Warne describes Yusuf’s whirlwind knock the best ever

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came alight with a magnificent 37-ball century from Yusuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals against the star-studded Mumbai Indians, featuring two of the most lethal fast bowlers of the world, at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on March 13.

It went to the credit of Mumbai Indians, captained by Sachin Tendulkar, to have still managed to win the game despite the crack Yusuf had at their bowlers.

Yusuf’s superb knock was acknowledged by his skipper Shane Warne who described it as the best innings he's seen in his 21-year career.

"I have played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen," Warne, the greatest spin bowler of all-time, observed.


All About Latest Sports Action: Warne describes Yusuf’s whirlwind knock the best ever

All About Latest Sports Action: Salman Khan may or may not own an IPL team

There are contradicting reports whether the Bollywood icon, Salman Khan, is going to own a team in the future editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) or his recent meeting with the IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, was nothing more than a courtesy call.

It was reported the other day that Salman Khan had shown interest in buying a franchise in the IPL but brother Sohail Khan denied the news.

"It's not true. Salman is not buying any IPL team. Yesterday when he was shooting for Dus Ka Dum I called up bhai and asked him whether it was true and he denied it," brother Sohail was quoted as saying.



All About Latest Sports Action: Salman Khan may or may not own an IPL team

All About Latest Sports Action: MCG repeated at Lord’s

Quite a few scenes witnessed at Lord’s on June 21, 2009 resembled to the ones at the Melbourne Cricket ground (MCG) on March 25, 1992. There was only a change of personnel besides the venue of course.

It was Imran Khan whose team had staged a comeback from nowhere to win the World Cup against all odds in 1992 and now it was the side captained by Younis Khan having exceeded all expectations by annexing the Twenty20 crown.
Younis had been talking of Imran from the moment he was handed over the leadership earlier this year. The enterprising right-handed batsman has tried himself to model on the legendary all-rounder who’s also considered the greatest-ever captain produced by the country.

But even Younis, an optimist of the highest order, himself had never spoken of claiming the World Twenty20 title in England in the summer of 2009. His cherished goal remained winning the World Cup in 2011.
All About Latest Sports Action: MCG repeated at Lord’s

All About Latest Sports Action: South Africa choke again to let Pakistan enter final

History repeated itself at Trent Bridge on June 18 when South Africa crashed in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20 and Pakistan lived to the reputation of bringing about the downfall of the team of the moment.

South Africa, with their terrific all-round performance, had proved themselves the team of the tournament. They had remained undefeated and there was very little chance of them biting the dust as far as this event was concerned.

All About Latest Sports Action: South Africa choke again to let Pakistan enter final

All About Latest Sports Action: Dismal India squander yet another opportunity

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It’s very difficult to describe or assess India’s dismal performance in the ICC World Twenty20 2009. The tournament will conclude with the final on June 21 but it’s all over for the defending champions who couldn’t even find their way into the semifinals.

It’s beyond my comprehension how the free-flowing Indian batsmen got so much entangled against the South African spinners while chasing a low score of 130. It should have been a cakewalk win for the Indians, particularly after the brilliant start provided by the opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma.

All About Latest Sports Action: Dismal India squander yet another opportunity

All About Latest Sports Action: India knock themselves out

"Curse the excessive betting, blame the infighting or hold the board officials responsible it can’t hide the fact that the strongest outfit to have entered the competition has been knocked out in an unceremonious manner.

India stood head and shoulders above any other side in the shortest version of the game and probably it was a combination of too many factors that prompted their early exit against the run of play.

It was not for the first time that the Indians have been knocked over far too earlier than anticipated. They have perished this way more often than not whenever they were installed as the favourites or billed as the most potent side."
All About Latest Sports Action: India knock themselves out:

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan, India jolted

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan and India, the finalists of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, had to bite the dust in their opening Super Eight fixtures at Lord’s on June 12. The weather and the settings were about perfect but both the sub-continental teams jeopardized their chances of making into the semifinals by crashing to defeat after being in dominating position for sometime.

India, the defending champions and the hot favourites, were brought down to earth by the West Indies while Pakistan, the runners-up in South Africa, were laid low by the rampaging Sri Lanka.

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan, India jolted#links#links

All About Latest Sports Action: New Zealand, South Africa off to flyer

Both New Zealand and South Africa got off to a flying start to their Super Eight campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 crushing Ireland and England respectively at Trent Bridge on June 11.

