Sundry Blogs

Gambhir and Dhoni shine as India lives its dream

2011-04-03T10:02:00.004+05:30

What a night it was! Unbelievable scenes of jubilation engulfed the nation as India were crowned World Champions defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Egged on by a boisterous 33,000 spectators that included a galaxy of Bollywood stars, politicians, business tycoons, industrialists, sportsmen and other celebrities not to forget the common man and also billions watching on television, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men in blue scripted a new chapter in the annals of India’s cricketing history.

In a match that lived to up a tournament final, both teams engaged themselves in a witty contest between bat and ball. Chasing 275 to win the final, India were rocked by Lasith Malinga as Virender Sehwag first and then Sachin Tendulkar were back in the pavilion by the 7th over. However, the impressive Gautam Gambhir and the no-nonsense Virat Kohli buckled down and raised a partnership that made the people believe that we could do it. When Kohli fell to a brilliant moment of inspiration from Tillakaratne Dilshan, the script was not complete. Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself up the order ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh and played perhaps the most significant innings of his life.

Dhoni shed the diffidence that had characterized his innings in the matches so far in this tournament and batted like a man possessed. He seemed to have saved his best for the last. Gambhir and Dhoni played with such composure that slowly all began to believe that India would finally end a wait of 28 long years. Gambhir was cruising towards his hundred when he made an unnecessary charge at Thisara Perera and lost his stumps. As Dhoni was to say later, only Gambhir himself had to blame for he was at the doorstep of a historic century in a World Cup final – a feat only six men had done before. This was a minor glitch as Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni helped India coast to a fabulous victory in the 49th over. The winning shot will forever be etched in my mind. Dhoni’s eyes lit up as he saw the ball sailing over the long on boundary and the swing of his bat on the follow through was as delightful as that murderous six.

Earlier, there was drama at the toss as Kumar Sangakkara’s call was not heard clearly in the din of the crowd and he won the re-toss and decided to bat first. Zaheer Khan imposed on the batsmen with the new ball and with an unusually sharp Indian fielding, the Sri Lankans found the going tough. Tharanga scratched around for 20 deliveries but could only score 2 before finally edging to slip off a Zaheer Khan delivery that moved just a shade. Dilshan tried to sweep Harbhajan Singh but the ball kissed his glove and dislodged the stumps to leave Sri Lanka in trouble. However, their stalwarts – Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – put the innings back in its groove before Sangakkara found a thick inside edge trying to cut Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni took a good catch. Jayawardene was ably supported by Thilan Samaraweera as Sri Lanka started to realize that 250 would be a good score on the pitch.

Samaraweera and Chamara Kapugedera departed in quick succession as Sri Lanka appeared to be wilting under pressure. Nuwan Kulasekara displayed some cool manners as he helped Jayawardene negotiate the tricky period in the lead up to the batting Powerplay which was taken by default in the 45th over. The Indian bowling and fielding deteriorated under pressure as Sri Lanka plundered 63 runs in the final five overs to take them to a healthy 274/6 in 50 overs. Jayawardene reached his century during the process – a masterclass that was to be in vain as proved by the subsequent events of the night. The Sri Lankan total appeared a strong one at the innings break as the pitch had been showing signs of slowing down. But the Indian batsmen had other ideas and on the night nothing could stop them.

The win set off celebrations like India had never seen before in its history. People were out on the streets waving the tricolor, honking horns and cheering their heroes. The cricketers themselves shed tears of joy, understandably so, as this was something every one of them wanted to achieve so badly. Sachin Tendulkar was beaming with pride and was carried on his shoulders by Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. Tendulkar went on to say that this was the proudest moment in his life. Indeed it was, for his story would not be complete without such a glittering feather in his cap. The team did it for Tendulkar, who as Kohli rightly said, had carried the burden of the nation on his shoulders for the past two decades. It was indeed time for them to carry him on their shoulders!

Sri Lanka will be disappointed to finish second best for the second time running. It was perplexing why they made such wholesale changes to their side and upset that winning combination. The batting was understandably strengthened but the bowling lacked bite which undid them in their search for wickets. The only change they had to make was to bring in Thisara Perera for the injured Angelo Mathews, which they did. The decision to bring in Kapugedera for Chamara Silva was also a right one. But the decision that backfired was the one to leave out both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. The result was that only Malinga looked threatening and the others just did not come to the party.

India’s cup of joy brimmed over on the night thanks to the performance of their batsmen – Gambhir and Dhoni in particular. Gambhir kept his focus throughout and lost it only when he threw his wicket away. Dhoni was the good old Dhoni we all wanted to see – aggressive and spirited. The batsmen made up for the poor showing of the bowlers and fielders in the final overs. The next step for India is to be dominating as the Australians once did, but for that, these Indian cricketers need to put their heads down and their feet firmly on the ground.

Evenly contested final between India and Sri Lanka on the cards

2011-04-01T12:51:00.007+05:30

I will start with an interesting stat. India and Sri Lanka have met each other 21 times in one-day internationals since 1st January 2009, with India winning 12 of those and Sri Lanka 9. This would perhaps be the most prolific instance of a bilateral encounter. Their paths have been star-crossed and they meet again, with a valuable prize at stake – the title of World Champions. Come tomorrow, the attention of the whole cricketing world will be glued to Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Sri Lanka looks in good shape ahead of the final. Their tournament has been very consistent. Barring a loss to Pakistan and a rain ruined contest against Australia, they have won every match of this tournament. Their strength lies in bowling and top order batting. The quarter final and semi final showcased Sri Lanka’s bowling prowess with the spinners reaping most of the rewards. In Lasith Malinga, they have a match-winning bowler. Malinga was not at his very best in the semi final and would be a bigger threat in the final. His slinging deliveries are hard to read particularly the ones that take the pitch out of the equation. He can be wayward as well and the Indians will be praying for Saturday to be a bad day for him. It remains to be seen whether Sri Lanka stick with their three spinners strategy that worked well against England and New Zealand. There are fitness concerns for Muthiah Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews. I think Sri Lanka should play Thisara Perera in the final for two reasons – he has a good record against India and he can be trusted to take wickets better than Mathews.

The batting looks settled though I still feel that Chamara Kapugedera is a far better option than the defensive Chamara Silva. Sri Lanka will again look to their opening batsmen to give them a rousing start and Sangakkara and Jayawardene to consolidate. They need to develop a new strategy for their lower middle order. Thilan Samaraweera should go further down the order as he would be better off carrying the tail and pushing the score along. Following Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Silva or Kapugedera should come in with Perera/Mathews sandwiched between either of them and Samaraweera.

India will have to shore up their batting big time. Batting remains India’s strong point but poor performances in the batting Powerplay during the league stage and inability to convert starts during the knockout stage have been the case this tournament. Mahendra Singh Dhoni would do well to outthink Kumar Sangakkara. But with a settled batting position, there is hardly any room to make an innovative adjustment. Dhoni needs to shed his diffidence and go after the bowling like he has done in the past. Like Sri Lanka, India too look towards it openers to get a great start.

The bowling has improved but there is still a lot of work to be done. Inability to take early wickets – and by early wickets I mean wickets in the first or second over – has been a problem. On an average, in the tournament, India has succeeded in taking the first wicket in the 9th over and the average first wicket partnership against them is 43. This should be food for thought for the seamers. If Dilshan and Tharanga are allowed to stay at the crease, then the match is as good as lost. Harbhajan Singh should derive a lot of confidence from his showing against Pakistan. India will think twice before deciding whether to play two seamers or three.

The pitch at the Wankhede stadium is expected to aid batting during the first half of the match and then assist the spinners later on. When Sri Lanka and New Zealand played earlier at the ground in their Group A encounter, Sri Lanka made 265 and won by a comfortable 112 runs. It is not clear whether the same pitch will be used for tomorrow’s final but it gives an indication of what to expect. The captain who wins the toss would decide to bat first and avoid the pressure of chasing in a big match. The final is a day/night encounter and it is debatable whether the final of a tournament as big as this should be a day/night one. Either of the teams is at the mercy of the dew at night, which means it does not give a level playing field for both the teams. This should be some food for thought for the ICC.

All said, the final should be exciting. Two illustrious players from both sides will hope for the pinnacle of their careers. Sachin Tendulkar will be playing the World Cup final at his home ground bidding to win his first one whereas Muthiah Muralitharan will be playing his last match before retirement aiming to add one more World Cup to the one he won in 1996. Sadly, one of them has to lose but cricket will be the winner on the night of April 2, 2011 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

I shall conclude with an interesting stat as well. Clive Lloyd was the tallest captain to win the World Cup at 190 centimeters while Allan Border was the shortest at 173 centimeters. For the record, Dhoni is 173 centimeters tall while his Sri Lankan counterpart Sangakkara is 179 centimeters tall. Plotting the heights of the World Cup winning captains on a trend line will give you the probable height of the captain who will win the World Cup this time. It is 180 centimeters with a 64% probability.

India enters final with hard fought win over Pakistan

2011-03-31T12:05:00.002+05:30

A collective effort in all the three departments of the game helped India overcome Pakistan in a hard fought second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The Indian bowling, which was a spinner short, rallied strongly to overcome a stiff resistance from the Pakistan top and middle order. The team now goes to Mumbai where they play Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday, April 2.

The Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. India dropped R Ashwin and brought in Ashish Nehra expecting the pitch to offer more assistance to the seamers rather than the spinners. Pakistan made no change to the squad that defeated West Indies in the quarter finals. The start could not have been more electric. After a quite first two overs, Virender Sehwag launched himself on Umar Gul, who had said that he would target the Indian top order. Five fours came off the over as the crowd went delirious. Umar Gul was taken by the scruff of the neck and he wilted. India raced to 47 in the first five overs. Wahab Riaz was introduced into the attack in the 6th over and soon shocked India with the wicket of Sehwag. He got the ball to pitch in line with leg stump and the ball held its line when it beat Sehwag’s attempted flick and struck him on the pads. It was a big wicket for Pakistan and India lost the early momentum.

Sachin Tendulkar took over the scoring responsibilities with Gautam Gambhir. Right from the introduction of spin in the form of Saeed Ajmal in the 9th over, it was evident that everybody got the pitch wrong. This pitch was not a batting belter as was expected. On the contrary, the pitch aided spin hugely and batting would get very difficult later on. Tendulkar survived two close shaves in Ajmal’s second over – an appeal for lbw was upheld by the field umpire but was reversed on review as the ball was missing leg stump and the very next ball a smart stumping effort from Kamran Akmal was just not enough as the batsman had landed his feet in the nick of time. Tendulkar was to play perhaps the luckiest and chancy innings of his career as he was dropped by Misbah-ul-Haq off the bowling of Shahid Afridi in the 14th over.

The run rate dipped to just above six an over from the heady nine an over in the early stages of the innings. Gautam Gambhir was the next man to be dismissed in the 19th over as a flighted delivery from Mohammad Hafeez drew him out of the crease but he missed the ball and saw Kamran Akmal take the bails off in a flash. Tendulkar continued to be lucky as he was dropped once again off Afridi. Wahab Riaz was brought for a second spell in the 24th over and in the 26th over made an immediate impact on the match. First he had Virat Kohli weakly hit a ball straight to the fielder at point and off the next ball got the big wicket of Yuvraj Singh with a swinging low full toss that crashed on to the stumps.

Tendulkar, meanwhile, had crossed his fifty and along with Dhoni pushed India along before he was dropped again off the bowling of Afridi. The ball was changed in the 34th over and soon Tendulkar was dropped yet again, this time off the bowling of Mohammad Hafeez! However, he fell soon after as Saeed Ajmal got the batsman to drive but Afridi at short cover took the catch to the palpable relief of Pakistan. Scoring runs was increasingly difficult now especially against the spinners. The Indians lost their sixth wicket as Wahab Riaz continued to impress. He got a ball to pitch in line with the stumps and rapped Dhoni on the pads and the batsman had to go after the review confirmed that the ball would have hit the stumps.

The batting Powerplay was taken in the 44th over and thankfully for the Indians the runs started flowing again though not at a hectic pace. Suresh Raina with the lower order carried India to 260/9 but not before Wahab Riaz completed a fine five wicket haul. He was the pick of the bowlers with 5/46 and was ably supported by Saeed Ajmal with 2/44 and Hafeez with 1/34. Umar Gul was thoroughly disappointing to finish with 0/69 in his 8 overs. Pakistan were happy to have restricted India to this total after it looked like India would score in excess of 300 when the top three were batting.

The Pakistani openers chose to play positive cricket right from the time they started the chase. Kamran Akmal found two fours in the first over and Hafeez took a couple of boundaries against Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. Further boundaries came off Munaf Patel as Pakistan appeared to have found the ideal way to go about the chase. Akmal, however, was guilty of not reading a slower delivery from Zaheer Khan and his attempted drive went so far as only the fielder at point. Hafeez continued to impress with his range of strokes and when the cool Asad Shafiq cut Harbhajan Singh in front of square for four, things were not looking good for India.

Munaf Patel, whose second spell was far better than the first, then accounted for Hafeez. The batsman attempted a sweep against Munaf but could only edge the ball to wicket keeper Dhoni. It was a poor shot from Hafeez. Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan nudged along and the score reached 100 in the 23rd over. The required rate was climbing at this stage and there was a sense of urgency in the Pakistan camp. This translated to pressure and Shafiq tried to play a cut shot against a full delivery from Yuvraj but missed and saw his middle stump uprooted. It was just the breakthrough that India needed. Yuvraj continued his good work as he tempted Younis Khan to drive but the batsman could only hit it to Raina who took a good catch.

The match was growing in intensity now and very much hung in the balance. Umar Akmal decided that attack was the best defence and hit a four and two murderous sixes off Yuvraj to tilt the scales back. After the drinks break, Harbhajan struck with his first ball and found the gap between Akmal’s bat and pad and the ball crashed on to the stumps. The Indians were cock-a-hoop now. Abdul Razzaq was not at all comfortable in his brief stay at the crease and was soon done in by a beautiful delivery from Munaf Patel that clipped his off stump. Pakistan were losing their way here and only Shahid Afridi remained before the tail arrived.

Afridi hung around with Misbah-ul-Haq who batted very defensively. The combination of Afridi’s attack and Misbah’s defense did not work. Afridi tried to hit a full toss from Harbhajan Singh but could not find the distance and the ball went to cover where Sehwag made no mistake. The required rate was approaching 10 an over at this stage and the match was all but over. Wahab Riaz, pressurized by four dot balls from Nehra, hit out to Tendulkar at cover and Umar Gul was trapped in front by a full delivery from Nehra. Misbah-ul-Haq flashed his bat for some boundaries but it was too late. He was the last man dismissed in the 50th over as his wild swing landed safely in the hands of Virat Kohli at long on. India had won by 29 runs and marched to the final of the World Cup! The crowd erupted and the whole of the nation celebrated this win.

Pakistan were done in by some poor bowling from Gul and absolutely poor catching from their fielders. The spinners did an excellent job, so did the impressive Wahab Riaz. The batsmen started positively but a defensive approach from Misbah-ul-Haq was not what they needed. Misbah cannot be blamed for that is how he has batted all his life. All their batsmen got starts but none of them could convert those into a match-winning innings and they slid to defeat. But they can hold their heads high, for the events over the last six months had put Pakistan cricket at its nadir. Afridi held the team together in times of turmoil and showed the virtues of unity.

India will be very pleased with the team effort. The batsmen, the bowlers and the fielders combined to beat Pakistan. Tendulkar was lucky but it was his focus despite all that was happening that helped India reach 260 which was enough on the night. The batsmen will have to do better in the big final. When the tournament started, batting was India’s strong point but it is less so now. The bowling has improved but the seamers need to learn to take wickets very early. India will assess its chances against a formidable Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday. If the team work in this match is anything to go by, then the Indians have every chance of winning the big prize.

Sri Lanka enters final despite middle order wobble

2011-03-30T10:49:00.005+05:30

It was Sri Lanka’s as well as Muthiah Muralitharan’s night. After a brief middle order collapse, Sri Lanka entered the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup beating New Zealand by 5 wickets at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Muralitharan, playing his last match in Sri Lanka, made the match a memorable one by picking two wickets when New Zealand batted. The Lankans now travel to Mumbai for the big final hoping to give Muralitharan the best farewell gift that a cricketer could get – the World Cup.

On a sunny afternoon, New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first, despite recent results at the ground where chasing has been relatively easy. Perhaps, the Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori felt that they were better off bowling second. The Kiwis brought in seamer Andy McKay in place of Luke Woodcock. Sri Lanka chose to retain the same eleven that defeated England in the quarter final despite Muralitharan not being 100% fit.

The start was solid for the Kiwis. After just one over from the seamer Lasith Malinga, skipper Kumar Sangakkara turned to spin. McCullum hit Rangana Herath for a six over deep square leg but fell in the 8th over trying to repeat the shot as he lost his stumps. Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill carried on and the runs came off Angelo Mathews as the spinners proved difficult to hit. As their struggles against spin continued, Ryder was caught behind off Muralitharan to a delivery that bounced more than usual, took the edge of his bat and landed in Sangakkara’s gloves. New Zealand’s best batsman Ross Taylor was now at the crease and he had to see Guptill too depart to the pavilion. Malinga, brought back for a second spell, struck with his third ball with a searing yorker and had Guptill’s defences shattered. The Kiwis were in real trouble at 84/3 in the 22nd over.

Scott Styris and Taylor had the responsibility of doing the repair job. The spinners tightened the screws and the runs were really hard to come for the Kiwis. However, when Malinga made a mistake with his lengths, Styris was quick to latch on to the opportunity and score two boundaries. Sangakkara rotated his spinners very well with the result that New Zealand could not be comfortable with any single bowler to try and increase the scoring rate. Malinga’s third spell was greeted with two more boundaries by Styris. New Zealand were going along well without further losses and planning an attack in the last 10 overs when Ajantha Mendis had Taylor pull a short ball straight to the fielder at deep midwicket. Taylor was not at all comfortable during his stay at the crease.

Kane Williamson revealed why he is so highly rated by the Kiwis as he attacked Malinga and Muralitharan with boundaries. After a brief cameo, he fell to a full delivery from Malinga that trapped him in front of the crease. From 192/5, the rest of the batting capitulated as the Kiwis were dismissed for 217 in the 49th over. Muralitharan earned a wicket off his last delivery in Sri Lanka as he had Styris trapped in front. The spinners were again the pick for Sri Lanka as they bowled 35 overs and shared seven wickets. They were well supported by Malinga who took wickets at crucial moments and ended with 3/55.

Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan continued from where they left off against England. The start was rollicking as Tharanga jumped out and hit Nathan McCullum straight down for a six. Tharanga was the dominant partner in the opening partnership of 40, with 30 runs being scored by him. Tim Southee got the breakthrough for the Kiwis as Tharanga was caught at point by an amazingly athletic Jesse Ryder. Once Tharanga was dismissed, Dilshan started scoring and with Sangakkara eased the pressure with sensible batting. The partnership raised 120 runs and Sri Lanka appeared to be coasting to another thumping win when the famous Kiwi fightback happened.

Dilshan was the first victim of the fightback as he hit a ball straight to Ryder in the 33rd over. In the next over, Mahela Jayawardene was trapped in front of the crease by Vettori. The pressure got on Sangakkara as he uppercut Andy McKay to the fielder at third man. 160/1 had become 168/4 and suddenly the Kiwis sensed that they might be able to pull off something similar to what they did against South Africa the other night. Their cause was helped by some poor defensive batting by Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera until a message came from the dressing room that this was one-day cricket, not test cricket.

The message seemed to have worked as Silva hit successive fours off Ryder before he too was dismissed inside edging a delivery from Tim Southee on to the stumps. Angelo Mathews and Samaraweera negotiated a few tricky overs before Mathews decided it was time to finish things off. He hit Southee for an on driven six and then hit another four over the bowler’s head to bring the equation down to 4 from 18 balls. The win was duly achieved in the 48th over when Samaraweera edged between the wicket keeper and a widish slip fielder for four runs. Sri Lanka were in the final, their second successive one.

New Zealand will be disappointed that their batsmen could not score 235 after being in a position to do so. The failure to bat the full 50 overs meant that the total of 217 would be inadequate. Their bowling was lion-hearted as always and one more wicket during the Sri Lankan wobble would probably have given them an opening to target the tail. But that was not to be and the Kiwis depart losing their sixth World Cup semi-final. It was a good performance for a team that had a bitter experience the last two times they visited the subcontinent. John Wright and Allan Donald are doing a good job mentoring this team and they need to be given a longer run to enable New Zealand to be a much better team.

Sri Lanka were lucky that they did not lose another wicket during the middle order collapse. However, the Sri Lankan think tank should be serious about their lower middle order, which is very brittle. They cannot afford a similar collapse in the final. In any case, Chamara Kapugedera is a far better choice than Chamara Silva. The bowling was excellent and the spinners once again came to the party. The final will be a big game for Sri Lanka and they will hope to win the World Cup again after a gap of 15 years. Muralitharan would love to go out on a high and his team members would love to play well and win the cup for their talismanic bowler.

Sri Lanka should go through while India vs. Pakistan is too close to call

2011-03-29T11:48:00.007+05:30

The first of the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held later today at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka are clear favorites to win the encounter against New Zealand. This is a repeat of the first semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 when Sri Lanka had won by 81 runs powered by Mahela Jayawardene’s magnificent hundred.

Sri Lanka have a strong bowling attack with the spinners doing the bulk of the job. The spinners and the seamers complement each other well. Muralitharan, Mendis and Herath could be a handful for the weak Kiwi batting. With Malinga’s toe crushing yorkers to be dealt with in the end overs, it is likely to be more than a handful! The only concern for Sri Lanka in bowling is the fitness of Muralitharan. If Murali does not play the semi-final, Nuwan Kulasekara could come in, although the big all-rounder Thisara Perera could come in handy. The spinners can be expected to bowl 60-80% of the overs and pick up a few wickets to put pressure on New Zealand. As far as the batting is concerned, there is no concern on the opening pair. Following the openers are the most experienced Sri Lankan batsmen – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. The rest of the batting does not have the experience or the tenacity to survive an all out attack from the Kiwi bowlers.

New Zealand have a good bowling attack and a great fielding unit. The bowlers can be expected to stick to the basics and not give any room for the Sri Lankan batsmen to attack. Exerting pressure and taking wickets will be their ploy. It remains to be seen whether Kyle Mills plays. If he does not, will New Zealand stick to the same side that beat South Africa at Mirpur? Luke Woodcock was not quite impressive against the Proteas but can be good on the slower surface at Colombo. Daryl Tuffey might also be given a look in. With the fielders having an advantage over their Lankan counterparts, the catches will be a key factor in deciding the winner. The batsmen have to come really good as they face one of the world’s most potent bowling attacks. Ross Taylor will be the fulcrum in New Zealand’s batting efforts and the other batsmen will do well to play around him.

If the same pitch as the one used for the quarter final is used for this match, we can expect a slow pitch with not much runs. One would reckon 225-230 as a match winning score. It will be a tricky decision whether to bat or bowl first on winning the toss. New Zealand would probably bat first on winning the toss and Sri Lanka would probably ask the Kiwis to bat first if they won the toss. The weather is expected to be fair. An advantage for the winner will be that they have prior experience of having played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai – the venue for the final. This should hold them in good stead against their opponents in the final. Sri Lanka have a 70-30 chance of going through to the final.

The second semi-final on Wednesday will be the match that millions of people are waiting for. India and Pakistan, for the first time, meet in a World Cup semifinal. The match, to be held at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, has already drawn attention for the cricket diplomacy between the Governments of the two countries. India’s record against Pakistan in one-day World Cups is envious – they have played each other four times and each time India have come on top. India’s record against Pakistan at Mohali is not so encouraging – they have played two and lost both - by a margin of 7 wickets in 1999 and 4 wickets in 2007.

India needs to be sharp with their bowling. The seamers and spinners will have to tighten the line and length and put excruciating pressure on the vulnerable Pakistan batting line up. India will look up to Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh to lead the bowling exemplarily. The bowling composition will likely be the same that did duties against Australia although the pitch at Mohali might prompt Dhoni to go with three seamers and a spinner. Ashish Nehra is likely to get the nod in such a scenario. The batsmen pick themselves. Suresh Raina will hold to his place after his match winning partnership with Yuvraj Singh against Australia. The worry is the batting Powerplay and India would do well to have one of the openers bat through the full 50 overs to counter any collapse during this phase. The batsmen will have to be very agile against Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, the most threatening of the Pakistan bowlers. Also, they will have to watch out for Abdul Razzaq with the new ball in the 35th over. He is quite dangerous as he proved in the last couple of matches.

Pakistan’s strength clearly lies in bowling. Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq all are in good form and among the wickets. With the kind of bowling attack they have at their disposal, any batting line up could go for a toss. Pakistan will be banking on this factor to win the encounter. They will be toying with the idea of playing Shoaib Akhtar who can unsettle the Indian batsmen with his pace. The batsmen will need to deliver, though. In a pressure match, their batting can come apart and they need to guard against self destruction. They have done the right thing by having Kamran Akmal open the batting. Against India, it would not be a bad idea to have Younis Khan come in at No.3 because if the openers depart early there will be too much pressure on the young Asad Shafiq.

The pitch will be good for batting but there will be assistance for the seamers especially at night. The dew will also be a factor and teams would like to chase if they win the toss. India need to be careful if they are chasing because there are better exponents of swing in the Pakistan camp and loss of early wickets can hamper their progress, especially if Pakistan score in the range of 270-280. Pakistan too, would be wary of chasing as early wickets can put tremendous pressure especially when their batting is not as strong as the Indian line up. The battle will be between the Indian batsmen and the Pakistan bowlers. Both sides will be equally pumped up to perform in front of their Premiers who will be at the stadium to watch the match. Predicting the winner is tough and the match is too close to call.

