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India vs West Indies T20 Live Updates 12 June 2009

India and West Indies are going to take on each other in their first match of Super Eight round in Twenty20 world cup 2009 on 12 June. The match will take place at the Lord’s cricket ground, London, England. No doubt, it is a big match for both sides. India reached the last eight as the group champion winning both the games, while West Indies make it to the Super Eight as the group runner up as they defeated Australia in the opening game before losing to Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the last match of the groups stage.

Match: India vs West Indies, Group E, Super Eight, ICC World Twenty20 2009

Date: 12 June 2009

Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, England

Kick off: 16:30 GMT (Local Time 17:30)

Well, India’s performance so far has been pretty much satisfactory as the defending champions did not face any big challenge in their first two games in the competition. However, it does not mean that their upcoming assignments will be as easy as it has been so far. In fact, West Indies defeated Australia, who started as one of the most favorites, in their first game, and then came on very close to Sri Lanka’s total of 192 while chasing in the last match of the group stage.

India might have lost their fiery opener Virender Sehwag for the remainder of the tournament as he failed to recover his shoulder injury, but the men in blue have found an excellent replacement in makeshift opener Rohit Sharma who has been pretty much consistent so far following some good shows in the warm up games. Well, to be honest, I do not think that Indian opening pair has been as dominating as it was during inaugural twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa.

The biggest strength of Indian batting line up is their middle order which boasts of the hard hitters like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well as two all rounders in Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan. No doubt, the presence of the Pathan brothers increased the depth of Indian batting line up. So, I do not see anything for India to worry about their batting line up. However, I do not like the idea of sending Dhoni at no. 3 because he is not a technically perfect player, even though he is an excellent hitter. It is very important for someone to be technically right while facing the new ball bowlers. I think, Raina should be send at no. 3 because he has no fault in his technique and is capable of scoring big shots as well as taking singles when it is needed to rotate the strike.

Indian bowlers have done their job very well so far. Specially, Pragyan Ojha has been very much impressive so far as the left arm spinner is currently the leading wicket taker along with South Africa’s Roelof van der Merwe with 6 wickets. Moreover, pacer Zaheer Khan performed excellently well against Netherlands as he picked up 4 wickets for 19. Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh are also doing their job successfully. Leg spinner Yusuf has brought a variation in their attack. Overall, India poses a threat for any established side in the tournament.

West Indies, however, should not be worried that much as they know how to knock out the favorites like Australia. The Caribbean side has some hard hitters like Captain Chris Gayle, who scored a fiery half century against Australia in the opening game. Gayle is the only batsman who has century in twenty20 international. Though Gayle missed the second game against Sri Lanka due to injury, he is now expected to be fit enough to feature against India tomorrow. Indian pacer Zaheer Khan is also concerned about the threat posed by Gayle.

BBC reported:

"It will be good to take his wicket early. He's definitely a match-winner," said Zaheer, who impressed with 4-19 against Ireland on Wednesday.

"If we can get him out early it will be a great help for Team India."

"Removing Gayle will be a great advantage for us," he added. "I am hopeful because we are clicking as a bowling unit and each bowler understands his role.

"We are chipping in with wickets at the right time."

Moreover, West Indies got an excellent opener in Andre Fletcher who has so far showed the kind of talent he possesses. West Indies middle order is also very strong in the presence of Xavier Marshall, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Moreover, all-rounders like Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have brought a much-needed depth in their batting line up. Their bowling attack features four quality pacers like Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, all-rounder Bravo and Lendl Simmons who picked up four wickets against Sri Lanka conceding only 19 runs in 3 overs. West Indies includes only Sulieman Benn as the specialist spinner in the final eleven.

Online Live Score and Updates

The live score and updates of the match will be found in several cricket websites including Cricinfo, Cricbuzz, Cricket Next etc.

It seems that India is favorite against West Indies, but as you know, twenty20 is a format where everything can change in the space of just few balls and the gap between two teams are very close. The elimination of Australia and Bangladesh from the group stage once again proved that no one is favorite when it comes to twenty20 cricket. So, I think, both sides will have equal chances to have a good start in Super Eight. I am just expecting a breathtaking match between India and West Indies.