India begin their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with a Group C match against Afghanistan at the Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on Saturday in what, could be a fairly one-sided affair. Andrew Hughes previews the opening fixture in Group C. Afghanistan’s morale could not be higher after qualifying for this tournament in style in February and comfortably disposing of Ireland in a warm-up game. Venue and conditions: The Beausejour Cricket Ground has never hosted a Twenty20 game, so we have no statistics to guide us. But given that most of the pitches in the Caribbean have gone the same way in recent years, we can expect a slow, dry track with plenty of help for the spinners. Trivia: The Beausejour Stadium was the first to host a floodlit cricket match in the Caribbean, when West Indies played Zimbabwe in 2006. Team News: Let’s first begin by congratulating Afghanistan on qualifying for the T20 World Cup and wish them well. They could hardly have picked a tougher group with India and South Africa joining them in Group C. India are skippered by MS Dhoni who has just led the Chennai Super Kings to victory in IPL3. They have a wealth of talent in their squad though they were hugely disappointing when they were equally well fancied for this tournament last year. The majority of the squad have seen plenty of recent action in the IPL although Sehwag has been withdrawn due to injury. Murali Vijay who impressed in the IPL for the Super Kings could take Sehwag’s place alongside Gautam Gambhir and with many of the squad very capable with bat and ball, they should bat very deep. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra are the senior quick bowlers and they have any number of options when it comes to spin. Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla are the front-liners but Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh provide options with bat and ball that give the management a real selection headache. The two Super Kings young guns, Raina and Vijay were terrific in the IPL. Raina is a superb batsman and all round cricketer. A more than useful bowler he is also electric in the field and he … [Read more...]
T20 World Cup preview: West Indies Vs Ireland
Phil Simmons was an uncanny allrounder, capable to change course of a match with bat, ball or even on field. He's now Irish coach and has done a decent job but biggest challenge for former West Indian begins now when minnows Ireland take on home team West Indies today in match 2 of World T20 2010 in a Group D game held in Providence, Guyana. Venue and conditions: Providence stadium in Guyana throws up a toss bias which should also put the belief up in the air that West Indies should stroll this. In the 10, 50-over matches played there seven have been won by the side batting first. This looks a sluggish surface with only one total of more than 300 scored.Ireland have played here twice in warm-ups and it has all been about taking pace off the ball. George Dockrell, the slow left-armer, troubled New Zealand with three wickets. Look to the slow men and bowlers who run their fingers over the seam to prosper. Trivia: Providence stadium was built with substantial financial assistance from India, who won't play there in the tourney. Team News: Ireland: Ireland, the team that first made it's name by sending tournament favorites Pakistan in 2007 world cup, had a dissappointing World T20 2009 and they lost to Afghanistan in qualifiers of this year's edition. European nation is new in International cricket but they only seem to excel in longer format of the game, unless they achieve something surprising today. West Indies West Indies, on other hand, have tried several youngsters in recent times mainly because of injuries to top players but most of those players are back into the squad. Now, problem of plenty is haunting captain Chris Gayle who must find a permanent spot for most of his batting stalwarts before it's too late. Despite plenty of low points in recent WI cricket history they do show an appetite for this format of the game and have some very dangerous customers. T20 should also ensure huge support from the locals and as pointed out by Justin, Trinidad & Tobago enjoyed a terrific Champions League tournament last year with a side comprising of local players. Chris … [Read more...]
