Hosts Sri Lanka pulled off a nail-biting victory over a spirited New Zealand via the Super Over, after their opening 'Super Eight' match of the ICC World Twenty20 saw fortunes fluctuate from one team to the other till the very end, in Pallekele, on Thursday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the team will go in with five bowlers in its World Twenty20 Super Eight match against Australia but it will be one of the toughest decisions of his career to choose between Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.
West Indies are relying on Trinidad mystery spinner Sunil Narine to make a big impact on the England batting when the two teams meet in their opening super eight match at the Twenty20 World Cup in Pallekele on Thursday.
Riding on the huge win over England in the group stages of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, India jumped four places to claim the third position in the Reliance ICC T20 Championship table, which was released on Wednesday. India spanked defending champions England by 90 runs in a Group A match, which propelled Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men to 116 rating points.
The doubts regarding Virender Sehwag's thumb injury were put to rest as the swashbuckling opener batted for about half-an-hour in the nets on Wednesday ahead of India's Super Eight encounter of the World T20 against Australia on Friday.
Sri Lanka could turn to uncapped teenager Akila Dananjaya if spinner Ajantha Mendis fails to recover from injury in time for the World Twenty20 Super Eight game against New Zealand at Pallekele on Thursday.
Albie Morkel, a regular in the Chennai Super Kings line-up during IPL, says the experience of sharing the dressing room with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, R Ashwin and Suresh Raina will help South Africa when they take on India in their final Super Eight game of the World Twenty20.
India's senior batsman and opener, Virender Sehwag's finger injury and a suitable bowling combination for the team are two major concerns for India ahead of their opening ICC World Twenty20 Super Eight Game against Australia on Friday.
The mammoth loss to India may not have hurt England's Super Eight chances in the World Twenty20 but skipper Stuart Broad said it did highlight some clear flaws in his batsmen's handling of spinners.
Having registered a comprehensive win in their World Twenty20 opener, Australia would aim to seal a Super Eight berth when they take on the flamboyant West Indies in a Group B encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
Already assured of their places in the Super Eight stage of the ICC World Twenty20, both Sri Lanka and South Africa would be eyeing a win to top their pool when they play against each other in the marquee Group C clash in Hambantota on Saturday.
South Africa produced a clinical performance to knock Zimbabwe out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a comfortable 10-wicket victory in a lop-sided Group C match Hambantota on Thursday.
Virat Kohli's meteoric rise in recent times has prompted the Sri Lankan cricket team to devise a game plan for the Indian batsman ahead of next month's T20 World Cup, according to opener Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Fast, true pitches and some big hitting are expected over the next few days as the Twenty20 World Cup enters the Super Eight phase on Thursday.
Sri Lanka warmed up for the Super Eights in style, outclassing the West Indies by 15 runs in an inconsequential Group C match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Wednesday.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded that his side did not click as a team in all departments of the game and that led to the their early ouster from the World Twenty20 in Colombo on Tuesday night.
Aware that one more defeat will ensure their exit from the tournament, New Zealand need nothing less than a big win against the West Indies in their make-or-break Super Eight match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Pallekele on Monday.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers said he made a few captaincy errors that may have helped Pakistan snatch a thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in the opening Group 2 Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo on Friday.
Michael Hussey has enormous respect for Virender Sehwag and insisted that the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' can "never be out of form", but at the same time hoped that Virat Kohli has a bad day in office when Australia take on India in their Super Eights match in Colombo on Friday.
South Africa took the top spot in Group C after skipper A B de Villiers led them to a 32-run victory over Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed ICC World Twenty20 match in Hanbantota on Saturday. De Villiers scored a 13-ball 30 as South Africa posted 78 for four after the match was reduced to a seven-over-a-side affair. In reply, the Sri Lankans were restricted to 46 for five.
Umar Gul bulldozed New Zealand with a sensational five-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six-wicket to keep their semifinals hopes alive in the World Twenty20.
Sri Lanka repulsed a gallant challenge from Ireland at Lord's on Sunday to win their Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights match by nine runs.
Aaron Redmond crashed 63 from 30 deliveries to help New Zealand crush Ireland by 83 runs in the opening World Cup second-round match on Thursday
Rajneesh Gupta highlights important numbers for the Bangladesh team from World Cups.
Strong contenders South Africa inched closer to a semi-final berth in the Twenty20 World Cup after a convincing 20-run victory over giant-killers West Indies in a Super Eight match at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta picks instances of sledging which backfired spectacularly.
Groups and fixtures for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, to be held in Sri Lanka, from September 18 to October 7.
Suresh Raina became the first Indian batsman to crack a Twenty20 international century, helping his team register a 14-run victory over South Africa and progress to the Super Eights at the ICC World Twenty20.
Scintillating knocks by seasoned duo Ramnaresh Sarwan (19 n.o.) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (17 n.o.) propelled West Indies to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup beating England by five wickets via Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match on Monday night.
Riding on opener Kamran Akmal's sparkling half century, Pakistan romped into the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup after thrashing Ireland by 39 runs in their must-win last Super Eight match in London on Monday.
Niranjan Shah lashed out at Mahendra Singh Dhoni and team, saying they shouldn't blame the IPL for their exit from the ICC World Twenty20.
Team India's performance in recent ICC events resembles a Bollywood blockbuster, predictable to the core -- high on hope, low on scope. The WT20 was just another one.
Hosts West Indies, led from the front by captain Chris Gayle, ensured India's exit from the ongoing ICC World T20 with a convincing 14-run win in their Group F Super Eight match at Kensington Oval, Bridgetwon (Barbados), on Sunday.
David Warner was the one of the players to look out when the tournament started. The Australian had taken the storm with his big hitting abilities and was a force to reckon with.
# South Africa's 170 for 4 is their highest total against New Zealand in Twenty20 Internationals, bettering the 158 for four in Durban on September 19, 2007
Kevin Pietersen scored a fine unbeaten 73 to guide England to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their opening Super Eight game in the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday.
South Africa defeated Afghanistan by 59 runs in their Twenty20 World Cup group C match on Wednesday.
Determined to clinch the only trophy missing from their cupboard, formidable Australia face potential giant-killers Bangladesh in their second and final Group A match for a place in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados on Wednesday.
Mahela Jayawardene struck a scintillating century as Sri Lanka thumped Zimbabwe by 14 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-marred Group B match to brighten their Super Eight stage prospects in the Twenty20 World Cup in Providence, Guyana, on Monday.
England's triumph in the World Twenty20 is sensationally the latest event to come under the match-fixing microscope.
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