Lahore   -   India and South Africa are poised for a thrilling climax to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday, as both teams, with undefeated records, clash for the glittering trophy at the iconic Kensington Oval, the largest cricket venue in the Caribbean, known for hosting international matches for over 120 years.

India, aiming to reclaim the T20 World Cup trophy they last won in 2007, have been dominant throughout the tournament. Despite an abandoned match against Canada due to rain, they secured impressive victories over Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Australia, leading Group 1 in the Super Eight. Their form continued with a resounding win over defending champions England in the semi-finals.

South Africa, reaching their first-ever T20 World Cup final after seven semi-final defeats in various formats, have also been exceptional. They faced tough competition in the group stages from the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and narrowly overcame tournament co-hosts USA in the Super Eights. Close victories against England and West Indies followed, culminating in a decisive nine-wicket triumph over Afghanistan in the semi-final.

The upcoming match will be the ninth of the tournament at this venue. The first game here went to a Super Over, but subsequent contests have not been as close. Teams batting first won three of the next four completed matches. Scotland, notably, raced to 90 for no loss in 10 overs against England before that game was called off.

The last two matches in Bridgetown saw West Indies and England bowling the USA out cheaply and completing comfortable chases. While South Africa hasn’t played here in this tournament, India has, securing a 47-run victory over Afghanistan.

According to AccuWeather, showers are expected, which could interrupt the match. There is roughly a 50% chance of precipitation in the morning between 4 am and 9 am, decreasing to about 30% between 10 am (the scheduled toss time) and 1 pm. The likelihood of rain increases again to roughly 50% in the afternoon. An additional 190 minutes of extra time will be allocated on Saturday to try and complete the game. Both teams need to bat at least 10 overs for a winner to be declared.

The final does have a reserve day. The match will only be moved to Sunday if at least 10 overs per side are not possible on Saturday, even with the extra time. If the game is already underway and cannot be completed on Saturday, it will resume from where it left off rather than starting anew.

The scheduled start of play on the reserve day is also 10:30 am local time. Showers are forecast for Sunday as well, but the weather during match hours is expected to be relatively better (with about a 20% chance of rain) than overnight and later in the day. If the weather prevents the match from being completed even on the reserve day, both teams will be declared joint-winners.