The World T20: England & India's Jekyll and Hyde Campaigns Continue

 

The World T20

England & India’s Jekyll and Hyde Campaigns Continue

 

March 24^th  2016

 

“Beat Afghanistan and England will have one foot in the Semi-Finals”. If only things were so simple. There is now a strong possibility that England could win their last group game with Sri Lanka, making it three wins from four and still fail to reach the Knock-Out stage.

England, South Africa and Sri Lanka are locked in a battle for, most likely, one place in the Semi-Finals, assuming that the West Indies do beat Afghanistan, although there are multiple scenarios, including one that sees West Indies, England, Sri Lanka and South Africa all sweating on the last round of group matches.

England have to beat Sri Lanka on Saturday and then hope that other results fall the right way. Two wins for South Africa against Sri Lanka and West Indies will see their big NRR advantage in play and would set up a likely elimination for England, with West Indies and South Africa going through on NRR. If West Indies beat South Africa on Good Friday, England will go through with a win against Sri Lanka on Saturday. There is though also a all too plausible scenario whereby South Africa, England and Sri Lanka are all locked on two wins, with the West Indies on four. While Sri Lanka, the holders, know that they will progress if they beat South Africa and England.

This has been a tournament of what might have been for Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Bangladesh should have beaten India. Afghanistan could have beaten South Africa and should have beaten England. At 57-6 after 9.2 overs the question was whether or not England could bat out 20 overs. At 85-7 after 14.3, the question was whether or not England could reach 120 and give their bowlers something to defend. However, the last 3 overs went for 44 (31 was the next best 3-over haul in the match) and 142-7 was always going to be a tough target on a pitch where free-scoring proved surprisingly difficult. The difference between the sides ultimately was the 25 runs taken by Moeen and Willey from the penultimate over. Afghanistan needed a good start to their reply induce panic in England and settle their own jangling nerves, but failed to get it. At 13-3 after 18 balls the Afghanistan challenge was all but over and, save momentarily, late in the innings, they were always behind England at the same stage.

For England it was a further reminder of the good and the bad about this team. As against South Africa, an awful display in the first half of the match got them in terrible trouble, but a remarkable fight-back scrambled the win in extremis. While the England side of two years ago would have accepted its fate and slipped to a humiliating defeat, this England was able to come back and still win somehow: while watching them is never going to be relaxing, it is a useful talent to have in any sport to be able to scramble a win despite an awful performance.

What though of India? Self-confessed favourites to win, they were one ball from almost certain elimination from their home tournament in a format that they profess to own. Bangladesh needed just two runs from the last three balls with wickets in hand. The over had gone 1 4 4. An edge past the ‘keeper would win it. What followed was pure theatre: catch in the deep, catch in the covers and then a run-out, last ball, trying to run a bye to Dhoni, who had the presence of mind to take off his right glove, standing back to allow him to throw if the batsman missed and tried to scramble the bye, but then ran up to the stumps and break them rather than risking the throw that he had prepared. Dhoni won the race to the stumps by a short head and Bangladesh had somehow managed to contrive to lose.

With New Zealand already qualified, the India v Australia match previously identified as the key game becomes an eliminator. India could lose it and still qualify, but they would depend on Pakistan beating Australia. Pakistan’s slim hopes also depend on winning that clash and setting up an Australia-India-Pakistan tie on two wins each.

It is timely to remember that, even in this short format with its maximum of six matches per team, no side has ever gone through the tournament unbeaten. That fact might just encourage one of the teams that has ridden its luck so far to qualify: India and England could teach Houdini a thing or two with their performances in this tournament and one or other of them may yet make that luck pay dividends.