams. India have had the tournament worked in their favour with fixturing so it would be a mighty effort if South Africa were able to overcome the demons of the past and win their first ever ICC trophy.
The toss will be crucial to win given that the pitch at the Kensington Oval has shown to be harder to bat on as the game progresses. India have been slightly better exponents during the powerplay with the bat and that is the most crucial battle in this game. Whoever can win the first six overs of this match will go a long way to getting their hands on the trophy.
Despite coming up short in finals, India’s entire eleven has had a lot more experience playing in high pressure games than South Africa have, so it’s hard to see them being overawed in this situation against a side that has never made the Final of an ICC tournament. India will finally overcome their shortcomings since 2011, and lift the ICC World T20 trophy.
Prop Bet
Jasprit Bumrah has been unplayable at this World Cup with 13 wickets at an average of 8.15 and an economy of 4.12. In 5 of his 7 games at the tournament he has conceded less than 15 runs, and has taken his wickets through immense build up of pressure. Bumrah was the only Indian bowler to take multiple wickets in last year’s ODI World Cup Final defeat, so there’s no concern about his ability to perform on the big stage.
Jasprit Bumrah Leading Indian Wicket Taker
$3.60
