Before the start of the Super 10 stage of the 2016 World T20, had someone told you that West Indies & New Zealand would top their respective groups at the end of week one; you would have said, “In your dreams buddy”. But here we are, one week into the Super 10 stage and the Kiwis & the team from the Caribbean islands are at the top of the points table.
A dream run for West Indies & New Zealand
So, it indeed has been a dream run for these two teams. While it was Chris Gayle who set the stage on fire for the West Indies with his century against England; much to everyone’s surprise, the reason behind the success of the Kiwis has been the performance of their spinners. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and leg-spinner Inderbir Singh Sodhi have led the New Zealand spin attack with remarkable success so far in the World Cup.
Both West Indies & New Zealand are unbeaten after playing two matches each and stand a very good chance to make it to the semi-finals. But just like one cannot predict the outcome of a T20 match after only the power play overs; it would be too early to jump into conclusion after only one week into the tournament.
In spite of the IPL experience which many overseas players possess, most of the teams are still trying to get a feel of the Indian conditions. It can be said that the varying nature of the pitches have not helped them either. On one hand we have had rank turners like the one in Nagpur and on the other we have seen batting beauties like the Wankhede wicket in Mumbai.
However, irrespective of the nature of the wicket; Afghanistan is one team which has won the hearts of every cricket fan. This team from a war-torn country has clearly given the big boys of cricket a run for their money. It is the performance from teams like Afghanistan that will go a long way in making cricket a global sport.
A slow start by favourites India & South Africa
Coming to two teams - India & South Africa who were billed as favourites prior to the start of the tournament; have made rather slow starts in the first week. Hosts India lost their opening game against the Kiwis on a turning wicket at Nagpur, but riding on Virat Kohli’s sublime innings came back strongly to win their second match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
This was the match of the tournament as far as the Indians & Pakistani fans were concerned. Now that the Indians have got the much-needed boost to their World Cup campaign, they will be more than a force to reckon with for the other teams.
Much like the Indians, the Proteas have found the going tough so far in the tournament. They lost a high scoring match against the inventors of T20 cricket - England. The Three Lions chased down 230 runs, thanks to Joe Root’s brilliant batting display. With this loss the South Africans now have the dubious distinction of losing the most number of T20 matches (they have now lost a T20I three times after scoring more than 200 runs in the first innings) after scoring a total in excess of 200 runs in the first innings.
However, with world class players like AB de Villiers & Hashim Amla in their ranks, this South African team have it in them to remove the tag of chokers from their neck.
Other big teams like Australia, Sri Lanka, England & Pakistan have also had rather somber beginning to their World Cup campaign. Another team which will not be happy after the first week will be the team from Bangladesh. After a strong performance in the Asia Cup just before the World Cup, a lot was expected from the Tigers who have so far lost both their matches.
This is just the beginning so don’t be surprised if these teams turn the tables around soon to become strong contenders for a spot in the semi-finals. And as they say “Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties”, the 2016 World T20 seems to be no exception.
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