Team India go in search of their second ICC T20 World Cup title as they gear up to take on South Africa in the final of the 2024 edition of the T20 extravaganza at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
India seek to break a title drought of over a decade as Rohit Sharma and Co. look to get their hands on the illustrious trophy at the end of Saturday’s play. India also look to banish the ghosts of the ODI World Cup at home last year, in which they fell at the final hurdle, as the defeat to the Australians in the summit clash at home hampered the national psyche.
Ahead of the title encounter in the Caribbean, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly backed the dominant men in blue to clinch the title and joked that skipper Rohit would jump into the ocean if the worst came to pass and the men in blue end up stumbling at the final block yet again.
“I don’t think he can lose two World Cup finals in seven (six) months. He will probably jump into the Barbados ocean if he loses two finals under his captaincy in seven months,” Ganguly jested.
Ganguly heaped praise on Rohit for leading from the front with consecutive match-winning knocks against Australia and England in the Super 8 and the semifinal of the ICC showpiece.
“He has led from the front, and batted brilliantly. I hope it continues tomorrow. Hope India finishes on the right side, and they should play with freedom,” the Prince of Kolkata added.
‘Dada’, as he is fondly known, wished the team luck and reiterated that they have been the best side in the tournament yet again.
“They have been the best side of the competition. I wish them luck, I wish they win. Hope they have a little bit of luck tomorrow because that is required to win big tournaments,” Ganguly added.
India’s last ICC title came in the year 2013 as the men in blue clinched the Champions Trophy under the leadership of former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and the team has had to deal with heartbreaks over and over again following their previous title success.
However, Ganguly opted to look at the silver lining and touched up on the fact that India have managed to have deep runs in headline events despite not coming away with the ultimate prize.
“I look at it differently. At least we are getting to the finals, we can only win once we get to the final,” he said.
“The positive thing is India is not getting eliminated. Secondly, they are dominating. You saw the World Cup in India seven months ago; they were the best side in the competition, although they lost to Australia in the final,” the southpaw added.
“They were a better side than Australia right through the tournament; they just had one bad day,” the 51-year-old concluded.
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