Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that the West Indies are the team to beat heading into the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. They won their first three games in Group C to make it to the next stage as they beat New Zealand by 13 runs in Tarouba in Wednesday’s (June 12) evening game. On the other hand, Afghanistan beat PNG by seven wickets at the same venue a day later to join the co-hosts in the Super Eights, knocking the Kiwis out of the tournament early as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “New Zealand tata bye-bye. West Indies are the team to beat. They have an explosive batting lineup in which Sherfane Rutherford came as a slightly out-of-syllabus question from New Zealand’s perspective because they managed Nicholas Pooras, Johnson Charles, Brandon King, Andre Russell and everyone else, but Sherfane Rutherford thrashed them. He scored runs and took his team to a score from where a win was possible. After that, Gudakesh Motie definitely picks up wickets, he took two or three in this match as well, Alzarri Joseph took four, Akeal Hosein bowled tightly, and then Romario Shepherd and Andre Russell. I think West Indies are a damn good team. This team has depth and variety. You need to be wary of them.”

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While appreciating the Windies’ stunning bowling performance, he warned the other teams as well. Rutherford, however, smashed an unbeaten 68 off just 39 deliveries and was the only Windies player to reach 20 against the Black Caps as well. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph (4/19) and Gudakesh Motie (3/25) then did well with the ball to help their side seal a Super 8 berth as well. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra questioned New Zealand’s preparedness for the tournament.

“New Zealand have lost two games. In the first match, they lost to Afghanistan by a huge margin. They were bundled out for only 75. The second match was against the West Indies and there too they were unable to chase runs. A big question will be whether New Zealand came underprepared. Devon Conway and Kane Williamson didn’t score runs. Whoever they were looking towards for runs, whether it was Daryl Mitchell or Rachin Ravindra, no one did a good job. They bowled decently but batting let them down. Their story ends here,” Aakash Chopra concluded.