In case you didn’t notice, the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup is heating up to be a very interesting tournament. We’re entering the final stages and—probably not surprisingly—India is among the best teams in the running. The Virat Kohli-captained team has been groomed for success. After the many changes made in the past couple of years, India looks like a refreshed team ready for new heights. Those heights are nothing else but the T20 World Cup, which India has failed to win in a long time.
Can Kohli lead the team to glory? It’s been a long wait since 2007, with two major dissapointments in 2015 and 2019. That’s when India couldn’t pass the semifinal obstacle, but the team looks much better now than it was back then.
What Are the Chances?
Pretty great, to be honest. If you look at betting sites such as Sportsadda com, you’ll see India on the top of the list of favorites to lift the trophy. England, New Zealand, and hosts Australia were the leading nations before the tournament began, but things have changed depending on the course. India has had a solid tournament so far, winning against Pakistan in the Super 12 and defeating the Netherlands. It lost to South Africa, but these matches are intense and pretty challenging, so no team will emerge a winner without a big fight on its hands.
The good news is that the team is playing better than ever. The favorite tag suits it, but the team still needs to qualify for the knockout round. The fate of the group is in Pakistan and South Africa’s hands, but by all accounts, India shouldn’t miss the knockout round train. What’s been impressive so far in the tournament isn’t just Kohli’s and Sharma’s great all-round performances. The team has also been lifted by the emergence of Arshdeep Singh, who looks set to follow in the footsteps of India’s stars.
Singh has 9 wickets in 4 matches so far, and here’s hoping he plays several other matches to win more wickets. He definitely has the quality to do it, and he’s backed up by his older colleagues. After the win against Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval which could have gone either way, team captain Rohit Sharma praised Singh’s resolve. He praised him for the work he’s been putting in for the past 9 months and that’s the reason his undoubted quality has begun to emerge. Thanks to Singh’s heroics, India took the victory home by five runs.
Will the Stars Align?
It’s not easy to tell if India can go all the way. It looked like that in 2019 when the team came up against New Zealand in the semifinals. The Kiwies advanced to the finals and were favorites until Australia defeated them. Now the ICC T20 World Cup is back in the land down under, and Australia will be a major obstacle for every team left in the tournament, India included.
The Aussies have long been favorites of many sportsbooks before the tournament began. Together with England and New Zealand, they make up a formidable trio. It’s clear that they will be the biggest danger to India’s trophy chances, although South Africa can be a problem too. Barring any miracles, Pakistan looks on its way out of the tournament. Of course, we would never bet against Babar Azam, who will still need a bit of help from Lady Luck to turn his team’s chances around.
The wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh were a big statement from India, though. It was a statement that the Men in Blue are back at it again, this time for real. India is not the same team from 2019 or before that. It’s a much more mature group of players with youngsters eager to bring home the World Cup trophy. Furthermore, fans have been waiting for a long time on it. The last title came in 2007, while India finished runner-up to Sri Lanka who snatched its first title.
It was a long and curvy road back to contention, but India is walking firmly on it. With Kohli, Sharma, and Singh in the group, the stars might have finally aligned for success.
