WT20 Group2 analysis: India & Australia favourites, but Blackcaps could sneak in at the expense of their neighbours

GROUP 2 have India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh battling it out for the two semi-final spots in the World T20 Super 10s.

India - The hosts start as strong favourites coming off a brilliant run in the shortest format, winning 10 out of their last 11 T20Is, including a 3-0 whitewash against the Australians in their own backyard. The batting looks sorted and is deep with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in the top three, followed by the dangerous Suresh Raina in subcontinent conditions and Yuvraj Singh. Skipper MS Dhoni is flexible and can move up and down the order. Six, seven and eight are followed by the all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. 

Dhoni has ample options in the bowling department. New found sensation Jasprit Bumrah is good with the new ball as well as in the death overs. Giving him good support is Ashish Nehra who's made a strong comeback in the side. The spinners, too are doing their job well with Ashwin and Jadeja. Having quite a few youngsters in the side takes care of the fielding, too.

Pakistan - After a failed Asia Cup campaign, Pakistan find themselves in a tough group. They rely heavily on their bowling with the likes of Mohammad Amir, who had a good Asia Cup, and Mohammad Irfan. Wahab Riaz is their third left-arm seamer in the line-up along with the right-arm bowler Mohammad Sami. Like India, Pakistan, too have ample of spin-bowling options with skipper Shahid Afridi leading the spin-attack with his leg-breaks. 
 
The main weakness lies in the Pakistan-batting. Mohammad Hafeez hasn't really set things on fire, and Ahmed Shehzad has been blowing hot and cold right throughout his career. Sharjeel Khan is at three, followed by their best batsman Shoaib Malik. There is a definite problem in their batting as Malik, their best batsman bats pretty slowly as per T20 standards. Sarfraz Ahmed is another good bat at five, followed by Afridi at six. Anwar Ali at seven is more of a bowling-all-rounder. Hence, the batting lacks quality and their fielding is isn’t impressive either. 

Australia - The team from down under looks a decent side overall. Batting is led by the likes of David Warner and Aaron Finch up-front. Shane Watson is a bit slow to start off his innings, but recovers later at three. One of their most attacking batsmen Glenn Maxwell comes in at four, followed  by skipper Steven Smith at five. All-rounders Mitchell Marsh and James Faulkner come at six and eight, whereas gloveman Peter Nevill is at seven. 

On the other hand, the Australian bowling looks far from formidable and can be exposed in this department. Barring pace Nathan Coulter-Nile, the attack looks a little wobbly and vulnerable. Their spinners in Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa too lack experience. 

New Zealand - The Kiwi batting unit have a lot of big hitters in their line-up. Opening the batting is skipper Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill. Corey Anderson, Colin Munro and former skipper Ross Taylor can all use the long handle effectively at three, four and five. Grant Eliott and Luke Ronchi come in at six and seven. 

The bowling is led by swing bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Adam Milne is the third seamer along with another southpaw Anderson. Spin department is taken care by Mitchell Santner and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. The bowling is competitive, but their strength lies in batting. The Black Caps are a good fielding side, too, and are capable of supporting the bowlers.

Bangladesh - Considered the minnows in the group, the Tigers are coming off as runners-up in the Asia Cup, losing only to India in the tournament. The batting is an aggressive unit, starting off with openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. Sabbir Rahma and their best batsman Shakib-al Hasan come in at three and four. Mushfiqur Rahim is another good bat at five. Mahmudullah uses the long handle effectively at six, followed by Nasir Hossain.  A good batting line-up, but falls just short on quality.

Their bowling is led by Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin. Mashrafe Mortaza their skipper prefers to bowl first change and bowls in two two-over spells. Mustafizur bowls his off-cutters economically. In the spin department Shakib leads the pack, with Arafat Sunny for company. The Bangladeshis aren't the best fielding unit in the tournament and need to support their bowlers more.

Currently, the hosts India look all poised to make the semis with home support and form. The Second spot is likely to be taken by the Australians, but any lapse by the Aussie will open the door for the Blackcaps.