ICC World T20 2012, Super Eights: India vs Australia – preview

Colombo: India are likely to go in with five specialist bowlers to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on the mighty Australians in its opening `Super Eight` fixture of the ICC World Twenty20 on Friday.

The comprehensive victory against England and Harbhajan Singh`s brilliant comeback has raised questions as to what exactly will be a winning combination against George Bailey`s men who have looked good in both their group league matches against Ireland and West Indies respectively.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has given clear indications that he would go in with five specialist bowlers, a move which will mean that India will have one batsman short.

In that case, either opener Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh may have to sit out of the match and Dhoni admitted that it would be a "tough decision".

While the England match was won with five bowlers, it was more about testing a different combination as the result had no bearing on the Super Eights classification.

It will be interesting to see what bowling combination Dhoni would prefer for the first `super eight` game and whether he would opt for three spinners or three pacers.

On current form, Lakshmipathy Balaji is a better bowler at the death overs than the 33-year-old Zaheer Khan mainly because of the variety of slower deliveries that he has in his repertoire.

The two key batsmen in the Australian set-up are left-handers David Warner and Mike Hussey. The presence of the duo at the top of the order certainly means that Harbhajan`s inclusion is necessary because of his stupendous record against the left-handers.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested against England, will also make a comeback into the playing eleven. The other certainty in the bowling department is Irfan Pathan, who has been providing the team with breakthroughs regularly.

The batting, however, bears a much more settled look with the good news being that Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are back among runs.

The only thing to worry will be Yuvraj Singh`s place in batting order. The talented left-hander has been struggling with the bat.

While ODI matches give him a chance to settle down, the number of dot balls Yuvraj has played in the recent matches is something that he needs to figure out.

Although the 22-yard strip at the R Premadasa Stadium will assist the slower bowlers, the Aussie fast bowlers are likely to test the Indian batsman with short-pitched stuff.

The Indian team was seen preparing to counter the bouncers and the players were seen playing the horizontal bat shot during the nets.

A lot will depend on how Virat Kohli bats as he has been in the form of his life. Even Hussey had admitted yesterday that the Aussies were expecting Kohli to have one of his rare off-days against them.

Rohit`s half-century has certainly boosted his confidence and the innings has come at the right time as the margin for error is too little at this stage of the tournament.


The main threat for India will be all-rounder Shane Watson who in prime form having won back-to-back MoM awards. Watson has been cleverly used by skipper Bailey as he has proved to be a potent partnership breaker.

The Indian batsmen will need to be careful against Watson. Left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc can prove to be a handful but it will be chinaman bowler Brad Hogg who will need to play a big role.

The only problem for Australia will be its middle-order which hasn`t been tested in the two matches which were single-handedly won by Watson.

The all-rounder has taken full advantage of the Powerplay overs to slaughter the bowlers. With Warner and Hussey for company, the `terrific trio` make up for a superb top-order.

Tomorrow`s match will be a duel between two bowling units where Indian spinners are pitted against Aussie pacers in what promises to be a fantastic form.

Squads:

India: MS Dhoni (c), Gautam Gambhir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh.

Australia: George Bailey (c), Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Match starts at 7.30 pm (IST).

Live Cricket

Check out the websites for live cricket streaming of the India vs Australia  match here:

1. http://www.espnstar.com/live/

2. www.iStream.com

3. www.cricketnirvana.com

4. www.watchcriclive.com/

5. http://www.india-station.com/cricket/live_video.html

6. www.crictime.com

7. www.cricket-365.net/

8. www.biglivecricket.com

World T20: Will India's five-bowler plan work against Australia?

Having topped Group A, MS Dhoni’s India need to pull up their socks and plug in the loopholes when they take on Australia in their first ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights match at the Premadasa in Colombo on Friday.

On the eve of the match in a press conference, Dhoni hinted that he would go in with five bowlers. That means that one batsman has to be dropped, and though Dhoni did not reveal who the unlucky player would be, he admitted it would be his toughest decision.
Just who those five bowlers India pick is already a problem of plenty for India. In all probability it will be a three-prong spin attack with one fast bowler and Irfan Pathan as the allrounder. Harbhajan Singh made a strong comeback in the last match against England and is sure to play with two left-handers in the form of David Warner and Michael Hussey in the Australian team. Irfan’s bowling form and ability to open the innings mean he is a first-choice pick, leaving Zaheer Khan and L Balaji to fill the pace bowler’s slot. R Ashwin, who was rested in the England match, should return as the third spinner alongside Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla – the pair that spun a web around England.

India have hassles with their batting too, namely the form of their openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. For five bowlers to play one batsman has to sit out, and rumors are rife that that man is Sehwag, who is going through a lean patch. In that scenario one of Irfan, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma could be promoted to partner Gambhir, who himself needs runs to boost his confidence. Kohli is in unbelievable touch and Rohit – after a horror run of late – has hit form with three solid innings in Sri Lanka. Down the order, Dhoni and Suresh Raina provide the much needed firepower, but the Indian batsmen can be tested by the Australian bowlers with the short stuff. Pat Cummins has already stated Australia’s intent of bouncing out Raina, a batsman with short-ball woes, and though his half-century against England would have given Rohit some needed confidence, he will have his task cut out against Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson. Yuvraj Singh’s patchy form since returning from cancer is also a worry for India.
For George Bailey’s team, it has been a one-man show from Shane Watson who is presently in a destructive mode in the World Twenty20 and well supported by Warner and Hussey. The only concern for Australia would be that of their middle order, which is yet to be tested.
This match puts forward an interesting contest of India’s spinners and Australia’s pacers, as the batsmen on both sides have to put their best foot forward, which in itself throws a challenge to both the sides in a format that allows little time to settle down.

Openers crucial as Australia face India in Super Eights

Colombo (Reuters) - Opening partnerships will be crucial when unbeaten India and Australia face each other in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup, the opposing captains said on Thursday.
India and Australia cruised through the early group phase without defeat, but their openers have enjoyed contrasting fortunes heading into Friday's clash in Colombo.

India have struggled early in their innings with stalwart Virender Sehwag, who managed only eight runs against Afghanistan, dropped for their second game against England in favour of all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
"I think it's important to get off to a good start with the new ball because you can put pressure on the opposition bowler," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters.
"Then more often than not what happens is they look to save themselves if you have a good start and you have the upper hand.
"It is also important in the subcontinent, because initially the ball comes on to the bat nicely, but between the eighth and 12th over, the game changes.
"We have seen wickets slow down and stroke play becomes a bit tough. It is important that the top four or five batsmen take advantage of the ball coming on to the bat."
When asked if he planned to drop a batsman in order to accommodate another bowler, like he did in their 90-run victory over England, Dhoni said it would be "one of the toughest decisions that he had taken so far".
"We'll have to see what fits the combination the best," he said.

In contrast to Friday's opponents, Australia's openers Shane Watson and David Warner have performed consistently in their round robin matches.
All-rounder Watson earned the man of the match award against Ireland and West Indies, top scoring for his side with the bat in both games and taking five wickets.
Australian captain George Bailey, however, told reporters his team were not over-reliant on Watson.
"Teams know if Shane or David bat for 10 or 15 overs, it's going to be very hard for them to chase down our score," he said.
"I guess in that regard it is crucial, (but) I don't think the rest of us are just making up the numbers. I certainly think there are some pretty good players behind them as well."

