ICC World Twenty20: India's Suresh Raina comes in for some stick from West Indies' Sammy

ICC World Twenty20: India's Suresh Raina comes in for some stick from West Indies' Sammy.India's Suresh Raina says that most of the top-order West Indies batsmen prefer playing big shots rather than rotating strike against spinners, an area which he feels can be exploited by Amit Mishra and Co. when the two teams square off in the ICC World T20 here tomorrow.     

Asked about the threat the explosive opening pair of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith could pose, Raina said, "West Indies will be a totally different team as they have a lot of players who can hit sixes but they don't have an idea about how to rotate the strike against spinners by taking singles and twos.     "Therefore, the more pressure we put on the bigger players, better it will be for us."     

The in-form left hander said that Amit Mishra's bowling will again be key while countering the likes of Gayle, Smith and Samuels.    "We have Mishra, who has done well in the last match. Ashwin has also bowled well and Jadeja is doing well too. But T20 is dependant on who is better on that particular day. "Also depends on what you intend to do after winning the toss. Spinners will be key in this contest. Especially in the manner, we bowled against Pakistan, which plays spin really well."     

Elaborating on the role of tweakers, Raina said that overs 7-11 will be key against the slower bowlers. 

"About facing spinners, it's not that there is great turn (on this track) but some turn available. While shaping up for a shot, you need to come under the ball. Your thought-process should be clear. If you think you want to hit it then you should go ahead and if you decide against it then be it. Between 7 to 11 overs, is the time when you need to rotate the strike well. If you get even one loose ball, if you can convert it into fours and sixes, then it's good."     Sammy then threw an open challenge and dared the Indian bowlers to stop them from hitting the maximums when they clash in the ICC World Twenty20 here tomorrow.

"We don't care much about what Suresh Raina thinks. If he thinks we are only six hitters, then stop us from hitting sixes," Sammy replied when asked about his batsmen inability to rotate strike against spinners.However, the usually affable West Indies skipper went back to his normal good natured mood as he answered questions with a bit of fun and some with a lot of seriousness.

What's there on Chris Gayle's mind, asked a scribe. "I am not Jesus Christ! I don't know what's going on in his mind.The West Indies, on the other hand, are unarguably the best T20 unit. With big hitters like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Sammy in the ranks, they look impregnable. And then there's Sunil Narine, the mystery man.

India are on a high, but they need to sort out some issues quickly. The problem starts at the top. Shikhar Dhawan did get some runs against Pakistan, but the left-hander was found wanting against the short-pitched stuff. Also, Dhawan doesn't seem at home on turning wickets. His partner, Rohit Sharma, will have to make sure he doesn't squander away that start he often gets off to.

The biggest worry is, of course, the form of Yuvraj Singh. Once a reliable batsman, the southpaw seems to be low on confidence. He has not looked comfortable against spin and Narine would know that. A good knock here will certainly do a world of good to Yuvraj and India. And remember there's a certain Ajinkya Rahane on the bench.Spinners will again hold the key and the onus will be again on leg-spinner Amit Mishra who has been in terrific form.

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ICC World Twenty20 Preview Confident India Take On Defending Champions West Indies

ICC World Twenty20 Preview Confident India Take On Defending Champions West Indies.In their tournament opener against Pakistan on Friday, all departments of the Indian team performed in perfect harmony as they romped to a seven-wicket win. And on Sunday, they would be looking to do an encore against defending champions West Indies in a Super 10 Group 2 game at the World T20 here.Mirpur, Mar 22: Their sagging morale lifted after a thumping win over Pakistan, Indian spinners will now have to brace up for the ever-dangerous Chris Gayle when the team squares off against defending champion West Indies in its second match of the ICC World Twenty20 Championships here tomorrow.

Gayle’s opening partner Dwayne Smith is a top-notch hitter as well. The middle order possesses Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo – both capable of shifting gears with ridiculous ease. Samuels’ foray in the 2012 World T20 final, where he launched a scathing attack on Lasith Malinga is the indicator of his immense talent.In all certainty, India won’t tinker with their bowling combination. Amit Mishra was used as an attacking option against Pakistan. 

Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for a few runs towards the end. Against West Indies they have their work cut out against aggressive batsmen in the death overs. West Indies have a lot of variety in their bowling line-up. Samuel Badree and the mysterious Sunil Narine are the two spinners in their ranks. Left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie is an unknown commodity and has the ability to pick up wickets early on. He was one of the stars in the Caribbean Pemier League. According to captain Darren Sammy, Santokie gets most of his wickets either bowled or leg-before which augurs well for his type of bowling on Mirpur track. 

India have never beaten West Indies in the World T20 competition. The Sunday game will test their mettle and also temperament. In-form Suresh Raina rightly pointed out: “Whoever loses focus will lose the battle.”

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India vs West Indies ICC World T20 2014 Group 2 Preview Upbeat Indians face defending champions

India vs West Indies ICC World T20 2014 Group 2 Preview Upbeat Indians face defending champions.Dhaka: West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul believes smart usage of the conditions will be key to their success in defending the ICC World Twenty20 title."The key is knowing the conditions, the kind of wickets you're going to bowl on and the right variations you're going to execute on the wicket. That will be the main thing,"

"The conditions here are basically the same. The dew factor at night maybe a little different to what we are accustomed to but variation of the ball and execution will be key."India shouldn’t make any changes to their side as it was a team-effort that won them the game. Looking at the conditions at Mirpur, one would say that India would continue to back their strategy to play three spinners. Amit Mishra was a star in the previous game and will hold on to his spot. Ravichandran Ashwin will also play a crucial role and he would want to get amongst the wickets. India are lucky to have Ravindra Jadeja as he bats at No 7 and is very effective with his left-arm spin. That allows them to play the three spinners.

