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St Lucia: M S Dhoni, after his successful stint at IPL is back to lead the Team India in T-20 World cup 2010 which will be played in West Indies. Dhoni’s men will be playing their first match against Afghanistan on Saturday.

Dhoni has warned his players not to take Afghanistan lightly as they have made their mark and ready to rub the shoulders against the best teams.

Dhoni said “If you ask me, I would not consider our

opening match against Afghanistan as a practice game. I don’t take my opponents lightly. At the end of the day you have to win whichever team you play,”.

Dhoni said “I don’t know much about them. It is good in a way because if we know too much about a side then you are thinking too much about them. However, our preparation will remain the same as if you are playing the best opponent in world cricket,”

Dhoni also added “We can’t really relax against

whichever team you are playing. At the end of the day you are representing India and you have to be at your best when you turn up on the field,”.

When asked about skipping the warm up games and absence of key players to which Dhoni said “We don’t actually need to play a warm-up game as the way we have shaped up after the long journey, there wouldn’t have been any good coming out of it. It is good that we can rest and have a rigorous practice session tomorrow and get back into the groove and prepare for the match against them,”.

And for Sehwag’s absence he said since the best replacement has been done in place of the lost key players due injury so they will make good combination for the competitive cricket.

When asked about Yuvraj’s bad form to which Dhoni replied “He bats at number four and the individual he is, he can easily play the big shots. There aren’t enough grounds in the world that are big enough for him not to clear.”

He also added that Yuvi’s bowling utility will be handy in the middle overs. Dhoni is very keen about the matches which are to be played against South Africa and Afghanistan. There is no room for errors against these two teams. If any slip up against them can put his team out of Super 8 league.

He Said”In this format you have to be at your best throughout. Every step you take or every six deliveries that you bowl have a great impact on the game. In the same way every run and catch that you save or miss will impact the performance. It is going to be a tough tournament. But then it is a sport, so let’s go out and enjoy our cricket,”

The Team India is Scheduled to play their two group league matches against Afghanistan and South Africa on May 1,2010 and May 2,2010 respectively.

INDIA IS going to play its first Twenty20 world cup 2010 match against Afghanistan at Gros Islet in West Indies today, May 1. The fresh memory of winning IPL tournament will definitely make it easier for captain of Indian squad Mahendra Singh Dhoni to thrash the newly born cricketing team of Afghanistan. But ruling out Afghanistan as a weak team will be a big mistake on the part of opponents. The wily Afghans have surprised many an Associate teams during their stunning rise from Division Five to the world event. M S Dhoni is well aware of the criticality of the opening game, especially when most of his players are under fatigue syndrome caused by recently ended IPL tournament back home. He aptly said, “I don’t take my opponent lightly. At the end of the day you have to win whichever team you play…our preparation will remain the same as if you are playing the best opponent in world cricket.” Indian team knows little about their opponents and haven’t played a warm match, this is going to be critical factor in the match against Afghanistan. A win against Afghanistan will assure India a place in the next round. But, you cannot rule out the surprise element attached with cricket. Afghanistan team will definitely try do its best and play to their best potential. What they can do against the experienced Indian batting line up and a seasoned bowling attack, remains to be seen. Pace of Zahir, spin of turbanator Harbhajan and batting prowess of Yuvraj and Raina under the stewardship of Dhoni will definitely make them tizzy. Despite the craze of cricket, the matches in Caribbean matches do have a problem of timing as they are played in a different time zone. Indian Vs Afghanistan match will be played today at 7 pm IST. Two men from both sides whom people are expecting to show good skills are Suresh Raina from India and Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan. Raina, fresh from the IPL stint and Man of the Final is going to show what it takes to be successful in the T20 format. On the other hand Md. Nabi, an off-spinning all rounder was the leading wicket taker (13) in qualifiers. And scored 58 in his first ODI match. The pitch report is in favor of batsmen, and in all possibility it is going to be high scoring game. But the forecast of scattered shower can jeopardize the possible advantage for Indians. It is the first Twenty20 international for Gros Islet. Statistically, winning record of Afghanistan with 66% is better than Indian average of 55%. But, cricket fan’s will definitely love to watch some struggle and fight rather just a clean sweep.

Indian cricket team captain skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday predicted a keen contest during the tournament, saying the race for the title was too close to calls. after losing their World Twenty20 crown in England, India will take another shot at the title when they begin their campaign against new entrants Afghanistan here Saturday.

India won the inaugural championships in 2007 in South Africa that cracked the jackpot for the shorter format of the game. Twenty20 was an instant hit in cricket’s financial powerhouse India, who had earlier won a cricket World Cup (50 overs) way back in 1983.

But two years later in South Africa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys made an early exit which had tongues wagging whether the first title was more of a fluke. Pakistan emerged as the surprise champions.

Though India would be opening against lowly Afghanistan before taking on South Africa, Dhoni has made it clear that they would not take the war-torn neighbours lightly. Afghanistan would not be short of motivation. Far from the riches of Indian cricketers, the Afghanistan team has battled a raging war at home to come so far.
In two years, they have risen from Division Five of the World Cricket League to the elite 12-nation World Twenty20. They just missed out on qualifying for the 2011 World Cup but their gutsy show has earned them the full one-day international status.

They pulled off an impressive five-wicket win over Ireland in a warm-up match Wednesday and are looking to create a major upset to give back something to cheer for their countrymen.

