Two spinners will serve India well

Spin, for sure, will continue to play a big part. On Tuesday, we saw South Africa’s Roelof van der Merwe spin it a lot at Lord’s against New Zealand and it is a factor the Indians are well placed to exploit. Anil Kumble writes.

The first round of the World T20 is over and we are into the Super8s. With no points being carried over, the past is history and all teams will have to begin afresh. As per the seedings, India were to meet Australia but the team from the Caribbean, just like cricket itself, is an unpredictable one and on their day can do just about anything, like they did to the Aussies.

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Spin, for sure, will continue to play a big part. On Tuesday, we saw South Africa’s Roelof van der Merwe spin it a lot at Lord’s against New Zealand and it is a factor the Indians are well placed to exploit.

I don’t see any reason for them not to go in with two specialist spinners in the Super8s as well. Should Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma step up as can be expected, the bowling will not be too easy to handle.

India do not depend on any one player and have enough firepower right through. Virender Sehwag’s replacement at the top, Rohit Sharma, has been on a roll.

When it comes to leather hunts, what Chris Gayle dished out to Australia, Sanath Jayasuriya did to the Windies. Sanath’s usefulness is not just with the bat for he can bowl too and complements spinners like Muthiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

On that count, India are in a relatively tougher group and will have to win at least two to make the semis. If you have to win a tournament, you will have to beat the tough teams, some of them once and some twice. India are certainly capable of doing just that.