Showing posts with label ICC World Twenty20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICC World Twenty20. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

India Chances To win WordlCup T20 2016

Friends i am great fan of Cricket and it is my passion as well.My dreams are become a cricketer and play cricket for my nation. But conditions are not so good in terms of financially .

I have played under 14 and under 16 for my school from D.AV. Sr . Sec School Chandigarh. Now Come to Indian Cricket. Now these days India team playing really cool and confident game. MS Dhoni is true leader of Indian Cricket .If your leader is strong from his thinking then your team will always motivated with you.

Past couple of years Indian Team Top in the ICC World rankings T20, One day and test matches Games. Youngster in Indian team are playing really cool .

India Team beast Australia in Australia 3-0 in T 20 games and it is complete white wash for them.They Beat Sir Lanka in T20 again after the 1 down in the series.

They Beat Bangladesh in Asia T20 match in their home. Virat Kohli , Shikar Dhawan, Suresh Raina they all is great form . As always Captain cool MS Dhoni the legend and finisher performing very well. Great new for Indian cricket that Yuvraj Singh give hints of his form is back and i hope he will continue with the same.

Now talked about middle order there is Sir Ravinder Jadega, Pandhya both are great finisher and All rounder. They both are contributing with ball , Bat and their fielding performances. We also have spin attach of experienced R. Ashwin and terminator Harbhjan Singh ( Bhajji) . As per my thinking if R. Ashwin bowled his 4 over and take 2-3 wickets in every match then no one stop team India to wind ICC T20 World cup 2016.

Now lets come to pace attack there s Ashish Nehra match winner and good hands of experience he have. At at age of 38 he is performing like a super man and his performance is improving in every match.

1 another fast bowler we have Jaspreet Bhumra and he have god gifted hand.His pace is around 150 miles per hour and swing ability for both the side give more attacking power.

At the end We all hope that as hosting Nation we will win this 2016 T20 world cup again.Best of Luck Team India.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Injured Praveen out of World Twenty20


Praveen Kumar steams in at the nets, Dambulla, January 27, 2009
Praveen Kumar will be returning home due to a side strain © AFP
Related Links
Players/Officials: Praveen Kumar | Umesh Yadav
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: India

Praveen Kumar, the Indian fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Twenty20 due to a side strain. His replacement will be Vidarbha and Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who impressed with his pace during the recent IPL.

Yadav, 22, got the call from the Vidarbha Cricket Association earlier in the afternoon and he will leave for the Caribbean on Friday from Mumbai. Yadav, who picked six wickets at 30 in the seven IPL matches, acknowledged the help he got from Eric Simons, the Daredevils' bowling coach, who is also the Indian team's bowling consultant.

"I am completely surprised. And that, too, for a World Cup, I really find it hard to believe," Yadav told Cricinfo from the Nagpur airport. "But I have been enjoying my bowling especially in the last year so it is bearing the fruits now." Yadav was not part of the pool of 30 probables but needs a nod from the tournament's technical committee, which should be a formality.

Praveen had sustained the injury during a practice session at the 3Ws Oval and the Indian team management sent him for an MRI which revealed the injury. He bowled only one over in the victory over South Africa in St Lucia, but his services will be missed in Barbados, where the pitches have plenty of pace and bounce. If India decide to go with three fast bowlers against Australia on Friday, Karnataka seamer Vinay Kumar could make his international debut.

Sublime Jayawardene takes Sri Lanka to 195

20 overs Sri Lanka 195 for 3 (Jayawardene 98*, Sangakkara 68) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details


Mahela Jayawardene continued his imperious form with a 25-ball  half-century, West Indies v Sri Lanka, Super Eights, ICC World Twenty20,  Bridgetown, May 7, 2010
Mahela Jayawardene scored freely all round the wicket to reach 98 against West Indies © Getty Images
Related Links
Players/Officials: Mahela Jayawardene | Kumar Sangakkara
Matches: West Indies v Sri Lanka at Bridgetown
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: Sri Lanka | West Indies

Sri Lanka profited from an amateurish fielding effort from a deflated West Indies to post 195 for 3 after winning the toss and opting to bat in the second match of the day at the Kensington Oval. The chief architect of the mammoth total was Mahela Jayawardene who, in a sublime display of risk-free strokeplay narrowly missed out on his second century of the tournament, eventually finishing unbeaten on 98. He was well supported by Kumar Sangakkara in a 166-run partnership for the second wicket, the highest of the tournament so far.

And that in itself is an indication of the ineptitude of the West Indian fielding and bowling effort, as at least five straightforward chances were missed. Jaywardene displayed silky touch and superb manipulation of the bowling to take full toll, and Sangakkara, while not quite in Jayawardene's league at the moment, matched him almost shot for shot.

It had seemed likely that, with the pitch offering bounce and carry, West Indies would adopt a similarly aggressive bang-it-in approach as Australia had earlier in the day, and indeed Kemar Roach seemed eager to exploit the pace-friendly conditions as he hit the deck hard in his opening over to trouble both openers.

Jerome Taylor, on his return to international cricket after a six-month lay-off, was far more willing to pitch the ball up, and paid the price for it initially as Sanath Jayasuriya, batting up the order in place of the wretchedly out-of-form Tillekaratne Dilshan, clipped Taylor's first ball firmly back over his head.

In an eventful over, the second was then slapped low but straight to Kieron Pollard at backward point. It was a regulation chance for a fielder in that position, but Pollard couldn't hold on to it, and the lapse set the tone for West Indies' performance in the field for the rest of the afternoon.

Roach, who bowled consistently above 90mph in his opening over, deceived Jayasuriya with a slightly slower bouncer to have the veteran caught at short fine leg, but Taylor suffered another lapse from his fielders in his second over, as the normally-reliable Chris Gayle put Sangakkara down at slip before he had scored. Jayawardene lifted the very next ball handsomely over wide long on for six. With that, the moment had passed and the rest of the match was entirely Sri Lanka's.

Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene flashed airily at the odd delivery, but were level-headed enough to keep their composure and capitalise on the bad balls that came, predictably, at least once an over. After an erratic Dwayne Bravo had been carted for 22 in a two-over spell, Darren Sammy, whom West Indies have looked to to keep things orderly in their middle overs in recent times, was brought on but today his first over was dispatched for 10, with Jayawardene favouring the area behind point on the off side.

As the partnership gained momentum, West Indies seemed almost resigned to the fact that a large total was in the offing, and a missed caught-and-bowled chance from Pollard's first ball of the match barely registered. Jayawardene passed fifty with a paddle-pull over the 'keeper, and though he swished airily at the odd delivery, more often than not he was able to hit cleanly through the ball and got good connections on most of his shots.

As West Indies' fielding became ever more ragged, a fourth chance was missed as Benn found bounce and turn to elicit a rare mistake from Jayawardene, who was tempted out of his crease by a flighted delivery. But Fletcher fumbled the take, allowing Jayawardene to scramble back. Three balls later, things became even more farcical as Jayawardene top-edged Benn almost straight up in the air, and Fletcher and Wavell Hinds, the two closest fielders, both stood back and watched the ball plummet down, each expecting the other to go for it.

Sangakkara eventually holed out to long off for 68, but it looked as though Jayawardene would be able to reach his second hundred of the tournament when he took 10 runs from Bravo's final two balls to reach 97 with six balls still to be bowled. He was stranded at the wrong end in the final over, unable to reach the landmark, but through him Sri Lanka were able to post a massive total. Chasing it down will be a mountainous task for West Indies, and one feels that only if Chris Gayle is at his explosive best will they be able to get close.

Awesome Australia outclass India

Australia 184 for 5 (Warner 72, Watson 54) beat India 135 (Rohit 79*, Tait 3-21, Nannes 3-25) by 49 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-eye


David Warner tries to clear midwicket, Australia v India, Super  Eights, ICC World Twenty20, Bridgetown, May 7, 2010
David Warner had fun at the expense of Ravindra Jadeja © AFP
Related Links
Players/Officials: Dirk Nannes | Shaun Tait | David Warner | Shane Watson
Matches: Australia v India at Bridgetown
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: Australia | India

The match started with a maiden. Silence before a storm that absolutely blew India out of its way. Six-hitting has seldom been made to look easier: David Warner and Shane Watson just kept clearing their front legs, creating room, and kept lofting the Indians over various parts of the Kensington Oval. Finding gaps and all they didn't care about. Between them they hit 13 sixes and only three fours, and by the time they were done, 142 runs had been scored in 14 overs. Australia's last four overs for 23 runs were silence before another storm: during which their awesome attack annihilated India, except for Rohit Sharma, the only one of eight batsmen to reach double figures.

The same ample and true bounce that worked for Australia hurt India. That the ball came on, coupled with the short boundaries, gave Watson and Warner the confidence to go for their big hits. The Indian batsmen, though, with no option to duck or leave thanks to the huge chase, were almost always in bad position when playing the short deliveries. And they got plenty of them at a healthy pace.

That Rohit was playing in the first place, an extra batsman keeping India's attack down to two seamers, could be argued to be a defensive move even before the match started.

Out of a spinner-dominated attack, Harbhajan Singh was a bowler apart: he bowled that initial maiden and went for just 15 in his four overs. By comparison, Ravindra Jadeja, who will want to delete May 7 from the 2010 calendar, went for 36 in six deliveries spread over two overs. That after he had dropped Watson when only on 7, and before he ran himself out by running away from the stumps. That Jadeja was brought to bowl a second over after being hit for three successive sixes exposed a rare tactical error from MS Dhoni: he had not left himself with a great choice of bowlers.

Match Meter

  • Aus
  • Jadeja goes for three in three, part I: In the fourth over, Watson loved the long hops that Jadeja served and went from 10 off 14 to 28 off 17
  • Aus
  • Jadeja goes for three in three, part II: Jadeja's next three balls, in the 10th over, fast-tracked Warner's knock, taking him from 29 off 25 to 47 off 28 and Australia to 94 for 0
  • Aus
  • Australia fail to get the finishing kick: In the last four overs, Australia manage only 23 runs, giving India an outside chance.
  • Aus
  • Too fast, too short: Nannes snares Vijay, Gambhir and Yuvraj inside the first four overs. India are 23 for 4 and any hopes of victory fade.
Advantage Honours even

The subdued start that Watson got off to against Harbhajan, though, would have given Dhoni false confidence. After facing seven consecutive dot balls first up, Watson just exploded, pulling Ashish Nehra way over long-on for six. The template had been set. Both the batsmen sat back, took their leading legs out of the way, and hardly hit anything off anywhere but the middle of the bat.

Jadeja contributed to the onslaught, bowling short repeatedly, and Watson brutalised him over midwicket, cow corner and square leg. By the time Jadeja came back, in the 10th over, Australia had consolidated on the start, Zaheer Khan had looked ineffective, and Warner had warmed up, reaching 29 off 25 with Watson on 47 off 29. Three balls later, he came level with Watson, with sixes either side of a widish long-on and a huge one over midwicket. Both the barrels had started firing, and we were in for a contest as to who would hit more sixes.

Watson, already ahead by one, hit Yusuf Pathan for another big one in the next over, but was bowled immediately after by a delivery that kept low. Warner showed no signs of slowing down, hitting Yusuf and Yuvraj Singh for three sixes in the next three overs before edging one that bounced extra.

Yuvraj, Nehra and Zaheer, who bowled well at the death, kept India one short of the dubious record for most sixes in an innings, 17. Soon Rohit would find himself in a fight to avoid the biggest defeat in a Twenty20 international featuring two major sides.

Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait were simply too quick for the top order. Limp shots, batsmen jumping to negotiate accurate bumpers, bottom hand coming off while playing them, lobbed catches inside the circle, a superb yorker and a bit of silly running thrown in, and India were 50 for 7. M Vijay got an edge trying to drag Nannes from outside off, Gautam Gambhir was hurried and had by a Tait bouncer, Suresh Raina followed a top-edged six with another top edge that went nowhere and could even had hit his stumps had Michael Clarke not caught the skier.

Rohit's clean and assured hitting, 79 off 46 balls, not only delayed the defeat, it also made a case for his selection ahead of either Jadeja or Yusuf and kept the net run-rate damage down.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Under-pressure Sri Lanka face buoyant Zimbabwe

Under-pressure Sri Lanka face buoyant Zimbabwe

The Preview by Sriram Veera

May 2, 2010

Text size: A | A

Match Facts

Monday, May 3,
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)


Ray Price celebrates one of his four wickets, Bangladesh v  Zimbabwe, 1st ODI, Mirpur, January 19, 2009
The aggressive Ray Price will lead Zimbabwe's spin attack © AFP
Related Links
News : Zimbabwe coach looks to spin
Matches: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Providence
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe

The Big Picture

It's what Zimbabwe did in the warm-up games that has made this game a cracking prospect. They defeated both Australia and Pakistan to announce themselves in the Caribbean. All the pressure is now on Sri Lanka, for if they lose tomorrow, they will have to go back home. Only Mahela Jayawardene turned up in the first game. He sparkled as an opener in the IPL and promises to continue doing so here but it remains to be seen who steps up to support him. Angelo Matthews had a few good games with the bat in the IPL but Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan struggled to get going.

For Zimbabwe, the spinners have done the demolition job: Ray Price, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer and Greg Lamb have been accurate and miserly. And Elton Chigumbura has starred with the bat. It's been a common theme in the recent months. Price and Utseya have often bowled with the new ball and Cremer has impressed with his legbreaks.

Form guide (most recent first)

Sri Lanka LLWLL
Zimbabwe WWLWL

Watch out for...

Ray Price is one of the more aggressive spinners out there in the world circuit. He can almost snarl at the batsman and has the longest follow-through for a spinner. He can attack or defend aggressively and is known for his nagging line and length.

Angelo Mathews is one of those impact cricketers who can win a game single-handedly. He has an undeniable talent with the bat and can be quite crafty with the ball. He is a rapidly maturing batsman who is learning how to finish games.

Team news

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt, wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Sanath Jayasuriya, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Tatendu Taibu, 4 Brendon Taylor, 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Andy Blignaut/Craig Ervine, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Ray Price, 11 Greg Lamb.

Pitch and conditions

The scores are likely to remain low in Providence, where the slow surface has been difficult for stroke making.

Stats and trivia

  • Mahela Jayawardene smashed 81 runs as an opener in the first game against New Zealand. It was the first time he had opened in an Twenty20 international but he has had considerable success as an opener in domestic T20s and in the IPL games.

  • Ray Price has played five Twenty20 games with an economy rate of 3.5, and has been hit for only two sixes.

    Quotes

    "Everyone is excited by the prospects for Zimbabwean cricket, but we are also realistic in terms of what we feel we can achieve in the short term."
    Alan Butcher, Zimbabwe's coach, is not getting carried away by the recent results

    "If we win every game from here we'll be champions. But there's no room for any more mistakes."
    Trevor Bayliss lists out Sri Lanka's task ahead

Raina century seals one-sided win

Raina century seals one-sided win

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

May 2, 2010

Text size: A | A

India 186 for 5 (Raina 101, Yuvraj 37) beat South Africa 172 for 5 (Kallis 73) by 14 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-Eye


Suresh Raina unfurled a series of brutal shots on his way to  59-ball century, India v South Africa, World Twenty20, Gros Islet, May  2, 2010
Suresh Raina became the first Indian batsman to score an international T20 hundred © Getty Images
Related Links
News : Centurion Raina thanks Dhoni for help
Players/Officials: Jacques Kallis | Suresh Raina
Matches: India v South Africa at Gros Islet
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: India | South Africa

Suresh Raina struggled at first, then he sizzled. He overcame a jittery period of mis-hits and short-pitched bowling, scoring 82 off the last 38 balls he faced, en route to only the third century in Twenty20 internationals. Yuvraj Singh came back to form, Graeme Smith's reluctance to attack with Dale Steyn confounded, and India's 186 was always going to be too much on a difficult pitch and a slow and big outfield.

