CRICKET UPDATE ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2016
ALL SET FOR THE T20 WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS
It's an off day in the ongoing T20 World Cup, and it's a day for introspection and delicious anticipation as to how events are going to unfold over the next two days. In the first semifinal tomorrow, New Zealand will be taking on England in Delhi. New Zealand won all their four matches in the league so far and England won three and lost one, to the West Indies. However those results can be misleading as we have often seen in the previous World Cups over the years. New Zealand have a good batting line-up but apart from Kane Williamson they don't really have a player like Virat Kohli or Chris Gayle who can instill fear in the opposition. England have a couple of world class players in Joe Root, Eion Morgan and Ben Stokes who on their day can win matches on their own. If we were to consider the overall skills across the board I would back England to put it across New Zealand and advance to the final. But let us see what's going to happen.
Come Thursday the entire cricketing world will be watching the India - West Indies semifinal in Mumbai. West Indies have a star player Chris Gayle who can crush the opposition if he could bat for 12 or 13 overs. But reputation is one thing, doing it big on the day it matters is an entirely different proposition. The problem for the West Indies is that apart from Chris Gayle they don't have a player that can cause havoc in the minds of the bowlers and this is one area where India have a clear advantage over the West Indies. In the unlikely event that Virat Kohli were to fail India still have players like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni who could ransack the bowling team if they get going. For all we know, Virat Kohli could do an encore on his vintage knock in Mohali just two days ago. One thing is certain: if West Indies are to win Chris Gayle has to detonate. Clearly India are the frontrunners. If you have any doubts as to why India are the favorites ask Steven Smith the Australian captain and he will tell you the reason.
