Known for his electrifying monologues, Shastri referred Richie Richardson to a ‘potential punching bag’ that floored everyone at the toss proceedings in the final.
“In the green corner, ready to land an uppercut for the first time, in South Africa captain Aiden Markram,” said while introducing Markram. “And punching all the way through the tournament is Rohit Sharma,” Shastri said.
“West Indies’ very own, the one there to keep things calm and be the potential punching bag is match referee Richie Richardson,” added Shastri.
India captain Rohit won the toss and opted to bat in the final at the Kensington Oval.
The toss was held in bright sunshine and with a gusty wind blowing across the 28,000 capacity venue which is expected to be sold out for the game.
Rohit and his South African counterpart Markram both named unchanged line-ups from the teams which won their respective semi-finals.
Playing XIs
India – Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa – Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (captain), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi