Gayle's statements show he is under pressure, says Mahela

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene claims Chris Gayle won't be the sole focus in Sunday's World T20 final.
"That's not the way we have gone about here. We never went after individual players, we have tried to control things the way we can control. He is just another player in a very good West Indies team. We must focus on the entire team.

Sri Lanka need to counter Gayle force

Sri Lanka, beaten in each of their last three World Cup one-day finals, need to counter the muscular power of Chris Gayle and his big-hitting West Indies' team mates if they are to win today's world Twenty20 final.

Razzaq rips into Hafeez after snub

Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq expressed disappointment on being dropped for the semi-final against Sri Lanka by blasting captain Mohammad Hafeez for the ‘illogical’ decision prior to the knockout match.
Razzaq was dropped after a 17-ball 22 against Australia to make way for Sohail Tanvir in the playing-XI.

Sri Lankan's and West Indie's set for rousing finale

Clinical Sri Lanka will test their skills against the flamboyant West Indies when both sides battle for their maiden World Twenty20 title in a mouth-watering final in Colombo on Sunday.
A sell-out crowd of 35 000 at the Premadasa stadium will offer boisterous support as Mahela Jayawardene's home team attempt to reverse fortunes after losing three finals in major meets since 2007.
Standing in the way will be the destructive West Indies batting led by opener Chris Gayle, who crushed Australia in Friday's semifinal with a scintillating 75 of 41 balls.

If Sri Lanka get Chris Gayle out under 20 runs, they'll win - George Bailey

Sri Lanka can kiss their title hopes goodbye if they fail to dismiss West Indiesopener Chris Gayle cheaply in the World Twenty20 final on Sunday, Australia captain George Bailey said.
Australia bore the brunt of the swashbuckling left-hander's onslaught as he smashed an unbeaten 75 off 41 balls, studded with six massive sixes and five fours, to set up a 74-run win for West Indies in the second semifinal on Friday.

Sangakkara may lead Sri Lanka again

Kumar Sangakkara is tipped to lead Sri Lanka in the first semi-final against Pakistan at the R. Premadasa International Stadium, on Thursday. The decision is a precautionary measure against a possible slow over rate, which always happens in T20 games.
Sangakkara led Sri Lanka to a 19 run win against England at Pallekele International Stadium, on Monday, as the host nation qualified for the semi-finals.

David Hussey to play Australia's semi-final against West Indies

David Hussey, the leading scorer in domestic and international T20 cricket history, was dropped after making three and one in last month's series against Pakistan in Dubai.
But 23-year-old Maxwell, dubbed the x-factor by Australia coach Mickey Arthur, has taken 1-53 with his offspinners and scored eight runs in two hits.
A highly regarded fieldsman, Maxwell dropped Nasir Jamshed at first slip on a duck on Tuesday night, then watched the left-hander score a match-winning 55.

Mahela defends captaincy switch

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene is baffled by the reaction to his team's captaincy switch in Monday's World Twenty20 match against England and thinks there is nothing wrong with the "tactical move".
Regular skipper Jayawardene sent Kumar Sangakkara for toss in the match to avoid the threat of a ban because of a second possible slow over rate offence.

Mohammad Hafeez banking on spinners

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez credited the team's progress in the World Twenty20 to his slow bowlers on Wednesday and said he was banking on them to spin them to victory again in Thursday's semifinal against hosts Sri Lanka.
The 2009 champions have relied on spinners Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Shahid Afridi and Hafeez to compensate for their batting limitations and reach their fourth straight World Twenty20 semifinals.

Akila Dananjaya could play for injured Mendis

Sri Lanka could turn to uncapped teenager Akila Dananjaya if spinner Ajantha Mendis fails to recover from injury in time for the World Twenty20 Super Eight game against New Zealand at Pallekele on Thursday.
"He's certainly very close to playing," Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said on Wednesday. "He was probably going to play against South Africa and then the game got reduced and there was the chance he would've been bowling with a wet ball.

