RESULT | Proteas lose T20 World Cup final

As former Proteas captain Shaun Pollock so eloquently orated after the first T20 World Cup semi-final, the South African team have now reached a ‘date with destiny, the final frontier’.

After seven previous heartbreaking defeats at the semi-final stage in both white-ball formats, the Proteas have finally reached an ICC final.

And perhaps with the ‘chokers’ tag finally banished to the past, the Proteas’ ‘date with destiny’ now takes them to the Kensington Oval on Saturday, 29 June in the T20 World Cup final. The first ball is due to be bowled at 16:30 (SA time).

Follow the live scoring as the Proteas go in search of the T20 World Cup title

Comments from the captains

“This team’s been together for a long time now as a white ball group, both formats. We feel and we believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. And it’s nice for us to now have that opportunity,” Proteas captain Aiden Markram said.

“You do get belief though from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win. It does a lot for your changing room and the vibe in the changing room. So, we’ll take a little bit of confidence from that and see if we can put it to any use in the final,” he added.

India’s last trophy of any kind was the Champions Trophy in 2013, and they will head into this title decider as favourites.

“We’ve been very calm,” said captain Rohit Sharma.

“We understand the occasion of the final. It’s important we stay composed, because that helps you make good decisions. We have been very steady, calm, and that has been the key for us,” he added.

WEATHER FORECAST

When casting an eye towards that blockbuster battle on Saturday, it has to be noted that the current forecast indicates that light rain is predicted for most of the day.

It could well lead to the game being washed out, which could then see it moved to the ‘reserve day’ on Sunday, and at least that forecast does now look more favourable than Saturday.

Ultimately, if the inclement weather does materialise on Saturday, it means there could be an anxious additional wait to see if the Proteas can finally claim a historic first-ever ICC title.

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