After suffering two humiliating defeats in Dubai, UAE, the pre-tournament favourites and ‘hosts’ India now face an ignominious early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Virat Kohli & Co started their Super 12 campaign on an abysmal note, losing by 10 wickets to Pakistan, who themselves consigned the Indian jinx with that scintillating performance. (More Cricket News)
Seven days later, at the same venue, India produced another clueless performance against New Zealand in their second Group 2 match. Result! An eight-wicket thrashing with 33 balls to spare. It also means that Indian cricketers, who have been camping in the UAE for some time, will have to pray harder than they play, for the semi-final qualification chances are out of their hands. They need favours from other teams. Such ignominious plight for a team with an ensemble of superstars!
The top two teams from the group qualify for the semis. Here’s a look at the scenarios, in brief. And it requires some wishful thinking!
With three wins in three, Pakistan are certain to make the semis. They have defeated India, New Zealand and Afghanistan — the three toughest opponents, comprehensively, and should steamroll Scotland and Namibia in their remaining group matches. Five wins in five, and all possible ten points for Babar Azam & Co.
That leaves five teams fighting for the second spot. And New Zealand are the favourites to take that spot, with eight points (if they win all their remaining three matches against Scotland on November 3, against Namibia on November 5 and Afghanistan on Number 7).
India will most likely finish with six points as they face Afghanistan (November 3), Scotland (November 5) and Namibia (November 8), all minnows. But there is a caveat though. On the current form, this Indian team can lose to any team. In fact, Afghanistan will be more than a handful with spin playing its part. They came close to beating Pakistan. So, every outing from now on for India will be a do-or-die.
But the fixture to look out for in this group is the meeting between New Zealand and Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on November 7. Afghans can actually do India a favour by defeating the Kiwis. They have the wherewithal to do it.
In such a scenario, three teams (India, New Zealand and Afghanistan) will finish with six points. [India beating Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia; New Zealand beating India, Scotland, Namibia; and Afghanistan beating Scotland, Namibia and New Zealand.] Then, who go through will be decided by the net run rate.
Here, India have the advantage as they will play the last game in the league stage, against Namibia. By then, they will know what to do.
But it will not be as simple as it sounds. As the tournament progresses, more scenarios will emerge, making the previous calculations redundant.
For the record, India are the official hosts. The tournament was moved to Oman and the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After suffering two humiliating defeats in Dubai, UAE, the pre-tournament favourites and ‘hosts’ India now face an ignominious early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Virat Kohli & Co started their Super 12 campaign on an abysmal note, losing by 10 wickets to Pakistan, who themselves consigned the Indian jinx with that scintillating performance. (More Cricket News) Seven days later, at the same venue, India produced another clueless performance against New Zealand in their second Group 2 match. Result! An eight-wicket thrashing with 33 balls to spare. It also means that Indian cricketers, who have been camping in the UAE for some time, will have to pray harder than they play, for the semi-final qualification chances are out of their hands. They need favours from other teams. Such ignominious plight for a team with an ensemble of superstars! The top two teams from the group qualify for the semis. Here’s a look at the scenarios, in brief. And it requires some wishful thinking! With three wins in three, Pakistan are certain to make the semis. They have defeated India, New Zealand and Afghanistan — the three toughest opponents, comprehensively, and should steamroll Scotland and Namibia in their remaining group matches. Five wins in five, and all possible ten points for Babar Azam & Co. That leaves five teams fighting for the second spot. And New Zealand are the favourites to take that spot, with eight points (if they win all their remaining three matches against Scotland on November 3, against Namibia on November 5 and Afghanistan on Number 7). India will most likely finish with six points as they face Afghanistan (November 3), Scotland (November 5) and Namibia (November 8), all minnows. But there is a caveat though. On the current form, this Indian team can lose to any team. In fact, Afghanistan will be more than a handful with spin playing its part. They came close to beating Pakistan. So, every outing from now on for India will be a do-or-die. But the fixture to look out for in this group is the meeting between New Zealand and Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on November 7. Afghans can actually do India a favour by defeating the Kiwis. They have the wherewithal to do it. In such a scenario, three teams (India, New Zealand and Afghanistan) will finish with six points. [India beating Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia; New Zealand beating India, Scotland, Namibia; and Afghanistan beating Scotland, Namibia and New Zealand.] Then, who go through will be decided by the net run rate. Here, India have the advantage as they will play the last game in the league stage, against Namibia. By then, they will know what to do. But it will not be as simple as it sounds. As the tournament progresses, more scenarios will emerge, making the previous calculations redundant. For the record, India are the official hosts. The tournament was moved to Oman and the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic.