With the Super 12 done and dusted, the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 has reached the Semi Final stage. The 4 Contenders of the Semi Finals are as follows:
Let us have a brief idea about how the Semi Finalists are actually shaped up before the action begins:
England:
The current champions of the ODI World Cup are one of the clear favourites in this T20 World Cup too. In the 5 matches in Super 12, England managed to win 4 consecutively before losing out to South Africa by 10 runs in the final match.
Highest Run Getter: Jos Buttler (240 runs in 5 Inns).
Highest Wicket Taker: Adil Rashid (8 wickets in 5 Inns).
England is scheduled to play New Zealand in the Semi Finals. Although England look the stronger side in this matchup, injuries to Jason Roy and Tymal Mills who both have been ruled out of the World Cup will hurt England badly. Roy who gave England flying starts in the tournament has been replaced by James Vince whereas there has not been any replacement for Tymal Mills. It will be interesting to see whether England brings in Willey as the 5th bowling option or goes in with 4 specialist bowlers with Moeen and Livingstone completing the 5th bowler quota.
New Zealand:
New Zealand walk in as the likely under dogs in the semi finals after they managed to cross the Super 12 hurdle with a clinical victory over Afghanistan. The Kiwis have won 4 out of the 5 games in Super 12 and qualified for the semis by being the second team from their group. Their only loss came against Pakistan, the eventual group toppers.
Highest Run Getter: Martin Guptill (176 runs in 5 Inns).
Highest Wicket Taker: Trent Boult (11wickets in 5 Inns).
New Zealand's bowling has been their strength in this tournament with the bowling group scalping 32 wickets in the 5 matches in Super 12. The batsman too have been clinical if not berserk. But the major weakness lies in the fact that New Zealand haven't been involved in a high scoring match yet in this tournament. With the other teams in the Semis possessing heavy batting prowess, New Zealand would love to win the toss and bowl first in these conditions.
Australia:
When Australia walked into the T20 World Cup, nobody actually gave them a chance as a potential semi finals berth holders. But as the tournament progressed further Australia emerged as the likely favourites as they walk in to the Semis having 4 wins under their belt from 5 matches in the Super 12.
Highest Run Getter: David Warner (187 runs in 5 Inns).
Highest Wicket Taker: Adam Zampa (11 wickets in 5 Inns).
Australia has been a terrific bowling unit in this World Cup with the bowlers continuously chipping in wickets. Even the top order has looked in fine tune with David Warner leading the charts especially in run chases. But one of the major concerns of Australia will be the highly untested middle order. The lack of game time for the middle order may end up hurting them a lot if Australia ends up losing wickets in the top.
Pakistan:
Pakistan are the out right favourites in this T20 World Cup. From beating India in the league stage, till qualifying for the Semis as the only unbeaten team in the World Cup, Pakistan has
Highest Run Getter: Babar Azam. (264 runs in 5 Inns).
Highest Wicket Taker: Haris Rauf (8 wickets in 5 Inns).
Pakistan are currently the only team that have all their bases covered. The top order has been in terrific form with the likes of Babar and Rizwan being the front runners. The middle order too look formidable with the likes of Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik proving their mettle every now and then. The bowling has been top notch too with pacers picking wickets upfront. In fact Pakistan has been the only team that has challenged their bowlers to defend a target twice under the lights with the wet ball successfully. The only area of concern remains the form of Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez. In a nutshell, Pakistan are the clear favourites unless the they run out of luck in a given day.