Television creates a farce at T20 World Cup

As jokes go, Saturday night's Twenty20 World Cup Group C clash between Sri Lanka and South Africa was one of the least funny.
A highly anticipated match between two of the tournament heavyweights, it was reduced to little more than a farce by the broadcasters.
Scheduled to begin at 3.30pm (local time), in the southern town of Hambantota, rain caused a delay. By the time the ground was fit for play, it was still only about 5pm but, rather than a full match, the teams were told they were having a seven-over-a-side slog.

Lively nature of the pitch will bring smiles to Australians

Skipper George Bailey has given his quicks a licence to pitch short against Caribbean master blaster Chris Gayle.
Shane Watson and Mitchell Starc claimed five victims between them in Wednesday's win against Ireland, including Watson's breakthrough with a bouncer from the first ball of the match.
Teenager Pat Cummins is also expected to dig them in against the Windies.

Brendon McCullum blasted Bangladesh

Considering the run-up to the ICC World Twenty20 2012, Bangladesh and New Zealand would have been considered equals. But then, when someone like Brendon McCullum gets it right, which isn’t often enough to make New Zealand a top contender, no opposition looks good enough. Riding on McCullum’s 58-ball 123, New Zealand made short work of Bangladesh, winning its Group D contest at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium by 59 runs. 

Mendis' injury worry Sri Lanka ahead of match against South Africa

In-form Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis is doubtful for Saturday's Twenty20 World Cup match against South Africa due to a side strain he picked up during their tournament opener against Zimbabwe.
Mendis, who returned the best figures by a bowler in T20 cricket with six wickets for eight runs in Tuesday's match, went off the field soon after he had completed his quota of four overs.
"Mendis' injury is our only worry ahead of tomorrow's (Saturday) game against South Africa," Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake said.

India overcome spirited Afghanistan

India were given a scare by rank outsiders Afghanistan in the second match of the ICC T20 World Cup before emerging as relieved winners by 23 runs at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday night.

The current World Cup holders struggled for long periods of their 20 overs before finishing with a barely respectable 159-5 and were in serious trouble with the Afghans on 75-2 in the 12th over until two wickets in as many balls from Yuvraj Singh slowed the scoring rate and allowed India to take control just when they needed to most.

Watson stars in Australian Victory

Shane Watson gave a superb all-round performance as Australia crushed Ireland by seven wickets in their opening group match in the World Twenty20.
Chasing a target of 124 at Colombo's Premadasa Stadium, Australia eased their way to 3-125 with 29 deliveries to spare.
Watson top-scored with 51 off just 30 deliveries with five fours and three sixes after taking 3-26 in Ireland's total of 7-123.

I expect the winner of the World T20 to come from Sri Lanka, India or Pakistan _ Sanath Jayasuriya

Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has tipped one of the Asian giants to win this year’s World Twenty20, which starts from September 18.
Jayasuriya, a perfect exponent of the T20 style of cricket during his playing days, believes the slow wickets in Sri Lanka will work in favour of theses teams, all packed with quality spinners and explosive batsmen within their ranks.

ICC World T-20 2012 Schedule

The ICC World Twenty20 2012 will be held in Sri Lanka and it will be the fourth time the tournament has been played.
12 teams, the 10 Full Members and two qualifiers, will take part in the men's event, while eight teams will contest the women's tournament.
Previous winners of the men's event include India (2007), Pakistan (2009) and England (2010), while England (2009) and Australia (2010) have won the women's events.Tournament schedule as follows:

Legends of the game in the Commentary Box for the ICC World T-20

The live broadcast of ICC World T-20 will feature 16 commentators and legends of the game from the leading participating countries. These include Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Ian Chappell, Tony Greig, Mark Waugh, Damien Fleming, David Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, Simon Doull, Pommie Mbangwa, Russel Arnold, Harsha Bhogle and Alan Wilkins. 

Chokers? At least we reach finals - SL

Sri Lanka's captain Mahela Jayawardene Monday hit back at suggestions his team have "choked" in major finals – and said he'd rather be a runner-up than an also-ran.
Jayawardene, speaking on the eve of the hosts' World Twenty20 opener against Zimbabwe, said it was tribute to Sri Lanka that they had reached three global title matches since winning the 1996 one-day World Cup.
"Lot of people have asked us why we have choked in the finals," he said on Monday. "I'd rather be in that situation than being knocked out in earlier rounds.