WT20 semi-finals preview: Ind vs SA, SL vs WI

With West Indies beating Pakistan in the final match of the group stages, the semi-final line-up for the World T20 is now set, Sri Lanka will take on defending champions West Indies on 3 April (Thursday) and India vs South Africa 4 April (Friday). We take a quick look at the road to the semis and how the team’s match up: [caption id=“attachment_1462047” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Reuters[/caption] Sri Lanka vs West Indies A clash between the defending champs and the beaten finalists from the last edition of the tournament. It is Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara’s last T20 tournament for SL and that might inspire them to new heights this time round. West Indies, on the other hand, have relied on some manic hitting by Darren Sammy to get so far. They will be hoping Chris Gayle decides to do more than just the Gangnam in the semis. Head-to-head: SL 4, WI 1 SL’s road to semis: Beat SA by 5 runs. Beat Netherlands by 5 wickets. Lost to England by 6 wickets. Beat New Zealand by 59 runs. Players to watch out for: Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene and Rangana Herath. WI’s road to the semis: Lost to India by 7 wickets. Beat Bangladesh by 73 runs. Beat Australia by 6 wickets. Beat Pakistan by 84 runs. Players to watch out for: Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Sunil Narine. Ind vs SA You would reckon that India – the only unbeaten side so far – have this in the pocket. South Africa have been traditionally weak against spin – the ball has been gripping and turning in Dhaka – and they tend to choke in the knockout rounds. India’s spinners led by Amit Mishra and Ravichandran Ashwin have been very effective. But then JP Duminy, AB de Villiers and David Miller are all capable of playing blistering knocks and we aren’t even talking about Hashim Amla. In a sense, Amla will be key because if he gets going, the others can bat around him. Dale Steyn has been brilliant as well. The last T20 match between the two sides was during the 2012 World T20 and India won by 1 run. Head-to-head: India 5, SA 2 India’s road to semis: Beat Pakistan by 7 wickets. Beat West Indies by 7 wickets. Beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets. Beat Australia by 73 runs. Players to watch out for: Virat Kohli, Mishra, R Ashwin and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. SA’s road to semis: Lost to Sri Lanka by 5 runs. Beat New Zealand by 2 runs. Beat Netherlands by 6 wickets. Beat England by 3 runs. Players to watch out for: Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy.