Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked England and West Indies as his semifinalists from 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 Group 2. The renowned commentator has predicted that South Africa might just fall short to reach the last four.
While West Indies and South Africa qualified for the Super 8 stage after winning all of their four group stage matches. On the other hand, England won two out of their four matches, with one loss against Australia and one no result against Scotland.
“Who do I feel will qualify from this group? One I feel is Team England, the defending champions. The second I feel is the West Indies. I see these two teams progressing. I feel South Africa might just fall short. The USA can also fall decently short. You might see the West Indies, England, India and Australia as the four teams in the final four,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator feels Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj will hold the key for South Africa in the West Indies conditions.
“South Africa is a gun team. They are playing very well. They were a king until they were in New York but have now come out from there. There will be a lot of focus on Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj,” Chopra stated.
The former Delhi batter tipped West Indies as a dangerous team. The Windies defeated Afghanistan by a huge margin of 104 runs on Monday and they will be looking to continue the winning impetus in the Super 8 stage.
“West Indies are a dangerous team. This team has depth both in batting and bowling. I see England as a very dangerous team because they have that kind of batting, that kind of depth. Bowling is okay, okay but no one can match their batting. They are actually very explosive and they have the depth,” Chopra said.
Chopra reckons the USA might not be able to challenge the other three teams in the group as the conditions will not be bowling friendly.
”Then comes the USA, who have punched above their weight already. It’s possible that when they reach the Super Eights here, they might not be able to cause those sorts of upsets because the conditions now will not be that bowler-friendly,” Chopra explained.
United States will face South Africa whereas England will take the West Indies on Wednesday in Group 2.
