Hence I said this
And how right I was about England too.
I think the winner will come from one of the three teams - South Africa, Australia or India. Sri Lanka and England (yes England) have an outside chance
South Africa: Too good a team to be failing on big occasions all the time. The Law of Averages dictates that South Africa have to win a tournament at some stage and this might be their moment
Australia: They may not be a great team any more but they are still streets ahead of every team (barring perhaps South Africa) when it comes to professionalism and discipline. Besides no team seams to have a bigger hunger for success than the Australians. Should make the semis atleast
India and Sri Lanka: Batting is their main strength and both teams have the batting to score big in T20 games (180-200), hence remain dangerous in this format. Sehwag can take any bowling attack apart and if he stays at the wicket for even 8 or 10 overs he can do some serious damage to the opposite team plus india has people like Dhoni and Yuvraj to build on the good starts provided by Sehwag-Gambhir. Sri Lanka too have Dilshan and Jayasuriya who can destroy any bowling attack. Sangakkara is always very dependable
England: have potential match-winners like Pietersen and Eoin Morgan. Jimmy Anderson is a vastly improved bowler now. Broad too has his moments
NewZealand: Bowling (Shane Bond, Vettori) is their strength. Batting is not so strong and relies too heavily on Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor. Scott Styris is dangerous too.
Pakistan: Bowling is sound if not spectacular, fielding has never been good but batting remains the biggest worry. All are compulsive hitters or shot-makers lacking patience, temperament and application and if they are not careful, Pakistan could soon be 50 odd for 6 in some games! Erratic and inconsistent batting is the single biggest reason why I believe Pakistan will not do well in this year’s World T20. Would be glad to be proved wrong…
West Indies: Gayle is dangerous but again West Indies’ main problem is inconsistent and erratic batting. Bowling is nothing special
No point slating the fielding - it has never been good. Let’s put the blame where it belongs - THE INDISCIPLINED BATTING. It lacks quality and consistency. 140-150 is simply not competitive enough esp. when you take into account our abject fielding
The fact that are pathetic batters are just not good enough to score 170-180 puts added pressure on the fielders and bowlers
Australia look the strongest team right now. India’s chances would have been better had Sehwag been playing too but they can still win it. India along with Sri Lanka and England pose the biggest threat to Australia