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The Cricket World Cup final is set. Who’s in it and what NY, NJ fans need to know

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The Cricket World Cup final is set. Who’s in it and what NY, NJ fans need to know

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New Jersey and New York cricket fans will be tuning in on Saturday morning to see who will be crowned the winner of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup.

The monthlong tournament comes to a close at 10:30 a.m. when South Africa and India play in the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

South Africa made it to the championship match after defeating Afghanistan easily Wednesday in this semifinal by limiting them to 56 runs and getting 60 runs. South African bowler Marco Jansen was named Player of the Match for notching three wickets (outs) of the Afghans and allowing 16 runs in three overs.

India is the second finalist after beating England handily in the other semifinal on Thursday, a payback for losing to them in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal.

Local fans who want to get their fill of remaining World Cup cricket can do so on TV or in a public venue at the World Trade Center.

What to know about the finalists

The ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup started on June 1 with 20 teams from across the world playing at various venues in West Indies and the United States, which was hosting an ICC (International Cricket Council) tournament for the first time. That included several matches played at the recently dismantled Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, Long Island.

About a month later, it comes down to two.

South Africa will be competing in its first T20 World Cup final. The team, also known as Proteas, had been in the T20 World Cup semifinals in 2009 and 2014, but lost both matches. They got to this moment by winning all their matches in the three rounds leading up to the final.

This year’s squad is headed by captain Aiden Markram, a threat at both batsman and bowler, who scored 23 runs in the win over Afghanistan. Their other key players are Quinton de Kock, David Miller, and Tabraiz Shamsi.

India will be going to its first T20 World Cup final since 2014 when it lost to Sri Lanka. The team had won the first T20 World Cup tournament in 2007 against Pakistan. Like South Africa, India is unbeaten leading up to Saturday.

The team is led by captain Rohit Sharma, who knocked in 57 runs in the 171 to 103 victory over England on Thursday. Some of the key players are Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 46 runs against England and Axar Patel, who was the Player of the Match on Thursday for notching three wickets and scoring 10 runs.

Where to watch

Just as with the previous T20 World Cup matches, this one can be seen on Willow TV, the sole cable broadcaster of the World Cup in the United States and Canada. Television providers that carry Willow TV are DISH, Sling, FIOS, Spectrum, Xfinity, Optimum, and Optimum TV. A public fan park will be open at the World Trade Center’s Oculus Plaza on June 29, when there will be a giant screen to show the T20 World Cup final — as there were for the first-round matches.

Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

Twitter: @ricardokaul

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