6 minutes agoAuthor: Ashwin Solanki
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September 24, 2007. Pakistan needs 13 runs in the last over, 9 wickets have fallen. Misbah-ul-Haq was playing on 37 runs after hitting 3 sixes. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni passed the ball to Joginder Sharma. The first ball was wide, the next ball was blank, Misbah hit his fourth six on the second ball and there was silence in the stadium.
Now only 6 runs are needed from 4 balls, the silence became deeper. Joginder bowled the third ball and Misbah scooped it. The ball was in the air, it seemed as if another six would be hit, while traveling the ball ended up in the hands of Sreesanth at fine leg. Team India won the first T20 World Cup and the country went into celebration. The 9th T20 World Cup is starting tomorrow i.e. from 2nd June.
Any team can become champion, but along with India, the teams of England and Australia are considered to be the biggest contenders to win the trophy this time.
Today in Part-7 of the World Cup Depth Report, we will talk about the 3 contenders to win the tournament…
Australia: Opportunity to complete the World Cup trinity
Australia team has been the champion team in terms of winning the ICC trophy. From 2021 till now, Australia’s men’s team has won the T-20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and World Test Championship. However, he did not hold all three titles at the same time.
Now Australia has its chance. Currently Australia is the world champion of ODI and Test. As soon as they win the T20, their World Cup trinity will be completed. They will become the first team in the world to do so.
4 factors that make Australia a contender to become champion…
Factor-1: Won 63% matches in T-20 World Cup
There have been 8 T20 World Cups so far and Australia has participated in all of them. In these, Australia played 40 matches, won 25 and lost 15. That means 62.5% of the matches were won.
Australia played 8 out of its 40 matches in the World Cup in the knock-out round. In this he won 4 and lost 4.
Factor-2: West Indies has played the final
Australia has won only 53% of T-20 matches on West Indies soil. The team played 15 matches here, won 8 and lost 7. However, in 2010, the Australian team reached the final of the T-20 World Cup held here. Australia also won the ODI World Cup here in 2007.
The team will play its four matches in the group stage on three grounds in West Indies.
Factor-3: Captain Mitchell Marsh won 88% T-20s.
Mitchell Marsh will take command of Australia in the T20 World Cup. Under the captaincy of Marsh, the Kangaroo team played 8 matches and won 7, i.e. 87.5% of the matches were won. Marsh led the team to 3 series wins against South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.
Australia’s form after the 2022 T20 World Cup also remained positive. The team scored 200 plus 6 times in 14 matches and won 64% of the matches. The team’s run rate was also more than 10, although giving runs at an economy of 9.38 could prove to be worrying.
Factor-4: 9 players have experience of more than 10 World Cup matches
Australia gave priority to experienced players in its squad. 13 out of 15 players of the team have played more than 20 T20s. Among these, 9 players also have the experience of playing more than 10 T20 World Cup matches.
Even among players who have never played the World Cup, players like Cameron Green and Nathan Ellis are rapidly making their mark in T20. David Warner is the team’s top run scorer with 3099 runs, while Adam Zampa is the top bowler with 92 wickets.
Possible playing-11: Mitchell Marsh (captain), David Warner, Travis Head, Josh English (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.
Extra: Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade.
2. England: Chance to become the first country to win 3 T20 World Cups
England is the champion team of the 8th T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in 2022. Before this, she had also won the trophy in 2010. Apart from England, only West Indies has become T20 World Champion twice. If England wins this time, it will become the first team to win three world titles in this format.
The England team is considered to be the most balanced team in the world in T-20 format. There are always 7 bowling options in the team’s playing-11 and there is depth in batting till number-10. The team’s bowling has strengthened with the return of Joffra Archer.
4 factors that make England a contender to become champion…
Factor-1: Played knockout stage in last 3 T-20 World Cups
England played 44 matches in the T-20 World Cup and won 24. That means success in 55%. Have also lost 19 matches. One match remained inconclusive.
After being out of the Super-8 stage in 2007 and 2009, the team became champion in 2010. In 2012 and 2014, the English team again exited the group stage and could not qualify for the semi-finals.
