WE CAN DO IT: DHONI

ON THE EVE OF HIS TEAM’S DEPARTURE, DHONI SAYS THE BOYS ARE WELL-EQUIPPED TO DEFEND THE WORLD T20 CROWN

Mumbai: When India won the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, just under two years ago, captain MS Dhoni sported long thick hair, an infectious smile and his eyes radiated hope and optimism. Twenty-one amazing months later, Dhoni has the onerous task of defending the crown.
A lot has happened since then. T20 has evolved and has emerged as the money-making monster that threatens to eat up all the other formats of the game. Cash-rich leagues have cropped up and batsmen and bowlers have got accustomed to innovation and dealing with pressure.
Something else has happened too. Dhoni’s hair is now thinner and dare one say greyer. His beard too has traces of grey. The media, who loved Dhoni’s direct and uninhibited style, now expect well-rehearsed and measured responses from the 27-year-old.
It was evident on Friday too as he addressed the media at a suburban hotel, just a few hours before the team left for England. Excerpts:
How do you rate the team’s chances?
Our team has players who are ideally suited to T20. We have specialist bowlers and the best part is we have part-timers who bowled really well in the IPL. They are all spinners and T20 has been good for spinners since 2007. The options allow me the chance to play an extra seamer if I want to. We are quite confident, but we cannot afford to relax and need to play to our potential.
Will the tag of defending champions drag the team down?
No. The IPL will help us here. The Indian players would have played more T20 games than any other side because of the four-foreigner rule. Our guys are more experienced. They have been thrown in different scenarios by the franchisees and that will enable them to deal with that pressure.
Concerns are being raised about the Indians being a fatigued lot…
If you are an Indian cricketer you get used to playing non-stop cricket. We, in India, have the kind of weather where we can play at least eight months in a year. I made my debut in December 2004 and have been playing non-stop. The important thing is knowing what to do and what not to when you get a break. The players are aware of that and they realize what they should do to sustain at this level for a long period of time.
There’s been a mystery over Zaheer’s injury. What’s the status now?
He is not 100 per cent fit at the moment. But he will get fit by the 2nd or the 3rd. We hope to have him fit by the first match of the tournament. (June 6 vs Bangladesh).
Aren’t you worried about the form of the opening batsmen?
Not at all. Both openers are very talented. It just takes an innings of 20-odd to get back in form. I don’t think they are completely out of form though.
And what about the reserve ‘keeper. Shouldn’t there have been one? What happens if you break down?
(Smiles, sarcastically). Hopefully, I won’t get injured. You need to ask the selectors why there is no reserve wicketkeeper.
Are you happy that India are placed in an easy group (with Bangladesh and Ireland)?
Weren’t we in an easy group in the 50-over format in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies? What happened? We lost to Bangladesh and were out. There is no point in thinking about all this.
From the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 to now, how has the T20 game evolved?
Batsmen have become more innovative and aggressive. Scoops over short fineleg and reverse sweeps to fast bowlers are strokes which you never saw before T20 came about. Captains too have begun taking chances like opening the attack with spinners. Basically, these are gambles. There are other changes too. Batsmen don’t look to hit everything from the first ball, they assess the conditions and play accordingly.
And what about Dhoni, the captain. How has he changed in two years?
I have more grey hair. My beard is greying too!

Kumble tips India to retain T20 title

Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that Test cricket is alive and well, despite the rise in popularity of the game’s shortest format.

“As far as I am concerned Test cricket is the ultimate. I have always looked up to Test players mostly for their skill. I’ve always wanted to play Tests ever since I was a child. Twenty20 cricket is hugely popular now, but I think Test cricket, and in fact all three formats, will survive,” the former India captain said at an even here.

Having steered the Royal Challengers Bangalore into the final of this year’s IPL, Kumble gave credit to the youngsters for their performance.

“When I took charge of the team (from Kevin Pietersen), I told my players ‘let’s go out there and just enjoy the game’. That message helped because we won the next two games,” he said.

ever, felt that they could have performed better against eventual winners the Deccan Chargers in the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. “I wouldn’t mind swapping the man of the match trophy with the IPL one. We were a just hit away from winning the title, we were so close.” He also said strategy breaks, introduced after The RCB skipper, how every 10 overs, helped the bowling side more than the batting side. “I brought on my regular bowlers and not non regulars immediately after the breaks for getting wickets.” Kumble also tipped India to retain their title at the World T20 Championships, starting in England on June 5, saying they had the most balanced side and the potential to emerge winners again.

