A phrase that has found its way into cricket jargon of late is "controlling the controllables". One thing neither team, the fans or the organisers have been able to control is the rain. It has been an unwelcome visitor is all three matches on the tour so far, more so in Visakhapatnam, where thousands made their way to witness the city's first Twenty20 international and Yuvraj Singh's comeback from cancer. Southern Indiahas been hit by showers over the last few weeks, and the venue for the final T20, Chennai, has had its share of rain too. The weather has reduced the Twenty20 series to a one-match shoot-out. Both teams will agree that even a completed T20, without interruptions, won't count as sufficient match practice ahead of the World T20. Much then would depend on the two warm-up games in Sri Lanka before the big event.One player who will be itching to get out there is Yuvraj. Ideally, he would like to stage his comeback in India and, possibly, put an end to all murmurs regarding his match fitness. Spare a thought for the Twenty20 specialists who have flown in from NewZealand for what is effectively a one-match series. Daniel Vettori, for all his experience, needs match time to ease himself back in from a groin injury. New Zealand would want to play their best side, but that would mean their relatively inexperienced players, like Ronnie Hira and Adam Milne, may not be guaranteed a spot. India have tried out three different opening combinations in their last three T20 matches, with Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Uthappa partnering Gautam Gambhir in two of those games. They are expected to go with their regular pair of Gambhir and Virender Sehwag here, and both are struggling for consistency.
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