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T20, brief and violent, is the perfect stage for these slashers to set the serene Sri Lanka on fire
davis cup day3
Hesh, Bops get the stick, Paes wriggles out due to ‘emotional drain’
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T20, brief and violent, is the perfect stage for these slashers to set the serene Sri Lanka on fire
These are the men who will rule the world of Twenty20 cricket over the next two weeks. The list is alarmingly lopsided in favour of batsmen, and not without reason. Twenty20 is a batsman's game, the bowler being reduced to just a bit player in this violent drama, more WWE than just cricket. Even a bowler of the class of Dale Steyn could be treated like a tyro trundler from the village green. The poor bowler, in fact, could be replaced by a bowling machine and nobody would notice — the crowd is in the ground or the viewers glued to the TV screen only to watch total annihilation of the bowler.
And, as the organisers of the T20 World Cup give the turf a final shave and the stadiums a final wipe, these cricketers get ready to fire. They are the men who are going to set the tear-drop-shaped island afire with their bold, belligerent, destructive batting. No mercy for the bowler, except perhaps a crafty customer called Saeed Ajmal. — TNS
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Sanam shines as India complete Kiwi whitewash
Deepankar Sharda/TNS
Chandigarh, September 16 In the reverse singles matches, Yuki Bhambri defeated Jose Statham 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) while Sanam recorded a 6-4, 6-1 win over Artem Sitak. Unlike the first two days, play started on time. After his stupendous show on the first day, Bhambri was expected to beat Statham with ease but it turned out to be a two hour, 41-minute fight. Statham won the first set comfortably 6-2 and was cruising in the second till 12 game when Yuki hit an forehand inside out winner after three break points. In the third and deciding set Statham was up 4-2 but was pegged back in the eighth game as he dropped the serve on fifth breakpoint. Yuki too was not flawless as he failed to convert a match point in the twelth game but sent down two winners eventually to pocket the reverse singles tie.It was second come-from-behind victory for Yuki as he had erased a two-set deficit in the opening singles. Yuki also battled cramps towards the end but hung on to eke out the win. Many a times he was in an advantageous position but could not deliver the knockout punch. In contrast, Chandigarh lad Sanam closed out the match in two sets. Barring a double fault in the sixth game of the first set, which made him drop serve for the first time in the match, Sanam was clinical in his approach. He dominated the proceedings with relative ease and never looked in trouble. “Motivation was not a problem. Once I won that first set, I just ran through the second," said Sanam. The Chandigarh player said, “I was born and brought up here. It's hotter than ever, specially in September. More than the heat, it is humidity." Sanam is still struggling to find a sponsor. I had signed up with Globosport but could not get any sponsor. I am on my own. The government help during the Olympics helped me a lot.” India's non playing captain SP Mishra was not too happy with Yuki's approach and said the youngster was not focused. "Strangely, he was not focussed. He was playing well only in patches,” Misra said after India whitewashed the Kiwis 5-0. However, he was not too worried with inconsistency of the 20-year old, and hoped that he would come back strongly. “He looked solid against Uzbekistan. May be mentally, being the number one player, troubled him. But he will come around, I am sure.”
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Hesh, Bops get the stick, Paes wriggles out due to ‘emotional drain’
Chandigarh, September 16 While Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna have not been handed a 'ban' as such, they have been effectively sidelined for the national duty till June 2014 for declining to play with Leander Paes. However, Paes has been absolved of any wrongdoing. Paes was 'emotionally drained' and had sought an AITA exemption from playing in the Davis Cup due to the turmoil; hence he wriggled out of the mess. AITA secretary general Bharat Oza covered up for the veteran by saying that he was not “mentally prepared to face the media scrutiny again by appearing at the Davis Cup”. “AITA is not in a position to impose a ban on any player. It's a kind of disciplinary action to send across a message to the players who aspire to play for India that we will not tolerate this,” he said. Confusing as it may be, but there’s more confusion in the AITA rules — no time-frame is stipulated in its constitution. Oza admitted, “We do not have a code of conduct where it is mentioned that a player can be punished for so and so period. We are formulating it and will come up in two-three months. AITA has some rules and regulations which say that action can be taken against a player.” Having said all this, Oza had the cheek to say that the AITA does not apply different yardsticks when it comes to treating Paes, Bhupathi or Bopnna: "It's not different at all." Somdev Devvarman had also made himself unavailable for the tie against New Zealand, citing fitness problems, but played at the US Open. Oza explained it thus: “Som was due for some monetary benefit and ranking points, so he had to play there. He is still not 100 per cent fit. So we gave him the benefit of doubt.” The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in South Korea in September 2014 and before that, both Mahesh and Bopanna can’t represent India.
