After the explosive half-century of Rohit Sharma, on the basis of the magic of spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Akshar Patel, the Indian team defeated England by 68 runs in the second semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup and made it to the final. Now there will be a title clash between India and South Africa on 29th June. India has made it to the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014, whereas South Africa has never reached the final of the T20 World Cup before. Both the teams have been unbeaten so far in the current tournament and on the day of the final, while the dream of one team will be fulfilled, the hopes of the other team will be dashed. The Indian team has performed brilliantly in this tournament and is considered a strong contender for the title. In such a situation, Men in Blue fans hope that Team India will end its title drought. However, before that the Indian team has suffered a big setback. In fact, Richard Kettlebrough, who has proved to be a panacea for the Indian team in the ICC knockout matches for the last few years, is a part of the panel of umpires for the final.

Umpires decided for the final

ICC has announced the panel of umpires for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. In the final between India and South Africa, Chris Gaffney of New Zealand and Richard Illingworth of England will be the on-field umpires, while Richard Kettlebrough has been appointed as the TV umpire. Rodney Tucker will be in the role of fourth umpire for the match. Whenever Richard Kettlebrough has been in knock-out matches in ICC tournaments, the Indian team has not been able to win those matches. However, the Indian team would definitely like to break this jinx this time.

Richard Kettlebrough has proved to be ‘Panauti’ for India

Whenever Richard Kettlebrough has been in the knock-out matches of ICC tournaments, the Indian team has lost that match. India lost to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup last year and Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire in that match. The Indian team was defeated by New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship held in the year 2021 and Kettlebrough was the TV umpire for this match.

Richard Kettlebrough during the 2019 ODI World Cup
Photo Credit: IANS

The Indian team lost to Australia in the final of the World Test Championship held in 2023 and Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire for that match also. Earlier, in 2019, India had lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals and Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire in that match. Team India reached the semi-finals in the 2015 ODI World Cup and Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire for this match and India lost in it.

India had to face defeat against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire for this match also. The Indian team reached the final of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2014. Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire for this match. India had to face defeat in the final in this match also. India reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in 2016 and Richard Cattlebrough was the on-field umpire in this match.