At the top, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will continue to hold fort. Dhawan may be targeted by the opposition as he hasn’t been in very good touch, although he did score 30 against Pakistan. West Indies would do well to use Sunil Narine to trouble him with spin early. Even their fast bowlers can try and rattle him with short stuff.

Virat Kohli is the fulcrum of the batting line-up and would hold it together at No 3. The great thing for India is that Suresh Raina has also found form. The only concern maybe Yuvraj Singh, who would be desperate to get some runs under the belt. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami will continue to be India’s fast bowlers.The good thing about our team is that we don’t rely on any one player. We have at least four, five, six potential match winners in our side.”

Suresh Raina, meanwhile, stated that India will not be cowed down by the West Indian spin duo of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree. They will be handled carefully, he said. “Pakistan had Ajmal and West Indies have Sunil Narine. In a short format like this, you have to plan every two overs as to whom to attack and whom not to. You will have to rotate between overs seven and 11, and if you can hit a loose ball for a four or a six, that’s the ideal plan against spinners.”India’s own spinners will be key against West Indies, Raina felt. “West Indies is a totally different team. They have a lot of players who are capable of hitting sixes but they are not adept at rotating the strike,” he said.

When this was put to Sammy, he responded calmly. “Raina is free to think what he wants; we don’t care much,” he said. “If he thinks we are only six hitters, then stop us from hitting sixes.”

India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Ajinkya Rahane.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Andre Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Krishmar Santokie, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sheldon Cottrell.

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India Vs West Indies T20 World Cup 2014 Live Streaming Highlights News

 India Vs West Indies T20 Worl Cup 2014 Live Streaming Highlights News.In their tournament opener against Pakistan on Friday, all departments of the Indian team performed in perfect harmony as they romped to a seven-wicket win.And on Sunday, they would be looking to do an encore against defending champions West Indies in a Super 10 Group 2 game at the World T20 in Dhaka.

India have a lot to be happy about after Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina dominated the Pakistani bowlers and their three spinners strangled the opposing batsmen. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra was the pick of the lot as he not only bowled a tight line, but also picked up two crucial wickets to be adjudged man of the match.

All in all, it was a fruitful outing for India, barring Yuvraj Singh's failure with the bat and in the outfield. But Dhoni is likely to keep faith in Yuvraj and retain the same XI. So, if India can add two more points to the two they won against Pakistan, it would make their path to the semi-finals much easier from a pool that is being described as the 'Group of Death', as it also has Australia and Bangladesh.

The Darren Sammy-led West Indies, on the other hand, had a close to ideal preparation as they won both their practice matches. They thrashed England by seven wickets and then, when they bowled second against Sri Lanka, they won by 33 runs.Interestingly - and to their great advantage - West Indies have many players who were part of the team that won the World T20 title in Sri Lanka in 2012.Their batting is led by the dangerous Chris Gayle and comprises Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, and Sammy.

Mirpur: After comprehensively beating their arch-rivals, India will face West Indies in their second in ICC World T20 2014 today. Indian bowlers punched above their weight and put up an impressive show in their last game against Pakistan. And Dhoni would be hoping that his spin trio — Ashwin, Mishra and Jadeja — do the same in India's second game in Super 10.India's batsmen, barring Yuvraj Singh did enough against Pakistan to maintain their place in the playing XI for the game against West Indies. So, it won't be too surprising if Dhoni does not make any changes in the team for this game.

For the defending champions West Indies, this will be their first game in this edition of ICC World T20.West Indies outplayed Sri Lanka in their warm-up game with Dwayne Smith and Sunil Narine leading the charge in batting and bowling respectively. And captain Darren Sammy will expect the same kind of performance against India to spoil India’s plans to gain ascendancy.

These two sides have played 3 T20s against each-other, two games in ICC World T20 and one in a one-off game that was played at Port of Spain in 2011. While India have beaten West Indies in their last T20 game, West Indies have won on both the occasions when they faced India in ICC World T20.While this India vs. West Indies will be high on flare with so many power hitters in both the sides, the game is not short on substance either.Dwayne Bravo

The Caribbean all rounder, Dwayne Bravo is handy with bat and ball too. He has played plenty of T20 matches and understands the game and conditions too. Dwayne Bravo can be explosive in lower order. While in bowling he is wicket-taker bowler. No wonder if he performs well with bat and ball too. The good thing with India is that Indian skipper knows the style of Dwayne Bravo so it would be worth to watch how he plans against him and how Bravo would prevent himself to be trapped.

Sunil Narine:As Pakistan has Saeed Ajmal who is excellent in this format of the game; West Indies too has Sunil Narine. The mystery spinner will be the key bowler of West Indies against Indian batting line up. The four overs of Sunil Narine can bring changes in the game. However, he doesn’t need much assistance from the wicket but still conditions are in his favour. It would be worth to watch can Naraine trap Indian batsmen.

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