India captain Rohit Sharma hits a pull shot during their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight match against Australia. India captain Rohit Sharma hits a pull shot during their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight match against Australia. Picture: Chandan Khanna / AFP
The powerful India stand in the Proteas’ way of winning a first ICC T20 World Cup.
IOL Sport’s John Goliath looks at the Indian’s strengths ahead of Saturday’s showpiece match in Barbados.
After three failures, India captain Rohit Sharma looks to be coming good when it really matters after back-to-back half-centuries. He blitzed Australia with a match-winning 92 off just 41 balls before scoring 57 in the semi-final against England that held their innings together.
His opening partner Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has been short of runs, but remains one of the best players in the world and a man who relishes the big occasion. If India has one chink in their armour, it is their erratic middle-order with Rishabh Pant also not quite firing on all cylinders. The scalps of Sharma and Kohli could be match defining.
Rohit Sharma 57(39) v England 2024 WT20 SF ball by ball
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You can’t win a match in the power play, but you can certainly lose it. The Proteas will have to navigate this period against the seam and swinging ball with a mixture of caution and aggression against two of the tournament’s finest new-ball bowlers.
India left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh and the dangerous Jasprit Bumrah has taken 28 wickets in seven matches between them in the competition. While Bumrah is seen as the danger with his skill and pace, Arshdeep is second on the T20 World Cup wicket-takers list with 15, with his danger ball the one that swings back late into the right-hander
England were no match for the Indian spinners in their semi-final, with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav taking three wickets each. Axar is a very accurate left-handed spinner, who can also bowl in the power play. He tends to get a lot of bounce because of his height.
The Proteas have had their problems with Kuldeep in the past. The wrist-spinner can feast when conditions are right for him, spinning the ball both ways, while he has a quicker delivery that can catch the batsmen off guard. India also have left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, who is just as wily with the ball.
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