- Pakistan
They will make you cry, they will make you laugh, they will enthrall you, they will disappoint you, they will combust, they will seem unconquerable but most certainly they will make sure that you will not have any nails left to chew on once the WT20 gets over in 3 weeks time! Pakistan is one team that can be banked upon to provide all the masala that can make a Hollywood blockbuster!! There will be passion, emotion and drama when they play. Can they lift the trophy they won in 2009?
The batting will revolve around the dependable Mohammad Hafeez. He will be expected to be the anchor man around whom more carefree players like Ahmed Shehzad, Umer Akmal and Shahid ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi can be more adventurous. The old hands of Shoaib Mailk will be there to guide the ship in case of a storm and he will have the raw blood in Sharjeel Khan and Sohaib Maqsood supporting him.
It is the bowling though that can cause headaches to any other team in this WT20. They have the experienced Umar Gul who can swing and reverse swing (yes even in T20!), then they have the young Junaid Khan who can be a handful be his pace and the left arm angle. Then there is the king of spin, Saeed Ajmal who can bamboozle the batsmen with his plethora of tricks. Supporting him in the spin department will be the captain Hafeez and enigmatic Afridi.
Pakistan certainly has a team which can demolish any opponent on a good day. But they are so unpredictable that they can demolish themselves too!! It will be quite fascinating to see which Pakistan turns up against India on the 21st March which might well give us an indication of the things to come later!
Team Rating – 6.5/10
- West Indies
If there is any other team that can provide a viewer with the ups and downs as Pakistan can, then its West Indies. They are the one team that endears the neutral fan; they provide you with the simplistic joys of watching the game, the uninhibited and exaggerated style of their shot making, their fancy celebrations or their animated passion! They have a slew of players who are just made for this slam bang T20 version. As defending champions they will have fine memories of the last tournament and they will want nothing less than equal that performance.
The giant Chris Gayle will look to blow away opposing teams with his bat scything away like a sledge hammer. Dwayne Smith is a pretty clean striker himself and he will, in all probability, open the batting with Gayle. Then there is the hero of the WT20 2012 final Marlon Samuels. The Bravo brothers, Lendll Simmons, Andre Russel and the captain Darren Sammy will provide the slog over sparklers. Darren Sammy is in all probability, the captain who has the most number of critics in the world but he deserves place in this side. He almost always provides a strong finish while batting and is a brilliant fielder, sneaks in a few quiet overs in nearly each game and is a passionate leader.
The bowling will be led by Sunil Narine who will like bowling on the pitches in Bangladesh. He will be well supported by Samuel Badree just like the last time. The new fast bowlers Krishmar Santokie and Sheldon Cottrell both looked promising young lads during the recently concluded T 20’s against England.
I will back the West Indies team to make it through to the knock out stages. They have some pretty exceptional talent; players who can single-handedly deliver a win from hopeless situations. Can they become the first team to win consecutive WT20 tournaments?
Team Rating – 8/10
Are you supporting Pakistan? What are your views on them? Or are you a Caribbean Calypso fan? Do you think they will make it to the finals this time around? Share your views in the comments section below!!
Also read the Review of Group 1 for WT20 2014 – Part 1, England and New Zealand
Also read the Review of Group 1 for WT20 2014 – Part 2, South Africa and Sri Lanka
Also read the Review of Group 2 for WT20 2014 – Part 1, Australia and India
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