Sri Lanka in last four with thumping win

2011-03-27T11:16:00.008+05:30

England, after six consecutive close encounters, came a cropper in their seventh encounter – the last quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup – against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The nature of Sri Lanka’s win was so emphatic it appeared the Englishmen were in a hurry to go home rather than put up any semblance of a fight against their opponents. Sri Lanka will now take on New Zealand in a repeat of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup semi final.

The English captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and decided to bat first. It was a poor decision. It was evident Strauss was not thinking clearly. On a day when rain was forecast, it would have made sense to bat second. It was another matter that the rains stayed away. Also, the pitch at the ground has altered its pattern of favoring the team batting first and chasing under lights is far easier as evidenced by the last few matches. England made no change to its side that beat West Indies at Chennai while Sri Lanka made a bold move to include three specialist spinners.

The start was not ideal for England – Bell, opening the batting, was solid but Strauss was not so. Strauss struggled against the spin of Tillakaratne Dilshan and repeatedly came down the track put failed to get to the pitch of the ball each time. His struggles finally ended when he tried to pull Dilshan, missed and saw his stumps in disarray. The ball had kept a trifle low as well. Bell threw his wicket away in the next over as he attempted to glide Angelo Mathews but Samaraweera at midwicket pounced on the chance.

Jonathan Trott, England’s most consistent batsman in the last 12 months, and Ravi Bopara ensured no further problems for a while with dour batting. Both did not take the attack heads on but chose to play risk free cricket taking the singles and moving the scoreboard along. It was a bad ploy as the run rate suffered but they were probably trying to accelerate towards the end. Bopara fell after the partnership had added 64 runs in 18 overs. He was trapped in front by a Muthiah Muralitharan delivery that pitched on leg and held its line. When Eoin Morgan joined Trott at the crease, the innings sprang to life.

Morgan made a concerted effort to up the scoring rate and one thought England would take the batting Powerplay in the 35th over. The reason for this was that in the five overs preceding the 35th over, Trott and Morgan had added 34 runs and this was the perfect opportunity for a further assault. But they did not take the Powerplay as soon as the ball was changed. This was the second strategic mistake that England made. Trott meanwhile reached his fifty as always expected of him. The only problem with his batting is that he consumes a lot of deliveries in the process.

As Trott and Morgan prospered, the pressure got to Sri Lanka and they started being sloppy in the field. Three catches off Morgan were dropped and Muralitharan, the bowler to suffer on two occasions, was livid at Rangana Herath when he dropped the third chance. It was a sign that Sri Lanka were concerned but England appeared to make no notice of this. At the end of the 40th over, England were 173/3 with the batting Powerplay yet to be taken. The overs 30-40 had yielded 61 runs and England were ready to go for the kill.

England finally took the batting Powerplay in the 43rd over and Morgan soon reached his fifty in the third ball of the over but broke his bat and had to replace it. That proved unlucky as he tried to hit a full delivery from Lasith Malinga over cover but Mathews made no mistake this time. Graeme Swann was sent in ahead of Matt Prior. He lasted just one ball as he tried to reverse sweep Mendis and was trapped plumb in front of the wicket. It was a poor decision by England to send him in and the third mistake of the afternoon.

The Powerplay yielded just 23 runs for the loss of two wickets for England as Malinga and Mendis tied things up beautifully. Trott was dismissed in the 49th over as a sweep off Muralitharan found the top edge and travelled straight to the fielder at deep square leg. Though Prior hit a couple of fours, England could only finish at 229/6 – a below par score. Sri Lanka had come back admirably into the match and the crowd was on its feet now.

The Sri Lankan opening batsmen – Upul Tharanga and Dilshan - have been the most prolific of all the opening batting pair this tournament. On this night, they showed why. Both of them complemented each other so well and Sri Lanka started aggressively towards the target. Tharanga even lofted Swann straight down the ground for a six. The England bowlers were clueless on how to contain the batsmen and only Chris Tremlett and Ravi Bopara were treated with respect. The pair reached their 100 stand in the 19th over. Dilshan reached his half century in the 21st over while Tharanga reached his in the 22nd over.

The bowling Powerplay, which had been delayed by Strauss, was taken in the 30th over, and this was a cue for Sri Lanka to shift gears a higher notch. 40 runs came in five overs and Sri Lanka were in cruise mode now. Tharanga and Dilshan raised their 200 stand in the 36th over and this was followed by Dilshan reaching his century in the 37th over. As Sri Lanka closed in on the win, the only interest that remained was whether Tharanga too would get his hundred. He did, scoring the match winning runs in the process as well, in the 40th over. Sri Lanka had won by 10 wickets and marched into the semi-finals in style.

England, who did not deserve to be in the quarter finals, will be dejected by their performance in this tournament. They were never really the force that they used to be during the Ashes campaign and injuries to key players blighted their efforts. Five months on the road was too much for some of the players, especially James Anderson. They return home, unable to win the World Cup yet again. But they have some fine players and the English Cricket Board would do well to schedule the team’s commitments in a more humane way. A grueling Ashes campaign is not an ideal preparation for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka has been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament and they have thoroughly deserved their place in the last four. They have hardly any worries going into the semi finals although a session or two of fielding practice would be good ahead of their semi final against New Zealand on Tuesday. Dilshan and Tharanga are really going well and one only hopes that they have not peaked too soon. New Zealand will be wary of this Sri Lankan outfit and will need to come out with all their guns blazing if they are to overcome them in front of a partisan Colombo crowd.

Fortune refuses to smile on South Africa yet again

2011-03-26T12:54:00.004+05:30

There is something about South African cricket that prevents them from winning major tournaments. Are they jinxed? One would think so after a disastrous batting collapse pushed them to a heart breaking defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the third quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Mirpur. They literally snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and once again return home empty handed. It was a sad story, really.

A target of 222 was supposed to be easy for the South African batsmen. It appeared so despite the loss of an early wicket in Hashim Amla. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis carried them towards the target with a partnership of 61 runs for the second wicket. Even when they lost Smith, Kallis and AB De Villiers maintained the momentum and the required rate was hardly a threat. Disaster struck in the 25th over. Kallis fell to a wonderful athletic catch from Jacob Oram and then JP Duminy played all over a Nathan McCullum delivery to lose his stumps. Two balls later, when Faf Du Plessis was responsible for the run out of the well set De Villiers, the sluice gates were open and New Zealand capitalized, dismissing the Proteas for 172 to record victory by 49 runs. Oram was the pick of the bowlers with 4/39 and was ably supported by Nathan McCullum with 3/24.

Earlier, a disciplined South African bowling at the beginning and end ensured the Kiwis could only muster 221/8 in their 50 overs. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum departed by the time the score was 16 and it required an excellent partnership of 114 runs in 162 balls between Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder to restore balance in the contest. Both realized that patience was a necessary virtue to bat on the kind of surface Mirpur had. They started slowly, seeing off the good balls and getting used to the pace of the wicket, which was slow. They accelerated when the bad balls were thrown in and the partnership blossomed and threatened an explosive finish similar to the one against Pakistan.

However, to their credit, the South African bowlers bounced back and suddenly it appeared that even 200 would not be possible. Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Dale Steyn bowled the last 10 overs with such intensity that runs were hard to come by and the wickets fell at regular intervals. In this context, Kane Williamson’s unbeaten innings of 38 in 41 balls was invaluable. He is not your hard hitting batsman but is more in the traditional mould. He lived up to the adage – when the going gets tough, the tough get going. However, 221 was inadequate, one thought at the innings break. But Jacob Oram and his fellow Kiwi bowlers had other ideas on this night.

South Africa did hardly anything wrong in this match except when the pressure mounted at the fall of Kallis and Duminy. Their bowling was disciplined and penetrative as ever and their batting was solid during the phase when Kallis and De Villiers were batting. It was the lower middle order that did not fire and though Du Plessis tried his best, it was not enough. After a string of good performances in the league stages, they were developing into favorites to win the title. They had a refreshingly new attitude highlighted by Imran Tahir, the first attacking spinner to play for South Africa. Time will, hopefully, heal the wounds of this painful defeat and they will return in 2015 to start from scratch and hope to break the jinx.

New Zealand will be surprised with the way they won tonight but all credit to their fighting spirit. They never shed their belief and a tight bowling and fielding effort helped them to snatch the life out of the South African batsmen. Jacob Oram reinvented himself with today’s bowling effort and this should rub off on his batting in the semi-final. It has not been a consistent tournament for the Kiwis with only a win against Pakistan something to talk about. But things will be different from now on. Brimming with confidence, they now travel to Colombo where they will meet either Sri Lanka or England for a place in the final of a tournament they too have never won.

Another Yuvraj show helps India overcome Australia

2011-03-25T10:53:00.007+05:30

India reached the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup defeating the defending champions Australia in a closely fought quarter final at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. In an uncanny similarity, in 1996 too, India had upset the applecart of the then defending champions Pakistan to reach the semi-final. Once again it was Yuvraj Singh, who continued his fine form of the tournament, who set up the win for India who will now meet arch-rivals Pakistan for a place in the final.

Australia won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch that was dry but had patches of brown in it. India brought in Virender Sehwag into the team while Yusuf Pathan was dropped. Australia dropped Steven Smith and brought in David Hussey into the playing eleven. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin provided a steady start as India attacked with the off-spinner R Ashwin. After a silent two overs, Watson slog swept Ashwin to the boundary at deep midwicket. Watson found boundaries in the next three overs as the run rate increased. Haddin too joined the party in the 7th over as he hit Ashwin for a six over long on, hitting the ball remarkably with the spin of the ball. Australia, however, lost their first wicket in the 10th over as Watson tried to sweep Ashwin, missed and was bowled.

The out of form Ricky Ponting joined Haddin at the crease. Haddin showed aggressive intent as he hit three fours off a Munaf Patel over. Ricky Ponting was not in form but he was determined as ever and hit two fours in one Yuvraj Singh over for his first boundaries of the day. The runs flowed at a healthy pace and Haddin reached his fifty in the 22nd over with a boundary to midwicket. But he fell in the next over as a cover drive off a flighted delivery from Yuvraj was in the air enough for Suresh Raina to take a low catch. Ponting and Clarke carried on well till Clarke played a poor shot off Yuvraj that landed safely in the hands of Zaheer Khan. One wicket led to another as Mike Hussey was foxed by the new variety of slower ball that Zaheer has mastered. Australia had slipped to 150/4.

Ponting had meanwhile reached his fifty and was proving difficult to dislodge. He was slowly getting his groove back and the partnership with Cameron White, another man struggling for form, put Australia back in the game. Ponting struck a six in the 39th over off Yuvraj Singh and followed that up with a four to third man off the last ball of Yuvraj’s spell. Just as the partnership assumed threatening proportions, White popped a ball back to Zaheer who accepted the chance. David Hussey however supported Ponting in a bid to ensure a competitive total and started with a boundary to short fine leg. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 44th over.

The run rate started its climb up as Hussey launched Ashwin over long on for a six and in the same over Ponting got a well deserved century. This had taken a long time in coming and was due to the sheer determination and character of the man who is one of the greats in cricket. He was dismissed soon, though, as he attempted a reverse sweep off Ashwin but could not get past the fielder at short third man. This bogged down the run rate a bit as the Aussies were unable to find another boundary and ended their quota at 260/6 – a competitive total considering the fact that the ball was stopping a bit and the pitch afforded appreciable turn for the spinners.

India started their reply in the usual bustling fashion as Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar scored off pacy deliveries from Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. Sehwag was not at all comfortable at the crease, probably because of his troublesome knee, and was dismissed off a bouncer that he could pull only to the fielder at square leg. Tendulkar and Gambhir cantered along at a steady pace punishing the bad balls every now and then and ensuring that the required rate stayed at reasonable levels.

Tendulkar reached his half-century in the 17th over and was playing so well that the crowd was anticipating his 100th international century. Sadly, that had to wait another day as Tait fired in a good length ball that the batsman could only poke to the wicket keeper Brad Haddin. The Gambhir – Kohli partnership could not score many boundaries but the pair kept taking the singles on offer. Kohli threw his wicket away in the 29th over as he hit a full toss from David Hussey straight to the fielder stationed at midwicket.

When Gambhir ran himself out in the 34th over soon after reaching his fifty and Dhoni cut Lee to Clarke at point four overs later, India had stumbled to 187/5 with Yuvraj and Raina the last recognized batting pair. The pair, however, carried on admirably under pressure. 14 runs came in the 40th over that considerably reduced the gap between balls remaining and runs remaining. Yuvraj was batting sensationally and reached his fifty in the 45th over. There really was nothing that could stop him, such was his confidence. Raina was not to fall behind as he started the batting Powerplay with a big six over long on. From then, it was only a matter of when India would win. Yuvraj scored the winning runs in the 48th over with a cover drive that went for four. Fittingly, he was adjudged the man of the match.

Australia fought really hard on the day but Yuvraj had other ideas. One day or the other, Australia’s reign in the World Cup was bound to end. All is not lost for them. They have a fine side, one that needs a little more experience to find the dominating ways of their predecessors. Ponting’s determined hundred was enough to silence his critics and with that little finger healing, he should be scoring more runs for Australia. With a lot of young talent waiting in the wings, they will look forward to the World Cup in 2015, which will be held in Australia, with hope.

India’s bowling was better today, just enough to restrict Australia to 260. Had they conceded 20 more runs, it would have been very difficult. The sad part is only Zaheer, Ashwin and Yuvraj are among the wickets. The batting nearly committed suicide, but thanks to Yuvraj and Raina, India now find themselves in a dream semi-final against Pakistan at Mohali next Wednesday. It is going to be a tough game, no doubt, with Pakistan in such fine form. When two teams who increase the level of their game manifold when they meet each other, play the semi-finals of the most cherished silverware in one-day international cricket, fireworks are assured. Two of the most inconsistent teams in the world battling it out for a place in the final – who will blink first?

Pakistan makes strong statement with punishing win

2011-03-24T11:20:00.008+05:30

Pakistan marched into the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup with a surprisingly easy and commanding win over a poor West Indies. With this punishing win, Pakistan has made a strong statement to other teams that they better beware of this side with immense potential. The quarter final encounter turned out to be a poor mismatch.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and decided to bat first at Mirpur. Surprisingly, they left out Andre Russell and brought in Shivnarine Chanderpaul thus affecting the balance of the team. It was another matter that without Chanderpaul, West Indies would not have crossed 100 runs. Kemar Roach and Chris Gayle returned as well. Pakistan brought in off spinner Saeed Ajmal and dropped Abdur Rehman, a decision prompted by the left-handers in the West Indies side.

The start belied what was to follow. Off the first 16 balls, 14 runs were scored and then Pakistan took control of the proceedings. Umar Gul had Gayle play his trademark lofted shot but could only hit the ball straight to the fielder at mid on. Mohammad Hafeez, with the new ball, then struck twice in the 6th over. He had Devon Smith and Darren Bravo trapped in front of the wicket as they failed to play inside the line of the ball. 14/0 had become 16/3 in the space of the next 18 balls.

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul tried rebuilding the innings, but the runs were hard to come as Hafeez choked one end with his spinners. The batsmen played as though this was Test match cricket and there was no concerted effort to increase the run rate. In the 25th over, Afridi got a ball to bounce more than Sarwan expected and he ended up slashing it to Umar Akmal at point. Two overs later, he had Kieron Pollard edge to Kamran Akmal and off the very next ball had Devon Thomas trapped in front. Afridi did not get a hat-trick though as a leading edge of Sammy went to no man’s land.

Saeed Ajmal too got into the act as he had Sammy trapped in front with the wrong ‘un and in the same over had Devendra Bishoo bowled with another wrong ‘un. 71/8 in the 28th over and the match was headed for an early finish. Kemar Roach provided admirable support to Chanderpaul for the next few overs as West Indies reached 100 in the 37th over of the innings. Roach was dismissed in the 43rd over as he went for a big shot but could not get past Younis Khan at midwicket. It was all over in the next over as Ravi Rampaul missed a sweep off Afridi and was castled. 112 all out in 43.3 overs in an important quarter final was grossly inadequate by any standards.

Pakistan started the chase desperate to finish things off early. Both the batsmen went for their shots and the runs came flowing. Hafeez’s confident bowling rubbed off on his batting as well as he dominated the opening partnership with Kamran Akmal. He got to a well made fifty in the 18th over as Pakistan closed in on the win. They won in the 21st over when Akmal struck a boundary in front of square on the off side. They had all their 10 wickets intact when the victory came. What an emphatic win!

West Indies played pathetically on the day and couldn’t come to terms with some quality spin bowling unleashed by Pakistan. If only they had someone to break the shackles when the spinners were operating and give able support to the obdurate Chanderpaul, things might have been different. Questions will be asked of this team when they reach home and some heads might roll as well. For a while in this tournament, against Netherlands, Bangladesh and Ireland, they seemed to have reinvented themselves but their batting collapses against England and India made them a confused side which led to the shocking capitulation today.

Pakistan will take huge doses of confidence from this big win which follows on the heels of their win against Australia. The form of their openers was a big plus for them in this match besides their bowling which has been sharp in this tournament save against New Zealand. They will be prepared for whoever meets them in the second semi-final at Mohali on March 30. Whether it’s India or Australia, they will be pumped up.

Exciting quarter final matches in store

2011-03-22T11:18:00.004+05:30

With the league encounters of the ICC Cricket World Cup complete, teams enter the knock out stage where each match is a do-or-die affair. Teams realize that they need to win only three more matches to covet the title of world champions. This is easier said than done as the matches will only get tougher from now on and the team that can handle the pressure well will earn the title of world champion on Saturday, April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The first of the quarter finals is between Pakistan and West Indies at Mirpur on Wednesday. Pakistan will be confident after their win over Australia but needs to guard against complacency. An inconsistent performance cannot be ruled out given Pakistan’s track record. They should retain the same eleven that won against Australia. West Indies will return to a venue of which they have fond memories as it was in Mirpur that their campaign really took wings skittling out Bangladesh for just 58. With Kemar Roach and Chris Gayle back for the crucial match, their batting and bowling should be further strengthened. Ramnaresh Sarwan should make way for Shivnarine Chanderpaul to strengthen the batting which collapsed in two successive matches. It’s a 50-50 chance for both teams but I will put my money on West Indies simply because Pakistan cannot be depended upon.

The second last eight match will be played between India and Australia at Motera in Ahmedabad. India had won the warm up match between the two teams before the World Cup started but that was on a pitch that turned square, an unlikely surface for Thursday’s match. India, like Pakistan, have been inconsistent, and will have to show drastic improvements in all the three departments to put it across Australia. The pitch is expected to be a batting paradise and India would probably retain the same eleven that won against West Indies. Australia have batting worries of their own but a big match should bring the best out of their batsmen. It would not be a bad idea to promote Mitchell Johnson up the order for some quick runs. Ponting needs to consider all options when deciding on his bowlers and should not shy from using part timers in a bid to take wickets. In a bid to bounce the Indians out, they might leave out Steven Smith and bring in seamer John Hastings. Australia holds the slight upper hand and have a chance of 55-45 in the match only because their bowling is much stronger when compared to the Indian bowling.

South Africa and New Zealand square up in Mirpur on Friday. It remains to be seen whether the same pitch as the one to be used for the first quarter final will be used for this game as well. That will make a big difference to the team composition. One other factor is the weather – it is likely to rain in the evening in Mirpur. South Africa should prevail comfortably. Having said that, New Zealand should not be taken lightly. They had a poor subcontinent series before the World Cup and are slowly picking up the pieces. With Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills expected to be back, they will be that much better off. The batting revolves around the openers and Ross Taylor and it is imperative that they come good. South Africa have little worries and the return of AB De Villiers should be a big boost. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel would be fresh after a good period of rest. South Africa have a 70-30 chance of winning.

The final quarter final will be between Sri Lanka and the enigmatic England. Given how England entered the quarter finals, Sri Lanka should have a comfortable game. Their spinners should be able to choke the English batsmen out of the game like Bangladesh did. England will likely retain the same side that defeated West Indies in their previous game. They will need to be consistent in their games from now on. Sri Lanka will toy with the idea of playing Chamara Kapugedera instead of Chamara Silva. They will need to ensure that their lower middle order fires. The weather could be a factor in this match as well as rain has been forecast for Saturday. Sri Lanka have a 60-40 chance of winning even though the R Premadasa Stadium is not one of their happy hunting grounds. I would not rule out another thriller as well as England is one of the teams!

Whatever the result, we should have the best teams in the semi finals. The matches are expected to be crackers and the crowd as well as the TV audience should get to watch some great contests. With the business end of the tournament approaching, teams should be focused and raring to go.

West Indies commits hara-kiri as India record comfortable win

2011-03-21T10:48:00.005+05:30

The final round robin encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup was a fixture to determine who would finish second and third in Group B. The pitch at the M A Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai was the cynosure of all eyes. In the end two batting collapses were the talking point as India defeated West Indies by a comfortable margin of 80 runs. India will now play defending champions Australia in the last eight while West Indies face formidable Pakistan.

The toss was crucial and was won by India who decided to bat first. With Sehwag absent, Gautam Gambhir reverted to opening the batting with maestro Sachin Tendulkar. The start was bad – Tendulkar got glove to a short delivery from Ravi Rampaul but despite the umpire’s decision of not out, walked. Gambhir and Kohli attacked Sulieman Benn but the run rate was not as heady as in the games against Bangladesh, England or South Africa.

Gambhir was the next to go as he made room and slashed a short delivery straight to the fielder at third man. This brought the in-form Yuvraj Singh to the crease and thus began the most productive phase of the Indian innings. Strike rotation meant singles and twos were the order of the day but there were some delightful boundaries as well. In the 21st over, Yuvraj on drove Darren Sammy for a six over long on and then swept Devendra Bishoo for a four. Yuvraj reached his fifty in the 26th over with two fours off Bishoo while Kohli followed suit in the 29th over with a boundary over midwicket. The batsmen were well set for acceleration in the last 20 overs.

Rampaul was brought back into the attack as West Indies searched for wickets. In the second over of his new spell, Rampaul had Kohli play a pull shot but the ball beat the bat and upset the stumps. It was a vital wicket in the scheme of things for West Indies. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined Yuvraj who was now looking good for a century. He duly reached it in the 41st over and India were comfortably placed for a 300 plus total when the now familiar great Indian middle order batting collapse happened.

Bishoo started the slump when he beat Dhoni with a flighted delivery and wicket keeper Devon Thomas completed the stumping. The last seven wickets fell for just 50 runs as India were bowled out for 268 in the first ball of the 50th over. Rampaul picked up his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket and finished with impressive figures of 5/51. At the break, West Indies fancied their chances even as they realized that they did not have Chris Gayle to lead the chase.

The chase started off slowly as India attacked one end with local boy R Ashwin first and then Harbhajan later. Devon Smith was unflappable as ever and a straight drive for four off Zaheer Khan was a delight to watch. Kirk Edwards, the debutant opener, showed no nerves as he came down the track to loft Harbhajan over the long off boundary for a six. However, Ashwin got the breakthrough for India as he got a ball to pitch on leg, straighten and rap the batsman on the pads in front of middle and leg. Darren Bravo put on a good partnership with Smith who was growing stronger by each minute that he spent at the crease.

Bravo showed glimpses of Brian Lara as he hit a six over long off of Ashwin and followed that up with a ferocious cut shot that sped for four more. Just as the partnership had crossed 50 and was looking good for more, Bravo made a big mess of a short ball from Suresh Raina. That ball was asking to be hit for a six but Bravo made a poor choice by lofting it towards long on where the fielder gleefully accepted the chance. Ramnaresh Sarwan, badly in need of some runs, was the next man in and West Indies calmly chipped away at the target with Smith reaching a well played fifty in the 19th over.

The Indian fielding was now looking weary and was exemplified by Munaf Patel making no attempt to stop a cut shot from Sarwan that was heading to the boundary. Smith accelerated by hitting Yuvraj down the ground for his first six. This partnership too raised fifty runs and at the end of the 30th over West Indies were cruising at 154/2. Zaheer Khan was brought back into the attack and quickly had Smith bowled with a new kind of slower ball that he has mastered. This was followed by Kieron Pollard hitting straight to the fielder at long on in the next over. It was an unnecessary shot at the time and the whole team was dismissed for 188 in the 43rd over. The last eight wickets had fallen for just 34 runs in 13 overs.

For the second time in as many matches, West Indies had the chase on a platter and threw it away with some senseless batting. The pitch was still good and had many more runs in it. The batting collapses of the last two games should be a worry for Darren Sammy as they go to Mirpur to play a strong Pakistan team in the quarter finals. The bowlers did a commendable job in the absence of Kemar Roach and the batting looked solid until that collapse. It would not be a bad idea to bring back Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the next game as he can hold one end up.

India need not rejoice too much at this win. They won only because some of the West Indies batsmen were senseless. With the exception of Zaheer, the bowling looks tardy. The bowlers have failed to get those early breakthroughs which are very crucial. The batsmen should spend long hours in the sun as repeated batting collapses from strong positions cannot be excused. Against the world champions in the quarter finals, the team will have to up their game in all the three departments to entertain any hopes of winning.

All-round Zimbabwe puts its across Kenya

2011-03-20T21:04:00.006+05:30

In a match-up between eliminated teams, Zimbabwe put up a strong all-round display to defeat Kenya by 161 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in their final fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Zimbabwe ended with its second win of the tournament while Kenya return home winless.

Elton Chigumbura, the Zimbabwe skipper, won the toss and decided to bat first. Kenya were being led by Steve Tikolo, who was playing his final match before retirement from the game. Brendan Taylor and Regis Chakabva started slowly but steadily for Zimbabwe before both the batsmen were dismissed in successive overs. Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu took on the responsibilities from the 10th over.

