Carnival In The Caribbean: World Twenty20, 2010

iSport Cricket Paddock: iSporter Aditya Vaidyanathan is excited about the ICC World T20 that commences tonight. He tells us what to expect from this not-so-talked-about tournament.

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The 3rd ICC World Twenty20 & 4th ICC mega event taking place within a span of 3 years. An overkill of the Twenty20 version is what comes to my mind looking at how the event is scheduled right after the Indian Premier League. The constant bickering about ODIs and Test matches not getting due importance does seem logical in the current scenario. The low buzz around the tournament can also be attributed to the IPL gate.

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 gets underway tonight when last year's runners up Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Talk of player fatigue, disinterest, scheduling though would be put to rest once the action on field begins. What's to be seen is how the WICB organizes the event and whether it eclipses all the glitches of the 2007 World Cup and puts up a fine show.

Pakistan; the defending champions' form and their new look team will apply all they have in a bid to retain the Cup and silence the ghosts of their tour down under (Aus-NZ, 2009-10). Shahid Afridi leading a relatively rookie team will have a major role to play if they're to get any closer to the title. Australia had virtually not turned up in the previous two editions of World Twenty20. They would be out to prove a point or two. After having dominated the ICC World Cup for over 10 years; Michael Clarke, and his team might want to stake claims on the ICC World Twenty20 championship too.

West Indies, led by Chris Gayle, have here the best chance to redeem themselves. With a strong, talented side in an unpredictable format like this; they can be a huge surprise element in this edition of the World Twenty20. Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo & the skipper himself are the most important members if the team is to surge ahead in the tournament.

I would give the tag of pre-tournament favourites to South Africa & India. Both teams look balanced though having lost one important member each to injury; Wayne Parnell & Virender Sehwag. MS Dhoni and his men must be eager to prove their credentials after their win in the inaugural World Twenty20 and a cold performance in 2009 edition. India’s batting looks formidable with the likes of Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvraj, the big hitting Yusuf Pathan, IPL heroes Rohit Sharma & Suresh Raina. Bowling too looks organised with Zaheer, Nehra & Harbhajan. Indians' vulnerability against short balls was exploited last time around; all the more reason they figure out a way to confront those tactics. (iSporter Jigar Mehta has penned a special poem for the Indian World Cup T20 squad).

With South Africa the equation is simpler. They simply have to kill the ghosts of the past and start afresh. In every big tournament their nemesis has solely been their ability to choke. They have a strong batting led by Captain Graeme Smith, and match winners in AB de Villiers, Gibbs, Kallis & Morkel. Bowling is spearheaded by fiery Dale Steyn & will be supported by the Morkels, Botha, van der Merwe & Langeveldt. Mark Boucher, the all rounder can’t be discounted either. His effectiveness behind the stumps and contributions with the bat will have a bearing on South Africa's fate.

Sri Lanka is another formidable side with a team which boasts of a fine mix of experience and youth. Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardena form the backbone of this team's batting. Angelo Matthews, Ajantha Mendis and Kapugedara are their young guns who are expected to put their hands up and perform when the team needs them the most. Bowling rests on experienced shoulders of Malinga & Murali, both of who've had a good run in the IPL.

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Most players from England & New Zealand did not participate in the just concluded IPL and might lack match practice compared to other well tuned teams; but that might even act in their favour as fatigue might have a role to play as the tournament proceeds. England has a good side which is capable of downing any team on its day. Pietersen, Morgan, Bopara & Collingwood hold the key to England's success in the competition. For New Zealand, the team relies heavily on Daniel Vettori, be it bowling or lower order consolidation. Brendon McCullum has to come good to relieve some pressure off his captain. They'd be happy with Jacob Oram & Jesse Ryder's return from injury. They are both capable of big hitting along with Ross Taylor.

This tournament also provides a fair platform to Bangladesh. This format suits them a lot. Players like Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mortaza must be eager to get noticed and take their team further ahead in the competition.

Most looked forward to is the Afghanistan team whose progress from Division 5 to being an associate team in the World Twenty20 has been no mean achievement. Their players are keen and are hungry for success and that’s been their secret to this uphill rise. They'd win hearts of many a cricket fan even if they manage a fight against India or South Africa. (Read iSporter Adam Bayfield's opinion on the Afghanistan Cricket Team).

Zimbabwe & Ireland might look like teams just filling in numbers; but they're here to play for a purpose. Zimbabwe, to come out of the abyss their cricket had fallen into in the last decade. And Ireland, to stake claims for test status and to build the team for the World Cup 2011.

Many teams will use spinners in the powerplay overs. Use a lot of slow bowling options in the middle overs. Variety will be the order of the day; bowlers won’t shy from using the cutters & the slower ones from the very first over in a bid to baffle the batsmen. Batsmen will play every shot in the book and innovate daring ones to get into the bowlers skin and unsettle his rhythm. The game of one-upmanship between the Batsman & the Bowler is what this format is all about.

This tournament means business. No captain gets discounted after a loss saying Twenty20 is fun cricket. This is a format where even the favourites tag too doesn’t count as one mistake on the field can take the game away as we witnessed on more than one occasion in the IPL. Any of the top eight nations can win the tournament if things go their way. A moment of indecision or negativity can prove costly. All what matters here is a lot of guts, presence of mind, ability to take a risk & absolutely quick decision making. Hoping there truly is a carnival of cricket that takes place in the Caribbean with some fascinating cricketing moments worth remembering for a while to come.