Legendary Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the England cricket team’s decision to elect to bowl after winning the toss against India in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final. India piled up 171 runs in their 20 overs, a total that always seemed like an uphill climb for the English batters. Ultimately, England fell short by a whopping 68 runs. After the game, Akhtar wondered what had inspired England to choose to bowl, given the might and variety of India’s bowling lineup.

“Someone please tell me which Einstein adviced England to bat second. What scientist do they have?” questioned a puzzled Akhtar after the game on his YouTube channel.

“Against a team that has Axar Patel, a match-winner like Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. Then they have Jasprit Bumrah. So who advised you to win the toss and bowl?” continued Akhtar.

England’s batting unit could not deal with the firepower of India’s bowling. Only three batters crossed the 20-run mark, and one more managed to hit double digits.

Axar Patel was the star of the show, dismantling the English top order with three wickets (3/23 in 4 overs). Spin partner Kuldeep Yadav also picked up three wickets, while Bumrah added two wickets to his tally.

However, Shoaib Akhtar reserved more praise for India’s batting. Courtesy of a half-century by Rohit Sharma, and sizeable efforts from Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, India reached a total of 171/7 in 20 overs.

Rohit accelerated early, scoring a 39-ball 57 on a tough Guyana pitch. Suryakumar Yadav made 47 off 36, and Hardik contributed a quickfire 13-ball 23, with two sixes.

“I’m very happy to see India win,” said Akhtar. “They have a good range of batting. There are no batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya,” said Akhtar.

India will take on South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup Final in Barbados on June 29. Both sides are yet to lose a game so far in the tournament.

Few days back, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had suggested that the team might have to play qualifiers to get into the main draw of the next T20 World Cup in 2026. Akhtar’s remark came after Pakistan were stunned by USA in a group game of the ongoing addition. He had suggested that Pakistan must beat India to get out of the group stage, or else they could be forced to take part in the 2026 T20 World Cup qualifiers. However, Pakistan also lost to India, failing to get out of the group stage of the tournament.

Akhtar’s claim, however, has been proven wrong as Pakistan’s secured a direct entry for the tournament in 2026, set to be joint-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

How Pakistan qualified T20 World Cup 2026?

As per ICC rules, 12 out of the 20 participating teams will gain automatic entry for the event in 2026. While India and Sri Lanka got direct entry as co-hosts, teams who have qualified for the Super 8 stage in the ongoing edition have also managed to secure their respective berths.

India, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, West Indies, Afghanistan, South Africa, Bangladesh and USA have already secured direct qualification for the group stage.

In addition, the three remaining automatic slots have been on the basis of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings as of June 30, 2024.

As a result, New Zealand, Ireland, and most importantly Pakistan have also qualified for the event.

The remaining eight slots will be determined through regional qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the Super 8 stage of the ongoing edition will kick off from Wednesday, June 19.

The top two teams from the groups will advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Here’s how the two Super 8 groups look like:

Group 1: India (A1), Australia (B2), Afghanistan (C1) and Bangladesh (D2)

Group 2: England (B1), USA (A2), West Indies (C2), South Africa (D1)

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup journey came to a disappointing conclusion on Friday, with the team failing to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the tournament. Pakistan’s elimination came after the United States of America’s game against Ireland was washed out due to rain. USA were awarded a point which was enough to take them to the Super 8 stage in their debut appearance in the tournament. Following Pakistan’s shock exit, former pacer Shoaib Akhtar expressed his disappointment over the outcome.

Taking to X, Akhtar shared a one line post, saying: “Pakistan’s World Cup journey is over.”

Pakistan’s World Cup journey is over.

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 14, 2024

Pakistan needed Ireland to beat USA heading into their final game of the group stage against the Irish.

However, a draw means that they can only reach four points. Meanwhile, USA ended group league campaign with five points from four games, joining India in the next round from Group A.

Pakistan went down to India in New York on Sunday in a close game, failing to chase a target of 120. Before that, in their opening game in Dallas, they suffered a shock Super Over loss to USA.

The back-to-back defeats meant Pakistan’s chances of advancing to the Super Eight were already out of their own hands. Once again, they had to rely on other results going their way.

However, heavy rain and flooding in Fort Lauderdale over the past few days shattered their hopes of advancing through to the next round.

The USA began the tournament with a convincing win over Canada chasing nearly 200 runs, shocked Pakistan in one of T20 World Cup’s greatest upsets, and then gave formidable title contenders India a run for their money, but the starting point of the team’s upsurge in the game was the morale-boosting T20I series victory over Bangladesh just prior to the showpiece.

The US team comprises eight cricketers of Indian descent, most of them on temporary H1-B visas that allow companies to hire overseas employees, who are trying to revive the sport 180 years after the country hosted the first-ever international cricket match, between USA and Canada at the St George’s Cricket Club in New York way back in 1844, 33 years before England and Australia played in their first Test match.

USA’s passage to the next round also sealed their place in the group stage of the 2026 edition.

(With PTI Inputs)