Unsure about Malinga's availability against Afghanistan: Mathews

Malinga may not play Sri Lanka's first game. © Getty

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews stated that strike bowler, Lasith Malinga is a doubtful starter for their opening game against Afghanistan on Thursday (March 17). Malinga, who has been missing from action since he sustained a knee injury in the Asia Cup T20, 2016, joined the rest of the squad only on Tuesday (March 14) and is short on match practice.

Mathews further added that they will get to know about Malinga's availability only after he bowls at full tilt in the nets just before their game against Afghanistan. "We are yet to get yes or no from physio," Mathews said. "Malinga will have a net session tomorrow. We will test his bowling tomorrow and need to wait. He bowled a couple of overs with a short run-up. He will bowl with his full run-up tomorrow and we will take a call."

As a result of his slow recovery from a persistent knee problem, Malinga handed over the reins of captaining Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) side to the One-Day International (ODI) and Test skipper Mathews just before the start of the World T20. In fact, Malinga has been undergoing rehabilitation for his knee injury since the end of last year and has taken part in just five out of Sri Lanka's last 13 T20Is.

He came back to lead the Sri Lankan side for the Asia Cup but suffered a recurrence of his knee injury during the game against UAE and missed the rest of the tournament. The ace pacer has even said that he might retire from the game after the World T20.

Good to carry underdogs tag: Angelo Mathews

"We're not looking too far ahead at the moment and we will take one game at a time," said Angelo Mathews © Getty

With the retirements of both Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka are going through a difficult transition phase. In the build up to the ICC World T20 2016, they failed to make it to the final of the Asia Cup T20 2016 and lost both their warm-up games. However, Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan skipper, said that low expectations from the fans and media will help them play with freedom.

"The fact that we are coming in as underdogs will help in releasing the pressure. Yes, we didn't do well in the Asia Cup but we're getting better. I'm confident of my team's progress," Mathews said a day ahead of their match on Wednesday (March 16).

Mathews stated that Sri Lanka will look at taking one match at a time and get some early momentum with a victory in the first game of the tournament against Afghanistan on Thursday. "We're not looking too far ahead at the moment and we will take one game at a time. We need one good game to get our momentum back," Mathews insisted.

Under the leadership of Asghar Stanikzai, the hardy group of cricketers from Afghanistan have made rapid progress through the lower rungs of cricket and are now ranked ninth in the Twenty20 International (T20I) rankings. Afghanistan also won all their three games to make it to the main draw of the World T20.

Mathews commended Afghanistan for their consistent performances and said that Sri Lanka won't take them lightly. "We can't call Afghanistan as minnows. They beat all the teams in the qualifiers and progressed. We are taking them very seriously. They can upset any team. We have to really play well to beat Afghanistan. They're really tough."

On the back of a persistent knee problem, Lasith Malinga resigned as the captain of Sri Lanka's T20I team and Mathews was appointed in his place. In a press conference shortly after Mathews took over the duties of leading the side, he was quoted as saying that he was not 'mentally prepared'. However, the all-rounder said: "I think I used a wrong word 'not ready'. What I meant was I was not expecting the captaincy.

"I've been a part and parcel of the side and captain of the One-Day International (ODI) and Test teams for about three years. I'm very familiar with the players. It's not a burden at all. My task now is to get the maximum out of players from the bunch that we have. I'm really confident," he added.

The retirements of Sangakkara and Jayawardene have left Sri Lanka with gaping holes to the fill in the batting line-up. Mathews, though, asked the younger lot to shoulder extra responsibility as they look to rebuild from the scratch. "It's quite hard to fill those gaps. They served us for so many years. They've retired. Cricket will live forever...no one is permanent in the team.

"Whosoever comes into the team has to take responsibility. Yes, I've had a lean patch but I have been batting well at the nets and have to carry on."