World T20: Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle down England

Gayle bowled an impressive spell of four overs for 27 and took the wicket of Jonny Bairstow.

Ravi Rampaul had earlier derailed the run chase with two wickets off successive balls with England yet to score.

That was an interesting game of T20 cricket. West Indies put the runs on the board and came back to strike early in the chase. England were a bit down and played too many dot balls. Morgan and Hales then put on a fine partnership, which got them close but not close enough to see the win. They had six wickets in hand, but still fell short by 15 runs.

A victory for West Indies but great fight from England after being to down without a run on the board. Alex Hales hung around till the final over with Bairstow giving him nice support. But the real battle came when Morgan arrived at the crease.

The duo hammered a 58-ball 107 for the fourth wicket and almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. But it was too much to do for England and they eventually succumbed by 15 runs. So! It is three out of three for England against the Windies in WT20s when it comes to losing.

Morgan finished on a stunning 71 from 36 balls while for the Windies, an expensive Rampaul was ironically the highest wicket-taker for West Indies with 2 scalps. The scorecard shows it to be a close catch but guess West Indies were always comfortable. Stay tuned for the presentation.English skipper Stuart Broad admits that losing two wickets early had forced them to regroup. But praises Eoin Morgan for his wonderful knock. Also says that it is disappointing to lose tonight but feels that there are some positives to look at. Feels that the surface played pretty well and credits his bowlers for stopping the boundaries in the middle overs and coming back well towards the end. Also adds that West Indies got a below par score tonight, so not being able to chase that is even more disappointing!
Victorious West Indian captain Darren Sammy is very happy with the win and says that Ravi Rampaul's opening burst set it up. Admits that his side was a bit nervous as the pitch was good but at the same time, credits his bowlers for pulling it off. On the amount of spinners being used, he says that the bowling combination depends on the pitch. Also has a word of praise for Charles who started slowly but ended up scoring aggressively.

JOHNSON CHARLES HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE MATCH. Is very happy to have done well tonight. Feels that the pitch was similar to the ones in England, where the bowlers hit the deck hard. Says that the batsmen need to work hard to get their runs on this pitch.

Okay! End of a fine opening day of the Super Eights. After a thrilling Super Over in the SL-NZ game, the Eng-WI contest threatened to be a one-sided affair but we had a decent game in the end. Tomorrow sees the clash between Pakistan and South Africa at 1000 GMT (1530 IST) while Australia meet India at 1400 GMT (1930 IST).

Openers provide base for West Indies

An opening partnership of 103 in 11 overs provided the West Indies with the foundations for a challenging total in their Super Eights match against England in Pallekele. Half-centuries for Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles gave West Indies the perfect start and, though they experienced a couple of hiccups towards the end, a total of 179 for 5 will take some getting, even on a good batting pitch.

If England are to overhaul their target, they will have to do so against an attack that includes several spin options. Not only did West Indies, with a view to England's struggles against spin bowling, select the legspin of Samuel Badree in place of the pace of Fidel Edwards, but they also have the 'mystery' spin of Sunil Narine and the part-time offbreaks of Marlon Samuels and Gayle to utilise.

On the same pitch that was used for the game between Sri Lanka and New Zealand earlier in the day the ball was already turning a surprising amount, so England's chase is likely to prove a testing proposition. England have never chased more than 173 to win a T20I.

England had made no secret of their desire to take early wickets in this game but, having lost the toss, they soon found themselves chasing the ball all over the ground. If the class and power of Gayle was hardly surprising, the increasingly fluency of Charles was less expected. But, after an uncertain start, the 23-year-old from St Lucia, justified his place in the side with his maiden international half-century and the highest score he has made in any form of professional cricket.

While Steven Finn, bowling with sharp pace, produced a tight first over with Charles' only boundary coming when he top-edged an attempted pull over slip, Gayle was soon into his stride. Having patted back his first two deliveries from Jade Dernbach, he then crashed three fours from the rest of the over: two pulls and a fierce drive.

Gayle dealt with the pace of Finn comfortably, giving himself room to cut a short ball over point, and greeted the introduction of Stuart Broad, also bowling at a sharp pace and with good control, with a thick-edged four over third man and then a flick over midwicket. After the six Powerplay overs, West Indies were 47 without loss.

But it was Samit Patel's introduction into the attack in the eighth over that marked a sharp acceleration from West Indies. Patel's third delivery, something of a long-hop, was pulled over mid-on, the fifth was slog-swept over square leg and the final delivery, a quicker ball, was driven over mid-on as Gayle thrashed three sixes from the over.

Johnson followed suit in the following over from Graeme Swann. Having seized on to a poor ball down the leg side with a sweep for four, he followed it with two sixes over the long-on boundary to complete a period of five sixes in 10 balls for West Indies.

Gayle reached his 50 in just 29 deliveries and brought up the 100 stand from 63 balls with another six driven over extra cover. So when Finn, running in from long-off, put down a simple chance offered by Charles on 39 off Swann, it seemed there would be no respite for England. But it turned out to be a moment of fortune for England. The next delivery, Gayle mistimed a thump over long-on and, this time, Finn made no mistake with the catch.

Luke Wright was introduced into the attack in the 12th over, but by now Charles was in fine form. Having stepped back to crash one four through extra cover, he then smacked another back over Wright's head. Charles reached his half-century from 36 balls.

Broad clawed back a little control with a wicket maiden in the 14th over when he had Samuels taken at point as he attempted to slash over the off side, but Charles was back on strike for the next over and skipped down the wicket to drive Patel for another six.

Kieron Pollard, slogging to point, did not last long, but Charles, by now unrecognisable from the hesitant batsman that had started the innings, took Finn for successive boundaries on either side of the wicket and then clipped Dernbach for one four before driving him for another over long-off. Clearly showing the effects of weariness, however, he then drove a full toss to mid-on to depart 16 short of a century.

The wicket in the 18th over slowed West Indies' progress and with Broad producing a fine penultimate over - he bowled Darren Sammy with a slower ball delivered out of the back of his hand and only conceded 10 due to some fortuitous slices from Andre Russell - England might have felt they were back in the match.

But with Dernbach conceding 15, including three boundaries, from the last over, West Indies reached the halfway stage of the game with the momentum and a score perhaps 15 over par.

ICC World T20 2012: Australia wary of spin stocked India ahead of crucial tie

Colombo: Ahead of Australia`s first Super Eight clash against India, batsman Michael Hussey on Wednesday said the team is chalking out an appropriate strategy to cope with the variety of spinners on offer by the 2007 World Twenty20 Champions.

India advanced into the super eight`s after thrashing reigning Twenty20 World Champions England in their last group match.

Chasing 171 for victory, England crumbled to 80 all out, their lowest Twenty20 total condemning the defending champions to their heaviest loss in the shortest form of the game.

The Australian team toiled hard under the sun during an extensive net session.

Speaking to mediapersons in Colombo, Hussey said the Indians had a great mix of conventional and part-time spinners that could trouble the Australian unit.

