The Indian selectors would meet on March 26 to select 15 Men Squad for the T20 world cup in WestIndies (Caribbean Islands) from April 30 to May 16.

India is in Group C along with South Africa and Qualifiers Afghanistan and are scheduled to play Afghans on May 1 and the South Africans on May 2.The Indians would be playing these 2 group matches at St Lucia and If they are through to the second round(which is highly likely with Afghan as the third team) the next 3 matches would happen at St Lucia and Barbados.

Its weird with ICC Scheduling a consecutive T20 world cup in less than a year after England 2009, though it was meant to be a bi-yearly event and the official verdict was that a ODI world cup is scheduled to happen by 2011 and they are preponing the T20 Event to 2010.

Indian squad should not be with many changes or surprises for the WestIndies as One venue (st Lucia) have a great resemblance with Indian Wickets with not much bounce and aiding spin and the other venue(Barbados) as the one with true bounce aiding fast bowlers,spinners and batsmen alike.

Sehwag,Gambhir,Yuvraj,Raina,Kohli and Yusuf should be automatic selections for the batsmen slot.Zaheer,Ishant,Nehra,Praveen should make up the fast bowlers category while Harbhajan,Ravindra Jadeja should be the first option spinners.With Dhoni as the captain and frontline wicketkeeper,Dinesh Karthik should take up the reserve keeper slot as well as the pure batsman slot if needed.The above mentioned 14 men should be the automatic certainities provided no one picks up any injury during the month long IPL tourney.

The 15th man should be a point of debate as to pick a fast bowler or spinner or a batsman.To drill down further batting options are available in plenty in the above mentioned lot and wont need further strengthening.The bet should be between a spinner and or a fast bowler.The better option would be to go for a fast bowler as we have yusuf,sehwag and yuvraj who would roll their arm more than enough in addition to Harbhajan and Jadeja.Hence the final slot would be a toss up between sreesanth or Tyagi or whomsoever performing better at the IPL 2010.

The Probable Squad:

Virender Sehwag,Gautam Gambhir,Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina,Yuvraj Singh,Yusuf Pathan, MS Dhoni(c),Dinesh Karthik,Ravindra Jadeja,Harbhajan Singh,Zaheer Khan,Ashish Nehra,Ishant Sharma,Praveen Kumar,Sreesanth (or) Tyagi(Tentative).

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Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 by 8 wickets with 8 balls remaining.

Scoreboard:

Sri Lanka innings (20 overs maximum)

T Dilshan c S Hasan b M Aamer 0

S Jayasuriya b A Razzaq 17

J Mubarak c S Hasan b A Razzaq 0

K Sangakkara not out 64

M Jayawardene   c Haq b Razzaq 1

LPC Silva c Ajmal b Gul 14

I Udana b Afridi 1

A Mathews not out 35

Extras (lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 6

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 138

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-26, 4-32, 5-67, 6-70

Bowling: Mohammad Aamer: 4-1-30-1-7.50,Abdul Razzaq:3-0-20-3-6.66,Shahid Afridi:4-0-20-1-5.00,Saeed Ajmal:4-0-28-0-7.00,Shoaib Malik:1-0-8-0-8.00,Umar Gul:4-0-29-1-7.25

Pakistan innings (target: 139 runs from 20 overs)

Kamran Akmal st Sangakkara b Jayasuriya 37

Shahzaib Hasan        c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 19

Shahid Afridi not out 54

Shoaib Malik not out 24

Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5

Total (2 wickets; 18.4 overs) 139

Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-63

Bowling: AD Mathews:2-0-17-0-8.50,I Udana:4-0-44-0-11.00,SL Malinga:3.4-0-14-0-3.81,M Muralitharan:3-0-20-1-6.66,BAW Mendis:4-0-34-0-8.50,ST Jayasuriya:2-0-8-1-4.00

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Man of the series: TM Dilshan (Sri Lanka)

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Sri Lanka have set the pace throughout the Twenty20 World Cup with both bat and ball and have not lost a match.

Pakistan, desperately short of practice, were outplayed by England in their opening match but rallied remarkably to thrash New Zealand and then upset a confident, well-drilled South African team in Thursday’s semi-final.

Both sides have exhibited the imagination and technical expertise which have made the tournament so memorable with the latest form of the game evolving and changing daily before noisy sell-out crowds at Lord’s, the Oval and Trent Bridge.

Sri Lanka will start favourites by virtue of their consistency and strength in depth.

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Sri Lanka Captain Kumar Sangakkara called Tillekaratne Dilshan as a “pioneer” after the opener hit an unbeaten 96 to lead his side past West Indies and into the World Twenty20 final.

Sri Lanka cruised to a comfortable 57-run win at the Oval and will now take on Pakistan in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.

Dilshan’s knock was the centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s 158 for five with his 57-ball innings, which featured two sixes and 12 fours, the equal third-best in Twenty20 international history.

Fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya (24) and Angelo Mathews (12 not out) were the only other Sri Lankan batsmen to reach double figures.

Mathews took three wickets in the first over of the West Indies reply and the Caribbean side finished on 101 all out with Captain Chris Gayle walking with 63 not out.

“It’s Mathews’s first major international tour and you can’t ask for much more than three wickets in the first over,” added Sangakkara.

“To get three top order batsmen out is a great start. We have a great bowling attack, they are all thinking cricketers.

“Now we will take this confidence into the final against Pakistan. We’ll concentrate on getting our basics right, we’ll be responsible and execute our game plan.”

Dilshan said he was learning all the time in the international arena and was awarded Man of the Match.

Gayle said the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow after his bowlers had limited the flamboyant Sri Lankans to 158-5.

“Dilshan took the game away from us. But we have struggled to get a start and get runs on the board. We’ll come back as a better unit and learn things from this” said Gayle.

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Before the World T20 started, the West Indies were enduring a miserable tour of England. They lost the Test series and the One-dayers.

Gayle batted for the cause of Twenty20, emphasising how it was the face of the game’s future. Now, the big-hitting Jamaican has an opportunity to show how strong his romance with T20 exactly is, when his side takes on an in-form Sri Lanka in the second semifinal at the Oval on Friday.

West Indies have emerged as the party-poopers of the tournament. Everyone was talking about India, South Africa and Sri Lanka being title favourites.

But Gayle’s men played their own brand of attacking and attractive cricket. They have devoured Australia, India and England on their way to the semifinals.

The Oval, in fact, is working out to be a lucky ground for the West Indies. They beat Australia and England at this venue. Gayle will also be looking to avenge the loss the Windies suffered at the hands of the Lankans in the group stage at Nottingham.

For that their batting needs to fire. How their batsmen negotiate Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis will have a huge bearing on the result.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: KC Sangakkara, M Muralitharan, SI de Saram, TM Dilshan, ST Jayasuriya, DPMD Jayawardene, KMDN Kulasekara, MF Maharoof, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, BAW Mendis, J Mubarak, LPC Silva, T Thushara, I Udana

West Indies: CH Gayle, D Ramdin, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, FH Edwards, ADS Fletcher, XM Marshall, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, JE Taylor

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Pakistan won by 7 runs in the match played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham 18 June 2009

Scoreboard:
Pakistan innings (20 overs maximum)
Kamran Akmal     c Morkel b Steyn           23
Shahzaib Hasan     c Merwe b Parnell         0
Shahid Afridi     c de Villiers b Duminy     51
Shoaib Malik     c Botha b Merwe                34
Younis Khan     not out                                  24
Abdul Razzaq     not out                                12
Extras     (lb 2, w 3)             5

Total     (4 wickets; 20 overs)     149

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-28, 3-95, 4-124
Bowling: DW Steyn: 4-0-28-1-7.00, WD Parnell: 4-0-26-1-6.50, JH Kallis: 2-0-14-0-7.00, JA Morkel: 2-0-13-0-6.50, Merwe: 4-0-29-1-7.25, J Botha: 2-0-23-0-11.50, JP Duminy: 2-0-14-1-7.00

South Africa innings (target: 150 runs from 20 overs)
JH Kallis     c Malik b Saeed Ajmal            64
GC Smith     c & b Mohammad Aamer     10
HH Gibbs     b Shahid Afridi                          5
AB de Villiers b Shahid Afridi                     1
JP Duminy     not out                                   44
JA Morkel     run out (Fawad Alam)        2
MV Boucher     not out                                 0

Extras     (b 4, lb 11, w 1)         16

Total     (5 wickets; 20 overs)     142

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-46, 3-50, 4-111, 5-134

Bowling: Abdul Razzaq: 3-0-19-0-6.33, Mohammad Aamer: 4-0-30-1-7.50, Shahid Afridi: 4-0-16-2-4.00, Saeed Ajmal: 4-0-23-1-5.75, Shoaib Malik: 1-0-5-0-5.00, Umar Gul: 3-0-19-0-6.33, Fawad Alam: 1-0-15-0-15.00

Man of the match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

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Statistical highlights of the India-South Africa Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World Cup.

