The ‘Super 10’ round of ICC T20 World Cup kicks off tonight in the Indian city of Nagpur, where the host India takes on New Zealand in the opener.
It’s yet another cricket world cup within a year. Last year, cricket grounds in Australia were packed with fans celebrating the 50-overs World Cup. As the fans around the world get ready for another cricketing extravaganza, SBS Radio gives a sneak peek into the teams.
Group 1
Sri Lanka: For the defending champions of T20 World Cup, recent performances do not inspire much confidence. After winning the trophy in 2014, Sri Lankan cricket has gone through a rough patch, managing to win just four of the 14 matches played. After the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena, no other batsman from the island nation could show consistency. In the recently held Asia Cup, Angelo Mathews-led team lost to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. But, historically, Sri Lankan cricket team has always been capable of springing surprises. So, don't write them off just yet. The team’s main hopes are in the pace bowling department led by Lasith Malinga.
West Indies: It is the only team in the world which remains a strong contender in T20 cricket despite failing badly in all other forms of the game. The 2012 champions have played only two T20 internationals in the past 12 months, which makes it harder to predict them as a team. However, the three-wicket win over Australia, with just one ball remaining, in the warm-up match on Saturday gives the Darren Sami-led team a huge boost. Even though the team misses players like injured Kieron Pollard, Daren Bravo and Sunil Narine - who have opted to stay back home - experience is the key strength. Players like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have played 82 and 91 IPL matches respectively, which give them an enormous confidence to play on the Indian soil.
Sri Lanka cricket team captain Angelo Mathews speaks during a press conference in Mumbai on March 9, 2016. Sri Lanka plays their first match in the tournament o Source: Getty Images-AFP-Punit Paranjpe
South Africa: Last year’s ODI World Cup in Australia saw history repeating for South Africa. After an unimaginable run, they lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals. This has been the case in most of the T20 and ODI World Cups for the Proteas. But, as usual, most of the cricket pundits have termed South Africa as one of the favourites in this event too. The team captained by Faf du Plessis is by all means a well-balanced one, with a deep batting line-up that includes AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, David Miller and du Plessis, and bowlers like Dayle Steyn. Last October, South Africa whitewashed India 2-0 in India. With a four-run win against the hosts in the warm-up game, South Africans have made their intentions clear.
England: England is another former champion in T20 World Cup. The team which has lifted the trophy in 2010, flew to India with some big hitters in its batting line up. Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and captain Eoin Morgan come as the strongest hitters of the cricket ball. Cricketing legend Viv Richards has said that he was impressed with the quality and the depth of the English batting lineup. However, adapting to the playing conditions in India is always a challenge to the English cricketers, and the young team’s lack of experience on this kind of pitches will be the main hurdle.
Afghanistan: Afghanistan reached the Super 10 after crushing Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong in the group stage. With former internationals like Inzamam Ul Haq and Manoj Prabhakar as coaches, the team has showed a confident performance in the group stage of the tournament. Whenever Afghan team goes out to play international cricket, stories of their initiation to the game are being told over and again. It is the same in India also, which has given them many fans too. The team, inspired by the batting performances of captain Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammed Shahzad and Mohammed Nabi, and the pace attack of Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran, is capable of making some upsets in the group.
Source: Getty Images
Group 2
India: Inaugural world champions in T20 cricket, India became the first team to lift ODI world cup on home soil in 2011. Recent performances give an extra advantage to the home side. Of the 11 T20 international games played in 2016, India has lost just one. Along with the advantage of home grounds, a rich batting line up and balanced bowling department make India a strong contender. Players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and captain M.S.Dhoni have shown exemplary batting performance in the recent times. Along with experienced Ashish Nehra and R Ashwin, youngsters like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah give an extra edge to the bowling line up.
Source: Getty Images
Australia: Five-time ODI world champions and the number one ranked test side, Australia is another strong contender of the T20 World Title this time. This is the only trophy missing from Australia’s cabinet. But this time around, the team comes with some of the best T20 batsmen ever. With David Warner and Aaron Finch at the top, captain Steve Smith and Glen Maxwell in the middle order and a batsman like James Faulkner as a finisher, Australian batting line-up has every reason to be super confident. Shane Watson’s experience on Indian pitches and in all previous editions of the T20 World Cup - with a strike rate of 140 - is another advantage for Australia. However, the bowling line up lacks an experienced spinner. Leg spinner Adam Zampa has played only two T20 internationals and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar just one. On the slow Indian tracks this can turn out to be crucial.
Source: Getty Images
Pakistan: The world T20 champion in 2009 comes as the most unpredictable team in the tournament. The team’s presence was under clouds after the Pakistan government raised some security concerns in India. This has pushed the organisers to move their much-awaited clash with India from Dharamshala to Kolkata. Recently Pakistan has lost series to England and New Zealand and could not reach the finals of Asia Cup in Bangladesh, but, their new domestic T20 league - Pakistan Super League - gives the players some good practice in the short version of the game. Along with captain Shahid Afridi’s experience with 94 T20 games under his cap, the talents of batsmen like Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal will be the key to Pakistani success. Afridi is the leading wicket taker in T20 internationals with 93 wickets and boasts of a batting strike rate of 148.92. The bowling attack led by pacemen Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Mohammed Irfan will be crucial too.
New Zealand: It is a new phase in New Zealand cricket after the retirement of their most prolific captain Brendon McCullum. The team led by Kane Williamson has landed in India without much T20 match practice in the recent times, and their performance in the subcontinent has always been poor. But, the presence of many all-rounders like Corey Anderson, Grant Elliot, Mitchell Saunter and Nathan McCullum make them a strong side. Experienced Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor add strength to the batting. Bowlers like Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Nathan McCullum become crucial in the team’s performance.
Bangladesh: If history repeats, Bangladesh should win this T20 World Cup. In the last three editions of the tournament, previous year’s hosts were the champions: England, West Indies and Sri Lanka respectively. Bangladesh was the host of the 2014 edition. Though this comparison may look an odd one, the recent performance of the team in One Day Internationals gives a more realistic picture. They have had series wins against Pakistan, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In the recently held Asia Cup T20, Bangla Tigers reached final after defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The mix of experience and new blood will be the strength of the team. Players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahman and captain Mashrafe Mortaza bring experience to the side while young blood like Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman show courage to take on the big names in international cricket. Definitely, Bangladesh is a team to watch in this World Cup.
For more news and updates, follow us on Facebook.
Source: Getty Images
