The former India pacer Zaheer Khan, and wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel have picked their teams for the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America.
The ninth edition of the tournament has reached the ‘super eight’ stage, where South Africa thumped the USA side in Antigua before England handed West Indies their first defeat of the competition in St. Lucia.
India will play their first Super Eight clash against Afghanistan on June 20, in Barbados, before they face Bangladesh on June 22, in Antigua and the mighty Australia team in St Lucia on June 24.
Zaheer Khan and Parthiv Patel pick India to qualify for the semi-final
During a Cricbuzz show, the host asked both Zaheer and Parthiv to make choices on the four semifinalists of the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024.
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The former left-arm pacer went with India, Australia, South Africa, and West Indies for the top four teams of the competition. The Rohit Sharma India team is coming into the second round of the tournament on the back of their three wins over Ireland, Pakistan, and the America team.
India also faced a washout against Canada in Florida. South Africa is coming into the round with an unbeaten run, thanks to their wins over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Nepal. Australia too is unbeaten in the tournament, having secure wins over Scotland, Oman, England, and Namibia.
England had an abandoned game against Scotland, whereas they lost to Australia, before showing dominating performances against Namibia and Oman. West Indies have been unbeaten too, while the only defeat for the Afghanistan side came against the Caribbean team.
Parthiv Patel too went with the same four teams for the semifinal spots. When asked why he picked those four teams, he weighed on the home conditions of the West Indies side, and how they have been playing aggressive cricket throughout the whole tournament so far.
He also feels that the Aiden Markram-led South Africa side has looked the best on paper, while their batting could be the ‘X-factor’ in the competition, and if they got the conditions in their favor, then they could prove to be the most dangerous side.
When it comes to Australia, Zaheer addresses them as the most consistent team so far in the event, and undoubtedly for India, because they have been playing on the New York surfaces, the better batting surfaces would always help them in putting huge scores.
Parthiv Patel also points out that the game between India and Australia from group 1 at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia is expected to be the most interesting game on June 24, before both teams deserve to be the title winners, and these two could also play the final in Barbados.
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Zaheer Khan feels that Jasprit Bumrah will be the player to watch out for from group 1, as the tracks would change and pitches would suit the batters for high-scoring games, and at that moment, having an ‘X-factor’ will always be a blessing for India.
He continued by saying that the contribution of Australia captain Mitchell Marsh and how he handles the team will be so vital for them, in the Super Eight stage. While Parthiv Patel trusts that Virat Kohli is the key player for India, given in vital games, it’s always him who stand up with better performances.
The first semifinal will be played on June 27, at the Brain Lara Stadium in Tarouba in Trinidad, while the second semifinal will take place at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.