India have the edge in T20 WC, says Vettori
Posted on Jun 01, 2009 at 10:10 | Updated Jun 01, 2009 at 13:27
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London: With more Twenty20 games under their belt, India have a slight edge over the other teams in the ICC World T20 Championship starting here on June 5, feels New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.
"You have to look at India. First and foremost they have probably played the most Twenty20 cricket in terms of individuals and the guys have gone ahead playing in the IPL," Vettori said at the official press conference here on Sunday.
However, the Kiwi captain is also not ready to undermine the other teams.
"Sri Lanka will be dangerous with their bowling as (Muttiah) Muralitharan, (Lasith) Malinga and (Ajantha) Mendis will be tough to score off.
"Then there is Australia and South Africa, they also have a very formidable line up," Vettori added.
His Pakistani counterpart Younis Khan said he was confident of winning the trophy this time but even a final four finish would give a boost to cricket in his country.
"My confidence is that I'll take this trophy to Pakistan. Even if we don't win it will be an achievement for us to finish in the top four," he said.
"Winning the tournament will be great impetus for our cricket. If we play good cricket it will be good for our nation. These days our country is depressed. Only cricket will start cheering the people there," he added.
Younis felt it was not necessary for top order batsmen to go for big shots right from the start off. "Twenty20 looks short, but it's not -- 120 balls is enough If you bat normally but with energy, especially in the middle order and with good runners between the wickets, 180-90 is very easy.
"In English conditions the new ball does seam, so you need someone like Salman Butt who can play for 20 overs. But in the middle order, we have big hitters like Shahid Afridi and Misbah-Ul-Haq."
On the defeat to India in the 2007 final, Younis said, "We could not finish off the match when we needed only five runs. But it was fantastic to be a part of that team. Some guys were crying at the end, but hopefully we'll have the finishing touches this time," Younis said.
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