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Featured Sport News

India seek Twenty20 double

Author: Rose Young
Date: 04/06/2009

The second ICC World Twenty20 gets underway on Friday, with India defending the title they won in South Africa two years ago.

With the onset of the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni's side have emerged as the undoubted powerhouses in the shorter from of the game and go into the tournament as the online betting favourites to retain their crown.

Their hopes of a second success are also aided by a favourable draw, with Bangladesh and Ireland India's opponents in Group A.

Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh make up the backbone of India's batting, with Yusuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma the men to provide late fireworks with some lower-order hitting.

Seamers Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and RP Singh give Dhoni plenty of thrust in the pace department, while spiky off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is always a lethal weapon, even in the shortest form of the game.

Hosts England should progress from Group B, where they take on Pakistan and the Netherlands.

Paul Collingwood leads England for the second Twenty20 showpiece in a row, but the absence of injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff leaves a massive void that could prove crucial in the latter stages of the tournament.

Star batsman Kevin Pietersen has also been troubled by an Achilles injury in recent weeks and his chances of being one of the tournament's shining lights may be hampered by that injury.

For their part, Pakistan will be short of match practice due to recent security problems in the country, meaning that they may struggle to repeat their run to the final last time around.

Group C contains two of the favourites for the title, with Australia and Sri Lanka joined by West Indies.

The Windies have proved effective in the shortest form of the game which is so loved by their captain, Chris Gayle, but they will struggle to reach the Super Eights.

Australia have plenty of power hitters amongst their ranks, with the likes of David Hussey and David Warner likely to enjoy the short boundaries on offer, although the loss of Andrew Symonds is a major late blow.

Left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken will also be a key figure, due to his ability to extract prodigious swing from the white ball.

Sri Lanka's squad contains a wealth of experience, but relative newcomer Ajantha Mendis needs to shine if they are to take the honours.

The mystery spinner has made a stunning start to his international career, but has yet to gain any experience in English conditions.

Group D contains Scotland, perennial dark horses New Zealand and many people's favourites for glory, South Africa.

The Black Caps have the batting strength to make an impact, but their bowling appears to lack a little penetration and that weakness could see them battle to reach the semi-finals.

The Proteas have no such worries, with captain Graeme Smith armed with the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and newcomer Wayne Parnell.

Spinner Johan Botha is a class performer on ODI and Twenty20 cricket and if he shines, South Africa could be the best bet to deny India a successful defence.

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