Syed Kirmani who was one of the crucial figures in India's 1983 World Cup has backed India to win the World Cup on the back of their exceptional performances throughout the tournament. Kirmani along with South Africa's iconic cricketer Jonty Rhodes travelled in the Vande Bharat Express from Bhopal to Delhi on Thursday. After arriving in Delhi, Kirmani was quizzed about India's recent performances and he told mediapersons, "India will win the World Cup, they have played very well."
After playing exceptional cricket throughout the tournament, South Africa and India qualified for the semi-final stage. A single defeat in the final-four would end up making all of their efforts futile.
Rhodes expressed delight about the individual and team performances that have contributed to making the entire tournament great and how things will get difficult from this point.
"It has been a great tournament. Very well hosted by India. Some of the cricket, whether it is from the team or an individual, has been amazing. From here, it only gets tougher because the stakes go up," Rhodes told mediapersons.
Along with India and South Africa, Australia sealed the third spot while the fourth spot is still up for grabs with teams like New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan still in the mix for the final place.
India will play their final game of the group stage against the Netherlands on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, while South Africa will square off against Afghanistan on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Australia will play their final group-stage game against Bangladesh on Saturday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
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