The partnership frustrated the Kenyan bowlers as both the batsmen rotated the strike well and even picked up boundaries every now and then. In the 28th over, the pair decided it was time to attack and 15 runs were scored with two fours for Taibu and a six that also raised his fifty for Sibanda. The next over fetched another 10 runs with Sibanda getting two more boundaries. A poor mix up between the two, however, resulted in Sibanda being run out in the 30th over.

Craig Ervine and Taibu sauntered along at close to a run a ball before Taibu fell as he tried to reverse sweep James Ngoche but missed the ball and was trapped in front. Ervine was joined by his captain Chigumbura and the partnership was responsible for Zimbabwe getting more than 300. Chigumbura was unsure early on in his innings while Ervine, as always, found the gaps. Chigumbura got his confidence back with a six over long off in the 41st over. Ervine reached a superb fifty in the 45th over with a four and followed that up with another and Zimbabwe crossed 250. Chigumbura was dismissed in the 47th over as Tanmay Mishra judged a catch to perfection just in front of the boundary ropes.

Greg Lamb is known for his defensive batting but today was different. He along with Prosper Utseya, who had come in at the fall of Ervine’s wicket in the 48th over, played cameo knocks towards the end of the innings. Utseya was particularly severe on Elijah Otieno who bowled the 50th over and carted him for three fours and a six in the first four balls. Zimbabwe were happy with a total of 308/6 in 50 overs.

Kenya needed to bat well like they did against Australia to have any chance of overhauling Zimbabwe’s total. However, they got off to a poor start as the Obuya brothers were dismissed by the 4th over with hardly any runs on the board. Steve Tikolo played a couple of lovely flicks in his last innings but was trapped in front by Ray Price. Tanmay Mishra and Alex Obanda were dismissed in the space of an over to leave Kenya in deep trouble at 44/5 in the 12th over. Only obdurate batting from Thomas Odoyo, Rakep Patel and Nehemiah Odhiambo ensured Kenya crossed 100. Odhiambo was the top scorer with an unbeaten 44 as Kenya were dismissed for 147 in the 36th over. The Zimbabwe spinners picked up 8 wickets for just 116 runs in 30 overs to leave the Kenyans in disarray.

Zimbabwe will take positives from this World Cup. They have a young team with a lot of potential. Their batting is a bit inconsistent but they will learn from playing more matches. Their spinners were outstanding except in the matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Kenya failed to win a match and have a lot to improve in all the departments of the game. More match practice is what these teams need for their cricketers to excel in the future.

Disciplined Pakistan gives Australia first World Cup defeat in 12 years

2011-03-20T11:21:00.006+05:30

On a slow pitch where application was the keyword, Australia were choked by a disciplined Pakistan bowling and fielding and their own bowling efforts were not quite enough to defend a low total of 176. The result was that Pakistan won by six wickets and topped the standings in Group A. Australia slipped to third position in the group after their first defeat in a World Cup match since 1999. They will now meet the second placed team in Group B which could be India or West Indies.

The Australian skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision was influenced by the nature of the wicket which was expected to be slower as the match progressed and also by the fact that more than 60% of the matches at the R Premadasa Stadium was won by the team batting first. Australia retained the same eleven that played against Canada while Pakistan rightly axed the out of sorts Ahmed Shehzad and brought back Umar Akmal.

The bowlers were disciplined right from the start as they gave nothing away. Umar Gul had Shane Watson bowled in the 5th over off a delivery that seamed a bit. Just three boundaries came in the mandatory Powerplay as Australia could muster only 36/1 in the first 10 overs. When Wahab Riaz came on to bowl, Australia attacked and the runs started flowing at a healthy pace. The introduction of spin from both ends proved very hard for Australia to score runs. As the pressure built, Ponting tried to cut a ball from the Mohammad Hafeez but couldn’t go through with that shot and got an edge which was very well taken by wicket keeper Kamran Akmal.

Michael Clarke and Haddin continued stubbornly before Riaz got a ball to bounce more and Haddin, in an attempt to play the ball down to third man, only got an edge which was taken by Akmal. At 90/3, the out of form Cameron White joined Clarke at the crease. Just when the pair looked liked seeing off the phase before the new ball arrived in the 35th over, disaster struck. Where a single was just not there, the batsmen set off and White failed to ground his bat in time before Akmal dislodged the bails.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi’s masterstroke was the introduction of Abdul Razzaq in the 35th over with the new ball. He immediately picked the wicket of Clarke who tried to play a pull shot but missed and the ball took the off bails on its way to Kamran Akmal. This started a slide in which the last five wickets fell for the addition of just 42 runs as Australia were bowled out for 176 in the 47th over. All the Pakistan bowlers were among the wickets but Umar Gul and Razzaq were the pick taking 3/30 and 2/8 respectively.

The target was small but Pakistan had to play very well to chase. Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez started with boundaries but Brett Lee had Hafeez playing at a delivery a little too early and the leading edge was smartly taken by the bowler himself on his follow through. When Kamran Akmal too departed in the 9th over as Lee’s good length delivery struck him on the hind leg, Pakistan were unsure at 45/2. Younis Khan and the impressive Asad Shafiq carried on gamely and slowly built a partnership that would prove decisive in the end. Shafiq scored most of his runs on the leg side as the Australian bowlers strayed.

Brett Lee was brought back for a second spell and the move paid dividends as he had Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq play loose shots outside the off stump and edge to wicket keeper Haddin. Pakistan were 98/4 and in danger of combusting. Umar Akmal was the ideal thing that Pakistan needed and he was aggressive right from the time he arrived at the crease. With Shafiq he carried the score to 139 when Mitchell Johnson switched to a round the wicket attack and had Shafiq glove a catch to Watson at slip off a delivery that bounced more than the batsman expected.

Afridi hit Jason Krejza straight to the fielder at long on in the very next over and Pakistan appeared to be cracking. But Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq ensured there would not be any more hiccups on the road to a famous victory. They finally won in the 41st over when Razzaq hit two fours in two balls. Pakistan had topped the group with a great show of discipline and brains.

Australia will be worried about their batsmen’s inability to cope with slow pitches and the spin threat that these pitches pose. The sooner they learn to adapt, the better for them or they will have to say goodbye to the World Cup which they have proudly held for 12 years. Their bowling tonight was not too bad and they were unlucky that Krejza could not pick up more wickets even though he bowled beautifully. It was baffling though why Ponting did not use more spinners when he had Steven Smith and Michael Clarke at his disposal.

Pakistan showed what discipline and a calm approach can do on the slow pitches of the subcontinent. They were flawless throughout the match. Barring the trouble with the top order and a batting wobble in the second half of their chase, they did not have any problems. But Pakistan is Pakistan and one never knows when they will be back to their old inconsistent ways. They need to build on this performance which will be a big confidence booster for the games ahead.

Bangladesh blown away by South African bowling

2011-03-19T18:45:00.005+05:30

For the second time in the tournament against a quality bowling attack, Bangladesh’s batsmen were blown away and the result was a massive defeat for the last eight aspirants. South Africa, with a superlative performance with both bat and ball, now have an unassailable 10 points and have ensured the first place in Group B, regardless of the result of the India vs. West Indies encounter at Chennai on Sunday.

At Mirpur, South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first. Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith provided the solid start that South Africa needed. Amla started with a cover drive for four off the last ball of the first and second overs. Smith too picked up initial boundaries against Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam. South Africa reached their first fifty in the 9th over but once spinners came on at both ends, the batsmen adopted a cautious approach.

The partnership moved along to 98 without any problems when Mahmudullah struck for Bangladesh. He saw Smith advancing down the track and cleverly pulled back the length of the delivery. The ball turned, Smith missed and wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim effected a good stumping. Amla was also dismissed soon as he got an inside edge on an attempted cover drive and saw the stumps being dislodged. JP Duminy and Jacques Kallis tried the consolidation route when in the 30th over, Duminy couldn’t play a ball to fine leg cleanly and ended up giving a catch to Mushfiqur Rahim. At 141/3 after 30 overs, it appeared Bangladesh’s spinners would strangle the remaining batsmen.

Kallis seemed to have got an ideal partner in Faf Du Plessis to try and take the game away from Bangladesh. They were successful as 52 runs came off the next ten overs. With wickets in hand, South Africa could now accelerate in the final stretch of their innings. Kallis reached his half century in the 42nd over and then decided to go after the bowling. A six off Naeem Islam and a four off Mahmudullah were the results. However, he was dismissed very much against the run of play in the 45th over as his attempted drive went straight to the hands of the bowler Shakib Al Hasan.

Du Plessis at the other end, had been at the crease for some time and had gauged the nature of the pitch. He launched into Abdur Razzak’s left arm spin with a pulled six, a pulled four and an inside edge that went to the boundary. He reached his half century too in the process. Though he was dismissed soon, Johan Botha and Robin Peterson played lovely cameos to guide South Africa to a strong 284/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

One was not sure if South Africa’s decision to rest both Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel was a wise one. But it proved more than wise as Lonwabo Tsotsobe tore into the Bangladesh top order taking out Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Shahriar Nafees to leave them teetering on the brink at 21/4 in the 8th over. With the exception of Shakib Al Hasan, none of the Bangladesh batsmen showed any application whatsoever as they were eventually dismissed for 78 in just 28 overs. Tsotsobe finished with 3/14 and was ably supported by the spinners. Robin Peterson took 4/12 while Johan Botha and Imran Tahir finished with a wicket each.

South Africa’s clinical display must have satiated Graeme Smith who wanted the perfect game. Even without their frontline seamers, they proved that they have the bowling to crumble opposition batting line ups. Smith would also be happy that he could score some runs at the top of the order. With the top place in their group, they will in all likelihood play New Zealand in the quarter finals.

Bangladesh were poor in batting, to say the least. The top and middle order never looked the part of chasing 285 and simply succumbed to the South African bowling. They promised a lot in this World Cup but their batting shortcomings were exposed by West Indies and South Africa. They can very well say goodbye to the World Cup unless West Indies suffer a massive defeat against India on Sunday, a very unlikely prospect.

Ireland ends on a high and Muralitharan wrecks New Zealand

2011-03-19T13:36:00.007+05:30

In inconsequential round robin encounters at the ICC Cricket World Cup, Ireland ended its campaign with a six wicket win over the Netherlands while Sri Lanka crushed New Zealand by 112 runs. Ireland and Netherlands return home hoping to put up a stronger performance if they are given a chance to compete in the 2015 World Cup. Sri Lanka, by virtue of its win, ensured that they will finish at least second in the final standings in Group A.

At the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Ireland skipper William Porterfield won the toss and decided to field first in the first day match at the ground in 20 years. Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin provided the early breakthroughs as the Dutch batting stuttered to 12/2 in the third over. Ryan ten Doeschate revived the innings with valuable partnerships of 41 with Alexei Kervezee, 60 with Wesley Barresi and 121 with captain Peter Borren. Doeschate reached his century in the 39th over but was dismissed in the 40th over. Borren, in the company of Atse Buurman and Mudassar Bukhari steered them past 300 before four run-outs in four balls ended the Dutch innings at 306 in 50 overs.

Ireland’s chase was spectacular as William Porterfield and Paul Stirling put on 177 for the first wicket. Stirling revealed why he was being persisted with despite the batting failures of the previous games. At only 20 he has a pot belly, but beneath this burly physique is a man of immense talent. He showed his full repertoire of strokes as he was the dominant partner in the crucial opening stand. He collected a four, six and a four of successive balls in one Bernard Loots over as Ireland reached 81/0 at the end of the mandatory Powerplay.

Stirling continued in his attacking vein, the partnership swelled and Ireland had a steady go at the target. Though he lost his partner Porterfield in the 27th over, he did not lose his concentration and reached a well deserved century in the 28th over. He was, however, guilty of throwing his wicket away two balls later. Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien, Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien all chipped in with useful runs to ensure a six wicket win for Ireland in the 48th over.

Ireland will go back with their heads held high having shown the ability to compete against the best. They will cherish their wins over England and the Netherlands but will be disappointed at not putting it across Bangladesh and West Indies. They are the strongest best for an Associate berth in the 2015 World Cup. The Netherlands started their campaign with a spirited display against England but was unable to sustain that level of high performance in their remaining matches. More exposure is what they need and that can only come with a change in ICC’s attitude towards the Associates.

In another match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, New Zealand flattered only to deceive. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. The start was disastrous as the in-form openers, Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan were back in the pavilion by the 5th over. They were lucky to have two experienced campaigners batting at No.3 and No. 4. The partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene was a classic example of how to build partnerships. They cut down the risks but were quick to punish the bad balls. Sangakkara was the first to reach 50 in the 27th over while Jayawardene followed suit in the 32nd over. The pair took the batting Powerplay in the 37th over but Jayawardene was soon trapped in front of the stumps by a full length delivery from Tim Southee. Sangakkara went from 80 to 100 in just six balls, his first century in almost three years.

The death overs signalled the death of the Sri Lankan batting. Sangakkara was bowled trying to slog sweep Nathan McCullum. Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga fell in successive overs as New Zealand bowled very well. Angelo Mathews ensured Sri Lanka crossed 260 and their innings ended at 265/9.

New Zealand’s chase never really took off as they lost wickets at regular intervals, particularly against the spinners. The only noteworthy partnership was the 49 between Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor for the third wicket. Once Ryder was dismissed off a carrom ball from Ajantha Mendis, the spinners took over the wicket taking job. New Zealand folded for 153 with Muralitharan the pick of the bowlers taking 4/25 despite being hampered by an injury.

Sri Lanka will be very happy with the way their bowlers responded but the same cannot be said of their batsmen. The lower middle order looks a little too brittle and they should seriously consider Chamara Kapugedera instead of Thilan Samaraweera. New Zealand never really applied themselves during the chase. It was a mystery that Jacob Oram walked into bat at No.9! Perhaps they should consider promoting Kane Williamson to No.3 and pull down Ryder to No.6. Their bowling was disciplined as always and with Vettori and Mills returning for the knock out stage, it will only be stronger. Both teams will now be geared up for the quarter finals and will seek to iron out the chinks before the knock out stage starts.

Sixth thriller keeps enigmatic England in the hunt

2011-03-18T08:43:00.008+05:30

England’s enigmatic journey in this edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup continued as they beat West Indies by 18 runs in a fairytale finish at Chennai to keep alive their hopes of making the quarter finals. That hope will turn into reality if South Africa beat Bangladesh on Saturday or India beat West Indies on Sunday. Both the teams produced mediocre batting performances interspersed with a couple of brilliant cameos but England it was who held its nerve in the end and pipped their opponents at the post.

It seems that it is a guarantee that whenever England plays, the match would be a close one. In a do-or-die encounter, England won the toss and decided to bat first. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior started steadily. Prior attacked left arm spinner Sulieman Benn with three fours in three overs while at the other end Strauss helped himself to a couple of boundaries against Kemar Roach. Bowling changes at both ends did not help West Indies as Andre Russell was punished for a short ball by Strauss and Darren Sammy was imperiously pulled over the midwicket boundary for six.

Russell however pulled things back for West Indies as he got Prior with a searing full length delivery that beat his defences. I haven’t seen a more aggressive Jonathan Trott than the one on view yesterday as he started off with six fours in his first nine balls, helped very much by the poor line that the West Indies bowlers adopted. Strauss, however, could not pull a short ball from Russell cleanly and the resultant top edge was taken by Chris Gayle. The introduction of debutant leg spinner Devendra Bishoo had an immediate impact as Trott, who until then was in sublime touch, threw his wicket away to the fielder at midwicket.

121/3 soon became 134/5 as Ian Bell’s stumps were sent flying by a full delivery from Roach and Eoin Morgan missed a reverse sweep and gloved the ball to wicket keeper Devon Thomas. When Russell had Ravi Bopara bowled off an inside edge, England had slid to 151/6 and looked set to exit from the World Cup. But Luke Wright, playing his first game in the World Cup, added 41 precious runs with James Tredwell also playing his first World Cup game, before Tredwell was run out. Useful contributions from Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann and Wright ensured England got to 243 before being all out. Russell picked 4/49 and Bishoo 3/34 in West Indies’ bowling effort. It was a good recovery from England and their World Cup hopes now hinged on the efforts of their bowlers.

Gayle straightaway went on the rampage in the chase as he hit four fours in one Bresnan over and followed that up with three fours and a massive six off Chris Tremlett. He knew that the pitch would get slower as the innings progressed, so anything that he could get with the new ball would be a big advantage. James Tredwell, however, got the breakthrough as he had Gayle leg before wicket. It was a big wicket for England and against the run of play. Tredwell had Devon Smith stumped by Prior in his next over. Darren Sammy, who had promoted himself up the order, went great guns with two fours off Bresnan and a six over long on off Tremlett.

Ravi Bopara had Sammy inside edging to his stumps off a ball that kept low in the 18th over and England were back in the hunt. Bopara got one more wicket in his next over as Devon Thomas too was dismissed off an inside edge and West Indies were now asking for trouble. Kieron Pollard had a big responsibility on his shoulders and successive sixes of Swann and Bopara showed he was up to the task. He was dismissed by a delivery from Swann that turned and struck him on the pads in front of the wicket. Andre Russell showed his all round capabilities in a partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan that yielded 72 runs for West Indies. At 222/6 West Indies appeared to have the chase under control.

James Tredwell was not finished yet as he trapped Russell lbw for 49 to give England a semblance of a chance. That chance brightened when Swann got a double breakthrough in the 44th over. First, he had Sarwan pop the ball to short leg with a ball that bounced more and then had Tremlett take a low catch to see off Kemar Roach. As England built the pressure on the last pair with fielders all around the wicket, Sulieman Benn was run out by a smart throw from Trott to Prior who flashed away the stumps. England had won and kept their chances alive! West Indies had inexplicably lost their last four wickets for just three runs.

England finished their see-saw campaign on a high but will have to sit back in their hotel rooms and see what unfolds in the remaining matches. Even if they do enter the quarter finals, they have a lot of work to do especially in batting. They need to ask themselves the question whether a place in the quarter finals is deserved considering their performance so far. But the tournament would be that much more exciting if England were to be in the quarter finals, with a thriller guaranteed!

West Indies put up a shoddy batting performance with only Gayle, Sammy and Russell doing their bit with the bat. One cannot fathom why Sarwan was batting at No.6. He should have come in when Smith was dismissed. One cannot also understand why Russell suddenly went into a shell when he was playing attacking cricket. Losing 4 wickets for 3 runs when you need only 22 to win off 54 balls is just poor cricket. With the ball, West Indies could have done better with their lines during the phase when Trott was batting. It didn’t help that Benn had an off day as well. They will need to pull up their socks against India on Sunday at the same ground to make the last eight stage.

Australia romp home to comfortable win

2011-03-17T10:59:00.009+05:30

In an inconsequential Group A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Bengaluru, Australia overcame Canada by 7 wickets to top the group with a game remaining. Canada’s batsmen gave a scare to the Aussie bowlers before succumbing to the attack. The Aussie reply was steady to start with before the openers waded into the Canadian bowling.

Ricky Ponting lost the toss and Autralia were asked to field first. The Aussie fast bowlers Brett Lee and Shaun Tait were given a rude shock as the teenaged Canadian opener Hiral Patel flayed them. It was a courageous innings as he was unfazed by the short balls that the bowlers unleashed at him. He used the pace of the ball to get the boundaries, three of which went for sixes. The result was a dream start for Canada as they raced to 50 in the 5th over. John Davison, Patel’s fellow opener, was dismissed early. That did not deter him as he went about his task earnestly in the company of the doughty Zubin Surkari.

The mandatory Powerplay fetched 77 runs for Canada – their highest in the tournament. With this their average Powerplay score in the tournament jumped by almost 30% from 28 to 36. Patel reached his fifty in the process off just 37 balls. He was dismissed soon though as his upper cut off Shane Watson landed safely in the hands of Mitchell Johnson at third man. The run rate dipped as Ashish Bagai and Surkari chose to consolidate the strong position that they were in.

Bagai began with three boundaries in successive overs and guided Canada first to 100 and then to 150 in the 29th over when disaster struck. He threw his wicket away by fishing at a wide delivery from Tait and ended up giving an easy catch to wicket keeper Brad Haddin. It was just the wicket that Australia needed as the next seven Canadian wickets fell for just 61 runs including Jimmy Hansra, Surkari and Rizwan Cheema in successive overs. It was a good comeback by the Aussie bowlers and credit must be given to the way they bounced back. All their bowlers were among the wickets with the exception of Steven Smith. Lee picked 4/46 to lead the pack.

The Aussie reply was slow and steady. The openers Watson and Haddin were troubled initially by the new ball bowlers but came to terms soon as the runs began to come at a healthy pace. At 90/0 in 20 overs, Australia decided to take the batting Powerplay. It proved a smart move. The first over yielded only 4 runs but this was just the calm before the storm. Haddin began the attack as he lofted Henry Osinde over mid on to bring up his fifty and in the next ball celebrated that with a four to the cover boundary. Watson too got his fifty in the next over and a boundary to third man fetched four more runs for Australia.

Haddin took three successive fours off one Rizwan Cheema over as the Powerplay yielded 41 runs. Australia were not content and continued to attack the bowlers. There seemed to be a healthy competition between Haddin and Watson on who would hit more boundaries. Watson hit two massive sixes over midwicket and long on and followed that up with another six off John Davison which turned out to be the biggest six of the tournament to date. Hiral Patel was introduced into the attack in the 28th over but the poor boy was pounded by a brutal Watson as the last four balls of the over were hit for a six and three fours. Haddin at the other end hit a four and six off Davison to get close to Watson again!

Haddin, however, was dismissed against the run of play as a leg side delivery from Davison turned and Haddin could only guide it to Bagai behind the stumps. Watson too was dismissed in the next over as a pull shot that was never there ended up in the hands of the fielder at long on. Both the openers ended up with the same number of boundaries and similar strike rates! Another century had eluded Watson. There must be something that keeps this young man from getting hundreds. Clarke and Ponting chipped away before Ponting was dismissed five runs from the target. Cameron White’s cover drive for four and a wide off the next ball ensured Australia won comfortably.

There will be a few points to ponder for Australia. First up, their seamers looked out of sorts for the second match running. Though they recovered later, Ponting must take care that against the top teams their seamers bowl accurately. It was refreshing to see Jason Krejza answering Ponting‘s call for wickets from the spinners. The same cannot be said of Steven Smith who seems to be trying a little too hard on the subcontinent pitches. They have no worries in batting though Ponting and White would love to get some runs under their belt before the last eight phase starts. They would hope to iron out the chinks in their last league outing against Pakistan on Saturday.

Canada return home after a campaign in which they improved with every match. They will have fond memories of skittling out Pakistan but would be equally disappointed that they could not close out that match. Bagai and Hansra were the bedrock of their batting through the tournament. Hiral Patel’s innings in this match will also be a big plus for them. They have some very promising talent and what they now need is more match exposure to improve their skills. Hopefully, they will return in 2015 - older, wiser and stronger.

Duminy and bowlers ensure South Africa make last eight

2011-03-16T11:28:00.004+05:30

South Africa overcame a middle order batting collapse thanks to a fine innings from JP Duminy and then their bowlers made short work of Ireland’s chase to post a big win in their Group B match of the ICC Cricket World cup. The win at the hallowed Eden Gardens in Kolkata ensured South Africa went to the top of the standings in Group B and also made the last eight. The battle will now be for the remaining three positions between India, West Indies, Bangladesh and England.

On an overcast afternoon, Ireland won the toss and decided to field first. Hashim Amla fell to a brilliant catch from George Dockrell after playing an upper cut and Graeme Smith was run out by a direct hit from John Mooney at midwicket. In between the first and second wickets, Morne Van Wyk took the attack by the scruff of the neck and flayed the bowlers all around even though some of the shots did not come off the middle of the bat. Van Wyk was dropped twice as well – first by Kevin O’Brien when he was on 4 and then by Paul Stirling when on 23.

In the company of Jacques Kallis too, Van Wyk played attacking cricket as he took 14 runs off one Trent Johnston over. He was dismissed soon by a flighted delivery from the young Dockrell that beat the bat and crashed on to the stumps. South Africa were in a real spot of bother in the 21st over when Kallis ran himself out, not running as quickly as we would have liked to. Kallis had played some good shots in his brief innings, notable being the cut for four off Dockrell. The Irish bowlers tightened things a bit and the result was the wicket of Faf du Plessis, one of the heroes of the win against India. Paul Stirling flighted a delivery, got the ball to turn away from the batsman who played the ball straight to slip. 117/5 and Ireland were cock-a hoop.

Colin Ingram, who was in the playing eleven because AB De Villiers was injured, steadied the rocking boat with JP Duminy. Ingram was intent on attacking while Duminy preferred to play sheet anchor. Ingram started with a boundary through covers against Mooney and eased the pressure every now and then with boundaries. Duminy worked the ball around for the singles and showed some attacking intent by reverse sweeping Stirling for four. The partnership of 87 runs at 6.60 an over ended when Ingram played across the line to a full length delivery from Johnston and was bowled.

Duminy had reached his fifty just before Ingram was dismissed and now had Johan Botha as partner. Botha straightaway reverse swept Stirling for a four. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 46th over. Duminy now began the attacking phase of his innings as he warmed up with a boundary to square leg off Mooney. In the 49th over bowled by Johnston, he plundered 17 runs with a four off a full toss, a six over square leg and an edged four to third man. He couldn’t get his century as he was agonizingly dismissed for 99 when he tried to clear the ground but found Kevin O’Brien take a one handed catch.