"They (India) have got quality players all the way down, so we are going to have to adapt pretty quickly. I do suspect they will bowl a fair bit of spin to us, if it`s not the front line spinners then maybe the part-timers can have a few overs as well. Guys like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma can bowl some off-spinners as well, even (Virender) Sehwag can bowl. So they have got a lot of options there they can bring in and get an over out of someone here or there. We are going to have to adapt very quickly to whoever they bring on and it`s going to be a tough challenge," said Hussey.

India`s comprehensive drubbing of England was anchored by comeback man, Harbhajan Singh, who bagged the man-of-the-match award for his figures of four for 12.

Hussey, also known as Mr. Cricket, was all praise for Harbhajan Singh, but added that the Australian team needed to cope better than England to fare well against him.

“He is a class act. He has been a class act for a long period of time so he is someone we have got to respect. But this is Twenty20 and you have got to be aggressive as well and try and put him under pressure. He did a fantastic job the other night but hopefully we can play a little bit better than the English team,” Hussey added.

India is placed with Australia, South Africa and Pakistan in their super eight group. The top two teams would qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

India under Dhoni won the inaugural edition of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, the beginning of a performance crest that saw the ``Men in Blue`` rise to the top of the game in Tests, with the crowning glory in 2011 when they won the 50-over World Cup to complete their dominance of the game.

ICC World T20: Dhoni spoilt for choices ahead of Aussie clash

With less than forty-eight hours to go for the mega clash against Australia, it seems Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in a dilemma of being spoilt for choices.

He said "one big batsman might have to sit out" in the Super Eights match against Australia on Friday and went on to say that "it will be one of the toughest decisions of his career to choose between Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh".

"We would most likely go in with five bowlers but I still don't know what will be the combination. It will be a fresh wicket and we have to take into consideration how it will be before the start of the match," Dhoni told reporters at his pre-match media interaction.

On the other hand, the kangaroos look comfortable and a well settled unit. But come Friday, all the calculations, strategies and all plans will take a back seat when the two cricketing powerhouses lock horns.

Dhoni also stressed the importance of ground fielding as it could make the all mportant difference.

When asked about Virender Sehwag, who sat out in the match against England, Dhoni said, "situational calls will be taken, and players are ready".

Dhoni also stated that he was confused as to how the wickets will be prepared for the uphill `Oz battle`.

Speaking to reporters at Colombo, Dhoni stated, "it is good to have a blend of experience and youth, and that it is the responsibility of seniors to guide the youngsters."

When asked whether he follows what the press has been circulating about India`s Cup chances, boy next door Dhoni got candid, saying he did not have access to internet, television and mobile. "I am detached from the world."

Cricket: Sri Lanka v New Zealand World Twenty20 scoreboard

Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Super Eights group one match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Pallekele stadium on Thursday.

New Zealand

R. Nicol c Thirimanne b Dananjaya 58 M. Guptill c Perera b Dananjaya 38 B. McCullum c Perera b Mendis 25 R. Taylor b Kulasekara 23 J. Oram c Dilshan b Kulasekara 6 N. McCullum b Malinga 3 J. Franklin not out 8 K. Williamson run out 4 Extras: (lb4, w5) 9 Total: (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 174
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Guptill), 2-99 (B McCullum), 3-137 (Nicol), 4-154 (Taylor), 5-159 (Oram), 6-164 (N McCullum), 7-174 (Williamson).
Bowling: Kulasekara 4-0-33-2 (w2), Mathews 2-0-14-0, Malinga 4-0-30-1 (w1), Mendis 4-0-48-1 (w2), Dananjaya 4-0-32-2, J. Mendis 2-0-13-0

Sri Lanka
M. Jayawardene c Vettori b Oram 44 T. Dilshan run out 76 K. Sangakkara run out 21 J. Mendis c Taylor b Franklin 8 A. Mathews not out 12 T. Perera b Franklin 5 L. Thirimanne run out 5 Extras: (lb1, w2) 3 Total: (for six wickets, 20 overs) 174
Fall of wickets: 1-80 (Jayawardene), 2-119 (Sangakkara), 3-131 (J. Mendis), 4-161 (Dilshan), 5-167 (Perera), 6-174 (Thirimanne).
Bowling: N McCullum 3-0-25-0, Mills 2-0-15-0, Southee 4-0-44-0 (w1), Oram 3-0-26-1, Vettori 4-0-29-0 (w1), Franklin 4-0-34-2

Super over: Sri Lanka 13-1, New Zealand 8-1

Result: Sri Lanka won in Super over after the match was tied
Toss: New Zealand
Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Aleem Dar (PAK)
Tv umpire: Steve Davis (AUS)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

Jayawardene hails his death-over expert

Sri Lanka's captain Mahela Jayawardene extolled Lasith Malinga as the finest death bowler in world cricket after he bowled an imperturbable Super Over that finally killed off a persistent New Zealand challenge in their Super Eights tie in Pallakele.

Sri Lanka, emotionally if not in actuality, felt as though they had to win the match twice. New Zealand had looked out of the contest, but they dragged it into the Super Over with the help off a disputable run-out off the last ball of the regular match, when Ross Taylor was held to have deflected the ball off what replays suggested was his hand but the fielder himself thought must have been his knee.

When Sri Lanka scrambled 13 from their Super Over, failing to find the boundary but helped by three wides from Tim Southee, it fell to Malinga to protect their advantage. It was a close-run thing - had Tillakaratne Dilshan not held a skier at long-off, New Zealand would have needed two to win off the final ball, but Malinga produced the last-ball yorker to leave his captain full of praise.

Could he think of any death bowler who matched Malinga? "I don't think so," Jayawardene said. "He has got the experience, he has done it in various situations. He said what he was going to do from the beginning and how he wanted the field. It is easy for a captain when you have a bowler with that sort of confidence.

"Another day he might go for runs but you always back your ace bowler. It is good to have somebody who has control mentally over that situation. After that you try to execute your skills. It is important that you are tough in that situation and Mali is one of those guys."

Malinga was in his element, hitting the blockhole with regularity, despite a low-slung action that the coaches will tell you makes it doubly difficult to maintain such control.Even as Malinga suppressed McCullum with the final yorker, with eight needed, Jayawardene was intent on tidying up the victory, extolling his celebrating fielders to get the ball back and break the stumps in case New Zealand had designs on trying to run the lot.

Sri Lanka had celebrated victory after Taylor initially conceded that he had failed to run out Lahiru Thirimanne at the non-striker's end, fumbling James

Franklin's throw from point. He shook hands with the umpires, shook his head at the imagined defeat and headed for the dug out, a captain convinced the game was lost."We were looking at Ross' reaction and he wasn't that enthusiastic about the run-out so we thought we had scraped through," Jayawardene said. "I still

haven't seen the footage. It was just chaos on the field. We thought we had won the game and then to go back into a Super Over was not easy but we kept our composure and made sure we played some smart cricket."

Taylor, aware that New Zealand probably need victories in their last two Super Eights matches against England on Saturday and West Indies on Monday, said: "James Franklin threw the ball very hard and I knew I didn't catch it. It was fairly close to hitting the stumps and I looked down and the bails were off, and the boys were going 'Oh, yeah,' and I thought that I must have flicked it off with my finger.

"I went and shook hands but when I got upstairs the coach was saying, 'It's out, it's out.' It must have come off my knee and broken the stumps or something. It wasn't deliberate. My hands weren't anywhere near it."