South Africa's reply, in the face of a four-spinner Indian attack - without using Yuvraj - was even more confounding. Jacques Kallis and Smith struggled to flow, and hesitated to take risks. Their run-rate crossed six an over for the first time in the 11th over, and it was too late by then, despite some late hitting from Kallis.

India had got off to a similar start, albeit against seamers, but unlike South Africa they threw away the caution at a more appropriate time. With two early wickets gone and both Raina and Yuvraj struggling to present the middle of the bat, India were 43 after eight overs. There was no mucking around after that. Although the odd mis-hit remained a feature of the partnership, the sweet shots grew in frequency and India got 143 in the next 12 overs. It worked for them that the mis-hits kept bouncing in front of deep fielders, and the sweet ones cleared them easily.

From the time he came to bat in the first over, Raina was given a fair share of back-of-a-length deliveries. By the time India's both irregular openers, in absence of Gautam Gambhir (down with diarrhoea), ended their struggle, Raina had survived a catch off a Morne Morkel no-ball. He would go on to survive run-out attempts from Smith and AB de Villiers, when on 37 and 47.

Match Meter

  • SA
  • Seamers start well: South Africa trouble India with seam movement and back-of-a-length bowling, taking out both irregular openers by the sixth over, for 32.
  • India SA
  • Spin brings India back: Raina and Yuvraj get stuck into first signs of spin, taking 13 off the ninth over, van der Merwe's only attempt at bowling.
  • India
  • Raina steps up a gear: The Raina-Yuvraj partnership gets India 88 runs and more importantly momentum. When Yuvraj gets out in the 16th over, that momentum only grows: Raina hits a six the next ball, and scores 38 off the next 12 balls he faces.
  • India
  • Kallis, Smith play strangely: While they struggle against spinners, South Africa's two senior-most batsmen don't take enough risks to break free, and by the end of the 10th over, the required run-rate has jumped to 13.
  • India
  • Kallis explodes, then burns: Upon reaching a slow fifty, Kallis opens up, hitting three sixes in two overs, but his fourth attempt ends down long-on's lap, leaving South Africa an unmanageable equation.
Advantage Honours even
The introduction of spin, when Raina was 19 off 22 and Yuvraj 5 off 9, was what turned it around. In the ninth over, Roelof van der Merwe's first and only, Raina played two lovely inside-out drives to get six off two deliveries, and Yuvraj slog-swept to get six off one. That was trigger enough to shed away inhibitions. The first ball of the next over, Raina guessed a back-of-a-length delivery, backed away and slogged Kallis for six. His best shot was when he made room against a near yorker from Albie Morkel in the next over and squeezed it wide of point for four.

Yuvraj, meanwhile, had found his timing back, and took the lead in scoring, playing the effortless pick-ups, short-arm pulls, and the inside-out shots. By the time he skied one to hand, Raina, having put in the struggle, the ugly moments, was there in a position to cash in. Steyn, underused in the first half of the innings, came back well, but he was now limiting damage as opposed to causing it.

Rory Kleinveldt, who got M Vijay in the first over and Yuvraj later, was the one who suffered the most. And he was asking for it too, bowling either length or full tosses in the 18th over, and was hit to such varied areas as midwicket, cow corner, extra cover, straight over his head, and over long-off. Twenty-five came off that over, during which Raina moved from 75 to 93. He reached his century with a slogged six in the final over, which went for 19.

Raina will cherish this knock all the more because the pitch interested a variety of bowlers. South Africa had managed to assume a strong position with their hit-the-deck bowlers, India were about to do so with the spinners. Harbhajan Singh bowled the first over, Yusuf Pathan was introduced inside the Powerplay, and Loots Bosman was out of his depth on the slow pitch.

