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Published: 28th June, 2024
By: Abhilash Jha
After 30 days and 54 matches, we have two unbeaten sides, India and South Africa set for the final clash at Barbados for the coveted World Cup trophy.
Rohit Sharma led Indian team looks invincible as they breezed past defending champions England and their arch-rivals Australia in one-sided encounters whereas South Africa was involved in many close games but eventually held their nerves to stay unbeaten in the tournament.
Despite having won their games convincingly, India still has some issues to address before they take on the field against South Africa at Barbados. India's prolific run-getter in the previous world cups, Virat Kohli, has scored just 75 runs in 7 matches with an average of just over 10. Allotting him the opening position after IPL success is not reaping any rewards but Indian team management might still stick to the Ro-Ko pair as changing combination in the most important game might prove detrimental as the game progresses.
Secondly, India's middle-order batter Shivam Dube who was the talking point when India's world cup squad was announced has a below par strike rate of 106 in this tournament. Although, he might retain his place for the all-important final as he would fancy his six-hitting ability against Shamsi and Maharaj in the middle overs and replacing him with Sanju or Jaiswal won't guarantee success especially in that finishing role.
India has won 5 out of 7 matches batting first and has chased low totals against USA and Ireland. If India bats second, it might be a challenge against a bowling line-up that consists of Rabada, Nortje, Shamsi, Jansen and Maharaj as the batters might need to adapt to the total on board and curb their batting instincts accordingly.
India's skipper Rohit Sharma has been the biggest positive for India in their last two matches against Australia and England with healthy contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya but it's the Indian bowlers whether it's Bumrah, Axar or Kuldeep who have been absolutely unplayable on Caribbean pitches.
Another all-round performance from Indian team would mean that Rohit Sharma will lift that coveted silverware and end the trophy jinx for India in the world cups. This bunch of Indian players certainly have it in them to create history at Barbados.
Get behind the 'MEN IN BLUE' as they face South Africa at 8 PM (IST) on 29th June.
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