ICC World T20 - Super 8 Group F preview

The story in Group F of the super 8 its more likely the same. Lets have a quick look at the teams.

Australia - *Ozzy desperate for T20 success*
Ex-world champions in every format of the game. Wait a minute.. not T20! But, they did beat the defending champs quite convincingly. Got the best pace attack and use SPD Smith and Puppy Clarke as frontline spinners!
Since 2 of their 3 super 8 games are in Barbados their weak spin dept may not affect them. Look good to cruise into the semis despite the loss against Zimbabwe in the practise match and sudden slump against Bangladesh in the previous match. Hunger to win in this format is bringing the best out of them.

Wah say, "Better late than never" No.1 finish

Sri Lanka - *Lanka living in the Past*
Very well balanced side but, seems to lack the ability to give the final blow when the opposition is weak. After Sangakkara the batting looks like crockery, looks good but the cracks cant be hidden.
Lankan attack sans Moorali will make life tougher, Slinga Malinga will have too much riding on him. Dilshan, Jayawardene, Sangakkara have their task cut out. Jayasurya needs to bat higher probably no.4.

Wah say, "Surprised?" No.4 finish

India - *Incredible India*
Will have to play out of their skins to restore lost pride after the humiliation that defending champs of '07 could not go past the super 8 stage in '09. MSD will look to senior players to play with responsibility. But when Yuvi, Bhajji are among them its Dooms-day!
Nevertheless, Indian contingent looks balanced. Should be able to give a fight. The road ahead is difficult and the journey still a long one. The opening pair is still in search of some calmness, the fielding needs to lift the game. Yusuf should be tried higher in the batting order probably ahead or Yuvi at no.4.
Praveen Kumar is injured and Umesh Yadav of the Delhi Daredevils is his replacement.

Wah say, "Thou shall fight on the beaches, Thou shall fight on the cricket grounds, Thou shall fight ... Thou shall never surrender." No.2 finish

West Indies - *Curry-Bean flavour*
The home team will have the advantage of knowing the conditions but, it comes down to performance and Windies look iffy at best. Good range of allrounders available for the captain in Sammy, Bravo, Pollard and himself.
Sarwan needs to click soon. Big-Benn will be crucial and how Gayle uses him. Rampaul is better suited in the dressing room and nowhere near the field.

Wah say, "If u play the perfect host.." No.3 finish

Zimbabwe beat Australia... AGAIN!

Its not the first time this is happening, a similar thing happened in SAF in the league match during the 2007 T20 WC. Brendon Taylor gave Aussies sleepless nights in the first edition. This time, the venue was Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Aussies would have loved to take revenge against ZIM , but not to be. ZIM batted first and were rocked by OZ full throttle pace attack. 4 wickets down for 36 after 6 overs Enter Chigumbura and Craig Ervine(B/O Sean Ervine)and they countered the OZ attack excellently. Chigumbura sent the ball screaming to every part of the ground.Watson and Christian were murdered. They bowled 2 overs each and their sum of 4 overs cost 63 runs. Phew!! Chigumbura scored a rapid 76(35) and was well supported by Craig Ervine 39(30). Mitch Johnson dint disappoint his fans,he picked up 4 wickets and Lee surprisingly bowled well.Zim set a target of 173. Warner and Watto took strike. Watto's poor run in the match continued and he departed early. Warner and Clarke then got off to a flier and tables started turning when they required 42 of 18 balls. Wickets fell in desperation of runs. It all came down to the last over when they needed 13 runs. Clarke, who steering their team to victory till then,was bowled by Mpofu. Johnson was run out immediately and Lee scored only 1 run of the final delivery. That's it !Australia lost by 1 run. It was party time for the Zimbabwe guys. Its a wake up alarm for the OZ. Guess, they took the match pretty lightly and it cost them badly. Warner scored 72(49) and Clarke scored 49(42).

IPL contenders – Part Deux

The list of contenders for the auctions is just getting stronger day by day. Especially now with the Pakistani players getting their visas approved from the Indian high commission and Lalit Modi enforcing that they have to go through the players’ auction once again. But, it remains to be seen which teams go aggressive during the bidding process. Today, we will discuss a few prospects for the Indian Premier League.

Mohammad Aamer


Ideally, he must be one of the top picks in this format of the game. After the success of Sohail Tanvir with the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL, many teams would be tempted to get their hands on the current sensation Mohammad Aamer. His consistency, discipline and charge that he carries are all plus points in his game. This lad can only get better from here and shud not be a very pricy deal. Whichever franchise get hold of him, have made a point.

Steam’s shot: HOT (worth if you get him cheap)

Michael Clarke


Now that Pup has been named the captain of the Aussie national T20 side, he seems to find the need for competitive T20 games a lot more and has announced his availability for the 3rd season of the IPL. But, it remains to be seen if any of the franchisee owners will spend big bucks for this star player, keeping in mind the limited budget and his contract will be valid only for this season, as fresh auctions will take place for the 2011 season onwards.

Steam’s shot: HOT pick but NOT likely (2011 perhaps)