Pakistan have almost sealed their berth
in the semi-finals as probably the top team in Group-2 winning three out of
three matches and notching up 6 points so far. What is more significant is the
fact that Pakistan have crossed the main hurdles by defeating the toughest
opponents in the group, namely India, New Zealand and Afghanistan. Now they
have only two teams to overcome, considered to be weaker rivals. Of course,
Namibia, creating another historic chapter by winning their first ever
Super-stage match against Scotland, and Scotland are not pushovers. However,
considering the roaring form Pakistan are in now winning against those two
teams is not likely to be very tough, and in that scenario they will have 10
points—the maximum any team can manage in the group. The Pakistan team has
arguably the best bowling attack of the tournament—combining pace and spin—and
a very balanced team with someone up or down the line to finish the game. Captain
Babar and wicket-keeper batsman Rizwan have shown consistency among quite a few
others.
Afghanistan earlier trounced Scotland in
the way of a champion and gave a tremendous fight against Pakistan taking their
5 wickets with 24 needed from the last two overs. But for finisher Asif Ali’s
four sixes in the penultimate over the match could have gone in any direction. Their
decision to bat first after winning the toss was probably due to Rashid and
Nabi, but they could’ve done better by putting Pakistan in as the latter has not
been tested so far in their ability in setting a target in the sluggish pitches.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan could not manage to preserve one of their best
strike bowlers for the death. The team has arguably the best spinners of the
tournament in Rashid Khan and Nabi with the latter almost taking the game away
from Pakistan in the 18th over. Rashid Khan is in the seventh heaven
capturing his 100th scalp in 53 T20I matches. Already with 2 points
Afghanistan have at the moment two tough opponents in the form of India and New
Zealand apart from Namibia. With their spirit and talent they can really hope
to get to 6 points to remain in contention. Their thundering six-hitting
prowess has also become an important factor in their favor.
For India it is a must-win situation
tomorrow against New Zealand; they have to win at least three out of the four
remaining matches to get to 6 points to be in contention for a semi-final berth.
The depth of their batting is yet to be tested, and Rohit, Rahul and Virat must
fire against New Zealand—a very tough opponent with quality fast bowlers and
super fieldsmen. As per the first match against Pakistan the Indian bowling
attack seems the weakest in the group and there are several niggles in the team
selection. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has not shown his strike-bowler abilities either
in the IPL-2021 or in the crucial match against Pakistan and he is a prime
candidate for being replaced by Shardul Thakur who can also bat. Captain Virat Kohli’s
obsession with Hardik Pandya is another hassle, because Pandya has not been
bowling at all in the previous matches and his batting of late is also not
promising. That puts the team in a crisis of not being able to find a sixth
bowler in need. Ideally, Pandya should be replaced by Ravichandran Ashwin who
has shown his prowess as a genuine all-rounder recently. But reports suggest
that the same eleven will be fielded tomorrow. If India manage to beat New Zealand
the future course would be relatively easy, at least to get 6 points.
New Zealand must be boiling hot and gearing
up for a much-needed win after losing narrowly to Pakistan. If they manage to
beat India with their ferocious pace attack then the future course would also
be easier for them to notch up the minimum of 6 points to remain in contention.
They would hope to overpower Scotland and Namibia, and even Afghanistan if they
handle their spin attack successfully. New Zealand beat India in the famous
World Cup-2019 semi-final and lost the final against England under
controversial circumstances. Their super fielding is an additional asset for
all their rivals concerned.
Therefore, we can imagine a situation of
three teams of Group-2 ending up with 6 points each where the net run-rate
would come into consideration to decide the second top team from the group,
provided Namibia and Scotland do not cause any upsets. Tomorrow’s India Vs New
Zealand encounter is perfectly setup with both teams facing a desperate must-win
situation. As per the pitch behavior in UAE we can possibly expect a
low-scoring cliffhanger or a one-sided affair if the Indian batting potential gets
real with their spinners finding the deadly turn or if New Zealand fast bowlers
manage to destroy Indian batting. As usual, the toss would be crucial as the
dew factor would come into operation later in the night. For commercial reasons
India figure in the second slot in all matches, but the toss and the dew factor
may finish off commerce totally if India are unable to make it to the
semi-finals.
Interestingly, in any world cricket
tournament the India Vs Pakistan match is always of tremendous importance for
the Indian fans. If India beat Pakistan in the round-robin then the fans feel
as if the final has been won and if the opposite happens like in this
tournament, although it was for the first time in one-day and T20 World Cups,
most of the fans stop caring who goes on to win the final and the Cup. Nevertheless,
if India manage to get to the semi-final stage the fans, barring the bigots,
are expected to come roaring back to support their team.
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