Final: ICC World Twenty20 2016 INDIA

Its England Versus West Indies in the finals of the ICC World T20 2016. Both the teams have been impressive during this year's edition, and specially West Indies, who beat India (The Host) in the Semi Final-2 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. India played very well, batting first posted a total of 192-3 with Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni being the stars for team India and Rohit Sharma and Ajinkaya Rahane getting a good start.

But it was Lendl Simmons who was the star of the day, playing his very first match of the world cup and scoring a match winning knock for his team after the big hitting Chris Gayle departed for just 5 runs by Bumrah's yorker. And we thought that India's won the game, but West Indies have 11 batsmen in the team, so even a total of 210 was not safe.

The due factor came into play, eliminating Spin factor and also eliminating India's Chances of reaching the Finals. If those No balls would not have been bowled, then maybe it would have been a different story but it's done now. Lets move on to the Final game now

Teams:

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett.

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Darren Sammy (captain), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn.

This match will be played at the beautiful Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata. Eden Gardens will now cheer for England, that Eoin Morgan will start favourites but when it comes to West Indies, no matter where they are playing, they are the second favourite team in every cricket playing nation.

If West Indies have players like Chris Gayle, Russell, Sammy, then this tournament's enforcers have been England's Jason Roy, Joss Buttler, Joe Root.

Gayle's average at Eden Gardens is 60 with a century and 3 fifties. And he has hit 345 runs against Eng, the most he has hit against any team in T20I.

Its a 4-0 for West Indies against England in World T20s

Both teams have the fire power to chase down even 200 on their day, so it will be a run feast today at kolkata. It's a good batting wicket here at kolkata. Cheers :)

Semi-Final: 1 (Men) WT20 2016

The semi final is here finally. New Zealand will hit the grounds against England at the National Capital, Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi for the first semi final of the ICC World T20 2016 INDIA.
England has had good experience of playing at this ground but don't think that New Zealand are at disadvantage. They have embraced the grounds better than any other team in this world cup. They have been in red hot form, winning 4 on 4 in their group stages. No other team has done it this year.

India is the only Non-Asian team in this world cup top-4 making it the first time ever that only one Asian team has qualified for the semis. Kane Williamson has led this side without Brendon Mccullum in this world cup, and he has done a wonderful job. And we all have seen how they play their game. They are not playing attacking cricket but they have simplified their game plan. And more often than not, Simplified approach is the best approach. They have been reading the Indian conditions far better than others and have won all 4 games they have played in their group stages without using their 2 main fast bowlers, Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

Though they are playing Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner as their front line bowlers, who have taken a total of 17 wickets in 4 games with an economy under 5.4. That is just brilliant. They have been better than the rest of top level bowlers who have played here in these conditions, like R Ashwin and R Jadeja and more..

England has not cruised easily into the Semi's, each match becoming a struggle for them. After losing their opener game against West Indies, the highest successful chase against the Proetas side showed their batting fire-power, then narrowly escaped defeat against the Afghanistan side and then winning the thriller against Sri Lanka at Kotla Stadium, Delhi.

They will be keen to win this one too but New Zealand have been the most adaptable side in the tournament. Hoping for another thriller.

NZ Capt:  Kane Williamson
Eng Capt: Eoin Morgan


Teams (likely)

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (capt), Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott , Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitch Santner, Adam Milne/Nathan McCullum, Mitch McClenaghan, Ish Sodhi.

Super 10 Group-1, SA Vs SL, Wt20 (Men)

Its day-13 and the last day of Group stages. We have four teams for the Semi-Finals now.
New Zealand
England
West Indies
India

India were able to defeat the aussies in their clash with them at PCA Stadium, Mohali chasing down a target of 161 with 6 wickets. Australia started off to flier with 54-0 in 4 overs but then slowed down with wickets falling on regular intervals, they could only manage 160 with Peter Nevill hitting a Six and a Four of the last 2 balls, but a slow start from India meant that Aussies had a fair chance of beating them until Virat Kohli smashed 19 runs of the James Faulkner's 3rd and 18th over, making the run chase easy for them.

Its the South Africa taking on Sri Lanka today at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi. Both of them have been eliminated from the WT20 as England beat SL 2 days back, making sure they qualify for the Semi's and this meant it was the end of road for both SA and SL.

It's a day night clash between them. Both teams will look to finish the tournament on a high. We have seen its a wicket which assist the slow bowlers more and if the batsman gives some time on the wicket, he can later hit some big shots as we saw Joss Buttler hitting those big sixes and taking england to a good total of 172, but they only won the match with 10 runs as the SriLankan Skipper played an important knock under pressure but could not get his team over the line, which meant England winning the game and SA and SL out of the tournament.

