‘The moment we were waiting for has arrived’ - Aakash Chopra backs India to knock Australia out of T20 World Cup 2024

The ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 gears up for one of its most anticipated clashes as India are all set to face Australia in the 51st game of the tournament at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, on Monday, June 24.

India registered brilliant wins against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the Super Eight stage of the tournament, whereas Australia recently lost a game against Afghanistan, which puts them in a troubled situation ahead of their game against Rohit Sharma & Co.

The clash against the Aussies could be India’s chance at redemption for the ODI World Cup 2023, as a loss for the Australians could mean an elimination from the tournament. The same was the opinion of former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, who stated that the Men in Blue have a brilliant chance to topple the 2021 champions.

“The moment we were waiting for has arrived. We can knock Australia out. If we beat Australia, not only will we finish No. 1, we can end Australia's tournament. It won't guarantee it, but it could be Australia's Tata bye-bye. It is possible,” Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Afghanistan's win over Australia has made the last game interesting: Chopra

“Australia have lost to Afghanistan. The match was on a turning pitch, on which the Afghanistan team scored a lot of runs after they were invited to bat first. After that, they restricted Australia, won the game, gave them a little bit of a beating, and because of that the last game has become very interesting,” he added.

The Afghans recently shocked Australia by putting in an exceptional performance and pulling off a win. After having posted a total of 148 runs in the first innings after losing the toss, Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib and Naveen-ul-Haq took four and three wickets, respectively, and limited Australia to a score of 127, winning the game by 21 runs. 

India, on the other hand, registered dominant wins over both Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and a win against Australia will mean that the side will progress further into the knockout stages of the tournament.