The Saturday's showpiece event of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 to be played between two unbeaten sides India and South Africa at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday will witness history being rewritten at the culmination of the month long ninth edition of the tourney in USA and West Indies.

India under the astute leadership of Rohit Sharma seek to reclaim the trophy they last won in the inaugural 2007 edition, while South Africa led by Aiden Markram into their maiden final for the first time - after seven previous World Cup (T20 and 50-over ODI) semi-final defeats in all formats will hope to grab their first ICC silverware in their maiden attempt.

Incidentally India will be playing their third final in less than a year in what would be Coach Rahul Dravid last assignment with the Men in Blue. Enduring two heartbreaks losses in the World Test Championship 2023 last June and ICC Men's ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 last November at home last November incidentally both to Australia, a determined India will hope to set the record straight in the grand finale this time around.

Both the finalists topped their respective groups in the group stage and the Super Eight, although South Africa have an extra win under their belt given India's washout against Canada in the group stage. The ICC T20 ranked no.1 team India however endured a tougher route compared to their erstwhile rivals, ranked no.5 who found the going tough with the exception of their last four tie against Afghanistan India kicked off their campaign with an eight-wicket win against Ireland with 46 balls to spare in their Group A league match on 5 June at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York after being set a target of 97-run.  Rohit Sharma (52 runs in 37 balls) and Rishabh Pant (36 runs in 26 balls) lead  the way with the bat, after pacers Hardik Pandya scalped three wickets in his spell, followed by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh who picked themselves a couple of wickets each.

The Rohit Sharma-led side edged past their arch-nemesis by six runs in a bowler-dominated contest in New York on 9 June in their next Group match. India were bowled out for just 119 runs after being put into bat, with Rishabh Pant (42 runs in 31 balls) emerging as the top scorer, Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf picked up three wickets each. The Men in Blue defended a low total with pacers Jasprit Bumrah (3/14), Hardik Pandya (2/24) and Arshdeep Singh (1/31) coming back strongly in the second half to restrict Pakistan and stamp their dominance once again the Babar Azam lead side.

India registered a convincing seven-wicket win against the co-hosts on 12 June at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in their penultimate Group match, after an impeccable spell from Arshdeep Singh (4/9) helped them restrict USA to 110/8 in their 20 overs. India which lost both their openers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma within the third over to the guile of pacer Saurabh Netravalkar, an ex Indian U-19 World Cupper, however recovered with valuable knocks from Suryakumar Yadav (50 runs in 49 balls) and Shivam Dube (31 runs in 35 balls) and crossed the line with 10 balls to spare.

After a washed-out game against Canada, India qualified for the Super Eights topping Group A with 7 points from four matches.

Later in the Group 1 Super 8s stage that were played in West Indies, India scored a comprehensive win over Afghanistan on 20 June at the Kensington Oval in Barbados after posting 181 runs on the scoreboard courtesy an explosive knock from Suryakumar Yadav (53 runs in 28 balls). The former ICC T20I No.1 batter was well supported by cameos from all-rounders Hardik Pandya (32 runs in 24 balls) and Axar Patel (12 runs in 6 balls). Later Afghanistan were bowled out for 134 runs, with Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah picking three wickets each, followed by a couple of wickets from Kuldeep Yadav.

India kept up their momentum in the Super 8s with yet another dominating win, this time over Bangladesh, on 22 June at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium after putting up a competitive score of 196 for 5, following a blistering 50 off 27 balls from Hardik Pandya. Virat Kohli (37 runs in 28 balls), Rishabh Pant (36 runs in 24 balls) and Shivam Dube (34 runs in 24 balls) too made useful contributions earlier upfront.  The  Indian bowlers led by Kuldeep Yadav three wickets haul and pacer Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah two each, ensured their team a 50-run win over their Asian rivals.

In a rematch of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Final loss, India emerged victorious over Australia and booked their berth for the semi-finals at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground. Rohit Sharma (92 off 41 balls) led from the front with a fiery finish. A quickfire from Suryakumar Yadav (31 runs off 16 balls) helped India set a 206-run target for the Aussies. Although opener Travis Head (76 runs in 43 balls) threatened to ruin India's party once again, wicket-taking spells from Arshdeep Singh (3/37) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/24) helped their side register a 24-run win.

In the much awaited semis India drubbed defending champion England by 68 runs at the Guyana National Stadium, Guyana and booked a place in the final after a long gap of 10 years. Batting first on a difficult wicket, crucial knocks from Rohit Sharma (57 runs in 39 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (47 runs in 36 balls) helped India score 171 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. Defending the total, it was the spinners who drove India to a win, restricting England to 103 runs in 16.4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel scalped three wickets each while Bumrah bagged two more. The 2007 champions exorcised the ghost of Adelaide 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal to the same rival who defeated them with a 10-wickets in hand.

South Africa on the other hand registered wins over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal in the group stage before beating USA and England in the Super Eight. They faced West Indies in their final Super Eight match, knowing that a defeat would knock them out, but eked out a three-wicket win in a tight contest that was shortened by rain. After a string of narrow victories, South Africa hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets in the semi-final while chasing a target of 57 runs to march into the final.

Head to Head in the six matches the two have played in the ICC T20 World Cup over the years, India have won four of them, while South Africa two including their last encounter by five wickets at Perth, 2022.

The Squads

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, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs

"As per latest updates from Barbados India have won the toss* and opted to bat first, Both teams have decided to stick to the same combinations that played their respective semi-final matches earlier"