South Africa ended their innings at 272/7 and Graeme Smith would have been happy at the total which looked beyond reach when half his side was gone for 117. Thanks to Duminy, Ingram and Botha, the total swelled and Ireland had a tough chase against Dale Steyn and Co. in hand at the innings break.

William Porterfield got an encouraging start when he pulled Steyn to fine leg for four but was dismissed by Morne Morkel when he had the batsman edging to first slip. Morkel found true bounce from the pitch and had Stirling too caught at slips. The introduction of Jacques Kallis into the attack brought immediate rewards as Niall O’Brien tried to smash him through the covers but succeeded only in getting the faintest of edges that carried to wicket keeper Van Wyk.

When Ed Joyce missed a sweep shot and was trapped in front, they had slid to 51/4 and their only hope was Kevin O’Brien who was due for a big score after his pyrotechnics against England. Along with Gary Wilson he added 41 runs but both of them fell in the same over to push Ireland back. O’Brien tried to clear the ground but found the fielder at long off while Wilson was struck on the pads in front of the wicket. Robin Peterson was the bowler who gave the double joy for South Africa.

The rest of the batting folded soon as they were bundled out for 141 in the 34th over. Morkel and Peterson picked three wickets each, Kallis took two and Botha and Duminy chipped in with a wicket each as once again their bowling tore apart the opposition batting. The big win by 131 runs ensured a big net run rate for South Africa and they became the first team in Group B to make it to the quarter finals.

South Africa will be pleased with their efforts of the night. The absence of de Villiers was not felt as Ingram played his role to perfection. Duminy was as reliable as always and the lower order chipped in for some crucial runs. Graeme Smith’s form is of concern but hopefully he will turn things around when the knockout stages start. The bowling is one of the best attacks in the tournament and never allowed the batsmen to settle. The bounce of the pitch was very much to their liking. With one game against Bangladesh left, the Proteas will hope they can finish their league encounters by topping Group B.

Ireland will be disappointed with their showing today after their performances in the previous four matches. The South African bowling was too hot for their batsmen to handle. The bowlers disappointed by not strangling the South African batsmen when they were in trouble. But the experience they have gained from this match will stand them in good stead for the future. They will expect to sign off with a win against the Netherlands on Friday.

Bangladesh spinners and Pakistan seamers shine

2011-03-15T10:51:00.005+05:30

Bangladesh made another big step towards a quarter final berth as their spinners tied down the Netherlands batsmen at Chittagong in their Group B encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup. In another game, Pakistan got the better of Zimbabwe in a rain shortened Group A match at Pallekele to book their place in the quarter finals.

At Chittagong, Bangladesh lost the toss and were asked to field first by the Dutch captain Peter Borren. The Netherlands batsmen were tied down by some good bowling from Shafiul Islam. Once the spinners entered the scene, they started losing wickets. Only Ryan ten Doeschate provided any resistance with an unbeaten 53. The highest partnership for Netherlands was 34 between Doeschate and Alexei Kervezee. The Dutchmen lost four wickets through run outs as the Bangladesh fielders also shone. Abdur Razzak was the pick of the bowlers with 3/29 from 10 probing overs as the Netherlands folded for just 160 in the 47th over.

Bangladesh got a rude shock in their reply when Tamim Iqbal was bowled by a Mudassar Bukhari delivery that moved and straightened after pitching. Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique were cautious initially but opened up once they came to terms with the Dutch bowling. The partnership of 92 between Kayes and Siddique and 59 between Kayes and Shahriar Nafees were the key points of their chase. Even though there was a minor hiccup when they lost two quick wickets, Imrul Kayes stayed till the end to ensure Bangladesh got two points from the match.

The Netherlands will be once again disappointed with their batting effort. They could not break the shackles imposed on them by Shafiul and had no clue against the battery of spinners and lost wickets regularly. The bowling was tidy but 160 was a very low score to defend. With one more match left in the tournament against Ireland, the Dutchmen will hope they can put in their best foot forward like they did against England in their opening match.

Bangladesh will be happy that their prospect for a position in the last eight is still alive. Their bowlers were impressive and the batsmen had some valuable time in the middle. Tamim Iqbal’s inconsistency should be a worry though. A crucial game against South Africa on Saturday remains and the crowd at Mirpur will back their team to the hilt.

Pallekele witnessed a revival of sorts for Pakistan in their Group A match against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first despite the overcast conditions. The Pakistan seamers were quick to be among the wickets as Brendan Taylor, Regis Chakabva and Vusi Sibanda all departed in the space of 5.2 overs to leave Zimbabwe tottering at 13/3. However, Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine revived the innings with a 30 run partnership. A drive through covers was a delightful shot from Taibu while Ervine too hit a couple of lovely fours in the cover region off Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq.

Taibu was dismissed in the 13th over and this brought the stubborn Greg Lamb to the crease. Ervine hit boundaries in consecutive overs off Wahab Riaz and Shahid Afridi but the partnership of 41 runs relied mostly on singles. Lamb was caught and bowled by Afridi and soon the first rain interruption came. The match was reduced to 43 overs a side when play resumed a while later. Zimbabwe lost Ervine soon after the resumption. But Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya carried Zimbabwe on to respectability before the second rain interruption which ended Zimbabwe’s innings at 151/7 in 39.4 overs.

Pakistan were then set a target of 162 runs in 38 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method. The Zimbabwe bowlers kept things tight and got the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad as he tried to hit Ray Price out of the ground but missed the ball and was stumped. Mohammad Hafeez and the young Asad Shafiq carried the score to 99 before Hafeez fell to a good catch by Price fielding at first slip. Pakistan lost skipper Shahid Afridi in the next over as he lost his stumps in an attempt to hit the ball through the off side field.

However, Shafiq and Younis Khan ensured a comfortable win for Pakistan in the 35th over. With the win Pakistan makes the quarter finals along with New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka and the only interest in the remaining matches in Group A would be the final position that would determine the opponents of the quarter finalists.

Pakistan will take a few positives from the match. Notable is the performance of their seamers Gul and Razzaq even though the conditions suited them. Kamran Akmal was better behind the stumps but can improve. Asad Shafiq at No.3 is a good prospect for Pakistan. He had impressed in the past too whenever opportunities were given to him. They would do well to retain him at this position for the remaining matches in the tournament. The poor Shahzad should be dropped and Kamran Akmal should open the batting with Hafeez.

Zimbabwe made a poor decision at the toss and paid the price for that. Their batsmen were done in by good bowling that exploited the conditions. The rain delays meant that the target would be decided under the D/L method and the wickets that Zimbabwe lost proved crucial. Their bowling was good and they kept things tight but the match was out of their hands once the partnership between Hafeez and Shafiq strengthened. Zimbabwe will hope to end the tournament with a win over Kenya on Sunday.

Australia wins against Kenya despite off day for bowlers

2011-03-14T11:04:00.005+05:30

An improved batting performance from Kenya was not enough to prevent Australia from winning by 60 runs in their Group A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Bengaluru. After Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey shone with the bat, it appeared their bowlers had an off day as they struggled to take wickets. But Australia will be happy to take away two points from the game.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. It was very evident Australia wanted a full game as they were denied by the weather in the previous match against Sri Lanka. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin provided a steady start before Watson was dismissed in the 8th over off a ball that bounced a tad more than usual and the edge off the bat was taken by wicket keeper Maurice Ouma. Haddin and Ponting carried on nicely even though Haddin did not look his best. He revealed his range of strokes in the later part of his innings. He was dismissed in the 25th over as he was caught trying to clear the boundary over midwicket.

This started a mini collapse for Australia as two more wickets fell in the next two overs – Ponting was trapped in front by a ball that would have hit the middle stump as replays suggested and White was foxed by a ball that turned, beat his bat and crashed on to the stumps. Mike Hussey, recalled into the squad, and Michael Clarke then began a resurrection. They were quick to punish the bad balls and ran hard for the singles and twos. Clarke reached his fifty in the 40th over and Hussey joined him in the 43rd over.

Hussey was dismissed in the fourth over of the batting Powerplay as he tried to clear the long on boundary but found the ball going straight to the fielder. Clarke took the attack to Elijah Otieno in the 46th over which fetched 16 runs including a four and a six. But he was dismissed in the 49th over by the impressive Nehemiah Odhiambo. Australia finished their innings at 324/6 having added 93 runs in the last 10 overs.

Kenya started their reply disastrously as Maurice Ouma edged a ball from Brett Lee that moved away from him and Haddin took a simple catch. Alex Obanda hit two sixes off Shaun Tait before being dismissed by a low full toss. The Obuya brothers – David and Collins – carried on obdurately before a miscommunication between them resulted in David being run out. At 46/3, Australia were tightening the screws.

But Tanmay Mishra counter attacked with the determined Collins Obuya and Australia found themselves at the receiving end of some superb strokeplay. Mishra’s six of a Steve Smith short ball was a treat to watch. Obuya was quick to realize that Mishra was forcing the pace beautifully and gladly let him have the strike on most occasions. Mishra got to a well made fifty in the 28th over but for some reason forgot his strokeplay after that. He was run out by a beautiful throw from Clarke after he had added 115 runs for the fourth wicket with Obuya in 155 balls. Obuya then received another hard striker of the ball in Thomas Odoyo.

Obuya brought up his fifty with a six off Lee to long off. Together with Odoyo he too went into attack mode and was particularly severe on Shane Watson. He hit Watson over square leg and deep midwicket for sixes. Odoyo too hit a six off Watson as the batting Powerplay yielded 49 runs for Kenya. Odoyo was dismissed soon off a beautiful full delivery that beat his bat and took his middle stump. The asking rate was too high at this stage and the only interest revolved around whether Obuya would get a century. Two fours in the 49th over brought him to 96 but he could score only two more in the final over. Kenya finished with 264/6 in their 50 overs – their highest score in this edition of the World Cup.

Kenya will take a lot of positives from this match even though it came so late for them in the tournament. Tanmay Mishra was a revelation with the bat. Collins Obuya held things together at one end and with two brilliant partnerships ensured Kenya batted for 50 overs. With a little more experience, they would have given Australia a run for their money. Nehemiah Odhiambo was impressive with the ball but that cannot be said of the other bowlers.

Australia will be happy that Mike Hussey is back among the runs after the injury lay off. They will not be happy with the bowling effort though. They missed someone like David Hussey who could have picked wickets on the Bengaluru pitch. Australia will be happy that their bowlers had an off day against one of the weakest teams in the tournament and will look to improve against Canada and Pakistan, their remaining opponents in the league stage.

New Zealand through to the quarter finals with easy win

2011-03-13T20:09:00.005+05:30

New Zealand strolled to a 97 run win against Canada in their Group A encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. With the win New Zealand now top Group A once again. Canada can pride themselves in achieving their highest score of this edition of the World Cup.

Ashish Bagai, the Canadian captain, won the toss in the morning and decided to field first. The Canadian seam bowlers were excellent in the first three overs, giving nothing away. But Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill, the Kiwi openers, then hit at least one boundary off every over from the 4th to the 9th to raise the 50 partnership for the opening wicket. Guptill was dismissed in the 10th over when Bagai took a very good catch standing up to the seamer Harvir Baidwan.

McCullum then added 96 runs for the second wicket with a subdued Jesse Ryder before Ryder gave a catch to the fielder at long on. McCullum got to his century – his first in World Cups –in the 36th over and along with Ross Taylor was preparing to murder the Canada attack when the batting Powerplay was taken in the 37th over. But he perished in the over as he hit straight to the fielder stationed at extra cover. However, Taylor was in a mood to attack as he punished Baidwan for four sixes and a four off one single over.

Taylor blasted a six and two more fours before getting out to a wonderful catch from Jimmy Hansra. The fielder had to dive forward as the ball was about to hit the ground. Scott Styris and Kane Williamson took the score past 300 and a final over onslaught from James Franklin ensured 350. Franklin hit three sixes and two fours as the 50th over yielded 31 runs and New Zealand finished at 358/6.

Canada received early setbacks as Ruvindu Gunasekara and Zubin Surkari were dismissed by outswingers from Kyle Mills. Bagai and Hiral Patel took the score to 50 before the aggressive Patel was given out caught behind. That brought Canada’s most dependable batting pair in the tournament – Bagai and Jimmy Hansra - together. They did not disappoint as they forged a partnership but made no concerted attempt to up the run rate and go for the target.

Bagai was the more attacking of the pair and brought up his fifty in the 27th over. He suffered two bouts of cramps though, and tried to attack Nathan McCullum but only got an inside edge to the wicket keeper Brendon. With Jimmy Hansra too returning to the pavilion due to cramps, the question was whether Canada would be able to bat for 50 overs. And bat they did, scoring 261/9 and keeping their pride intact.

New Zealand will be once again happy with the showing of their batsmen. They did not miss Daniel Vettori today but a more experienced batting line up would have given a harder time for their bowlers. The injury to Kyle Mills was another worry to the Kiwis. With just one game against co-hosts Sri Lanka left, New Zealand will be hoping to hold on to the top position in the group.

Canada’s bowling was below par today after the initial three overs. They lost the plot completely in the batting Powerplay as well as in the final few overs. In just two overs, they conceded 59 of the 358 runs scored by New Zealand which in other words contributed to 17% of the overall total. The batting relies too much on Bagai and Hansra and there does not seem to be any intent in the remaining batsmen which is another aspect they need to sort out.

Professional South Africa fights back to overcome India

2011-03-13T11:30:00.005+05:30

On a night when fortune smiled on one team one moment, then dramatically on the other team another moment, South Africa fought back valiantly against India to gain two important points in their Group B encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. India still wait for confirmation on the quarterfinal spot.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. India opted for three seamers and one spinner as Munaf Patel was drafted ahead of Piyush Chawla. South Africa missed the services of Imran Tahir due to injury and Johan Botha took his place in the playing eleven. Virender Sehwag started with a four off the first ball. In the second over, he edged Morne Morkel but wicket keeper Morne Van Wyk did not so much as move an inch and the ball flew to the boundary. In the sixth over, he tore the bowling apart with three boundaries – a cover drive, a straight drive and a cut behind square.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was the silent partner till then, worked around a ball to fine leg for four runs in the 7th over but the shot of the day came in the last ball of the 8th over. He played a murderous straight drive that went for four runs. Everything about that shot was perfect – the timing, the placement but most importantly the follow through. I would love watching replays of that follow through any number of times. It was that beautiful. A hook that went for six was equally gorgeous. Sehwag reached his fifty in the 12th over which was followed by India getting to 100. Sachin soon reached his fifty in the 14th over and celebrated that with a lofted shot between midwicket and long on that went for six runs.

The introduction of Faf Du Plessis into the attack brought a wicket for South Africa. Sehwag tried to cut a ball but missed and saw the ball dislodging the stumps. Gautam Gambhir and Sachin then consolidated and the run rate started climbing down. Sachin got his third six off the day when he lofted Robin Peterson over long on. India reached their 200 in the 31st over and a 350 plus score looked a strong prospect. Sachin got to his 48th one-day hundred and his sixth in World Cups in the 36th over which was followed by Gambhir’s fifty.

India took the batting Powerplay in the 39th over when the score was 253/1. Unfortunately, instead of playing sensible cricket, the batsmen threw away their wickets. Sachin was the first to go as he tried a hoick but could only find JP Duminy at point take the offering with glee. Gambhir followed suit as he went outside leg stump and lofted the ball straight to the fielder at mid off. Yusuf Pathan’s cover drive ended up in Graeme Smith’s safe hands and Yuvraj Singh hit a full toss high to long on where Botha made no mistake.

More mayhem was to follow as Virat Kohli gave an easy catch back to Peterson and Harbhajan Singh had no clue to a pacy one from Dale Steyn and was yorked. Zaheer Khan heaved to long on but Morne Morkel kept his eyes on the ball and completed a fine catch. Ashish Nehra drove straight to Smith at cover and Munaf Patel’s stumps were yorked by Steyn. Nine wickets had fallen for 29 runs and India failed to play 50 overs as they were bowled out for 296. It was a great fightback by the South African bowlers led by Steyn who finished with 5/50.

The Indians fell at least 60 runs short in the end and South Africa realized they now had a real chance in the match. Smith and Hashim Amla gave them a steady start before Smith was dismissed in the 9th over. Kallis and Amla put on 86 runs for the second wicket. The partnership went at a steady pace cutting down any risks and focusing on accumulation. Amla got to his fifty in the 22nd over but was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. The delivery kicked up after pitching, found the edge of his bat and settled in Dhoni’s gloves. It was a big wicket for India.

Kallis resorted to the sweep shot and got two boundaries in the 30th over as the asking rate climbed. AB De Villiers too got into the act lofting Harbhajan over midwicket for a six. Kallis however fell soon as he was run out attempting a second run. South Africa took the batting Powerplay in the 37th over. Nehra was dispatched for two boundaries by Duminy and De Villiers as South Africa tried to up the ante. Munaf Patel too was hit for two fours as the Powerplay started yielding results for South Africa. The 40th over bowled by Zaheer Khan was a run fest – a hockey style flick that went for four, a slash behind square that fetched four more and a ramrod six down the ground. De Villiers perished to Harbhajan in the next over though as his slog sweep was taken by Virat Kohli at the midwicket boundary.

The young Faf Du Plessis showed that he belonged to the league with a six over long off of Yuvraj. Duminy tried to play Harbhajan down the leg side but missed and Dhoni effected a smart stumping even though he fumbled initially. The fortune was swinging back and forth and the match was heading towards a nail biting finish. When Morne Van Wyk was trapped in front by Munaf Patel, it appeared as if the Indians would have the last laugh. But Botha attacked Munaf with a flick to midwicket for four and a straight six. Munaf dismissed Botha as he swung and could only hit it to cover where Suresh Raina, the substitute fielder, took a running catch.

When Zaheer bowled a faultless 49th over, the equation boiled down to 13 off 6 balls. Nehra was chosen to bowl the final over and an inside edge that went for four brought the equation to 9 off 5 balls. Peterson brought the cheers back to the South African camp when he went down on one knee and swung the next ball for a big six. Only 3 were required off 4 balls and Du Plessis and Peterson ran well to take two off the next ball. The scores were level at this stage. Peterson ensured South Africa won with a ferocious cover drive. The South African dressing room was a bundle of joy and rightly so as they were at the receiving end in their previous match against England.

India will look back and see that they have a lot of areas they need to work on. Losing 9 wickets for 29 runs was not a good advertisement for the batsmen and Dhoni admonished them in the post match presentation saying that the batsmen should not be playing for the crowds but should be playing for their country! The bowlers were better today but not penetrative enough to take wickets. They also bowled some poor deliveries when the pressure was on. The fielding was sub-standard, as is always the case with India. The team will need to stand and deliver in their final league outing against West Indies next weekend.

South Africa’s bowlers came back hard after the pasting they received initially. It was the bowling fightback that gave confidence to the batsmen to pursue the chase. They started steadily, punished the bad deliveries, accelerated in the batting Powerplay and kept their cool in the end. A very professional performance and with two matches to play, South Africa will fancy a finish at the top of the standings.

Never-say-die Shafiul and cool Mahmudullah do it for Bangladesh

2011-03-12T11:28:00.006+05:30

Bangladesh showed why cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. They also showed why a match is not over until the last ball is bowled, the last wicket falls or the last run is scored. In a very crucial group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Chittagong, Bangladesh prevailed in a tight finish over an England team that once again displayed a lethargic bowling performance.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and decided to bowl first keeping in mind the fact that it would be very difficult to bowl at night when the dew would be a factor. His spinners rose to the occasion as they tied the England batting down. Matt Prior reverted to the opener’s role but was dismissed when he failed to stick to the basics. He missed a leg side delivery from Abdur Razzak and was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim but his foot was inside the crease. Inexplicably he seemed to go for a run when the ball was still in the keeper’s hands and was stumped a second time! Andrew Strauss cut a ball straight to the widish slip fielder and Ian Bell chipped straight to the fielder at midwicket.

England were 53/3 at this stage and in a similar position they were against South Africa the other day. Eoin Morgan, back in the side to shore up the middle order, and the dependable Jonathan Trott set about rebuilding the innings. The runs were hard to come by but it was Morgan who broke the shackles as he came down the track to send a ball over midwicket for four welcome runs. Four more boundaries came in the next five overs as England realized that attack was the best defence. The pair was hard to dislodge as they rotated the strike and ensured the scoreboard moved.

Morgan was the first to get to his fifty in the 35th over. Trott got to his in the next over as England looked good to post a total in excess of 250. But in the 39th over, Imrul Kayes provided the moment of inspiration that Bangladesh needed. A sweep got the top edge of Morgan’s bat and Kayes ran in from the boundary at fine leg to catch the ball inches from the ground.

Ravi Bopara was not as fluent as Morgan and England again found the runs hard to come. With the pressure to score quick runs, Trott tried to force the pace against Shakib but found the fielder at long off. With a set batsman dismissed, it was always going to be difficult for England now and they duly folded for 225 in the 50th over. The spinners bowled 33 overs between them, conceded just 140 runs and picked seven wickets.

Bangladesh got off to a dream start as Tamim Iqbal raced to 38 off just 26 balls. But in the 9th over, he played across to a full length delivery from Tim Bresnan and lost his stumps. Junaid Siddique, under pressure to perform, hit a boundary to midwicket followed by an edge through slips for another four. But James Anderson’s direct hit saw Siddique return to the pavilion and when Raqibul Hasan was bowled by Ajmal Shahzad, Bangladesh had slid to 73/3.

Shakib joined the determined Imrul Kayes and together forged a sensible partnership. The pair relied mostly on singles but punished the loose balls. As the partnership grew and the dew started soaking the ball, England’s bowlers started losing their cool. Graeme Swann was not particularly happy and could be seen arguing with the umpire Daryl Harper. At the 30 over mark, Bangladesh were 149/3 with just 77 needed in 120 balls. In the 31st over, Kayes was run out going for an ill judged second run. He had played very well till then scoring 60 and holding the fort.

The pressure was back on Bangladesh now and England picked a crucial wicket of Shakib in the 36th over as he tried to sweep but edged the ball on to the stumps. Ajmal Shahzad then produced two beautiful balls to get Mushfiqur Rahim and Naeem Islam dismissed. When Abdur Razzak skied to Bresnan, Bangladesh were 169/8 and staring down the barrel. They had lost 5 wickets for 14 runs in 8.5 overs.

Graeme Swann’s final over turned out to be disastrous for England. A reverse sweep for four from Mahmudullah was followed by a big swing for four over cover by Shafiul Islam and he bettered that shot with a six to long on as the over fetched 16 valuable runs. Mahmudullah now realized that Shafiul was striking the ball well and he judiciously rotated the strike. The pair calmly nudged away at the target and England wilted. Two boundaries off Bresnan in the 47th over brought the equation down to 12 off 18 balls and a crucial boundary in the 48th over brought it down to 5 off the last two overs.

Mahmudullah finished the contest in the last ball of the 49th over with a cover drive that went for four runs. Bangladesh were ecstatic having done the incredible and England were dejected that another close game had gone out of their grasp. Shafiul and Mahmudullah were feted by the crowd as Bangladesh got their belief back after the pounding against West Indies in their previous game.

England have only themselves to blame for this defeat as their strategy after Bangladesh had slipped to 169/8 defied logic. Spraying the ball around when the tail is batting was not going to work. James Anderson is having a forgettable World Cup and needs a break from the game. The batsmen, especially Ian Bell, need to work hard on how they are going to play spin. One more game remains and a loss will ensure England head home. A win might not be enough to book a quarter final spot either.

Bangladesh are back and with two more games left, will be drawing inspiration from the never-say-die attitude of Shafiul and the calmness of Mahmudullah to see them through to the quarter finals. An area they need to work on is the middle order batting. A shuffle of the batsmen would be a good idea – Shakib at No.3, Mushfiqur at No.4, Raqibul at No.5 and Siddique at No.6. Their bowlers are doing a great job and South Africa and Netherlands better beware. The tigers are on the prowl again.

West Indies gets third win as Ireland go down fighting

2011-03-12T11:12:00.004+05:30

Ireland proved once again why they are so highly rated by opposition teams with a fighting display against West Indies in their important Group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Mohali. It was only Kieron Pollard’s 94 that enabled West Indies post 275 and a poor umpiring decision derailed Ireland’s chase as they went down by 44 runs.

Ireland won the toss and chose to field inspired by the grass on the wicket. However, the seamers did not find any lateral movement off the pitch to trouble the batsmen. The Caribbean openers Devon Smith and Shivnarine Chanderpaul started slowly but accelerated as they came to terms with the pitch and the conditions. The pair put on 89 runs when Chanderpaul’s expansive cover drive was taken low by William Porterfield. In the same over Kevin O’Brien breached the defences of Darren Bravo with a full length delivery that the batsman played all over and missed.

Ramnaresh Sarwan did not last long as he decided to attack the left arm spinner George Dockrell’s flighted delivery but only succeeded in finding the fielder at long off. This brought Kieron Pollard to the crease and the innings sprang to life in the batting Powerplay which was taken in the 35th over. Pollard signalled his intentions by lofting Kevin O’Brien over deep midwicket. A missed run out chance off the next ball was followed by another six - this time over the long on boundary. Pollard was dropped by Gary Wilson in the next over and this was to prove costly in the end analysis.

Devon Smith on the other end reached his century in the 39th over – his first in one-day internationals but certainly not his best innings. It was a hardworking knock though and one which held the innings together. Pollard continued to pound the bowlers and the run rate increased. He lost Smith after a productive partnership of 88 runs in just 63 balls as the batsman tried to flick Kevin O’Brien down the leg side but missed and lost his stumps. Wickets continued to fall at one end but Pollard remained unruffled at the other as he continued to attack despite the setbacks. He fell in the 49th over, six runs short of a well deserved century. West Indies ended up at 275 in their 50 overs.

