T20 World Cup | Why India vs South Africa title showdown is a tale of jinxes

For more than two decades, South Africa were banished into international exile, a fallout of their draconian apartheid policy. India took the lead role in their reintegration into world cricket in 1991, Clive Rice’s men arriving to a grand reception in the City of Joy in November of that year for the first of three One-Day Internationals.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Kolkata (then Calcutta) to welcome the Proteas, and a packed house at Eden Gardens witnessed first-hand the strength of South African cricket, which had kept itself in touch with the modern game as it existed then, thanks to ‘rebel’ tours organised by their former skipper, Dr Ali Bacher.

Even from those three matches, it was evident that South Africa would be a major force in time to come. Therefore, it’s little short of a massive surprise that it has taken them until now to reach the final of a World Cup for the first time.

A tale of near-misses

The last three-plus decades have been a tale of near-misses for the Proteas. Their first misadventure at World Cups came in their maiden appearance, in Australia and New Zealand in 1992. A crazy rain rule which penalised the team chasing by punishing them for their most economical overs when bowling first reduced their equation from 22 needed off 13 deliveries in the semis against England to 22 off one ball. It was the first in a series of disasters, several of their own making, which brought them the distasteful tag of ‘chokers’.

So prolific were their semifinal meltdowns that even the most die-hard South African fan wasn’t sure if their team would ever reach the final. After numerous abortive forays, they are now within one victory of their maiden World Cup title.

Standing between them and a historic first is a side that has had its fair share of heartbreaks in global competitions. The last time India won a meaningful title was when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain, and he hasn’t been in the hot seat for more than seven years now. Dhoni steered India to the inaugural T20 World Cup crown in 2007 in his maiden outing at the helm, masterminded the team’s climb to the No. 1 Test ranking for the first time in 2009, piloted the side to 50-over World Cup success at home in 2011 and to the Champions Trophy crown in 2013.

Another tale of near-misses

Since then, it has been an unending tale of agony for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli oversaw defeats in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the World Test Championship in 2021, both in England. Under Rohit, India have lost two finals in the last 12-and-a-half months — in June in the WTC final at The Oval and in November in the 50-over World Cup final in Ahmedabad, both to Australia.

India exorcised the ghosts of those two shattering losses to a certain degree by playing their part in Australia’s early elimination from this World Cup. But they won’t be satisfied merely by sending Australia packing or derailing England’s title defence in the semifinals in sweet payback for their loss to the same opponents at the same stage in the last edition of this tournament. They believe their consistency across formats for a long time now merits a trophy, and that it is up to them to deliver the coup de grace. Under the leadership regime of Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid, in his final assignment, India have shed the conservative approach that cost them dear in Australia a year and a half back and played with freedom, flair, enterprise and carefreeness. They have been careful to ensure that carefree doesn’t degenerate into careless, a huge win for the communication skills of the captain and the head coach and the willingness of the larger group to buy into the philosophy of playing bold.

India's bull run

India’s bull run through the draw at the World Cup has intimidating and all-conquering. On the difficult pitches in New York, they did enough to secure safe passage to the Super Eight stage, a luxury Pakistan didn’t enjoy. Once they hit the Caribbean, they rejigged their strategy, inducted Kuldeep Yadav into the mix and maximised the left-arm wrist-spinner’s command over his craft, ensuring that they were not overly dependent on Jasprit Bumrah alone to do the damage with the ball.

With the bat, they have eked out strong performances from everyone in the top six except Kohli. Rohit has been the trend-setter, taking the bull by the horns against both Australia and England, skilled enough to bat at his own pace but also adaptable enough to understand that the all-out aggression on a belter against Australia wouldn’t work on a trickier surface against the defending champions. It’s impossible for the rest of the group not to be inspired by the deeds of their skipper; Suryakumar Yadav has batted like the No. 1 batter in the world that he is in this format, Hardik Pandya has been brutal towards the backend, Shivam Dube has showcased his six-hitting prowess and despite his recent travails, Rishabh Pant has looked at home in his new No. 3 slot.

India needs Kohli's expertise

All of these serve to highlight Kohli’s woes. The former skipper came into the World Cup with more than 700 attractive runs in the IPL, but seven innings have yielded just 75. He has tried to bat in a manner that isn’t Kohli-like, going hard at the bowling when his successes have been based around timing and placement. The power game isn’t Kohli’s forte, even though his six-hitting skills have blossomed hugely over the last year. India need the Kohli of old, the master of sizing up conditions and the bowling, not the desperate ball-basher who is paying the ultimate price for trying to bat against his grain.

South Africa are formidable opponents, though in all T20Is (9-4) and in T20 World Cups (4-1), India hold a comprehensive edge. There is enough experience and quality in their ranks, as one would expect of an outfit playing the final, to not be overawed by the occasion and the stage. But if both teams play to their full potential, which a huge gathering at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on Saturday will hope for, it’s hard to see beyond India. South Africa’s challenge will be to ensure that they don’t allow India to be at their best.