Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes India’s playing style could be a cause for concern in the all-important semifinal against England. The Rohit Sharma-led qualified for the knockout stage after topping Group 2 in the Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup after beating Zimbabwe by 71 runs at the SCG, Sydney on Sunday.
The renowned commentator also believes India’s spin department could also be an issue for the team. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are known to be defensive bowlers and they have failed to take wickets in the middle overs. Ashwin took three wickets against Zimbabwe but he has hardly got only help from the Australian pitches.
India has Yuzvendra Chahal in their squad but he hasn’t yet received a chance in the final XI.
Aakash Chopra said while talking on his YouTube Channel, “India has a fairly good batting lineup. They have strengths but also weaknesses. I feel our playing style could be a cause for concern for us in the semi-final. Our spin, that’s also a bit of a problem.”
“They are a slightly methodical team. They follow a philosophy, don’t make mistakes. They won the matches against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. They don’t slip on banana skins. South Africa defeated us but fair enough, they are a good team and can beat us. We won the Pakistan match, which was actually a good game of cricket.”
On the other hand, Pakistan qualified for the semifinals after beating Bangladesh by five wickets. The Men in Green were able to make it to the final four after the Netherlands stunned South Africa by 13 runs earlier on Sunday. Chopra feels Pakistan is an unpredictable team.
“Pakistan – what a team boss. What do you guys do? They have a totally different style of playing. They are absolutely from a different planet because it seems this is or that might not happen.”
“They are playing the perfect XI at the moment – four fast bowlers and two spinners, an amazing striker in the form of Haris. The captain has not scored runs but it’s fine, their captain and our captain are going through the same form almost.”
India will take on England in the second semifinal on Thursday at Adelaide Oval.