Ireland got off to a bad start in their chase as Paul Stirling was dismissed by Sulieman Benn. But Ed Joyce looked in great touch and together with Porterfield carried the innings to the 12th over when Porterfield gave a catch to the fielder at mid on. Joyce found a reliable partner in Niall O’Brien and they picked the ones and twos on offer with a boundary thrown in between to ease the pressure. The partnership was broken by Benn when O’Brien failed to read the line of a delivery and saw his off stump pegged back.

Gary Wilson and Porterfield then put on a vital 91 runs at almost a run a ball. Joyce got to his fifty early during the partnership. 10 runs off a Pollard over eased the pressure somewhat as Ireland steadied and sauntered toward the target. Wilson slog swept Nikita Miller for a six in the 35th over and hit two successive fours in the 37th over off the same bowler to send West Indies worrying. But against the run of play, Ed Joyce was dismissed in the 38th over by a brilliant yorker from the debutant Andre Russell who was replacing the injured Chris Gayle in the playing eleven. Joyce made a fine 84 studded with nine beautiful hits to the fence.

When Kevin O’Brien departed in the 40th over courtesy a low catch by Pollard, Ireland seemed to have run out of steam but Wilson who had reached his 50 in the previous over was playing very well and there was hope. Then the controversial dismissal happened. Wilson tried to play a ball from Darren Sammy that pitched outside off and seamed into him but was struck on the pads. The umpire Asoka de Silva gave Wilson out much to the chagrin of the batsman who asked that the decision be reviewed. On review, the umpire ruled that the decision stayed but Wilson was not convinced and asked that it be re-reviewed. Sadly he was given out on the second review as well. It was a truly shocking decision.

The rest of the batting capitulated for 32 runs as Ireland slid to defeat. It was a disappointing result for a team that had shown the courage and determination to see through the chase but was done in by some good bowling by West Indies and a poor umpiring decision.

Ireland will look back and see that they should not have dropped Pollard when he was in his early twenties. It looked at one stage that Ireland would manage to restrict West Indies to less than 240 but Pollard had other ideas. Also, it was baffling why George Dockrell was given only three overs to bowl. On the batting side, they should probably have taken the batting Powerplay when Joyce and Wilson were batting. Ireland need to win their remaining two matches to get their quarter final hopes back on track but I get the feeling it may not be as simple as that and they may have to rely on some other results going their way.

West Indies will be happy to have chalked their third win after the defeat to South Africa in the opener. Their easy games are over and two tough opponents wait in the wings. England and India will be a true test of this team’s character and ability and they would do well to sustain the momentum gained on the back of three wins.

Tharanga and Dilshan in record stand as Sri Lanka cruise to win

2011-03-11T11:08:00.010+05:30

Sri Lanka’s openers put on a big partnership to take Zimbabwe out of the game in their Group A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Pallekele. Zimbabwe’s openers too put up a fight but once they were dismissed, Sri Lanka’s bowlers ran through their batting line up and cruised to victory by a margin of 139 runs.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura won the toss and decided to field first. His seamers did not vindicate the decision as Sri Lanka got off to a flyer. Tinashe Panyangara bowled the second over of the innings and Tillakaratne Dilshan got into the act with a straight drive for four which was followed by a pull over midwicket for six. Two more boundaries came off the next two balls – a cover drive and a cut past point fetching those runs. Upul Tharanga got into the act in the last over of the mandatory Powerplay with three fours – one over the fielder at short fine leg, the next over mid off and the last one a pull behind square. 77 runs had come off the first 10 overs.

The introduction of the spinners put a brake on the scoring rate as the pair consolidated. Their 100 run partnership came in the 17th over with a sweep for four. Runs continued to come at a fair clip as both the batsmen rotated the strike well. Dilshan brought up his hundred in the 31st over and the 200 run stand was brought up in the 34th over of the innings. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 41st over when Sri Lanka were 233/0 and both the batsmen looked like carrying their bat through the innings.

Tharanga too joined Dilshan in the 100 run club with a boundary through mid off. Once he got to that century, he opened up – three fours off Greg Lamb making his intentions clear. However, Tharanga was dismissed against the run of play when the pair had put on 282 - the highest opening partnership in World Cups. The rest of the batsmen tried to up the ante and lost wickets in the process as Sri Lanka piled 327/6 in their allotted 50 overs.

Zimbabwe made a spirited reply as Brendan Taylor and Regis Chakabva opened the batting. Taylor was the dominant of the two as he attacked Lasith Malinga – first with a push through covers that went for four runs and then played an audacious shot over the keeper’s head. Sri Lanka’s frontline seamers had an off day as Taylor struck two more fours off Kulasekara and 57 runs came in the first 10 overs. Thisara Perera too was not spared as Taylor pulled him for a six and a four in the same over. Taylor got to a well made fifty in the 14th over and celebrated that with a cover drive that went for four more runs.

Regis Chakabva, Taylor’s silent partner in this fighting stand, too played a couple of lovely shots. He played the cut shot off Muralitharan and Mathews to find the gaps and Zimbabwe’s openers had raised 100 runs in the 17th over. But soon things turned around. Muralitharan got the wicket of Chakabva in the 20th over to get the bowling back on track. Wickets started falling at regular intervals now and once Taylor was dismissed caught by the fielder at midwicket, the chase was over for Zimbabwe. The openers scored 116 runs but the remaining batsmen could only muster 72 runs. Dilshan and Murali were the chief architects picking seven wickets between them.

Sri Lanka will be happy with the way their spinners handled things after a lacklustre performance from their seamers. They do not have any worries in batting as Dilshan and Tharanga are looking good and the middle order was not really needed today. They have booked a place in the quarter finals and can prepare themselves for the bigger battles ahead.

Zimbabwe were poor with the ball until the spinners came on but the inability to pick wickets cost them dear. The good start given by the openers was not carried forward by the middle order batsmen. A little more application from their batsmen was necessary especially when a strong foundation had been laid. Sadly only Taylor looked the part of a quality batsman for them today and even his wonderful innings was not enough to save Zimbabwe from a big defeat.

Yuvraj Singh shines again in Indian win

2011-03-10T11:23:00.009+05:30

India made heavy weather of a small target set by Netherlands in their Group B round robin match at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi. Yuvraj Singh, with yet another half century, guided India home in the company of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With two more points in its kitty, India can look forward to the quarter finals.

The Dutch skipper Peter Borren won the toss and decided to bat first. Eric Szwarczynski was given a first game as an opener and along with the talented Wesley Barresi put on 56 for the first wicket. Szwarczynski was deceived by a Piyush Chawla googly and saw his stumps in disarray. Barresi followed three overs later when he was trapped in front of the stumps by Yuvraj Singh who picked up his 100th wicket in one-day internationals.

Tom Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate guided their team to 99 before Doeschate decided to loft Yuvraj out of the ground but only succeeded in finding Zaheer Khan who took the catch just in front of the long off boundary. Ashish Nehra, returning to the side after an injury, struck with the first ball of his second over. He got a delivery to move away from the right handed Cooper and the resultant edge was comfortably taken by Dhoni. Bas Zuiderent was trapped leg before wicket by Zaheer Khan in the next over as the Dutchmen lost their grip on the game.

Only Peter Borren’s attacking 38 pushed Netherlands to 189 which was inadequate on a pitch that slowed down in the night. Zaheer Khan finished with 3/20 and Yuvraj with 2/31 as the innings lasted only 46.4 overs. Harbhajan Singh was unable to pick a wicket while Chawla had to be content with the wickets of Szwarczynski and Alexei Kervezee.

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar began the Indian reply and attacked the bowlers at the very outset. The highlight of Tendulkar’s innings was the three successive fours against Ryan ten Doeschate in the 4th over – two cover drives and an airy shot over mid on. In the process, he became the first batsman ever to score 2000 runs in World Cups. What an achievement for the little master! Sehwag was his usual self and pounded two sixes before he threw his wicket away hitting the ball straight to the fielder at point.

The big hitting Yusuf Pathan started off with a boundary but in an over from Pieter Seelaar the Indians were asking for trouble. First, Tendulkar went for an unnecessary charge and ended up giving a catch to the long off fielder and then Yusuf Pathan slapped the ball back to the bowler who took the catch and set off on a wild celebration. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli struggled to find the gaps and consequently the runs dried up. A 10 over score of 82/3 grew to only 94/3 by the end of the 14th over.

Kohli perished in the 15th over as a length delivery from Seelaar found the gap between his bat and pad and crashed on to the stumps. At 99/4, Netherlands sensed they could pull off a major upset if they took a couple of wickets more to expose the tail. But Yuvraj and Gambhir put on 40 runs for the fifth wicket in 52 balls as India closed in on the target. Gambhir was unlucky to be bowled off his pads in the 24th over. But Dhoni ensured there would not be any more hiccups as he along with Yuvraj put on an undefeated 52 runs in 80 balls to steer India to victory. The win came in the 37th over when Yuvraj flicked to the boundary at square which also brought up his own 50.

The Netherlands will be proud of their bowlers who put a strong fight to have India in a spot of bother at one stage. Pieter Seelaar will especially be proud of his efforts. If the Dutch batsmen had added 40 more runs on the board at the end of their innings, they would probably have had a better chance. Their batting is a worry now as Ryan ten Doeschate has not been among the runs since that sparkling century against England. They need to ensure that good starts are not wasted as they did today.

India have nothing to talk about as gains from this match. The bowling was not threatening. The seamers shone with the old ball but not with the new. The middle order batting is becoming a bit of worry now with only Yuvraj consistently among the runs. Sehwag had said before the tournament that he would like to stay at the crease for 50 overs. He was at the crease for 47.3 overs in the opening match against Bangladesh but since then, he has failed to last even 10 overs - he lasted only 7.5 overs, 1.1 overs and 7.3 overs respectively against England, Ireland and in today’s match against Netherlands. With two tough matches to follow, it will be very important for Sehwag to stay long, the middle order batsmen to fire and the spinners to come to the party.

Ross Taylor and bowlers help Kiwis put it across Pakistan

2011-03-09T08:49:00.006+05:30

What should have been an easy game for Pakistan turned out to be the biggest nightmare yet for them in the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Group B encounter at the beautiful stadium decked among the hills showed the self destructing quality of Pakistan. An amazing display of stroke play from Ross Taylor in the final overs and a clinical bowling display enabled New Zealand achieve a big win – so big that they now top group B on net run rate!

Pallekele hosted its maiden one day international and it turned out to be a memorable one for the locals. New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. Shoaib Akhtar was only a shadow of his former self and his largesse with the new ball allowed the Kiwis a brisk start. Martin Guptill continued the fine form he has displayed through the tournament. Though New Zealand lost Brendon McCullum in the first over and Jamie How in the 13th over, they were progressing at a steady rate.

Ross Taylor was dropped twice at the start of his innings – in the first instance Pakistan wicket keeper Kamran Akmal did not even so much as attempt the catch but only watched as an edge flew past him and Younis Khan at slip and in a shocking second instance could not grasp a sitter in the same over. Taylor would make Pakistan pay dearly for their mistakes later on. The introduction of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez into the attack enabled Pakistan take two quick wickets – Guptill was deceived in flight by Afridi and watched his stumps being rearranged while James Franklin was trapped in front of the wicket by Hafeez - and New Zealand appeared to be slipping.

A healthy partnership of 62 runs in 77 balls from Taylor and Scott Styris helped the Kiwis recover and at the 40 over stage, they were 163/4 and looked set to get to 250 – a fighting total. The use of bowlers in the end overs by the Pakistan skipper Afridi was baffling as he used up his and Umar Gul’s quota by the 46th over. He had to bowl with Akhtar, Razzaq and Rehman in the death overs and all of them leaked runs with a poor display of bowling not seen from a Pakistan bowling attack in this tournament. Jacob Oram was a spectator initially as Taylor waded into the attack. Taylor’s strength is in the arc between square leg and midwicket and the bowlers were actually bowling to his strengths as massive sixes were unfurled over the boundary at deep square leg and deep midwicket.

200 soon became 300 as New Zealand plundered 100 runs of the last 5 overs – something unheard of even in T20 cricket, let alone one day international cricket. A hapless Akhtar and Razzaq could only watch in horror as Taylor made merry on his birthday. New Zealand made 302/7 in their allotted overs with Taylor remaining unbeaten on a majestic 131 off 124 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes.

Pakistan needed a strong start from its openers if they were to entertain any hopes of winning the contest. But soon their batting fell apart like a deck of cards as they slipped to 23/4 and then to 125/8 before a stubborn stand of 66 between Abdul Razzaq - who helped himself to a fifty - and Umar Gul delayed the inevitable. A defeat of 110 runs was imposed on them as New Zealand celebrated. Tim Southee excelled with 3/25 and was supported by Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Scott Styris who picked two wickets each. Oram chipped in with the crucial wicket of Afridi.

New Zealand will be very pleased with the performance of their batsmen and bowlers alike. It seems that their recent run of poor form has finally ended. Nobody expected them to top their group at any stage of the tournament but there they are now. The team will be pumped up when they take on Canada and Sri Lanka in their final round robin encounters.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have a daunting task ahead of them. Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq were woeful with the ball, Kamran Akmal was poor behind the stumps and the batsmen just showed no application whatsoever. Their quarter final spot is not in threat but the sooner they address their problems in all the three departments of the game, the better for them. Afridi had an off day as he picked up just one wicket. With the exception of Gul, the rest of the bowlers do not look like wicket takers which should be a massive worry. The failures of the opening batsmen continue to rankle them. They have a lot of thinking to do for the remaining matches.

Canada overcomes Kenya in battle of minnows

2011-03-08T10:33:00.003+05:30

Another slow pitch resulted in another low scoring encounter at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi in the ICC Cricket World Cup. The ever improving Canada prevailed over a fighting Kenya in the Group A encounter and gained their first points in the tournament.

Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande won the toss and elected to bat. His decision was not vindicated by his batsmen as they succumbed to the Canadian seamers – Henry Osinde and Harvir Baidwan – and slipped to 21/3 by the 7th over. That soon became 57/5 in the 15th over as the batsmen showed lack of application.

A partnership of 52 between the young Tanmay Mishra and Kamande ensured Kenya crossed 100 before Balaji Rao got one to turn away from Kamande whose cut shot rested in the hands of wicket keeper and captain Ashish Bagai. The aggressive Thomas Odoyo joined Mishra in what was to become the most productive partnership of the innings. The pair added 57 runs in 77 balls and appeared to guide Kenya to a respectable score. Odoyo struck three fours in three overs as Kenya accelerated.

Mishra got to his 50 in the 41st over but was dismissed courtesy a bowling change. John Davison came into the attack and tempted Mishra with a flighted delivery. The batsman succeeded only in getting a leading edge which the fielder at mid off pouched comfortably. Odoyo, however, remained unruffled and hit Davison for a six in the 45th over. He was the last man dismissed off the last ball of the 50th over as Kenya were all out for 198 – their highest score in the tournament. Osinde picked up an impressive 4/26 off 10 miserly overs.

Canada opted to open the batting with Rizwan Cheema and the start of the chase was quite exciting. A four and a six in the same over signalled Canada’s intentions. However, Cheema played an ugly heave to lose his stumps in the 4th over. Ruvindu Gunasekara and Zubin Surkari were also dismissed cheaply to leave Canada at 48/3. Ashish Bagai was joined by Jimmy Hansra and they carried the chase on their shoulders with a partnership of 132 runs in 191 balls.

Hansra was the more attacking of the duo as he started off with two successive fours. Bagai was content on playing the second fiddle. Hansra even helped himself to two sixes – both down the ground as the required rate came down. Hansra’s fifty came in the 33rd over and soon Bagai got his first boundary. Bagai then showed signs of opening up as the target neared. A sweet cover drive for four was followed by a sweep to fine leg for another boundary. He too got to his fifty in the 41st over as the target narrowed to 34 off the final 10 overs.

19 runs away from the target, Canada lost Hansra as he could not check his drive and ended up giving a catch to the fielder at mid on. They lost one more wicket before Bagai wound up the chase with two fours in the 46th over. Canada had won by 5 wickets and were happy that they did not mess it up this time as they did against Pakistan the other night.

Both the teams will take positives from the contest. Kenya, for the first time in the tournament, batted for 50 overs but the target was just not enough as their bowlers and fielders disappointed. But they have shown the will to fight and this will hold them in good stead in the future. Canada have been improving with every match and their batting rightly revolves around Bagai and Hansra. The opening is a worry, though. If the openers provide a solid start for Bagai and Hansra to take forward and consolidate and Cheema to finish things off, Canada can be a threat to any bowling attack.

India manages to get the better of a fighting Ireland

2011-03-07T11:19:00.003+05:30

Ireland could not replicate its triumph against England but fought hard against a formidable Indian side in their ICC Cricket World Cup Group B encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Yuvraj Singh saved the day for India with his maiden five wicket haul and capped that with a fine fifty when India chased. A five wicket win put India to the top of the standings in the group.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to field first. Perhaps, he thought it would be better chasing after the last two matches had seen the side batting second in a better position. The Indians went in to the match with the same eleven that tied against England while Ireland opted for Andrew White to replace Gary Wilson.

Ireland got off to a disastrous start as Paul Stirling was bowled by a Zaheer delivery that angled back into him. He got Ed Joyce in his next over as the ball came back into the left hander and the edge was pouched by Dhoni diving to his right. What followed was the best phase of the Ireland innings. William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien saw off the threats from the new ball bowlers and guided the score along.

Porterfield pulled a short delivery from Zaheer to the boundary while Niall O’ Brien beat the fielder at short cover for another boundary. A pull flick by O’Brien was a delight to watch as Ireland slowly accelerated. A square cut, one of the many he played successfully, fetched a boundary for Porterfield and followed that up with a sweep for six off a free hit. He continued to attack the spinners cutting them for boundaries as O’Brien judiciously rotated the strike. Porterfield reached his fifty in the 24th over and revealed what a fine batsman he is.

The partnership was going great guns when O’Brien was run out to a brilliant piece of fielding by Virat Kohli. The rest of the Ireland batting did not succeed against the Indian bowling as Yuvraj picked 5/31 with his left arm spin. Ireland were bowled out for 207 in the 48th over. They fell 40 runs short of what would have been a challenging total on this pitch.

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar started off with boundaries in India’s reply. Sehwag flattered but only to deceive as he got a leading edge to a Trent Johnston delivery and the bowler gleefully accepted the catch. Gautam Gambhir showed he was in good touch with a cut and a glance that fetched boundaries. He attempted to flick a Johnston delivery but saw the fielder at short fine leg take a well judged catch. It was a half chance but Ireland had capitalized.

Virat Kohli joined Tendulkar and both gently played the ball with the pitch becoming increasingly slower. The bad balls were dispatched for boundaries. In the 21st over, the young left arm spinner George Dockrell trapped Tendulkar plumb in front of the crease as he missed a sweep and 13 runs later, when Kohli and Yuvraj were involved in a terrible mix up which resulted in Kohli’s run out, Ireland were sensing they had a chance.

Dhoni and Yuvraj batted sensibly while the Ireland bowlers toiled hard. There were a lot of dot balls and the gap between balls remaining and the runs remaining was coming down. Ireland knew a wicket at this stage would give them a better chance but however hard they tried, a wicket eluded them. India needed only 40 off the last 10 overs when Dockrell trapped Dhoni in front of the wicket. It was a critical situation and there was a buzz in the Ireland camp.

Yusuf Pathan quelled any doubts on who was going to win this contest by hoicking Dockrell for two sixes and a four in the same over. Ireland refused to be bogged down and continued to trouble the batsmen. Yuvraj got to his fifty in the 46th over and soon Pathan finished the match with a pull to the leg side boundary.

Ireland can hold their head high after a creditable display from their bowlers. It was their batsmen that had come short on this day. If only one of the batsmen had supported Porterfield after O’Brien’s dismissal, then Ireland would have had 250 on the board which would have been tough for the Indians on this night.

The Indians will be pleased with Yuvraj’s show but that was just about the only gain for them. The way they let Porterfield and O’Brien off the hook allowing that partnership to gain strength was not a good sign. A more experienced team would have cashed in on the offerings and given India much trouble. The fielding standards continue to be poor. The bowlers and the fielders need to wake up soon or the World Cup will be out of their hands.

England revive their chances with amazing win

2011-03-07T11:11:00.004+05:30

The pitch at the MA Chidambaram stadium at Chennai produced a marvellous match of one-day international cricket between South Africa and England, in a Group B encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Spinners ruled the roost as England defeated South Africa by six runs to gain two points and revive their hopes of a quarter final berth.

Andrew Strauss, the England skipper, won the toss and opted to bat on a day of clear skies and bright sunshine. Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, chose left arm spinner Robin Peterson to open the bowling. The move was a very smart one as he picked two wickets in the over. Strauss came down the track and lofted Peterson but could only find the fielder at the deep. He made the mistake of not going straight over the bowler’s head where the gap was. In the last ball of the over, Peterson got the ball to turn away from Kevin Pietersen whose edge travelled to slip where Jacques Kallis made no mistake. England were 3/2 so early in the match.

Ian Bell fell in the 5th over as he came forward with intent to attack Peterson but played too early at the ball and the ball travelled to the left of the bowler who dived to take the return catch. England’s batting was in shatters. Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara combined to revive the innings after the early shocks. At one point of time, South Africa used four spinners – the frontline spinners Peterson and the impressive Imran Tahir and the part timers Faf Du Plessis and JP Duminy. Such was the purchase the spinners got from the pitch.

In the 24th over, Bopara lofted Duminy straight down the ground for the first six of the match and soon England reached 100 without further loss. Jonathan Trott pull swept a Peterson delivery square of the wicket to bring up another boundary as England tried to accelerate. Soon after getting a well deserved fifty, Trott was deceived in flight by Tahir and drove the ball back to the bowler who dived to his left to hold the catch. Bopara also got to his fifty soon and with Matt Prior would have fancied the chances of going after the South African bowlers.

However, it was not to be as wickets fell at regular intervals and England folded for 171 in the 46th over. Peterson was well supported by Tahir who picked another four wicket haul. At the innings break, South Africa were clearly on top with the kind of batting they had.

The South African reply got off to a firm start when Hashim Amla cut Michael Yardy to the cover boundary. They were chipping away at the target at a healthy rate when Smith got a glove to a turning delivery from Graeme Swann and Prior took the catch. Soon, Amla was also dismissed as he played an ugly shot and inside edged a full ball from Stuart Broad on to the stumps. Kallis fell in Broad’s next over as he edged to Prior. South Africa were struggling now to get the runs, especially against the spinners.

AB De Villiers and Du Plessis cantered along scoring off every opportunity and defending others. The match soon turned on its head. De Villiers shouldered arms to an Anderson delivery and found to his horror that the ball had clipped the bails on its way to the keeper. Du Plessis made the mistake of taking his eyes away from the ball as he flicked and set off for a run but the fielder at short leg had relayed the ball to the keeper to effect a run out. Duminy then lost his off stump to a swinging delivery from James Anderson. Three wickets had fallen for no score and suddenly England were back in the match.

Morne Van Wyk and Dale Steyn appeared to have the chase in control with a sensible partnership when Tim Bresnan was brought back into the attack. Van Wyk shaped to cut a ball too close to his body and edged it onto his stumps. The match was done and dusted in the next over as Broad had Steyn plumb in front and Morkel tried a big shot but could only edge the ball behind. England’s fielders were ecstatic and they had pulled off a remarkable win!

England will do well not to be too happy with the result as a minefield of a pitch enabled their bowlers to be among the wickets. It remains to be seen whether their bowlers will be as successful on flat tracks. They also need to shore up their batting. I still feel Kevin Pietersen is not the right man to open the batting. It just exposes the middle order that much more.

South Africa were undone by some poor judgment on a pitch that was not suited to their style of batting. The good work by Peterson and Tahir was wasted by their batsmen. They will need to work hard on how to play the spinners better on such turning tracks.

Rain plays spoilsport to an engrossing contest

2011-03-05T19:58:00.005+05:30

It was disheartening to see unseasonal torrential downpour come in the way of a contest that was developing into an engrossing one. Sri Lanka and Australia will be happy with sharing a point each from the crucial Group A match at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. No team held a clear upper hand when rain stopped play in the 33rd over of the Sri Lanka innings.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara called correctly at the toss and decided to bat first. They excluded Nuwan Kulasekara from the eleven that played against Kenya. This was to accommodate three spinners – Muthiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath. Australia named an unchanged squad from the match against New Zealand.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was straightaway in the thick of the action in a needless confrontation with Shaun Tait. He soon lost his concentration and edged to second slip where Cameron White held the catch. The Aussie seamers bowled a good line and length and the batsmen could not score freely. Tharanga tried to break the shackles with a slash against Lee but found Steve Smith at point take a well judged catch.

Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara then steadied things. Both the batsmen found edges through the vacant slip region. A leg glance and a cover drive fetched boundaries for Jayawardene while Sangakkara played a delightful straight drive that kissed the ropes at the long off boundary. Just when the partnership was threatening to shift gears, Jayawardene was run out. He hesitated in responding to Sangakkara’s call for a sharp single and Steve Smith’s throw hit the stumps to leave him short of the crease.

Thilan Samaraweera joined Sangakkara to spruce things up. However, a tight Australian bowling was hard to get away. More importantly, the pitch showed signs of considerable slowness and spin. Jason Krejza, the off spinner, was able to turn the ball away from the left handed Sangakkara repeatedly. As the clouds gathered, it was evident Sri Lanka were preserving wickets for the rain interruption and the possibility of the Duckworth/Lewis method being used.

