Bridgetown (Barbados), June 29 (IANS) India won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Kensington Oval on Saturday. This is the first instance of two unbeaten teams facing off in a Men’s T20 World Cup final.

Kensington Oval has hosted eight matches of this tournament, with teams batting first winning three games, while teams batting second have also emerged victorious three times. The last two matches at this venue have been won by teams chasing.

After winning the toss, India captain Rohit Sharma said they are fielding an unchanged playing eleven from their 68-run victory over England in the semifinal in Guyana.

“Looks like a good pitch. We’ve played one game here, and the scores have been really good. Just about understanding individual roles, I know it’s a big occasion but it’s important to remain calm and play it like it’s another international game against a good team.”

“South Africa have played some good cricket but so have we. It’s going to be a really good game between two quality teams. Different individuals have stepped up at different times and that’s what we’re looking forward to today as well.”

Saturday’s final will be played on the pitch which previously hosted two games in the tournament: England-Scotland clash was washed out due to rain, while the Oman-Namibia game was a low-scoring affair which went into a Super Over, where Namibia won.

South Africa skipper Aiden Markram said he would have preferred to bat first as well. “The pitch looks dry. But we get the first crack with the ball so hopefully we can do well. At times we haven’t been at our best but we’ve still managed to win and we take confidence from that.”

“Perfect isn’t possible but we want to be as close as possible to that. There’s absolutely no pressure on us, we’ve never been in a final and we just want to enjoy it and be at our best.”

The two sides have met at the Men’s T20 World Cup on six occasions so far, with India winning four of those. The last time these two teams met in the Men’s T20 World Cup, South Africa won by five wickets at Perth.

India and South Africa have also faced off once in a Men’s T20 World Cup knockout match – the semifinal at Mirpur in 2014, where the MS Dhoni-led side won by six wickets. India are looking for its first T20 World Cup title since 2007, with a quest to win a global trophy running for over 11 years. South African men’s side are making their first World Cup final appearance.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (captain), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi

–IANS

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Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) Former India cricketers, Manoj Tiwary, Venkatesh Prasad and Narendra Hirwani have been roped in by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for their Vison 2028 project. As per a statement from CAB, the first phase of the project will get underway from June 30 till July 7.

Tiwary, who ended his playing career earlier this year during the Ranji Trophy with 10,195 first-class cricket runs, will be the batting coach. Prasad, who served as bowling coach in India’s 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup triumph in South Africa, will be the fast-bowling coach.

Hirwani, who took 16 wickets on his Test debut against the West Indies at Madras in 1987/88, will be taking charge of the spin-bowling department. The trio were present in a brainstorming session about ‘Vision 2028’ with the CAB office bearers led by President Snehasish Ganguly.

“The first phase will feature the U16 and U19 cricketers. While the short-term goal of the three wise men will be to get the various age group squads, including the Senior Bengal side, ready for the domestic season polishing their skills, the long-term goals will include ready the future talents and integrating them with various Bengal age-group squads,” said the CAB.

Also present in the session were Vice President Amalendu Biswas and Joint Secretary Debabrata Biswas, as well as various age group coaches in the state. Previously, the CAB had run a ‘Vision 2020’ project, which had India batting great VVS Laxman as the batting consultant and Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan as the spin bowling consultant.

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) South African cricket yearns for its maiden ICC trophy as the Aiden Markram-led side makes its first-ever entry into the final, at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday. South Africa will face India at the Kensington Oval in what promises to be a cracking encounter as the two unbeaten teams will battle it out for the ultimate crown.

Ahead of the highly anticipated match, one of South Africa’s best-ever cricket players, AB de Villiers took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his thoughts about the game.

“The moment of truth has arrived. South Africans have been waiting for 33 years to see the Proteas play in an ICC World Cup final. After so many heartbreaks, we know all about them. South Africa will play India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday and I am backing the Proteas to win. It will be close as we all know India are a team of superstars but I believe South Africa’s time has come,” said De Villiers in a video posted on X.

The Proteas have been in top form through the course of the tournament and have beaten the likes of West Indies and England to storm their way to the semifinals of the World Cup where they decimated the Afghanistan batting lineup and bundled the side out for 56 runs and went on to win by nine wickets.

No side has ever gone unbeaten throughout the T20 World Cup but history will be written on Saturday South Africa face unbeaten opposition in India.

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) India sealed their spot in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championship with a 3-2 win over the Philippines in a Group C clash at Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday.

The Indian team, which had blanked Vietnam 5-0 in their tournament opener, made a couple of changes to their line-up for their second outing in the event, with Rounak Chauhan replacing Pranay Shettigar in boy’s singles and K. Vennala combining with Shravani Walekar in girls’ doubles.

Senior National Championships runners-up, Tanvi Sharma started India’s march with a 21-9, 21-17 win over Funtespina Christel Rei but Chauhan could not maintain the momentum after winning the opening game against Jamal Rahmat Pandi and lost 15-21, 21-18, 21-12.

Vennala and Shravani then put India ahead once again as they defeated Hernandes Andrea and Pecious Libaton 23-21, 21–11 in 39 minutes. The boys’ doubles combination of Arsh Mohammad and Sankar Sarawat then put the result beyond doubt with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Christian Dorega and John Lanza.

The mixed doubles pair of Bhargav Ram Arigela and K. Vennala lost the final rubber.

India will now face hosts Indonesia to decide the group winner on Sunday. Indonesia are also through to the quarterfinal having beaten the Philippines 5-0 and Vietnam 4-1 in their two group matches.

Results:

India beat Philippines 3-2 (Tanvi Sharma bt Funtespina Christel Rei 21-9, 21-17; Rounak Chauhan lost to Jamal Rahmat Pandi 21-15, 18-21, 12-21; K. Vennala/Sharvani Walekar bt Hernandes Andrea/Precious Libaton 23-21, 21-11; Arsh Mohammad/Sankar Sarawat bt Christian Dorega/John Lanuza 21-16, 21-14; Bharav Ram Arigela/K Vennala lost to Jamal Pandi/Mary Untal 8-21, 15-21).

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Lamine Yamal has broken onto the scene at the 2024 European Championship in style. The 16-year-old winger has dazzled the football world and continues to impress at the Euro 2024, becoming the youngest player to ever provide an assist in the Euros and continues to be one of the key players for the Spanish side.

According to a report by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Paris Saint Germain is looking to break the bank to bring Kylian Mbappe’s replacement to the team. It is said that PSG have already informed Barcelona of their intentions to try and sign Lamal and have brought a 250 Million Euros offer to the table.

PSG were reportedly after the young Spanish national in March as well and had offered 200 million Euros to Barcelona, a fact that was confirmed by Club President Joan Laporta who straight up rejected the offer saying he is ‘untouchable’ for other clubs.

The teenager is currently under contract with the Catalonian club until 2026 but is said to have already committed to signing a contract till 2031. According to his current contract, the release clause in Lamal’s contract is close to a Billion Euros.

The price tag of 250 million Euros would shatter the current record transfer fees, the 222 Million Euros PSG paid to Barcelona for Neymar Jr’s signature in 2017. However, it is highly unlikely that Barcelona cash in on their brightest asset as they believe him to be a top player for the future.

–IANS

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