India, Pakistan, Australia or England: Who will win the T20 Cricket World Cup 2022?

Gulf News

Australia begin their defence of the Men’s T20 World Cup on Saturday (October 22) as the Super 12 stage gets underway at Sydney, with captain Aaron Finch leading his team against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand. The tournament commenced on October 16 in Geelong, Victoria, with the first-round matches.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/all-you-want-to-know-about-the-icc-mens-t20-cricket-world-cup-2022-in-australia-1.1666275139443  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #cricket #t20worldcup

Transcript

00:00Hello everyone. Welcome to the Straight Bad with Gulf News. The T20 World Cup is here

00:13and in fact it actually started last Saturday. In fact some of the matches are on and we

00:18have had some upsets as well which means the SuperTournament starts on this Saturday. We

00:24could see some more interesting results, in fact some more upsets as well. Before we head

00:28over to my colleagues here, Satish and Ashfaq. Ashfaq is the Assistant Editor and Satish

00:34is the Sports Editor. We will have their take on what this tournament is going to be and

00:38how different is it going to be. Satish, what do you expect from this tournament?

00:42Chand, the difference between the previous one, the UAE and here is, first the ball is

00:50going to come nicely onto the bat. There will be more bounce than the UAE wickets. That's

00:54one aspect of it. But the second one is, by and large it's going to be the same. The

00:58bowlers are going to dominate here as well. As far as what I have seen in this last few

01:02games, the bowlers are going to get the purchase, whether it is fast bowlers, the spinners,

01:07they are going to have a good purchase and the bigger grounds are going to make it even

01:10more difficult for the batters to play those big shots because they could be out on the

01:14deep where some places it could be 80 yards or 80 meters rather. Other places it's beyond

01:19the boundary line probably to reach the fans. So it's going to be a different World Cup

01:25in the sense they have to play smarter cricket and they have to use their running between

01:31the wickets, they have to use the spaces, gaps between the wickets. So we are going

01:36to see a more classical form of T20 World Cup this time.

01:41Ashok, what's your expectation?

01:43Shyam, I think it's going to be very interesting. If you see the groups, I would say the three

01:50big teams are in one group like New Zealand, Australia and England and they all are expert

01:57in playing in fast wickets. So that group is definitely going to be very interesting.

02:03And from Pakistan, Group B, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and two qualifiers are there. I

02:10would say pretty much Pakistan and India are qualifying for the semi-finals. So that's

02:15going to be a very interesting contest because Pakistan and India will not face any of the

02:22teams who are expert in like Australia and New Zealand who are expert in fast wickets.

02:27So they know each other well. So it's not going to be different for them. They are going

02:32to face the same bowlers and the same batters so it's like a replica of the Asia Cup.

02:39One team they have to be wary of is South Africa who's got some fast bowlers but again

02:45they are not...

02:46South Africa has not been doing well.

02:48Very well, yeah. They are in the rebuilding process and there are also injuries.

02:52That would be a surprise if they do something.

02:54Yes, in fact they could spring a few surprises because they have got some good fast bowlers

02:59there.

02:59I completely agree with the fact that they are not the force they used to be.

03:04Satish, you said something about the changes we can expect but see all this while we have

03:09seen that all T20 games tend to be dominated by batsmen. For the first time we are seeing

03:14a level playing ground where the bowlers are equal. So we could see some real good matches,

03:20right?

03:20Absolutely, Shaun. I think my opinion is the batting might is going to determine especially...

03:26It's going to be different segments that you have to plan. Like the opening, it's not going

03:31to be the same way that the first 6 overs you go hammer and tongs. No, it might not

03:35happen because the bowlers are going to come at you. The ball is going to swing so you

03:38might have to take your time. Maybe the powerplay pass scores might not be as high as what it

03:42used to be in the last World Cups. After 10 overs, if you have a good batting might and

03:48you have some good power hitters at the end of it, back end of it, that's when you can

03:53push your score that extra 10-15 runs that could give you the winning margin. You can

03:57work on that at that point of time. So it has to be like what the current one-day years

04:02are. Like you play the first 5, 10 or the first 15 overs. Then you take a little rebuilding

04:09process during the middle stages. Then you go all out on the last overs. Similar approach

04:15is what is required on these wickets and in this World Cup.

04:18Ok, Ashfaq, whom do you think will win the World Cup this time?

04:21See, it's a tricky question but my vote is for Pakistan.

04:25Why? Why do you think they will win?

04:27See, if you see in the Asia Cup, Pakistan did very well and they had a very good start

04:32in the tri-series and they won the tri-series in New Zealand, beat New Zealand in final.

04:38So they got good practice there.

04:40And one of the important things was the middle order was always a problem till then but the

04:44middle order got some runs in New Zealand.

04:46Middle order worked, yes. And the other thing is, I would say, they had the right combination.

04:51You got Shaheen Shah and Faridi back in the track. You have Naseem Shah, another famous

04:55bowler. You have Haras Rao, who is in superb form. And then you have two spinners all around

05:02us, Nawaz and Shadab. So Nawaz Shadab can bet as well.

05:06True.

05:07So basically you have betting line-up up to number 10.

05:10Correct, yes.

05:11You've got Naseem Shah, up to number 10. Very solid betting line-up.

05:15Naseem Shah hit those sixes to win.

05:17Other thing which they did, a good change, they brought back Fakhar Zaman.

05:23Because as Satish said, it's going to be different. They need somebody who can stay at the wicket.

05:29And Fakhar has the capability of building the innings.