Sri Lanka were comfortably placed for victory at 103 for 1 midway through their innings, only 72 short of victory. Jayawardene and Dilshan produced some of the most scintillating batting of the tournament, but Jaywardene top-edged Jacob Oram to fine leg and Dilshan slowed as he tried to shepherd Sri Lanka's untested middle order to their target. "I felt that with one good over we could reach the target," Dilshan said. But Southee bowled two excellent overs of yorkers and the big over never came.

Taylor drew pride where he could. "From the situation we were in I thought we fought back very hard and I'm proud of the way we fought to the bitter end," he said. "I felt if we could get the big guns out we could pressure on the youngsters and we did that.

"We practiced a Super Over in a warm-up against Australia even though we had been convincingly beaten. You can simulate it as much as possible, but when you get into it, with the pressures and the crowd, you can't practice for that."

Lost in all the commotion was an international debut for Sri Lanka's teenage mystery spinner, Akila Dananjaya, who took two New Zealand wickets and a fearful blow in the face when he failed to hold a searing return catch. England's tremors against spin suggest that they will face him on Monday.

"It is a gut feeling to play him when you see a wicket or an opposition," Jayawardene said. "I wanted to give him a game, so now his jitters hopefully are over. He bowled really well for a young lad. Depending on the opposition we can use him again.

"When he got hit I thought, 'He has gone,' but when I got close to him he just said to me, 'Shit I dropped that catch.' He was bleeding from his noise but he was not too bad. He has got a bruised cheek but other than that he is alright."

Dananjaya has the sort of complicated attitude to his name that he still appears on some scorecards as MKPAD Perera. After five overs of Sri Lanka's innings, in which they scored 62, New Zealand's battered bowlers must have wished they could also be so anonymous.

New Zealand's bowlers were travelling many a mile and it would have been less painful to travel incognito. By the end of the night they had produced a remarkable recovery - but the game still belonged to Sri Lanka.

World T20: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in Super Over

Pallekele: Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga bowled his team to victory in a one-over eliminator against New Zealand in a sensational start to the Super Eights at the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

New Zealand needed 14 for victory in the eliminator after Sri Lanka had posted 13 for 1, but Malinga's skiddy deliveries proved too difficult to score from and the Kiwis were restricted to 8 for During the regular 20-over stage, Sri Lanka needed only eight off the last over after New Zealand had scored 174 for 7. Lahiru Thirimane required a single off the final ball but was run out for the hosts to finish on 174 for 6.

Tillakaratne Dilshan made 76 off 53 balls and captain Mahela Jaywardene hit 44 off 26 deliveries before New Zealand rallied. Dilshan was run out after hitting five fours and three sixes when 15 was needed to win and Thisara Perera was bowled by James Franklin in the penultimate over.

Sri Lanka looked to be heading toward easy victory when Dilshan and Jayawardene smashed 80 runs for the first wicket in just 44 balls.

But the departure of Jaywardene in the eighth over when he top-edged Jacob Oram to Daniel Vettori at fine leg and the run out of Kumar Sangakkara (21) four over later helped New Zealand to hit back.

Franklin brought the Kiwis back in the hunt with Sri Lanka needing 21 off the last two overs. Dilshan smashed Franklin's low full toss for a six before being run out, while Perera was bowled after hitting a boundary.

Earlier, opening batsman Rob Nicol hit a career-best 58 in New Zealand's competitive total to better his previous best of 56 made against Zimbabwe at Hamilton earlier this year.

Nicol smashed three fours and four sixes from 40 balls, and was well supported by Martin Guptill with 38, Brendon Taylor with 25 and captain Ross Taylor with 23 after New Zealand had won the toss and elected to bat.

Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis recovered from side strain but was ineffective, taking 1 for 48. Nicol tarnished those figures by hitting three sixes in finger spinner's last over. It was a below-par performance from Mendis after he had bested his own world record by claiming 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe in the first round.

Akila Dananjaya wasn't seriously hurt when he was struck on the face while trying to catch Nicol off his own bowling. The 18-year-old offspinner on debut was hit hard on the cheek bone by the full-blooded drive. He was the best bowler with 2 for 32.

Guptill gave the Kiwis a decent start by putting on 57 with Nicol off 45 balls. Mendis was hammered for 10 runs in his first over as Guptill dominated the opening stand by hitting five boundaries in his 38.

Guptill could have been dismissed on 6 in seamer Nuwan Kulasekara's second over, but Perera missed a two-handed catch over his head in only the third over.

Dananjaya made the breakthrough off only his third delivery in Twenty20 internationals, when Perera held Guptill's lofted shot at mid-off.

Brendon McCullum, who hit the highest score in the Twenty20 format when he hit 123 off 72 balls against Bangladesh last week, smashed Dananjaya for two sixes before holing out in the deep off Mendis.

Dananjaya got his revenge when he had Nicol caught by Perera at deep midwicket, before Kulasekara struck twice late in the innings by bowling Taylor off a slower delivery and Jacob Oram was caught at long-off.

Defending champion England and West Indies are the other teams in Group 1.

Not over-dependent on Watson - Bailey

George Bailey, the Australia captain, does not think his team is over-dependent on Shane Watson, after the allrounder weighed in with bat and ball in both group-stage victories. Watson made 51 off 30 balls and took 3 for 26 against Ireland, and followed that with an unbeaten 41 and 2 for 29 against West Indies.

"I don't know whether you can call it over-dependence on Watson just because he has performed well in both the games," Bailey said. "He is a very good player, he is good with the ball and he is an outstanding batsman. He is one of the players that opposition teams fear when they run into him. At the moment, one of his strengths is his consistency, so he is dependable, but I am not sure if we are over-dependent on him."

Watson and David Warner, one of the most powerful opening combinations currently in limited-overs cricket, gave Australia solid starts in both games so far but Bailey said that did not mean the rest of the line-up was not capable. "Watson and Warner are able to provide us an urgent start. There is no doubt that they are key wickets because they can take the game away," Bailey said. "I guess they are crucial, but we are not at a stage where the rest of us are just making up the numbers."

Bailey was asked whether Watson and Warner's contributions meant the middle order was undercooked in terms of time spent in the middle. "The middle-order is very happy," he said. "I know it's a tough one now but you've just got to prepare and train well. It's not that any of these guys haven't played a lot. In fact, we have played a lot against the guys we are coming up against. Whenever you get the opportunity to perform, you make sure you are ready to go."

MS Dhoni, the India captain, was also asked about the Watson-Warner combine, and his side's plans to control the duo. "They are one of the best because they have done consistently well," Dhoni said. "Both of them play aggressive cricket and look to score as many runs as possible in the first six overs. Since we are looking to play with five bowlers there is a bit more variety up the sleeve, which can be used in the first six overs. So let's see how they start."

Dhoni said most international sides had aggressive openers in Twenty20s, which helped in getting good starts against the new ball. "If you can put pressure on the opposition bowler, then more often than not they look to save themselves, so if you have a good start, you have an upper hand," Dhoni said. "In the subcontinent also it is important, initially the ball comes on to the bat nicely, and from the eighth to the 12th over is the time when the game changes. We have seen that quite a few wickets slow down and stroke-play becomes a bit tough. It is important that the top four take advantage of the ball coming on to the bat."

