Cricket: Broad lauds Sehwag and Pietersen

Tomorrow's much-anticipated World Cup set-to between England and India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is far from merely a tale of two batsmen.

There are too many potential match-winners, especially on the home side, for that to be the case. But as Stuart Broad was invited to assess the relative merits of his team and the tournament favourites, two names loomed large.

Surprisingly, not even master batsman Sachin Tendulkar got to share top billing - as Broad nominated Kevin Pietersen the key man for England, and found himself answering a stream of questions about how to stop Virender Sehwag.

"KP will be crucial for us here," he said of the mercurial batsman. "He will be targeting the first 10 overs to make a real impact."

As for Sehwag, Broad was equally full of praise. "He is an amazing batsman and plays without fear," he said. "He has started the World Cup in spectacular fashion, but it is up to us to bowl in the areas where he is not so strong and really work on that.