We are here not just to participate,’ says Afghanistan head coach Kabir Khan. ‘The players and all of us are excited about the first game against India and we want to give them tough competition,’ he says.

India would lack the firepower in the batting department with the absence of charismatic Virender Sehwag who is out with a shoulder injury. Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir’s bad patch is also a cause of worry for the team.

The bowling though looks razor sharp with Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, the two lead bowlers, having performed well for Mumbai Indians during the IPL. Dhoni will also have a host of part-time bowlers to pick from.

Indian squad -  Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & Wicket Keeper ), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, R. Vinay Kumar.

Afghanistan squad -  Nowroz Mangal (Team captain ), Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Hamid Hassan, Karim Sadiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Nasratullah Nasrat, Noor Ali, Raees Ahmadzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Shabir Noori, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Shapoor Zadran.

ACC struggles to add Afghanistan to the Asia Cup
Asia Cup 2010

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India failed to defeat Afghanistan in the world cup qualifier in the Asia-Pacific zone
Coach sehwag said that he is not worried bcoz he has backing of selectors, captain and board….and that they had wona close match against Papua new guinea just 2 yrs ago
Rahul Dravid,the coach of new zealand team said that Sachin should now consider retiring gracefully and let his son take over the captaincy
saurav ganguly, the coach of england feels that the boys need to control their emotions on the field
the current leading man from bollywood bret lee advices ms dhoni to take upacting as well
Minnows Pakistan beat Ireland in a close match…and thus they avanged their defeat in the 2007 WC against the then minnows ireland
Inzamam ul haq, who was the captain of the losing team and now the present coach said in a press interview that
“Boys plays well…they try hard…inshallah we wins the world cup”
For more fun visit:

http://www.cricket.indhp.net/funzone.asp

India vs Afghanistan Live Streaming ICC T20 World Cup

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Saturday May 1, 2010 7.00 PM IST

Venue: Gros Islet

Match no.: 3, Group C

India: One of the Favorites to win this world cup. It should be an easy task for them to win this match and starts their campaign on the winning note. It could be a practice match for them but the men in blue shouldn’t be complainant against the minnows. Though the IPL has taken the toll out of them, if they just play upto their potential then they could easily win the match. Yuvi’s form is a cause of concern. The team would be hoping him to repeat the form of 2007 wc. Should be one sided match for them.

Afghanistan: A team whose members are from refugee camps, who have grown up in a war Zone and who will try to bring in new zeal and excitement to the rather dull T20 World cup. It has been a dream run for Afghanistan who narrowly missed the bus to World Cup and came into T20 to stir things a little. Cricket being followed by the countrymen pretty well, Afghanistan Captain says that the match is more than just being about the result as they do not have anything to lose. Afghanistan has surprsd everyone beng th elading assocates team and are ready to surprise India Cricket team as well. Nothing to lose for them.

Players to watch out for

M Vijay: This could be his debut match for India. A very clean hitter and never tried any ugly shot even though he was playing T-20 games. Huge hit of this year IPL and 127 runs against the Royals has fetched him a place in the Indian team over the likes of Uthappa, Tiwary and Raydu. A good start here could cement his place in all the matches of the WC, otherwise, team India would shuffle too many players at the top. Its not easy to fill the place of Sehwag. Big test ahead him.

Karim Sadiq: They call him “Sehwag of Kabul”. He is the batsman to watch out for. The only other one to hit a double century while chasing mammoth 494 against Canada, he is going to be all out to prove himself.

Head to head:

This is going to be first match between both teams.

Afghanistan vs India T20 World Cup 2010 here. The World Twenty20 2010, third match against India vs. Afghanistan starts on this Saturday 1st May on Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia. India will be hoping to register a comfortable win against their opponent, who is in the international league for the very first time.

Indians will be on the field on Saturday, under the guidance of skipper Dhoni. The team consists of devastating players like Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, and Yuvraj Singh. These players are in form at the moment and they will be the key for their team too.

Afghanistan will be there on the field against one of the best team in T20 Cricket. It’s obvious that they are new to this international league, though, they will stand hard at their opponent under the skipper Nowroz Mangal.

India: (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar/R Vinay Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Afghanistan: (possible) 1 Karim Sadiq, 2 Noor Ali, 3 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 4 Nowroz Mangal (capt), 5 Hamid Hassan, 6 Mirwais Ashraf, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Samiullah Shenwari, 9 Asghar Stanikzai, 10 Shapoor Zadran, 11 Raees Ahmadzai.

India vs Afghanistan ICC T20 World Cup Live Streaming

Squads:

India: (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar/R Vinay Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Afghanistan: (possible) 1 Karim Sadiq, 2 Noor Ali, 3 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 4 Nowroz Mangal (capt), 5 Hamid Hassan, 6 Mirwais Ashraf, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Samiullah Shenwari, 9 Asghar Stanikzai, 10 Shapoor Zadran, 11 Raees Ahmadzai.

3rd Match, Group C: Afghanistan v India at Gros Islet

May 1, 2010 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

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Afghanistan Cricket team Historical events and Journey Photos From Kabul TO ICC World Twenty20 2010 as the top qualifier. Clip Created By M.KHan.

ICC World Twenty20 2010, 3rd Match, Group C: Afghanistan v India at Gros Islet May 1, 2010 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT) Afghanistan may have a tough time in the World Twenty20, being slotted in the same group as former champions India, and South Africa, but their coach Kabir Khan, a former…