There is usually always a group of death in any tournament that involves a round robin stage and in the T20 World Cup 2024 it looks to be Group C where three dangerous sides and a pair of competent outsiders go in search of the two qualifying spots.
This group would have got plenty of attention and traction anyway because it contains the tournament hosts West Indies but with New Zealand and Afghanistan also in the group this one could be the best of the lot.
The Teams
Afghanistan were the surprise package of the recent 50 over World Cup where they weren’t a million miles away from qualifying for the semi-final. They should have taken a lot of confidence from that tournament and will be looking to use it here where you could argue that given that they don’t have the deepest set of out and out batters the 20 over format could be their ideal length at the minute. They are a dangerous side, especially if Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have big tournaments.
New Zealand are never a side who are really talked about as title contenders whenever a tournament comes around but they seem to deliver more often than not and that has certainly been the case in this event with them having gone SF-F-SF in the last three campaigns. They have a more powerful batting unit for this renewal with Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips established as stars but their bowling might not be as potent as it was in the past.
Papua New Guinea are appearing at their second T20 World Cup and they will be looking to show that they have made progress from their first one which was in the UAE three years ago. They are the fourth seeds in the group so they will be expected to beat Uganda and if they can do that and he competitive against the three bigger sides then that will represent a creditable campaign. If that is to happen then Charles Amini will need to have a positive showing.
West Indies will carry plenty of expectation into the tournament with them as the co-hosts and the twice winners of the event. They have had plenty of time to prepare for the competition in home conditions and have formed a squad which is full of the typical batting depth and big hitting that we have become accustomed to seeing from them. They have superstars right the way down and if their bowling can get it right they could well become the first nation to win this tournament for a third time.
Uganda are the only team in this group who are making their debut in this tournament. They caused a major shock in qualifying when they got the better of Zimbabwe and now they will be looking to find another upset or two here at the main event to show the world what they can do. They are the lowest ranked team in the competition though so any upset will need to be a big one based on that. Alpesh Ramjani will need the surprise factor on his side for Uganda to have a good tournament.
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Group Betting
I have already backed two teams in this group to win the tournament so I don’t really need to get involved in the group betting. This is one of those groups which threatens to be impacted by the weather as well which clouds things a little more. I think West Indies are the team to beat in terms of winning the group but should the weather get involved against either of the minnows it might not help them too much.
I have taken Afghanistan as the other side to win the tournament so I don’t need to get involved with them either although if you haven’t followed me in on that bet then you could do a lot worse than take the 13/10 on them to finish in the top two in this group. I really like their make up for this event. Other than that I don’t really see a lot to bet on in the group markets because it really does look like two from three in terms of who will go through.
Team Betting
In truth, there isn’t a huge amount that I like in the team betting markets either but one bet which could quickly look on the high side is the 5/1 for Daryl Mitchell to be the leading batter for New Zealand in this tournament. He is now a very experienced batter on the franchise scene and he is one of the few for New Zealand who will be given the licence to go after the bowling, however he does it smartly and doesn’t go after everything. He picks his battles which is no bad thing.
You have to respect Glenn Phillips in this part of the world because he has an excellent record in the Caribbean Premier League but I fancy he’ll bat too low to top score over what could easily be seven matches but if it is only four he would need to bat in three of them and I’m not sure that happens. Devon Conway is coming back from injury and Kane Williamson has had his injury clouds too. I’ll stick with the mainstay of the middle order at a decent price here.
Tips
Back D.Mitchell Top New Zealand Tournament Batter for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Coral
