ICC World T20 2016: A look at how teams have fared since the last T20 World Cup

On 6th April, 2014, India, favourites to win the 2014 T20 World Cup lost to Sri Lanka, a team that finally broke its World Cup Finals jinx to give a few of its legends a fitting farewell from the shorter format of the game. Two years on, the tournament has moved from Bangladesh to India and the hosts are hot favourites to lift the Cup they haven’t won since the inaugural edition in 2007.This isn’t merely rhetoric but rather based on two facts – the domination in the T20 world and the extent of that domination. As we wait with bated breath for the main event to get underway, it is not a bad time to look at how the teams have fared in these two years. The form guide hardly means anything in a high-profile, high-pressure tournament.Nevertheless, it is not a bad idea to check which teams are red hot and which teams have ebbed away since the last World Cup.

#10 Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, defending champions, have witnessed plummeting fortunes since the fateful day when they won the T20 World Cup in 2014. Unable to replace its legends, the team has lost 10 of their 14 matches since. Their batting average of 19.5 is also the lowest amongst all teams participating in the main round of the World Cup.

Their bowling average is mediocre, although better than that of a few other teams. For Sri Lanka to shake off their lethargy, they will need some special performances from veterans like Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga. They have some talented fast bowlers but there isn’t much quality in the spin department.

Their preparation was nightmarish as they lost against India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup following a 1-2 loss against India in a bilateral series. But, given they have nothing to lose, the big tournament team might come up with something special.

#9 Australia

Australia have received a shot in the arm winning the T20 series in South Africa, coming from back, 2-1 after being whitewashed 0-3 by India in their own den. However, Australia haven’t had much practice in sub-continental conditions and will rely on the IPL experience of a lot of their players including Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith, Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell.

Australia’s W/L ratio is unimpressive at 0.833 in the last couple of years, having lost 6 of the 11 matches they have played. Their bowling average is over 30 and their bowling RPO is 8.15, equally mediocre. They will be motivated by the fact that they have never won the T20 World Cup so far.

#8 Pakistan

After all the security concerns they had, Pakistan will do well to focus on the actual game considering their bad form in the run-up to the tournament. Pakistan have registered 10 wins in 20 games with a W/L ratio of 1.111 with a lone tie. That is only better than those of Australia and Sri Lanka. Their batting average of 20.26 is only better than Sri Lanka’s amongst all the Test playing nations.

That doesn’t really augur well for a team that will be playing in batting friendly conditions. However, Pakistan have a bowling average of 25 and an RPO of 7.65 which is on the higher side for a country that is predominantly a bowling team. Pakistan has an excellent pace battery and the return of Mohammad Amir could help, although their recent record is not the most impressive. Pakistan have lost 4 out of their last 6 matches.

#7 Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s W/L ratio of 1.285 shows how much they have improved in the last one year. In the recently concluded Asia Cup they won against Pakistan and Sri Lanka but lost twice to India. However, given their home conditions are similar to what they’ll encounter, Bangladesh will fancy their chances with extra match practice in the form of Qualifiers that they sailed through.

Bangladesh will rely on their bowling strength which is impressive with a bowling average of 21.27 and an RPO of 7.3, the second best amongst all Test playing nations in the last couple of years. They have an extremely tough group to deal with though and even finishing third would be a matter of pride for a team taking quick strides in the shorter formats of the game.

#6 West Indies

West Indies have played very little since last T20 World Cup, 8 matches, of which they won 4 and lost 3. The 2012 Champions have a batting average of 22.57 and a bowling average of 29.73. Their biggest concern is the bowling RPO of 8.78 which is the worst amongst all teams in the last two years.

West Indies’ biggest strength is their IPL experience with players like Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels although they will miss Sunil Narine. West Indies lost their warm-up game to India, but have a good chance to make it to the top 2 in their group that has South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and Afghanistan apart from them.

