Pre-2011 World Cup preparations - Indians to dominate the visiting New Zealand team (Part 1)
The 2011 ICC World Cup is right around the corner, and several cricketing nations are looking forward to making the most out of the little match practice left before the start of the grand 50-over tournament. Almost all the qualified
cricket teams which would be participating in the tournament are hoping to play more of the limited-over version of the game, rather than Test or Twenty20 cricket for that matter.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 so that their national cricket team could have the upper hand in terms of being familiar with the subcontinent cricketing conditions before the coveted World
Cup, which is also being hosted by three Asian countries: India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 is still not allowed to hold international matches in the country due to security concerns by the International Cricket Council.) The concerns are due to political
instability in the country and, not to forget, the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan visiting team.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori came to the subcontinent with a very optimistic approach, as he believed “there is some growing confidence within the team that we can win it but we know there is a lot of work
to do between saying we can win it and actually doing it.
"For the New Zealand team, to win the World Cup would be the ultimate achievement. I know the preparations are going pretty well. The fact we have been to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, we're going to Bangladesh soon and then we
play some one-dayers in India gives us the best preparation leading into such an important tournament.”
However, the Black Caps were crushed in the ODI series against Bangladesh by 4-0, and they are hoping of making the best of the three Tests and five-match ODI series against the Indians. The Kiwis are looking
to put behind the horrific cricketing display on Bengali territory and skipper Vettori is positive that the Test encounters would help the national side to erase the recent embarrassing international cricket played by his national team.
On the other end, the hosts of the Test and ODI series, India, are at the peak of their respective game in both cricketing formats, as they recently convincingly defeated the Australians in a two-match Test series
at home venues, and successfully secured the series 2-0. The Indians were also able to retain the number 1 Test-team status, as the Aussies dropped to the number 5 Test team in the ICC Test rankings.
India’s dominance in the 50-over format of the game is pretty evident as well. They will surely have more to offer, unlike the visitors who just have a lot to learn and observe about the playing conditions of
the region.
Dominating Indian side:
Another interesting comparison in the batting and bowling power of the two cricketing nations is that the Indians are surely a much stronger team in the two crucial cricketing departments. With names such as Virender
Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623, the Indians definitely look to be a better cricketing
side in the two international formats.
Not to forget, the Indians have had a tremendous run in the last two years, based on the performances of the above mentioned cricketers and their exceptional talent and skills in the sport. The Indian have the
required batting power and the fact that all of their batsmen average a minimum of 40.00 runs per match, and feature bowlers such as Harbhajan Singh, who is capable of turning the cricket ball either way with the same bowling arm action.
(To be continued)
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