Pakistan batting proves too good for Bangladesh

Shahid Afridi scored a 19-ball 49 and then picked up 2 for 27 to lead Pakistan to a comfortable win. © Getty

Ahmed Shehzad started it, Mohammad Hafeez carried it forward and Shahid Afridi finished it in style as Pakistan rode on an exceptional batting performance to outplay Bangladesh, their recent bogey team, to begin their ICC World Twenty20 campaign on a winning note. In the face of daunting target of 202, Bangladesh batsmen emerged second-best as Afridi & Co. completed a comprehensive 55-run win at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday (March 16).

In the lead-up to the fixture, Bangladesh were being handed the edge, having beaten Pakistan in their last five meetings across formats - the latest one coming ten days ago in the Asia Cup T20. If an unconvincing show in Bangladesh wasn't enough to hamper their preparation for the World T20, their late arrival amidst chaos and political merry-go-round left them with just one practice game and under immense pressure. Yet, with the flip of the coin at the toss, Pakistan turned all the anticipation on its head.

Pakistan's recent woes have originated in their brittle top-order but Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad's breezy beginnings went a long way in shedding the early tentativeness. Bangladesh were also caught unaware by the Eden Gardens track that did not have the sort of spice that could help the pacers create instant impact. Al-Amin Hossain went for 18 runs in the second over and Mortaza turned to spin in just the third over of the match.

Arafat Sunny gave his skipper a reason to smile, striking in the first over to send Sharjeel packing but there wasn't enough turn for him to carve open the Pakistan line-up. After having missed the Asia Cup T20, Shehzad vindicated his board's late call to draft him into the World T20 squad as he made a confident and princely return to the side, constantly dancing down the track and denying the bowlers in their quest for rhythm.

Only two days ago, Mohammad Hafeez got a good look at the Eden wicket with an undefeated 49-ball 70 in Pakistan's lone warm-up match, against Sri Lanka. Batting at No. 3, he merely carried the good form in and helped lay the foundation for Pakistan with a 68-ball 95-run stand for the second wicket.

Unlike in Dhaka, Mortaza's bowlers could seldom dictate terms on a typically slow Eden wicket. Mortaza himself had a bad day in the office, constantly straying in line and length and allowing Shehzad and Hafeez to chance their arms at will. On the eve of the fixture, Mortaza had played up the importance of Shakib Al Hasan and believed his Indian Premier League experience and his familiarity with the conditions would provide them an advantage. As it turned out, Shakib endured one of his most listless spells (0-39), as Hafeez put on an excellent batting display to masterfully keep the left-arm spinner at bay.

The look of relief on Shehzad's face after reaching his half-century, his fifth in format, had a story to tell. Playing in his first T20I international since January, Shehzad provided the exact sort of top-order impetus that Pakistan has craved for recently. When he eventually fell due to failed attempt at a helicopter shot, Afridi walked out at no. 4.

A sensationally acrobatic effort at the boundary line from Soumya Sarkar sent Hafeez back to the hut for a 42-ball 64 but he'd done well enough to leave the platform open for Afridi to blaze away.

The Pakistan skipper had recently copped criticism back home and grappled with fever on the eve of the fixture but it all took a back seat when he took guard in the 14th over, with Pakistan needing a flourishing end to truly put the contest beyond their opposition's reach.

An essay that began with a pull and a sweep shot off his opposite number was well-decorated with audacious hits all around and ended as a 19-ball 49, 40 of which came in fours and sixes. The skipper's frenetic innings ensured Pakistan finished on 201 for 5, their second-highest innings total in T20Is.

If Pakistan's batting caught Bangladesh off-guard, Mohammad Amir's third delivery left them truly groggy. A peach-of-a-delivery from the ever-improving left-armer was too quick for Sarkar, who couldn't bring his bat down on time to deny the ball from sending his off-stump flying. Tamim Iqbal, who became the first Bangladesh batsman to score a T20I hundred in their qualifying match against Oman, was up with the task of repeating his heroic if Bangladesh were to pull off a sixth-straight victory over Pakistan. He and Sabbir Rahman tried to pull Bangladesh out of their early misery with some counter-attacking batting. In came Afridi.

