By Anil Kumble
India are on a roll in the world Twenty20 and know a win today against hosts Bangladesh should assure them of a place in the semis. That said, MS Dhoni’s men will be wary of the Bangladeshis who despite their comprehensive defeat to the West Indies have proven to be India’s bogey team in past world championships.
And having begun the tournament in such dominating fashion, the Indians will not want to falter at this stage where a slip up could suddenly see them facing a must win final group game against Australia.
From what we’ve seen of India against Pakistan and the West Indies, it’s fair to say that they have looked the tournament’s most impressive team so far.
And, for a change, it’s the bowlers who have been the pivotal factor in their success. I’m of course referring to the spin trio of Amit Mishra, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who have been the standout bowling combination for me. We know the conditions have been extremely favourable to spin, but no one’s been able to exploit the conditions better than these three.
As far as the batting goes, Yuvraj Singh’s lack of form has been the chief talking point. I feel he deserves at least one more opportunity to turn things around.
To give him a fair shot of doing that, he should be promoted up the order so that he gets a little more time to knuckle down. Should he fail again today, perhaps then the management may have to take a call. What does aid his cause, though, is the fact that the team have been on a good run, and as we know, nobody really likes to tinker with a winning combination.
The day’s earlier fixture between Australia and the current holders West Indies should be an exciting one.
It’s a must win game for both sides. I was surprised to see Australia lose their way in the latter stages of their high scoring run chase against Pakistan considering the experienced players they have down the order in Brad Hodge and Brad Haddin. James Faulkner’s return from a knee injury is a welcome boost for the Aussies as his death bowling ability would’ve been missed.
The battle between Faulkner and Chris Gayle should be really worth watching!
TODAY’S MATCHES
Australia vs West Indies (3:00pm IST)
Bangladesh vs India (7:00pm IST)
