End of jinx or historic first? India, South Africa eye World Cup glory in battle of undefeated

New Delhi: It will be survival of the fittest when India and South Africa lock horns in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados on Saturday. Both, the Men in Blue and Proteas have enjoyed a fantastic event so far, being the only two undefeated sides in the 20-team event, which has mesmerised the audience to the fullest.

While India are backed by history and relentless performance at the big events, South Africa has resilience that can come handy in the summit clash. India outplayed many top sides in the marquee event to earn the final berth while the Proteas, with an aim to shed the ‘chokers’ tag, followed a  determined attitude and displayed quality to storm into the final.

While India would be aiming to break the 11-year-old jinx of not winning a big ICC crown since they clinched the ICC Champions Trophy back in 2013, South Africa would eagerly wish to open their account by clinching a maiden World Cup trophy. Both the sides decimated their opponents in their respective semifinal clashes, with the Proteas thrashing Afghanistan while Men in Blue routing England. Their top-notch form is an indicator that a nerve-ending battle would be witnessed on June 29.

Will India’s final hoodoo haunt them again?

Despite of their relentless efforts in the past decade, since they last cliched the Champions Trophy in 2013 and the ODI World Cup trophy in 2011, India have been clinical in whatever they have done on the field but luck probably has not favoured them to the extent of winning a title. They have repeatedly faltered at the last hurdle, shattering hearts and dreams of being the undisputed kings of the sport.

This T20 World Cup has fairly gone in their favour as they have defeated biggies like Australia, Pakistan and England to earn a berth in the final. But one question disturbs the mind before announcing them as the champions of T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue wore the same jersey, behaved the same way, carried the same attitude and showcased almost the same performance but they were devoid of the title a plenty times in the last few years.

Will this be the moment for India to earn back the respect and get rid of the tag of faltering in the final game? The only point that is a bit concerning for the side is the poor form of Virat Kohli, who hasn’t been able to justify his position in the side. But despite that, others have pitched in and performed and delivered to take the 2007 T20 World Cup champions to the final of the 2024 edition.

Will South Africa script history?

Being their maiden final at a big ICC event, the Proteas would be thirsty to make a mark and register their name in the history books. The Aiden Markram-led side has been clinical in the marquee event so far registering wins after wins but will they be able to continue their momentum in the summit clash against a better-equipped team is the question.

South Africa have nothing to be bothered about as the team has displayed an all-round show in the entire event. Be it the batters, led by Quinton de Kock, the bowlers or the efforts by the fielders, they have performed supremely to rightly earn the final berth crossing tough hurdles one after the other in the run up to the event.

It will test of the patience, class, resilience among other things when both the sides lock horns in the summit clash and the better and the lucky among the two grabs the title.

T20 World Cup 2024 Latest Coverage

 India and South Africa lock horns in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday in Barbados. Both the side have been undefeated so far in the showpiece event.  Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today