World T20: We will probably go in with five bowlers, says Dhoni

Colombo: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday said the team will go in with five bowlers in its World Twenty20 Super Eight match against Australia but it will be one of the toughest decisions of his career to choose between Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.
"We would most likely go in with five bowlers but I still don't know what will be the combination. It will be a fresh wicket and we have to take into consideration how it will be before the start of the match," Dhoni told the reporters at his pre-match media interaction
Playing five bowlers means dropping either Sehwag or Yuvraj and Dhoni knows it only too well that it will be a tough call. "It is one of the toughest decisions I have taken so far.
We will have to see what fits the combinations. Just wait and watch. Ultimately the decision we take has to be a good one that benefits the team." Asked how his bowlers will counter the devastating opening duo of Shane Watson and David Warner, Dhoni replied, "They are the best in the world and know how to play aggressive cricket.
"We have to bowl in right areas and the bowlers will certainly need some variety up their sleeves."
The skipper was, however, dismissive about the oft repeated 'Chin Music' theory.
"This is what we have always spoken about for the last five years. I would rather focus on my team and let them say whatever they want. If you look at our team, we have players who have had decent amount of exposure having played quite a few ODIs and Tests. And when one talks about short balls, it's a problem as much for us as for any other team. But one needs to work the way around."

We won't focus solely on Harbhajan: Bailey

Colombo: The hype surrounding offspinner Harbhajan Singh's return to form notwithstanding, Australia captain George Bailey is least bothered as he said his team would not be focussing on any particular individual when it takes on India here on Friday.
"We don't want to focus too heavily on one bowler. It's not that we focus too much on Harbhajan and don't focus on Ashwin. All the Indian bowlers are pretty good and we respect that fact," said Bailey at the pre-match media conference ahead of India-Australia Super Eight match of World Twenty20.
The Tasmanian batsman though conceded that spin was becoming a more and more important factor in the context of the tournament.
"Certainly spin has become more important factor as it will get slower and lower as the tournament progresses. But we have a pretty good line-up of fast bowlers and would like to exploit whatever is available," said Bailey.
The 30-year-old skipper believes that the team has the 'x-factor' to emerge victorious and requires a bit of flair to excel in a marquee game like India versus Australia.
"You need to show a bit of flair and at the same time be a bit conservative. Ultimately, the team that has more number of players with x-factor will end up on the winning side."
Bailey, who has spent a lot of time in the Chennai Super Kings' dug-out during his stint with the IPL franchise, said that he has learnt a lot from his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"The structure of Indian Premier League is such that you can't play more than four overseas players. One thing that I have learnt from my days with CSK is the consistency in team selections.
"In CSK we didn't happen to change the team when we lost one or two matches. This game can be very fickle and you don't decide on basis of one or two performances. I have tried to follow that while selecting Australian team. I have learnt a lot there," Bailey said.
Shane Watson has been one of their key players and now has two man-of-the-match awards from consecutive matches but Bailey refused to accept the fact that the team is overtly dependent on Watson in the game's shortest format.
"Shane is a dependable player but we are not dependent on him. It might look like that since he has been very consistent. With the ball, he has got us breakthroughs and while batting there isn't a team that doesn't fear bowling to him. But there will be days when he would not get runs and others will have to step up. We can suitably answer this question only when that situation arises," Bailey commented.
With Watson, Warner and Hussey scoring runs, the other Australian batsmen haven't got a chance to bat but Bailey assured that the boys are ready to handle pressure situations.
"We have been training very hard and we are ready to handle pressure in match situations."
Asked whether he is feeling the pressure of expectation being an Australian captain, Bailey said, "Expectations are different for every team and one wants to pass that. As far as I am concerned, I have got senior players around me. In our team, every individual knows his responsibility."
Bailey admitted that Super Eight is really tough as this is the start of the "proper tournament".

World T20: Harbhajan Singh ready to savour Australian cuisine

MS Dhoni threw Harbhajan Singh a dare against England. "Show me why I should play you?" Dhoni asked without saying. The sardar latched onto the dare and singed England, saying, "Now what, skipper - am I on for the Super Eights?"
The wily offspinner is back, spewing venom. India's colonial cousins were on the receiving end as Harbhajan bared his fangs. And if one were to go by history, Dhoni will find it hard to keep Harbhajan out of the XI - at least against the Aussies, Harbhajan's prey of choice.
His comeback was nothing short of a dream. If body language is an indicator, he had it. If it's the wickets, Harbhajan had four of those. And if it's the fire you were trying to spot, the signature roar ticked that box, too. "I told you, you can't keep him out for long," Sourav Ganguly must have murmured in the commentary box - with a wry smile.
But Dhoni is still nibbling at his pencil to check a few boxes.
The England game left no doubt for the Indian skipper to go with two spinners in the XI. The question, though, is which two? R Ashwin's form makes him a certainty. So that's taken care of. It leaves a choice between Harbhajan and legspinner Piyush Chawla - that's if Dhoni is mulling a two-spinner policy. The dilemma won't exist if Dhoni plays all three. Quite possible, but requires biting the bullet: keep Virender Sehwag out and continue to open with Irfan Pathan. Tough call indeed.
Sehwag's dodgy form is an invitation to keep him out, while Harbhajan's return to form an invitation to play him. But when you see the opposition - Australia - both have done well against them.
Had it been a 50-over game, Dhoni would have certainly gone with Sehwag. But in the Twenty20 format and with India's dicey bowling, picking Harbhajan and opening with Irfan both make sense. It allows you to play five bowlers without reducing the depth of your batting line-up. Tough on Sehwag, but worth trying one more time, especially seeing the success it reaped against England.

ICC T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand- Preview

Pallekele: With one win and a loss in their respective group games in the league stage, both Sri Lanka and New Zealand would look to sort out their weaknesses quickly and get off to a winning start when they clash in the first Super Eight match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Thursday.

Sri Lanka were runners-up to South Africa in Group C, while New Zealand finished second to Pakistan in Group D after both of teams lost to strong opponents on their way to the Super Eight stage.

Sri Lanka after crushing Zimbabwe by 82 runs in their opening match of the tournament, subsequently lost to South Africa by 32 runs in a rain-curtailed seven-over-a-side game.

New Zealand, on the other hand, entered the knock-out stage after posting a 59-run win over Bangladesh, riding on Brendon McCullum`s superb 123 off 58 balls. They lost to Pakistan by 13 runs in the next match but the result had no bearing on their chances, as the net run rate was healthy enough for the Kiwis to emerge from their group.

Thus, there is very little to choose between the two sides ahead of tomorrow`s contest at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here.

In fact, out of the nine T20 Internationals the two teams played so far, New Zealand won five and Sri Lanka four.

Interestingly, two out of nine of those ties were staged in Sri Lanka and the Black Caps managed to win both the matches at the RPS Colombo in 2009.

New Zealand can also take heart from the fact that they would be playing at the same venue where they had played both their league games, while Sri Lanka`s two matches took place at Hambantota.

Inspite of this, the Islanders are expected to bank heavily on the home advantage.

