T20 World Cup 2022: "We used to feel only COVID spreads" - Aakash Chopra on the trends in the tournament
Aakash Chopra has highlighted some of the trends that have emerged in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.
The global T20 event has reached its business end, with New Zealand facing Pakistan in the first semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday and India locking horns with England in the second last-four clash in Adelaide on Thursday. The all-important final will be played in Melbourne on Sunday, November 13.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked a plethora of dropped catches as one of the trends in the global showpiece event. He elaborated:
"Some excellent catches have been held but we have seen some extremely ordinary fielding as well. So many catches have been dropped, you can see yesterday's matches, everyone is dropping. We used to feel only COVID spreads but the epidemic of dropping catches has spread amazingly in this World Cup."
Chopra chose assistance to the seamers in the powerplay overs as another trend. The former India opener observed:
"The new ball has been seen swinging a lot at the start. This is a new Kookaburra batch which is swinging a little more. We have seen Bhuvi, Arshdeep - the ball is darting around."
In this World Cup the average swing (0.95°) and average seam of (0.67°) in the first six overs are both the highest figures in any T20 World Cup since 2010. Unsurprisingly, the strike rate for pace bowlers in this phase is the lowest since that 2010 tournament. #T20WorldCup
The T20 World Cup has not seen the tall scores that were expected before the tournament. Teams have tended to prefer the old-school approach of keeping wickets in hand and pressing the accelerator pedal in the death overs.
"Batting first is also becoming a successful idea" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra picked teams opting to bat first after winning the toss as a deviation from the usual approach. He stated:
"A lot of people are batting after winning the toss. Batting first is also becoming a successful idea, that you are winning matches while batting first. Of course, Bangladesh couldn't win but we won, the Netherlands won in the morning. Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan, there also they did that while batting first."
The renowned commentator concluded by observing that the success of wrist-spinners and upset results is a trend that has continued from previous editions. He said:
"Leg-spinners are doing well which they always do, they have done well this time as well. The small teams trouble you every time which is happening this time also. So that's not a new trend."
The likes of Shadab Khan, Adam Zampa, Adil Rashid, Ish Sodhi and Rashid Khan have enjoyed reasonable success in the ongoing T20 World Cup. India have, however, opted not to field Yuzvendra Chahal in their playing XI in any of their games so far.