IPL experience will benefit India in T20 WC: Manjrekar

Former Test batsman Sanjay Manjrekar feels the experience of playing high-pressure matches in the IPL will stand the Indian players in good stead during the upcoming World Twenty20 Championship commencing on June 5 in England.

''There is nothing like match practice getting into a tournament like the ICC World T20 and India have had a lot of match practice. I also believe that India are the strongest team in the competition because of individual ability of each player and experience in this form of the game. This is beacuse of the sudden surge of T20 interest in India and the IPL,'' Manjrekar wrote in his coloumn in 'espnstar.com'.

''In the last three to four years, the Indian team has changed in nature. Earlier in the 1990's, the team depended heavily on a couple of players to win matches but with the unpredictable nature of the Twenty20 format, you need more than two or 3 match winners and that is where India's strength is. Now there are at least eight players out of a 11 who can win you matches single handedly,'' he added.

With several young Indian players coming out with standout performances during the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Manjrekar feels Team India stand a strong chance of defending their World Twenty20 crown.

''The emergence of Suresh Raina is also vital. He wasn't as dangerous a player in the last World T20 as he is this time round.

''I get the feeling he himself has been surprised by discovery of a new facet in his batting. The big hitting,'' he stated.

''Then there is Pragyan Ojha, who is such a handy bowler to have in the side. A spinner who wants to make difference to the side by taking wickets and not just bowl his quota of overs without incident. His grown confidence has added to India's ability as a T20 team.

''Furthermore, RP Singh's performance is good news for India. His body language looked great in the IPL and with his tail up he will enjoy bowling in England,'' he added.

The 43-year-old former right-handed batsman also praised skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership qualities for India's success in the shortest format of the game.

''MS Dhoni's calm leadership is also critical. We have seen how much leadership plays a part in the success of teams in the T20.

India's leadership is what also makes India a top T20 team and worth defending champions,'' Manjrekar opined.

''Because of the unique fan following of the game in India and with it the abnormal expectation, India is getting accustomed to generally handling pressure. Also having played many high profile matches and series in the recent past, This Indian team is also now more used to playing in the big matches than some of the other top teams.'' However, the former middle-order batsman sounded a word of caution, warning that the abundance of talent in the squad is no guaratee that India will emerge T20 world champions yet again.

''Finally and most importantly having raved about India's qualities as they go into defending the title does not mean that they will. From the short history of T20 we have seen so far that all decent teams have a great shot at winning,'' he warned.

''It's a high risk sport and more things are out of your control in T20 game than a 50 over game or a Test match. So because 'you have a very good team you have great shot at the title' is a logic that would apply the least here.''

Why India will win the ICC World Twenty20

India are the favourites to win the ICC World Twenty20, and with good reason. They have the match-winners, strength in depth and mentality to succeed, and as holders, know what is required to go all the way.

India have some of the best Twenty20 players in their ranks. Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag are three of the biggest hitters in world cricket, meaning they are ideally suited to the format. Sehwag’s relatively poor record in Twenty20 cricket should be corrected in England.

Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan are also capable of scoring quickly in different ways, whilst the bowling is well-covered in all areas, with RP Singh and Harbhajan Singh likely to be key performers.

However, India’s main advantage over their rivals is their experience. All 15 members of their squad featured prominently in the recent Indian Premier League, meaning their techniques are well-grooved in Twenty20 cricket . The batsmen are used to the need to score quickly from the outset and the bowlers should have the necessary variations to hand.

The scale of this advantage can be measured by the number of IPL games each squad has played between them. India’s 15 players have featured in 390 IPL games over the last two years. South Africa have had 12 participants playing 190 matches and Sri Lanka 10 playing 157 matches.

The major teams with the least exposure to IPL cricket are England, with 18 matches spread between six players, and West Indies, who have had six players involved in 40 matches between them.

The pressurised, high-profile nature of the IPL is the perfect preparation for the World Twenty20, especially as it provides the participants with regular exposure to the best players in the world.

Anything can happen in Twenty20 cricket, but India have given themselves the best chance of being the ones to do it.

Team India needs to guard against complacency

The Indian cricket team needs to watch out for an unfamiliar enemy in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 World Cup- complacency. They have never before entered a World Cup as clear favourites. Not even in 1987 when they were the defending champions and ultimately lost in the semis at Mumbai to the Englishmen. In fact the Indian team looks much stronger than in 2007 when they emerged champions, but had some modest players in their ranks.

On paper they look remarkable this time, with a batting line up that reads- Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Rohit, Pathan and Pathan. No other team, not even Australia or South Africa, can boast of such batting firepower in this World Cup. Each of India’s top eight batsmen has the ability to clear the field by some distance, the only question being who hits the longest sixes. In that department, Yusuf Pathan is probably the winner, closely followed by Sehwag, Raina, Dhoni and Yuvraj, in no particular order!

