Which 4 teams will reach the second round of Super 12?
We all cricket lovers know that cricket is an unpredictable game. Till the last bowl is bowled, the result of the match is unpredicted. T20 cricket is the most unpredictable in all three formats of Cricket, Viz Test, One day and T20.
T20 format is one the most exciting format of cricket and hence it is organized every two years by ICC.
This year the ICC T20 World cup is going to be played in Australia which is just less than a week away. There are 16 teams qualified for the event and many of those teams have started arriving in Australia.
India has already reached there and doing practice and training sessions.
The tournament is going to commence on 16th of October starting with Sri Lanka and Namibia
There are two stages of the tournament the first stage is a group stage where qualified teams will play and the top two teams from each group will go ahead in the second round.
| Group A | Group B |
| Namibia | West Indies |
| Sri Lanka | Scotland |
| UAE | Ireland |
| Netherland | Zimbabwe |
Two teams from each group will go into the second round of Super 12.
As I said, cricket and especially T20 is unpredicted and very cruel game. From the above table, you can see that the two-time T20 champion West Indies team is in the qualifying round and have to pass the test of the group stage. Another former champion Sri Lanka is also lying in group A to qualify, it’s sad for the world champions.
We can assume that these two teams, Sri Lanka and West Indies will win their respective groups and will move to the next stage. Having said that, the path of West Indies is not so flowery. The teams like Ireland and Zimbabwe can give them tough competition.
We have to remember that only two teams from each group can go to the next stage. If Zimbabwe or Ireland wins against West Indies then it will cause difficulties for West Indies.
As per the current form of Sri Lankan players, since they have won the prestigious Asia Cup, their confidence will be high for clearing the group stage. Also, the other three teams in group A are not that much strong compared to Ireland and Zimbabwe, so the road for Sri Lanka is easy and clear.
Statistics of Small teams in T20 International games
| T20 INTERNATIONALS | UAE | Namibia | Ireland | Netherland | Scotland | Zimbabwe |
| First Match | 17/03/2014 | 20/05/2019 | 02/08/2008 | 02/08/2008 | 12/09/2007 | 28/11/2006 |
| Matches Played | 66 | 38 | 134 | 90 | 80 | 112 |
| Matches Won | 33 | 26 | 56 | 45 | 34 | 35 |
| Matches Lost | 32 | 12 | 70 | 41 | 42 | 77 |
| Matches Tied | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
As per the statistics of all small teams taking out Sri Lanka and West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe have played more games than any other teams in the group stages.
Team Ireland and Zimbabwe have good players who can win the match on their own on their day.
Analysis of the Last 10 T20 International matches played by each team
| Last 10 Matches | UAE | Namibia | Ireland | Netherland | Scotland | Zimbabwe |
| Won | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Lost | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
Looking at the data it can be analysed that from Group A, Sri Lanka is presumed to qualify very easily and for the second spot, there will be tough competition between the rest of the three teams.
Looking at the above table where these teams have played the last 10 matches.
From Group B, it could be West Indies is presumed to qualify. However, Ireland and Scotland have good experience of playing against strong teams like India, New Zealand, and South Africa. This experience will help them in this tournament.
Matches to be watched in the group stage would be:
| 1. Sunday 16 October Kardinia Park, Geelong SRI LANKA Vs NAMIBIA |
| 2. Monday 17 October Bellerive Oval, Hobart WEST INDIES Vs SCOTLAND |
| 3. Wed 19 October Bellerive Oval, Hobart SCOTLAND Vs IRELAND |
| 4. Thursday 20 October Kardinia Park, Geelong NAMIBIA VS UAE |
| 5. Friday 21 October Bellerive Oval, Hobart IRELAND Vs WEST INDIES |
It will be very exciting to watch the matches of group stages as there is a danger of strong teams like Sri Lanka and West Indies may not manage to progress to the second round, good God if this happens then it would be a major upset in this T20 World Cup.
We hope that the best cricket is played with spirit and that the best team wins the match and advances into the group stages.
We all cricket lovers are excited and eager to watch the wonderful game called cricket.
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