Confident India flying to UK today
National pride and prestige is at stake when our players play for their country. Our boys might be tired but have to prove that they are tried, tested and trusted! We wish Dhoni and company tons of good wishes for England World Cup beginning June 5.
AS TEAM India is all set to fly to England for the Twenty-20 Cricket World Cup, Indian cricket-lovers are hoping against hope that the country will again come back with the glittering cup. Our boys might be tired but have to prove that they are tried, tested and trusted!
While MS Dhoni and company looked all charged up this morning (May 29, 2009) on our TV screens, they must remember that playing for the country in the championship like World Cup is entirely a different ball-game – much different from playing in the Indian Premier League tournament– more or less a commercial venture.
India being the defending champions, have to double up their efforts to retain the trophy. Understandably, they would be playing under a lot of pressure – the pressure to perform, or perish. Yes, that is the modern buzzword. No wonder, cricket being the great business today, it also falls under the purview of recession-hit world. Simply put, a lot many businesses are at stake on modern cricket!
One hopes, our key players have learnt a lot from the just concluded IPL. A case in point is the dropped catches. India have to beef up their fielding department to curtail runs. As they say, catches win matches; a shoddy fielding can cost us the cup this time.
Same is the case with our bowling and batting. Though we have lot of seasoned players in both the departments, but they lack consistency. Skipper Dhoni is himself the example. He needs to pull up his socks to come up to the expectations of his juniors. On the other hand, Yusaf Pathan and company have to give more punch to their pace attack. Nothing short of a lethal pace will get us the wickets in England.
Same is the case with our spinners. Hopefully, Harbhajan Singh has learnt a thing or two from the ‘Sultan of Swing’ Shane Warne during his IPL experience. While we are not putting sort of any pressure on Dhoni, but cricket-lovers back home want something more from him this time.
Playing conditions, that is weather and wickets in England, are much different from those in India and South Africa. While it is good that the team is going there about a week in advance, our stars of yesteryears like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri can be great help for Dhoni for chalking out team strategies for a particular day in the championship. No harm in taking a word of advice in the national interest.
In a country where cricket is a religion of sorts, only a superb on-field performance can satisfy cricket-lovers in India. Come June 5, the people in India, and abroad, will start gluing to their TV sets during the evenings. So, it would be a great delightful experience to see our cricketers playing for their country, much different from IPL, which was purely a commercial venture.
India will play their first match against Bangladesh on June 6 (Saturday), at 10pm. The final is slated for June 21, the Sunday. Good luck to team India this time.
The following is the schedule. You can adjust yours accordingly. Happy viewing on your television sets!
There are four Groups, each consists three teams.
Group A
India
Bangladesh
Ireland
Group B
Pakistan
England
Netherlands
Group C
Australia
Srilanka
WestIndies
Group D
New Zealand
South Africa
Scotland
5 June 2009: England v Netherlands Lord’s, London
6 June 2009: Scotland v New Zealand Kennington Oval, London
6 June 2009: Australia v West Indies Kennington Oval, London
6 June 2009: Bangladesh v India Trent Bridge, Nottingham
7 June 2009: Scotland v South Africa Kennington Oval, London
7 June 2009: England v Pakistan Kennington Oval, London
8 June 2009: Bangladesh v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
8 June 2009: Australia v Sri Lanka Trent Bridge, Nottingham
9 June 2009: Pakistan v Netherlands Lord’s, London
9 June 2009: New Zealand v South Africa Lord’s, London
10 June 2009: India v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
10 June 2009: Sri Lanka v West Indies Trent Bridge, Nottingham
After these matches Super 8 will be formed, having two Groups, Group E and Group F.
Group E — A1, B2, C1, D2.
Group F — A2, B1, C2, D1.
