T20 World Cup 2022: "Our playing style could be a cause for concern for us in the semi-final" - Aakash Chopra on India
Aakash Chopra feels India's playing style could be a cause for concern for them in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022.
The Men in Blue finished atop the Super 12 Group 2 points table with eight points to their credit. They will lock horns with England, the second-placed team from Group 1, in the second semi-final in Adelaide on Thursday, November 10.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra delved into the defining attributes of the sides that qualified for the semi-finals from Group 2. As for India, he said:
"India has a fairly good batting lineup. They have strengths but also weaknesses. I feel our playing style could be a cause for concern for us in the semi-final. Our spin, that's also a bit of a problem."
Chopra pointed out that the inaugural T20 World Cup champions stuck to their processes and did not fall prey to an upset. The former India batter explained:
"They are a slightly methodical team. They follow a philosophy, don't make mistakes. They won the matches against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. They don't slip on banana skins. South Africa defeated us but fair enough, they are a good team and can beat us. We won the Pakistan match, which was actually a good game of cricket."
India's only reversal in the group stage came against South Africa in Perth. While they defeated the Netherlands and Zimbabwe easily, they registered narrow wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
"They are absolutely from a different planet" - Aakash Chopra on Pakistan
Chopra picked Pakistan's mercurial playing style as their defining attribute. He observed:
"Pakistan - what a team boss. What do you guys do? They have a totally different style of playing. They are absolutely from a different planet because it seems this is or that might not happen."
While highlighting the lack of runs from Babar Azam's willow, the renowned commentator believes the Men in Green are fielding their best XI at the moment. He explained:
"They are playing the perfect XI at the moment - four fast bowlers and two spinners, an amazing striker in the form of Haris. The captain has not scored runs but it's fine, their captain and our captain are going through the same form almost."
Mohammad Haris in his 3rd game has shown more bravery and heart than our seniors who have played for years on end.
Pakistan included Mohammad Wasim as an additional seamer in their playing XI after their loss to India. Mohammad Haris, who came into their squad as an injury replacement for Fakhar Zaman, has played blazing knocks in the two games he has played.