During a promotional shoot for IPL side Rajasthan Royals, the South African spinner was asked whom he expected to see in the T20 World Cup final and Maharaj opined that the summit clash would be contested between the Proteas and the men in blue.
Team India thrashed defending champions England by 68 runs in the second semi-final game in Guyana, which took place on June 27, and advanced to their third T20 World Cup final after 2007 and 2014. The side ended up being the winners of the inaugural edition in 2007 under MS Dhoni’s leadership. However, the Men in Blue suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka in the 2014 edition. However, this time, India’s all-around performance surpassed the defending champions in each of the three departments, sealing their place in the final match, where Rohit Sharma and Co. will now be facing the South African side, who recently thrashed Afghanistan in the first semi-final game.
While South Africa is going to be playing in their first senior men’s final after winning the Champions Trophy in Bangladesh back in 1998, the inaugural champions will be looking to finally end their more than ten-year ICC title drought.
Amazingly, Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj’s projection regarding the two finalists appeared to be precise, with the India vs. South Africa match scheduled for the Kensington Oval on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals star cricketer Keshav Maharaj said during the Indian Premier League in May 2024 that he imagined an India vs. South Africa T20 World Cup final. Interestingly, both South Africa and India enter the final match with an unbeaten streak.
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Maharaj predicted the #SAvIND final during IPL 🤯👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/18WIl7igBM
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) June 28, 2024
Meanwhile, the World Cup has been successful in setting up a final between the two strongest teams in the shortest format, despite being somewhat mixed when it comes to excellence, fun, and viewership. However, Team India has the golden opportunity to wipe away the memory of their setback to Australia in the 50-over World Cup final match played on their home ground.
Even though India is the epicentre of T20 cricket owing to the tremendously successful Indian Premier League, their only win came back in 2007 under MS Dhoni’s leadership. The prestigious Champions Trophy was the last major trophy that India won in 2013. Following the same, India failed to win any major ICC titles under Virat Kohli’s leadership from 2015 to 2021.
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