ABUDHABI : After 23 match days, 42 matches we are down to only three games away from crowning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 winner. Only 4 teams survived to reach the knockout fixtures which begins Wednesday, November 10 at 7.30 pm IST.
The final four teams are England, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand.
England and Australia were the top 2 teams of Group 1 which was a hard-fought group with South Africa falling behind only due to a lower run rate. All 3 teams had won 4 out of 5 matches played.
Group 2 was topped by Pakistan who are the only team to win all its 5 matches and manage to remain unbeaten so far. New Zealand won four of their five matches, to be ranked second. India only had 3 wins against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia which were not sufficient to offset the losses to Pakistan and New Zealand.
The semifinal fixtures are as follows.
Semi-final 1: England v New Zealand at Abu Dhabi, 10 November
Semi-final 2: Pakistan v Australia at Dubai, 11 November
England
Ranked No 1 in the ICC T20I rankings, this English team led by Eoin Morgan is the clinical favourites to win this championship from the inception. England dominated all matches in the Super 12s other than the last one where South Africa beat them in a closely fought encounter.
However, they have been hindered by injuries and the latest victim was England’s opening batsman Jason Roy who was ruled out of the tournament in the key match against South Africa which England ended up losing. England also had to rule out Tymall Mills their explosive left arm pacer recently due to injury.
England do have some key players who can single handedly take England to a win. One such key player is opener Jos Buttler who has scored 240 runs in the 5 matches. He has scored the only century in this tournament so far with his unbeaten 101 runs against Sri Lanka in the Super 12s stage. His batting average is 120 and his strike rate of 155.84 could give nightmares to the best of the bowlers.
Spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid has the ability to keep the batsman guessing and to dry them out of runs and could be game changers for England.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand are ranked 4th in the T20I ranking and won the last 4 matches they played in the Super 12s after losing to Pakistan in the opening match. The Kiwis led by Williamson is a cohesive unit with at least 4 key players who can turn around any match. Their fielding has been top notch in all games and could be one of the key features that may give them the edge over an opponent.
Their opening bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been lethal in the tournament with effectively picking up at least one wicket in the power play. Trent Boult is the joint second along with Adam Zampa with 11 wickets while Wanindu Hasarana has the leading wickets up to now of 16 wickets.
New Zealand also has a decent spin attack with Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner who has been economical and effective. Ish Sodhi was the match winning bowler in the encounter against India with a haul of 2 for 17 runs which New Zealand won by 8 wickets.
In the batting, opener Guptill is a force to be reckoned and he displayed his dominance with a match winning 93 runs against Scotland. Kiwi Skipper Williamson is also a key player since he keeps the middle order intact and has scored well needed cameos. He averages 42 runs in this tournament, but he has the ability to come big if there is a need to do so.
AUSTRALIA
Australia ranked No.6 in the ICC T20I barely got through to the semis edging over South Africa due to the power hitting displayed when chasing down Bangladesh score of 73 in 6.2 overs. This team led by Aaron Finch were not the most comfortable at the start of the Super 12s however they played some powerful and positive cricket at the latter part.
Opener David Warner beyond doubt is the key player to look out for. He has found his lost touch in recent innings and looks very destructive and can take the game away from the opponent in the power play. Spinner Adam Zampa who already has 11 wickets in the tournament and hat trick under his accomplishments could play a critical role in the semi finals. Josh Hazlewood has also been in the middle of wickets and has been a consistent contributor to the Aussies.
PAKISTAN
This Pakistan team led by Skipper Babar Azam is one of the fan favourites to win with a lot of fan support at the grounds. Pakistan is ranked second in the ICC T20I and have a 100% record in winning matches in this tournament. Pakistan have displayed all round performance in both batting and bowling and different players have stepped in at the time of need to ensure Pakistan is at the wining side. Experts opine that this Pakistan outfit seems one of the balanced teams and on route to another final.
The Pakistan key batsman without doubt is Captain and opener Babar Azam who has been in fine form, jumping to the top spot on the ICC T20I Rankings for Batters. Babar Azam is also the top scorer in the tournament with 264 runs including four half centuries. The Pakistan opening duo, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, has been putting together successful partnership consistently. Their fine batting against India in the opening match secure Pakistan a memorable 10 wicket win against India.
Pakistan’s key bowler is Shaheen Shah Afridi who can run down any opponent with his lethal bowling and is one to look out for in the Semifinals.(RZ)
[Image credit icc-cricket.com]
