Four incredible patterns that suggest India might lift the T20 World Cup 2022 trophy
Four incredible patterns that suggest India might win T20 WC 2022
Team India conceded their first game in the Men's T20 World Cup 2022 edition, losing to South Africa by five wickets at the Perth Stadium, Perth on Sunday (October 30). Batting first on a spicy wicket, Rohit Sharma-led India never got going and were reduced to 49 for 5 in no time before Suryakumar Yadav's gutsy and entertaining 40-ball 68 propelled India to 133-9 in 20 overs. In reply, SA were tottering at 40-3 at the halfway stage before the fifties from Aiden Markram (52) and David Miller (59 not out) took their side home in the last over. With the win, the Temba Bavuma-led Proteas now occupy the top spot in Group B.
Talking about India, the one-time winners' campaign is still on track and they very much remain in the race to seal a semi-final spot. Given India started their campaign with two back-to-back wins, they have four points from three games and will now face Bangladesh (November 02) and Zimbabwe (November 6) in their last two group stage encounters. After the defeat to South Africa, India is likely to end in the second spot and qualify for the last four.
While anything can happen in the remaining matches at the T20 WC, there are quite a few incredible patterns for Team India which indicate that they might have the final laugh at the ICC event in Australia. Here's a look at such factors which point out that it might be Rohit & Co.'s T20 WC:
1) The last time India successfully defended a score versus Australia in a warm-up game prior to the World Cup was in 2011. Ahead of the 2011 ODI WC, MS Dhoni's India dismissed Australia for a paltry 176 after posting 214, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. In the run-up to the T20 WC 2022 Down Under, the Men in Blue did the same by defending a competitive score, 186 for 7, by six runs. Will 2011 heroics repeat this time around?
2) Ireland defeated England in the group stage of the T20 WC 2022 edition on October 26, at the MCG, Melbourne. The last time the Irish side defeated the Three Lions in a World Cup was in 2011. Well, we all know which side walked away with the mega title.
3) The last time SA defeated India in an ICC event came in the 2011 ODI WC. Back then, the Proteas defeated India with two balls to spare. On Sunday (October 30), Bavuma & Co. also won in 19.4 overs.
4) The last time India faced the Netherlands in an ICC event was also in 2011. Before that, they had faced them during the 2003 edition of the 50-over World Cup. So, whenever India have faced the Dutch line-up, they have reached the finals; winning the championship in the last instance.
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After India's defeat versus the Proteas, captain Rohit said at the post-match presentation, "We expected that the pitch will have something in it. We knew that there'll be a lot of help for the seamers, that's why it wasn't an easy target to chase. We fell a little short with the bat. We fought well, but South Africa were better today. When you see that score (40/3 in 10), you'll always think you're in the game. That was a match-winning partnership from Markram and Miller. We were a little poor in the field, we gave so many chances and we weren't clinical. We were just not good enough."