Both Sabbir and Tamim were stroking the ball with great precision until Afridi pulled a rabbit out of his hat. While his conventional leg-spin deliveries were met with disdain, he got the better of both the men with quicker deliveries that held its line. In the space of 13 deliveries, Afridi deflated Bangladesh's quest in chase.

On a day when Shakib failed to create an impact, Imad Wasim, Pakistan's left-arm spinner, came to the fore. With the asking rate constantly mounting, Mahmadullah took the aerial route and perished for just four. Bangladesh's attempts of stitching together partnerships never blossomed as more batsmen perished while going for the big shots. Shakib undid his poor bowling efforts with an unbeaten fifty but his side fell well short of the target.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 201-5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 64, Ahmed Shehzad 52, Shahid Afridi 49; Taskin Ahmed 2-32, Arafat Sunny 2-34) beatBangladesh 146-6 (Shakib Al Hasan 50 not out; Mohammad Amir 2-27, Shahid Afridi 2-27) by 55 runs.

Australia confident despite New Zealand's dream start: Shane Watson

Watson, looking forward to a good game against New Zealand © Getty

New Zealand's victory against India has been the talking point of the ICC World T20, 2016, even hours after the game ended. The game had been keenly followed by other teams in the group, including Australia. Naturally, a lot of them had been taken by surprise with the amount of turn that they were seeing, including Shane Watson.

"I'm not sure if I've seen a wicket turn as much as it did last night. It was incredible how much the ball turned. Obviously, in New Zealand's innings the balls turned quite a bit but when New Zealand were bowling... goodness me, the ball turned a hell of a lot. The Indian players are very good players of spin but that was turning huge amounts so I'm not sure if they were hoping for those conditions exactly," said Shane Watson, in a press conference at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala on Wednesday (March 16). 

Australia are set to take on New Zealand next and Watson acknowledged the fact that they will be up against a team high on confidence. "It's a great win for New Zealand, so we're going to have to play very well. They're going to be very confident leading into this game," he said.

The turning tracks are something that Watson expects to see in Dharamsala as well. The first round of the World T20 in Dharamsala saw a lot of games being affected by rain but the pitches have also been on the slower side as a result. Watson expects the spinners to come into play a lot more here. "Yeah! I saw a few of the games that were played here and they definitely turned a bit. It seemed like there was obviously a lot of moisture around as well, so sometimes wickets do turn even if they're not incredibly dry, just because of the moisture that's around," he said, before adding that Australia have other options as well in the bowling department. "Spin isn't the only way to do well here. We have other options in the side. Last night, [Jasprit] Bumrah showed if the bowler has the skills, you don't need to be a spinner to be good in these conditions and in that way we have plenty of skillful bowlers who can be useful in these conditions," he said.

The pitch in Dharamsala is certainly not going to be as dry as the one in Nagpur. The rain around though has given the pitch a sluggish nature which is atypical to the ground. Sunil Chauhan, the chief curator, is not a happy man. He lamented the lack of sunshine around that has hampered his preparations. The ground itself was occupied until late January with teams from Nepal using the facilities and later Netherlands and Oman who had preparatory camps here. Chauhan though has made use of some of the tricks of the trade to counter the situation. One such thing included filling a mixture of sand and manure beneath the pitch to aid some grass growth.

Despite the efforts, it is the weather that has played a big spoilsport in these parts. Watson was hoping that the weather stays good and looked forward to a good game against New Zealand, a team that he admired for showing the courage to tackle the conditions. "It took a lot of courage to go against the grind from what you normally would, coming out here and not playing [Trent] Boult and [Tim] Southee and playing three spinners, it certainly paid dividends. That is the flexibility you should have in these sort of tournaments depending on what conditions come around," he said. 

