ID :
47398
Tue, 02/24/2009 - 17:57
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https://www.oananews.org//node/47398
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Weather, not opponent, keeps India worried
Joseph Hoover
Christchurch, Feb 24 (PTI) World champions India will
worry more about the fickle Kiwi weather than the composition
and strength of Daniel Vettori's team when they meet New
Zealand in the first Twenty20 cricket international at the AMI
Park here Wednesday.
The advent of autumn has seen the temperatures drop and
there have been sporadic spells of rain, which have offset
India's preparation for the match.
More than the Black Caps' resilience and home advantage,
it will be this cold-windy factor which could ruffle Mahendra
Singh Dhoni's all-conquering legion.
Given their streak of success in this format and the
plethora of talent they have in their ranks, India start as
hot favorites in the two-match Twenty20 series.
While New Zealand have two potential match-winners in
Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram, who was specifically included
in the squad to provide thrust to the not-so-powerful batting,
India have an array of explosive batsmen who can turn the
match on its head.
India have two explosive openers in Virender Sehwag
and Gautam Gambhir, who will be backed by the king of
Twenty20, Yuvraj Singh, who continues to flog the bowlers
across the parks as if he were batting in the backyard of his
Chandigarh home.
Then there is Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan, who is imminently
capable of clearing the grounds in New Zealand. Be it seam or
spin, they have the knack and chutzpah to scatter the field
and produce boundaries. Besides, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma
are batsmen who are capable of winning matches on their own on
their day.
If the Kiwis feel that the bounce in the wicket could
give them the edge in the bowling aspect, they would have to
deal with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who are regarded
as the best fast bowling pair in the world cricket. The pair
had devastated Australia at home, a trauma from which Ricky
Ponting is struggling to recover.
India's Twenty20 record is encouraging, in that they have
lost only two of their 11 matches played so far, losing to New
Zealand in the World Cup at Johannesburg and Australia at
Melbourne.
But whatever be their might, India would be foolhardy to
underestimate the inexperienced New Zealand outfit, which had
given a good account of itself in the just-concluded series
against Australia, wherein they drew the ODI series 2-2 and
lost the Twenty international by one run.
Coach Andy Molls has pinned his hopes on Daniel Vettori,
arguably the best left-arm spinner in world cricket, McCullum,
Oram, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliot and Neil Broom. But if the
weather does not play spoilsport, India certainly have the
spice and curry to bury the Kiwi challenge.
India coach Gary Kirsten has already made it clear that
his wards would not be unduly worried about either the track
or the weather here, for they are well prepared to adapt to
any situations.
"We are aware of what to expect and are planning for
that. Every wicket around the world might well be different.
You are not going to find two wickets that are exactly the
same.
"So we are not really focusing on the wickets. But we are
doing the work we need to do. We are looking to adapt to the
situations that we are confronted with. The team is
well-balanced and our seamers have done particularly well in
the last year," Kirsten said.
"Everyone's talking a lot about the wickets, but the
wickets I saw in the games against West Indies seemed to play
really well. It is not something that will concern us too
much," he added.
Teams (From):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Gautam
Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf
Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant
Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Pragyan
Ojha, Dinesh Karthik.
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (C), Neil Broom, Ian Butler,
Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan
McCullum, Iain O'Brien, JacobOram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee,
Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson.
Hours of play (IST): 11.30 am onwards. PTI
Christchurch, Feb 24 (PTI) World champions India will
worry more about the fickle Kiwi weather than the composition
and strength of Daniel Vettori's team when they meet New
Zealand in the first Twenty20 cricket international at the AMI
Park here Wednesday.
The advent of autumn has seen the temperatures drop and
there have been sporadic spells of rain, which have offset
India's preparation for the match.
More than the Black Caps' resilience and home advantage,
it will be this cold-windy factor which could ruffle Mahendra
Singh Dhoni's all-conquering legion.
Given their streak of success in this format and the
plethora of talent they have in their ranks, India start as
hot favorites in the two-match Twenty20 series.
While New Zealand have two potential match-winners in
Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram, who was specifically included
in the squad to provide thrust to the not-so-powerful batting,
India have an array of explosive batsmen who can turn the
match on its head.
India have two explosive openers in Virender Sehwag
and Gautam Gambhir, who will be backed by the king of
Twenty20, Yuvraj Singh, who continues to flog the bowlers
across the parks as if he were batting in the backyard of his
Chandigarh home.
Then there is Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan, who is imminently
capable of clearing the grounds in New Zealand. Be it seam or
spin, they have the knack and chutzpah to scatter the field
and produce boundaries. Besides, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma
are batsmen who are capable of winning matches on their own on
their day.
If the Kiwis feel that the bounce in the wicket could
give them the edge in the bowling aspect, they would have to
deal with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who are regarded
as the best fast bowling pair in the world cricket. The pair
had devastated Australia at home, a trauma from which Ricky
Ponting is struggling to recover.
India's Twenty20 record is encouraging, in that they have
lost only two of their 11 matches played so far, losing to New
Zealand in the World Cup at Johannesburg and Australia at
Melbourne.
But whatever be their might, India would be foolhardy to
underestimate the inexperienced New Zealand outfit, which had
given a good account of itself in the just-concluded series
against Australia, wherein they drew the ODI series 2-2 and
lost the Twenty international by one run.
Coach Andy Molls has pinned his hopes on Daniel Vettori,
arguably the best left-arm spinner in world cricket, McCullum,
Oram, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliot and Neil Broom. But if the
weather does not play spoilsport, India certainly have the
spice and curry to bury the Kiwi challenge.
India coach Gary Kirsten has already made it clear that
his wards would not be unduly worried about either the track
or the weather here, for they are well prepared to adapt to
any situations.
"We are aware of what to expect and are planning for
that. Every wicket around the world might well be different.
You are not going to find two wickets that are exactly the
same.
"So we are not really focusing on the wickets. But we are
doing the work we need to do. We are looking to adapt to the
situations that we are confronted with. The team is
well-balanced and our seamers have done particularly well in
the last year," Kirsten said.
"Everyone's talking a lot about the wickets, but the
wickets I saw in the games against West Indies seemed to play
really well. It is not something that will concern us too
much," he added.
Teams (From):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Gautam
Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf
Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant
Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Pragyan
Ojha, Dinesh Karthik.
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (C), Neil Broom, Ian Butler,
Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan
McCullum, Iain O'Brien, JacobOram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee,
Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson.
Hours of play (IST): 11.30 am onwards. PTI