Due to ICC’s pre-seeding rules, India vs Australia has been pre-decided for the T20 World Cup Super 8 stage.
India defeated co-hosts USA in their T20 World Cup fixture, in New York on Thursday. Chasing 111, India reached 111/3 in 18.2 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten half-century by Suryakumar Yadav. The MI star smacked an unbeaten knock of 50* runs off 49 balls. For USA’s bowling department, Saurabh Netravalkar took two wickets.
Initially, USA posted 110/8 in 20 overs and Nitish Kumar top-scored for the co-hosts, slamming 27 off 23 balls. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh bagged a four-wicket haul for India.
India vs Australia: Pre-decided
The win saw India qualify for the Super 8 stage, joining South Africa and Australia. The pre-seeding for the Super 8 stage has already been decided by ICC, and India are set to face Australia on June 24th, in a confirmed fixture. Rohit Sharma and Co. are seeded as A1, with Australia seeded as B2.
Who else will India face in the Super 8 stage?
Other than Australia, Afghanistan will be slotted into India’s group in the Super 8 stage. Also, Bangladesh are expected to get the other Super 8 slot in that group.
Pre-seedings:
A1 – India
A2 – Pakistan
B1 – England
B2 – Australia
C1 – New Zealand
C2 – West Indies
D1 – South africa
D2 – Sri Lanka
Super Eight
Group 1: A1, B2, C1, D2
Group 2: A2, B1, C2, D1
If any of the teams listed above in the Super Eight groupings is knocked out, the team which qualifies instead will take up that spot.
Probable Super 8 teams
Group A: India, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh
Group B: USA, West Indies, England/Scotland, South Africa
Speaking after the match, Rohit revealed that it was a ‘big relief’ to qualify for the Super 8 stage. ‘It is a big relief, playing cricket here wasn’t easy. We had to stick through till the end in all 3 games. Will take a lot of confidence from these wins,’ he said.
Speaking on the match, he said, ‘Knew it would be tough. Credit to us for the way we held our nerve and got that partnership. Credit to Surya and Dube for showing the maturity and taking us through. (On the Indian American cricketers) Lot of these guys have played cricket together, very happy to see their progress. Saw them last year in MLC as well, they are all hard-working guys. (On the bowlers) We knew bowlers had to take the lead, run scoring was difficult. All the bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep. (On Dube bowling) You want options and we should be able to use them as and when we can. Today, the pitch favoured the seamers so wanted to use him.’
Rohit also hailed Suryakumar for putting in a key performance. India are scheduled to face Canada in their final group game, on Saturday.
