Maiden triumph or return to glory?

The ninth edition of the ICC T20 World Cup will draw to a close today with a never-seen-before matchup in the final, as inaugural champions India take on first-time finalists South Africa for the right to call themselves the best in the world in the shortest format of the game.

The match, set to take place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados starting from 8:30 pm Bangladesh time, will draw the curtains on perhaps the most unique edition of the T20 World Cup so far.

The tournament was set to be different from the onset, with 20 teams competing, the most in any cricket World Cup, and the USA co-hosting the event for the first time alongside the West Indies.

More surprises got unravelled as the tournament kicked into gear, with the drop-in pitches in the USA and the sluggish wickets in the Caribbean making way for some low-scoring yet exciting encounters throughout the competition.

A number of shocking results also took place, with the USA's stunning win over Pakistan and qualification to the Super Eight and Afghanistan triumphing over Australia and making it to the semifinals for the first time topping the list.

After four weeks of action across North America, India and South Africa, the two undefeated sides in the tournament, are the final two standing.

India's journey to the final has been smooth, as barring the first round match against Pakistan, which they won by six runs, they have hardly been tested, overpowering every opponent en route to their third T20 World Cup final.

By comparison, South Africa's road to the final has been bumpy and full of obstacles.

The Proteas edged Nepal and Bangladesh by one and three runs respectively in the first round in low-scoring thrillers, held their nerves against West Indies in their final Super Eight game which had turned into a virtual quarterfinal and then thrashed Afghanistan in the semifinals -- their first win in a World Cup semifinal after seven unsuccessful attempts.

The win over Afghanistan lifted a weight which had been weighing down the South African team since the 1992 ODI World Cup, when their dreaded streak of semifinal defeats began.

Now, Aiden Markram's side will be stepping into uncharted waters in the final, while Rohit Sharma's team will come face to face with a hurdle they have come to dread in recent years.

India have enjoyed a dominant phase in the last decade across three formats, reaching the knockout stage in nine ICC tournaments and making the final five times – T20 World Cup in 2014, ODI World Cup in 2023, ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and the ICC Test Championship in 2021 and 2023.

However, in all five finals, the Men in Blue got bested. The defeat to Australia in last year's ODI World Cup final in front of over 130,000 home fans in Ahmedabad was particularly scarring for Rohit's team, a side that had come into that final undefeated, much like they have done in the current event.

Today's final in Barbados is an opportunity for Rohit and his team to exorcise the past demons and take India back to the top of the mountain in T20Is for the first time since 2007. Meanwhile, for South Africa, the match is the chance to pass over the 'chokers' moniker to India and replace it with champions.