It should be a bat first wicket, a good total on the board is always a safe play and rest we will see @ 7:00 IST

SA Capt: Faf Du Plesis
SL Capt: Angelo Mathews

Semi Final 1: NZ Vs Eng on 30th March at Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Semi Final 2: WI Vs Ind on 31st March at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Cheers :)

Super 10 Group-1, WI Vs Afg and Group-2, Ind Vs Aus, Wt20 (Men)

Its Day-12 and in a few hours we will have our final contender for the Semi's. NZ, WI and Eng have already qualified for the Semi's and Its the Australia versus India game which is the decider for the final contender. Its a double header today, first WI takes on Afghanistan at VCA Stadium, Nagpur and later on its the big game, India Vs Australia at PCA Stadium, Mohali.

WI have won 3 on 3 and playing their last game of the tournament and its the last game for Afghanistan as well. Afghanistan has given mini heart attacks to England and SA, so lets see what do they have in store for WI. Its a spin friendly deck, SA was defeated here the last time they played against WI. But who knows what they have in box for WI ? We'll find out in a few minutes now. Shahzad will be the key for Afghanistan team,

WI Capt: Dareen Sammy
Afg Capt: Asghar Stanikzai

Moving on to game 2 of the day here, Its the decider for the fourth and final spot of Top-4
Australia are on a roll. They have already played one game at this venue and previous matches tells us why teams are opting to bat first on this wicket. Chasing gets tough on this ground with conditions favoring bowlers and with big boundaries, it is tough to clear the ropes here. Australia finally had showed their batting firepower in the last game posting 192 against Pakistan. They would not want to make a lot of changes in their squad.
India have their luck going with them, winning that match with 1 run. They would like to maintain their win streak against the aussies side as in 2016, Team India is undefeated against this side.

Australia will rely on finch and warner at the top of the order with Maxwell and Watson coming later on and Steve Smith will be the key for an aussie win today. India will again depend on Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. If they have to win against Australia then everyone will have to contribute. And fielding is the key today,
Adam Zampa has shown a lot of positives in this tournament and james faulkner took a fifer against Pakistan on this venue, so they will be the main breakers for them
Ind Capt: MS Dhoni
Aus Capt: Steve Smith
'

Cheers :)

Super 10 Group-2, NZ Vs Bang and Group-1, Eng Vs SL, Wt20 (Men)

We move on to the last phase of the WT20. With only 5 matches left in this year's Edition, we already have 2 contenders for the Top-4 Spots. NZ and WI have already qualified for the Semi's and 2 more teams to join them. One of them will be the winner of the qualifier between Australia and India and the other will be between Eng,SL and SA (Depends on the match between Eng Vs SL

Its Day-11 and we have a 2 big games coming your way. First, NZ and Bangladesh face off each other in Kolkata, before England and SL square off in Delhi. Bangladesh are already out of the tournament, so NZ can try a few more options in this match. They will play with no pressure and bangladesh have nothing to lose now, so they will play for pride and honor. England have a very good chance of qualifying. If they beat SL today then SA will be out of the torunament and England will qualify but if they lose today and SA are able to beat SL in their final match then SA will qualify for the Semis.

Kolkata wicket is a bat first wicket in day night games, so without any doubt team will look to bat first on this wicket. The Eden Gardens track is considered as one of the better batting surfaces although spinners tend to come into action as the match goes on. Spinners have enjoyed bowling here a lot in t20s and even in IPL Games.

NZ Capt: Kane Williamson

Bang Capt: Mashrafe Mortaza

Moving on to the second match today, England are aware of the conditions more here, so they will know its a slow surface and spinners will play a big role in this match. Its a bat first wicket, so chasing even 130 will get tough in the later stage. They will have to win today so as to reach semis and SL will have to win both of there matches with a big margin to qualify for the semis.

Eng Capt: Eoin Morgan

SL Capt: Angelo Mathews

It's a do or die situation for both the teams. You lose and you are out ! 

Super 10 Group-2, Aus Vs Pak and Group-1. SA Vs WI, Wt20 (Men)

Its day-10 of the ICC WT20 2016 and we are almost done with the group stages and with teams left with a couple of games to go, we already have one team which are through to the Semi's. Yes, Its the NZ team who are first to qualify for the Semi's.

What a thriller it was last night, my heart almost failed. What did we just witness ? They seemed to be cruising over the line. how did they lose it? It was team India who kept their nerves tight and in the end, won it by 1 run. If you missed the action last night, do watch the highlights and if you don't who cares ! :P

Moving on to day-10 now. Firstly, A very happy Holi to everyone. I will celebrate my Holi writing this blog, but you should go out their and enjoy water-free Holi. Have a safe one my friends.
We have a double header today, Australia taking on Pakistan at PCA Stadium, Mohali and South Africa taking on West Indies at Nagpur. It is a very important game for all for as only 3 spots are left for the Semi's. With NZ already in the Semi's, the competition is getting more tougher.