India’s bowling looks robust too, with RP Singh having grabbed the Purple Cap in the just concluded IPL, and also having bowled the maximum number of dot-balls in that tournament. Irfan Pathan bowled superbly in the IPL too, and picked up a bagful of wickets. Ishant Sharma bowled well in the warm-up game against the Kiwis and though India lost that match by 9 runs, they can take heart from the form of their spinners too- Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha were quite impressive. If Zaheer Khan is fit, then India’s bowling would test the very best. They also have an embarrassment of riches in the batting-all rounders department, with Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma all proving to be capable spinners of the ball.

Their fielding looks impressive too, with only a few of the bowlers being somewhat slow in the outfield. Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina are absolute dynamite in the inner circle. While the Indians garnered invaluable practice during the IPL, top players of teams like New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa benefitted immensely from the event too. In fact the South Africans are second-favourites given their all round skills and the form that their batsmen are in. Their fielding is still the world’s best, even though the Kiwis and the Aussies run them close in that area. The experience of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Graeme Smith coupled with the firepower of Dale Steyn and Albie Morkel makes them a formidable line up.

The Australians are probably next in the list of likely winners. They can never be counted out as potential champions and have the ability to raise their game in World Cups. Ricky Ponting still has a point or two to prove in this format, while Michael Hussey and his brother David, along with Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds lend them some real class in the middle order.

Sri Lanka are next, and have in Mahela Jayawardene, skipper Kumar Sangakarra and old war horse Sanath Jayasuriya, three of the most attacking batsmen in world cricket. The bowling looks a little suspect though, despite the presence of the slingy Lasith Malinga and the ever potent Muthiah Muralitharan in their ranks.

New Zealand could well be the dark horse of ICC World T-20 2009. They have always been under estimated by opposing teams and the media at major cricketing events. In Ross Taylor they have one of the finest batsmen in the world today. Brendon McCullum.

Jesse Ryder and Jacob Oram add some serious hitting-power to their batting. Daniel Vettori is not only a wily spinner but also a cool captain.

Last time’s losing finalists Pakistan are inhibited by lack of international exposure, of late. England would enjoy home advantage but are missing Freddie Flintoff. Skipper Paul Collingwood remains their best player in this format along with the mercurial Kevin Pietersen. Their bowling is their strength, with some good seamers in the side, led by Stuart Broad.

The Windies are looking below par too, as they go into the tournament. Despite having come off a Test and ODI series in England recently, and having an edge over other visiting teams in terms of the need to acclimatize to conditions, they would need some remarkable performances from Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.

It is extremely difficult to predict anything that has to do with T-20 cricket. Nevertheless, the ICC World Twenty20 World Cup in England would be won by the team that combines a large amount of flair with confident execution of plans, and also holds its catches. Some nail-biting action is in store for sure.

ICC Twenty20 World Cup Winners Predictions

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Winners - Vote Here

12 teams divided into 4 groups (each group with 3 teams) are the fixtures for ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England 2009. Following are the groups and teams under each group.

Group A – India (A1), Bangladesh (A2) and Ireland

Group B – Pakistan (B1), England (B2) and Netherlands

Group C – Australia (C1), Sri Lanka (C2) and West Indies

Group D – New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2) and Scotland

Super 8:

Group E –A1, B2, C1 and D2

Group F – A2, B1, C2, and D1

Watch ICC World T20 Live Streaming

While all cricket fans anger to enjoy ICC T20 World Cup 2009, The next ICC T20 cricket world cup live match will be aired on Star Cricket Channel a power of ESPN in England.

While DD(Doordarshan) will be shown only India’s match including semi-final and final match of T20 World cup. DD has its own clarification panel. They will present commentary in Hindi both on Star Cricket and Doordarshan. Hindi commentary will be given by Sunil Vaidya on Doordarshan.

ESPN also broadcast the warm matched which have already started. They will broadcast live all Ten warm-up matches.

It has a big group of commentators including Nasser Hussain , Wasim Akram, Alan Wilkins, Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Chappell, Simon Doull, David Lloyd, Kepler Wessels, Ranil Abeynayake, Athar Ali Khan , Ian Bishop and Jeremy Coney.

While Manjrekar and Bhogle are hosted of Star Cricket TV for ‘Cricket Extra’ and will be showing before and after match show

Here are a list to TV channels broadcasting T20 world cup 2009 live:

* India — ESPN (Live) - English

* India — STAR Cricket (Live) - Hindi

* Canada — Asian Television Network -ATN (Live)

* South Africa — Supersport (Live)

* United States — DirecTV (Live)

* Australia — Fox Sports (Live)

* Australia — Nine Network

* Europe — Eurosport2 (Live)

* Middle East —Arab Digital Distribution (Live)

* New Zealand — SKY Network Television (Live)

* Pacific Islands — Fiji TV

* Pakistan — Pakistan Television Corporation - PTV (Live)

* Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (Live)

* United Kingdom — Sky Sports (Live)

