Who would have expected it? The Super 10s of the 2016 World Twenty20 have ended and the semi-finals start on Wednesday. But there’s no space for Australia and South Africa who are on the flight back home. India, billed as overwhelming favourites before the tournament, have just about managed to scrape into the semi-finals, thanks largely due to Virat Kohli’s brilliance. And New Zealand, who were thought to be hamstrung by the retirement of Brendon McCullum have crushed everything on their way to breeze into the semi-finals.
West Indies were always expected to do well in this format and they have done just about enough to come through, despite a shock loss to Afghanistan in their last game which may have taken the wind out of their sails. The other big surprise is England. For all the talk about the “brave new England”, few expected England do well in India in conditions in which they have traditionally struggled, especially after they got on the wrong end of a Chris Gayle blinder in their first match. But they have lived up to their billing and have played brave cricket – chasing down 229 against South Africa and keeping their heads above water under onslaughts from both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
It’s England versus New Zealand in Delhi in the first-semi final on Wednesday and India v West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday. And here’s some of the key statistics you need, ahead of these two big clashes.
The Gayle factor
He calls himself the Universe Boss. And if there is one man who can snatch away India’s chances in the blink of an eye on Thursday in Mumbai, it’s the towering Jamaican, Christopher Henry Gayle. West Indies have played only four Twenty20 Internationals against India. Three of them have been in World Twenty20s, with West Indies winning two of them and India winning the last encounter in 2014.
Does that mean that India’s bowling attack, which has done quite well so far in this tournament, will not have a fair idea of where to bowl to Gayle? Not really.
Thank to the Indian Premier League, each of India’s bowlers have enough experience of bowling against Gayle. And the overall figures suggest that they’ve done well, with the exception of Suresh Raina. The standout has been Ravichandran Ashwin – the Chennai off-spinner has dismissed Gayle four times in the IPL, while being extremely miserly. The plan for Thursday seems to be clear –when West Indies come out to bat, Ashwin is likely to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s first weapon against the Gayle storm.
Dependency on Kohli
It’s no surprise that India have been overly dependent on Virat Kohli in their campaign. But the extent of their dependency has been startling. He has been India’s highest run-getter so far and has scored almost 37% of India’s total runs.
Joining Virat Kohli in the above chart is Martin Guptill, Joe Root and Andre Fletcher, New Zealand, England and West Indies’ highest run-getters so far. But their contribution to the team’s total runs in the tournament does not even come close to the kind of dependency the Indian team has on Kohli. It’s a worrying factor for India and something they really need to address, ahead of a key match.
Battle of the spinners
It was never a surprise that this tournament would be dominated by the spinners. But what has been surprising is Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the world’s best spinners has been put to shade by a young, inexperienced New Zealander.
Mitchell Santner has an incredible bowling strike rate of only 10, compared to Ashwin’s which almost touches 20. But what will hurt Ashwin even more is that Moeen Ali of England and Samuel Badree of West Indies have better strike rates than him. Thankfully, India’s bowling attack, in contrast to their batting counterparts, has not been a one-man show and has performed creditably so far. However, considering how proudly he takes his cricket, Ashwin will be itching to show the pretenders their place.
Powerplay woes
The first six overs of a Twenty20, the Powerplay, are supposed to be the period when batsmen go on the attack but India have been found painfully wanting here. Their average score after the first Powerplay is 33/3. It’s an indication of the fact that they have lost early wickets and have not managed to score heavily. In comparison, New Zealand, who have played on similar surfaces to India, have a very healthy average Powerplay score of 47/1.
West Indies’ score of 42/2 suggests that despite the explosive fire-power at their disposal, they have also decided to adopt the cautious route. However, England’s 55/3 indicates that they have been suffering from a tendency to go for glory without looking at the wickets column – a tendency which may come back to bite them against a far-more disciplined New Zealand side in the first semi-final.
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