The victory in the opening Super Eight game provides the much needed insurance to New Zealand and South Africa ahead of the knockout stage of the competition. They can still force their way into the semifinals if they lose one of their next two games.
All About Latest Sports Action: New Zealand, South Africa off to flyer

Match Preview: India vs Ireland

Ground reality and Pitch

The Trent Bridge cricket ground is home to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. The stadium is considered to be one of the best grounds in the world to watch a cricket match due to the excellent facilities available here. Trent Bridge also features in Indian history with the cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar passing the 11,000 mark in test cricket at this ground. The pitch at Trent Bridge is tilted more in favour of the batsmen with an even bounce on offer.

Temperatures: Min - 8 C Max - 15 C | Conditions: Showers expected

Team updates - India: The sub-continent team has the batting prowess to erect a mountain of runs or scale down any challenging total even in the absence of their explosive opener Virender Sehwag, who has been injured. But their bowling - both at start and at death - is a cause of concern as they have conceded too many runs in the in the first six overs, with field restrictions in place, and also proved uneconomic towards the close. With a berth in the Super Eight Stage already in their pocket, defending champions India will look to sort out their bowling woes when they take on fellow qualifiers Ireland in the final Group A league match in the World Twenty20 Championships at Trent Bridge.

Team updates - Ireland: The Irish cricket team have been known for their surprises ever since their stunning win against Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup at the Caribbean. In a group that provided the team the best chance to qualify to the next round, Ireland made good use of it, beating their fellow minnow Bangladesh and making it to the super 8 stage. The O'Brien brothers showed their skills with the bat against Bangladesh with a combination of the hard hits and subtle strokes. Ireland would hope for the brothers to fire again against a formidable Indian bowling line-up. Although it is an inconsequential match, the Irish would have to play their best cricket against a strong Indian outfit.

X Factor:
Bat - Rohit Sharma and the O'Briens: Rohit Sharma displayed his class against the Bangladesh team and also against Pakistan during India's warm-up clash with their arch rivals. Looking in good touch, India would look at the youngster to fire in the absence of Virender Sehwag. Meanwhile, Niall O'Brien and Kevin O'Brien were in the league of their own during the Irish match against Bangladesh. Their efforts with the bat led to the Bangladeshis being shown the doors. Ireland would bank on the O'Brien brothers to fire again and put up a good show going into the super 8's.

Ball - Pragyan Ojha and Trent Johnston: The talened left-arm spinner made his mark with brilliant bowling for Hyderabad during the IPL. He carried on his form with a career best of 4/21 on his T20 debut match against Bangladesh. He would play a pivotal role for India during their super 8 campaigns. Trent Johnston looked good with the ball against the Bangladeshis, picking up wickets for Ireland up-front. He would play an important role with the ball for the Irish team during their super 8 encounters.

Numbers game:
4: The number of sixers by Yuvraj Singh during India's first match against Bangladesh. Only Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers have scored more sixers in the tournament than Yuvraj, having 6 sixers each in their tally.
6.0: With figures of 4/21 against Bangladesh, Pragyan Ojha holds the best bowling strike rate of 6.0 in the current edition of the World T20.
Sound Bytes:
He is a good batsman - that I can say - but all of a sudden comparing him to Yuvraj Singh, there is a big gap in the middle. We all know Yuvraj has proved himself. He is one of the biggest hitters and hits sixes quite consistently. He [O'Brien] is a talented cricketer but he is well below Yuvraj when it comes to hitting big sixes in this format: Indian captain MS Dhoni commenting on the hard-hitting Kevin O'Brien.

Teams:
India (From): Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha

Ireland (From): William Porterfield(c), Jeremy Bray, Niall Obrien(w), Gary Wilson, John Mooney, Kevin Obrien, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Regan West, Alex Cusack, Andre Botha, Boyd Rankin, Peter Connell, Paul Stirling, Andrew White

Match Preview: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Ground Reality
Trent Bridge has been a good wicket so far in the tournament, with a slight bias towards batsmen. A safe score here would have to be one in excess of 170-175. As is usual in England, rain and thunder are forecast for the day, but so far the tournament has been fortunate to not be too affected by the rains. If this match does get affected, it would be less harmful than would have been expected since both teams are already through to the next stage.

The Teams They were both expected to fight it out for the second qualifying spot in the 'Group of Death', but due to their superb displays against Australia, they have the luxury of treating this match as a warm-up/practice match and trying out new combinations and players. Both teams will make the Super Eights, and the result of this match is immaterial.

