Sachin Tendulkar, apart from being a great cricketer in the past, is also an astute analyst of the game. He has often been able to see or observe things that escaped the attention of other experts. While commentating in Hindi for Star Sports during the India vs Australia game of the ICC 2019 Cricket World Cup, the legendary batsman was asked by a viewer, which teams, according to him, are most likely to reach the last-4.
Sachin said that India, England and Australia are the most likely, but then made a very interesting addition to the list. He named West Indies as the fourth side, likely, to make it to the semis. The reason given by the great man for this prognosis was equally worth notice.
"I would choose West Indies as the fourth team because of the way they have played so far. This is different from my previous predictions but the way their fast bowlers are bowling and using the short ball makes me fancy their chances," the man who scored 100 international hundreds stated.
He further elaborated why the short-pitch bowling by West Indies in this tournament is so highly regarded by him. "The way the West Indians are using the short delivery is very similar to Test match bowling. In the game against Australia, Oshane Thomas was bowling to Usman Khawaja with a backward short-leg. These type of tactics are great to see and is the reason why I think they can reach the semis," Tendulkar analysed.
West Indies have played two matches so far in the tournament. Their first game against Pakistan saw the Caribbean side bouncing out their opponents with short-pitch bowling and registering an easy win while they lost the second match to Australia. But even in the latter contest, they were able to pose a serious threat to Australia and had the defending champions reeling at 89/5. Let's see whether the prediction of Sachin comes true or not.