When the rains finally came, it was so heavy that the ground was a pool of water despite being covered in entirety. Even if the rains stopped, a miracle was needed to resume the match again. The crowd was robbed of an even contest between bat and ball as the match was finally abandoned. It would have been interesting to see what target Sri Lanka would have set and the Australian batsmen’s response to Lasith Malinga and the spin trio.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh waste golden opportunity

2011-03-05T08:48:00.007+05:30

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh gave a poor account of themselves in their Group A and Group B match against New Zealand and West Indies respectively. The abysmal display left them ruing the lost opportunity to garner two valuable points that would have made their quarter final entry that much more easier. On the other hand, New Zealand and West Indies got those two points and would now fancy their chances.

At the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first. The pitch had some early life as Zimbabwe’s batsmen struggled against the New Zealand seam attack and soon found themselves at 27/2 in the 8th over as Charles Coventry was run out by a direct hit from Hamish Bennett fielding at mid on and Tatenda Taibu was trapped in front of the crease by a Tim Southee delivery that angled back into him.

It was the bowling Powerplay that severely dented Zimbabwe. In the space of four runs, they lost three wickets. Craig Ervine threw his wicket away playing straight to the fielder at backward point, Elton Chigumbura was given out leg before wicket even though replays suggested that the 2.5 meter rule would apply and Regis Chakabva edged to Ross Taylor at slip.

Brendan Taylor was looking confident and playing well amidst this carnage. He added a valuable 40 runs for the sixth wicket with an unusually aggressive Greg Lamb. However, both the batsmen were dismissed within three runs of each other as Zimbabwe slid further. Only a face saving performance from the tail enabled Zimbabwe to post 162 as the last three wickets added 73 runs. Tim Southee picked three wickets while Kyle Mills and skipper Daniel Vettori picked two apiece.

The very first over of the chase signalled New Zealand’s intentions. A four to square leg, a six over long on and a straight drive for four fetched 14 runs. The openers started off against the spinners very carefully, though. But soon runs began flowing easily and New Zealand romped home in the 34th over.

New Zealand will now focus on two tough matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka with an easy game against Canada sandwiched between. Their batting display today would have gladdened the hearts of their supporters. Zimbabwe will have their task cut out as they meet Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Kenya in their remaining matches to try and secure a place in the quarter final.

The encounter between Bangladesh and West Indies was being billed as a big game for both teams as they knew a win would enhance their chances of making the quarter finals of the tournament. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. What was to follow was absolutely shocking.

Tamim Iqbal chased a wide ball outside off stump from Kemar Roach to give Darren Sammy, the West Indies skipper an easy catch at slip. Imrul Kayes failed to move his feet and the half hearted dab was taken by wicket keeper Devon Thomas gleefully. Mushfiqur Rahim followed suit by flicking straight to midwicket. Junaid Siddique, who had played well till then, was trapped in front of the stumps by a full delivery from Roach.

Shakib started with an ominous boundary but failed to get on the front foot against a Sulieman Benn delivery that turned after pitching and lost his stumps. Raqibul Hasan slashed to Kieron Pollard at point and Naeem Islam was caught behind the stumps off a flighted delivery from Benn. Mohammad Ashraful, the home side’s last hope, couldn’t cope with the extra pace of a Roach delivery and edged behind. Shafiul Islam tried to carve a ball from Benn between slip and gully but only ended up giving a catch to the fielder at gully. Rubel Hossain was bowled neck and crop by a full Benn delivery.

All this happened in a matter of 18.5 overs as Bangladesh folded for 58 runs. West Indies duly chased the target in the 13th over, with the wicket of Devon Smith a minor aberration. Bangladesh was shamed in front of their home crowd and will need to do some serious introspection on their batting against the West Indies attack which used only three bowlers.

This was only the second win for West Indies in their last 11 one-day internationals and they will look forward to carry the confidence against Ireland, England and India. Bangladesh wasted a wonderful opportunity for two points and will now have to win all their remaining matches and pray that Ireland does not win any.

South Africa gets big win and Afridi to Pakistan’s rescue

2011-03-04T11:20:00.000+05:30

South Africa’s spinners set up a massive 231 run win over the Netherlands in their Group B encounter at Mohali. The batsmen had made merry in the morning and this big win pushed South Africa to the top of the table. With a big net run rate advantage of 1.893 over their closest rivals India, they are likely to stay there for a while.

The Netherlands won the toss and again decided to field first considering the conditions. Their seamers bowled accurately and troubled the South African openers Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla. Smith tried to play across the line to a Bernard Loots delivery and lost his stumps. Soon Ryan ten Doeschate had Jacques Kallis edge to wicket keeper Wesley Barresi and South Africa slipped to 58/2 in the 16th over.

Amla and the destructive AB De Villiers put on 221 for the third wicket with De Villiers being the more aggressive of the two. Amla showed the rich vein of form he has been in for the past year with some beautiful cut shots, cover drives and leg glances. During the partnership with De Villiers, he struck only three fours but judiciously rotated the strike. De Villiers was aggressive to start with and consolidated with a boundary every now and then.

Amla got to his hundred in the 40th over and the batting Powerplay was taken in the 42nd over. De Villiers simply opened up with a six over fine leg followed by a flowing cover drive. He got to his hundred in the 43rd over. In an over from Loots, he looted three successive sixes – twice over midwicket and one over long on. He wasn’t content with this as three successive fours resulted in the next over. Both the batsmen were dismissed an over of each other.

Duminy then ensured that the efforts of De Villiers and Amla did not go to waste with four sixes of his own – including two in the final over – and the result was a monumental 351/5 for South Africa. It was always going to be a tall order for the Dutchmen.

The Dutch openers started positively against Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but once Jacques Kallis got Alexei Kervezee and Tom Cooper in the space of 20 runs, the task was even more difficult. The spinners Robin Peterson, Imran Tahir and Duminy combined to pick six wickets as the Dutchmen were bowled out for 120 in the 35th over.

South Africa seems to have no problems whatsoever in either batting or bowling, but have not been tested so far. The match against England this weekend will be a good encounter for them, notwithstanding England’s poor form. The Dutchmen seems to have lost steam after the creditable performance against England.

In Colombo, Canada gave Pakistan a big scare but Shahid Afridi’s bowling ensured there would be no repeat of Ireland’s upset win. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. Their openers failed again and by the 9th over Pakistan were two wickets down for only 42 runs. That soon became 67/4 as Canada’s bowlers gave a good account of themselves. Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal then put on a stubborn partnership of 73 runs that took up 20 overs. It was evident they were trying to accelerate later on in the innings. However, both of them got out to the impressive Balaji Rao who got prodigious turn from the pitch.

Once the set batsmen were dismissed, Canada’s bowlers ran though the tail and Pakistan capitulated for a shocking 184 in 43 overs. Harvir Baidwan was the pick of the bowlers with 3/35 with admirable support from Rizwan Cheema, Rao and Jimmy Hansra who all picked two apiece. Another upset loomed on the cards at the innings break.

Canada’s start was shaky with Nitish Kumar and Ruvindu Gunasekara falling inside the 5th over. A partnership of 28 runs between skipper Ashish Bagai and the stubborn Zubin Surkari gave a glimmer of hope before Bagai became Afridi’s first victim. Hansra attacked the bowling knowing that a defensive mindset can be detrimental and together with Surkari guided the score to 104 when all hell broke loose.

Saeed Ajmal, the off spinner, trapped Surkari leg before wicket in the 34th over with a full delivery. Afridi took over from there and had Cheema, Hansra and Baidwan dismissed in quick succession. The game was all but over now and Canada succumbed to 138 in the 43rd over to hand Pakistan a 46 run victory – their third consecutive in the tournament.

Pakistan should now make the quarter finals comfortably. The only worries for them are the form of their openers which puts added pressure on the middle order. Their over reliance on Afridi to pick the wickets should also worry them. Of the 29 wickets that Pakistan has taken in three matches, 14 have gone to Afridi, which is a shade below 50%. Canada will only have themselves to blame after the 4th wicket partnership of 60 runs had placed them in a position to force a win. They did not need a Kevin O’Brien in their line-up, only sensible batting was required.

Kevin O’Brien onslaught stuns England

2011-03-03T11:21:00.000+05:30

The Chinnaswamy stadium at Bangalore produced another high scoring thriller on Wednesday as Ireland, powered by a brilliant counter attacking innings from its no. 6 batsman Kevin O’Brien, stunned England by chasing the 328 run target by 3 wickets and with 5 balls to spare. England’s bowling has been poor right through the tournament and were thoroughly exposed by O’Brien whose innings was spectacular, to say the least.

Ireland’s chase of a mammoth 328 was derailed at the very start when their skipper William Porterfield played on to his stumps. Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce attacked the English bowling as they were not prepared to succumb without a fight. Both the batsmen played some delightful shots – the notable ones being Stirling’s pull shot against Stuart Broad that fetched six runs and Joyce’s cover drive that beat Andrew Strauss’s dive and raced to the boundary ropes. Stirling, however, was dismissed just before the first Powerplay ended. He ended up skying a ball that went high to Kevin Pietersen at square and he made no mistake.

Niall O’Brien and Joyce struggled when Graeme Swann came on to bowl but O’Brien broke the shackles with a drive over long off where James Anderson couldn’t hold on to the catch and parried it over the boundary for six runs. Two more fours in the next over signalled Ireland were slowly coming back into the contest. But Swann beat O’Brien’s attempt to slog sweep him and the ball dislodged the stumps. It was a very crucial wicket for England. Swann picked two more wickets in his next two overs – he had Ed Joyce stumped by Matt Prior off a ball that flighted and turned and then had Gary Wilson plumb in front of the stumps as he attempted a sweep. Ireland were 111/5 at this stage and in real trouble.

Kevin O’Brien had other ideas. He found an able ally in Alex Cusack and was the dominant partner in a brilliant partnership that revealed every chink in the England armour. He made his intentions clear by hitting the impressive Swann for two sixes in one over. The partnership grew with every over and the pressure was eased with every boundary scored.

Ireland took the batting Powerplay in the 32nd over which proved the smartest move the whole night. The first over yielded 16 runs as O’Brien found two successive fours behind square on the leg side. The next over fetched a six for O’ Brien as he reached his fifty off only 30 balls. A four and a six followed in the next over as Ireland accelerated and the fourth Powerplay over went for 17 runs as O’Brien swung at everything. A four off the last over ensured 62 runs came off 5 overs and Ireland were sensing they had a chance in the game.

O’Brien did not change gears after the Powerplay overs. His attacking ensured the required rate climbed down and England began to wilt now. A dropped catch off O’Brien was to prove costly for England. O’Brien reached his hundred in the 41st over – the fastest hundred in the history of the World Cup. The Irish fans were now celebrating their hero. Though he lost Cusack to a run-out in the next over, he found another reliable partner in John Mooney.

The English bowlers were now careful to not give the strike to O’Brien. Mooney initially had difficulty in scoring the runs as a few dot balls ensued. But two edges for four made sure the required rate stayed at reasonable levels. O’Brien took the singles and Mooney found the boundaries as the equation was brought down to 12 off 12 balls when O’Brien was run-out going for a second run.

Trent Johnston hit a Broad full toss for four and the runs required for a win was only three at the start of the final over. Mooney calmly hit the first ball from Anderson to the midwicket boundary for four as Ireland celebrated their finest hour in international cricket. Nobody gave them a chance after they were 111/5 but the Irish fighting spirit ensured history was made.

In the afternoon, Andrew Strauss had won the toss and decided to bat. Strauss and Pietersen laid a solid foundation of 91 runs in which Pietersen scored the bulk of the runs. Strauss was dismissed by the teenage left arm spinner George Dockrell as he attempted to play a shot down the leg side from well outside his off stump but missed and the ball crashed into the stumps. Pietersen soon threw his wicket away as his reverse sweep only found a top edge that the wicket keeper Niall O’Brien pouched comfortably.

Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott then forged a partnership which relied mostly on the singles and twos with the odd boundary thrown in between. They accelerated quickly and took the batting Powerplay in the 39th over. 45 runs resulted but in the last ball of the 43rd over, Bell couldn’t keep a leg side full toss down and saw Stirling take a fine low catch. Soon Trott was also gone as he attempted a shot straight down the ground, failed to move his feet and saw the stumps rearranged. From 294/4 in the 45th over, England could only muster 327/7 in their 50 overs as Ireland tightened the screws at the end. They fell at least 20 runs short of what would have been a match winning target.

Had Strauss not finished Swann’s spell very early in the Ireland innings, his team would have had more chances of winning. His pace bowlers were poor as they couldn’t cope with the pressure of O’Brien’s attack. The fielding was abysmal and England have a lot of work to do before they take on South Africa this weekend. Twice in the past England have conceded defeat from the jaws of victory – first against India in the 2002 NatWest trophy final when India were 146/5 but chased 326 to win and then against West Indies in the Champions Trophy final in 2004 when Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw chased down 218 after being 147/8 at one stage. It was evident England haven’t learned from those mistakes.

Ireland will be very happy with their performance and would look to replicate this against India this weekend. The win will give them the confidence in their matches ahead. By far, they have looked the most assured of the Associates and should be given a chance to compete in the 2015 World Cup.

Malinga breathes fire as Kenya comes apart

2011-03-02T08:28:00.000+05:30

Sri Lanka’s pace spearhead Lasith Malinga finally played his first game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Kenya at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday. What an impact he had on the match! Sri Lanka posted a very easy win and went on top of group A by virtue of having a better net run rate.

Jimmy Kamande, the Kenyan captain, won the toss and decided to bat on a traditionally good batting wicket. Nuwan Kulasekara along with Malinga shared the new ball for Sri Lanka. With only his second delivery, Kulasekara struck by having Maurice Ouma trapped in front of the stumps. Malinga joined the party in the next over when Seren Waters lost his balance trying to evade a yorker but the ball had already hit his shoes which meant he too was plumb in front.

The Obuya brothers started a revival playing and missing at some deliveries as they kept the scoreboard moving. The pair managed to add 94 runs for the third wicket and at 102/2 in the 32nd over, the Kenyans were on course to bat 50 overs, something they did not do in the first two matches. Malinga came back for another spell and immediately shattered the defences of Collins Obuya with a yorker. Steve Tikolo’s poor form continued as Angelo Mathews had him play a ball airily to point where Dilshan took a good catch.

The obdurate David Obuya was the next to be dismissed as he attempted a slog sweep against Muralitharan only to find the fielder at deep midwicket. Malinga was brought back for another spell and Jimmy Kamande was run out attempting a single that just was not there to be taken. In the last ball of the same over, he had Tanmay Mishra leg before wicket with another of his searing yorkers. With the first two deliveries of his next over, he prised out Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche with absolutely unplayable yorkers that made their way past the batsmen’s defences.

Malinga had a hat-trick now, his second in World Cups following his sensational four wickets in four balls against South Africa four years ago. Malinga added another wicket two balls later to uproot the leg stump of Elijah Otieno. Figures of 6/38 showed how much he was missed against Pakistan. Kenya had lost their last eight wickets for just 40 runs to be bowled out for 142 in 43.4 overs.

Dilshan and Upul Tharanga had an eye on the net run rate when they began the chase. The pair put on 72 runs in just 8 overs before Dilshan was dismissed. Sri Lanka rightly took the batting Powerplay in the 16th over and the match was finished in the 19th over as Tharanga hit the winning runs.

Sri Lanka will be pleased with their performance, especially the form that Malinga is in. They will be buoyed to take on Australia in what should be a cracker of a contest this weekend. Kenya promised a lot in that stubborn stand between the Obuya brothers but had no clue against Malinga. With their third successive defeat, their World Cup is all but over. A key statistic underlines Kenya’s batting woes – they have batted only 76.4 overs in three matches out of a maximum 150 – a conversion rate of just above 50%. This is something they would like to correct besides reinstating their pride in their remaining three matches.

Zimbabwe and West Indies have easy outings

2011-03-01T11:04:00.000+05:30

In Nagpur and Delhi yesterday, Canada and the Netherlands were routed comprehensively by Zimbabwe and West Indies respectively. With the big win, both the teams kept alive their hopes of making the quarter finals in their respective groups. The Associates’ cause was further dented by their inability to compete with the top teams.

In Nagpur, Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura won the toss and opted to bat in the day game. A nice batting track awaited their batsmen. However, Canada’s seamers started impressively. With the very first ball of the day, Khurram Chohan trapped Brendan Taylor plumb with a delivery that nipped back after pitching. Harvir Baidwan then trapped Charles Coventry in front as he attempted to play across the line. Zimbabwe were in trouble at 7/2.

Tatenda Taibu and Sean Ervine put together such a good partnership that 325 seemed a possibility at one stage. Both saw through the phase where the ball was doing a bit and as the pitch dried, they started playing their shots. The partnership yielded 181 in just 27.5 overs. Balaji Rao got some extra bounce on a ball and it took the inside edge of Ervine’s bat for wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai to take a simple catch. This started another slide for Zimbabwe as they lost the next five wickets for the addition of only 52 runs.

Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer batted sensibly and ensured Zimbabwe got a good total on board with a partnership of 41 runs for the 8th wicket. Zimbabwe scored 298/9 in their allotted 50 overs as WD Balaji Rao was the pick of the bowlers with 4/57 from his 10 overs. Rao used to play Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu and Railways before migrating to Canada and his knowledge of the pitches and conditions came in handy today.

Canada had a tall ask and it required a good effort from their top order to at least make a match of this. However, the Zimbabwean spinners put such a tight leash on the proceedings that they were unable to come to grips with the spinning deliveries and lost wickets at regular intervals. I had remarked at the end of Zimbabwe’s first game that their spinners would do well on Indian pitches. They did exactly that as all the ten Canadian wickets went to the four pronged spin attack – Ray Price and Graeme Cremer picked three each and Utseya and Greg Lamb grabbed two – as Zimbabwe won by a big margin of 175 runs.

Zimbabwe’s spinners need to sustain their form in the matches ahead and I just get the feeling that their match against New Zealand will be crucial. If they can beat New Zealand, they might edge them out to the quarter finals. Canada have no choice but to put up more decent performances in their future encounters.

The match in the afternoon at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi saw West Indies come to grips with a Netherlands team that gave England a run for its money in the previous game. One expected a tight encounter given West Indies’ recent poor form. The Dutch captain Peter Borren won the toss and strangely decided to field first.

Devon Smith started more aggressively than his illustrious partner Chris Gayle as West Indies wrested the initiative in the opening overs. It helped that the Dutch bowlers were not accurate and sprayed the ball all over the place. Gayle, though slow to start, opened up with three fours in one Ryan ten Doeschate over and looked in ominous form before he was dismissed playing the ball straight to the fielder at long off just when the batting Powerplay had been taken.

This brought the explosive Kieron Pollard to the crease and he murdered the Dutch attack with a brutal fifty that came off only 23 balls. He struck five fours and four sixes before he was dismissed in the 48th over. He had by then ensured that West Indies crossed 300. Pieter Seelaar was the pick of the Dutch bowlers with an impressive 3/45 off 10 tidy overs.

A lot depended on the Dutch openers to give them a good start like they did against England. However, the quick and impressive Kemar Roach and the left arm spinner Sulieman Benn ran through the batting and only Tom Cooper with an unbeaten 55 runs provided any resistance. Benn picked the very important wickets of Alexei Kervezee, Ryan ten Doeschate and Tom de Grooth. Roach helped himself to a hat-trick by trapping Seelaar and Bernard Loots plumb in front and then crashing through the defences of Berend Westdijk. Roach finished with figures of 6/27 and was named man of the match in the win by 215 runs.

West Indies will be encouraged by the performances of Pollard and Roach. Pollard needs to show he can score against the big teams as well. Whether they make the quarter finals will depend a lot on how they approach the remaining games. Getting through Ireland may be possible, but England, Bangladesh and India will be very tough. The Netherlands need to regroup and show that their performance today was an aberration. A poor decision at the toss probably cost them this match.

India and England produce a thriller

2011-02-28T11:38:00.000+05:30

What an exhilarating match of one-day cricket that was! India and England produced batting of the highest quality and superb death bowling in one of the most memorable matches of recent times. The tied encounter showed the promise of one-day cricket and that it is here to stay.

Faced with a mammoth 339 to win the crucial Group B match at a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, England approached the task in right earnest. Kevin Pietersen and skipper Andrew Strauss punished the Indian seamers with runs behind square. Harbhajan missed a catch off Strauss in the 6th over which turned out to be very costly for India. Munaf Patel was not as effective with the new ball as he was with the old ball against Bangladesh in Mirpur.

Pietersen played a couple of beautiful straight drives to keep the asking rate within reach and then cut over point and glanced behind square for boundaries as he looked in ominous touch. In the 10th over, Pietersen could not keep a straight drive down and Munaf Patel fumbled with the catch on his follow through but succeeded in holding it in the second attempt. It was a very vital wicket for India.

As the spinners – Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh - came into the attack, Strauss and Trott swept them for boundaries. In the 17th over, Chawla pitched one on leg stump and the ball turned back into the right handed Trott and hit him on the pads in front of middle and leg and was given out lbw. The Indians seem to have struck at the right time. However, Strauss had other ideas. He continued to attack, pulling and sweeping Yuvraj for four.

In the last ball of the 25th over, Ian Bell played well forward to a ball from Yuvraj and the ball rapped him on the pads. The Indians were convinced he was out but the umpire Billy Bowden was not. A review was called for and replays showed that the ball would have hit the stumps even though the distance between the impact and the stumps was more than 2.5 meters. The third umpire ruled Bell not out to the utter shock of the Indian camp. The game was on.

Strauss duly brought up a well deserved hundred off just 99 balls in the 28th over. As the partnership grew, the Indian shoulders drooped and the fielders started making mistakes. Strauss launched Yuvraj straight down the ground for a massive six in the 33rd over and in the very next over Bell lofted Chawla to the long on boundary for another six to bring up his fifty. With the batting Powerplay not taken yet, England looked comfortably placed to achieve the target.

The batting Powerplay was taken in the 43rd over when England were 280/2 and well on course for victory. Dhoni handed the ball to Zaheer who struck immediately. First, he had Bell miscue a shot into the air and the ball went to Virat Kohli at mid off who did not make a mistake this time after he had dropped a sharp chance at slip earlier. The very next ball, Zaheer fired in a yorker and trapped Strauss in front of the wicket. Two wickets in two balls and India were back in to the match.

In his very next over, Zaheer struck again as he pitched the ball on a length and Paul Collingwood tried to play a cross batted swipe but missed and saw his stumps in disarray. England were having a horrendous batting Powerplay. Michael Yardy was sent ahead of Tim Bresnan to score some quick runs. Matt Prior then decided to heave Harbhajan but the ball popped up straight to midwicket where substitute fielder Suresh Raina took the catch.

In the 48th over, Yardy tried to pull the ball over fine leg but only succeeded in giving a catch to Sehwag at short fine leg. It looked like the Indians would shut England out but fortunes had swung wildly in this match and there was time for another of those swings. Dhoni opted for a spinner – Chawla – in the 49th over. He was forced to do so as Zaheer had finished his quota of overs. Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan struck a six each in the over to bring down the target to 12 off the final over, though Bresnan was dismissed off the last ball attempting another big shot.

England held their nerve admirably in the last over. Ajmal Shahzad hit a six to bring the equation down to 5 in 3 balls. They finally needed 2 off the last ball and had to be content with one and the match was tied.

It would not have been so close had India shown some more discipline in batting through the last 5 overs after winning the toss. 338 was a very good total but the Indians could easily have scored 360 but their lower order batsmen committed hara-kiri as they lost 7 wickets in the last five overs for only 46 runs.

Sehwag’s stay at the crease was eventful. The first ball that he faced was edged though slips for four, and two leading edges in the same over did not carry. He carried on in his inimitable fashion and the runs came quickly enough for India. Tim Bresnan, who came on as first change, had Sehwag edge behind for Matt Prior to take a good catch. That started the most productive partnership for the Indians.

Tendulkar had got his eye in and did not open up until the 9th over when he flicked a ball to square for four and followed that up with a glance past short fine leg for another four. Gambhir used his feet against the spinners as he lofted Swann to the long on boundary for four runs and later lofted the same bowler over cover for another four. Tendulkar, too, chose to attack Swann as he hit a four straight over the bowler’s head.

The introduction of Paul Collingwood into the attack prompted Tendulkar to shift his gears a higher notch. He launched the bowler for a six over the long off boundary in the 18th over. He continued to attack Collingwood and hit a six over midwicket and brought up his fifty off 66 balls. The carnage continued as he lofted Swann for consecutive sixes in the 27th over – one over long-on and the next over midwicket. Boundaries flowed freely as England wilted under the attack. Gambhir brought up his own fifty off 59 balls courtesy an inside edge that went for four runs.

Soon, Gambhir was dismissed. He tried to play down the off side, missed the ball and lost his stumps. He had changed his bat the previous delivery and did this contribute to the dismissal? In a strange move, Dhoni sent Yuvraj ahead of the in-form Kohli. Yuvraj showed that he was in fine nick through an on drive which fetched four runs. Tendulkar brought up his 47th one-day century in the 35th over with a glance down to the fine-leg boundary. He celebrated that with his fifth six, this time again over long on.

The Indians opted for the batting Powerplay in the 37th over. Regular boundaries followed before Sachin got a leading edge off James Anderson only to see Yardy pouching the opportunity running from mid-on. The wicket slowed the momentum a little as the Powerplay yielded only 32 runs.

Dhoni and Yuvraj took the mantle of scoring the runs and India was sitting pretty at 292/3 in the 45th over. Some impressive death bowling by Tim Bresnan and some insensible batting by the tail resulted in India being bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs. The last pair was separated by a run-out when they went for a second run. However, the umpire called one short, so the one run that the pair had taken was disallowed. This coupled with the fact that they wasted the last ball of the over, will come to haunt India.

