T20 World Cup 2012: England Open Title Defence against Afghanistan and New Zealand Face Bangladesh, Where to Watch Live

The reigning world T20 champions, England, start the defence of their title against Group A minnows Afghanistan, in Colombo. Meanwhile, Group D opens with a game between New Zealand and Bangaldesh, at Pallekele.

Who: England v Afghanistan

Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

When: 3 pm BST

Where to Watch: Sky Sports 1 and ESPN 3 will broadcast the match in the UK. ESPN will also stream the match live at its official Web site

Overview

England registered wins over Australia and Pakistan in the warm-up games and will be very confident of making it three wins out of three games so far, when they face Afghanistan. Stuart Broad's men will want to become the first team to successfully defend the T20 world champion title and could not have asked for an easier opening game, given they will face the Indians in the second and final group match.

Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow all made useful contributions with the bat in the warm-up games, while Jade Dernbach and 21 year old spinner Danny Briggs have impressed for the bowlers. A strong performance in the first match from their preferred XI will certainly help England find a good rhythm.

Afghanistan are probably still heartbroken after the 23 run defeat to India but the south-central Asian country can be proud of the fact they made MS Dhoni's men work hard for the win. Some of these Afghan players learned their craft at refugee camps in their war-torn homeland and will surely be hoping to leave an impression at these championships.

Probable Line-ups

England: Craig Kieswetter (wk), Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Samit Patel, Stuart Broad (c), Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Javed Ahmadi, Nawroz Mangal (c), Karim Sadiq, Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah, Gulbodin Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran

Who: New Zealand v Bangladesh

Where: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

When: 11 am BST

Where to Watch: Sky Sports 1 will broadcast the match in the UK. ESPN will also stream the match live at its official Web site

Overview

Underdogs New Zealand take on the tournament's dark horses Bangaladesh in one of the most awaited group-stage fixtures of this year's T20 World Cup. The Kiwis' warm-up campaign has not been anywhere close to ideal - they lost to both Australia and South Africa. The island nation has missed the services of several key stars, including impact players Daniel Vettori and Tim Southee, after they were laid low by gastroenteritis. However, both players are expected to be fit for this tie, much to the relief of captain Ross Taylor. With game-changers like Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson and Jacob Oram in their ranks, New Zealand are expected to cause some trouble in the group, which also includes Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh are coming in to the tournament on the back of a warm-up win against Zimbabwe and a surpising defeat against Ireland. They have named a comparatively young squad for the big event and playing in home-like conditions might give the South Asian side an advantage. Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and captain Mushfiqur Rahim will be key to their batting ambitions, while Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak will lead the bowling attack.

Both New Zealand and Bangladesh hold the reputation of being giant-killers and it will be interesting to see which team emerges successful when they face each other.

Probable Line-ups:

New Zealand: Rob Nicol, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wk), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor (c), Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (c, wk), Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Ziaur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Elias Sunny