With both Kallis and Smith struggling, by the time the first piece of enterprise came, a slog-swept six from Smith in the 11th over, the required run-rate had reached 13. By the time Kallis reached his fifty, off 45 balls, they were needing 15.5 in each of the six overs to come.

Suddenly Kallis exploded, hitting three sixes in the next two overs. It seemed for the second time in 40 overs a batsman was about to put behind him the struggles and play a decisive knock. Yet, there were just too many risks required, and one of them claimed Kallis, leaving 59 to get off 21. The requirement was comfortable enough for India to be able to experiment: Praveen Kumar bowled just one over, for three runs. With two straight wins, India stormed to the second round as the table leaders.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

SA look for early progression to round two

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India v South Africa, Group C, ICC World Twenty20, St Lucia

SA look for early progression to round two

The Preview by Sidharth Monga

May 1, 2010

Text size: A | A

Match Facts

Sunday, May 2, Gros Islet
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)


Yuvraj Singh walks back after being dismissed for 25, India v  South Africa, ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights, Trent Bridge, June 16,  2009
India lost on a slow turner at Trent Bridge the last time these sides met © Associated Press
Related Links
Matches: India v South Africa at Gros Islet
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: India | South Africa

The Big Picture

India could complain about having to play two matches on the weekend and then having nothing to do over the rest of the week, but that's a price you pay for being the main commercial draw of the tournament. You play on the weekend, you play in prime time. Two of India's other three matches are on Friday and Sunday, and are meant to start at 7pm India time. They have had a good enough start to their tournament, with a win against Afghanistan, but starting against major opposition they would like to show they deserve the prime-time slots they get.

India would fancy their chances on the slower pitches against South Africa, but when the two teams last met, it was on a slow turner at Trent Bridge and India failed to chase 131. South Africa, always strong in big events, always underachieving in them, would like to ensure their place in the next round even before they play their easier match, against Afghanistan. Unless Afghanistan pull off a huge upset against South Africa, this match counts for little except for some momentum if India and South Africa meet later in a knockout match.

Form guide (most recent first)

India WWLLL
South Africa WLLWW

Watch out for...

M Vijay, the late replacement for Virender Sehwag, got his Twenty20 international career off to a good start with 48 against Afghanistan, but the big test of how well India are doing without Sehwag will come against a strong team like South Africa.

India have experienced the pace of the pitches and will bowl a lot of slow bowlers against a side not known to be the best against the spinners. In that scenario, AB de Villiers' quick foot work and soft hands will come in handy to ensure South Africa don't stall in the middle overs.

Team news

India made an interesting move against Afghanistan, picking both Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of a sixth specialist batsman. Apart from that mini dilemma, India should play the same XI.

India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma/Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

South Africa will like to play both their spinners. The big decision will be the choice of opener, between Herschelle Gibbs and Loots Bosman.

South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman/Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Charl Langeveldt.

Pitch and conditions

After the first day of the matches in St Lucia, it is evident boundaries are not easy to come by. It is a big ground, and the outfield is slightly lush, which will put more impetus on quick running and out-cricket. The pitch is a bit slow too, which will keep the spinners interested. An early-morning start could mean a bit of moisture in the track.

Stats and trivia

  • India lead the head-to-head 2-1, having won twice in South Africa before losing once in England.

  • India-South Africa matches have been generally low-scoring: in the six innings between them, only once has 130 been passed, when India scored 153 in Durban and then kept South Africa to 116.

    Quotes

    "Ultimately it is an honour, a privilege to put yourself in a position to win the tournament. But it's a long way away at the moment from every team here. So we are just going to focus on India, which is our first game."
    Graeme Smith is not yet thinking about the big knockout matches

    "Most of our players look quite fresh, even after the IPL. This is something we have learned from the World Twenty in England last year. I don't think that will hamper our performances but it will be a big challenge."
    MS Dhoni says his players aren't fatigued