The Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021 is over and after plenty of nail-bitters, Pakistan, New Zealand, England and Australia have managed to make it to the semi-finals of the mega event. Ahead of the semi-finals, considering their relentless performance and unbeaten streak in the group stage, former South African captain, Faf du Plessis has predicted that Babar Azam-led Pakistan are favourites to lift the trophy.
"I hope New Zealand win it. They have come so close and suffered heartbreaks likes South Africa in ICC tournaments like the 2019 OD World Cup final. If not them then it will have to Pakistan," Du Plessis predicted in the virtual press conference for T10 League in Abu Dhabi.
Kane Williamson’s New Zealand will take on Eoin Morgan’s England on November 10 in the first semi-final of the tournament at Abu Dhabi. The second semi-final is scheduled to be played between Pakistan and Aaron Finch’s Australia on November 11 at Dubai International Stadium where the final of the event is also scheduled.
Moreover, when asked about the India's tour of South Africa later this year and whether he fancies his chances of coming back, Faf answered Sports Tak query by saying it’s the selectors' decision and he can’t do much about that.
“It’s not in my hand, we will see how it goes,” the 34-year-old asserted.
Earlier, despite having a dream Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season with 633 runs in 16 matches for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the right-handed batter was ignored by the South African selectors for their T20 World Cup squad. However, without him, South Africa pulled off four wins in five Super 12 matches.
The four wins weren't enough for Temba Bavuma’s men as they were knocked out from the event on the basis of inferior net run rate (NRR). England (+2.464) and Australia (+1.216) had better NRR when compared to them (+0739) in Group 1.
