Who Qualifies from Group A and How it Happened
We have heard terms like turnaround, upset, rollercoaster and thrill so often in past few days that it will feel illegal if the tournament doesn’t provide this much excitement after the qualifiers. What happened in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Qualifiers is a story to talk about for a long time. Let us know Who Qualifies from Group A and How it Happened in detail.
There were teams who were Continental cup winners and two times World Champions losing their first matches with big margins, almost losing their chances of making it through to Super 12. There were teams that no one cared about until they played the ‘Big’ teams, playing cricket that has zeal and spirit that was missing from the international tournaments. It was a spectacle and Group A of the tournament was largely responsible for it.
Who Qualifies from Group A and How it Happened is a story but let’s talk about what was expected first.
What we had expected?
Group A consisted of 4 teams, Srilanka, Netherlands, Namibia, and UAE. It was clear that Srilanka will the leader of the group. They shouldn’t have been there given they were the Asia Cup champions this year. And had beaten giants like India and Pakistan. There was only one spot. The Netherlands had the upper hand over other teams because they were exposed to some quality cricket. Even though they lost to Newzealand and England, the experience counts.
Namibia and UAE were the poors of the lot. They were under consideration to be subsidiaries and their participation was just a namesake. But they had some other plans and even the cricket gurus were not ready for the makeshift these teams were gonna adapt to.
What actually happened?
SRILANKA LOST! The team lost its first game against a third-world country of cricket. The Asiatic champions who had proven that when it comes to team effort, they are the bosses, lost by a huge margin. Every cricket fan would have clicked on the notification and screamed a little in their office cabins listening about this. This dwindled their position of making it through but they had a chance and people believed they would make it through.
In the group, every team was beating every other team. Apart from UAE. UAE was losing to everyone. Until the last day. Namibia beats Srilanka in their first match and even though they lost to the Netherlands, it was believed they would easily beat UAE and had one step already in the Super 12 until the unexpected happened. UAE pulled off the trump card (in form of a team effort) and Namibia lost the most crucial game they had played in years, this pushed them out of the World Cup dreams.
The Netherlands, even after losing to Srilanka on the final day, might be thinking about taking the flight back home and were surprised by their luck by chance qualification. In the end, they had the most unsuccessful team to thank for their success. It is not world play. It is gods at play.
The final Call
Eventually, the prediction comes true! Srilanka and Netherlands are through in the Super 12. They played good cricket but they should appreciate the competition they faced.
As for UAE and Namibia, there is only sympathy and admiration. The teams gave fans so much cheer about even in the qualifiers with their performances. For Namibia, there were players like Erasmus, Wiese, Jan Frylinck, and Bernard Scholtz who emerged as talents that the world will remember and follow from now on.
For UAE, Muhammad Waseem, young Chirag Suri and bowler Karthik Meiyappan were the highlights. They definitely left their imprint in cricket fans’ minds and should fetch some contracts in different franchisee cricket to be more exposed to world-class cricket.
Due to the lack of any other broadcast games in 2022, this competition was most likely their team’s last opportunity to gain recognition until the 2024 T20 World Cup begins. We hope they get the recognition they deserve.
Concluding Points
The Qualifiers are over. We have Srilanka and Netherlands in the Super 12s. Srilanka is the board leader and will join Group 1 which is full of giants like Australia, England, and New Zealand. They had a tough roach ahead in the competition. As for the Netherlands, they too have a lot of preparations to make. They will join Group 2 which has India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Bangladesh. It will be a delight for them if they don’t go back home winless.
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