It is final time in the T20 World Cup 2024 and we have two top sides of the tournament playing in it. Two teams who have adapted better to the changing conditions than others. They have played brilliant cricket and also selected the right teams match after match, knowing what is right for them across venues in USA and West Indies.
Starting with India, they put out an all-round effort against England in the semifinal, completely outplaying, outclassing the opponents. When you look at their bowling resources, everything looks in great order. Arshdeep Singh may have been expensive vs England but he still remains a huge asset with the new ball. Barbados’ surface, I am sure, will be a truer surface than what was at Guyana. I see India’s bowling as their pillar of strength in the final. I am not expecting many change in plans as far as their playing 11 is concerned, except one maybe.
When it comes to India’s batting, there are some batters who are light on runs. Sadly, for India, one of the batters’ names is Virat Kohli. His bat has not done much talking. Shivam Dube, who would have loved a big score recently, has made contributions with limited opportunity to keep his place in side.
However, one thing that India may look to do is not necessarily change the side drastically but tweak the side a little to get in Yashasvi Jaiswal at 3 and Rishabh Pant at 5, if they are worried about the top-order runs. While I don’t think India will drop Virat Kohli, they can take a call on
Shivam Dube if the management thinks that they do not need his bowling. But I think it is the conditions which will decide whether India would want to make this change.
The one thing which will be going on in India’s mind will be crossing that last hurdle. Seven months ago, they were very near to their first ICC title in more than ten years. But they missed the finish line by some distance. Today, they are on cusp of writing history again and the ‘favourites’ tag will definitely put pressure on them ahead of another final. They will be fighting a mental battle as well when they take on Proteas men in the field.
India have shown that they can play fearless cricket in this tournament. It will be interesting to see if they can play the same brand of cricket in the final with so much pressure upon them as favourites.
One of the biggest positives for India has been how Rohit Sharma has batted. He showed the way at Guyana vs England. He has consistently played a fearless brand of cricket with the bat. He was coming from St Lucia where batting conditions were quite favourable, to Guyana where batting was not so easy. But the way he adjusted and still went on to play the attacking shots was fascinating to see. He came down the ground, played inside out, and attacked Adil Rashid with sweeps to put pressure on him. It was a fantastic, clever knock and I think that underlines the way India have played in the tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah has also been fantastic to watch. We all know who good he is, the best in the world, as effective with the new ball as with the old and can bowl at any stage of the game. But
the lengths he bowled vs England, the slower balls that he executed, was sight of all things Bumrah. Phil Salt’s wicket was an example. He was just back of the length with his slower balls. If you are bowling the slower balls, you cannot go too fuller as a batter can still swing through it even if he does not catch the pace of the ball. Bumrah did not allow that because of the lengths he bowls when he uses the slower ones. Kuldeep Yadav is also bowling beautifully at the moment. He is quick in the air at the moment which is serving him well.
I have hugely admired the way South Africa have played the tournament so far. There is a tag that is associated with them. There is a baggage of World Cup history that previous teams had been carrying. But like I mentioned in my last article, I don’t think so these guys carry that baggage or overthink about the tag. The new generation of South African cricketers are free of such baggage.
Aiden Markram has done a remarkable job as captain. South Africa have looked very calm, very sure of what they are trying to do. Like India, some of their players too have not hit their peak yet. Heinrich Klaasen is an example.
I am assuming South Africa will play the same side they played in the semifinals. I think Tabraiz Shamsi is an excellent addition to the side. Then, they have got a great pace attack in Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Keshav Maharaj is also there and he might also open bowling.
South Africa have also been very flexible with the batting lineup which is quite a clever thing to do in this tournament. Miller and Stubbs have floated up and down in the order, as per the game situation and matchups.
One of the key phases of the game will be when South Africa’s middle order will be up against India’s bowlers. Markram, Klaasen, Miller, Stubbs, is a middle order of quality, which is used to the Indian conditions, used to the Indian bowlers and have played a lot in the IPL. That will be a fascinating watch. If South Africa are able to play that phase well against the spinners, Kuldeep in particular, it will probably decide the outcome in their favour. In my opinion, this matchup will be a deciding factor in the final. How this phase turns out for either of the teams will be exciting to see.
