Summary
Despite there still being one game remaining in the Super Ten stage of the 2016 World t20, between South Africa and Sri Lanka, the four semi final places have been decided. New Zealand breezed through Group 2, winning all four of their games, whilst West Indies narrowly beat England to top spot in Group 1.
The remaining spot was taken by India, who yesterday beat Australia by six wickets thanks to a Virat Kohli masterclass. A strong-looking South Africa side have already been eliminated with a game to play, as have the holders Sri Lanka.
The qualifiers from the first round, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, predictably finished bottom of their respective groups, although both sides did well and could have picked up more than just the solitary victory between them had things gone ever so slightly differently.
New Zealand - consistently tight bowling to back up batsmen
New Zealand have been an impressive side to watch in this year's World t20. A combination of a strong top order and high quality bowling depth, not to mention fine fielding, has seen them brush aside all four opponents they have faced thus far. Despite the loss of the instrumental Brendon McCullum due to retirement, the Black Caps have instead continued in their rich vein of form in the limited overs formats over the past 18 months.
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| Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have been brilliant for New Zealand in this year's World t20 in India (PHOTO: Matthew Lewis-IDI) |
On a couple of occasions, the Kiwis' first innings score has looked below par, not least in the Super Ten opener against India. That is where, however, the bowling lineup has come in to its own. The young spinning duo of Ish Sodhi and Santner have been excellent throughout the four games, with Elliott and Nathan McCullum playing a fine role as backup. The in-form Mitchell McLenaghan has led the attack ably, with support from Anderson and Adam Milne.
It has been going so well for the New Zealand attack that they have been afforded the luxury of allowing Trent Boult and Tim Southee to sit on the bench. Two quality seam bowlers, Boult and Southee are unlikely to play a part in the tournament, showcasing the depth that the Black Caps have in their bowling.
England - batsmen required to fire
One and a half games into the tournament and England were arguably on the brink. Having come up against a Chris Gayle onslaught in their opening encounter with the West Indies, a similar assault occurred in Mumbai against South Africa. At the half way stage in that game, England required 230 to simply stay in the tournament, still with another two games to go. What transpired was an unbelievable second innings, with Joe Root playing a sublime hand to all but get England over the line, ably supported by Jason Roy.
Astonishingly, England managed to chase down the improbable target set by the formidable South African batting lineup. What was perhaps even more remarkable was the fact that they managed to do it against a strong-looking bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn felt the full force of the England top order, as did Kyle Abbott and Chris Morris. Only the leg spin of Imran Tahir threatened to tie England down, with Root in particular happy to milk the 37-year-old around the ground for ones and twos.
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| Joe Root's incredible innings against South Africa showed why he is one of the world's best (PHOTO: Gareth Copley) |
A brilliant end to the first innings against Sri Lanka from Jos Buttler saw England post a good total of 171. Again, England made early inroads and looked to have the game sewn up, but for Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews. Spinners Ali and Adil Rashid disappeared for 63 from their combined four overs, with an unlikely Sri Lanka victory looming. Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes produced when it mattered and ensured England's passage to the semi finals.
England may well be wary at a relative lack of form shown by Alex Hales and captain Eoin Morgan, although both players have shown flashes throughout the tournament and will look to produce against New Zealand. The bowling will also be of slight concern and it will surely take another brilliant batting masterclass from what is a powerful and exciting lineup to book England a place in the Final.
India - fortunate to be here
The hosts are no doubt fortunate to have progressed to the semi finals and, despite a few shortcomings this tournament, they may well go on to win it. Favourites for the title, the hosts got off to the worst start against New Zealand after being humbled on a wicked, turning pitch in Nagpur.
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| Virat Kohli has been India's shining light thus far, keeping the top order together (PHOTO: Ryan Pierse) |
Indeed, if India are chasing a total, they will always be in with a shout because of the quality Kohli possesses when chasing. The openers have been in poor form, as has Suresh Raina. Kohli has almost been the sole shining light in India's batting lineup, save for irregular contributions from MS Dhoni, Yuvraj and Hardik Pandya.
On the bowling front, India have been much better. Jasprit Bumrah has typically been excellent, particularly at the death. Ashish Nehra has belied his 36 years and has performed admirably. The spinners have been the main route of success, with Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja bowling tightly. It is surely only a matter of time before India's top order fires and when it does, they could prove why they have been billed as outright favourites.