While heaping praise on the opposition, Watson was also keen to point out that Australia will not be intimidated by the good start that New Zealand have got. "Certainly, (it's) a big confidence builder for New Zealand to beat India here in India. But like always in a game against New Zealand, they will know what we bring to the game whatever the conditions are. So no doubt they will be confident, but they will be wary of what we bring to the game as well," he said.

Indian batsmen didn't apply themselves: Sehwag

Virender Sehwag opined the toss played a crucial factor in India's defeat to New Zealand. © Getty

India put in a disappointing performance to slip towards a 47-run defeat against New Zealand in their opening encounter of the ICC World T20, 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday (March 15). The trio of Ish Sodhi, Nathan McCullum and Mitchell Santner bowled with flight and guile to account for nine wickets as New Zealand successfully defended what was widely expected to have been a sub-par total of 126.

Commenting on India's poor show, Sehwag lamented the fact that the batsmen did not apply themselves. He further added that the toss played a vital role in helping New Zealand to pip India. However, the swashbuckling opener was pleased that the Indian Women's team started their World T20 campaign on a bright note with a 72-run victory against Bangladesh Women. "It was a mixed day for India. Women's team won against Bangladesh, but men's team lost to New Zealand. I believe India lost as the batsmen didn't apply themselves," Sehwag said in an exclusive chat with cricbuzz.

"If they had thought of playing (all) 120 deliveries, India could have won the game easily, but unfortunately, some soft dismissals and bad shot selection cost them dearly. Toss made a big difference as New Zealand won it and batted first, and they put on 126 runs on the board. And when India were chasing, they batted only 18.1 overs and got all-out for 79."

Sehwag, though, praised New Zealand for their well-executed strategy. The visitors picked three spinners and dropped the able pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. "I was surprised when I saw that Southee and Boult were not part of New Zealand's playing XI. I thought they planned really well and their strategy was good. That is why they picked three spinners. New Zealand's spinners picked nine wickets between them."

When Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni rotated the strike with singles and twos to keep the scorecard ticking, India were still in the game. However, Sodhi picked up the crucial wickets of Kohli and Jadeja in successive overs to ensure New Zealand took control of the proceedings. Sehwag reckoned that those two scalps of Kohli and Jadeja turned the game in New Zealand's favour.

"I think when Sodhi got Kohli and Jadeja's wickets in two overs, it was a big moment for New Zealand. The way Kohli and Dhoni were batting, it looked like they will play till the end and finish the game. Unfortunately, Sodhi got Kohli's wicket and then Jadeja's wicket, and the Indian batting collapsed.

Sehwag summed up by saying that if India play to their potential, they can still overcome Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh in their group and progress to the semi-final. "I predicted that New Zealand and India will qualify from the group. I hope that India will cope up with this defeat and come hard at Pakistan and try to win that game. I am sure that if they play to their potential, they will beat Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh."

Mithali Raj pleased with India's all-round efforts

Mithali Raj in action against Bangladesh © Getty

Mithali Raj, India Women cricket team captain, applauded the all-round efforts from her team after their 72-run demolition of Bangladesh Women in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 opener in Bengaluru and said that the team will look to carry forward the momentum from here on.

"As batters we want to use the first six overs to give the team a good start, which we did. Though we lost a few wickets in the middle, Harmanpreet (Kaur) and Veda's (Krishnamurthy) innings got us back to post 160-plus total. We were expecting some showers at the start of our bowling, so it was crucial that we don't leak runs in the first five overs. It worked for us, and since then the bowlers bowled a tight line," the skipper told media after her team got off to a winning start in the World T20 on Tuesday (March 15).

Raj, who top scored for India with 42, became the highest run-getter in World T20, with 583 runs under her belt. The 33-year-old Indian skipper spoke highly of Vanitha Vellaswamy, with whom she shared a 62-run stand, saying that her promotion to the opener's slot since the Australia series has helped the team push for more attacking cricket up front.

