T20 World Cup: India and Pakistan renew rivalries in weak Group 2

Matthew Storey

LiveScore

Virat Kohli will be the star of the show whenever India are playing

It looks set to be a battle between India, New Zealand and Pakistan to qualify from Group 2 of the Super 12s.

The opening clash between fierce rivals India and Pakistan dominates proceedings in a group with two unexpected qualifiers.

Scotland went unbeaten in the first round and will be eyeing an upset, while Namibia are taking part in their first T20 World Cup.

India

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur

Best T20 World Cup finish: Winners (2007)

Star player: Virat Kohli — cricket’s biggest superstar is giving up the T20 captaincy for India after the tournament and will be desperate to go out with a bang, both individually and as a side.

Expectations

Anything other than lifting the trophy will be deemed a disappointment for India.

They have a ridiculously strong batting line-up that includes Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Kohli and Rishabh Pant — they could put out a second top six that would compete with many sides in the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar headline the quicks, while spinners Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy may use this tournament to break out on the international stage.

Pakistan

Squad: Babar Azam (c), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf

Best T20 World Cup finish: Winners (2009)

Star player: Babar Azam — a simply glorious player to watch when in full flow, Azam is unable to play in the IPL due to his nationality so this is where he can show he is one of the world’s best in this format.

Expectations

Pakistan are usually an unpredictable side at ICC tournaments but they appear a team with every base covered.

Azam headlines a batting order that has Fakhar Zaman at the top, veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and keeper Mohammad Rizwan among others.

But it is the seam attack of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali that really gets you excited, and they will be complemented by the finger spin of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz and the leg spin of Shadab Khan.

New Zealand

Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Mark Chapman, Martin Guptill, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee

Best T20 World Cup finish: Semi-final (2007, 2016)

Star player: Kane Williamson

Expectations

Nobody wants to face New Zealand on the world stage anymore with a well-drilled unit always ready to fire.

Their top order is fearsome with Matin Guptill and Devon Conway providing the power alongside Williamson — though they do not bat deep, nor do they have a consistent finisher.

A bowling attack of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson more than make up for it and Mitch Santner and Ish Sodhi are no mugs when it comes to turning the ball.

Afghanistan

Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq

Best T20 World Cup finish: Super 10s (2016)

Star player: Rashid Khan — That Afghanistan have a player who would be a star whichever team he was in is huge for them. Nobody bowls leg spin with the pace and control of the 23-year-old.

Expectations

Afghanistan will fancy their chances of gate-crashing the top two given Scotland and Namibia have qualified from the first round into this group.

They have some exciting young power-hitters in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani and can look to the experience of Mohammad Nabi.

If a slightly weaker batting order fails to fire, they will need their pace bowlers to complement a strong spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Farid Ahmed Malik.

Scotland

Squad: Kyle Coetzer (c), Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Matthew Cross, Craig Wallace, Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Michael Leask, Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.

Best T20 World Cup finish: Super 12s (2021)

Star player: Josh Davey – Scotland are effective as a collective and it’s hard to pick a star player, so we will go with their leading wicket taker from the first round in Josh Davey. He swings the ball early on and has plenty of county experience to offer.

Expectations

Full of confidence after winning all three of their first round games, Scotland will feel they can beat Namibia and upset one of the bigger nations to force a potential top four finish.

Their top five is reasonably strong but once they are dismissed, there is not a lot of firepower beyond Richie Berrington, George Munsey and Calum MacLeod.

Davey and Brad Wheal have enjoyed fine tournaments so far, while Mark Watt and Hamza Tahir are both experienced left-arm spinners.

Namibia

Squad: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephan Baard, Karl Birkenstock, Jan Nicol Lofie-Eaton, Bernand Scholtz, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Picky Ya France, Michau du Preez, Zane Green, Jan Frylinck, JJ Smit, David Wiese, Ben Shikongo, Ruben Trumpelmann

Best T20 World Cup finish: Super 12s (2021)

Star player: David Wiese — Having represented South Africa, Sussex star David Wiese has now opted to play for Namibia and his ability with both the ball and to hit big sixes makes him one of the world’s best associate players.

Expectations

To reach the Super 12s stage was a huge achievement for Namibia, as shown by the emotion on their players’ faces after they beat Ireland.

Skipper Gerhard Erasmus is still young and a fine batsman, while JJ Smit has played franchise cricket in Namibia and Wiese has obvious prowess at the end of an innings.

Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz is the key man for Namibia and would get into plenty of T20 international sides, while Jan Frylinck and Smit are vital in the seam department.