T20 World Cup 2021 | Anyone can upset India in knockouts, feels Nasser Hussain

10/22/2021

Nasser Hussain believes that any team can upset India in the knockouts at the T20 World Cup 2021, given their recent record in ICC tournaments. Hussain added that he won’t call India clear favourites, as an individual brilliance on the day can hurt any team in the game's shortest version.

India last won an ICC tournament eight years ago, when they defeated hosts England at the 2013 Champions Trophy final under MS Dhoni. Since then, the Men in Blue came second best at the 2014 T20 World Cup, 2017 Champions Trophy and the inaugural World Test Championship, and finished semi-finalists at the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and at the 2016 T20 World Cup.

They are firm contenders to many at the ongoing 2021 T20 World Cup. However, Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, refused to mark them as out and out contenders, given their recent record at the ICC tournaments knockouts.

"They are favourites. I wouldn’t say clear favourites because of the format. The shorter the game, things can happen. An individual brilliance, a 70 or 80 or three deliveries suddenly changes it the other way around. So anyone could upset India in any knockout game," Hussain said on Sky Cricket.

"Their record actually as of late in ICC tournaments is not good and that’s something they are going to have to deal with – with the weight of expectations of the Indian audience and fans heavy on their shoulders – when they get to a knockout game, all of a sudden you cannot afford a mistake and that’s going to be a thing for them."

While Hussain spoke highly of India's strength as a team, he cited example of the 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand, when the team fell 18 short in a run-chase of 240.

"When they get to a stage – you look at the last World Cup against New Zealand – and suddenly it’s a low-scoring game and they don’t have a Plan B, they got rolled over a very good New Zealand side," Hussain explained.

"So that’s going to be an issue for them. The knockout game, the expectations, everyone thinking that they will win. And the reason people think that is when you look at that line-up on paper, it has everything."

India, the 2007 T20 World Cup champions, will begin their 2021 campaign against Pakistan on Sunday, October 24, in Dubai.