T20 WC: Proteas skipper eyes maiden WC title, says “we’d love to win”

Both South Africa and India have been the only sides to stay unbeaten in the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup

Bridgetown: South Africa skipper Aiden Markram said that his side would love to win over India in their upcoming clash in the T20 World Cup 2024 final match to be played at the Kensington Oval stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.

Both South Africa and India have been the only sides to stay unbeaten in the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup after displaying a stupendous performance in the marquee event. However, in the history of the T20 World Cup, we have never seen a winner that has gone unbeaten throughout the tournament.

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Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Markram said that it’s exciting for him to play in the T20 World Cup 2024. “It’s more the opportunity of being in a final that sort of excites me quite a bit. I think after the competition I will sit back and appreciate what we’ve achieved so far as a team,” he said.

“Whether you win or lose, you’ve gone a step further, at least, and for us, that’s again going in the right direction. But yeah, we’d love to get to our first final and be able to win that first final. And hopefully, in the years to come, that can break the burden of what a lot of other people are saying about us as a team,” he further said.

Before facing the Men in Blue in the showdown, the Proteas skipper showered praise on Rohit Sharma‘s team and called them a ‘great team’. “We all know India’s a great team. Us as a team, as South Africans, have been sort of trending in the right direction the last couple of years, but maybe not progressed in tournaments as far as we would have liked. So, an exciting occasion tomorrow against a good opposition in India, but a nice opportunity for us as the proteas as well,” he added.

 

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

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