T20 World Cup: A fight to the finish for semifinal spots

Till Saturday’s cliff-hanger between England and Sri Lanka, it wasn’t clear which team would join New Zealand in the semifinal from Group 1. If anything, the situation in Group 2 is perhaps even more intriguing.

South Africa and India have the best prospects. A simple win would do the job. For Pakistan and Bangladesh, the equation is heavily complicated.

South Africa and India also have the advantage of playing minnow teams — Netherlands and Zimbabwe respectively.

I use the word 'minnow' with some trepidation. This tournament has already seen quite a few topsy-turvy results. No opponent is easy.

MATCH 1

The Proteas looked in stupendous form till the crashing defeat to Pakistan. The pace attack is excellent, and they have fantastic stroke players in the top order. David Miller should be back to make the batting stronger. The Dutch are hard triers, but have a mountain to climb.

MATCH 2

Pakistan came into their own with a commanding performance against South Africa. Lack of runs from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan is still a worry but with the middle-order turning productive, the batting woes are considerably diminished. Pakistan’s bowling, pace and spin, has been top class. Bangladesh are shorn of depth. Litton Das is a dashing opener, but mercurial Shakib Al Hasan has looked weighed down leading a team found wanting on many counts.

MATCH 3

KL Rahul striking form takes a load off Rohit Sharma. But the captain himself needs to get past decent starts and play a substantive knock. The task of scoring runs can’t be left only to Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.

India’s bowling, pace and spin, has been quite superb and will have to continue in the same vein. Zimbabwe can’t make the semifinals, but are under no pressure and will be aiming for glory. Players like Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza — canny and richly experienced — can be party-poopers.

SA vs Netherlands, 6 November, Adelaide, 4 am (UAE Time)

Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza