India and South Africa clash in World Twenty20 Group C
South Africa, India and Afghanistan are the teams drawn in Group A for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, and just two of them can progress to the Super Eight stage of the competition. Here we assess their chances.
South Africa
Chronic underperformers in almost every series or tournament where they are expected to achieve great things, South Africa can take comfort in the fact that India and Australia have been anointed as favourites heading into this year’s World Twenty20.
The talent in the Proteas squad is obvious as the almost-bare shelves in the team’s trophy cabinet: Jacques Kallis accumulated more runs than anyone bar Sachin Tendulkar in the IPL this season, and is recognised as the best all-rounder in cricket; captain Graeme Smith has won more matches as Twenty20 skipper than any of his international counterparts; while Dale Steyn is one of the most fearsome fast bowlers currently in the game.
South Africa were semi-finalists last year, and with the wealth of talent in their side can be reasonably expected to reach the same stage of the competition in 2010.
India
The third season of the IPL also served as an audition, watched by a worldwide audience, for a raft of Indian players who were looking to stake their claim in the World Twenty20 squad. What India will lack in the element of surprise will be made up for by the wealth of Twenty20 talent in their side.
Skipper MS Dhoni heads straight to the World Cup after captaining the Chennai Super Kings to the IPL championship. Don’t underestimate the impact Dhoni’s astute leadership had on Chennai’s success in both the semi-final and final of the IPL this year.
The explosive batting of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, who scored the IPL’s fastest century this season with 100 from just 37 balls, will combine with the noted batting prowess of Gautam Gambhir to ensure India is never short of run scoring options, while Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan lead the bowling attack. The loss of opener Virender Sehwag for the competition with a shoulder injury is a blow for India, but in in-form Murali Vijay be able to step up in his absence. And the list goes on.
It’s a squad that should take India through to the final in the Caribbean, and quite possibly win it for them.
Afghanistan
Don’t tell Afghanistan it might be worth checking out the best beaches in the Caribbean as they’re just here to make up numbers. They’ve earned their place in the World Twenty20 by winning through the qualifiers, and defeating Ireland in the final and will be taking a David and Goliath approach to their group.
There is some emerging talent in the team, coached by former Pakistan cricketer Kabir Khan, including all-rounder Mohammad Nabi whose spin bowling yielded more wickets than any other bowler at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers, and who last year became the first Afghanistan batsmen to post a ODI half-century.
It’s been a remarkable rise through the ranks of international cricket for Afghanistan over the past couple of years, but that progress won’t be enough assist them beyond the group stage.
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