Both sides look to hit their straps in decisive encounter
India can keep alive their hopes of making the World Twenty20 semi-finals with victory over a demoralised England at Durban on Wednesday
The Preview by Andrew McGlashan
18-Sep-2007
England v India, Durban, Wednesday September 19, 1800 local time (1600 GMT)
![]() |
![]()
|
India can keep alive their hopes of making the World Twenty20
semi-finals with victory over a demoralised England at Durban on
Wednesday. They should have won their opening Super Eight match
against New Zealand but came unstuck against Daniel Vettori. England
are left needing a miracle to qualify after falling away badly against
the Kiwis and have been found wanting despite bringing plenty of
Twenty20 knowledge with them.
Bat play: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir raced to 76 in
the first six overs against New Zealand, a record for the tournament,
but the middle order couldn't continue the good work. Yuvraj Singh,
who was in sparkling form during the one-day series against England,
hasn't fired in South Africa; however Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan
have showed their ability to clear the ropes. Pathan's return has
provided the all-round option India were missing in England.
Darren Maddy and Vikram Solanki finally provided a solid opening
stand of 62, but the remaining batsmen failed take advantage. Kevin
Pietersen gave his innings away with an ugly reverse sweep and two
big-hitters, Andrew Flintoff and Dimitri Mascarenhas, made one between
them. But Luke Wright was more comfortable in the middle order.
Wrecking ball: Left-armers Pathan and RP Singh have been
impressive, Pathan showing that he has rediscovered his late swing.
However, Harbhajan Singh has been the pick on his return to Indian
colours and will fancy his chances against England. Ajit Agarkar is
again struggling and knows he won't be playing against Australia in
the forthcoming one-day series after missing out on the squad.
Again England's early bowling was impressive against New Zealand with
Flintoff, Stuart Broad and James Anderson making inroads. They lost their way when the seven overs from Mascarenhas and Paul Collingwood went for 73. Flintoff appears in more pain every time he bowls.
Keep your eye on: Sreesanth. He made a mark during the Test
series in England, but often for the wrong reasons with a beamer to
Pietersen and huge no-balls. He gets hyped-up in the slower tempo of
Test cricket so it's a surprise he hasn't exploded in Twenty20.
Shop talk: It's not been a great few days for Collingwood,
losing crucial matches and being caught out at a lap-dancing club in
Cape Town. "The fact is I made a mistake, that's what it comes down
to, and what I need to focus on now is a big game on Wednesday for
us," he said. "We're getting so close to knocking the runs off and
then we lose an important wicket and that partnership we need at a
vital time we've just not been able to get.
Gambhir, who stood in for Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the press
conference, said India will still be wary of England. "There's no
psychological edge in such a short version. Whoever plays well on that
day will win. Even Zimbabwe managed to beat Australia in this
competition. We have to win both games and we will be looking to do
just that."
Pitching it right: The ball zipped around with a 10am start,
but this match is at the opposite end of the day so the impact of the
floodlights will be the important factor. Batting second isn't easy
at Kingsmead, but it is also the preferred way of playing Twenty20.
Teams
England (probable) Darren Maddy, Vikram Solanki (wk), Kevin
Pietersen, Paul Collingwood (capt), Owais Shah, Andrew Flintoff, Luke
Wright, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Chris Schofield, Stuart Broad, James
Anderson
India (probable) Virendar Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Robin
Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik,
Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Sreesanth, RP Singh
Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer on Cricinfo