2024 T20 World Cup: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today’s India vs South Africa match ft. Kuldeep Yadav

It's said bowlers win tournaments. On Saturday, India and South Africa to prove that that adage applies to T20 cricket as well. Both teams have been carried by their bowling attacks to the final of the 2024 men's T20 World Cup.

When they were trying to solve their batting issues and most batters were recovering from a rusty form or struggling on difficult pitches, it was the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Anrich Nortje, and Keshav Maharaj who found wickets or stopped runs at key stages to win close games.

When the Caribbean conditions have allowed batters to be more expressive, their bowling line-ups again have made the difference in both semi-finals. Now, as we get ready for the summit clash, which three bowlers would the teams look at to get them the wickets?

Below, we make our predictions:

#3 Jasprit Bumrah

India's best Jasprit Bumrah has a massive fast-bowling legacy behind him already. This could be the match he cements it with a performance for the ages.

He has been in brilliant form in this T20 World Cup, picking up 13 wickets in seven matches at a ridiculous average of 8.15. For Bumrah, match-ups hardly matter. He has started taking the new ball in the last few games and the final, he'll love a crack against Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks who have looked tentative.

Apart from Heinrich Klaasen (who hasn't faced him a lot) none of the Proteas batters have managed to strike at over 100 against him. And as India's other bowlers have found form and consistency in this tournament, South Africa won't have the option to play Bumrah defensively and take on other bowlers either.

If they take even a bit of risk against him, it'll open the opportunity for him to pick a ton of wickets both with the new ball and the old.

#2 Kagiso Rabada

What Bumrah is to India, Kagiso Rabada is to South Africa. He might not have the T20I numbers to back him but in IPL and other formats, he has registered enough experience against most Indian batters to have an edge over them in Barbados.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have a strike rate of less than 120 against him, getting out four and three times, respectively, in the format. Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube, too, have lost their wickets against him multiple times. His unplayable pace and accuracy have often been the big factors.

He's currently South Africa's second-highest wicket-taker in the 2024 T20 World Cup and pundits like Dale Steyn have noted how he has looked at his best because he's brimming with passion to win it for his team. Kabada would throw everything at India and that passion could be Rohit and company's biggest obstacle.

#1 Kuldeep Yadav

It's a no-brainer to have Kuldeep at the top of this list. Who can say that till a year ago, no one rated him enough even as India's third-best T20I spinner? Now, it seems hardly believable that this is his first T20 World Cup.

The left-arm wrist spinner already has 10 wickets in four matches, without picking less than two in any, and bowling match-winning spells in each. This undoubtedly makes him India's most in-form bowler coming into the final.

He also has the most amazing record against South Africa despite the small sample size - six wickets in two matches at an average of 7.17, including a record-breaking 5/17 last year.

Some players who didn't get out to him in these two games, the likes of Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram have all lost the battle at least once against him in the IPL. Heinrich Klaasen could pose a difficult challenge to him but India have other bowlers to try and keep him quiet if the tweaker fails to do it.

The pitch, no matter how flat it is, will have something for the spinners (because it's the West Indies) and Kuldeep will likely make merry.