India probably had to settle for a tie because of the above as well as Dhoni’s poor choice of Chawla for the 49th over. He inexplicably finished off Zaheer Khan’s spell earlier which meant if Chawla went for runs it was going to be very difficult. The bowling department have some major improvements to make as they were left exposed. India will not win the World Cup with this bowling attack unless they make drastic improvements to the way they are going to bowl at batsmen.

England will also need to ponder their bowling, especially that of James Anderson. He was pathetic today as he was against Netherlands the other night. Shahzad is no match for Broad so England will pray Broad is fit for the matches ahead. England were saved today only because Strauss played a majestic innings and Bell was not given out in that strange incident.

Pakistan overcome Sri Lankan challenge

2011-02-27T11:47:00.000+05:30

The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo witnessed a match of great intensity between two teams keen to press home the advantage. Pakistan and Sri Lanka fought for two crucial points that come with a win in their Group A match. In the end, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi’s fine bowling effort saw them prevail by 11 runs.

Chasing a formidable target of 278 under lights to win the match, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start in the face of some disciplined bowling by the Pakistan seamers Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq as they gave nothing away. Upul Tharanga struck a beautiful cover drive off Akhtar in the fourth over to ease some of the pressure. He then played an imperious cut through point in the 10th over and looked in good touch. Tillakaratne Dilshan, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and survived a leading edge behind square that did not carry. He settled soon and eased a shot past cover for a boundary in the 6th over.

The introduction of Umar Gul and Mohammad Hafeez ensured some runs for Sri Lanka as the 50 came in 11.2 overs. Tharanga, however, fell in the 15th over when he could not keep a drive down and saw Afridi at mid-off take a smart catch. This was just the breakthrough that Pakistan needed. Dilshan soon followed suit as he tried to cut Afridi square of the wicket but ended up inside edging the ball on to his stumps. Sri Lanka were in trouble when Shoaib Akhtar got a length delivery to reverse swing and beat Mahela Jayawardene’s defences. Further trouble was to follow as Thilan Samaraweera was drawn outside the crease by a beautiful delivery from Afridi but the ball turned sharply and the batsman couldn’t get his feet back in time to prevent the stumping. 4 wickets had fallen in 7 overs for just 20 runs.

Chamara Silva and skipper Kumar Sangakkara then set about to prevent further damage. The pair consumed a lot of dot balls, especially Silva, which turned out to be very crucial at the end. The pair added 73 runs for the fifth wicket but took 16.2 overs. Sri Lanka took the batting Powerplay in the 34th over as soon as the ball was changed. Sangakkara was finally dismissed trying to force the pace against Afridi and only succeeded in giving a catch to Ahmed Shehzad at long on.

Silva had a life when Abdur Rehman failed to hold a skier and it looked like Pakistan would have to pay for this as he started opening up. He swept Rehman for a four behind square and followed that up with one more boundary which went finer. The 200 was up in the 43rd over but Angelo Mathews was dismissed soon giving a catch to long off and Afridi his fourth wicket of the match. Silva reached his fifty in the 45th over and Sri Lanka still had hope.

However, two quick wickets dented their chances severely. Thisara Perera was castled by a full delivery from Shoaib Akhtar and Rehman got his revenge when he tempted Silva with a wide ball and had the batsman stumped by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Kulasekara tried spiritedly but the target evaded Sri Lanka.

Afridi had won the toss in the afternoon and decided to bat on a good batting track. Ahmed Shehzad did not stay long though he promised much. He edged behind to a Thisara Perera delivery that had extra bounce. However, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal flayed the attack and Sangakkara erred by exposing the leg side to the Pakistani batsmen. Hafeez lofted Kulasekara audaciously over square leg as if he was a spinner and then followed it with a scoop to the boundary. A lot of runs were scored in the region between square leg and long on as Pakistan accelerated.

The stand was broken through a comical run out. Hafeez swept Muralitharan to short fine leg and Kamran immediately set off for a non-existent single while Hafeez stood rooted to his crease. Jayawardene threw the ball to Sangakkara who then inexplicably threw the ball over the bowler’s head. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath stopped the overthrow and passed it on to Murali who whipped the bails at the non-striker’s end. Hafez was given out after consultations with the TV umpire.

Kamran then repeated his mistake against Kenya when he charged down to Herath and was duly stumped by Sangakkara. For the second time in as many matches, he threw his wicket away when well set. This brought Misbah-ul-Haq to the crease and Pakistan recovered slowly and steadily through his fourth wicket partnership with Younis Khan. Again, most of the runs came on the leg side. Younis Khan reached his fifty in the 35th over.

Pakistan had reached 209/3 in 40 overs and were looking good to get past 300 since they had not yet taken their batting Powerplay. Misbah-ul-Haq also reached his fifty in the 41st over and the momentum was with Pakistan. However, Sri Lanka came back into the match strongly in the last 10 overs through some superb death bowling. Herath got Younis Khan to sweep and the top edge carried to short fine leg. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 44th over but this yielded only 36 runs for the loss of Umar Akmal’s wicket. Umar, in an effort to force the pace, slog swept Muralitharan to deep midwicket only to see Dilshan take the catch. Just 68 runs were scored by Pakistan in the last 10 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. They fell at least 20 runs short but it turned out that the total was just enough to save the day.

Sri Lanka will look back and find that they lost the match through some injudicious batting in the middle overs. The way they played Afridi was a bit of a concern. Constantly, they tried to play the conventional cut shot against him but never realized that the late cut would have been a better option. Also, the choice of Silva over Kapugedera in the playing eleven was baffling as Kapugedera is a far more attacking batsman than Silva. Their bowlers had an off day and need to regroup and learn from the mistakes in the matches ahead.

Pakistan will be pleased with their batting but need to shore up the bowling. Umar Gul was sloppy and they always depended on Afridi for the wickets. Their fielding and catching also has a lot to improve if they are to progress further in the tournament. Nevertheless, the dark horses are on a roll and the other teams would be wary of them now.

Bangladesh hold their nerves to pull off a thrilling win

2011-02-26T12:34:00.000+05:30

Why do low scoring games have more thrills than high scoring games? Ireland and Bangladesh produced what has been the most exciting match of this World Cup so far at the Sher e Bangla stadium in Mirpur yesterday. The ferocity with which both the teams played their cricket was a treat to the eyes.

I had pointed out that Bangladesh had made two mistakes against India which cost them that match – Tamim Iqbal’s subdued batting and the lack of discipline on the part of their seamers. They perfectly ironed out these mistakes yesterday and reaped the rewards though their batting still needs a lot of improvement.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and chose to bat first. They were given a flying start by Tamim as he scored two boundaries in the very first over – a drive through point and another straight through mid-off. He struck five more boundaries in the next four overs as Bangladesh reached fifty in just 5.4 overs. Tamim’s contribution to this fifty was 38 runs with seven boundaries. However, John Mooney struck in his second over as Imrul Kayes lost his balance trying to flick a ball down the leg side and was stumped by Niall O’Brien.

The wicket silenced the batsmen for some time as the Irish bowlers realized that lesser pace brought more rewards. Junaid Siddique ran himself out in the 9th over as Bangladesh slid to 61/2. Andre Botha then got Tamim to drive to point where skipper William Porterfield took a catch and the crowd was suddenly silent. Shakib started off with a crisp straight drive which went all the way to the boundary and followed that up with a boundary off a full toss in the next over.

Just when Shakib was looking good, he played early at a ball from Andre Botha and returned a catch back. Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan then added 61 for the 5th wicket with most of the runs coming through ones and twos as the Irish bowlers kept a tight leash on things. The teenaged left-arm spinner George Dockrell was particularly impressive. The batsmen had a hard time reading his spin which was well suited for the pitch. Rahim decided to play an ill-advised sweep against Dockrell and was caught by Andrew White at backward short leg. Mohammad Ashraful was dismissed in exactly the same manner in Dockrell’s next over.

Johnston and Botha shared the rest of the spoils as Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for only 58 runs. 205 was a disappointing total and Ireland were in with a chance to win this match. But the Bangladesh spinners had other ideas.

William Porterfield started the chase with an exquisite carve through point for four in the first over. Bangladesh attacked with Razzaq and it was evident that the runs were hard to come by. A combination of spin at both ends made matters more difficult for Ireland. The first breakthrough came in the form of Paul Stirling who was undone by a smart stumping from Mushfiqur Rahim as he fumbled against a full length delivery from Razzaq.

Shakib brought himself on in the 10th over and struck with his first ball as Porterfield could not keep a flick down and gave a catch to midwicket. Niall O’Brien started with two boundaries to keep things under control. He, along with Ed Joyce, ensured a steady trickle of runs to keep the Irish camp hopeful. Mohammad Ashraful, whose batting was poor, got a leading edge from Joyce whom he gleefully caught and the celebration was as if his team had won the World Cup. He then got Andrew White who erroneously played back and lost his stumps. The crowd was on its feet now and Bangladesh believed they can win this.

O’Brien, who until then was playing very well, then tried to work a ball to square leg but played it airily and Tamim took a marvellous catch as the ball was hitting the ground. Ireland were in deep trouble here and Bangladesh were going for the kill. The wicket brought Niall’s brother, Kevin O’Brien, to the crease and he made his intentions clear by attacking Ashraful. A straight six over long off was followed by three boundaries through midwicket, third man and cover. Shafiul Islam was brought back to the attack and Kevin straightaway pulled a ball to square-leg where substitute fielder Suhrawadi Shuvo made no mistake.

When John Mooney and Andre Botha were dismissed in the space of three balls, it was looking very difficult for Ireland. Shafiul Islam duly cleaned up the tail to set up a morale boosting 27 run win for Bangladesh. Shafiul ended up with 4 wickets for only 21 runs as he learned from his mistakes against India.

Bangladesh have hope now of making the quarter finals with their spinners reaping rich. They need to sustain this momentum in the coming matches and need to work on their batting. Ireland bowled very well but was found wanting in batting. They lost a close match and showed that they can compete at this level.

Johnson shines as Australia secure second win

2011-02-26T12:25:00.000+05:30

A strong bowling performance from Mitchell Johnson enabled Australia to cruise to a second consecutive win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Their second match against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand promised a stirring encounter but was sadly one-sided due to a poor show by the Kiwi batsmen.

The day was slightly overcast and Ricky Ponting decided to bowl first. Brett Lee bowled tight lengths while Tait was picked for boundaries by Brendon McCullum. However, Tait had the last laugh when he forced McCullum to carve a ball straight to the fielder at third man. The burly Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill carried on when Shane Watson got a ball to keep low and uproot Guptill’s stumps.

Ryder hit two consecutive boundaries in a Mitchell Johnson over as New Zealand reached the end of the first Powerplay. Soon after, Johnson got Ryder to poke half-heartedly at a good length delivery and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin took an easy catch. New Zealand were asking for trouble here and soon they slid to depths from which a recovery seemed impossible. James Franklin returned to the pavilion two balls later as he chased a wide delivery from Johnson only to find an edge through to Haddin again.

Scott Styris was the next to go in the very next over as he too was guilty of playing away from the body. Haddin pouched his third catch and Australia were cock-a-hoop now. Ross Taylor continued his poor form with the bat as he had no clue to a full delivery from Tait. Inexplicably, he tried to play across the line and promptly lost his stumps. New Zealand were 73/6 at this stage and an early finish was on the cards.

Nathan McCullum and Jamie How began the repair job taking singles at every opportunity but more importantly rotating the strike. There was the odd boundary as well. The pair had added 48 runs in 12 overs when How was caught in front of the crease to a ball from leg-spinner Steven Smith that straightened after pitching. Skipper Daniel Vettori now joined McCullum at the crease. McCullum played well nudging the ball for runs and cashing in when the ball was pitched short as all of his boundaries came off short deliveries. He reached his fifty in the company of his captain.

Mitchell Johnson was brought back for another spell and struck immediately. He landed a ball in line with the stumps and the ball kept its line till it hit McCullum’s pads and would have gone on to hit the stumps. The umpire had no hesitation in giving the batsman out which was confirmed by the TV umpire as the Kiwis opted for a review.

A total of 200 looked out of reach for the Kiwis but Vettori opened up after the fall of the 8th wicket. A reverse sweep and a pulled full toss fetched welcome boundaries. He was dismissed by trying a pull shot to which he got only an inside edge as Haddin picked up his fourth catch. Southee tried an ambitious hoick but only succeeded in giving a catch to Ponting and the Kiwis were bowled out for 206 which was not enough on a nice batting track. Johnson followed up his four wickets against Zimbabwe with another four here and is now the leading wicket taker of the tournament.

The Australian chase was given a flying start by their openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin. Haddin was the more enterprising of the two as he picked three boundaries in three overs. Watson too joined the fun in the 8th over as he picked Hamish Bennett for a boundary to long leg. The 100 partnership came in only 14 overs as the chase gained momentum.

Haddin had earlier reached his fifty in the previous over and Watson overtook him as he picked up three fours in four balls off Vettori. Haddin was dismissed in the 19th over off a slow delivery from Bennett which he only succeeded in spooning to midwicket. With another slow delivery two balls later, he beat Watson’s cross batted shot and castled him. Two quick wickets brought the cheers back on the Kiwi faces.

Ponting and Michael Clarke slowly chipped away at the target when Ponting was lured out of the crease by a Tim Southee delivery down the leg side and missed the ball. McCullum was quick to whip off the bails and Ponting walked back to the pavilion. Cameron White and Clarke then ensured there would not be any more hiccups as Australia cantered home by 7 wickets with a whopping 16 overs to spare.

Australia will be very happy with their display in this game. Their batsmen, bowlers and fielders did a good job and they would want to continue in this good form. New Zealand, on the other hand, have a lot of work to do. It was only the depth in their batting that carried them to 200 and coach John Wright will need to have extended sessions with his batsmen to get them back on track.

Bold South Africa overcome West Indies challenge

2011-02-25T10:56:00.000+05:30

An unusually bold team selection and a clinical bowling performance enabled South Africa to overcome a West Indies side in their opening fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. It was evident both the teams were raring to go and wrest the initiative.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss and decided to field first. In a bold and surprising selection, they decided to leave out their in-form seamer - Lonwabo Tsotsobe – and bring in the uncapped but highly rated leg-spinner Imran Tahir. It turned out to be an inspired move as well. Never before had South Africa played a match with three specialist spinners in their playing eleven.

Smith made another bold move by opting to open the attack with a spinner – Johan Botha. His off-breaks immediately paid rich dividends for them. In only the third ball of the over, Botha got to turn the ball away from the dangerous Chris Gayle. Gayle only succeeded in edging the ball to first slip where Jacques Kallis took a good catch.

Devon Smith was joined by the young Darren Bravo at the crease. It was clear immediately that Bravo was a batsman with a lot of promise. He has been compared to the legendary Brian Lara so early in his career, but the only similarity I saw with Lara was the high backlift when going through with this shots. One shot summed up the fact that Bravo was a thinking cricketer – Jacques Kallis bowled a short ball which the batsman realized cannot be pulled the traditional way so he made a slight adjustment and pulled the ball over the mid-on region.

Smith and Bravo slowly but steadily accumulated the runs. They attacked the seamers realizing that the spinners would be a different proposition. 111 runs were added in the partnership when Bravo played a poor shot against Botha and was trapped in front of the crease. This was just the breakthrough that South Africa needed. They followed this up with another wicket in the very next over. Imran Tahir, who was expensive in his first spell, came on for a second and foxed Smith with a flighted delivery which he only succeeded in returning back to the bowler whose joy knew no bounds.

Ramanaresh Sarwan did not last long as he was trapped in front by another flighted Tahir delivery. From 113/1, West Indies had slid to 120/4 but recovered to 178 through the ever-reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo’s elder brother – Dwayne Bravo. A horrendous run-out ended the partnership just when it was threatening to grow. There just was no chance of a run on that occasion. They soon slid to 222 all out in the face of some attacking bowling by Tahir and Dale Steyn who polished off the tail. Tahir finished with an impressive 4 wickets for 41 runs on his ODI debut.

South Africa’s chase was wobbly as Kemar Roach got Hashim Amla with a delivery that nipped back and drew the inside edge for wicket-keeper Devon Thomas to take diving to his left. Soon after, Jacques Kallis fell to a beautiful piece of bowling from the left arm spinner Sulieman Benn. Benn got the ball to turn and got an outside edge from Kallis’ bat which the West Indies captain Darren Sammy pouched at slip. It seemed that West indies were making a good effort with the ball.

AB De Villiers, another promising young man, strode out to join his captain at the crease. It was evident he was not going to waste any time getting his eye in. Three boundaries in an over of Roach – a push kind of shot and two gorgeous drives square of the wicket – signalled the fact that it would not be easy for the bowlers to contain this explosive batsman.

Smith supported De Villiers in a crucial stand of 119 runs. De Villiers brought up his fifty with a six of Gayle and followed that up with an even bigger six against Benn. Smith was dismissed against the run of play as he was bowled by Kieron Pollard. JP Duminy and De Villiers continued the good work for South Africa with a match-winning partnership of 84 runs during the course of which De Villiers got to his century – his second in World Cups. South Africa had plenty of overs left when they won the match by 7 wickets.

The bold moves were inspirational for South Africa who will have to determine whether to stick to this winning formula in the coming matches as well. Their batting looks assured and the calm manner in which they chased under lights was a good sign. On the other hand West Indies did not up the ante after the initial two wickets and paid the price. They have some injury concerns as Dwayne Bravo seemed to have hurt his knee badly. The batsmen will have to play around Darren Bravo and Chanderpaul who looked the most comfortable against South Africa's bowlers.

Pakistan starts its campaign in style

2011-02-24T10:45:00.000+05:30

After the meek capitulation in the first match against New Zealand, Kenya did nothing to improve its image in its second round-robin match against Pakistan at Hambantota. They were out of sorts in a display that once again underlined the difference in standards between the heavyweights and the minnows.

Kenya’s abject batting failure continued though they improved upon the performance against New Zealand. This time they scored 112 runs and lasted 33.1 overs. The first three wickets added 73 runs in 22.2 overs but their last seven fell for just 39 runs as they not only failed to make a match of the 318 run target set by Pakistan but more importantly, did not last 50 overs.

The first wicket added 37 runs cautiously before Seren Waters was run out off a fine direct hit from Umar Akmal who was quick to reach the ball. Six runs later, fellow opener Maurice Ouma edged a good length delivery from Umar Gul to return to the pavilion. Collins Obuya, the most assured Kenya batsman on view, then added 30 for the 3rd wicket with veteran Steve Tikolo.

Once Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi brought himself on to bowl, things changed quickly. He got Tikolo to step down the track but the ball held back a little which resulted in Tikolo playing the shot early. The ball beat the gap between his bat and pad and hit the stumps. Afridi went on to pick up 4 more wickets and hastened the misery for the Kenyans.

Pakistan also was in a spot of bother at the start of their innings after they decided to bat on winning the toss. Mohammad Hafeez fell to an astounding catch by Waters when the scoreboard read only 11 runs and Ahmed Shahzad who had a torrid time at the crease was dismissed soon when he got a leading edge trying to play across the line and gave an easy catch to Jimmy Kamande at mid-off.

That brought Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan to the crease. They steadily re-built the innings with a stand of 98 runs. Kamran was the more aggressive and innovative of the two and he once went outside his off stump and swung a ball over midwicket for a four. Soon after reaching his fifty, Kamran threw it all away by charging down against Shane Ngoche, the spinner, and was duly stumped. Younis then got an able ally in Misbah ul Haq who made his intentions clear straightaway with a straight six of Tikolo.

Pakistan lost Younis Khan also soon after he had reached his fifty as he was trapped in front trying to sweep a ball. The young but out-of-form Umar Akmal strode into the crease and the pair began to accelerate. In only 13 overs, they plundered 118 runs off a tiring attack. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 44th over as Haq and Akmal waded into the attack with some astounding strokeplay. The 5 overs of Powerplay yielded 70 runs for Pakistan and the final two overs of the innings went for a further 30 runs and Pakistan ended with a hefty total of 317/7 in 50 overs, one that would be out of reach for the hapless Kenyans.

Kenya will have to work hard in their remaining matches to regain their pride. They have worries in both batting and bowling. Their batsmen need to learn to bat through 50 overs. The fact that Kenya conceded 46 extras - 37 wides, 3 no-balls and 3 leg-byes - was proof enough of their bowling lacking control and discipline. The wides and no-balls together contributed an extra 6.4 overs. This should give them enough food for thought.

On the other hand, Pakistan had an easy outing and was never really tested. However, the opening batsmen would do well to pull up their socks because they next play the formidable Sri Lankans who would gladly cash in on such opportunities.

Oranjes prove Associates are no walk-overs

2011-02-23T11:22:00.000+05:30

The player names on the back of the Dutch players’ shirts were unusually small unlike the other teams who choose to indicate it in large characters. And they proved that names do not matter, it is the performance on the field that matters. It was a case of so near yet so far for the Netherlands against England in the Group B fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Nagpur which is incidentally the city of Oranges!

Ryan ten Doeschate played the innings of his lifetime scoring 119 of just 110 balls against an English attack which did not look the part with the exception of the off-spinner Graeme Swann. It was hard to believe that the bowling attack that retained the Ashes was being put to the sword by a team that had limited international exposure. Doeschate took his time to get off the mark and get his eye in but he proved that his ODI average of 65 was no fluke.

Peter Borren, the Dutch captain, won the toss and decided to bat. They were provided a solid platform by the hardworking Alexei Kervezee and the dynamic Wesley Barresi. The duo put on 36 in only 6 overs before Bresnan got Kervezee courtesy a top edge off a short delivery. Barresi played some nice shots to keep the scoreboard moving before he was undone by a smart stumping by England wicket keeper Matt Prior.

Tom Cooper and ten Doeschate strung together a good partnership of 78 in less than 17 overs to keep the momentum going for Netherlands. Cooper played a stunning pull shot off Bresnan – he just used the pace of the ball and closed the face of the bat at the right time. Doeschate also played some lovely shots and the partnership was looking good for more when Cooper sent a full delivery from Paul Collingwood straight to the hands of short midwicket. Bas Zuiderent couldn’t do much and ended up spooning a catch to midwicket of Swann. England seemed to have come back into the match nicely but more problems lay ahead of them.

The innings was given a further boost by Tom de Grooth along with Doeschate. The pair added 64 runs in only 10 overs – a sign that the Dutchmen were starting to open up. The batting Powerplay was taken in the 43rd over – a decision vindicated by what was to follow. De Grooth lost his stumps to a straighter one from Stuart Broad but that did not deter Doeschate as he dispatched the bowlers for boundaries at will. He was ably supported by his captain Peter Borren who chose judiciously to rotate the strike. The Powerplay yielded 50 runs for the loss of just one wicket and ten Doeschate brought up a remarkable century.

England were struggling to contain the runs at this point and it was evident they were stunned with the strokeplay as James Anderson leaked three consecutive boundaries in the 48th over. Netherlands ended their quota of 50 overs at 292/6 – a big total. This was truly sensational and an upset was on the cards.

Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss began the England innings in right earnest as they plundered 12 runs of the opening over. Their partnership provided England not only with the runs but also the hope that they could win this game after a poor bowling performance. Pietersen was dismissed, though, in the 18th over when he couldn’t help holing out to cover off the impressive left arm spinner Pieter Seelaar. Strauss was looking good and with the company of the in-form Jonathan Trott, began slowly chipping away at the target when he decided to pull a short ball unconvincingly and gave Tom Cooper a catch at deep square leg.

Doeschate wasn’t done for the day. With his bowling he picked up two quick wickets – of Trott and Ian Bell - to mount the pressure on England. But Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara ruled out an upset with a clinical assault that helped them clinch the issue with 8 balls to spare. The Oranjes lost the match in the city of Oranges but won the hearts of all. The Associates’ cause certainly got a big boost with this performance after the disappointments of Sunday.

England will have to work very hard as they still seem to be in the Ashes hangover. They need to get their bowlers to bowl good line and lengths – they should now realise that they are now bowling in India and not Australia. I’m not too sure if Pietersen is the right man to open the batting for England because that just leaves a gaping hole in the middle order which a better bowling attack will be able to exploit. They need to really think a lot for the coming matches.

As for the Dutchmen, they’ve got the belief now. They need to sustain this going forward and give more teeth to their bowling. I’m sure they can spring a few upsets. My friends in Amsterdam would be really proud if they did so in this tournament.

Australia get the better of Zimbabwe

2011-02-22T11:44:00.000+05:30

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has not lost a World Cup match as captain. His team came out against Zimbabwe in their opening Group A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at Ahmedabad yesterday to extend their impressive record.

And extend they did with their battery of pace bowlers a little too hot to handle for the Zimbabwe batsmen after Australia had set them a target of 263 to win. Charles Coventry, the Zimbabwe opener, tried to force the pace off Brett Lee and Shaun Tait and even hit Lee for an audacious six but couldn’t last long. Lee banged in one short and Coventry’s unconvincing pull shot went no further than silly mid-off where Lee himself took the catch.

Brendan Taylor and Tatenda Taibu hung around for five overs but without adding much to the total. Taibu edged to Shane Watson at slip off Mitchell Johnson and this started a procession of wickets as Zimbabwe slid from 40/1 to 44/4. Taylor couldn’t pick a faster one from Tait as the ball brushed his pads before taking out the stumps. Craig Ervine was caught plumb in front of a full length Johnson delivery – a decision that was reviewed by the Australians as the umpire had initially announced a verdict of not-out.

Captain Elton Chigumbura and Sean Williams started resurrecting the innings with a partnership of 44 in 9 overs. The introduction of Jason Krejza, the off spinner, saw Zimbabwe score some welcome runs but Krejza got one to pitch well outside the off stump to which Chigumbura played a sweep but succeeded only in getting an edge to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin. Tait then fired in a full length delivery at Williams who hung his bat out and edged low to Shane Watson at slip. Zimbabwe was running out of steam now.