Apart from the rain-shortened game against South Africa, most of the Lankan batsmen looked in good shape during the two warm-up matches and against Zimbabwe.

But come tomorrow, the scenario could be different as New Zealand are a quality side.

For Sri Lanka, a matter of concern is the form of opener

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has been completely off-colour, while Dilshan Munaweera also didn`t look too impressive so far at the top order and the latter might be replaced by a more experienced Dinesh Chandimal.

The onus would be on captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to deliver the goods with the bat. Their lower middle-order also has enough fire power with the likes of Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis and Thisara Perera in the ranks.
Sri Lanka, in all probability, will be boosted by the return of mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, who missed the match against South Africa as he was not 100 per cent fit. His figures of 6/8 against Zimbabwe is the stand out bowling performance of the tournament so far.

However, the form of Lasith Malinga, who has been very expensive in the competition till now with an economy rate in excess of 10 per over, still remains a concern for the team.

They would hope that Malinga gets his act together against the Kiwis and is well supported by the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara and Perera.

The New Zealanders, on the other hand, have looked more or less a solid side even during their loss to Pakistan in a close game. But they need to work out their opening combination.

They started with Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill in their warm-up tie against Australia, while James Franklin opened along side Guptill in the following tie against South Africa.

They continued with the same combination in their first league match against Bangladesh, but chose to field Nicol and Kane Williamson as openers against Pakistan.

But with McCullum having scored enough runs in the previous encounters, captain Ross Taylor may well be tempted to start with Guptill and McCullum at the top against Sri Lanka.

Taylor`s main worry though will be his side`s inconsistent run with the bat.

Kiwi batsmen have shown lack of application and they certainly have their work cut-out against a quality Sri Lankan bowling attack.

They would hope that the likes of McCullum, Taylor, Jacob Oram and James Franklin fire in unison.

As far as bowling is concerned, the form of veteran Daniel Vettori has been a cause of worry. The left-arm spinner didn`t look his best against either Bangladesh or Pakistan and it remains to be seen how he comes up against the Lankans.

But Kyle Mills and Tim Southee are expected to stick to their jobs for the Black Caps.

Teams (from)

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (c), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Akila Dananjaya, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (capt), Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Match starts at 3.30 pm (IST)

Live Cricket

Check out the websites for live cricket streaming of the Sri Lanka vs New Zealand match here:

1. http://www.espnstar.com/live/

2. www.iStream.com

3. www.cricketnirvana.com

4. www.watchcriclive.com/

5. http://www.india-station.com/cricket/live_video.html

6. www.crictime.com

7. www.cricket-365.net/

8. www.biglivecricket.com

I`ll never say Sehwag is out of form: Hussey

Colombo: Michael Hussey has enormous respect for Virender Sehwag and insisted that the `Nawab of Najafgarh` can "never be out of form", but at the same time hoped that Virat Kohli has a bad day in office when Australia take on India in their Super Eights match here on Friday.

"I would never say that Virender Sehwag is out of form. He can miss out a couple of times but we all know that every time he misses out he is closer to the next big one. Normally, when he scores big runs, he scores them quickly so I will never say Sehwag is out of form," Hussey senior told mediapersons at the end of Australia’s practice session at the P Sara Oval ground on Wednesday.

On Kohli`s splendid run in international cricket, Hussey said: "Yeah I am not exactly sure what our plans are but even if I know I am not going to reveal them. He is obviously at a purple patch in the manner that he is playing. Every batsman tends to miss out on some stage and I hope that he is going to miss out (against us)."


When there is Australia, the topic of Harbhajan Singh can`t be far behind, but Hussey feels the Aussies are far better equipped than the Englishmen to tackle the off-spinner.

"Of, course he (Harbhajan) is going to strengthen the team. He is a class act and has been that for a long period of time. He is someone that we respect but when you play Twenty20, you got to be aggressive as well and try and put him under pressure," he said.

"He did a fantastic job the other night but I think we can play better than the English team," Hussey said of Harbhajan, who demolished England with figures of 4-12 in the final group match.

India versus Australia has always been tense games and Hussey knows that the upcoming one won`t be any different.

"That first game is massive. We are coming to a very important stage of the tournament and probably that first game (against India) is very crucial.

"If we can get to a winning start then it puts us in a good position and gives us a good chance of making it to the semi-final," the left-hander said.


The Australian team management knows that Indian spinners will be bowling the bulk of 20 overs and so they are gearing up for the challenge.

"I do suspect that they (India) will bowl a fair bit of spin to us if not just the frontline spinners, may be the part-timers will also bowl at us. Guys like Yuvraj, Raina and Rohit Sharma can bowl a bit. Even Sehwag can bowl. So we have to adapt very quickly to whoever they are going to bring on. It can be a tough challenge," Hussey said.

Hussey, who has been a key member of the Chennai Super Kings set-up, admitted that IPL has helped him to get a better knowledge about Indian cricketers.

"It does help in getting a better knowledge. Seeing how those guys prepare and play, seeing their strengths and weakness, seeing how they train for these sub-continental conditions, it is going to be a positive. But at the end of the day, I don`t think it is a match-defining advantage because they know our players very well as well. So I don`t think that`s much of an advantage."

'We're ready for Harbhajan's aggression' - Hussey

No Australian Twenty20 team has been as aggressive in word or deed as the one about to face India in a critical Super Eights match at the World T20. So there is understandable anticipation about the rejoining of an old battle with Harbhajan Singh, famously provocative in the past but so far this tournament doing more with the ball than with his choice of words.

Australia showed plenty of intent in the field in their opening match against Ireland, David Warner and Shane Watson particularly active in their efforts to rile the opposition. Watson later said this was part of how the team "gets up" for a serious contest. Any attempts at a similar approach against the West Indies were momentarily silenced by the blazing bats of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels before George Bailey's team notched a rain-assisted victory.

Harbhajan's recall was always likely to tempt another encounter with Australia, a team with which he has a history of confrontation and controversy, not least the 2008 Sydney Test match and its aftermath. While his striking display against England suggested a Harbhajan more focused on his bowling than anything else, the sight of the green and gold may stir that old familiar feeling.

Michael Hussey, a witness to much of the aforementioned history, said he expected Harbhajan to resume his famously provocative ways, and counselled his younger teammates to remain true to themselves in dealing with any verbal confrontations.

"I prefer to walk away and not worry about it," Hussey said. "If he [Harbhajan] wants to use his energy up sledging and carrying on, that's fine. Some other guys really thrive on it. Davey Warner, he likes a little bit of interaction out there and it gets him going.

"So I don't think there is a right way or wrong way to handle it but I think it's up to the individual to know he's going to try these tactics so you've got to be ready for it, and be sure it doesn't affect your concentration but handle it in your own way. I just think let him [Warner] go, let him play his way. That's what has given him success so far."

The match against India is the first of a testy trio that also features South Africa and Pakistan, leaving Hussey to reason that a first-up victory would ease a great deal of pressure from the team's shoulders.

"If we can win that first one in the Super Eights, it does give you that confidence and that little buffer that you know you just need one out of the last two to get through," Hussey said. "It's pretty much an early grand final really in the context of the tournament. But that relaxed attitude is important as well. We need to make sure we're not too tense.

