da stake casino： Kirsten blamed fatigue last year, not much has changed on that account. Can India inspire themselves to a different result?
da bet vitoria： Sidharth Monga30-Apr-2010OverviewShort on intensity, brought down by the short ball, India failed to beat any regular side bar Bangladesh last year•Getty Images
It seems like yesterday. In their title defence, at the World Twenty20 last year, India had failed to beat a single regular side bar Bangladesh. Gary Kirsten was complaining about IPL fatigue. They lacked, he said, the “intensity that you need at the international game”. The other game, the IPL, had started a few days after their back-to-back series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and finished about a week before the World Twenty20. “We come into the tournament without being able to connect with the players at all. We also had players who were carrying niggles into this tournament.”It so seems like yesterday, for the rest of the time between the two World Twenty20s has been one blur of series after series, ending, yet again, with the IPL. Starting early September, India have been to Sri Lanka for a tri-series, to South Africa for the Champions Trophy, have played in the Champions League, a seven-ODI series against Australia, hosted Sri Lanka for a full tour, have been on a full tour of Bangladesh, followed by a quickie from South Africa, and finally the IPL.It also seems like yesterday because MS Dhoni’s departure press conference was almost identical to the one last year. Fatigue and tight schedules, he says, are the reality for an India cricketer. You just shrug your shoulders, and get on with it. And he is the kind of player and captain who will get on with it. At least he knows the selectors haven’t chosen players carrying niggles. Or so we are told.Kirsten, whose complaints last year didn’t exactly endear himself to the men who decide when the cricketers play whom, again pointed towards the disadvantage India start with. “The Indian players may feel the heat of it more,” he said, “because all of them played in the IPL, but our responsibility is to go out there and ensure that we are well prepared. We will do what we can in these circumstances.”He knows, and the team knows, they have to get up to the “intensity you need at international level”. Knowing this is the reality of an India cricketer, time to shrug the shoulders and get on with it. Then again it can’t be so bad: as reluctant participants, they had done the same in the first issue of the World Twenty20.Strength and weaknessesThat there is enough firepower in the side is beyond doubt. Even in the absence of Virender Sehwag, it is a batting line-up to contend with. There is enough balance in the side to be able to play four specialist bowlers and one out of Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan. The bowlers world over know there isn’t much time for ducking and leaving in Twenty20s, and also that the young Indians are not the best attackers of the ball headed for the throat, so there will be bouncers on display. And on flat pitches, Indian bowlers have not been the best around when the slog is on.Twenty20 pedigreeIndia haven’t exactly been a hot Twenty20 side since their title triumph in the inaugural event. Since then they have lost seven matches and won five, including ones against Ireland and Bangladesh.Key menSuresh Raina, coming off a fifty in the IPL final, is the form player, and will have to transform that promise on the big stage. He will want to score a majority of the middle-order runs.In the absence of Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir has a big job to do at the top.Harbhajan Singh’s role will be significant on the slower tracks in the Caribbean.X-factorA charged-up Dhoni can be the difference between a lethargic side and an inspired one, as he showed on more than one occasion in his IPL side’s winning campaign. He has the makings of India’s greatest captain ever, and is one of the best going around in the world today. And captaincy – one extra second of calmness, one field placement in a crucial over, one choice of a part-time bowler – can be the game-changer in Twenty20s.Vital stats Among the Test-playing nations, only Bangladesh have played fewer T20 internationals than India’s 20.Surprisingly Dhoni’s strike-rate in Twenty20 internationals is only 105.95.Eighteen bowlers have taken more than Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 16 wickets, but Harbhajan is India’s most successful T20 international.
