India finished on top of Group 2 with an emphatic 71-run victory over Zimbabwe at the MCG in what was the last Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup. Courtesy of finishing at the top of the points table in their group, Rohit Sharma’s side will face the second-positioned team from the other group in the semi-final: England.
England had defeated Sri Lanka on Saturday to seal their semi-final spot, pipping over Australia on Net Run Rate after both teams and New Zealand all finished with 7 points.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, there was plenty of drama. The Netherlands created a major upset to defeat South Africa by 13 runs in Adelaide. South Africa were the favorite to defeat the Dutch and progress into the semis. However, the Netherlands’ only win in the Super 12 came against Temba Bavuma’s side who got eliminated.
This meant that the Pakistan-Bangladesh game later in the day was a virtual quarter-final, in which Pakistan won by 5 wickets and sealed their semi-final spot.
The India-Zimbabwe game, although was a dead rubber since India qualified for the semis after South Africa’s loss, it still mattered to India as they would want to finish on top of the group 2. Because if their semi-final gets washed out even on the reserve day, then by being the table-toppers they would proceed to the Final.
Here is the semi-final scheduled for T20 World Cup 2022:
November 9 New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st Semi-Final, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 1:30 PM IST/07:00 PM local
November 10 India vs England, 2nd Semi-Final, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 1:30 PM IST/ 06:30 PM local.
The final is slated for November 13, Sunday at the MCG at 1:30 PM IST/07:00 PM local.
Suryakumar Yadav was the star of the show for India vs Zimbabwe as the batter clattered 61 runs off just 25 balls with the help of 6 fours and 4 sixes to send the MCG crowd in a frenzy, helping India post 186/5 after being 101/4 at one stage.
“My plan has always been clear, I do the same thing in the nets, I practice the same shots. I bat according to the situation and what the team needs,” Suryakumar said. “I think the atmosphere in the team is really nice and so is the build-up towards the knockout, really looking forward to that game,” he added about the upcoming semi-final vs England.