Sri Lanka: They put up a thoroughly professional performance to outclass the Australians, and they'll be well pleased with the form of Dilshan and Sangakkara. The heartening aspect for them is that Jayawardene has recovered from his injury in the IPL. The trio are the lynch-pins of the Lankan batting, and much will depend on how they fire. Their bowling is amongst the best in the tournament, and they will be pleased that Ajantha Mendis showed his class in the match against Australia. It showed the value of handling a world-class bowler in the correct fashion - something the Kolkata Knight Riders might want to keep in mind.

West Indies: Although they won convincingly against Australia, too much of their success depends on Chris Gayle. Ideally, they might want to consider not playing him in this match, to give the opportunity for some others to stand up and take the pressure. In the Super Eights, there will surely be a match where Gayle might fail, and then if the remaining players have already had a taste of what it is like to bat in the absence of Gayle, they will be better suited to handling the pressure in a match that is more important. None of their bowlers were particularly impressive against Australia, and they should look at ways for their bowlers to hit their stride before the second phase.

1 - Sanath Jayasuriya's ranking for Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals on the following parameters: Most Runs (343), Highest Strike Rate (150.43 for a minimum of 50 runs scored), and Highest Score made (88). The old warhorse may not be in the best touch, but his value to his side is undisputed.

2.1 - The ratio of the number of runs Chris Gayle has in T20 Internationals against the second highest scorer for the West Indies - Dwayne Smith. Gayle has 349 runs, while Smith has 166. Ironically enough, Smith has not even been picked in the West Indian squad.

Soundbytes:
"The pressure will no doubt be a bit less. But international cricket is serious business, there is no question of taking it easy" - Kumar Sangakkara on the West Indies match.
"Once I can clear the boundary I am satisfied with that, it doesn't matter how far it goes." - Chris Gayle

Teams:
West Indies (From): Chris Gayle(c), Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy, Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, David Bernard, Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor

Sri Lanka (From): Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w/c), Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Thushara, Isuru Udana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Indika de Saram, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Silva

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan’s Super Eight entry threatens fancied teams

There were a lot of discussions and debates on whether or not Pakistan would be able to force their way into the Super Eight, after having succumbed to a humiliating defeat at the hands of hosts England in their opening game.

My reply to all the queries in this regard was simple and straightforward. I told everyone, on and off the record, that I would be surprised if Pakistan didn’t accomplish their goal. The assessment was not based on any cricketing knowledge or anything like that. It had to do something with history and past record.


All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan’s Super Eight entry threatens fancied teams

Match Preview: Newzealand vs South Africa

New Zealand (Playing XI): Brendon McCullum(c), Martin Guptill, Neil Broom, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Peter McGlashan(w), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Brendon Diamanti, Ian Butler

South Africa (Playing XI): Graeme Smith(c), Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mark Boucher(w), Albie Morkel, Roelof van der Merwe, Johan Botha, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn

Team Information: Diamanti, Broom and Mills come in for New Zealand while Ryder, O'Brien and Franklin miss out due to injuries. South Africa have fielded the same eleven.
New Zealand have won the toss and elected to field
Ground Reality and Pitch:

Named after its founder Thomas Lord, the Lord's cricket ground also known as 'The Mecca of World Cricket', is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is home of the ECB. The three T20 World Cup matches played in the ground so far has seen the teams batting first score in excess of 160. Once again, the pitch is expected to favour the batsmen.

Temperatures: Min - 12 C Max - 16 C Conditions: Showers expected

Team Updates:
South Africa: The Proteas have by far been one of the best sides in the tournament. They began from winning all their warm-up matches and carried on to drub the Scottish team in their first match of the tournament. With a wide range of players at disposal, the South Africans are spoilt for choice with their team selection. Graeme Smith and Kallis looked in good touch during the match against Scotland while de Villiers, coming in the middle order, displayed his class with a splendid fifty. South Africa would count on their batsmen to produce a similar effort against the Kiwis and count on the likes of Dale Steyn, Botha and van De Merwe to fire with the ball.
New Zealand: The Kiwis had a truncated encounter against Scotland with their match being reduced to a 7 overs a side affair. They survived a scare after coming close to losing the match against the Scots. While their bowling was average, The likes of Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor shined with the bat. New Zealand would count on these three and the likes of Martin Guptill and Jacob Oram to fire with the bat. With the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori likely to be out of the match due to a shoulder injury, the bowling department should pull their socks up and display a determined approach against the formidable batting line-up of the Proteas.
Numbers game:
2-1: South Africa have 2 victories against New Zealand in T20 Internationals while the Kiwis have managed one victory against the Proteas.
111.11: Graeme Smith's batting strike rate vs New Zealand in T20 games.