Twenty Things about the ICC World Twenty20

1. Yep, it was those old fuddy-duddy incompetents at the ECB that invented the game – or rather, took a form of the game well known in recreational cricket and honed it and marketed it for the professionals.
2. It’s the ICC World Twenty20 and not the World Twenty20 or the Twenty20 World Cup… and God save anyone from the wrath of the ICC if they forget it.
3. Slow bowlers – we’ll see plenty, including a lot who can bowl fast but will bowl it from the back of the hand or the side of the hand or with split fingers. The day is coming when all 20 overs will be bowled by slow bowlers, some of whom may be spinners.
4. Look out for David Hussey wanabees. Maybe not at this ICC World Twenty20, but possibly at the next, countries will select eleven players who aim to bowl darts that deliver 4-0-25-1, field like dervishes and smack 40 off 25 balls. Eleven David Husseys is not a pleasant thought, but they are coming.
5. Pre-meditating cross-bat slogs to straight balls doesn’t work on English pitches and will get you out.
6. Fast men and slow men are both liabilities at the death. You can’t let batsmen make the length too easily (against the slow men) nor have edges fly too quickly to the boundary (against the fast men). Mr Dibbly and Mr Dobbly at 120kmh are ideal death men.
7. We know that the ICC Committee men like what London’s restaurants and hotels have to offer – two out of three tournament venues in the capital is a snub to a nationwide T20 fan base.
8. The best batsmen will come charging in at the fall of the wicket and the best bowlers will hurry back to their mark and chivvy the batsmen on. T20 is about tempo and the side that has it will win more often than not.
9. Boundaries will be brought in – a shame, as a boundary catch is one of cricket’s finest sights.
10. Yes, despite the recession, what you can see and hear is a bunch of bankers and stockbrokers still in suits, but with ties loosened, swigging champagne.
11. The empty seats in the Lord’s Pavilion are reserved for MCC members many of whom don’t care for this sort of thing – and no, you can’t sit there.
12. “From this angle it does look like a clean catch, but from the other, it didn’t”.
13. “The appeal system would surely have reprieved him with that thick inside edge”.
14. “Yuvraj, who hit England’s Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over”.
15. “We apologise for that audible obscenity through the stump mic”.
16. Twenty20 is a family game – or it was until the families saw the price of the tickets.
17. “Many of this crowd will have bought tickets expecting to see England play Australia”.
18. The women’s semi-finals and final will be played before the corresponding men’s fixtures – with England the red hot favourites!
19. “This one’s going to go to the wire”.
20. “And we’ll meet again in 2011 to see if X can defend their trophy in er… where’s it going to be?”

ICC World Cup T20 Schedule

ICC 20-20 World Cup 2009 Schedules | ICC World Twenty20 2009 Time Table and Team Fixtures.

The next 20-20 world cup of 2009 to be planning in England by The International Cricket Council.

In the Last Season of T20 World Cup of 2009, India had won the same tournament.

In the upcoming season of ICC T20 World Cup 2009, 12 teams are going to participates for the tournament and all the teams are divides in the four groups as given Below :

• Group A : India, Bangladesh, Ireland
• Group B : Pakistan, England, Netherland
• Group C : Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies
• Group D : South Africa, New Zealand, Scotland

The ICC T20 World Cup 2009 will be starts from Friday, June 5, 2009 and the first match is between the teams England and Netherlands, which are from Gruop B at London and the same match is Day night.

The same tournament ends on Sunday, June 21, 2009 with the Final match, which helds at London.

Full schedule of the T20 World cup 2009 as Under :

Date	Teams	Type	Venue
05, June 2009	England v Netherlands	D/N	London
06, June 2009	New Zealand v Scotland	Day	London
06, June 2009	Australia v West Indies	Day	London
06, June 2009	India v Bangladesh	D/N	Nottingham
07, June 2009	South Africa v Scotland	Day	London
07, June 2009	England v Pakistan	D/N	London
08, June 2009	Bangladesh v Ireland	Day	Nottingham
08, June 2009	Australia v Sri Lanka	D/N	Nottingham
09, June 2009	Pakistan v Netherlands	Day	London
09, June 2009	New Zealand v South Africa	D/N	London
10, June 2009	Sri Lanka v West Indies	Day	Nottingham
10, June 2009	India v Ireland	D/N	Nottingham
Twenty20 World Cup 2009 - Super Eight
Date	Teams	Type	Venue
11, June 2009	D1 v A2	Day	Nottingham
11, June 2009	B2 v D2	D/N	Nottingham
12, June 2009	B2 v D2	Day	London
12, June 2009	A1 v C1	D/N	London
13, June 2009	C1 v D2	Day	London
13, June 2009	D1 v B1	D/N	London
14, June 2009	A2 v C2	Day	London
14, June 2009	A1 v B2	D/N	London
15, June 2009	B2 v C1	Day	London
15, June 2009	B1 v A2	D/N	London
16, June 2009	D1 v C2	Day	Nottingham
16, June 2009	D2 v A1	D/N	Nottingham
Twenty20 World Cup 2009 - Semi Final
Date	Teams	Type	Venue
18, June 2009	1st Semi-Final	Day	Nottingham
19, June 2009	2nd Semi-Final	D/N	London
Twenty20 World Cup 2009 - Final
Date	Teams	Type	Venue
21, June 2009	Final	Day	London