05:33Because all other people like Ibtukhar, Asif, Khush Dilkha, they're all like wicketers.

05:38They come and hit. Their job is just to hit the ball. They cannot consolidate the innings.

05:43So we need at least two top three players, Babar Azam, Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.

05:51I would love to see Haider Ali playing. He's a fantastic westerner. He's in good form.

05:56They should give him a chance. So that way I think they have a pretty good chance to win.

06:02And also I would say, if Babar Azam doesn't have a good tournament, then the chances are very low.

06:12So you are saying it's completely dependent on Babar Azam?

06:16I would say 80% depends on Babar Azam.

06:18Satish, what do you think or who do you think will win this time?

06:22T20, even I think AI can't predict who will win.

06:26But I would first start with the semifinals. I would go with Australia on form, on the team.

06:31I would go with Australia, England, India and Pakistan to make the semifinals

06:36based on the groupings and the form they are in.

06:38And from there, I still feel India has got a good chance to go and win the second trophy

06:45for the simple reason...

06:46No, why I ask you is, let me stop you there.

06:49Because every tournament comes, you say that India is going to win.

06:52But it never happens, isn't it?

06:54Exactly. The two reasons which I am thinking will work in India's favour is

06:59yeah, Bumrah is not there, but it's a big blow.

07:02But what Shami showed against Australia, he has literally showed that

07:07you don't really miss Bumrah.

07:09So, of course, when both of them are there, that's a different issue.

07:12But if Shami could come and bowl those yorkers in the final overs,

07:16that's where we have been leaking runs, especially Bhubaneswar Kumar or Ashdeep.

07:20They were leaking runs during the final last two overs.

07:24That's where India lost in the Asia Cup.

07:26And second is, the biggest advantage is Surya Kumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.

07:32These two guys coming into the later order as a batchman,

07:36Surya Kumar Yadav is number three in the world today.

07:38In the last one year, he has become a match winner on any surface.

07:44So, Surya Kumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya with Panth or Dinesh Karthik

07:48is going to give you the confidence for the first top three,

07:54Rohit Sharma, Rahul and Kohli,

07:56to play their game much more freely than when they came to the UAE World Cup.

08:03They were totally dependent on Rohit Sharma and Kohli.

08:06So, I think the depth in batting will give the top three

08:10the advantage of playing their game much more freely

08:13and capitalizing on these match winners.

08:15They have time and again proved that they are match winners.

08:17And it could be Rohit Sharma and Kohli's last T20 World Cup.

08:21So, I'm sure they wanted to go on a high, so they will put that extra effort.

08:25And what's yours like?

08:27You have taken Pakistan, you have taken India.

08:29And Sathish, you have taken India.

08:31I would think that it will be more of Australia

08:33simply because it is in their backyard.

08:35They know the conditions better than anybody.

08:37Not just that, they have a very good team actually.

08:40In fact, I would say the strongest on paper would be England

08:44but given Australia's familiarity with the conditions there.

08:48And they have played the Big Bash games in the same place, same pitches.

08:52So, I think tactic wise, they are in a better position than most other teams.

08:59If you look at the par scores so far, it's around 160.

09:02We are not going to see too many 200 scores.

09:05So, like you said earlier, there's going to be a complete different strategy required.

09:10Okay, T20, you normally think the strategy is the same everywhere.

09:13But no, I think Australia, the pitches and the size of the ground

09:18is going to alter the strategy.

09:20So, I think the best people to exploit that are the Australians.

09:24So, my vote is for Australia.

09:26I know that the three big teams are on one side.

09:30So, by the semi-finals, like two of them will be eliminated.

09:34But, Shankar, England, we can't rule them out.

09:37They have been playing fabulous cricket and they have an absolute brilliant all-rounder.

09:41Like, if you look at it, they have got about six or seven all-rounders

09:44who can come and do both.

09:46Change the game.

09:47Change the game completely.

09:48They've got good practice matches there as well.

09:50Actually, the second strongest team or the strongest team there is England, actually.

09:55But my only worry is, Shankar, if they go and play this basketball cricket in the knockout,

10:00I think that's where they might struggle.

10:03Because big Australian grounds, you start playing the same attacking shots

10:07and two, three quick wickets on a knockout stage,

10:10it could be the disadvantage there.

10:12That's where I'm more like...

10:13But they will...

10:14I'm sure with the round robin, they will come to the semis.

10:16For sure, I think they will be there in the semis.

10:18But that's where they need to...

10:20Probably, I don't know, they'll have to adopt a different strategy

10:23or whether they will play the same basketball cricket.

10:25We need to wait and watch.

10:26That's what happened to Pakistan last time.

10:28They won all the matches and they lost to Australia.

10:33Because of this strategy.

10:34See, that's a change.

10:36Ashfaq, in fact, these big tournaments,

10:38if you encounter problems and just sneak home,

10:42these are the best wins you can have in the round robin.

10:45Because that would have given you various scenarios

10:47how to come out of trouble.

10:49But if you have a smooth run and suddenly you get into trouble

10:53and you are in a knockout stage

10:55and you don't know how to handle it.

10:57You are in a no man's land at that point of time.

10:59So, all three of us have picked different teams

11:01but all of us are in agreement

11:03that the Australian pitches and the size of the ground

11:06will alter the strategies required.

11:08So, we are in for some interesting matches.

11:12And for all the latest updates and breaking news,

11:15please log on to gulfnews.com

11:17and all our social media channels.

11:19Thank you very much.

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