Skip to main content

India bank on spin to blunt West Indies

Mumbai: The second World Twenty20 semi-final is likely to hinge on who emerges on top in the battle between the big-hitting West Indian batsmen and India's wily spinners when the former champions clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

World T20 - Complete Coverage

India, the world's top-ranked side in the shortest format, arrived at the sixth edition of the tournament with 10 wins from 11 matches in 2016 and were considered overwhelming favourites by fans, opposing captains and bookmakers alike.

But while an opening Super 10 stage defeat to New Zealand, who reached the semi-finals unbeaten, was a wake-up call, the home side's credentials came into question in a one-run win over Bangladesh, who lost three wickets in the last three balls.

Virat Kohli's wide blade was then called on to see off a stiff challenge from 50-over world champions Australia in a winner-takes-all contest to reach the last four, his masterclass glossing over some major batting flaws for the 2007 champions.

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have failed to build a solid foundation for the hosts and their opening stands of five, 14, 42 and 23 have put pressure on the middle and lower order to provide a bulk of the scoring.

Left-hander Suresh Raina's scores of one, zero, 30 and 10 have not been overly helpful either, and calls for the number four batsman's omission from the team have only gained momentum.

Yuvraj Singh's ankle injury in the win over Australia could open the door for Ajinkya Rahane to play at his home ground in Mumbai but the right-hander may be a little rusty, having not been involved in an international match for more than a month.

"You can't rely on one batsman, yes the others have contributed, but still at the same time, if we can do a bit more with the bat at the top of the order and the middle overs, I think we will feel the pressure slightly less," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the Australia triumph.



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/1LZynlW
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India withdraw Smith protest as boards make peace in DRS row

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier registered a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Smith looking to the dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision during the Bengaluru match. Despite the hosts winning the test to level the series at 1-1 on Tuesday, India skipper Virat Kohli alleged the tourists had indulged in the practice throughout the match, sparking a war of words in the media and a robust response from Australia. The boards released a joint statement on Friday saying the chief executives of both bodies had met in Mumbai on Thursday and agreed to try and bring the focus "back to the game" ahead of next week's third test in Ranchi. "India has always cherished a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pogba is one of best players when in form: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Leeds [UK], Dec 7 (ANI): Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised midfielder Paul Pogba, saying that he is one of the best players in the world when he is in good touch. "Paul is going to play when he gets his fitness. He is one of the best players in the world when he's in form and we just need to give him time to be 100 per cent fit," Goal.com quoted Solskjaer as saying. Pogba has endured a frustrating 2019-20 campaign to date, having only managed five Premier League appearances in total due to a string of fitness issues. He is currently recovering from an ankle injury and last played for the club on September 30 against Arsenal. Solskjaer had said that the France international will be out of action till December. "It might be 45 minutes in the first game, it might be half an hour, it might be 90. It depends on what game he comes back in and I'm looking back to get Paul back to where I had him about a year ago," Solskjaer said. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Virat Kohli and co. leave for West Indies

The Virat Kohli led Indian team left for the West Indies for the four-Test series starting July 21st. The team was accompanied by its newly appointed head coach Anil Kumble and other support staff. The 16-member squad will play a tour game against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 9 and 10. The journey begins. #TeamIndia leaves for the tour of West Indies. #WIvIND http://pic.twitter.com/ebK1jkoFiN -BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2016 That will be followed by a three-day warm-up fixture at the same venue from July 14 to 16. The first Test match will be held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua from July 21 to 25. The other three Test matches will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica (Jul 30-Aug 3), Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (Aug 9-13) and Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 18-22). When India last toured West Indies in 2011, the visitors won the series 1-0....
Post a Comment
Read more