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This young man is one for the present, one for the future. Virat has been excelling in all forms of the game since he made a smooth transition from junior to senior cricket for India. He's one of the rare batsmen who average over 50 in ODI cricket, and has already played several match-winning knocks for the national team. The most impressive aspect of his play is that despite being excitable and emotional, he possesses a calm head that has seen India through many tough situations. 
Shane Watson, a very fine allrounder, is an utterly destructive batsman, as his scoring rate of nearly 148 shows. He's a very powerful striker of the ball, his methods highly reminiscent of those employed by another Australian opener, the left-handed Matt Hayden. Watson can hit the ball miles, out of the stadium, with his clean, powerful strikes. Last year he played a fearsome ODI innings of an unbeaten 185 against Bangladesh, which included 15 fours and 15 sixes.
Saeed Ajmal is an odd one in this list, a specialist bowler among a host of power-hitters. Ajmal has earned his place. Probably the best spinner in the world at present, Ajmal uses the doosra very effectively, and also the rich variations he has in flight and speed. He's very effective in Twenty20 cricket, bamboozling the aggressive batsmen with his subtle changes. He was a key player in Pakistan's Twenty20 World Cup win in 2009 and is in good form, picking up six Australian wickets at the cost of just 52 runs in three T20Is earlier this month.
The scourge of bowlers around the world, Gayle's powerful batting has, over the last two years, made him the preeminent Twenty20 batsman of our times.
The New Zealand batting powerhouse became only the second man to score a Twenty20 International century when he hit 116 off 56 balls against Australia at Christchurch in 2010. He's in good, smashing Twenty20 form, as he displayed when he hit a 55-ball 91 against India in Chennai last week. McCullum possesses a powerful, muscular batting style and can improvise with great intelligence. His 158 in the opening match of the first IPL in 2008 remains the tournament's highest score till date.
The powerful Pathan was the force that won Pakistan their first Twenty20 World Cup in England in 2009, and he'd been the Player of the Tournament in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 200y. He's a bit inconsistent, often disinterested, but when he's in full flow, he's unstoppable. Among the foremost Twenty20 players in the world, he plies his trade around the world and is highly valued everywhere. With the ball, he's such a fine bowler that he could well be described as a bowling allrounder.
Craig Kieswetter had the option of playing for South Africa but opted to try to play for England when still in his teens. In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, Kieswetter would be one of the chief batsmen who must fire if England are to retain the title. He gave another glimpse of what he's capable of when he hit 50 off 32 balls against South Africa in the third Twenty20 match of their recent series.
Kieron Pollard doesn't come good too often — but when he does, he knocks the wind completely out of the opposition. Pollard has been branded a short-form specialist and he's yet to play Test cricket for West Indies. He has scored only two T20I 50s, the last one coming in his last T20 for West Indies — a 29-ball 63 that propelled his team to 209 against New Zealand. Pollard is also a useful bowler, his medium-pace getting him 11 wickets from 24 T20Is.
The Sri Lankan captain, epitome of classy and elegant batting, is a surprise force in Twenty20 cricket. He's got all the strokes in the book and has the ability of scoring fast without resorting to violence — he has got the ability to drive the ball into gaps in the field, can improvise beautifully and is a very good runner. All that adds up to a very impressive strike rate of nearly 139 in international Twenty20 cricket. He'd love to win the trophy for his team on his home grounds.
David Warner blasted 59 off just 34 balls against Pakistan in Dubai. It was a typically Warner show — massive sixers on the on side with powerful drives, flicks and slogs. Warner has the ability of striker fear into a bowler's heart. His ability to hit the ball hard has earned Warner calls from corners of the cricketing world. He had set the tone for his career with 89 from 43 balls in his T20 debut vs South Africa in 2009, when he became the first man since 1877 to play for Australia without playing first-class cricket.