Michael Atherton, who once led the England team, views India as the team most likely to win the T20 World Cup later this year. While he sees them as favorites, he believes England and the West Indies will provide stiff competition. This analysis follows India's successful 3-2 series win over England, capped off by a 36-run victory in the deciding match.
India on Saturday won the series decider against England by 36 runs and lifted the trophy of the five-match T20I series 3-2.
Atherton acknowledged that India is currently the favorite for the T20 World Cup title. In his view, the IPL has given India an incredible advantage in terms of squad depth and backup players. He was particularly impressed by the fact that India could secure a win over England despite the absence of three of their primary bowlers.
He further noted that India shouldn't be complacent, as England remains a high-quality squad and the West Indies are always a dangerous opponent in this format.
India dominated the final T20 match, taking full advantage of batting first to post a massive 224 runs—their best-ever T20I score against England. The innings was anchored by a brilliant 80* from Virat Kohli and 64 from Rohit Sharma, with aggressive hitting from Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav ensuring India stayed in total control.
Despite strong individual efforts from Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler, who fought hard to keep the chase alive, England ultimately fell short by 36 runs.