T20 World Cup: The exciting contests that will keep you hooked from start to end

With plenty at stake in the T20 cricket World Cup, there are some matches between the top-ranked sides that will generate more interest than others.

Like we saw in India vs Pakistan final in 2007 in South Africa, when S Sreesanth pulled off that catch at short fine-leg to dismiss Misbah-ul-Haq in the final over sent down by Joginder Sharma to signal India’s triumph.

Or take the 2016 final between West Indies and England in Kolkata, with Carlos Brathwaite smashing four sixes in a row in the final over delivered by Ben Stokes to clinch the deal for the West Indies.

Or Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell hitting the England bowlers for sixes at will to take New Zealand to the final of 2021 World Cup.

Check out the full coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

The contests in the upcoming World Cup in Australia will not be short of excitement either.

While moneycontrol lists the matches to look out for in the Super 12 fixtures, there are former champions Sri Lanka and West Indies involved in the first round with six other teams, the eight teams split into two groups equally and playing each other once within themselves.

The top two finishers from each group join the other eight teams who have gained direct entry into the Super 12 stage. While Sri Lanka and West Indies are expected to top Groups A and B, respectively, in the first round, there could be keen contests, say between South Africa and West Indies or Australia and Sri Lanka or for that matter Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 12 stage.

There could be many more keen contests, although they cannot be said for certain until the final four teams are decided from the first round.

Here’s a look at some of the matches that will generate a lot of interest:

AUSTRALIA VS NEW ZEALAND (SUPER 12, GROUP 1, OCT 22, SYDNEY):  

The teams that faced off in last year’s World Cup final will open the Super 12 stage at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 22. Hosts and defending champions Australia hold the edge over New Zealand in T20Is, winning 10 and losing five including one in a Super Over.

In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, they have met each other twice with honours evenly shared. The match will be a keen contest between the swing bowlers of New Zealand, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, against the firepower of the Australian top half including Aaron Finch, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.

Check out the full coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

The likes of New Zealand’s highest-ranked T20 batsman Devon Conway, veteran of six previous World Cups Martin Guptill and captain Kane Williamson against World No. 1 T20I bowler Josh Hazlewood and sixth-ranked leg-spinner Adam Zampa will make for a keen contest.

The teams have not met each other in T20Is since Australia beat New Zealand by eight wickets in last year’s final. New Zealand have hit a purple patch in T20Is this year, winning nine on the trot and a total of 12 matches out of 15 going into the World Cup. Australia, on the other hand, have won 10 out of 17 and lost 6 this year.

INDIA VS PAKISTAN (SUPER 12, GROUP 2, OCT 23, MELBOURNE):  

Rohit Sharma leg before wicket, and KL Rahul clean bowled, both by left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi to reduce India to 6 for 2 in the third over have not been forgotten by the Indians. India will seek to avenge this, from the opening match of the 2021 edition in Dubai, at the MCG on Sunday, the match that everyone has been eagerly anticipating since that 10-wicket loss. After Afridi’s early blows, Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam remained undefeated as they chased down the 152-run target with ease. Azam and Rizwan have five partnerships of 150 and above for the first wicket and will look to continue that form against India. The recent Asia Cup saw the results shared, India winning the first round while Pakistan took the Super Four honours. While Pakistan have not won a single T20I in Australia, India have a better record, winning seven and losing four.

The form of Suryakumar Yadav, the encouraging return to form of Virat Kohli, the all-round abilities of Hardik Pandya, and captain Rohit Sharma leading from the front will make for a keen contest against Pakistan, who have won two of the last three head-to-heads against India. But overall, India have won eight, including the 2007 title round in South Africa, and lost three.

That the tickets for this match were sold out within minutes of them beoming available and making available 4,000 extra standing room tickets show how eagerly the match is awaited. Any India-Pakistan match, for that matter.

AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND (SUPER 12, GROUP 1, OCT 28, MELBOURNE):  

The three-match T20I series just before the World Cup has provided invaluable preparation for both the sides. They have been keenly fought with England etching identical eight-run wins in the first two before the third was called off as a No Result due to a rain interruption in Canberra on October 14.

Similar to the India vs Pakistan clash is the one between two of the oldest rivals in cricket history. The teams have already been in the news for all the wrong reasons with Australian Matthew Wade clearly obstructing the field in an attempt to regain his crease at the striker’s end, blocking the path of bowler Mark Wood in the first T20I in Perth on October 9 and England skipper Jos Buttler deciding not to appeal against the act.

Check out the full coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

There is hardly much to choose between the two sides, England winning 11 and Australia 10 from 23 clashes. Pacemen Mark Wood and Reece Topley, and world No. 6 leg-spinner Adil Rashid against the likes of the attacking David Warner, the explosive Mitch Marsh and big-hitters Glenn Maxwell and Tim David as well as the world No. 1 bowler Josh Hazlewood, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc and sixth-ranked leg-spinner Adam Zampa against Buttler, the recalled Alex Hales and the maverick all-rounder Ben Stokes make for exciting contests to watch out for.

INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA (SUPER 12, GROUP 2, OCT 30, PERTH): 

India would have already played two matches before they bump into the unpredictable South Africans at the Optus Stadium. So also South Africa. India have the edge over South Africa, having beaten them 2-1 earlier this month at home. However, the conditions in Australia are similar to what the South Africans face at home and are more adept at. The presence of speedsters Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, backed by left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who is South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with 69 wickets, are quite a handful, but the Indians have got used to them, having played them regularly in the Indian Premier League. South Africa’s record in T20Is in Australia is not so encouraging; they have won only two out of seven, and not played in Australia for almost four years.

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND (SUPER 12, GROUP 1, NOV 1, BRISBANE):  

The teams will play their fourth match of the competition with more or less their fate in the semifinals sealed. While England have the upper hand in overall head-to-heads with New Zealand, their clashes in the T20 World Cups, six in all till date, have been very closely contested with each winning three games since the inaugural edition in 2007. New Zealand won the last one, the semifinals of 2021 to avenge the 2016 defeat in the same round. New Zealand pulled off a heist in the 2021 semifinal when they needed 57 off the final four overs, and won with one over to spare. The heroes of that match, Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham, and the bowlers who sent down those final crucial overs – Chris Jordan (23 runs conceded in the 17^th over), Adil Rashid (14 in the 18^th over) and Chris Woakes (20 in the 19^th) are all part of this year’s squad. May be another revenge game is on the cards.

PAKISTAN VS SOUTH AFRICA (SUPER 12, GROUP 2, NOV 3, SYDNEY): 

The teams have not faced each other in T20Is in a while. In fact, they have not played each other in the international arena since Pakistan’s tour of South Africa in early 2021. When they bump into each other in the fourth and penultimate match of the Super 4 Group 2 stage, Pakistan would have the advantage. Having got the better of South Africa in all T20Is with 11 wins and 10 losses, it’s the Asian team that has dominated in the T20 World Cup, winning all three, the last of which came in 2012 in Sri Lanka. However, T20 is also a game of luck and with the place in the semifinal likely to be at stake in this match, the Millers, the de Kocks and the Rabadas will look to put it across the Rizwans, Azams and Afridis.