West Indies - in form despite key players absent
The West Indies strolled through their opening three games, winning each with a flourish. With all the talent they have packed into their side, it was still not necessarily a straightforward task to finish top of a seemingly well-matched group. Indeed, the men from the Caribbean are missing some of their top stars in Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons. They do, however, still possess some world class talents, with Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Samuel Badree among the names out in India currently.
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| Chris Gayle did what Chris Gayle does best in the opener against England - he will need to produce similar if the Windies are to progress against India (PHOTO: Gareth Copley) |
Captain Darren Sammy has marshalled his troops well, all without doing much himself. He said in the aftermath of the Afghanistan defeat that his side need to be able to chase smaller totals and that is certainly true. Gayle will be important in such chases, although the Afghanistan chase was hinged on a couple of factors. One was that Gayle himself had been rested, with his replacement Evin Lewis unable to get going in his first match of the competition, failing to score off seven balls. Secondly, Andre Fletcher sustained an injury that somewhat curtailed the runs chase, with his form unable to shine through.
The semi finals
New Zealand vs England
An intriguing battle in the sense that these are two of the nations who have been playing eye-catching, attacking cricket in the last 12 months. New Zealand had been already, but England have had somewhat of a revival since the 2015 World Cup and under the captaincy of Morgan, they look a different outfit.
What England would do, however, for the likes of Southee and Boult to lead their attack this tournament. The New Zealand pace duo have been and will likely continue to be sat on the Kiwi bench for the entirety of the tournament. Meanwhile, England's bowlers have generally struggled, particularly in the opening two games. The seamers were hit around the Wankhede Stadium by Gayle and the South Africans, while the spinners were unceremoniously targeted against Sri Lanka.
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| England beat New Zealand in their World t20 warm-up game (PHOTO: Gareth Copley) |
The New Zealand bowling outfit has, on the other hand, been nothing short of excellent. Santner and Sodhi have come into their own this tournament, particularly during the demolition of India. It will be up to the England batsmen to undo the good work that the Kiwi bowlers have produced.
England have typically struggled against the spinners and slow bowlers in this tournament. With New Zealand boasting the likes of the aforementioned Santner and Sodhi, along with Elliott and potentially Nathan McCullum. The upside is that this will be England's third game in Delhi, so they may well have worked out the pitch by now and will be putting plans together to deal with the New Zealand bowling setup.
They will also need to plan for the New Zealand batting lineup who, despite not scoring at huge rates so far, are considerably dangerous. A power-packed top five consisting of Williamson, Guptill, Munro, Anderson and Taylor is one what that will require tight bowling to contain.
Verdict: It's been difficult to see past New Zealand this tournament, particularly since their opening night win over the hosts. A strong, all-round outfit, the Kiwis will be a huge test for a young England side. The strong batting lineup will have to fire if England are to have any chance and the bowling will need to cut down on errors.
New Zealand to go through.
West Indies vs India
The West Indies have no doubt been more the more impressive of the two sides in the tournament so far, with hosts India only just managing to secure second place in Group 2. India are likely to be on a high following their improbable win over Bangladesh and Kohli-inspired victory against Australia. The West Indies will look to forget about their last game, against Afghanistan.
The Indian top order, minus Kohli, has been in poor touch and needs to fire if India are to progress. Rohit, Dhawan and Raina are all lacking big runs in this tournament and they cannot rely on Kohli to bail them out each time they fail and are in trouble.
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| The Indian team defeated the West Indies in last year's World Cup - but this is different... (PHOTO: Paul Kane) |
The West Indies may well look to attack the fifth/sixth Indian bowler, with Pandya, Raina and Yuvraj the likely bowlers that Dhoni will turn to. Gayle will be guarded against the Indian spinners, having faced them regualrly in the IPL.
You get the feeling that the West Indies may well be billed as favourites had they not been without their aforementioned stars. Narine has shown his quality in India and would have been a menace in this tournament. That is along with the Mumbai Indians duo of Pollard and Simmons, who have very good records in the IPL and India.
It is, however, up to the players who are in India currently to help the West Indies to a second World t20 title. Samuel Badree has been in excellent form thus far and he will be key to stopping the Indian top order once again. Sulieman Benn has been a solid understudy for Badree, while Russell and Bravo have shown their considerable quality.
Verdict: As with the t20 format, there are many ifs, buts and maybes. If the Indian top order fires then you would back the bowlers to keep the West Indies relatively at bay. The West Indies do, however, have considerable batting strength and if they do produce, it could prove too much for an out of form Indian side.
India to sneak through.
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