The most open World Twenty20 so far

There was a time when the subcontinent was mystery, assigned dark and exotic shades. It was the land of the unknown, rendered even more so by inventive prose. You got the feeling that visiting teams were waiting for the unexpected, that, peculiarly, they expected it, and were almost ready to succumb to it. Either they weren't aware of how to combat the conditions or, more likely, they were just unwilling to. A tour to this part of the world brought out the best in cricket writers, rarely in cricketers.

A couple of days ago I saw two giant New Zealanders, they of the land that had seemed beyond the unknown to us, understand the subcontinent like it was their own. And it struck me that the mystique

Ireland face up to difficult task

Ireland have a huge challenge ahead of them in the World Twenty20, having been grouped with one of the favourites, West Indies, and a team with a reputation for doing well on the world stage, Australia. They had made a splash in the 2011 World Cup with a thrilling defeat of England, and their captain Williams Porterfield was certain Ireland would not be pushovers in Sri Lanka.

"We are confident with ourselves, with what we've got in terms of player potential," Porterfield said. "Craig McDermott (who

Multi-tasking Taylor ready for challenge

All 12 captains at the upcoming World T20 will have issues on their mind ahead of the big event, none more so than Zimbabwe's leader Brendan Taylor. He will have the treble role of leading the side, anchoring the batting and playing as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Taylor has done all three jobs before but never all at the same time. That makes this tournament as stern an examination of his ability as multi-tasker as it will of his team and the progress they have made since their return to Test cricket last August.

Taylor took over the captaincy shortly before Zimbabwe were ready to re-enter the elite club of the game and has shown himself to be creative, unafraid and a strong performer while in charge. He led

Bangladesh 'never better prepared' - Ashraful

Mohammad Ashraful has pointed to Bangladesh's intensive preparation across three continents as their biggest asset as they head into the ICC World Twenty20. They have played a quarter of all their Twenty20 internationals this year, as well as two competitions where they played unofficial matches, all targeted towards a proper build-up to the event, a factor that went missing ahead of two of the three previous tournaments.

Ashraful has steadied himself as an opener during the past four months, having played 11 out of the 13 games and averaging a shade above thirty. He was also a late call-up for the Ruhuna Royals in the Sri Lanka Premier League, a tournament which also featured Bangladesh

Dhoni stresses importance of part-time bowlers

MS Dhoni  feels India's batsmen have contributed well as part-time bowlers in the absence of a genuine allrounder in the squad. Dhoni also said conditions in Sri Lanka had changed over the years and there wasn't much help for spinners during India's limited-overs tour to the country in July and August.

"We are a team who rely strongly on batting. But some of the top batsmen play the role of part-timers," Dhoni said after arriving in Colombo for the World Twenty20. "In T20 cricket, part-timers are very important. Our part-timers have been doing well.

Hafeez banks on Pakistan's T20 experience

Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan Twenty20 captain, has said that experienced Twenty20 players, Pakistan's past record in the World Twenty20, and familiarity with Sri Lankan conditions give his side confidence ahead of the upcoming world event.

"Winning the World Cup is always something special for the nation," Hafeez said after arrival in Colombo. "We have done it two times earlier and this time we've got a good chance and have a good team. We have also got good momentum after winning the [Twenty20 international] series against Australia [in the UAE] and that has

NZ come back to steal one-run win

A solitary Twenty20 it was, but it featured multiple narratives, an emotional return for Yuvraj Singh and his fans, an anti-climax for India and an incredible comeback from New Zealand. After Brendon McCullum had punched a furious 91, Virat Kohli counter-punched with a majestic 70, leaving India with 49 to get off 42 deliveries with seven wickets remaining.

That is when the Chennai pitch started to behave more like a typical Chennai pitch; the ball had come on nicely till then. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj struggled to get the ball off the square, James Franklin and Jacob Oram took all pace off the ball to make it harder, and the asking-rate surged suddenly. Dhoni, having promoted himself ahead of