In 2016, the team had an attacking approach and became the runner-up. The team again played the knockout stage in 2021, but was eliminated after losing the semi-finals. England won the title in 2022.
Factor-2: The team has won the World Cup in West Indies
The England team has won the T-20 World Cup in West Indies in 2010. Overall England played 24 matches in the West Indies, winning 13 and losing 10. One match also remained inconclusive. That is, 54% of the matches were won.
Factor-3: The last World Cup was won under the captaincy of Butler.
Jos Buttler will captain England in 2024 also. Under his leadership, the team won the title by defeating Pakistan in the 2022 final. Butler captained England in 32 matches, the team won 17 matches and lost 14. That means the winning percentage was 53%. The team is currently coming after defeating Pakistan 2-0 in the home series.
Factor-4: 10 players of the squad are part of the winning squad of 2022
10 out of 15 players included in the English squad also won the World Cup in 2022. 6 have also played more than 10 T20 World Cup matches. Players who have not played the World Cup till now include experienced players like Joffra Archer and emerging T20 stars like Will Jacques and Harry Brook.
5 players of the squad have experience of playing more than 70 T20 matches. Among these, captain Jos Buttler is the top run scorer of the team, he has scored 3011 runs. Adil Rashid is the top wicket taker of the team with 108 wickets.
Possible playing-11: Jos Buttler (captain and wicketkeeper), Phil Salt, Will Jacques, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingston, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.
Extra: Ben Duckett, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Reece Topley.
3. India: Chance to end 17-year title drought
India has won 18 out of 28 matches in this format since the last T20 World Cup. Thanks to a success rate of 64%, India is currently the number 1 team in the world in T20.
However, it is also true that the Indian team has never won the T20 World Cup since 2007. At the same time, since 2013, our team has not been able to win any ICC trophy in other formats also.
Factor-1: Won 61% matches in T-20 World Cup
In this tournament, the Indian team has played 44 matches so far, won 27 and lost 15. During this period, one match was tied and one also remained inconclusive. The team’s winning percentage has been 61%.
Factor-2: 50% T-20 wins in West Indies, 63% in America
Team India has experience of playing T-20 in both America and West Indies. The team played 8 T-20s in America, won 5 and lost 2, one match remained inconclusive. That means the winning percentage was around 63%. The teams will play 4 group stage matches on 2 grounds in America, the important match against Pakistan on June 9 will also be played at Nassau County Stadium in New York.
If Team India reaches the Super-8 stage, then all the matches there will be played in West Indies. Here also the team has the experience of playing 14 T-20s, India won 7 and lost 7. That means there was 50% winning percentage.
Factor-3: Captain Rohit has won 78% T-20
Team India will once again play the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Last time the team had reached the semi-finals. Under the captaincy of Rohit, India played 54 matches and won 41 matches. The team lost only 12 matches, while one match was tied. India also won the tied match in a super over. That means Rohit has won overall 78% T-20 for India. Rohit is also the only player to play all T20 World Cups for India.
Even since the last T-20 World Cup, Team India has won 64%. The team played 28 matches and won 18, 2 matches were tied and one was inconclusive. During this period, India scored 200+ scores 8 times, the team’s run rate was 9.33. Whereas the bowlers spent runs with an economy of only 8.05.
Factor-4: 9 players have played T-20 World Cup
13 out of 15 players in India’s squad have experience of playing more than 20 T20s. The remaining 2 players have also played more than 10 T-20 matches. 9 players of the squad have played T-20 World Cup before, out of which 6 have played 10 plus matches.
Captain Rohit and former captain Virat Kohli have experience of playing more than 115 T20s. Both are also part of the top-3 run scorers of T-20 International. Virat has scored the maximum of 4037 runs and Rohit has scored 3974 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal is the top bowler of the team with 96 wickets, although if he gets a chance to play the match, it will be his first T20 World Cup match.
Possible playing-11: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dubey, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Extra: Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel.
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Graphics: Kunal Sharma, Ankit Pathak
Sketch: Sandeep Pal
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Read tomorrow’s World Cup In-depth Report-8
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