• Sportzyverse
• T20 World Cup 2024
• 06/28/2024
• 0 Comments

South African cricket team’s journey to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final has been disrupted by a runway closure at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados. The incident caused a nearly six-hour delay for the team, along with ICC officials, commentators, and match officials en route to the final venue.

The South Africa team, their families, commentators, match officials and ICC officials were stranded at the Trinidad airport today https://t.co/R054iPzPx3

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 27, 2024

T20 World Cup 2024, jointly hosted by the USA and the West Indies, has faced logistical challenges and tight schedules throughout the tournament. South Africa’s path to the final has been remarkable, maintaining an unbeaten streak through the group stages and Super Eight phase. Their previous victory against Afghanistan in the first semi-final secured their spot in the summit clash, marking their first-ever appearance in a men’s World Cup final.

The delay was caused by a small private aircraft’s landing failure at the Barbados airport, which led to its closure for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service. Sharleen Brown, Corporate Communication Specialist with GAIA, stated, “It appeared that the landing gear of the private aircraft did not deploy, but it is currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport] safely. She confirmed that all three individuals on board, two passengers and a pilot, were unharmed.”

The Proteas and other passengers were informed of the runway closure moments before their departure from Trinidad. The rescheduled departure time was tentatively set for 4:30 PM (2:30 AM IST), resulting in a nearly six-hour delay.

South Africa Set to Face Tournament India in final

South Africa demonstrated their dominance in the semi-final match by bundling out Afghanistan for 56 runs. Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi led the bowling attack with three wickets each. In response, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks comfortably chased down the target, losing only one wicket.

Also read South Africa defeat Afghanistan by 8 wickets to reach first T20 World Cup final

The Markram-led side is set to face the winners of the semi-final 2 match, India, in the finals at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29. Similar to the Proteas, the Rohit Sharma-led India has been unbeaten throughout the tournament. Hence, the clash causes an immense battle between the two nations hoping to replenish their ICC trophy drought.