Skip to main content

World T20: sundry notes

At the start of this year's tournament I wrote about how I was expecting lots of surprises and the teams and players haven't let me down at all. Right from the qualifying stage to just before the final three matches, nearly every day of the competition has thrown up a googly or two.

++++++++++++

The biggest surprise for me has been that three of my semi-finalist predictions have come out right! The fact that the one I got wrong has turned out to be the Indian team makes it all the more pleasing. I'm not hoping for a South Africa vs West Indies final any more but if I had to put money on two teams it would be those. As a fan, I'd like to see India defeating the West Indies in the final. Either way, it should a fascinating end to the tournament.

++++++++++++

If somebody had said to me at the start of the tournament that three of the four highest wicket-takers in the group stage of the main tournament would be leg-spinners, I would have happily certified them. And not only have Tahir, Badree, and Mishra claimed the most wickets, they also have the best averages given that they've conceded only around a run a ball. So much for leggies being expensive then.

++++++++++++

The last five group matches saw four teams bowled out for less than 90. Two of them (England and Pakistan) had made 190+ in their previous innings and Australia had made 178 so they all scored half or less in their next. Kane Williamson scored 42 out of a total of 60 for the Kiwis. It may not be the most engaging format of the game but T20 is certainly the zaniest.

++++++++++++

Lots of strange team/squad selections. Why are Steve Smith and Fawad Alam not in the Aussie and Pakistani squads respectively? Why are Brad Haddin and Shoaib Malik in there? Given Sammy and Bravo's batting form, why do the Windies keep playing Andre Russell ahead of Ravi Rampaul? Why did NZ not even try out Ronnie Hira or Anton Devcich? Ian Bell? Seriously, England?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Of backward selections and England's future

A couple of interesting selectorial decisions recently by England and India (and actually as its turning out Australia as well!). For once I think the England selectors didn't panic and showed the right thinking by not picking either Key or Ramprakash for the Oval Test. And luckily for them, both Bell and Trott have performed well enough to vindicate the decision. India on the other hand have actually gone the other way bringing Dravid back to the one-day squad. I'm a bit ambivalent on that one. While the decision to leave out Rohit Sharma and retain Raina was certainly the right one, bringing back Dravid is questionable. It would have been a bolder decision to pick someone like Kohli or Rahane who both played really well in the Emerging Players Trophy recently, mainly because Dravid is quite unlikely to feature in the 2011 World Cup so why bring him back now? As for the Aussies, they will certainly be regretting not picking Nathan Hauritz for the Oval. A defensive decision if...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy New Year .....

....well almost......its only 2 months in to 2009 so I guess its not terribly late for the first post of the year :-) The end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 has been quite engrossing primarily because of the tussle for supremacy between Australia and South Africa. And its interesting how once again, the Aussies are showing that the biggest mistake 'pundits' can make is to write them off. But I am jumping way ahead. The series in Australia was a real cracker and it was great to see the Springboks actually delivering so well on their abilities for once and not choking at the big moments. And in Steyn, Amla, de Villiers, Duminy and Morkel they have some real stars in the making and should be a strong team for some time to come. Australia's struggles on the other hand were not surprising after their performance in India. The same guys, i.e. Hayden and Lee continued to underwhelm and with the inexplicable selection of Symonds made things worse for Ricky Ponting. They were a l...
Post a Comment
Read more

The final elusive pieces

Now that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has essentially announced his decision to stay on as skipper of the side till at least the 2015 World Cup, every ODI series India plays hereon is a stage for defining the plans and alternatives for that tournament. And none of them will be more critical than the current series against New Zealand given its the closest the team will get to play in conditions resembling that in the actual World Cup. A lot gets written about India's poor record in Test cricket away from home even though its improved hugely since the turn of the millennium. Their one-day record away from home is not outstanding either with a win-loss ratio well below 1 (though only Australia and South Africa are better). What is more concerning is the fact that Australia and New Zealand are two of the three worst venues for the team thereby making the title defence even more challenging. Their recent record and especially the win in the Champions Trophy certainly gives cause for hope ...
Post a Comment
Read more