Group F is definitely the easier of the two groups, with the presence of Ireland in the line-up, giving company to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

While the Irish qualified for the Super Eights of the ICC World T20 by beating Bangladesh, Pakistan had to get better of Holland and New Zealand needed to beat Scotland to qualify. Sri Lanka was the only team which won both their games, and rather convincingly at that to enter this second stage of the tournament.

And that is one of the reasons why Sri Lanka (5/4 at Sky Bet to top Group F) looks to be strong contenders to get past the other sides. The batting looked slightly dodgy to start off, with over-reliance on their skipper Kumar Sangakkara, but T.Dilshan’s (5/1 at Ladbrokes to end at top of the batting charts) superlative efforts with the bat, and Sanath Jayasuriya’s return to form with a 47-ball 81 couldn’t have come at a better time. Add that to the lethal presence of Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis (7/1 at Ladbrokes to be top wicket-taker of the tournament) and Muthiah Muralitharan in the line-up, and Sri Lanka more than justifies Bet365’s offering of 9/2 for them to win the tournament.

Same cannot be said about Pakistan (11/4 at Sky Bet to win group) though, a team which was struggling for form earlier, and now for fitness! Two of its quick bowlers, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat are almost out of the tournament with injuries and Abdul Razzaq may join the squad for the Super Eights.  Their batting has lacked the spark at the top and the presence of Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal at the top hasn’t inspired too many experts around. Their spinners in Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi are their only hopes to be able to restrict the opposition in the middle overs.

New Zealand (6/4 at Sky Bet to end at top of Group F) did look good at the start of the tournament, but injuries to almost half-a-dozen of their players have left them in a lurch. Skipper Daniel Vettori has yet to play a game, while Jesse Ryder has already been ruled out of the tournament. Ross Taylor’s hamstring has been a trouble and he did get on to the field in the first game of the Super Eights, while the quicker men in Iain O’Brien and Ian Butler have had a niggle or two in the previous games. While the convincing win against Ireland will boost their confidence, the more stern tests will lie ahead against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Ireland’s chances to not only top the group, but also get to the semi-finals look as minimal as they could be. The odds of 50/1 offered by Sky Bet for them to top the group are incidental, and nobody in their right mind will want to punt on Ireland topping the group. That said, not too many had given Team India a chance of entering the semi-finals of 1983 World Cup, let alone win it!