Twenty 20 Blog

Finally, it seems, the ICC may have actually organised a tournament that retains its competitiveness and unpredictability beyond the opening ceremony. The Twenty20 World Cup has thrown up some great games of cricket and some real upsets: from the Netherlands beating England, to Ireland making it out of the group. And who could have predicted that the Aussies would be one of the first teams to be eliminated – we’re all still hurting over that one!!

So now we reach the serious half of the tournament, the Super 8 stage. With two groups of four playing off for a spot in the semi final, every run or wicket could be crucial…

The eight remaining teams are divided into two groups – group E and group F for some reason. Group E comprises South Africa, England, West Indies and India. The slightly less competitive group F is made up of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland.

No change in the betting

Despite all the trials and tribulations of the group stages, India have still got to be considered the favourites.

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The sun is shining (touch wood) and summer has arrived. This could be England’s biggest cricketing summer for many a year.

With the Ashes on the horizon, the newest form of cricket arrives on our shores for three weeks of pure action. England have home advantage, but how will they fare against India, South Africa and, of course, Australia when play begins on Friday 5th June?

England open the tournament against the Dutch. That should be easy, right?

Strictly speaking, yes. It is difficult to see anything but an England win in the tournament opener, against a far less experienced team. However, due to the short length of Twenty20, there is always room for upsets – to a far greater extent than other forms of the game.

Usually, I see these upsets as being great for the development of the game. On this occasion though, I am openly biased. England expects, and this means no slip ups on the first day!!

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Thanks to the continued success of the IPL, this year’s ICC World Twenty20 offers the opportunity for plenty of less established players to stamp their authority on the competition. By the time the winner is unveiled, in just under three week’s time, we may well have been introduced to the next generation of big-hitting stars.

Below are ten players that I feel are going to take the tournament by storm:

1. Suresh Raina – India

The Indian left-hander can lay claim to being the highest domestic run scorer of this year’s IPL – quite an accolade considering the quality of his compatriots. Having smashed his way to 434 for the tournament, Raina will be looking to inflict similar damage early on in the Indian innings. What makes him even more valuable to his team is his scintillating fielding. His team-mates will be looking to him to prevent runs, as well as score them in abundance. He could be a good bet for tournament high scorer, assuming India progress to the later stages.

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A majestic performance from captain Adam Gilchrist saw the Deccan Chargers book their place as the first team in the 2009 IPL final.

The Aussie legend hit a scintillating 85 off 35 deliveries, in what was an exhibition of aggressive batting. His match-winning performance, that included 10 fours and five sixes, put the match beyond doubt early into the Chargers’ reply.

Coming into the match, the odds could not have been more heavily stacked against the Chargers. They finished bottom of last year’s inaugural competition. Conversely, the Delhi Daredevils finished top of the table, going into the knockout stages.

The atmosphere at the SuperSport Park was tangible as openers Gautam Gambhir and David Warner took to the crease for the Devils, and the action did not disappoint. Ryan Harris came storming in to dismiss both men in the very first over.

With the Devils on the back foot, faith rested in the reliable figures of Virender Sehwag and Tillekeratne Dilshan. Both demonstrated their world class attacking capabilities, rallying to take the Devils to 83-2 at the halfway point. However, in the following over, Sehwag was given lbw after Andrew Symonds trapped him on his stumps.

Even with AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik on hand to assist with the run building, some consistent and disciplined bowling limited the favourites to a rather modest 153-8 at the end of the innings.

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