Bridgetown’s Kensington Oval is all set to host the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 Final between India and South Africa on June 29. Well, one can say that the two in-form teams in the tournament have made it to the Final and the Kensington Oval will be raring to make it a memorable one on Saturday. Kensington Oval, one of the most popular venues in the Caribbean, hosted a T20 World Cup Final in 2010. That year’s Final, played between England and Australia was played here only. Most of the fixtures in the Caribbean leg of the tournament have been low-scorers with teams batting first winning the matches majorly. With that in mind, let’s have a look at what Kensington Oval can offer. (India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 Live Blog)
What’s the Kensington Oval offering for the Saturday Grand Finale?
So far, eight matches have been hosted at this venue in the tournament and this will be the ninth one on Saturday. The first game here went to a Super Over, but there haven’t been any close encounters ever since.
The teams batting first won three out of the four completed matches here with the last two matches played at this venue seeing England and West Indies bowling USA out cheaply and chasing down the totals comfortably.
Surprisingly, the Proteas have not played a single game here but the Men in Blue have – a 47-run win over Afghanistan.
Will rain play a spoilsport?
It could be windy on match day, with wind gusts predicted at 35 to 45 kmph from the East. We may also face interruptions as rain showers are expected on match day. There is roughly a 50% chance of rain but this might go down to 30% by the scheduled toss time.
There will be 190 minutes of added time to complete the match if rain does play spoilsport. Both teams would need to bat at least 10 overs for a winner to be declared.
Kensington Oval T20I records
Highest Team Total: 224/5 by West Indies vs England in 2022.
Lowest Team Total: 80/10 by Afghanistan vs South Africa In 2010.
Highest Individual Score: 107 by Rovman Powell (West Indies) vs England in 2022.
Best Bowling Figures: 5/27 by Jason Holder (West Indies) vs England in 2022.
Highest Partnership: 166 by Kumar Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) for 2nd wicket vs West Indies In 2010.
Win Rate Batting First: 50% (5 Won; 5 Lost) Average first innings score: 160, average winning score: 183
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