Super 8 Matches :
11 June 2009: A2 v D1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham :
11 June 2009: B2 v D2 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
12 June 2009: B1 v C2 Lord’s, London
12 June 2009: A1 v C1 Lord’s, London
13 June 2009: C1 v D2 Kennington Oval, London
13 June 2009: D1 v B1 Kennington Oval, London
14 June 2009: A2 v C2 Lord’s, London
14 June 2009: A1 v B2 Lord’s, London
15 June 2009: B2 v C1 Kennington Oval, London
15 June 2009: B1 v A2 Kennington Oval, London
16 June 2009: D1 v C2 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
16 June 2009: D2 v A1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Semifinals
18 June 2009: E2 v F1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
19 June 2009: E1 v F2 Kennington Oval, London
Final
21 June 2009: WSF1 v WSF2 Lord’s, London
India being the defending champions, have to double up their efforts to retain the trophy. Understandably, they would be playing under a lot of pressure – the pressure to perform, or perish. Yes, that is the modern buzzword. No wonder, cricket being the great business today, it also falls under the purview of recession-hit world. Simply put, a lot many businesses are at stake on modern cricket!
One hopes, our key players have learnt a lot from the just concluded IPL. A case in point is the dropped catches. India have to beef up their fielding department to curtail runs. As they say, catches win matches; a shoddy fielding can cost us the cup this time.
Same is the case with our bowling and batting. Though we have lot of seasoned players in both the departments, but they lack consistency. Skipper Dhoni is himself the example. He needs to pull up his socks to come up to the expectations of his juniors. On the other hand, Yusaf Pathan and company have to give more punch to their pace attack. Nothing short of a lethal pace will get us the wickets in England.
Same is the case with our spinners. Hopefully, Harbhajan Singh has learnt a thing or two from the ‘Sultan of Swing’ Shane Warne during his IPL experience. While we are not putting sort of any pressure on Dhoni, but cricket-lovers back home want something more from him this time.
Playing conditions, that is weather and wickets in England, are much different from those in India and South Africa. While it is good that the team is going there about a week in advance, our stars of yesteryears like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri can be great help for Dhoni for chalking out team strategies for a particular day in the championship. No harm in taking a word of advice in the national interest.
In a country where cricket is a religion of sorts, only a superb on-field performance can satisfy cricket-lovers in India. Come June 5, the people in India, and abroad, will start gluing to their TV sets during the evenings. So, it would be a great delightful experience to see our cricketers playing for their country, much different from IPL, which was purely a commercial venture.
India will play their first match against Bangladesh on June 6 (Saturday), at 10pm. The final is slated for June 21, the Sunday. Good luck to team India this time.
The following is the schedule. You can adjust yours accordingly. Happy viewing on your television sets!
There are four Groups, each consists three teams.
Group A
India
Bangladesh
Ireland
Group B
Pakistan
England
Netherlands
Group C
Australia
Srilanka
WestIndies
Group D
New Zealand
South Africa
Scotland
5 June 2009: England v Netherlands Lord’s, London
6 June 2009: Scotland v New Zealand Kennington Oval, London
6 June 2009: Australia v West Indies Kennington Oval, London
6 June 2009: Bangladesh v India Trent Bridge, Nottingham
7 June 2009: Scotland v South Africa Kennington Oval, London
7 June 2009: England v Pakistan Kennington Oval, London
8 June 2009: Bangladesh v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
8 June 2009: Australia v Sri Lanka Trent Bridge, Nottingham
9 June 2009: Pakistan v Netherlands Lord’s, London
9 June 2009: New Zealand v South Africa Lord’s, London
10 June 2009: India v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
10 June 2009: Sri Lanka v West Indies Trent Bridge, Nottingham
After these matches Super 8 will be formed, having two Groups, Group E and Group F.
Group E — A1, B2, C1, D2.
Group F — A2, B1, C2, D1.
Super 8 Matches :
11 June 2009: A2 v D1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham :
11 June 2009: B2 v D2 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
12 June 2009: B1 v C2 Lord’s, London
12 June 2009: A1 v C1 Lord’s, London
13 June 2009: C1 v D2 Kennington Oval, London
13 June 2009: D1 v B1 Kennington Oval, London
14 June 2009: A2 v C2 Lord’s, London
14 June 2009: A1 v B2 Lord’s, London
15 June 2009: B2 v C1 Kennington Oval, London
15 June 2009: B1 v A2 Kennington Oval, London
16 June 2009: D1 v C2 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
16 June 2009: D2 v A1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Semifinals
18 June 2009: E2 v F1 Trent Bridge, Nottingham
19 June 2009: E1 v F2 Kennington Oval, London
Final
21 June 2009: WSF1 v WSF2 Lord’s, London
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