All warmed up for action

One of the first things that hits you while walking on the streets of London,apart from the stiff,summery breeze is the almost-contrived level of politeness.

One of the first things that hits you while walking on the streets of London,apart from the stiff,summery breeze,is the almost-contrived level of politeness as sorrys and thank yous punctuate sentences like commas and colons normally would.

Another thing that strikes you,surprisingly,is the absence of any sort of publicity relating to the World Twenty20 championships. The tube stations are still plastered with posters of long-running musicals,outside Victoria there is a hoarding advertising the Ashes,while St Johns Woods five minutes from Lords where the opening match will be played on Friday remains dedicated to The Beatles because its in the vicinity of Abbey Road.

Its not until you get inside the Lords cricket ground that familiar pre-tournament scenes greet you volunteers rushing from point A to point B,security staff handing out last-minute instructions and,as its T20 were talking about,cheerleaders fine-tuning their opening-day routines.

Asian invasion

If scenes at the Kennington Oval on Thursday night were anything to go by,the World T20 party is just getting warmed up. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni said,India versus Pakistan was never just another match,so what if it was a training game. The 25,000 packed into the stands showed why the ICC was banking so much on the Asian teams doing well (former England captain Michael Atherton,writing in his column in The Times,reckoned the tournament may not hit the highs of Thursday unless India and Pakistan met each other again at some point).

Dhoni was understandably pleased after the game,for it not only gave the team their first win since landing here,but also a taste of the kind of support they will enjoy over the next couple of weeks. There were two other reasons he was smiling broadly as he walked in for the post-match press conference Rohit and Ishant Sharma. The comfortable nine-wicket win that the duo fashioned meant India left for Nottingham,where they start their campaign on Saturday evening,in high spirits.

Happy headache

With Virender Sehwag still nursing an injury,Rohit walked out with Gautam Gambhir for the second time in three days. And once again,he staked claim to the position at the top,irrespective of when Sehwag returns. Frankly speaking,I dont know where Sehwag will bat, Dhoni admitted. Its good to have Rohit in form. As of now I dont know what will happen. Its better to have a problem of plenty than having nobody.

Rohits keenness for the job is whats causing the captain happy headaches. We discussed it with Rohit during practice and he was quite keen (to open). When you ask a guy,you always watch for his response,how quick it is and whether he has thought twice about it or not. Rohit was very keen on opening,and with Viru injured he was the best option available.

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While Rohit is just continuing from where he had left off in South Africa,its Ishants performance that must have pleased Dhoni more. Coming off a nightmarish IPL campaign with Kolkata Knight Riders,he has hit the ground running,happy,once again,to be part of a unit that wins games more often than it loses. His miserly spell,one for 11 off three,is an example of how much this team feeds off each other.

In the games shortest format,the first six overs can prove to be vital both while batting and fielding. Rohit and Ishants performance would have given Indias opponents a lot to think about.