With the 1st round of the ICC World T20 2012 done and dusted, Pakpassion looks ahead at whould should be a fascinating Super Eight stage.

By Shayan Siddiqui (27th September 2012)

Exactly one week into the tournament, and as predicted the top 8 sides have taken their allocated places in the Super Eight groups. The groups are based on pre-tournament seedings, as in previous ICC World T20s, meaning that whether a team finished 1st or 2nd in the group stage has no bearing on the next round. This has resulted in a slightly bizarre scenario where the 4 teams that performed the best in round 1, Pakistan, India, Australia and South Africa, are all placed in the same Super Eights group.

The World T20 hasn’t really come to life yet, with several mismatches filling up the first half of the week, before some of the heavyweight contests, albeit ones that didn’t count for much, were ruined by the weather. Ireland will certainly feel hard done by, eliminated by the weather after posting a competitive 129 in 19 overs against the West Indies. Various complaints have been heard about the timing of hosting such a tournament in Sri Lanka, and the threat remains that several high profile games in the coming week may be significantly affected by the weather.

Assuming the rain stays away though, we should be in for some classic encounters, none bigger than India against Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday. Both teams have looked good in the opening round, but Pakistan may hold a slim advantage after chasing a big score against the same side in the warm-up game. It’s important that Pakistan don’t get too distracted by this game though; there are still two big tussles versus Australia and South Africa to focus on, teams they traditionally struggle against.

Having said that, Pakistan are looking good, and head into the next stage full of confidence. Their major concern will be their fast bowling attack. The spinners cannot always bail them out of trouble, and on occasions like the game against Bangladesh, when even the spinners were ineffective, the pacers need to stand up and be counted. Umar Gul in particular seems to have completely lost that death bowling ability he is famous for, and as Pakistan are unlikely to drop him, he really needs to improve as the opposition gets tougher in the coming rounds.

Sohail Tanvir has had a disappointing few games. His bowling doesn't appear to trouble the batsmen, and the dropped catch in the match against Bangladesh showed that he can't really fall back on his fielding either. Pakistan will seriously need to consider if Abdul Razzaq's experience will come in handy during the Super Eights stage. His bowling proved to be inspired in the ICC World T20 2009, and it may be required again.

Incredibly, it's the batting that looks Pakistan's stronger suit. Three 150-plus scores including two successful chases in the last few games has meant that Pakistan's traditional weakness is looking like its strong suit. Nasir Jamshed looks in the form of his life, and with runs now for Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal, the top order could be tough to break down.

India’s bowling looked under par when they faced Afghanistan, but they recovered emphatically by embarrassing the defending champions, England. They have the quality in the spin bowling department with Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, and the batting looks as good as ever led by the genius of Virat Kohli. There is no doubt they will be tough to beat.

Australia successfully came through a tough rain-affected encounter against the West Indies, but will be concerned at how easily their bowling attack was dismantled. They’re a young side led by a young captain, and will rely quite heavily on the likes of David Warner, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey at the top of the batting order to get them off to a good start. South Africa, meanwhile, don’t seem to have such concerns. As always in big tournaments, they look like a high quality side in all departments, and AB De Villiers has some fantastic players at his disposal. Sri Lanka really struggled to break free against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and company, while Hashim Amla continues to plunder runs for fun. Group 2 really is a mouth-watering prospect.

Moving on to Group 1, and Sri Lankan fans will feel confident that their team will get through the group to qualify for the semi-finals. Placed alongside West Indies, England and New Zealand, the home side should do well against teams that often struggle against spin, especially as the pitches get slower and lower as they are used throughout the tournament. Of the other three, West Indies will fancy their chances of reaching the semis. Their batting clicked against Australia, and there’s no reason why it won’t do so again. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels are in amongst the runs, and if the likes of Keiron Pollard get going, it will make up for any deficiencies in their bowling.

The defending champions, England have had an indifferent start. After walloping Afghanistan with a clinical performance, they were dismantled by a rampant Indian side. Their strength is probably their seam bowling attack, and if the pitches suit them, they may also sneak a semi-final spot. New Zealand, a team that almost always ends up in the last four in the ICC tournaments, also will rely heavily on their batting, with Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum capable of scoring big.

As long as the weather holds up, we are surely in for a treat over the next week. Bring on the Super Eights!

Discuss!