"At some stage, their batting will fire" - Aakash Chopra on England's prospects of qualifying for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals
Aakash Chopra expects England to qualify for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals despite a shock loss to Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday, October 15.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co. set the defending champions a 285-run target after being asked to bat first. They then bowled out England for 215 to register a convincing 69-run win and hand Jos Buttler and Co. their second defeat in their first three games.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that England will make the knockout stages, highlighting that their batting is expected to come good. He said (12:10):
"Will England qualify for the top four? They have made the job slightly difficult for themselves but I feel they will. I feel they will find a way. At some stage, their batting will fire."
The former India opener expects England and Australia to fight for the final semi-final berth. He elaborated:
"I don't think they have a rockstar bowling which will do an amazing job but I think they will manage. So England should qualify. India, New Zealand and South Africa are looking the best. I am assuming the fourth team will be either Australia or England but let's see what happens."
England, who have two points from three games and a negative net run rate, are currently placed fifth in the points table. Australia are in even bigger trouble as they are currently placed last after having suffered crushing defeats in their first two games.
"I have a slight soft corner for Bairstow" - Aakash Chopra on England's 'tumbling' wickets against Afghanistan
![Jonny Bairstow fell leg-before-wicket off Fazalhaq Farooqi's bowling. [P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/d189e-16974313629094-1920.jpg?w=500)
Reflecting on England's batting against Afghanistan, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Jonny Bairstow was slightly unfortunate to be given out. He explained (3:10):
"First Fazalhaq Farooqi hit the ball on the pads. There I have a slight soft corner for Bairstow because the impact on the pads and the wickets were both umpire's call. It means he wasn't plumb. Benefit of doubt should go to the batter."
Chopra added that England lost wickets at regular intervals, with their batting not living up to the expectations from it. He stated:
"Then Mujeeb Ur Rahman hit the ball on Joe Root's stumps and Mohammad Nabi dismissed Dawid Malan. After that, the wickets kept tumbling - Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. One fell and everyone fell after that. Harry Brook did score runs but no one else fired and England were found wanting."
Harry Brook (66) was the only half-centurion in England's innings. They were bamboozled by the Afghanistan spinners, with Rashid Khan (3/37), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/51) and Mohammad Nabi (2/16) picking up eight wickets between them.