India vs South Africa – ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final: Teams, weather, pitch
Will there be any rain in the final? How will the teams line up? What happens in case of a washout? How’s the pitch? Al Jazeera explains.
After 28 days and 54 matches, India and South Africa are set to face off in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Here’s what you need to know about the all-important match:
The final will be played on Saturday, June 29 and action is scheduled to begin at 10:30am local time (14:30 GMT), with the toss scheduled 30 minutes before.
The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados plays host. The venue has a capacity of 28,000.
While it is not a batter’s paradise, the pitch at the Kensington Oval has produced some of the highest-scoring matches at this tournament. Pace bowlers hold a slight edge over spinners in the wicket-taking charts and the final could see that trend being followed with both teams packing a mix of quality pacers and spinners.
Teams winning the toss have opted to field first in five of the eight matches played in Bridgetown so far, but the results have been mixed.
Rohit Sharma chose to bat first in India’s only game, against Afghanistan, at this venue and India emerged victorious by 47 runs.
The final will be South Africa’s first game in Bridgetown.
India hold a slight edge in both teams’ T20 meetings. The 2007 champions have won 14 matches compared with South Africa’s 11. Crucially, India have emerged on top in four of their five meetings in the T20 World Cup.
Their last meeting came in a three-match series in South Africa in December, which was tied 1-1 with one game washed out.
Both teams are brimming with confidence after overcoming all the challenges that the weather, pitch condition and opposition have thrown their way in the tournament.
It is truly a match-up