The West Indies open the defence of their World Twenty20 title on Sunday confident they posses the requisite firepower to deliver another successful campaign in Bangladesh.
Darren Sammy’s men tore apart the form book when they stunned hosts Sri Lanka in the final of the previous edition in Colombo two years ago, giving cricket in the Caribbean a massive lift.
Sammy, speaking ahead of the Group 2 Super-10 clash against India in Dhaka, said a more experienced West Indies boasts of players ideally suited to dominate in the slam-bang format.
“If we play to our full potential, we can be a real destructive force,” said the skipper, who leads players like the explosive batsman Chris Gayle and star spinner Sunil Narine.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced players who play Twenty20 cricket all over the world, like Gayle, Narine and Dwayne Bravo. We have a great balance in the squad.”
Sammy said Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Indians, who thumped Pakistan by seven wickets in the Super-10 opener on Friday, were no strangers to his players since they played together in the Indian Premier League.
“We have a general idea of the Indians because guys have been in the same dressing room as them during the IPL,” he said. “Anyway in this age, there is footage to be seen everywhere.
“You can watch a player’s match and come up with a successful formula to stop him.”
Sammy expected a keen contest on Sunday, saying his team were eager to start the tournament on a winning note.
“The good thing in our team is that we don’t have to rely on any one person. We have at least five or six potential match-winners,” he said.
“But everyone has to contribute. You may have a brilliant team, but it takes a total team effort to win.
“It is not going to be easy to win the tournament again. We have to focus on each team. But tomorrow it is all about India and our energies are focused on them.”
Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh are the other teams in the group, from which two will advance to the semi-finals.
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
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Rating: 4/5
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
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- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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