India has to win the World Cup, Day 22: Team India’s strong comeback, confidence at its peak before the clash with West Indies.

Delhi: It is not that all the troubles of Team India ended with the victory in Super 8 against Zimbabwe. Today Team India’s cricket is being praised, but those who praised it were not lagging behind in criticism after the defeat against South Africa. Regarding Indian cricket, one more special thing about the last few months is worth noting. In Indian cricket, no one else got as much hatred as Gautam Gambhir as a coach. After losing a match to South Africa, Gautam Gambhir was in the dock and ‘experts’ were giving their opinion about him on social media.

India did not win the T20 World Cup for almost 17 years, then no one ever talked about removing the coach or captain. Not agreeing with the decisions of the coach and captain or criticizing them is not wrong, but hatred is wrong. The coach was never ridiculed for a defeat before in Indian cricket. After India’s 2023 ODI World Cup final defeat, no one talked about removing Rahul Dravid. Will this attitude change?

India’s next match is against West Indies. In the discussion of West Indies, special mention of two players is necessary. Shimron Hetmyer has given a new lifeline to his international cricket career. Circumstances themselves had put Hetmyer in the role of finisher. For the first time, the team used him properly and the result is that in this T20 World Cup, he is at the top in the list of most sixes with 17 sixes in 6 matches.

The player others are mentioning is actually not even in the team in this T20 World Cup. West Indies have not felt the lack of Nicholas Pooran at all in this tournament. Puran looked at his own needs and not the needs of the team. The board was not asking him to play the Test or entire international schedule, there was only a request to play the World Cup and T20 International but he did not agree. This should be noted by all those players who are looking for personal gain more than the team.

West Indies team got Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata for Super 8 matches and the pitches in these three centers are suitable for West Indies style of cricket. Scored 256 runs against Zimbabwe at Wankhede Stadium with an excellent net run rate. The defeat to South Africa in Ahmedabad came as a shock but they will now take on India at the Eden Gardens, in a match that both teams are desperate to win in their camps. Incidentally, West Indies have won 2 T20 World Cups, one in Sri Lanka and the other in India and this time both India and Sri Lanka are joint hosts. Will they be able to win their third title? There is still a long road ahead but it is not as if they are a team that will lose easily.

Zimbabwe’s qualification for the Super 8 in the 2026 T20 World Cup is no less a success. This thing is not limited to just the record of winning matches. With this qualification of the team, Zimbabwe cricket has got a big economic lifeline. For years, Zimbabwe cricket has struggled with the effects of financial instability and debt collection. Now playing in the Super 8 by defeating Australia and Sri Lanka is as much a sporting achievement as it is a successful business event. How?

Note that in the current 2024–2027 ICC Financial Round, Zimbabwe accounts for approximately 3 percent of ICC earnings. This time, by coming to the Super 8, Zimbabwe was guaranteed to get at least $ 3.80 lakh (about $ 3.48 crore). Not only this, this time by being in the top 8, they have directly qualified for the next World Cup and are now waiting for an invitation for a 3-match T20 series from big cricket countries like India and Australia.

Fun Fact:

* The talent who impressed Zimbabwe the most in this World Cup is Brian Bennett. Brian Bennett scored 776 runs at an average of 70.54 and a strike rate of 165.81 in Zimbabwe’s journey from sub-regionals to Super-8.

* In this T20 World Cup, Brian Bennett had not hit a single six till the match against India. He hit a six against India and the interesting thing is that it was on the ball of Jasprit Bumrah which big bowlers are not able to play.

* Now another point has been added to the discussion of similarities between the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2026 T20 World Cup: In the 2007 Super 8, India lost Match 1 while chasing, while scoring their highest score in the T20 World Cup in Match 2. This time too, India lost in Match 1 while chasing, whereas in Match 2, India made its highest score in the history of the tournament.

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