Pakistan handle Netherlands scare, stay alive

It was a comprehensive routing of a hapless Netherlands outfit, Pakistan were superior in all departments and notched up a crushing win to knock the Dutch out of the tournament. Still it was quite a pleasure to see the Orange brigade in action and they will be better off for the experience gained.

Kamran Akmal:T20 is a fun game. Very happy with the keeping and I worked very hard with the fielding coach on my keeping.

Younis Khan: It was all about the partnerships, everybody thought we will field first but we batted. We were positive all the way.

Smits: We did not play that well today, Afridi was outstanding today. We should have restricted them to 150. Batting did not come off today, congrats to Pakistan. It is a privilege to be here and we managed to make an impact in the tournament.

Kamran Akmal is the Man of the Match for his all-round performance today

Sloppy Pakistan face litmus test

Who'd have thunk it, that Pakistan and Netherlands would be taking on each other in a group game in which Pakistan might do and still die? Such has been the way with this strangest of groups but clarity has now emerged. Netherlands, to progress and thus consign Pakistan to a fate they seem worryingly resigned to, can afford to lose, but by no more than 24 runs. If Pakistan chase, then they must do so with roughly three overs to spare.

The problems are Pakistan's. Not for a moment since they landed in England have they looked like a team that is playing in a World Cup. Younis Khan's bizarre, careless dismissal of the format and the tournament seems to have filtered through to the side. Anyway you'd think, given their lack of international games recently, that Pakistan would be itching to rip through a Ramadan 20/20 night tournament in Karachi's Pakistan Chowk, let alone a World Cup. The attitude is, however, only the most overarching concern: on the field, they are the worst fielding side, have an unsettled batting order and are rusty with the ball. Beyond that, they're fine.

Netherlands, on the other hand, have accorded this tournament the respect it deserves and have shown, with that fabulous opening win, just why the format is celebrated. As well as skill, the Netherlands will remind one and all, Twenty20 rewards discipline, hard work and bravery. The problem for them, of course, is to recreate the intensity of Friday, something which often proves beyond associate nations and lower-ranked sides.

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All About Latest Sports Action: Ireland throw Bangladesh out of competition

Ireland had stunned everyone by making it to the Super Eight of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and they have done it again in the shortest version of the game.

What a great start they have made in the ICC World Twenty20 2009, hammering Bangladesh by six wickets with 10 deliveries remaining. They have progressed to the next round of the competition, alongwith the defending champions India, from Group A.


All About Latest Sports Action: Ireland throw Bangladesh out of competition

Sri Lanka eliminate Australia from World Twenty20

NOTTINGHAM: Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit robust half-centuries as Sri Lanka sent Australia packing from the World Twenty20 with a six-wicket win on Monday.

Australia, asked to bat by Sangakkara in his first match as captain, managed only 159-9 in good batting conditions as mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Lasith Malinga claimed three wickets each, AFP reports.

Opener Dilshan then plundered 53 off 32 balls and left-handed Sangakkara made an unbeaten 55 to fire Sri Lanka home with six deliveries to spare.

Jehan Mubarak hit 21 not out to keep his captain company till the end, which came when Mitchell Johnson sent down a wide off the first delivery of the final over.

Ricky Ponting’s men, beaten by the West Indies in their first match, bowed out of the tournament with their fifth successive Twenty20 defeat and ample time in hand to prepare for next month’s Ashes series.

Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who take the two Super Eights places from the group, play each other in the inconsequential last league match on Wednesday.

‘It’s disappointing to go out of the tournament and I can’t explain why,’ said Ponting.

‘The training was spot-on and there was a good attitude in the group. But in the big moments we haven’t been able to play and we made too many mistakes.

‘We knew that it would be a huge challenge against their spinners. We knew we had to play them well. We didn’t do that and Sri Lanka deserved to win the game.

‘Now we have to move on as quickly as possible and focus on the Ashes.’

Sangakkara said it was crucial to have confidence they could win.

‘It was a great performance. When you play against Australia the key is to believe you can win,’ he said.

‘Our strength has always been spin bowling and we played two guys whom the Australians haven’t seen much of. So their batsmen couldn’t really target one single bowler.

‘Now we want to beat the West Indies in the final group match. We can’t afford to be complacent.’

Mendis, who turns the ball both ways without a visible change in his bowling action, wrecked the top order in a match Australia had to win to stay in the competition.

Slinger Malinga took care of the lower order as Australia collapsed to 94-6 in the 15th over, before David Hussey and Johnson led a late revival.

The pair put on 41 off 21 balls for the seventh wicket with Hussey hitting 28 off 22 balls and Johnson smashing 38 off 13 with two fours and as many sixes.

