T20 World Cup 2022: "Is that a good omen?" - Aakash Chopra recalls Netherlands being in India's group in the 2011 ODI World Cup
Aakash Chopra has questioned whether the Netherlands joining India's Super 12 group in the T20 World Cup 2022 could be a good omen for the Men in Blue.
The Netherlands suffered a 16-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their final qualifying Group A game after winning their first two matches against the UAE and Namibia. They qualified for the Super 12s after the UAE defeated Namibia in the final Group A game to knock the latter out of the tournament.
While reviewing Thursday's matches in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra asked if the stars are aligning in India's favor. He said:
"Sri Lanka are through and Netherlands have come into our pool. Sri Lanka went to Australia, England, New Zealand and Afghanistan's pool. Now that's an interesting one. Netherlands were in our group in the 2011 ODI World Cup. Is that a good omen? I don't know."
Chopra was surprised by Namibia's reversal against the UAE. The former India batter explained:
"Yesterday's matches were quite interesting. There was a slight upset because you were expecting Namibia to defeat UAE easily, they had defeated Sri Lanka, so it would work out for them. But that did not happen."
Chopra highlighted that Sri Lanka would have come to India's group if Namibia had won their match against the UAE. He observed:
"If Sri Lanka and Namibia had won, Namibia would have finished at No. 1 and Sri Lanka would have come to our group. Sri Lanka won their match but Namibia lost to UAE in the evening match. So once they lost to UAE, Namibia was out of the tournament."
Sri Lanka and the Netherlands finished with four points apiece, with the former topping the group on net run rate. Namibia and the UAE were eliminated as they managed just one win apiece. A win for Gerhard Erasmus's side against the UAE would have helped them top the group on net run rate and eliminated the Netherlands from the tournament.
"Wanindu Hasaranga did an amazing job" - Aakash Chopra on the star performers for Sri Lanka
While lauding David Wiese, Jan Frylinck and Ruben Trumpelmann for their fighting efforts for Namibia versus UAE, Chopra praised Wanindu Hasaranga and Kusal Mendis for their match-winning performances for Sri Lanka against the Netherlands. The renowned commentator said:
"David Wiese tried a lot, Jan Frylinck and Trumpelmann also tried but this team could not progress. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, Wanindu Hasaranga did an amazing job, Kusal Mendis showed his ability at the start and overall they won the match. When Netherlands lost that match, they felt that their story will be over but that did not happen."
This is truly heartbreaking pictures - David Wiese gave his absolute best.
You played like a champ, Wiese!! ♥️ https://t.co/orlY2pgEvf
Wiese smashed 55 runs off 36 deliveries but could not take Namibia across the line against the UAE. Hasaranga (3/28) and Mendis (79 runs off 44 balls) were the star performers in Sri Lanka's win against the Netherlands.