“International cricket is such that you are responsible for your own fitness levels. And it’s the same with every team. But then the wickets and pitches are going to be almost similar to South Africa so it won’t be a problem for them to perform.”

TODAY’S FINAL HYDERABAD VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS JOHANNESBURG

TEAM HYDERABAD
LAST YEAR’S RANKING: 8

CAPTAIN: Adam Gilchrist. The Aussie stalwart has provided a degree of stability and innovative thinking to a side desperately lacking in confidence after last year’ debacle.

COACH: Darren Lehmann. A thinker more than a talker, the former Aussie middleorder bat has quietly but effectively overseen his side’s transformation into a force to be reckoned with.
RECORD: M-14, W-7, L-7

TEAM FORM: Barring a few hiccups along the way, Hyderabad look the most improved team this season. With an army of big-hitters and agile fielders to support potent, incisive bowlers, they look like a team that could go all the way.

DRAWING BOARD: Bat first and unleash Gilchrist on the RC bowlers. Symonds and Rohit Sharma will have to play crucial knocks.

X-FACTOR: Ojha’s leftarm spin can be troublesome.

KEY STARS: Symonds, Gibbs, RP Singh, Gilchrist

PROBABLE TEAM: Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Tirumalsetti Suman, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Ravi Teja, Ryan Harris, SM Shoaib, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS LAST YEAR’S RANKING: 7

CAPTAIN: Anil Kumble. By far the most inspirational skipper in the tournament, RC have lost just once under his leadership.

COACH: Ray Jennings. Took some time to get his plans into order. With his knowledge of South African conditions and wickets, he has played a great part in RC’s late charge.
RECORD: M-15, W-9, L-6

TEAM FORM: On a high after beating Team Hyderabad in their last match, RC will now have a psychological advantage over their rivals. The men in red have peaked at the right time.

DRAWING BOARD: Ensure one of their batsmen play a long innings. They will have to watch against complacency.

X-FACTOR: Manish Pandey. The youngster’s explosive hitting can derail their rivals.

KEY STARS: Dravid, Taylor, Praveen.

PROBABLE TEAM: Manish Pandey, Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Roelof van Der Merwe, Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher, Praveen Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, Anil Kumble, Vinay Kumar

KEY CLASHES

GILLY VS KUMBLE
This captain vs captain battle promises a mouthwatering feast. Adam Gilchrist exploded like a bomb in the semis against Team Delhi, and would surely be looking to do an encore in the final. Remember his blazing century in the 2007 World Cup summit clash against Sri Lanka? The only man who seems capable to stop Gilly is Kumble. The retired leggie is opening the bowling these days, and Gilly would surely look to go after him. How Kumble uses his variations and guile against a marauding Gilchrist should make for a fascinating contest. This clash may well decide the final. TAYLOR VS OJHA
Ross Taylor’s big-hitting at the crunch has been one of the highlights of this tournament. It is also one of the chief reasons why the Royal Challengers find themselves here. His unbeaten 81 off 33 balls against the Knight Riders was as good a knock as one gets to see in T20 cricket. Against the spinners, he has been ruthless, employing the slog sweep to deadly effect. Ojha, on the other hand, has been one of the more difficult spinners to hit. Can he deceive Taylor with his flight?
RP VS KALLIS RP Singh holds the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker, and rightly so. The left-arm seamer has threatened to taker a wicket every time he comes on to bowl. The onus on providing the early breakthrough will be on this Uttar Pradesh youngster again. Kallis has looked the part both with the bat and the ball. His solidity will be tested by RP’s probing, away-going deliveries WHAT TO EXPECT FROM BULL RING
BAT SECOND
Teams batting second have thrived. Off the six matches played before the second semifinal, teams batting second have won four times.
WINNING SCORE: 160+
With the highest score recorded in this tournament being 163 by Team Chennai, any team which can get a total of 170 plus can fancy its chances of defending it. Lesser than 150 could spell trouble as defending a small total at this venue is not that easy. Only Kings XI managed to do it but that too with great difficulty.
SPINNERS HAVE A SAY
The pitch has provided help to both seamers as well as spinners. Initially, it is the seamers who have called the shots. However, spinners have had their fair share of the limelight as can be seen in the performances of Shadab Jakati (4-24), and Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh, who claimed a hat-trick.
MORE 4S FEW 6S
Things have not been easy for batsmen who love to slam sixes on this ground. With the boundaries a bit longer than normal in the tournament, most batsmen have preferred not taking on the fielders in the deep. In the six matches played thus far on this ground, only 47 sixes have been scored at a match average of eight

