Match No – 3rd Match, Group A – Afghanistan vs India
Day and Date – Wed Sep 19, 2012
Match Time – 14:00 GMT | 19:30 local ( 7.30 pm)
Venue – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Today in the 3rd match of T20 World Cup, Team India will take on minnows Afghanistan at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo at 7.30 pm. Team India are considered favorites to win the cup but they can not take Afghanistan lightly after Afghanistan’s impressive show in the warm up game.

India will be hoping that the bowling department gets its rhythm right as soon as possible and today’s match will provide them a perfect platform to adjust to the pitches of Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, a win today will be a dream come true for Afghanistan and will be a real morale booster for them.

Teams for T20 World Cup 2012:
Afghanistan Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: Nawroz Mangal (captain), Gulbadin Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Karim Sadeq, Hamid Hassan, Izzatullah Dawlatzai, Mohammad Jawed Ahmadi, Mohd Nasim Baras, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Shapur Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari and Shafiqullah Shafaq.

Indian Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla.

Don’t forget to bookmark www.t20worldcup.org and catch all the latest news, scorecards, match analysis and previews of T20 World Cup.

Match No – 2nd Match, Group B – Australia vs Ireland
Day and Date – Wed Sep 19, 2012
Match Time – 10:00 GMT | 15:30 local ( 3.30 pm)
Venue – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Today in the second match of ICC T20 World Cup 2012, Australia will take on Ireland at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Australia who are considered favorites for today’s match can not afford to take Ireland lightly as Ireland is capable to stun any team in world.

Australia will be relying more on their batting as Michael Hussey, David Hussey and David Warner can change the direction of the match with their individual performances.

Ireland on the other hand will be hoping that Kevin O’Brien repeats his 2011 performance and thus they could create a upset in today’s match.

Squad for T20 World Cup 2012
Australia Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: George Bailey (c), Shane Watson (vc), Cameron White, Dan Christian, David Hussey, Pat Cummins, David Warner, Xavier Doherty, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade.

Ireland Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Max Sorensen, Trent Johnston, Boyd Rankin, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Andrew White, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson and Gary Wilson.

Don’t forget to bookmark www.t20worldcup.org and catch all the latest news, scorecards, match analysis and previews of T20 World Cup.

Match: 1st T20 WC
Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota
Date: Sep 18, 2011
Toss: Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
Result: Sri Lanka won by 82 runs
Man of the Match : Ajantha Mendis

Ajantha Mendis superb bowling performance helped Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 82-runs in the first match of T20 World Cup 2012. Mendis took 6 wickets for just eight runs as Zimbabwe was all out for just 100 runs.

Sri Lanka batted first and posted a good total of 182/4 in 20 overs.

Match Highlights

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: 50 runs in 5.6 overs (36 balls), Extras 7
Sri Lanka: 100 runs in 13.5 overs (84 balls), Extras 8
Sri Lanka: 150 runs in 17.6 overs (110 balls), Extras 14
Innings Break: Sri Lanka – 182/4 in 20.0 overs

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: 50 runs in 9.4 overs (58 balls), Extras 11
Zimbabwe: 100 runs in 17.2 overs (104 balls), Extras 15

Match 1 ICC T20 World Cup – Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe Scorecard

Match No – 1st Match, Group C – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Day and Date – Tue Sep 18, 2012
Match Time – 14:00 GMT | 19:30 local ( 7.30 pm)
Venue – Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota

In the first match of T20 World Cup 2012, hosts Sri Lanka will take on Zimbabwe today at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. Sri Lanka who are considered to be the favorites to win this edition of World Cup will have a good opportunity to start the league with a good win to get some morale boost for the tough matches ahead.

The biggest strength of Sri Lanka will be the batting. With the likes of Kumara Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka will be a very tough opponent to play with.

In the bowling department, pacer Lasith Malinga and mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis are capable to defend any total.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand will be hopeful of showing some resistance due to skipper Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda. Zimbabwe will be hoping to cause the biggest upset in the World Cup this year as nothing can be predicted in the T20 Format.

Squad for T20 World Cup 2012
Zimbabwe Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: Brendan Taylor (captain), Stuart Matsikenyeri, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine, Malcolm Waller, Brian Vitori, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu, Richard Muzhange, Prosper Utseya, Forster Mutizwa.

Sri Lanka Squad for T20 World Cup 2012: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilshan Munaweera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga, Dinesh Chandimal and Akhila Dhananjaya.

Team India started their world cup campaign on a winning note with a 26 run victory over host Sri Lanka in the warm up match today. India after winning the toss decided to bat first and posted a total of 146-5 in 20 overs thanks to superb 26 ball 37 by Rohit Sharma and 55 off 42 balls by MS Dhoni.

Chasing 147 to win, Sri Lanka lost the first wicket in the very first over and soon Irfan Pathan and Balaji wrecked the entire top order of the Sri Lankan batting. Irfan took 5 wickets in his 4 overs and was the pick of the bowlers.

Even after showing the latest T20 jerseys few days back, Indian players will have to wear the same old jerseys in which they won the 50-over World Cup. The decision was taken by BCCI so that good luck favors team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2012.

“It’s our decision to ask the players to wear the jersey which they had used during the 2011 World Cup,” Indian cricket board official Ratnakar Shetty told the the Times of India newspaper.

Earlier Indian captain MS Dhoni has praised the new T20 jerseys and said it will help people differentiate between 50-50 overs and 20-20 overs games.