After winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at home, India struggled to deliver the goods in international cricket, being whitewashed by England and Australia, to lose their number one ranking in Test cricket. In limited-overs cricket, the Men in Blue failed to make an impression in the CB Series played in Australia earlier this year and also made an unsuccessful attempt to defend their title in the Asia Cup 2012.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and company however, bounced back in style in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, winning the One Day International (ODI) series 4-1 and also clinching the only T20 of the tour. Apart from the victories, there were a number of positives for Indian cricket, with Virat Kohli showing great form and Irfan Pathan making a successful comeback in international cricket.
India’s next assignment starts later this month, when they take on New Zealand for a two-match Test series and a couple of T20 fixtures before the ICC World T20 2012, which will be played in September/October in Sri Lanka.
Dhoni emerged at the world stage as a brilliant captain during India’s title triumph in the inaugural edition of the World T20, which was played in South Africa in 2007. However, team India did not look impressive in the next two versions of the tournament, held in England and West Indies respectively.
Considering the fact that the Men in Blue have done extremely well in the Island recently, they will definitely go in to the mega event oozing with confidence.
The visitors rested some of their senior players like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan for the T20 fixture against the Lankan Tigers but the youngsters responded well and outclassed the home side.
The situation has pleased the former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, who is expecting the team to do well in the forthcoming illustrious tournament. The former left-handed batsman praised the Indian bowlers’ skills to contain the batsmen in the slog overs.
"India completed another comprehensive victory over hosts Sri Lanka in the lone T20 match, riding a very good bowling display," said Ganguly. "The visitors were without two senior pros, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, and, I think, they were not missed at all in this game."
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has enhanced the players’ abilities in the T20 format and will give an added advantage to Dhoni’s men in the World T20, being used to the pressures involved with the game’s shortest version.
Yuvraj Singh, who has been a great player for India in limited-overs cricket over the years, has returned to the side after suffering from cancer, which threatened to end his career. India’s two major victories in the last six years are the World T20 2007 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, and the left-handed middle-order batsman played a huge role on both occasions, which proves his value as a match-winner.
India’s chief selector, Kris Srikkanth, is very positive about his team’s chances in the event and is hopeful that Yuvraj will be at his devastating best.
"We are very happy that Yuvraj Singh has been declared fit. Yuvraj is a very crucial factor. If he gets going he can win matches single-handedly for us. Don't forget 2007 T20 World Cup, he was the Man-of-the-Series," Srikkanth claims.
With a power-packed batting line-up, India will surely enter the tournament as one of the favourites. However, their bowling remains a question mark, and if Zaheer Khan and company are able to restrict the opposing batsmen, the Men in Blue will be hard to stop in Sri Lankan conditions.
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