T20 WORLD CUP 2016 PREVIEW - INDIA & NEW ZEALAND

India 

India are going into this tournament is firm favourites. Besides having the momentum of winning 10 out of the 11 last T20 International games, they have the ideal mix of experience and youth. After whitewashing Australia in their own & the Asia cup triumph, it seems team India can do no wrong. Never before do I remember India looking so settled entering a mega event.

Likely XI – 1) Shikhar Dhawan, 2) Rohit Sharma, 3) Virat Kohli, 4) Suresh Raina, 5) MS Dhoni, 6) Yuvraj Singh, 7) Hardik Pandya, 8) Ravindra Jadeja, 9) Ravichandran Ashwin, 10) Jasprit Bumrah, 11) Ashish Nehra

Bench – Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi & Mohammad Shami

India has one of the most feared batting line ups. Most teams would envy this kind of a star cast. Virat Kohli continues to be redefine the law of averages with his impeccable consistency. Rohit Sharma has the ability to turn a game on its head with his inhuman six hitting powers. Shikhar Dhawan also seems to have caught back form just in time. In his last couple of outings, MS Dhoni showed glimpses of his old self, and the sound of leather on his willow with that emphatic victory six to win the Asia Cup, should just do his confidence wonders.

The return of Ashish Nehra has added invaluable experience to the Indian bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah seems to be a great pupil of Lasith Malinga giving India a worthy answer to their perennial problem of death bowling. Ashwin is Dhoni’s trump card and is used smartly by him either upfront or in the middle overs depending on the match situation and the opposition batsmen. The presence of multi dimensional players like Jadeja, Yuvraj, Pandya & Raina gives India immense depth in batting as well as plenty of bowling options to skipper MS Dhoni so he can optimize the resources depending on how the surface plays. 

                            New Zealand

The Kiwis for a really long time were considered dark horses entering into a mega event. The current side has a pretty settled look and the team has done really in all formats of the game in the recent times. Infact they have really stormed world cricket with their brand of aggressive cricket under the iconic leadership of Brendon Mc Cullum, who just decided to call it a day from international cricket on his home ground days before the world cup. Much like his batting, McCullum’s way of looking at the game never had the word fear or defence. His way of playing with an all out attack attitude rubbed on his teammates as the Kiwis under him saw new highs. In fact a triumph in this world cup could have well been a fairytale ending to his career.

Likely XI – 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner , 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Martin Guptill is now one of most destructive openers in world cricket. Kane Williamson has been their Mr. Dependable across different formats. Ross Taylor provides the much needed experience in the absence of Brendon Mc Cullum. Corey Anderson and Colin Munro provide the hard hitting impetus in the middle order. The fast bowling duo of Trent Boult & Tim Southee have done pretty well for them. Michael Santner, Nathan Mc Cullum & Ish Sodhi provide them with plenty of spin options to pick from. Can this young team adapt to playing conditions in the subcontinent? Being alongside favourites India, dangerous Aussies, unpredictable Pakistan & raging Bangladesh is sure to make it tough going for them.