T20 WORLD CUP 2022: Team India is set to cross swords with Jos Buttler’s England and cricket fans are getting ready to watch the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, and South African great AB de Villiers has made a bold prediction as to which team to go ahead and win the championship. The 38-year-old made these remarks while promoting the Last Man Stands (LMS) India Super League, which will take place in March next year. De Villiers will serve as the brand ambassador of the league. The league will be an amateur franchise-style tournament.
Now we have four semi-finalists – India, New Zealand, England, and Pakistan. All four countries are eyeing the ultimate goal – T20 World Cup 2022. Group 2 toppers India has made it to the semi-finals with England, while second-placed Pakistan will face Group 1 toppers New Zealand in the first semi-final.
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‘India and New Zealand will play the final,’ says ABD
AB de Villiers said in a special conversation with ANI, “I think India will play New Zealand in the final and I think India will win. Everyone is playing well, Suryakumar looks in good form, and Virat looks in good form. Rohit has not had his best of runs but he will come to the party when it matters most, he is a fantastic player.”
“The whole team of India is very talented. So, I am looking forward them to having a great game against England, which is the biggest test in my opinion. I believe if they win the semi-finals, they will go on and lift the trophy,” he added.
When asked about his disappointment with his side’s performance, de Villiers replied, “Very disappointing. I am not surprised that we did not go through to the knockouts. We have not been the top four performing teams in the last few years, so it is not a big surprise. But we came really close. We played better than I thought we would.”
“We beat India and we were setting up for this fantastic knockout phase. But then unfortunately what I thought would happen at some point, our batting collapsed at the wrong time. I felt we should have batted first in that game (against the Netherlands) but unfortunately, we chased on a slow wicket,” he added.
Both India and England have so far performed brilliantly in their performances in the Super 12 stage of the World Cup. While the Rohit Sharma-led side looks more lethal with the bat at this stage, the English bowlers are no less, considering the strong performances of some players in the side. Undoubtedly, this fixture will be a mouth-watering contest between two formidable sides.