A prelude to ICC Twenty 20 World Cup, 2012

Coming very soon is the season of exploding entertainment - a period of emptied evening streets and increased TRPs!

Half a century scored in a matter of dozen or more balls, 260 runs in 20 overs, six sixes in an over and more… All these can happen only here – Twenty 20 cricket. Slow and steady “never” wins the race. Hit & win is the only theme in this three-and-a-half-hour battle. For a team to be on the winning side the bowling department should hit the wickets and the batsmen should hit the ball to cross the boundary ropes. A single extra run, a minor mis-field or an inappropriate shot can change the course of the game and most of the times the winner will be decided only after the last ball. What else can be more exciting than this competition and being world champions in the quickest format? All players, divided for their country clubs, come back united to fight for their nation, stand as winners of the world. This is the most unpredictable tournament, where the most unlikely events turn out to be the happening ones. Hard work, quick strategies, excellent preparation and finally, a great team are the only ones that matter.

Sri Lanka is hosting the current and fourth edition of ICC world T20 – first Asian country to do so – the previous three staged in South Africa, England and West Indies. Nearly 30 games will be played in three stadiums – R Premadasa, Pallekele and Mahinda Rajapaksa. Till now, India, Pakistan and England have been the proud countries to lift the World Cup. ICC World T20 Qualifier winner and runner-up Ireland and Afghanistan will be taking part in the tournament along with 10 Test playing teams. The inaugural match is to be played on September 18^th and the final on October 7^th.

From an Indian point of view, we may not be the hot favorites, but I believe we do have a good chance of bringing home the World Cup for the second time. This season has turned out to be really good for us and the team has been consistently performing and winning. Adding to it, Yuvraj, the man of sixes, is back in the team after fighting cancer and every Indian is looking forward to see him play on the field. Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the player to watch out for. He seems to have all the power to change the game single-handedly and this is the time for him to prove himself to be the best in all formats of game. Irfan Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Ashok Dinda have earned good points recently but still have to prove themselves on bigger stages. And as always, we also have the master mind of Dhoni on our side.

All the Best Team India!! Let’s go for the glory!!