#5 South Africa

No matter what the format, South Africa are always favourites at the beginning of a tournament. Probably with the golden generation of their short-format batting, that has players like Hashim Amla sitting out sometimes, South Africa have what it takes to go the distance. AB de Villiers will want to do something substantial to contribute to the team’s trophy cabinet.

Under Faf du Plessis, the team shapes up well, given Faf played under MS Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, experience that will stand him in good stead. South Africa will take heart from the fact that they won the ODI and T20 series against India in India late last year. However, their practice wasn’t top class, in the run-up, losing to Australia 1-2 at home.

The conditions will be different this time around and they have kickstarted their campaign well with a warm-up win over favourites and hosts, India. South Africa’s W/L ratio of 1.428 is midway but their batting average of 33 is the highest amongst all T20 playing nations since the last World Cup.

Their bowling average of 20.98 also points to their wicket-taking capabilities but they may need to focus on the bowling RPO which is languishing at 8.07, fifth amongst Test playing nations. They are favourites in their group to top the table given their IPL experience with Faf, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and David Miller.

#4 New Zealand

With 8 wins and 5 losses in 13 matches, New Zealand’s W/L ratio of 1.6 is impressive along with their batting average of 25.74. Their high RPO of 8.54 reflects their batting style – flamboyant and attacking. Their only problem is that these numbers don’t mean much now that they don’t have Brendon McCullum in their ranks, a man instrumental in achieving some of those numbers and easily their most experienced T20 player especially in Indian conditions.

New Zealand will rely on the IPL experience of Corey Anderson, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan as most of the other players don’t have much of a taste of the Indian conditions. New Zealand’s bowling RPO is 7.72, midway amongst Test playing nations and it will be a concern in batting-friendly conditions. They haven’t played much in India in the last couple of years either as far as T20s are concerned.

#3 England

England are surprisingly in the third place with a W/L ratio of 1.666, winning 5 and losing 3 of the 9 matches they have played since last T20 World Cup. England’s ODI side is rejuvenated pulling off some great wins consistently but their T20 performances are still suspect, although the core team is the same.

England’s batting average of 23.35 is average amongst teams but their bowling RPO of 8.46 is better than only one team’s – West Indies. It is hard to judge England though, as they have played only two T20 Internationals this year, both of which they lost. England won both their T20s late last year against Pakistan in Dubai, the kind of conditions they may get in India.

However, their bowling is untested and while they have couple of good spinners in Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, only Eoin Morgan can boast of reasonable IPL experience. That will be a drawback compared to other teams in their easier group – Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies.

#2 India

A little dampened by their warm-up loss to South Africa, the tournament favorites have the best W/L record in the last couple of years, winning 11 out of their 16 matches, including a 3-0 win over Australia and five successive wins at the Asia Cup in the run to the big tournament. Only South Africa has a better batting average than India’s 29.50 and the bowling has only improved in the last three months.

The inclusion of Mohammad Shami will be a big boost to Indian bowling machine’s wicket-taking and run-saving capabilities. India’s W/L ratio of 2.2 is the best amongst all Test playing nations with England and New Zealand coming in a distant second and third respectively.

India also boast of a bowling average of 18.32 with an RPO of 6.91, being the only Test-playing nation with a sub-7 RPO showing how their bowling plans, once a weakness, have also fallen beautifully into place. However, they have a tough group to deal with where a couple of slippery matches could be really tricky.

#1 Afghanistan

Surprise toppers of this table, Afghanistan qualified for the main round in style winning all three of their matches, including one against Zimbabwe, a team with Test status. The fairy-tale story continues as Afghanistan now coached by Inzamam-ul-Haq have won 16 of their last 19 matches since the last World Cup losing just 3, twice against Hong Kong and once against UAE.

They haven’t been tested heavily though with Zimbabwe being the only team with Test status they have competed against, but impressively winning all 5 encounters. Afghanistan will enter the main draw with some confidence having blitzed past its opponents in all three matches at Nagpur.