New stage, same dream as old foes battle for T20 World Cup glory

Saibal Chatterjee, National award-winning writer

The Aussies failed to clinch the T20 title at home in 2022. This time around, the squad from Down Under led by Mitchell Marsh have the combination to go all the way in the tournament co-hosted by the United States of America and the Caribbean islands. 

If they do pull it off, Australia will become the only team in history to simultaneously hold the ICC Test Championship title, the 50-over World Cup trophy and the T20 crown. Interestingly, Australia also holds the women’s 50-over and T20 world titles.

The team kick off their 2024 campaign with an easy outing against Oman on June 5. The Australian batting arsenal has the firepower to destroy any bowling attack. With the likes of David Warner, Travis Head, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green leading the charge, opponents will have to be on their feet to keep them in check.     

Australia’s path to the final will not be without its share of major obstacles, given that India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, defending champions England and the West Indies, the only team to lift the T20 World Cup twice, will not give up without a fight.

Especially so South Africa, who have yet to win the trophy. Led by Aiden Markram, they will be keen to rid themselves of the tag of perennial “chokers”. Their fortunes will ride on a bunch of explosive batters with exceptional T20 strike rates.

Quinton de Kock (138.11), David Miller (144.68), Heinrich Klaasen (147.65), Tristan Stubbs (155.19) and Markram himself (150.67) will power the South African batting lineup. All eyes will particularly be on Stubbs, touted as the next big thing.

One team that certainly cannot be taken lightly especially because they are playing at home are the West Indies. Led By Rovman Powell, they have two seasoned campaigners in Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran, both of whom demonstrated their hard-hitting abilities in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).

The eighth and final slot in the Super 8 phase will be a toss-up between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Both teams are in Group D with South Africa, the Netherlands and Nepal. Fans would expect one of the two to pull off a few upsets as the tournament reaches its business end.

Talking of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the subcontinent’s hopes will obviously rest far more squarely on India and Pakistan. The former, led by Rohit Sharma, have destructive batters like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal in their ranks.

The Indian pace bowling attack is spearheaded by the immensely skilled Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, while right arm leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav could prove to be a handful.

Pakistan, the runners-up of the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, will have a lot to play for. With their leading batsman Babar Azam back in the saddle as the white-ball captain, the team have a settled look. A mix of youth and experience promises to make Pakistan a formidable contender for the title.

The best news to come out of the Pakistani camp is that the penetrative Haris Rauf has returned from injury and would be expected to give the team’s pace attack an added edge. The team will also be looking to the ever-reliable wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan for inspiration whether they are chasing a target or setting one.

Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside India, Canada, Ireland and the USA. Neither of the two subcontinental teams are likely to break a sweat in their campaign to advance to the Super 8. The Indians have travelled to the World Cup after two gruelling months of the IPL, which could be an advantage for the team’s match-fit core.

India will play their first-round matches in the US before proceeding to the West Indies for the Super 8 phase in a group of four that will include Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka (or Bangladesh). Pakistan are expected to sail into the second round of matches in a group in which they will face England, South Africa and the West Indies.

But before we reach that stage, the focus of Indian and Pakistani fans will be on the June 9 clash between the two south Asian neighbours. Pakistan play their first game against the USA on June 6 while India begin their campaign a day earlier against Ireland. Neither of the two matches is expected to be anything more than warm-up exercises.

England, led by Jos Buttler, and New Zealand, captained by Kane Williamson, will inevitably be in the mix, too, as the top teams square off in the crucial second stage of the tournament.

England have batters like Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, batting allrounder Will Jacks, Harry Brook and Phil Salt (fresh from his IPL exploits) and pace bowlers like Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for the defence of the title they won in 2022.

New Zealand, too, are due for big things at the T20 World Cup. Finn Allen will be the batsman that the Kiwis will depend on for getting the team off to a good start and posting big totals. The explosive young opener has a strike rate of 160-plus.

Besides wicketkeeper-batsman David Conway, the New Zealand T20 World Cup squad is packed with all-rounders. Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra can bat and bowl with equal aplomb.

The stage is all set. Let the shootout begin!