"All the [batsmen] are playing well in the nets and they've got a lot of confidence, and that's a big part of Twenty20. You need to have no doubts in your mind or fears, you've got to trust yourself and let your instincts take over."

The coach Mickey Arthur treated Australia's player to two days off after their qualification for the next phase, though he then extracted a measure of recompense by pushing the players through a decidedly rigorous Tuesday training session.

"We have had a few relaxing days but I expect that's all about to end," Hussey said. "Training yesterday [Tuesday] was very long and pretty intense and a welcome back to reality really. The pressure and tension are only going to rise as we get closer to that India match because it's a huge game."

West Indies target England spin problem

England will face another examination against spin in their first World Twenty20 Super Eights tie against West Indies in Pallakele on Thursday. Destroyed by India's Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla at the group stage, they must now combat West Indies' Sunil Narine and a potential unknown accomplice, Samuel Badree.

Narine is West Indies' "trump card" according to their captain, Darren Sammy, but perhaps it is possible to exaggerate the likely extent of the ordeal after England's batting horrors against India. The most danger to England is more likely to emanate from the usual place: West Indies' long list of destructive batsmen.

Narine had a bowling average of 199 in England last summer in all competitions - his only wicket came when he dismissed Jonathan Trott in an ODI at the Rose Bowl and Trott is not even here. After his success in the IPL, England played Narine rather well. If he is to prove a trump card, it will have needed a change of suit since the sides last met.

As for Badree, he is a 31-year-old legspinner from Trinidad whose international exposure amounts to two T20I matches against New Zealand in the United States. He claimed Tim Southee as his only wicket and is the only international player who can fairly claim to be bigger in Florida than the rest of the cricketing world. There again, he is an unknown quantity and, in England's current state, that is a good thing to be.

It is not that the Pallakele pitch is expected to favour the spinners, not this early in the tournament anyway, just that West Indies have unsurprisingly taken a view. It was hard not to after the way England capitulated to India, bowled out for 80, their lowest Twenty20 score.

But even if you add in the offspin of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who are both most notable for the expenditure of a minimal number of calories in delivery, England will be telling themselves that their fallibility against spin is in danger of being overplayed.

England's T20I captain, Stuart Broad, is doing his best to shrug it off. "We are ready for that," he said. "It is not as if we have found out yesterday that people are going to bowl spin at us. Coming to Sri Lanka, we sort of knew that because those are the conditions we will face. It is important as individuals we try to counteract it."

Broad refuses to accept that England have technical issues against spin bowling. Even if he harbours doubts, it is far too late to do much about it now. The only option is to try to restore self-belief and trust that England somehow brazen it through.

"The challenge is all mental," he claimed. "It is all about getting yourself back into a positive frame of mind and reminding the guys in the team that they are good players. They have performed well to get into this England team and we have match-winners in this side.


Stuart Broad believes England's batsmen must "learn from mistakes but don't dwell on them" © AFP
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"We just talked about our strengths. Learn from the mistakes you make but don't dwell on them. We have players who have played spin well. We have talked about how we've done that."

But Sammy looked particularly perky as he presented Narine as a potential matchwinner. "We will definitely look to bowl spin against them," he said. "I think everyone who comes on to bowl has a big part to play but Sunil is our trump card. He has done well for us in international matches and hopefully he'll have a big impact on the English batting line-up.

"England are the defending world champions. I don't think they will allow the last game India to play on their minds. We have our plans and just have to go out and execute them."

Sammy excused Narine's poor show in England on the grounds of miserable weather, which did not make the pitches conducive to spin and pointed out, accurately enough, that England's senior spin bowler, Graeme Swann, also survived on meagre returns.

Broad is not the first person to extol the attractions of Pallakele. Contrast that with Sri Lanka's unveiling of the jerry-built, and unfinished, Dambulla Stadium to unsuspecting England tourists about a decade ago and it is a huge stride forward.

"It's my first time to the ground, it looks fantastic," Broad said. "It reminds me a bit of Caribbean grounds actually."

Another reason, perhaps, why Sammy was feeling so content.

World T20: Super Eights means serious cricket

With Pakistan having thrashed Bangladesh in their last encounter in the ICC World Twenty20 group stage, the tournament takes proper shape as the best teams line up for the Super Eights. Many, in fact, will tell you that the tournament begins on Thursday when Sri Lanka play New Zealand.
After nine lukewarm days of cricket, fans of Twenty20 cricket are in line for some mouth-watering cricket now that Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh have been ousted from the World Twenty20. Four groups have been narrowed down two: West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and defending champions make up the first and in the next are India, Pakistan, Australia and South Africa. That second one is a very tight one, with India up against arguably the best three sides in the tournament.

Let’s have a look at the two groups.
Group 1: West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England
West Indies and Sri Lanka will start off as favourites for the semi-finals but England and New Zealand will definitely give them a tough fight. West Indies have yet to win a game – they progressed due to a rain-hit match against Ireland – but are being seen as contenders for the title due to the presence of Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, skipper Darren Sammy, Fidel Edwards and Sunil Narine.
At home, Sri Lanka remain a formidable side. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara lend solidity and plenty of experience to the batting, and in Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara the hosts have three match-winning bowlers. Add in allrounders such as Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, and Sri Lanka stand to pose a threat to all opposing teams.
New Zealand are highly dependent on Brendon McCullum, who is the leading run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals and the only batsman to score two centuries in the format, one of them being the fastest ever. After McCullum, the main man is captain Ross Taylor who can be equally destructive on his day. After that, the batting line-up is weighed down by inexperience and inconsistency. With the ball, the biggest asset is Daniel Vettori. Kyle Mills and Tim Southee are the leading fast men, followed by the allrounders Jacob Oram and James Franklin. Not a very strong team, but a capable one.
Defending champions England are not looking as strong as they were last time around. The
absence of Kevin Pirtersen and Paul Collingwood has weakened the batting, and as displayed in their 90-run thrashing by India the younger crop of batsmen have plenty of issues against spin. Their bowling, however, is one of the best in the tournament.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa
South Africa look the strongest in this group owing to an amazingly balanced side. In both the main departments they have a number of match-winners. With Richard Levi and Hashim Amla opening the innings you can always expect a blistering start and in Jacques Kallis at No. 3 South Africa have a batsman capable of holding an innings together. AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis and Albie Morkel after that makes for a very formidable batting order. Leading the bowling attack is Dale Steyn, ranked No. 1, followed by Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Robin Peterson, Albie Morkel and Kallis. Definitely the team to beat.
India are highly dependent on their batting since the bowling is a area of concern, regardless of the way Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla had England in a spin. The lack of form of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir at the top is causing India trouble, and leaving too much on Virat Kohli’s shoulders. Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are all Twenty20 match-winners, but their efforts must be backed up by good bowling. Zaheer Khan is finding it tough to get his rhythm correct, Irfan Pathan is too inconsistent and L Balaji is making a comeback so that leaves Dhoni to rely on R Ashwin – especially at the death. Whether India go in with five bowlers against Australia is a matter of huge interest at the moment.
That leaves Australia and Pakistan, both of whom have an edge over India in the bowling. For Pakistan, spin is the strength with Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul carrying the attack. Umar Gul adds control and Sohail Tanvir unpredictability, but currently the fast-bowling is pair is a bit off-key. Australia have a pace battery comprising Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Shane Watson and Daniel Christian which has contributed to victory in two matches. The concern is in the spin department, where a 41-year-old Brad Hogg and a rookie in Glenn Maxwell have to do anything of note.
The Super Eights stand to offer much more action than the group stage, so fans can sit back and enjoy the action at last.

