India have opted to bat first after winning the toss in the much-awaited final of the T20 World Cup 2024. After all the rain, the clouds have cleared up just in time for the summit clash to take place and Rohit Sharma has won a crucial toss. Interestingly, seven times the team winning the toss has ended up winning the final while only once, the side losing the toss has won the trophy.
As far as the playing XIs are concerned, both teams have decided to go in with the same combination keeping the faith in the same set of players for this crucial game. India have continued to back Virat Kohli who has scored only 75 runs so far in the tournament while Shivam Dube too hasn't clicked as expected. All eyes will be on the duo in this encounter. For South Africa, almost every player has done well apart from opener Reeza Hendricks who will be under pressure to perform.
Rohit Sharma had no hesitation in batting first and also highlighted the importance of staying calm in such big matches. "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," he said.
Aiden Markram stated that South Africa aren't under any pressure and they will play with absolute freedom. "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," he said.
Playing XIs
India - Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa - Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
More to follow...