Australia have played 2 matches and won 1 with a NRR of +0.108 and Pakitan have won 1 out of 3 matches with a NRR of +0.254. So, it's a must win game for Australia as they have a better chance of qualifying than Pak. Its the 2nd game at Mohali today, and its a sunny day at mohali with 27 degree temperature. Its a big ground and should be the same track as we saw in the NZ Vs Pak game. Big boundaries to clear and a good batting deck, teams will look to bat first in this wicket and try to post a good total on the board, and a little cool breeze later on should assist the Seamers. The spinners will have a crucial role in the game, as the boundaries are hard to clear, batsman will have to use all his power to clear the ropes, and even the ball middled are caught inside the ropes.


Aus Capt: Steve Smith
Pak Capt: Shahid Afridi

Head to head, Pak are 3-2 with australia, but in recent form, Australia have been good.

Now moving on to Nagpur from Mohali, SA play WI on a track which assist the spinners, and who cant forget that 42 run defeat of India aganist NZ, so hopefully, both teams will bring on their spinners in tonight and with hard hitters in both the teams and a fight to be on top of the group, this is a must watch match. Both teams have been in form lately and a win for WI will take them through to the Semi's.

SA have won 1 out of their 2 matches, and have scored more than 200 runs in both encounters, with a NRR of +0.816 and WI have won 2 on 2 with a NRR of +0.893. The bowling have been a concern for the SouthAfricans in this Wt20 with their Seamers going for a lot of runs, they nearly escaped their second loss against Afg, as their openers tore the SA bowling line. This is a big concern for them. And JP Duminy is injured, so their camp has some issues for now. WI on the other hand have a upper hand in this game, with their bowling been very good and their batting are also on top.

SA Capt: Faf Du Plesis
WI Capt: Darren Sammy

It should be a good festive Day today !

Super 10 Group-1, Eng Vs Afg and Group-2. Ind Vs Bang, Wt20 (Men)

Its day-9 and we have a double header today. NZ are on a roll, winning 3 on 3 in their group stages and one more to go against Bangladesh. Pakistan though are in trouble as they are almost out of the tournament. Things are still not quietly settled in group-2. India will need to win today against Bangladesh to keep their hopes alive in this tournament. Bangladesh have 2 tough contenders left, one with India which they play today at Bengaluru and the last one against the NZ which they play at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Today, we have England today taking against Afghanistan at Feroz Shah Stadium, Delhi and the other game will be played between India and Bangladesh at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

England's last game is unforgettable for me. How well they played there. Chasing 230. OMG. They should take a lot of confidence from that game and have a fair chance of qualifying. And Afghanistan are playing with no pressure on their mind. I felt unhappy for them in the last game. They are playing so well against SA, but 210 was too much for them in the end.

Bangladesh lost to Australia in their last game in Bengaluru, and India winning over Pakistan at Eden Gardens.
Kotla pitch is a spin friendly ground, it has short boundaries, so a lot of balls will go out of the park, and with both teams playing playing hard in the first 6 overs, it should be a good batting deck. We all remember Chris Gayle scoring those mere of sixes in this ground. It should be a win the toss and bat first wicket.

Afghanistan has certainly done more than enough to make the opposition teams sit up and notice their performance. England will be hoping that happens any day other than Wednesday

Eng Capt: Eoin Morgan
Afg Capt: Asghar Stanikzai

Teams :
England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan/Liam Dawson, David Willey, Adil Rashid.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Asghar Stanikzai (capt), Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Shamiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Amir Hamza, Shapoor Zadran.

Short boundaries and high altitude makes the Chinnaswamy track a heaven for batters in the limited-overs formats. Many big scores have been posted and chased down with immense ease. Chasing side have advantage here specially playing a night game. And we saw Australia chasing down against Bangladesh, so no doubt teams will look to chase here. Bangladesh should have learned from their mistakes against Australia and will look to take advantage and playing more positive cricket showing a good performance against team India today.

Ind Capt: MS Dhoni
Bang Capt: Mashrafe Mortaza

Teams (from)
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Shuvagata Hom, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Saqlain Sajib, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Nurul Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abu Hider.

At a ground that has produced the maximum number of T20 sixes, well in excess of 800, batsmen have struggled to impose themselves with the ball gripping the surface, particularly in the second half of the game. It should be a good day of cricket today. Cheers :)