"South Africa's time has come" - AB de Villiers claims Aiden Markram will crush Rohit Sharma's World Cup dream

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers believes that the National team's time has come to last feature in an ICC World Cup final after 33 years.

South Africa will be locking horns with Rohit Sharma's team India at the Kensington Oval in Barbados in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024's last match. Or perhaps the tournament-defining match. While the Proteas are playing in their maiden T20 WC final, the Indians will be playing their 3rd final of the World T20.

Both the teams have had a similar fate in ICC events, not since the beginning but from 2013 onwards. While South Africa are yet to win a major silverware, India's last title at the international level came a decade ago when the MS Dhoni-led Indian team won the Champions Trophy.

Since then, India have reached multiple finals across formats - 1 T20 WC final, 1 ODI WC final, and 2 World Test Championship finals. Unfortunately, they haven't won a single one. No one knows if it's a curse or just the Men in Blue do not play well enough in the final matches.

Whatever it may be, India's situation is no different from South Africa's. The Proteas playing their first ICC World Cup final in their decades-long history speaks volumes about their mindset and inability to handle pressure. Despite having someone like Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers captaining the team, their best finish at ICC events has been the semi-finals.

For that very reason, Aiden Markram has the chance to be down in the history books of South African cricket. He was a U-19 legend, captaining the Proteas to win the age group World Cup but now as a senior player, he has the opportunity of winning a WC again. Standing in front of him is a wounded captain Rohit Sharma and his army, who lost two ICC finals last year.

It is often said that a wounded lion is much more dangerous and India can might as well display that. Ahead of the finale tonight, AB de Villiers had a special message for all the South African fans.

AB de Villiers says South Africa will win the World Cup in their maiden attempt

While speaking in his latest X video, AB de Villiers claimed that team South Africa will win the World Cup in their maiden attempt. He started off by claiming that the moment of truth has come up and the Proteas are in an ICC final for the first time after decades of heartbreak.

"The moment of truth has arrived. South Africans have been waiting for 33 years to see the Proteas play in an ICC World Cup final. After so many heartbreaks, we know all about them."

"South Africa will play India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday and I am backing the Proteas to win. It will be close as we all know India are a team of superstars but I believe South Africa's time has come," AB de Villiers said on X.

Watch the video

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