Click here for Pak vs Eng MCG 2022 crowd figure
A sparkling half century from Suryakumar Yadav (61* off 25) helped India end their Super 12 campaign on a winning note as they beat Zimbabwe by 71 runs at the MCG. There was a 82,507 strong crowd inside the G for this clash- the second biggest of the tournament so far (Click here for attendance figures for all India games at the 2022 T20 WC so far).
The result means that India top Group 2 and will face England in the semifinal at Adelaide on November 10, with Pakistan squaring off against New Zealand in Sydney a day earlier. It also guaranteed automatic qualification for the 2024 World Cup for the Netherlands, who had stunned South Africa earlier at the Adelaide Oval and leapfrogged Zimbabwe in the table.
India were 107/4 after 15 overs, but Yadav’s blitzkrieg at the death saw them take 79 off the final five, and that was essentially where the Chevrons lost the game. In reply, Zimbabwe found themselves at 36/5 after 7.3 overs. A quick 60 run partnership off 35 balls briefly raised Zimbabwean hopes, but once Ashwin had Ryan Burl (35 off 22) bowled, India re-asserted their dominance and completed an easy win.
The Burl-Raza partnership in the middle and the way they went after Axar Patel and Ashwin would’ve been a slight concern for India, as would be the form of Rohit Sharma at the top of the order and their batsmen’s tendency to struggle against spin in the middle overs. But they’re getting the results in their favour, primarily due to Yadav’s dominance in the middle, and there’s every chance India and Pakistan will meet again in the final next Sunday at Melbourne.
