In this episode of the show, we look back at a busy week of games at the T20 World Cup, which saw India and the USA beat Pakistan, Afghanistan beat New Zealand, plus Australia and South Africa take control of their groups.
We start the show by discussing the low-scoring thriller between India and Pakistan, which saw Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and others shine as India roared home to secure a crucial victory in Group A. We discuss Saurabh Netravalkar and USA's Super Over tactics, whether there's still a chance for Pakistan and wonder why teams are unable to turn good batting starts into big scores.
In Group B we heap praise on Scotland's performances so far, before turning our attention to the marquee matchup between Australia and England. Baldy enjoyed David Warner's control of the powerplay, Binksy couldn't understand England's tactics and Adam Zampa's consistency came into the spotlight.
As attention turned to Group C, it was Stu and Raj's turn to show their frustration, as we looked back at an uncharacteristically poor performance by the Black Caps, particularly in the field. We talked team selection, build up, whether they can bounce back against the West Indies or if their tournament is as good as over already.
To round out the show, we try to predict who will make it out of Group D, with South Africa taking charge and the Netherlands perhaps the most impressive of the other sides so far. Can Sri Lanka find a way back? What about Bangladesh?
We are planning to record regularly throughout the tournament, particularly as we approach the Super 8 and knockout stages. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & KZfaq) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website.
You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world.
And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com.
Thanks for listening.
0:00 Intro
1:05 Group qualification looking harder to predict than the seedings suggested
2:15 India's win against Pakistan
5:50 Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance
10:45 Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel
14:15 Why are teams not capitalising on strong positions?
17:40 Are Pakistan gone? USA in the box seat
21:10 USA v Pakistan Super Over
23:10 Group B - Scotland top the group
26:10 Australia v England - David Warner controlled the powerplay
28:10 Did England get their tactics wrong?
33:25 Adam Zampa's consistency
36:50 Group C - NZ's shocker against Afghanistan
53:15 Group D - Who will join South Africa in the Super 8s?