RC CUT CHENNAI TO SIZE

Johannesburg: Lalit Modi may have first conceived the idea of a grand Twenty20 spectacle that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is, but one still has to wonder who is writing the script.
Last year, the team that wasn’t even considered an underdog, criticised for poor player-selection, accused of spending the least among eight franchisees, won the trophy. This year, two teams that had ended up as 2008’s wooden-spooners have done the unthinkable. Royal Challengers and Hyderabad last year’s No. 7 and 8 will clash in the final of IPL 2009.
The two IT cities have surprised the bookmakers which make this T20 extravaganza so exciting and, for the second year in succession, have ensured that anything is possible in this extremely unpredictable format.
It is hard to project a player-versus-player contest here. Will it be Adam Gilchrist’s willow-power against Praveen Kumar and Jacques Kallis’ new ball attack? Rohit Sharma’s finesse or Andrew Symonds’ belligerent hitting against Anil Kumble’s precision? This could also be a battle for youngsters like Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey competing with T Suman and Azhar Bilakhia. On the face of it, this could be anyone’s trophy. The atmosphere at the Wanderers can get quite intimidating when close to 50,000 spectators will fill up the stands.
On paper, Hyderabad definitely look the better side. The loss to Royal Challengers at Centurion on Thursday notwithstanding, they have a top-order boasting of some of the biggest names this format can think of. Even if one of these players — Gilchrist and Gibbs or Symonds and Sharma bats to his full potential, it will be enough to wipe out any opposition. Gilchrist showed precisely that in the first semifinal, cracking one of the best T20 knocks ever.
For Royal Challengers too, the batsmen have been at the helm in the last few matches. In fact, it has been at least one of the top-order men in every game delivering the goods. Ross Taylor did it in a crunch match against the Knight Riders when he struck a 41-ball 81 to take the match away singlehandedly from the opposition. Kallis and Utthappa demolished Mumbai in a partnership that was absolutely dominating. Virat Kohli has been consistent and Manish Pandey, of course, became the first Indian to score a century in IPL the other day.
Scoring runs, as aggressively as possible, will be the key to the game on a track that hardly has anything for the bowlers.

Ramdin gets a taste for ICC World Twenty20 glory

”We’ve got a good team going into the ICC World Twenty20”

Photos of Denesh Ramdin and England captain Andrew Strauss with the ICC World Twenty20 trophy available through Getty Images

High-quality audio clips from Denesh Ramdin available at www.icc-cricket.com

West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin got his hands on the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Trinidad on Saturday – and he enjoyed the experience so much he wants another go at it when the tournament reaches a climax at Lord’s on 21 June.

And the man who is standing in for the injured Chris Gayle as the home side’s captain when the West Indies plays England in a Twenty20 International at the Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday sees plenty of reasons why his wish could come true.

Ramdin and his opposite number for this weekend’s match, Andrew Strauss, posed for photos with the silverware on Saturday morning and afterwards Ramdin said: “Holding that trophy was fantastic, magnificent.

“I hope the guys can come together and play some great cricket and if we do then I can’t see why the West Indies can’t hold that in June.

“We’ve got players like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, some young players coming through like Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo’s back.

“We’ve got a good team going into the ICC World Twenty20.”

Success in the event for the West Indies would be in complete contrast to the team’s performance in the inaugural tournament in South Africa in 2007.

Back then defeats to the hosts and Bangladesh resulted in a first round exit but Ramdin said he was sure the side was moving in the right direction to avoid a repeat of that scenario in England.

“We played some good cricket in parts in the tournament in 2007 but it’s a case of putting an all-round game into play,” he reflected.

“We know we need to be more consistent and that’s what we did in the Test series against England (when the West Indies won 1-0 to regain the Wisden Trophy) so hopefully we can go out there, get everything together and go further this time,” he added.

The main obstacle to progress in 2009 will be the two sides in the West Indies’ group, Australia and Sri Lanka, both of them capable of being considered among the teams expected to be challenging for success come finals day at Lord’s on 21 June, as Ramdin acknowledged.

“They are two of the better sides,” he said. “They have got big names and it is not going to make it easy for us but we are capable of beating any side on any particular day.

“We will set ourselves goals so it will be a case of going out there to try and achieve those goals and if we can do that then hopefully we can hold that trophy.”

In favour of Ramdin and the West Indies is the fact the players have had recent experience of playing in England at the time of year when the tournament is taking place (early to mid-June) and they will also be coming off a two-Test and three-match ODI series against the hosts in May.

