Friday: India face first real test of ICC World Twenty20
At Lord’s on Friday, the defending World T20 champions do battle with the most unpredictable side in world cricket. It should be a corker.
The group stages have not given us any conclusive proof of what to expect from either side. While India have cruised to wins over the inferior opposition of Bangladesh and Ireland, West Indies have a) thrashed Australia before b) looking back to their usual haphazardness against Sri Lanka.
On Wednesday, in a dead rubber, Sri Lanka named their best side and played to win and maintain momentum, while the West Indies rested key players and showed that they couldn’t give two hoots whether they won or lost.
Sri Lanka scored 192 runs and in reply the West Indies fell 15 runs short, far fewer than the number of runs they gifted to Sri Lanka through over ten counts of appalling outfielding from, some of whom wore neon pink, yellow and orange sunglasses. Chris Gayle’s pair looked like the kind you get in a one pound store – fortunately he only used them to watch from the sidelines as he was sitting out to rest his various injuries.
You never know which West Indies will turn up on the day.
Maybe it will be the West Indies that thrashed Australia through Gayle’s onslaught of 88 runs off 50 balls looked dangerous with the ball and didn’t field too badly, which is saying a lot.
By contrast, India found themselves in the easiest pool of the opening round. Bangladesh and Ireland might have given India an effortless route through to the next round, but they offered precious little by way of match practise.
Virender Sehwag, the most explosive batsman in world cricket, has pulled out of the tournament, thanks to his shoulder injury. Luckily India have a more than able replacement in Rohit Sharma, the Under-23 player of the IPL. Sharma grafted a graceful 36 off 23 balls against Bangladesh, which he bettered with an unforced and unbeaten 52 off 48 balls against Ireland. He is a batsman in form who offers a handy bowling option too. Sharma took one of the three hat-tricks in the IPL and is just one of a team of potential match-winners.
Dinesh Kartik, who was excellent with the bat and the gloves during Delhi’s IPL campaign, has been added to the India squad in replace of Sehwag.
Zaheer Khan showed he has recovered from his own shoulder injury when he claimed the figures of 4/19 that helped his side reduce Ireland to 112/8 in and 18-over match on Wednesday.
“It will be good if we can get early wickets against the West Indies,” Zaheer said after India’s eight-wicket victory. “Removing Gayle will be a great advantage for us. I am hopeful because we are clicking as a bowling unit and each bowler understands his role.
“We are chipping in with wickets at the right time.”
“The shoulder is coming along well. I feel better day by day and I am improving, I feel 100-percent now” added Zaheer.
Captain M.S. Dhoni admitted that his team was yet to peak when he said, “Every game you start from scratch.”
“The bowlers did very well and it’s a real positive that they are doing their jobs. But we can do better in the field. It was not our best day. I am talking about 85-90 percent efficiency, but we can do it.”
The match is certainly India’s first real test of the tournament and after South Africa’s comprehensive win over England, it will no doubt tell us a lot about who is likely to go through to the semi-finals from that group – and what England have to do in the next three days to stay on at their own party.
West Indies (possible): Gayle, Fletcher, Marshall, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Bravo, Pollard, Ramdin, Taylor, Benn, Edwards.
Lendl Simmons – who came in for Gayle – batted, bowled and fielded well against Sri Lanka – and may retain his place, possibly at the expense of Pollard.
India (possible): Gambhir, R. Sharma, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina, Y Pathan, I Pathan, Harbhajan, Zaheer, I Sharma, Ojha.
