T20 has cut through barriers

Much water has flowed under the Thames, in terms figurative and technical, since India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

T20 has cut through barriers

Much water has flowed under the Thames, in terms figurative and technical, since India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

Had it not been for India's victory in the tournament, in which they beat Pakistan by five runs in the enthralling final, the Indian Premier League, in all probability, would have been remained a cherished dream in the eyes of its progenitors in the BCCI.

Having taken the cricketing world by storm as a result of the awesome pioneering efforts of IPL, advocates of T20 cricket yesterday set out to convert the traditionalists in the land of its birth at Lord's.

Less significant
It's worth noting that, despite its hype, the World T20 is far less significant than the IPL, and its total prize money of $2 million only a third of that of the inaugural Champions League, scheduled for later this year.

By common consent, the IPL has been a spectacular sporting extravaganza and commercial success, with fans, players, promoters, sponsors, franchise owners, officials et al (except for bookmakers), laughing all the way to the bank in an unprecedented phenomenon.

Despite what the purists may say, T20 cricket has evolved its own exciting ethos, which cuts across all barriers. Compact, action-packed, result-oriented and entertaining in keeping with the times, it has spawned its own native techniques in all departments of the game, improved athleticism and fielding standards by light years, and, most importantly, brought crowds thronging back to hitherto empty stadiums asking for more.

Players such as England captain Paul Collingwood admit to having benefited immensely from playing in this year's IPL in terms of preparation for his tournament.

He described the experience as a "massive bonus", not as a pun but as a means to describe the invaluable lessons he, as, indeed Ravi Bopara as well, learnt in the tournament's second edition in South Africa this year.

Change of heart
Changing his opinion on the merits of Twenty20 cricket, former England captain and batting virtuoso Kevin Pietersen said mock seriously last week: "It's definitely not a silly game anymore. You see the money involved and the cricket as well u00e2u0080u00a6 and in the next three weeks we could win a World Cup."

This year's tournament comprises 27 matches in 17 days at Lord's and the Oval in London and Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The nine ICC Test nations qualified automatically (much to the chagrin of nations like Holland, who were again made to qualify) and are joined by Holland, Ireland and Scotland after they advanced from the qualifying tournament.

Teams will compete in four groups of three with the top two in each group advancing to Super 8 stage.

Fixtures hereafter will depend on whether has been seeded as either an '1' (India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand) or '2' (South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh), determined by performances at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.

The teams will form two groups of four and play the other sides in the group once. The top two in each group advance to the semi-finals, before the final at Lord's on June 21.

India in the running
India's prospects were aptly, if indirectly, summed up by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when he said after India's nine- wicket drubbing of Pakistan in the warm-up game last Wednesday.

"It was one of our best performances ever even though it was only a warm-up game," Dhoni said. "It was a brilliant performance from the whole team and the noise here was amazing."

You can be sure the noise from Indian supporters here will break all decibel records while resonating all the way to India if Dhoni's defending champions live up to the fond hopes of a billion-plus people back home.