Rohit Sharma's men will look to end a long wait when they take on the first-time finalists in Barbados, West Indies on Saturday evening
The Indian team. Photo: Reuters file
It has been a really, really long wait, either ways, whichever side you support. Heavyweights India have endured 17 years without a T20 World Cup trophy and 13 years since they last laid their hands on an ICC trophy (the 2011 ODI World Cup). For South Africa, the wait has been kind of eternal, so to speak. The Proteas will be making their first appearance in the final of a global tournament.
After criss-crossing the United States and the West Indies, the two best teams in the tournament stand on the threshold of global glory. The two unbeaten teams go up against each other in the title tilt in Barbados, West Indies on Saturday evening.
And it will perhaps come down to who is hungrier of the two.
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The South African team. Photo: AFP file
And while South Africa will be looking to win their maiden title, India will hope to give coach Rahul Dravid, who will step down at the end of the tournament, a fairytale ending.
Here's a lowdown on the title tilt:
The match will be played in Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados in the West Indies.
The match starts at 6.30pm UAE time on Saturday.
You can watch the live telecast on STARZPLAY for a subscription fee, with coverage on CricLife Max and CricLife Max 2. If you fancy stepping out, here are some of the places where you can watch the game in Dubai.
There is a reserve day in case of rain. And if there is no possibility of a result even on the reserve day on Sunday, both teams will be declared joint-winners.
India will be led by Rohit Sharma, while Aiden Markram will captain South Africa.
India: The Men in Blue won all their Group A matches against Ireland, Pakistan, co-hosts USA, while their game against Canada was abandoned due to rain. They then went on to beat Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia in the Super Eights. Rohit Sharma's men then dismantled defending champions England in the semifinal.
South Africa: Aiden Markram's men too were unstoppable in Group D, beating Sri Lanka, The Netherlands, Bangladesh and Nepal. In the Super Eights, they got the better of USA, England and co-hosts the West Indies. South Africa then beat Afghanistan in the semifinal.
India and South Africa have played each other six times in the tournament's history with India winning four and South Africa two.
They have played each other 26 times with India winning 14 and South Africa 11 and one game ended in a no result.
No. This will be the first time that they will go up against each other.
Yes. India won the title in 2007 and were runners-up in 2014, while South Africa are yet to win a world title in any of the two formats — the T20 World Cup as well as the 50-over ODI World Cup.
The highest score between the two sides in T20 Internationals is 237-3 by India in October, 2022.
The lowest score is 87 all out by South Africa in June, 2022.
By runs, the biggest win is when India beat South Africa by 106 runs in December, 2023, while by wickets, South Africa beat India by nine wickets in September, 2019.
The lowest margin by runs is when India beat South Africa by 1 run in October, 2012, while by wickets, South Africa beat India by 4 wickets in June, 2022.
South Africa's David Miller scored an unbeaten 106 off 47 deliveries in October, 2022.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has the best bowling figures of 5-17 in December, 2023.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan. Coach: Rahul Dravid.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeze Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs. Reserves: Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi. Coach: Rob Walter.
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James Jose is Assistant Editor who has spent more than 20 years reporting on everything from sports to health to travel. When he's not polishing copies, he's dashing off to Nepal's mystical mountains to unwind in the lap of Mother Nature.