In their bid to arrest the free fall in the past few months, a desperate India under MS Dhoni would seek redemption when they start their campaign in the ICC World T20 beginning on Sunday, while Australia and Pakistan have credentials to be labelled as strong contenders. On current form, India, the champions of the inaugural edition of 2007 are certainly not the favourites to win the tournament.
Pakistan and a well-balanced Australian side would be seriously vying for the top honours in what promises to be a captivating three-week tournament. Defending champions West Indies would like to prove that their triumph in 2012 was no flash in pan while Sri Lanka will like to be third time lucky having lost two finals in 2009 and 2012 respectively.
New Zealand with their new-found sensation Corey Anderson will like to end their major Trophy jinx, something that even South Africa under AB de Villiers would also be aiming for. India last played a T20 International more than five months back and won that particular match against Australia by six wickets with Yuvraj Singh playing a blinder.
Much water has flown through the Ganges since that particular match on a Rajkot shirtfront with Indian team?s performance going from bad to worse. T20 is a different format but being beaten comprehensively in both Tests and ODI series in New Zealand is demoralising. Worse, they could not even qualify for the Asia Cup final losing to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Two and half months into 2014, India have only two international victories against minnows Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a record that would not make the team proud.
In this backdrop, India will start their World T20 campaign, a tournament where they have failed to reach the semifinal in the last three editions played in England, West Indies and Sri Lanka. It won’t be an easy task as India will face an ever-threatening Pakistan, a formidable Australia and defending champions West Indies in their group along with a qualifier who will join after the preliminary group league matches.
A fact that should worry the Indian team is lack of preparation going into the tournament as they would have to contend with a couple of warm-up games against Sri Lanka and England on March 17 and 19 respectively.
Policeman ‘forgives’ Akmal, lets him go for World T20
Karachi: A policeman has dropped charges of traffic violation against Umar Akmal to let him fly to Bangladesh for the ICC World Twenty20 and now wants the young Pakistan batsman do well for the country. Traffic warden Muhammad Zeeshan had filed a complaint against Umar for abusing and misbehaving with him during an incident in Lahore last month. ‘I have forgiven him as he is our national hero and I wanted him to go to Bangladesh with peace of mind. But I have told him he must perform well for Pakistan now,’ Zeeshan said. Police slapped several charges against Umar after the incident and filed a case against him in a magistrate’s court which gave bail to the player.
Pressure of India match will propel us, says Hafeez
Dhaka: Pakistan will start their campaign at World T20 with a high-octane clash against India but skipper Mohammad Hafeez believes the ‘pressure’ of locking horns against the arch-rivals in the opening match will act as a ‘motivation’ for the side.
‘I always say that an India-Pakistan match is full of pressure but you enjoy playing it. As a captain I am happy that it’s the first match and if you do well in such an opening match you obviously feel much easier in upcoming matches as far as pressure is concerned. Obviously you can’t take any team with lighter hands but in an India match, we would want to start off doing well. The element of pressure is actually a factor of motivation. It is always an extreme pleasure with the crowd response and we always enjoy playing against India and for the upcoming match we are very excited,’ Hafeez said.
Champions in 2009, Pakistan had finished runners-up in the inaugural edition in 2007. They reached the semifinal twice.
Pakistan and a well-balanced Australian side would be seriously vying for the top honours in what promises to be a captivating three-week tournament. Defending champions West Indies would like to prove that their triumph in 2012 was no flash in pan while Sri Lanka will like to be third time lucky having lost two finals in 2009 and 2012 respectively.
New Zealand with their new-found sensation Corey Anderson will like to end their major Trophy jinx, something that even South Africa under AB de Villiers would also be aiming for. India last played a T20 International more than five months back and won that particular match against Australia by six wickets with Yuvraj Singh playing a blinder.
Much water has flown through the Ganges since that particular match on a Rajkot shirtfront with Indian team?s performance going from bad to worse. T20 is a different format but being beaten comprehensively in both Tests and ODI series in New Zealand is demoralising. Worse, they could not even qualify for the Asia Cup final losing to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Two and half months into 2014, India have only two international victories against minnows Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a record that would not make the team proud.
In this backdrop, India will start their World T20 campaign, a tournament where they have failed to reach the semifinal in the last three editions played in England, West Indies and Sri Lanka. It won’t be an easy task as India will face an ever-threatening Pakistan, a formidable Australia and defending champions West Indies in their group along with a qualifier who will join after the preliminary group league matches.
A fact that should worry the Indian team is lack of preparation going into the tournament as they would have to contend with a couple of warm-up games against Sri Lanka and England on March 17 and 19 respectively.
Policeman ‘forgives’ Akmal, lets him go for World T20
Karachi: A policeman has dropped charges of traffic violation against Umar Akmal to let him fly to Bangladesh for the ICC World Twenty20 and now wants the young Pakistan batsman do well for the country. Traffic warden Muhammad Zeeshan had filed a complaint against Umar for abusing and misbehaving with him during an incident in Lahore last month. ‘I have forgiven him as he is our national hero and I wanted him to go to Bangladesh with peace of mind. But I have told him he must perform well for Pakistan now,’ Zeeshan said. Police slapped several charges against Umar after the incident and filed a case against him in a magistrate’s court which gave bail to the player.
Pressure of India match will propel us, says Hafeez
Dhaka: Pakistan will start their campaign at World T20 with a high-octane clash against India but skipper Mohammad Hafeez believes the ‘pressure’ of locking horns against the arch-rivals in the opening match will act as a ‘motivation’ for the side.
‘I always say that an India-Pakistan match is full of pressure but you enjoy playing it. As a captain I am happy that it’s the first match and if you do well in such an opening match you obviously feel much easier in upcoming matches as far as pressure is concerned. Obviously you can’t take any team with lighter hands but in an India match, we would want to start off doing well. The element of pressure is actually a factor of motivation. It is always an extreme pleasure with the crowd response and we always enjoy playing against India and for the upcoming match we are very excited,’ Hafeez said.
Champions in 2009, Pakistan had finished runners-up in the inaugural edition in 2007. They reached the semifinal twice.