New Delhi. The teams that have made it to the Super 8 in the T20 World Cup 2024 have been decided. Teams from India, Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, USA, West Indies and England have made it to the final 8 teams. Bangladesh on Monday defeated Nepal by 21 runs to become the second team from Group ‘D’ to reach the Super 8. In the match, the Bangladeshi team defended the score of 106 runs well and bundled out Nepal for just 85 runs in 19.2 overs. Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s team scored 6 points in 4 matches and became the second team from its group to reach the second round after South Africa (8 points).
These 8 teams making it to the Super-8 will be divided into two groups of four each. The top 2 teams in both the groups will enter the semi-finals. Talking about Team India, the ‘Rohit Sharma Brigade’ will face Afghanistan in Bridgetown on June 20, Bangladesh in North Sound on June 22 and Australia in Grass Islet on June 24 in the Super 8.
Out of these, India’s record against Afghanistan and Bangladesh has been tremendous. These two teams have not been able to defeat the Indian team in the T20 World Cup so far. However, after entering the Super 8, the matches will become tougher and even a slight mistake can spoil the ‘game’ of any team and send it out. The good thing for Team India is that the Super 8 matches have shifted from America to West Indies. Batsmen of all teams including India had to struggle on the ‘substandard’ wickets of America, especially New York. Some batsmen were injured due to uneven bounce, while due to slow outfield, boundaries were also less. More or less the wickets are slow in West Indies as well, but the situation here is better than America. The matches of Super 8 will start from June 19.
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Before the Super 8 matches, Rohit’s team has to solve some ‘puzzles’ which could pose a challenge for it.
1. Should Virat remain the opener or should Yashasvi get an entry?
In IPL 2024, Virat Kohli scored a lot of runs as an opener and captured the Orange Cap. After this, some former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar suggested that Virat should open with Rohit. However, this experiment has backfired so far. Only 5 runs have come from Virat’s bat in three innings. Every time the team’s start has been bad. After Virat’s failure as an opener, now there is talk of sending him at number 3. The biggest plus point of Virat coming at number 3 is that if the first wicket falls early, he does not let the run rate fall by playing cricketing strokes instead of ‘slog’. Along with this, he also works to improve the innings. The general opinion is that like before, Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal should start the innings and Virat should come at number 3. Due to the left-right combination, this pair also becomes a cause of trouble for the opposition bowlers and fielders. For this, it is necessary that Yashasvi be given a place in the playing XI in the Super 8 round.
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2. How to set the right combination of batsman and bowler
In the group stage matches, the strategy of the Indian team looked defensive to an extent. In all three matches, the team came out with a combination of seven bowlers (including Shivam Dubey). Ravindra Jadeja was already in the team, and to strengthen the batting, Akshar Patel, who also bowls left-arm spin like him, was given a place. The use of seven bowlers was incomprehensible. Some of them were either not used or they bowled only one or two overs. It is important that there is an ideal combination of batting and bowling, even if it means giving a place in the playing XI to a quality batsman instead of an all-rounder.
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3. Match winner Kuldeep should be in the playing XI under all circumstances
It is a common perception about wrist spinners that they change the course of the match by taking a good number of wickets. It is more difficult for the batsmen to face them than traditional spinners. Then Team India has a ‘rare’ chinaman bowler like Kuldeep Yadav. Despite this, it was surprising that Kuldeep did not get a place in the playing XI so far in the tournament. It was just like not giving a place to strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI to strengthen the batting. In the group stage, the Indian team was facing new teams like America and Canada apart from Pakistan, so Kuldeep’s absence was not felt but ignoring this deadly bowler in the Super 8 can prove to be costly. Kuldeep has shown with his performance (15 wickets, economy 4.45) in the World Cup (ODI) 2023 that he is both lethal and economical.
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4. Decide the playing XI keeping in mind the pitch and the opposition team
Team India management fielded the same playing XI in the first three matches of the tournament but in the Super 8 round, the 11 players should be decided keeping in mind the opposition team and the pitch. India has to play its first match against Afghanistan in Bridgetown which is good in terms of batting. This is the only 200+ score of the tournament so far, so it would be better to field with three spinners. In the match against Australia at Grass Islet, betting on Kuldeep to curb the aggressive batting of the opposition batsmen can prove to be a ‘master stroke’.
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5. Do not hesitate to take tough decisions
The performance of Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj in the T20 World Cup is a matter of concern. Jadeja’s runs and wickets column is empty in three matches. He got to bat only once in three matches and he could not open his account, while he did not get any wicket in the total 3 overs bowled in three matches. Similarly, Siraj has been able to take only 1 wicket in 3 matches at an average of 57. In such a situation, playing with a combination of three fast bowlers (Bumrah, Arshdeep and Hardik) and two or three spinners can be a better decision. Playing aggressive cricket with intelligence is the mantra of success in T20. For this, one should not refrain from taking tough decisions.
Tags: ICC T20 world cup, Kuldeep Yadav, mohammad siraj, ravinjadeja, T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 17, 2024, 10:27 IST