Skip to main content

World T20 preview: surprises in store again?

In its short history of seven years (and four editions), the World T20 has thrown up many surprises. Four different winners (each of them unfancied at the start of the tournament), with even England winning silverware. Australia have made just one final and have yet to win (but then it took them till the fifth edition to win the Champions Trophy too). Possibly the most surprising fact about the World T20 is that we're into the fifth edition but India are yet to host one. Given that their victory in the inaugural tournament led to the IPL and the face of the modern game changing, I would have expected a 1987 like scenario with the BCCI doing its utmost to host the championships but that has not been the case. Maybe the IPL brand needs protection in their opinion?

The latest version in Bangladesh will throw up plenty more to add to the list of the surprises I'm sure. Its been a pleasant change already to have a proper qualifying tournament between the lower ranked teams  as opposed to the long drawn out first group phase from the previous edition. The contests are much more even and the two qualifiers will truly have earned their place alongside the "big boys" for the tournament proper. Remarkably the groups of five are very similar to the second phase of the 2012 edition with only South Africa and the West Indies swapped around. Group 1 is seemingly the easier of the two with the real battle between Sri Lanka, South Africa, and maybe New Zealand. England look too far gone to provide an honest challenge and the qualifier will have had to win at least five games to get to the semis which seems unlikely. Group 2 would be called the "group of death" in footballing terms with the presence of three current and former champions in the West Indies, Pakistan, and India all of whom are equally capable of going unbeaten through the tournament or losing all their matches. Australia are the fourth but by far the most in-form team at the moment despite the loss of Johnson.

The squads haven't thrown up too many unknowns with James Muirhead, Moeen Ali, and Mohammad Talha being possibly the most unexpected selections though it remains to be seen if any of them play much of an active role. Interestingly six of the eight captains (of the top eight Test nations) do not lead their side in ODIs but only du Plessis and Chandimal are leading for the first time in a world tournament. Brendon McCullum too will be leading the Kiwis for the first time in a world tournament though he's got years of experience in the format itself as well as in contests of this nature.

Its all very wide open though given that teams don't play international T20s too often and that various domestic T20 leagues around the world have led to fewer unknowns/wild cards. And given my poor history of predicting results (here, here, and here), I wouldn't be surprised if what I foretell turns out to be the exact opposite of what happens. Nevertheless, for what its worth here's my view: Sri Lanka vs. West Indies in SF1 and Australia vs. South Africa in SF2 with South Africa to beat West Indies in the final. Happy watching!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Et tu?

As a single sport website, I think Cricinfo has brought about a revolution and the fact that they were bought by ESPN is testament to how highly valued they've become. Their editing and approach to articles/opinion has been refreshing to say the least and even though they seem to have had a lot of editorial staff movement they've usually maintained very high standards. Off late though, both in their headline styles as well as in actual content, there seems to be an occasional slippage of standards and an inching towards the modern media sensationalism which is a bit of a pity. This piece  by Siddharth Monga is a classic example. Granted that the last two press conferences by Dhoni and Sehwag  indicated clearly that the captain and his deputy did not agree on this aspect of selection but "discord", "dissent", "public sniping" feels rather presumptuous and heavy handed. Yes, it is a team sport but there is no reason why everyone on the team needs ...

Quick singles: Why the double standards?

I'm no fan of David Warner's but for once, I'm firmly and squarely on his side . Sportspersons are probably treated the most unfairly by public opinion (and often the media) whenever they are involved in pay disputes. "Oh, look these millionaires are complaining about not getting paid enough" seems to be the gist of the general reactions. I find this attitude inexplicable at best and grossly hypocritical if I'm feeling less charitable. Like the rest of us, all athletes have the right to fight for what they think they should be paid. That is the fundamental part. In addition (and unlike many of the rest of us), most sportspersons operate in the knowledge that they only have a short period available as a performer, and therefore only a short period to maximise earnings. Most people that I know would behave exactly the same as Warner and his colleagues are doing. So why all the hue and cry?

The Ashes part deux: series preview

While I admire the honest, outspoken style that Ian Chappell has in his commentary and writing I don't find myself agreeing with his views very often. This latest piece on ESPNcricinfo is an exception though. In what is a faintly ridiculous set of back to back Ashes series (to accommodate an ODI World Cup of all things), the build-up to the second round has been laughable almost. Anyone who hasn't followed the game for a few years might be forgiven if they thought that the Australian domination from the 1990s and early 2000s has continued and that they will win in a canter again. For a team that's lost seven of their last nine matches (and it should have been eight really), that's quite a good turnaround on paper (and digitally). The reality though is that unless they show a drastic improvement (especially in terms of scoring runs) and England have a bit of a shocker, its going to be well nigh impossible for Australia to win back the urn. Despite putting Buffoon Bo...