• India, for the first time, have lost three games in a row – by 7 wickets to West Indies; by 3 runs to England and by 12 runs to South Africa.
• South Africa’s 12-run win is their first against India in Twenty20 Internationals. They have now won seven matches in a row between March 27, 2009 and June 16, 2009 – a record in Twenty20 Internationals.
• South Africa have recorded their highest total against India while India have registered their lowest total against South Africa.
• With 16 wickets each, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh share the Indian bowling record for most wickets in Twenty20 Internationals.
• Yuvraj Singh (415) became the second Indian after Gautam Gambhir (476) to complete 400 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
• Graeme Smith became the fourth to amass 500 runs or more in Twenty20 Internationals, joining Brendon McCullum (689), Kevin Pietersen (529) and Misbah-ul-Haq (504).
• Smith is the first to complete 500 runs as skipper in Twenty20 Internationals, aggregating 503 at an average of 33.53 in 17 matches, including three fifties.
• Abraham de Villiers (63 off 51 balls) has recorded his third half-century in Twenty20 Internationals.
• AB de Villiers, in the course of his aforesaid innings, has completed his 300 runs, aggregating 361 at an average of 24.06 in 20 matches.
• de Villiers has accomplished two firsts for South Africa – first fifty against India in Twenty20 Internationals and three Man of Match awards.
• Johan Botha (3/16) has posted his best bowling performance. His splendid figures are the best for South Africa against India.

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Sri Lanka’s glittering array of original talents proved too bright for New Zealand in their winning game in the World Twenty20 on Tuesday. At Trent Bridge, the spin pairing of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis inspired Sri Lanka to victory by 48 runs and ensured their qualification for the semi-finals.

Chasing a target of 159, New Zealand’s batsmen played the slow bowlers with puzzled expressions, slumping to 110 all out in 17 overs as Mendis took three for nine from three overs and Muralitharan conceded only 18 runs from his four overs. Sri Lanka will play West Indies in the second semi-final, at the Brit Oval on Friday.

There was innovation, too, in Sri Lanka’s batting. Mahela Jayawardena twice used the back of his bat to play the reverse sweep off Jacob Oram and Tillekeratne Dilshan made 48 to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer, with 221 from five innings.

South Africa will play Pakistan in the first semi-final, at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

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In today’s Super Eight clash, Sri Lanka take on New Zealand in the first match at Trent Bridge. While the second match is between India and South Africa.

Match 23: Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand:

Teams:

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Aaron Redmond, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Peter McGlashan, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills,  Ian Butler

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis

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Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul steered the West Indies into the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 at England’s expense as they beat the hosts by five wickets on the Duckworth/Lewis method on Monday.

West Indies, set a revised target of 80 in nine overs after rain delayed the start of the second innings, finished on 82 for five at the Oval with four balls to spare to triumph in a Super Eights match where the winners knew they were going through to the last four.

Sarwan was 19 not out and Chanderpaul 17 not out; their unbroken stand worth 37 after West Indies had been wobbling at 45 for five in the sixth over.

England made 161 for six in their full 20 overs. Ravi Bopara top-scored with 55 but no other batsman made more than Kevin Pietersen’s 31.

Pietersen, who made 46 against India, pulled his first ball, from Pollard, for four and next ball flicked him behind square for another boundary.

Opener Bopara too showed plenty of class in on-driving Darren Sammy, a late replacement for the injured Fidel Edwards and fellow quick Jerome Taylor for high quality boundaries.

But a stand worth 56 was ended when Pietersen was caught by Andre Fletcher at deep square leg off medium-pacer Simmons for 31.

Bopara, having made a fine fifty, could not press on and was lbw to occasional off-spinner Gayle.

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