When the powerful Indian squad, keen to break through its long championship drought, takes against a South African side that has never experienced victory in the T20 World Cup final here on Saturday, it will be imperative to maintain emotional control.

India’s performance in the competition is strikingly similar to their performance in the domestic ODI World Cup last year, when they easily advanced to the final before Australia outperformed them on the grand stage.

They have been by far the best team in the competition and are undefeated here as well. More significantly, this time around, they are not up against the resilient Australians trying to win a coveted prize.

With aspirations of their own, South Africa, whose lone victory in ICC competitions was in the 1998 Champions Trophy (then known as the ICC Knock-Out Trophy), enters the championship game.

The Proteas, who have been called chokers for the most of their international cricket career, will be keen to permanently dispel that negative reputation at Kensington Oval.

Holding the World Cup trophy in their hands will be the final reward for several of their players, who consider winning the IPL to be their greatest accomplishment.

Following India’s crushing of England in the Guyana semifinal, the general consensus seems to be that Rohit Sharma and his team are the clear favorites.

Considering the composition of India’s team and the circumstances in the Caribbean, it is a reasonable observation. They would be expected to erase the pain of November 19, 2023, when Australia’s Pat Cummins silenced more than a lakh Ahmedabad supporters in the crucial final.

“I understand that India has always had problems in the ICC finals, but I don’t think South Africa will be a problem.

As of right now, India is the greatest team in the competition, while South Africa is a poorer squad overall, a former World Cup captain told PTI while traveling from Guyana to Barbados.

It would also be the ideal goodbye for departing coach Rahul Dravid, who is about to have an incredible last farewell as coach. Dravid was a very sad man in the Caribbean during the 2007 ODI World Cup when he captained India after the team’s early elimination.

A major factor in India’s final berth has been their ability to adjust to the competition’s circumstances.

They are in their first T20 World Cup final in ten years. Regarding its planning for the tournament, the team management has been quite transparent.

Prior to using Kuldeep Yadav as the winning pitcher on the spin-friendly surfaces in the Caribbean, they used three specialized pacers on the unproven wickets in New York.

India will undoubtedly use the same starting eleven, but it will be looking on two of its important players to perform well in the winner-take-all match.

Superstar Virat Kohli did not anticipate such a quiet competition after his great season in the previous IPL.

The former Indian captain has made obvious efforts to dominate the bowlers, but has not been able to do so on fields where hitting through the line has proven difficult.

Rohit Sharma, his opening partner and captain, backed an indisputable great of the game who could be playing his last innings in the T20 championship, saying, “He is it saving it for the final.”

On the other hand, Rohit has led the team’s other hitters by example, and his innings will be crucial in the championship game.

Shivam Dube has had mediocre results in the competition so far, therefore the skipper would also want to see him flourish in the high-pressure game. His matches versus Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, two spinners, might be very significant.

India doesn’t need to worry about bowling since its pacers and spinners are doing an excellent job in their respective positions.

As has been the case since the Super 8s campaign began at this very location, they had only one day to recuperate after coming here immediately after the semi-final match against England.

Conversely, South Africa will practice on Friday and has an additional day before the final.

In contrast to India, who have never been in a World Cup final, the Proteas have nothing to lose after defeating Afghanistan handily in Trinidad. However, they are starting to taste triumph.

They would be looking for runs from Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, who start the innings together. De Kock, in particular, can put a lot of pressure on the opposition when he’s playing well. Super 8s captain Aiden Markram is set for a huge one, but he was unable to have much of an impact against the stronger teams.

One of the most potent hitters in the game, Heinrich Klaasen, needs runs too, and in order to get them, he will have to deal with the spin danger throughout the middle overs.

Although South Africa’s speed department has been on fire, it’s unclear how much of an influence this will have in this day game. Although Shamsi and Maharaj are potent weapons, Indian hitters won’t be afraid of them.

Despite the significant likelihood of rain on Saturday, the ICC has reserved a day for the crucial match.

Squads:

India: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Rohit Sharma ©, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), and so on.

Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram ©, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, and Ryan Rickelton are the players from South Africa that are in the World Cup.

Time of kickoff: 8 p.m. IST.