By Sunil Gavaskar
T20 cricket is the most difficult format to predict in the sport. The ultra short format has so many twists and turns, it is like a roller coaster ride and keeps the supporters of rival teams busy either screaming for their heroes when they do well or scratching their heads when things go wrong.
Cricket is a batsman’s game and the laws have been made that way. The reasoning is simple: one mistake by the batsman can mean him going back to the pavilion, while on the other hand, even if a bowler gets clobbered for five sixes he can get the batsman out off the sixth delivery and stay in the game.
Speaking of sixes, the return of Yuvraj to the Indian team is one of the most touching and heartening events that has happened in Indian cricket.
The bowler who he hammered for six sixes, Stuart Broad, is now the skipper of the England team in this format, so it tells you how this young man also took that assault on the chin and has learnt from it and has risen to captain the side.
India play England in the league stage and that clash will be looked forward to by both players. Will it be Broad this time who ends up smiling or will Yuvraj wallop him again?
This is a very even tournament. Nobody can be called favourites and it is form on the day that matters and not reputation.
Pakistan beat Australia recently, but the Aussies came back by dismissing Pakistan for one of the lowest totals in the format.
South Africa and England played out a drawn series and New Zealand beat India in a thriller in Chennai.
Therefore the winning teams will go in with great confidence. The warm-up matches will have helped the teams acclimatise to the weather and pitches.
The home team, Sri Lanka, have a natural advantage of knowing the conditions and being used to the weather, which can play a huge role.
While there are no favourites, two teams need to be watched out for: the current number one Test team – South Africa – and the team that dominated the Test and ODI format for a long time – the Australians.
The Proteas have a new confidence and, with a lot of their players playing in the IPL, they have plenty of experience of this version of the game.
The Aussies have won everything at the world level except in this format and they are hungry for the title.
Another team that has a top array of hitters is West Indies and if Gayle and Pollard get going, it could well be mayhem out on the field.
India haven’t lived up to expectations after winning the inaugural event back in 2007. They have a good team, too, but could find that they concede the extra run in the field, which could make the difference between winning and losing, as was seen in Chennai a few days back.
It is a format that brings in the crowds as they get to see plenty of action and if the weather holds, this tournament will be no different.