"If your batters are going to go after the bowling in the first six overs, there is an amount of risk involved. Vanitha did well against Australia in Australia. We tried tried to use her in that role (as an opener) against Sri Lanka, and she has given us results. With this plan, even if you lose a wicket, we know we have a proper stable batsman coming in at No. 3." Raj said when asked about the rationale behind having Smriti Mandhana bat one-down.

Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur, who provided the impetus in death overs to help India to their best T20I total of 163 for 5, believes that a settled batting order over the last couple of years has considerably taken the pressure off the seniors, especially Raj. "Two years back, we were missing openers but now we have Vanitha (Vellaswamy) and Smriti (Mandhana) who have been performing well. Now, we don't have so much pressure on ourselves. We were totally dependent on Mithali before. But even if she doesn't perform today, we have the batting to take the team through."

Harmanpreet walked away with the Player of the Match award for her defining knock of 40 from 29 deliveries, inclusive of three boundaries and two massive hits into the stands. India had lost two quick wickets - well-settled opener Vanitha (38) and in-form Smriti Mandhana (0) in quick succession before the vice-captain walked out to lead the repair. The 27-year-old said the plan was to fish for singles and settle down before she could switch to her natural attacking mode. "When I went in to bat, Mithali di was well set. The plan was to look for singles, while she plays the big shots. The last two matches we played here, were on flat tracks. But there was a bit of turn today, so I was just looking for singles initially."

Asked about the strategy behind introducing spin as early as the second over, despite the recent success of her pacers, Raj said, "There are times where you can have an offspinner who can bowl drifters with the new ball if it's flat. If there's a bit of seam movement, we can go in with two pacers. Today it was a batting track, and I didn't want to have pacers operating at both ends. Sometimes, even if they bowl very well, you need to have one of those pacers in the middle. That's why we opened with pace attack and spin from the other end."

Raj also commended her brigade for handling the pressure well in a crucial tournament opener. "I was just telling the girls, no matter how many televised bilateral series we play, World Cup is a World Cup, and it has that atmosphere and environment where everyone around you talk about the pressure of the big stage. So it didn't come as a surprise that they were all nervous. But, they rose to the occasion," said the happy skipper after her team's 72-run win.

Batting let us down, laments Dhoni

"We could have applied ourselves a little more," said Dhoni. © Getty

Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the poor batting performance by the side following the 47-run defeat against New Zealand in the opening clash of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday (March 15).

Having restricted New Zealand to 126 for 7 in 20 overs, India were skittled out for 79 runs - their second lowest in T20 Internationals. While he felt that the bowlers did a good job in restricting the visitors, the batsmen erred in shot selection. On a track that offered turn, India lost nine wickets to New Zealand's spin trio of Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.

"I think it was a low scoring wicket," Dhoni said at the post match presentation. "I thought we restricted them to a good total, but the batting let us down. The shot selection kept putting pressure on the batsmen coming in.

"They (New Zealand) bowled well, exploited the conditions, but we lacked adaptability, we could have applied ourselves a little more. The batting let us down."

Meanwhile Kane Williamson, New Zealand skipper, was pleased with his team's performance. Entering the contest, he came without his pace spearheads - Tim Southee and Trent boult, who have enjoyed success in sub continent.

However, he had asserted that New Zealand will play smart cricket and according to the conditions on offer. The move to play three spinners worked for them as they troubled the Indian batsmen. "I am very pleased. It was a tough surface." he said. "With the bat whatever score was going to be tough, we would have liked to have a few more. We wanted to be aggressive at the start, the format dictates that, we may reflect on that though and try and do it better.

"The message to the bowling attack was to be patient and apply pressure and we did that well."

It was only the second time in Twenty20 Internationals that nine wickets feel to spinners in a single innings.