“The last time we were there at that time, in 2007, it was a bit cold so I think the guys are expecting that,” he said. “A lot depends on the day, the pitches, overcast conditions and things like that but we know we have got to get there, acclimatise quickly and play hard cricket.

“Everyone says it is a batter’s game but anything can happen. A bowler can come along and get you vital wickets, a batter can hit a couple of sixes to turn a match or even a brilliant catch can turn things in your favour.

“It’s on the day and anything can happen,” Ramdin added.

Photos of Denesh Ramdin and Andrew Strauss with the ICC World Twenty20 trophy are available through Getty Images.

High-quality audio of Denesh Ramdin is also available at www.icc-cricket.com

ICC World Twenty20 trophy facts:

• Designed and manufactured by Links of London
• Made of silver and rhodium
• Weighs approximately 7.5kgs
• Measures 51cms in height with a width of 19cms at the top and 14cms at the baseThe ICC World Twenty20 2009 sees 12 of the top men’s teams and the top eight women’s teams competing in a best-of-the-best event at four venues – Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton (women’s matches only).

  Each of the men’s and women’s semi-finals and the finals will be played as double-headers at the same venues offering great value to spectators and great exposure to the women’s game.

  India won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa when it beat Pakistan by five runs in the final in Johannesburg.

ICC World Twenty20 2009 – About the Event

The ICC World Twenty20 2009 will be the second time a world event for Twenty20 cricket has been held.

The event, which feature 12 teams in the men’s tournament and eight teams in the women’s competition, will be staged in June 2009 at Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton.

The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 competition took place in South Africa in September 2007.

The competition, which lasted for just two weeks, was a thrilling event which culminated in India’s dramatic five run defeat of Pakistan at Johannesburg.

There were many memorable matches, not least the tie between India-Pakistan in Durban in the group stages which saw the first bowl out at an ICC World Twenty20 event, Bangladesh’s victory over the West Indies and Zimbabwe’s shock defeat of Australia at Cape Town.

Schedule: ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009

Schedule: ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
India	Pakistan	Australia	New Zealand
Bangladesh	England	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Ireland	Netherlands	West Indies	Scotland
Group E	A1, B2, C1, D2	Group F	B1, A2, C2, D1

Date	Lord’s	Trent Bridge	The Oval
Fri, 5 June	Opening ceremonyEngland v Netherlands 22:00 IST
Sat, 6 June		India v Bangladesh 22:00 IST	New Zealand v Scotland 14:30 ISTAustralia v West Indies 18:00 IST
Sun, 7 June			South Africa v Scotland 18:00 ISTEngland v Pakistan 22:00 IST
Mon, 8 June		Ireland v Bangladesh 18:00 ISTAustralia v Sri Lanka 22:00 IST
Tues, 9 June	Pakistan v Netherlands 18:00 ISTNew Zealand v South Africa 22:00 IST
Wed, 10 June		Sri Lanka v West Indies 18:00 ISTIndia v Ireland 22:00 IST

Placement for the Super Eight stage is determined as follows:
The first two teams in each group are placed 1 or 2. They will retain this position for the Super Eight stage, irrespective of whether they finish first or second in their group, unless they are knocked out by the team 3 in their group. In this instance, team 3 replaces the position of the team they knock out.

Date	Lord’s	Trent Bridge	The Oval
Thu, 11 June		D1 v A2 (18:00 IST) B2 v D2 (22:00 IST)
Fri, 12 June	B1 v C2 (18:00 IST) A1 v C1 (22:00 IST)
Sat, 13 June			C1 v D2 (18:00 IST) D1 v B1 (22:00 IST)
Sun, 14 June	A2 v C2 (18:00 IST) A1 v B2 (22:00 IST)
Mon, 15 June			B1 v A2 (18:00 IST) B2 v C1 (22:00 IST)
Tues, 16 June		D1 v C2 (18:00 IST) D2 v A1 (22:00 IST)

The teams finishing first and second in groups E and F, based on points obtained in the Super Eight stage will compete in the semi-finals

Date	Lord’s	Trent Bridge	The Oval
Wed, 17 June	REST DAY	REST DAY	REST DAY
Thu, 18 June		Women’s semi-final A1 v B2 (18:00 IST)Men’s semi-final E1 v F2 (22:00 IST)
Fri, 19 June			Women’s semi-final B1 v A2 (18:00 IST)Men’s semi-final F1 v E2 (22:00 IST)
Sat, 20 June	REST DAY	REST DAY	REST DAY
Sun, 21 June	Women’s final 14:30 ISTMen’s final 19:30 IST Closing ceremony