The tournament seems to have delivered the fairest final, even though the organizers sparked a lot of controversies and discussions regarding the fairness and integrity of scheduling and predetermination of the Super 8s and semi-finals matches. A new structure has produced a new pair of finalists.
Since only South Africa and India have not lost throughout the 2024 T20 World Cup, one of the two teams will become the first in the competition’s history to win the trophy with an unbeaten record. This historic event has been a focal point on platforms like Cricket Exchange and Cricket Exchange Live, where fans and bettors alike follow every twist and turn.
Most significantly, though, one team will be banishing the trophy that has plagued their respective countries: South Africa is playing in its first World Cup final after seven semi-final losses, and India hasn’t won a major ICC event in 13 years.
For Indian betting sites, it will undoubtedly be one of the busiest days of the sporting calendar. Let’s hope we can cap off this historic month on a bright note, as readers of our T20 World Cup predictions blog have won virtually every time this tournament! Those following Cricket Betting Tips have had similar success, with insights often aligning with match outcomes.
The dry spell has ended, but for whom?
India has not faced much opposition during this T20 World Cup, but South Africa has frequently had to scramble across the line after being knocked down, particularly against the Netherlands, Nepal, and the United States.
They easily defeated Australia and England, who at the beginning of the month were the three teams most favored by cricket betting sites to win this event, along with India.
They have essentially “ticked all the boxes,” as it were, with four different batters (Hardik, SKY, Arshdeep, and Rohit Sharma) topping the score in a match, four bowlers (Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep, and Hardik) returning the best figures, and five different Player of the Match winners in their last five games.
They have also triumphed over the challenge of having to bat first in all three of their previous games, and it seems to have worked in their favor as their last four innings have all seen scores of at least 170. These performances have been closely followed by Cricket Exchange Live Score, providing real-time updates to fans and bettors.
Though South Africa’s capacity to escape a sticky situation would come in handy in the end, it’s unlikely that India would let them escape any challenging situations.
They have frequently struggled to start the game well at bat, losing two or more powerplay wickets in three of their five games against opponents who are full members, and more than half of their 15 powerplay wickets came against Afghanistan and the Netherlands on seam bowling havens.
Late in the competition, they have already exacted revenge for their infamous World Cup defeats to Australia (ODI 2023) and England (T20 2022). They seem unfazed by current difficulties and headed for new success.
Six Proteas bowlers SKY is familiar with and adores
Thanks to multiple IPL seasons and three years in the India T20I lineup, few hitters know their opponents for this final as well as Suryakumar Yadav.
Returning to his more comfortable number four role has been the cornerstone of his success; the two longer game formats haven’t worked out for him, and given Rishabh Pant’s performance in the role, he probably won’t be regaining the number three spot anytime soon.
Throughout this World Cup, “SKY” has been one of their most reliable players. In fact, he’s one of the few players in the competition to successfully navigate the challenging New York surfaces, clearing thirty or more runs in four of his final five games.
His two bilateral T20I series against South Africa were his best, with scores of 50*, 61, and 8 at home and 56 and 100 away in December 2023, either side of 68 against the Proteas in Perth at the most recent World Cup. He was the star player in both of these series.
SKY has amassed 337 runs at an average of over 50 against the six probable South African bowlers in this match; add that to his IPL experience, and this new Bridgetown ground might suit him better.
The one thing working against him is his tendency to bat poorly in grand finals; in five IPL finals, he has scored fewer than the 26.5 run threshold established by cricket betting apps (24). Let’s hope, though, that his 47 in the semi-final keeps him away from such mishaps.
Aiden Markram, the captain, will participate in his third major final of the year
Meanwhile, despite not having competed in any World Cup finals, skipper Aiden Markram will be playing in his third major final this year alone.
His 42 runs without hitting in February was more than enough to propel Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a 200+ total, which was more than enough to win the SA20 championship for the first time.
Three months later, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the Indian Premier League final against Kolkata Knight Riders 137 runs to 113, although Markram finished as the second-highest scorer with 20 runs in a pitiful 113.
With this newfound knowledge of winning and losing in T20 finals, Markram ought to be able to improve on his average of 29 against the last six bowlers from India.
Though he hasn’t exactly had the best T20 World Cup at bat, winning the run chase against Afghanistan on a very challenging batting pitch must have given him a huge psychological lift.
We’re expecting him to do better than average here, as the Caribbean has some of the best batting conditions to offer.
The T20 World Cup Records
Finally, some of the most important records in cricket history must be mentioned; so, here is a selection drawn from test cricket, the highest level of the sport.
Brian Lara of the West Indies holds the marks for most runs in an innings and most runs in a career. Lara is still active and will continue to accumulate lifetime runs even though it is improbable that he will surpass his record of 400 not out in an innings.
