5 group stage matches to look forward to

As hosts, India will be one of the favourites to win the World T20 2016A cricket world cup is always filled with enthralling clashes and with teams looking to go all the way, cricket fans witness records being broken and history being made while being entertained at the same time. The ICC World T20 main tournament starts on March 15, when hosts India take on New Zealand at Nagpur.Come next week, and fans will be watching some great match-ups between various rivals and hope for some thrilling contests. Both groups in the World T20 have contenders who can go on to win the tournament, and each group will be joined by the best qualifier from the ongoing qualifiers and that will make things more heated in the groups.Will we see any upsets or will we see the usual suspects in the last four of the tournament? Here are the five best group stage matches of the World T20 that could give an idea who might be crowned the champions:

#5 England v South Africa

Before South Africa played a three-match T20I series with Australia, the Proteas ended a long series against England with two T20Is and won both the matches, and thus will be going into the match as the favourites.

In both the T20Is, South Africa chased down the target set by England with not much trouble. The second T20I was an AB de Villiers show as he scored a 29-ball 71 to help his side chase down 172 in under 15 overs.

Both teams have faced each other 11 times in T20Is, and England have won only three matches while Sout Africa have won 7, with one match having No Result.

South Africa with one of the best batting line-ups in the tournament will be hoping their batsmen fire when they take on a young England side on Friday, March 18 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai at 1930 IST.

The last time South Africa played at Wankhede, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers scored centuries against India to thrash the home side in the fifth ODI. The Proteas will be looking for the right start to their World T20 campaign while England will want to make a statement at the tournament with a win over one of the favourites.

#4 Australia v New Zealand

The Trans-Tasman rivalry is always a tasty fixture in any format, however, the two teams will be meeting in the T20 format for the first time since February 2010. Australia and New Zealand will also be facing each other in the World T20 for the first time ever. It should be noted that these two teams hold the unique honour of playing the first ever T20I in 2005.

The last time the two teams met in T20Is was at Christchurch in 2010, the match ending in a tie and New Zealand winning the super over. Both teams were tied on 214 after Australian captain, Michael Clarke was run-out in the last ball of the innings. The runs scored in the match is the third highest aggregate in a T20I.

Australia have won four of the five T20Is that the two sides played against each other, and will be looking to continue that record against a Brendon McCullum-less Kiwi side led by the young Kane Williamson.

One can expect fireworks from this fixture with the rivalry that exists between the two Group 2 sides when they meet on Friday, March 18 at the scenic HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala at 1500 IST.

#3 South Africa v West Indies

Most limited-overs matches between South Africa and West Indies are high-scoring. AB de Villiers’ fastest 100 and fastest 150 in ODIs come to mind, both of which were scored against the West Indies. In T20Is, these two teams have two scores in the top ten match aggregates in T20Is.

The highest ever aggregate runs scored in a T20I (467) is by South Africa and West Indies when the two teams met at Durban in January 2015. After South Africa scored 231 after put into bat first, West Indies chased down the total with four balls to spare, thanks to 41-ball 90 by Chris Gayle.

However, that was one of the few fixtures that West Indies won against South Africa, as the Proteas have won six of the nine matches the two teams have played.

With the likes of Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell the West Indies will most certainly give the well-balanced Proteas a run for their money when they face each other in the Group 1 fixture on Friday, March 25 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur at 1930 IST.

#2 India v Australia

Fixtures between India and Australia have always been nothing short of entertaining and competitive, with both teams always going hard at to win the spoils. In T20Is, India has an excellent record against Australia having won eight of the 12 T20Is that the two have played against each other.

Most recently, India handed Australia a 3-0 home loss in the three-match T20I series Down Under. Australia have failed to beat India in the last 5 T20Is, i.e., 2012 was the last time that Australia got one over India.

With India looking in red hot form in T20Is in 2016, following successes in Australia, in India against Sri Lanka, and in the Asia Cup, the men in blue will be the team to beat at the World T20. Australia, on the other hand, will be hoping to find the right combination for the World T20 and hope that their players who have played in the Indian Premier League play a major role in their quest to win their first World T20 title.

The India-Australia fixture is the last of the Group 2 matches and will be played on Sunday, March 27 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali at 1930 IST.

#1 India v Pakistan

Easily the biggest fixture of any cricket tournament, let alone the World T20, India and Pakistan will lock horns for the second time in a month's time after first meeting in the Asia Cup in February. In international sport, one cannot find many rivalries greater than the India-Pakistan rivalry.

In the 7 matches that the two teams have played each other in T20Is, India have won five while Pakistan have won only one, with the other result having been a tie and was decided by a bowl-out, which eventually India won.

Pakistan's record against India in world tournaments has been poor to say the least. They will, however, be looking forward to change the record and get their first win against India in a world tournament.

With the fixture having been moved to Kolkata, it will give Pakistan a psychological advantage as India have beaten Pakistan only once in Kolkata, in a Test match in 2005. Although this will be the first T20I that the two teams play in Kolkata, Pakistan have won four out of four ODIs that they played against their neighbours at the Eden Gardens.

Cricket fans from all over the world will be eagerly watching this game waiting to see what unfolds in this high-octane Group 2 clash on Saturday, March 19 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata at 1930 IST.