Sri Lanka were playing their first international match since the terror attack on their team bus in Lahore on March 3 which left seven players injured and killed eight Pakistani security-men.

Sangakkara’s team was greeted to Trent Bridge by some 100 people waving banners in protest against what they claimed was killing of innocent Tamils by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the war against the Tamil Tigers.

Ireland upset Bangladesh to reach Super Eights

NOTTINGHAM: Ireland sealed a place in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights when Kevin O’Brien’s unbeaten 39 from 17 deliveries helped them to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh on Monday.

The result means Bangladesh, who were beaten by India in their opening game, have no chance of progressing from Group A, Reuters reports.

Ireland, a non-Test playing nation who also made it through the opening stage of the one-day World Cup in 2007, restricted Bangladesh to 137 for eight in their 20 overs at Trent Bridge.

‘We didn’t make anywhere near enough runs,’ Bangladesh’s Australian coach Jamie Siddons told reporters. ‘The par score on that flat wicket was 170. The cooler heads prevailed and under pressure our guys weren’t up to it.’

Ireland reached 138 for four with 10 balls remaining following an aggressive exhibition of hitting from O’Brien. He struck four fours and two sixes after coming in with the match closely poised.

Man of the match Niall O’Brien, Kevin’s brother, had laid the foundations for Ireland’s victory with an innings of 40 from 25 balls, including three sixes.

‘It’s always nice to bat well when there are 10-15,000 people cheering you on,’ said Niall O’Brien.

‘It doesn’t feel like an upset to us as we came here expecting to beat Bangladesh and we have done it again.’

Australian-born Trent Johnston earlier claimed three for 20 that helped to limit Bangladesh in their innings.

Bangladesh’s total might have been even lower had it not been for the 20 runs that Mashrafe Mortaza struck from the last over, bowled by Alex Cusack.

Twenty20 nothing serious: Younus

LONDON:Pakistan captain Younus Khan was left struggling to explain his side's lack luster display after their comprehensive 48-run loss to England in the ICC World Twenty20.

Sloppy fielding by the 2007 finalists helped England to a competitive 185 for five at the Oval on Sunday, featuring 58 from Kevin Pietersen, while the Pakistan reply never got going.

Three wickets in the power play left Pakistan well behind the run-rate and Younus, who finished unbeaten on 46, could only watch from the other end as a succession of batsmen came and went.

‘I would never had thought we would end up chasing 185,’ Younus told reporters.

‘Our fielding was bad and we easily gave away 20-25 runs.

‘This is a matter of concern for us. I have no idea why our fielders are unable to field properly. It is not as if we are not working hard butwe are not just getting it right for reasons unknown to me.’

Pakistan,whose homeland has become a virtual no-go zone for the rest of world cricket following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March, have been starved of international competition in recent months.

And now they must not only beat the Netherlands, shock four-wicket winners over England in Friday's tournament opener, they must do so by a large margin at Lord's on Tuesday if they are to join the hosts in the Super Eights.

We will have to do it because if we don't we will be out of the competition,’ said Younus of the need for a big win against the Dutch.

‘Hopefully the senior guys will come forward and do a job for our team.

It's the only chance we have. The onus lies on the senior guys like Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and myself.’

Butwhile the rest of the world's leading sides treat Twenty20 almost asseriously as nearly all other international cricket, Younus wasconscious of the founding principle behind its creation as aprofessional sport.

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All About Latest Sports Action: England get lifeline as Pakistan’s batters collapse

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
Pakistan’s batsmen were found wanting once more in the conditions that were not ideal for batting. The extra bounce of the Kennigton Oval pitch undid the stroke-makers who are more comfortable in doing the business on the placid sub-continental pitches where they take things for granted.

No matter how batting friendly the pitches may be in England the ball is always going to do something in the air and the bounce can vary. The Pakistan batsmen have often struggled whenever the ball has moved and what happened on June 7 was reflective of their mindset.


All About Latest Sports Action: England get lifeline as Pakistan’s batters collapse

All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj, Ojha prevent catastrophe of 2007

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Bangladesh may be a soft opposition for other teams but they have always been a formidable opponent for India, who have had the knack of failing against the weakest of outfits.

Bangladesh had spoiled India’s party in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and Rahul Dravid’s team, rated as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, was back home even before the second round.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s lads are the firm favourites to annex the ICC World Twenty20 title for the second time running and there are very few people who’ll dispute India being the strongest team to have taken the field in the competition.


All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj, Ojha prevent catastrophe of 2007: "Bangladesh may be a soft opposition for other teams but they have always been a formidable opponent for India, who have had the knack of failing against the weakest of outfits."