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India’s Route To The T20 World Cup Semi-final

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will take place from 1st to 29th June 2024. India has had terrible luck in recent ICC tournaments and hopes to end its losing streak by winning the T20 World Cup this year. The closest they came was when they lost to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. So, will India have to face Australia again? Which teams have been placed in their group? Who will they play against on their road to the semi-final? All these questions and more have been answered in the article below.

Who Does India Face In The T20 World Cup Group Stages?

India has been placed into Group A for the first stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. They are placed together with Canada, Ireland, Pakistan, and the United States of America. India has a relatively easy group and should end up topping their group. Qualifying for the Super Eight stages is something that should be very easy for India.

India’s Group Stage Fixtures:

• India Vs Ireland – 5th June, 20:00 IST
• India Vs Pakistan – 9th June, 20:00 IST
• India Vs United States of America – 12th June, 20:00 IST
• India Vs Canada – 15th June, 20:00 IST

India should be able to navigate through this group quite easily and make it to the Super Eight.

Will India Have To Face Australia Before The Semi-final?

There are pre-decided seedings given to teams going into the T20 World Cup. For example, India is seeded A1 in Group A, and Australia are seeded B2 in Group B. A1 and B2 are both placed in Group A of the Super Eight. This means that irrespective of whether India and Australia finish 1st or 2nd in their group, they will both be placed in Group A upon qualification. This means that unless Australia or India do not qualify for the Super Eight stages, they will end up playing each other in the Super Eight group stage.

India’s Possible Opponents In The T20 World Cup ‘Super Eight’

As explained earlier in the article, the Super Eight groups will be decided by the seeds given to the teams before starting the first round. For example, India is 1st seed in Group A. Therefore, no matter if they finish 1st or 2nd in the table, they will be placed in Group A of the Super Eight. Similarly, Australia are 2nd seed in group B. This means that no matter if they finish 1st or 2nd in their group, they will join India in Group A of the Super Eight if the team manage to qualify.

Super Eight of 2024 T20 WC will be the 2007-2012 T20 WC format, not the 2007 ODI WC

Ind, Aus, NZ, SL in one Group
Pak, Eng, SA, WI in other Group

If Bangladesh qualify instead of SL, they will be in Group A, if they qualify instead of SA, they will be in Group B and so on.

— Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) May 1, 2024

If no upsets happen in this year’s T20 World Cup, Group A will consist of India, Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, while Group B will consist of Pakistan, England, South Africa, and West Indies. India will potentially face Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka in the Super Eight, which could end up being a very dangerous group.

The only way the groups change is if some upsets happen in the first round. For example, if Bangladesh finish in the top 2 instead of Sri Lanka, they will take Sri Lanka’s seeding. This means regardless of if they finish 1st or 2nd, they will be placed in Group A. On the other hand if they managed to qualify for the Super Eight instead of South Africa, they would take South Africa’s seeding and be placed into Group B for the Super Eight stage.

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Key Players From Top Teams India Needs To Watch Out For

Pat Cummins (Australia)

Credit: The Cricketer

India will know how careful they need to be while coming up against Australian cricketer Pat Cummins. The Australian led his nation to victory in the 2023 ODI World Cup final which was hosted by India. This was a massive feat and he showed just what he and his team can do. India will want to exact revenge on Australia in the T20 World Cup but will have to do it carefully.

Cummins was the 2nd most expensive buy ahead of IPL 2024. Although he had a very expensive price tag, he has lived up to it. Not only has he transformed Sunrisers Hyderabad under his leadership, he has also clutched many games for them on certain occasions and will hope he can lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to their 2nd Indian Premier League title.

Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

Shaheen Afridi has always caused problems with Indian openers. The swing Afridi manages to get with the new ball is very impressive. Rohit Sharma is one of the openers, and he always looks to give India a very fast start. While targeting Afridi, he will have to read the ball as well as the pitch very well; otherwise, India could lose an early wicket, which may cause huge problems.

India will not be quick to forget Shaheen Afridi’s performance against them in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The strike bowler picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli, completely breaking India’s core. He bowled four overs and picked up three wickets while just conceding 31 runs. These wickets turned out to be too big of a loss for India and they failed to recover, ultimately losing to Pakistan by 10 wickets.

Phil Salt (England)

Phil Salt has had a stellar IPL campaign. His opening partnership with teammate Sunil Narine has been awe-inspiring. He has been attacking the ball since the start of his innings and has been hitting it beautifully. His timing seems to be perfect, and if he continues this form going into the T20 World Cup, it could spell big problems for India if they come up against England.

Trent Boult (New Zealand)

Trent Boult has always been a dangerous new ball bowler. What makes him even more dangerous is that he is a left-handed pacer. Two of the most important Indian players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both seem to struggle a bit more against left-handed pacers. Sharma, especially, has a terrible record. This is what makes Trent Boult extremely dangerous, and it could be a huge problem for India if they end up facing New Zealand.

Boult has a phenomenal record against India in T20 internationals. He has played seven innings against India and picked up 12 wickets. He boasts an impressive economy of 8.23 against India and has an average of 17.8 and a strike rate of 13. India will surely be have to wary of New Zealand’s strike bowler if they end up coming up against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup.

Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa)

Credit: Hindustan Times

Heinrich Klaasen’s form seems to have fallen off recently, but you can never discount a hitter like Klaasen. The South African started the IPL season in prolific form, hitting the ball all around the ground for huge sixes. While his form has dipped, he has already shown what he is capable of, and if he can find form before the T20 World Cup again, he can end up being one of South Africa’s most dangerous assets.

The South African has a good record against India in T20 internationals, scoring 222 runs in eight innings at an average of 27.8 and a strike rate of 163.20. However, he has not been at his best against India recently.

His last three innings against India have yielded five runs in five balls, seven runs in five balls, and eight runs in eight balls. Despite these extremely bad performances, his overall stats against India still seem to be good. This goes to show just how dangerous a batsman Klaasen can be if India end up going against him when he is in form.

Travis Head (Australia)

Travis Head has already shown India exactly what damage he can do. He did most of the work in the ODI World Cup final when Australia beat India. He has continued his form and looked even more dangerous in T20s. His partnership with Abhishek Sharma has been extremely explosive, and if he continues his hitting form in the T20 World Cup, India could be in a whole lot of trouble. He has scored 533 runs in IPL 2024 in just 11 innings. He has done this at an average of 53.3 and a strike rate of 201.9.

Head has been in terrific form for Australia as well. Since the start of 2023, Head has played nine T20 internationals. He has scored 311 runs in these nine innings at an average of 34.6 and a strike rate of 166.3. India will know just how much damage Head can do if they do not pick his wicket early and will surely target his wicket right from the start if they face Australia in the T20 World Cup.

Matheesha Pathirana (Sri Lanka)

Matheesha Pathirana was bowling unbelievably well before he got injured. While his injury has ruled him out of the remainder of the IPL season, he will recover in time to participate in the T20 World Cup for Sri Lanka. He has been bowing perfect yorkers one after the other, uprooting stumps in the IPL and if India come up against him it will turn out to be an extremely tough matchup for our batsmen.

Andre Russell (West Indies)

Credit: The Cricketer

Andre Russell is a name that is well-known in India. He has been putting on a show in the Indian Premier League for a very long time. Indians know exactly what he is capable of and will know they have to contain him if they end up playing against West Indies. Russell is not someone who you can just let be in the T20 World Cup. If he starts firing, he can singlehandedly win the game for West Indies. He has some unimaginable hitting power, and it would be best if India did not take him lightly.

For more news and updates on the T20 World Cup, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.

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