India climb to 3rd spot in ICC T20 Championship table

Colombo: Riding on their huge win over England in the group stages of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, India jumped four places to claim the third position in the ICC T20 Championship table, which was released on Wednesday.

India spanked defending champions England by 90 runs in a Group A match, which propelled Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men to 116 rating points.

The crushing defeat meant England slipped a position to second spot with 124 ratings points.

South Africa head into the Super Eight stage as the number-one ranked team.

Meanwhile, Suresh Raina is the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 list for the T20I Player Rankings for batsmen.

Even though Raina dropped two places in the recently-released chart, the left-hander still occupied the fifth position with 730 points in his kitty.

Another Indian to rise in the chart is opener Gautam Gambhir who is 13th (up by three places).

New Zealand`s wicket-keeper batsman Brendon McCullum retained his number-one batting spot with Chris Gayle in second place.

McCullum`s knock of 123 against Bangladesh, the highest in the history of Twenty20 International cricket to date, also helped him achieve a career-best rating of 849.

Australia`s Shane Watson jumped four places to a career-high third position. Watson, who won successive Player of the Match awards against Ireland and West Indies, also garnered his career-best rating of 758.

The batsmen from Asia have made the most impressive movements in the batting table ahead of the Super Eight stage, which starts in Pallekele from Thursday.

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Sri Lanka`s Kumar Sangakkara broke back into the top 10 and now sits in eighth position (up by three places). Others to make upward movements are Virat Kohli in 19th (up by 10 places), Rohit Sharma in 26th (up by 12 places), Nasir Jamshed in 32nd (up by 51 places), Shakib Al Hasan in 37th (up by 29 places) and Imran Nazir in 43rd (up by 42 places).

No Indian, however, found a place in the top-10 bowlers ranking, which is being headed by the spin trio of Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan), Graeme Swann of England and Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis.

Comeback man Harbhajan Singh, who claimed four for 12 against England, India`s best figures in a Twenty20 International, broke into the top 20 and is now at 17th place (up by five).

By virtue of his all-round performances in the two group matches, Watson continued to retain his number one position among all-rounders.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez also maintained his second spot in the all-rounders chart, but compatriot Shahid Afridi dropped a place to third.

Bangladesh`s Shakib Al Hasan vaulted four places to fifth in the list.

World T20: Darren Sammy expects Sunil Narine to shine against England

Pallekele: West Indian captain Darren Sammy admitted offspinner Sunil Narine will be his trump card to exploit England's weakness against slow bowlers in the Super Eights match here on Thursday.
England, defending the World Twenty20 title they won in the Caribbean two years ago, crashed to their heaviest T20 defeat of 90 runs in their first round match against India, with offspinner Harbhajan Singh grabbing 4 for 12.

And that prompted Sammy to raise more hopes with Narine. "Sunil is our trump card, he's done well for us in that format, hopefully he could have a big impact on the English batting line-up," said Sammy of the 24-year-old spinner who has made a big impact at Twenty20 level.
Besides Narine, West Indies have the option of bringing in legspinner Samuel Badree to add to the guile of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who can also bowl handy spin. "We'll definitely look to bowl spin against them, but we have quality seam bowlers upfront also. We have Badree who is another spinner in the line-up so hopefully we will bowl well against England and have a good game," said Sammy.
The top eight teams compete in the Super Eights round beginning with the group one clashes between hosts Sri Lanka and New Zealand, followed by England and the West Indies. Pakistan play South Africa while India meet Australia in group two in Colombo on Friday. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-final with the final on October 7.

Sammy said the West Indies - who have not won a major event since winning the ICC Champions trophy in 2004 - have the self-belief to finally win a trophy. "The biggest strength for us is the belief in the dressing room that we could win this tournament and we left home thinking that. We have quality in the dressing room, it's up to us to go out and display that quality out there," said Sammy.
England captain Stuart Broad admitted the West Indies team posed a challenge. "We've played against the West Indies this summer [in England], we know they are a dangerous side and they had success in the Twenty20 format with some players who have done well but we are focused for the match," said Broad.
"It's important that you learn from the mistakes you make, so with that you need to talk about them, but you don't need to dwell on them. We have guys who have played spin really well at times so we just build on that."

World T20: Sehwag practices hard ahead of Aussie clash

Colombo: The doubts regarding Virender Sehwag's thumb injury were put to rest as the opener batted for about half-an-hour in the nets on Wednesday ahead of India's Super Eight encounter at the World T20 against Australia on Friday.
Sehwag, who didn't bat at the nets on Tuesday, was intent personified on Wednesday as he raced into the nets when his team-mates were dumping kit bags at the P Sara Oval dressing room.

Sehwag first entered the spinners' net and lofted Piyush Chawla repeatedly over the long-off. There weren't any signs of discomfort during his 25-minute stint at the nets.
For the Indian team, most of the batsmen were tested against short-pitched deliveries by their bowlers as well as by the net bowlers.
Right from Sehwag, Gambhir to Raina everyone was seen perfecting the horizontal bat shots. "The Indian coach was telling us to hit the deck consistently and try to get it up at the ribs. At times, we were told to bowl yorkers," Anjana, one of the net bowlers informed.
With Sehwag's comeback, there are clear indications that India will go back to their 'seven-batsman, four-bowlers' theory and either Lakshmipathy Balaji or Zaheer Khan will get the axe as Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan are automatic choices for this match.
While Zaheer has been in disappointing form for the past couple of months, Balaji has just made a comeback.
Manoj Tiwary is the only member of the squad who hasn't got a go-ahead so far in this tournament. While the other 14 have got a chance to play at least one game, the Bengal youngster - who has scored a century, a half- century and taken four wickets in his last three international matches - has not been drafted into playing XI for a single game.

Rod Tucker-Richard Kettleborough to officiate at Ind-Pak tie

Colombo: Rod Tucker and Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpires for Sunday's high-profile match between India and Pakistan in the Super Eight stage of the ICC World Twenty20 here.
The ICC Wednesday announced the list of umpires and match referees for the Super Eight stage of the tournament, with former Sri Lankan spinner Kumar Dharmasena set to officiate in two of India's three matches.
In the match between the two sub-continental rivals, Dharmasena will be the third umpire, with Jeff Crowe doing duty as the match referee.
The Super Eights will get underway with a doubleheader that will see the hosts take on New Zealand followed by a clash between holders England and the West Indies in Pallekele Thursday.
Dharmasena will have England's Kettleborough for company in India's first Super Eight match, against Australia on Friday.
New Zealander Ian Gould will be the third umpire while Sri Lanka's Madugalle of Sri Lanka will be the match referee.
In the inaugural edition champions' final game against South Africa on October 2, Dharmasena will be joined by Australia's Tucker.
Ian Gould will be the third umpire while Crowe will be the match referee.
Former India pacer Javagal Srinath will be doing duty as match referee in six of the 12 Super Eight matches.
Appointments for men's and women's semi-finals will be made in due course.