Krejza added the wicket of Regis Chakabva before Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer came together to add 49 runs for the eighth wicket. Ponting introduced the spin of David Hussey in a bid to break the partnership. Hussey did exactly that in his second over when he had Utseya popping an easy catch to Ponting at midwicket. Johnson returned to get the remaining batsmen in no time and Australia cantered home.

Things were not looking as rosy in the afternoon, though. Ponting won a crucial toss and decided to bat. The first Powerplay yielded only 28 runs for Australia as they were tied down by some good bowling by Zimbabwe. Soon after they broke the shackles with a 17 run Mpofu over, Brad Haddin was trapped in front to a ball that spun sharply. This brought Ponting to the crease and together with Watson added 79 in only 12.3 overs as Watson began to find his timing and played some sweet shots.

Watson was the next to go against the run of play. He was caught in front of the crease to a ball that was straight. He made 79 with a six off Cremer and eight fours. Ponting was run out in the next over to a direct hit from Mpofu who was stationed at deep midwicket. Australia were only 144 at that time and it looked like Zimbabwe’s spinners who bowled very well would restrict Australia to less than 250.

Cameron White added 63 with Vice-captain Michael Clarke but this was not threatening to break free from the grip which Zimbabwe had on the match. White is not in the best of form these days. He plays best when he is able to dominate the bowling. Today he was not able to do that and ended up inside edging a slower delivery on to his stumps.

At the 45 over mark and at 207/4, one again thought Zimbabwe would be able to restrict Australia in the whereabouts of 250 which would have given them a good chance to win the match. But David Hussey changed all that in a cameo innings in which he struck a six of Sean Williams and a four off Utseya in consecutive overs and Clarke joined the fun scoring 15 runs of an Mpofu over. The pair had added 34 runs in only 3 overs and was looking good for more when Hussey missed a straighter one from Ray Price and was castled.

Steven Smith did not waste any time getting his eye in and scored 10 runs off the first two deliveries that he faced – a straight six and a slog sweep for four. Australia were past 250 now and Zimbabwe were concerned. Smith was dismissed off a full toss in the final over but Clarke and Johnson ensured Australia posted 262/6 at the end of their allotted 50 overs. 55 runs had come off the last 5 overs. It turned out to be more than enough for Australia as an inexperienced Zimbabwe batting were clueless against some high quality pace bowling.

Australia will need to work hard on their batting in the remaining matches, especially the way they play spin. Mitchell Johnson is a good candidate to be promoted up the order for some quick runs, especially when the spinners are operating. Teams with quality spinners are waiting to have a go at the Australia batsmen. If they are found wanting, it will be an uphill task to maintain their unbeaten run in World Cups even with the kind of lethal bowling that they have.

Zimbabwe will also have to work very very hard on their batting. They are missing someone like Andy Blignaut who could tear the bowling apart. Their spinners will do well in the tournament but if they are to proceed to the quarter finals they will need to get their batsmen to score big runs. Charles Coventry needs to back himself to score quickly at the top so that the middle order can play without pressure. Chigumbura needs to shed his indifferent form with the bat and should do what he knows best - take the bowling apart. They also need to have Craig Ervine at No.3 instead of Taibu who can be a slow starter.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka make mincemeat of their oppositions

2011-02-20T22:18:00.000+05:30

Kenya were not probably prepared for what came their way today at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai in their opening Group A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against New Zealand. Their performance showed the gap between the regular ICC members and the Associate teams and would have lent credence to ICC Chief Haroon Lorgat’s assertion that Associate teams should not be a part of the World Cup in 2015.

Jimmy Kamande, the Kenyan captain, won the toss this morning and elected to bat first on a pitch that was expected to play slower in the afternoon. Their openers – Alex Obanda and Seren Waters began as if they were playing a test match. It was true that the Kiwis bowled accurately but there was no effort from these two to break the shackles.

The batsmen were undone by some good bowling by the Kiwi seamers – Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett and Jacob Oram. Bennett was particularly impressive getting four wickets giving away only 16 runs. He landed the balls on a full length attacking the stumps which the Kenyan batsmen were unable to cope with. Tim Southee and Jacob Oram picked three wickets each as Kenya got bowled out for only 69 in 23.5 overs.

The Kenyan bowling also said a sorry tale – they bowled too short and wide enabling the Kiwi batsmen to go through with their shots comfortably. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum – the Kiwi openers – did not waste any time in chasing down the target – they got to it in only 8 overs thereby ensuring a very big net run rate which could come in handy later on in the tournament.

The Canadians also did not do much for the Associates’ cause. They capitulated against an incisive Sri Lankan bowling attack in their Group A match at the picturesque Hambantota. Thisara Perera was the most impressive bowler on view. He took the wicket of John Davison off his very first ball in a World Cup and followed that up with two more wickets. He proved last year that his bowling is lethal and should now edge out Mathews at No. 7 in the remaining games for Sri Lanka.

The only resistance for Canada came from Rizwan Cheema who made every effort to take the bowling apart. There were a couple of sixes from him that pushed the team past the 100 run mark. But the rest of the batting looked pedestrian and they were never really in the chase after the Davison wicket.

Kumar Sangakkara had earlier won the toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat. Lasith Malinga was left out thereby giving a chance to both Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera to prove their worth. Sri Lanka got off to a slow start against some disciplined bowling by Canada. Their bowlers did not give much width to the batsmen and Dilshan and Tharanga had to work for their runs. Eventually, Tharanga was run out in the 12th over after seeing Dilshan not responding to his call for a single in a dismissal that was reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal yesterday.

Sangakkara was dropped at short third man by the substitute teenager Nitish Kumar off the bowling of Rizwan Cheema in the 18th over. This turned out to be a very costly lapse for Canada as he and Mahela Jayawardene rebuilt the innings after being in some trouble at 88/2 in the 20th over. The pair was brought together when Dilshan, immediately after reaching his fifty, threw his wicket away holing out to deep point off Cheema.

The pair initially nudged the balls around for ones and twos before opening up against an inexperienced attack. Jayawardene’s runs mostly came on the leg side as he swept efficiently against the spinners. Sangakkara, after the initial edginess, started finding his groove and the partnership grew to threatening proportions. The captain had not scored an ODI hundred for close to three years and was looking good to get it this time but returned an airy drive straight to bowler John Davison.

Jayawardene registered the fastest 100 by a Sri Lankan in a World Cup soon after. His hundred came off only 80 balls. Immediately he swept to short fine leg where Balaji Rao made no mistake. Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Thilan Samaraweera then swung their bats at everything possible and got Sri Lanka to 332/7 in 50 overs which turned out to be far beyond Canada's reach tonight.

India prevail over disappointing Bangladesh

2011-02-19T23:06:00.000+05:30

When Shakib Al Hasan dived to stop Sachin Tendulkar’s drive and then threw the ball back to the keeper to run him out the crowd at the Sher e Bangla stadium in Mirpur erupted in joy. That was the only joy they would derive on a disappointing night for their team.

Chasing an imposing 371 to win the opening Group B match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup against co-hosts India, their innings never took off after the electrifying start provided by Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal. The pair put on 50 in only 4.5 overs, 24 of these coming from one Sreesanth over. Once Kayes played away from his body and dragged a Munaf Patel delivery to his stumps, the scoring rate dropped and Bangladesh never looked like achieving the target.

A strangely subdued Tamim and Junaid Siddique put on a partnership of 73 but it consumed a lot of deliveries that the asking rate climbed to unattainable heights. Siddique had a life when Yusuf Pathan dropped him in the 13th over off the bowling of Munaf Patel. However, he couldn’t capitalize on this and was dismissed by a beauty from Harbhajan Singh. The off-spinner drew the batsmen a shade forward but the ball turned just enough for it to beat the bat and Dhoni effected a very smart stumping.

Only after reaching his fifty did Tamim show signs of opening up. But his dismissal in the 33rd over – he chipped a ball to Yuvraj Singh who took an easy catch at midwicket – made the task all the more difficult as the pitch was playing slower and slower. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan played very well for his fifty but did not have any support to carry the fight to the Indian camp. He ended up slog sweeping Yusuf Pathan to Harbhajan Singh at deep midwicket in a desperate attempt to force the pace. The rest of the batting caved in to the impressive Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan.

Earlier, Shakib al Hasan won the toss and put India in to bat on a strangely colored pitch. Frayed nerves were evident in the Bangladesh bowlers as Virender Sehwag opened the World Cup with a boundary. The over from the poor Shafiul Islam cost 12 runs and that set the tempo for the innings. Sehwag and Tendulkar put on a fifty partnership before the needless run-out of Tendulkar. Gambhir didn’t look very convincing in his stay at the crease but was quick to punish the bowlers whenever they erred in length. He was bowled off a ball that straightened after pitching. The lucky bowler was Mahmudullah.

That brought the in-form Virat Kohli to the crease. Sehwag and Kohli put on a big, sensible partnership that took Bangladesh out of the game. The way Sehwag paced his innings was remarkable. He started off aggressively against Shafiul and Rubel Hossain but was tied down for sometime by Abdur Razzaq. He got to his fifty with a six in the 15th over and then picked the singles and twos. He got to his hundred in the 32nd over of 94 balls and soon after opened up by playing a flurry of strokes. The next 75 of his runs came off just 46 balls.

Sehwag’s innings was not without chances, though. Shakib missed a chance to run him out in the 2nd over, then he played early at a ball and almost returned a catch to Razzaq. The last chance was a chip that just eluded the hands of midwicket. It was Sehwag’s day today and no one but himself could stop him. He ended up dragging a wide ball from Shakib on to his stumps in the 48th over. By then India had scored 355 runs.

Virat Kohli played a gem of an innings and justified his position in the team ahead of Suresh Raina. He did not try anything fancy but picked the runs at a very good strike rate. Some of his cover drives were a treat to the eye. The way he leans on the ball to caress it through covers is impressive. He got to a well deserved hundred off just 83 balls on his World Cup debut in the final over of the Indian innings. The last 10 overs gave India 94 runs and it was evident that they would record their first win of the tournament, which they duly did three hours later, by 87 runs.

The only worry for India in the match was the performance of Sreesanth. He was wayward, listless and sprayed the ball all around for the Bangladesh openers. He will need a miracle to play for India again in this World Cup. That is because Munaf Patel has laid strong credentials for the spot of the third seamer once Nehra is back picking up 4 wickets for only 48 runs. The good thing about Munaf is that he is a line and length bowler and this has paid rich dividends for him. It is another matter whether India needs to play three seamers and a spinner in the upcoming matches or play an extra specialist spinner instead of a third seamer.

Bangladesh would take their batting display as a positive and they probably lost the match because of two factors – Tamim Iqbal did not take the attack to the bowling after Kayes’ dismissal and they failed to take the batting Powerplay soon after the ball was changed in the 34th over. This combined with a little more disciplined approach from their fast bowlers early on in the innings would have seen them in a better light at the end of the evening.

Can India repeat 1983?

2011-02-18T11:44:00.000+05:30

Indian cricket fans look forward to the performance of the Indian team in the World Cup with hope. Nothing short of a repeat of the title triumph in 1983 will satiate their hearts. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bunch of talented men in blue will have an enviable task on their hands. Not only have they to handle the pressure of match situations, but also the pressure that comes with huge expectations on their shoulders.

There is no doubt the team is balanced and has players who can excel in any conditions and against any opponent. But like Pakistan, Indian cricket teams have a tendency to commit hara-kiri. Dhoni’s first task is to ensure the right combination gets into the playing eleven. It is no easy task but man-management skills is an area Dhoni has to improve and he would do well to take some advice from former captain Sourav Ganguly.

First and foremost will be the decision on how many bastmen India need to play. Should we play seven batsmen and four bowlers or six batsmen and five bowlers? If they decide to play only six batsmen then invariably it has to be to accommodate an extra spinner. However, one cannot ignore Yusuf Pathan who is a genuine match winner at No.7. To accommodate Pathan they will have to sacrifice a genuine batsman which is not a good tendency either. The ideal solution will be to go in with seven batsmen – Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan and four bowlers – Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla and hope that this would be a winning combination. Pathan can don the role of the third spinner.

The batting order is another area that Dhoni needs to address – Gambhir or Kohli at No.3? Kohli has been impressive at this position in the chances that he has been given. Gambhir is a natural opening batsman and batting at No. 4 can hinder his game. Ideally, Gambhir should be at No.3 and Kohli at No.4. If the openers fall cheaply, Gambhir and Kohli will have to rebuild the innings together and these two are good candidates for this.

With Yuvraj Singh a pale shadow of his former self, the lower middle order looks a little brittle. One hopes that Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan do not fail together which would be disastrous. It would not be a bad idea to promote Pathan up the order for some quick runs when the team needs it. Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan are the finishers and they need to do their job well.

The bowlers will have their tasks cut out. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra should share the new ball and will have to be very miserly at the death overs. Nehra has been found wanting in this respect in a few games and India cannot afford both their frontline seamers leaking runs at the end overs. Munaf Patel ensures a far more disciplined approach at the end overs than Nehra and could be tested for a couple of games. Sreesanth is likely to get a chance only in the event of either of the frontline bowlers sustaining an injury.

The spinners will have to take wickets, not just restrict the flow of runs. Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla are the first choice spinners with R Ashwin getting an odd game or two. Chawla was particularly impressive in the warm up game against Australia. He got the ball to turn and spin and flummoxed the batsmen with his guile. There are plenty of options for Dhoni in terms of part-time spinners – Yuvraj, Pathan and Sehwag can bowl but it remains to be seen whether Sehwag will actually bowl considering his shoulder.

The team opens its campaign against Bangladesh to whom it lost in the 2007 edition. Bangladesh are a very good team and should not be taken lightly. The fact that the match will be played in Bangladesh will add pressure on the Indians. India’s second game will be against the highly rated and confident England. A loss in the first two matches and India will not only struggle to make the cut for the quarter finals but also run the risk of meeting strong teams there. It is therefore imperative that the team puts its best foot forward in the opening matches.

Two relatively easy games against Ireland and Netherlands follow the first two games. Ireland impressed one and all in their warm up games should pose a bigger challenge for India than the Netherlands. These will be followed by two more games – against South Africa and West Indies.

The Indians should make the quarter-finals but will be lucky if they get to play the quarter-final match in India as 3 out of the 4 quarter-final games are scheduled in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The prospect of meeting Pakistan in the quarter-finals cannot be ruled out.

The team carries with it the prayers and hopes of a billion people. If Dhoni is able to emulate what Kapil Dev did in 1983, he will be adored by the public. If the team loses its way, then we can very well search for a new captain, for nothing short of his head will satisfy the public. The weight of expectations alone could bring India down but their performances over the last year and a half lend belief to the fact that this team is capable of making us Indians proud at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the 2nd of April. The team would do well to win it for their talismanic performer over the last 21 years – Sachin Tendulkar - at his home ground. What can better winning a World Cup in your own backyard?

Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan and Bangladesh also fancy their chances

2011-02-17T12:24:00.000+05:30

Let us now look into the chances of four teams whose fortunes depend a lot on some key players. Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan and Bangladesh would fancy their chances in the tournament simply because they have the players who can deliver the results.

Sri Lanka is undoubtedly the strongest of these four. The team looks very formidable and they have very little worries. Muthiah Muralitharan would be hoping for an ideal parting gift in the form of one more World Cup. It will be up to skipper Kumar Sangakkara and his men to perform for Murali who has been the mainstay of their bowling for a very long time. Their openers wear a settled look – Upul Tharanga and Tilakaratne Dilshan can provide the solid starts. The middle order looks very strong with two experienced campaigners in Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

The only spot in the team which would be debatable would be their choice of a No. 7 batsman – Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera can equally lay credentials to the spot. Thisara Perera would be the better choice because of his bowling which is at a better level than Mathews’. The first choice bowlers would be Malinga, Kulasekara, Muralitharan and Mendis.

Sri Lanka should progress very far into the tournament with the kind of team they have. This is their best chance to regain the cup that they first won in 1996 in the Subcontinent.

England would be hoping their frontline batsmen learn from the mistakes they made in Australia during the one-day leg of their grueling tour. If at all there is anything that England need to fix, it is their batting. Barring the exception of Jonathan Trott at No. 3, all of their other batsmen are in need of big runs. Andrew Strauss and Matt prior are expected to open the batting with Trott, the charismatic Kevin Pietersen and the ever reliable Ian Bell to follow.

The bowlers pick themselves – James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ajmal Shahzad and Graeme Swann should be the ideal choice for skipper Andrew Strauss. In the event they decide to play two spinners, then Michael Yardy could come in for Shahzad. That leaves one position open – the choice would be between Paul Collingwood who has not been in the best of form these days but is very experienced and Luke Wright who can be very handy with the bat as well as ball. I believe Strauss will opt for the experience of Collingwood.

England can progress far if their batsman get into run scoring mode early on in the tournament. Kevin Pietersen needs to show them the way by playing as long as possible with minimum risks. He needs to cut out the kind of bizarre shots that he attempted in Australia.

Pakistan is a team in turmoil but their cricket is a way for them to forget the past. They have very explosive players and I will not be surprised if they make it to the finals. Like past Pakistan teams, bowling is their strength and they need to play to their full potential as far as bowling is concerned. Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq are world class. The spin department could be led by Abdur Rehman following his good showing in New Zealand. Captain Shahid Afridi and opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez can chip in for some spin to support Rehman.

Ahmed Shehzad can provide the pyrotechnics at the top of the order with the experienced Younis Khan, and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq leading the middle order supported by the wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Umar Akmal, Kamran’s younger brother, has lost his way after a promising start to his career and needs to make way for Asad Shafiq who has impressed in the limited opportunities that he has been given. Afridi and Razzaq can provide the fireworks at the end overs.

The team has a tendency to self destruct. If they can curb this and stay together as a team, they can progress very far in the tournament. A World Cup win will provide redemption to a team that has been plagued by scandals.

Bangladesh have come a long way in terms of how they play their cricket. There used to be a time when they were regarded as minnows and could be easily passed over. That is not the case now. Their confidence is high following series win over New Zealand and Zimbabwe. They have some key players whose performance will be crucial.

The finest player to have played for Bangladesh, captain Shakib al Hasan leads by example. His consistency in both bowling and batting over the last couple of years has been remarkable. He will be the fulcrum around which their batting and bowling revolve. Bangladesh’s top order looks strong with the Sehwag like demolisher Tamim Iqbal leading from the front supported by Junaid Siddique and Imrul Kayes.

It is their middle and lower order that is a cause for worry. Aside of Shakib, there is no one who can take the mantle of guiding them through the middle and end overs. If Mohammad Ashraful returns to form which has been long due, then half of their worries on this front would be solved. Wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim picks himself in the side.

Spin remains Bangladesh’s potent bowling weapon. Abdul Razzaq and Shakib al Hasan will be supported by Mahmudullah and Suhrawadi Shuvo. Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain should lead the pace attack.

Making the quarter finals should be the first aim for Bangladesh and from then on they should take it match by match. If they can get their act together in all the three departments, they can give any team a run for its money. They can make history on April 2 and what a history would that be.

Australia look balanced but South Africa need to work hard

2011-02-14T10:32:00.000+05:30

Defending champions Australia will enter the tournament looking for their fourth successive triumph. However, this time the aura of invincibility around them will be missing. Their confidence was at an all-time low following the ignominious defeat in the Ashes series against England. However, the way they bounced back and trounced England in the one-day series proves that they can and never should be under-estimated.

Michael Clarke will be the key to Australia’s batting fortunes. He seems to have rediscovered his touch during the fag end of the one-day series against England with two match winning efforts. His ability to play the spinners well will hold him in good stead to score runs in the tournament. He is Australia’s best bet at No.4 and will look to consolidate the position if the openers and skipper Ricky Ponting lay a good foundation.

Talking of the openers, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin have a good understanding and rapport. Watson is in the form of his life and Haddin can back himself to score some quick runs. The pitches should help their cause well. Ponting at No. 3 comes back from a finger injury and should be looking to regain the form that has eluded him over the last 12 months. Clarke, Cameron White and David Hussey can provide the acceleration in the end overs.

The bowling will be led by the effervescent Brett Lee. It was a pleasure to watch him bowl in the one-day series against England and the fact that he was among the wickets should bode well for Australia. The pace of Shaun Tait will assist Lee in a big way and if Mitchell Johnson is able to find his mojo in the subcontinent conditions, then it will be very hard to stop the Aussies. The spin department will be handled by Jason Krejza with the young Steve Smith and the part-timer David Hussey to back them up.

Australia has a balanced team and it is no fluke that they are the No. 1 one-day team in the world right now. If they get their act right in the beginning of the tournament and play the basics well, they will find a place in the finals on April 2.

South Africa is the other team that can be talked of in the same breath as Australia. They have come determined this time to shed the chokers tag associated with them. They have often been undone by lady luck and would wish for her to smile on them this time around.

Bowling is South Africa’s main weapon. Dale Steyn can take wickets in absolutely any conditions and needs to be supported well by Morne Morkel. Morkel relies more on bounce to get his wickets and should be disappointed by the bounce that the pitches in the subcontinent offers. However, if he is willing to bend his back he is sure to get among the wickets. Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been a revelation over the last 6 months and should be an ideal third seamer ahead of Wayne Parnell who tends to be expensive. The unknown but highly rated Imran Tahir is expected to be the spin trump card with Johan Botha and Robin Peterson donning the support roles. They could count on part timers in JP Duminy and the captain Graeme Smith as well.

If the South Africans do not progress far in the tournament, it will be because of their batting. Jacques Kallis at No. 3 lends solidity but he is coming back from an injury and it remains to be seen whether he gets into form straightaway. His performance against Zimbabwe in the warm-up match has been encouraging. Hashim Amla is in great form but the same cannot be said of his captain and ally at the top of the order – Graeme Smith. The middle order will have an uphill task if the top three fail. AB De Villiers will have the enviable task of guiding the middle order batsmen.

It cannot be said that South Africa are a balanced side. Their bowling outweighs batting and they would do well to remember this. Batting second can be tricky for the side especially if they are chasing a tall score. Smith would be better off is their side decides to bat first if he wins the toss as it will always be easier to defend a total with the kind of bowling they have. It is not very lethal but their bowlers are efficient and can be counted on to pick wickets. Their batsmen will have to do the hard work, though.

South Africa can make the quarter –finals but from then on it will get difficult for them especially if their batting does not click. Again, they need to have plenty of luck on their side which eluded them in 1992, 1999 and 2003.

The Coveted Cup

2011-02-12T20:50:00.000+05:30

There is only a week to go for the month and a half extravaganza – the One-day international Cricket World Cup. The excitement is slowly building up among the people. Conversations vary from favorites to win the cup to who would be the dark horses this time around. Undoubtedly, this will be the biggest ever World Cup.

The last two times a World Cup was held in the Indian subcontinent, unlikely champions have emerged. While in 1987, nobody gave Australia a chance, Allan Border’s young team surprised England in the finals at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in what was perhaps the closest match ever played in a World Cup final. Sirca 1996, a war-ravaged nation – Sri Lanka – gave its citizens a lot to cheer by beating Australia in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Who will it be this time? We’ll know on April 2 in what is perhaps the most open World Cup ever – each of the top 6 teams have a chance of winning. Having said that, cricket is a funny game and one cannot rule out the possibility of a surprise winner this time as well.

The event lasts for a month and a half – this could be the biggest challenge for the teams. They’ll need to ensure that their big guns stay in form throughout and are fresh for the big matches. An event of this magnitude can be energy draining and teams would do well to have adequate back-up plans. It is late winter in the subcontinent, so the heat factor is unlikely to affect the teams much than if the tournament was held in April – May.

The pitches could be batsmen’s paradises, so the bowlers will have to come up with exceptional performances. Captains who can be innovative with field placements and judicious choice of the bowling Powerplay overs could be the clinchers. The ideal mix of fast bowlers and spinners would be very crucial.

A large majority of matches are day/night encounters which bring into the equation the question of fairness. Teams bowling second will face the difficulty of the dew affecting the ball after a period of time. It will be very imperative for those teams to take early wickets and take the initiative. Reverse swing might also be a big factor but it remains to be seen how effective it would be since the ball has to be changed after 34 overs.

As with any sporting event, there is a huge weight of expectations around the host teams – India and Sri Lanka in particular. They have been very consistent in their performances over the last year and a half. They will have the better knowledge of the conditions and massive crowd support but these always add extra pressure. How they handle this would also very critical in determining how far they go in the tournament.

Indians will especially hope that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men emulate what Kapil Dev’s team did way back in 1983. The team looks balanced and has the potential to go till the very end. A win would be the ideal icing in the cake for Sachin Tendulkar’s career.

Next Saturday at Mirpur, the opening salvo will be fired. Bangladesh takes on India in what promises to be a cracker of a match. Teams will go through rigorous routines in a bid to covet the Holy Grail of one-day international cricket. At the end of it all, one team’s ecstasy will be the other’s agony – but that is the beauty of any sport. The winner will cherish the achievement for a long time to come.

Watch out for more in this space for an extensive coverage of the event – we will analyze the teams during the course of the next week and then analyze the games through the tournament.

WHERE’S THE NEXT TORCH BEARER?

2010-11-06T20:56:00.000+05:30

From Kapil Dev to Javagal Srinath to Zaheer Khan has been an endearing journey. Indian fast bowling rarely had men who hunted in pairs. India almost always had only a one man show as far as fast bowling was concerned. Kapil Dev was exemplary while Srinath was under-utilised. Since he burst on to the scene in the year 2000, Zaheer has been the torch bearer for fast bowling for India both in test matches and one day internationals. He has been excellent, to say the least, over the last couple of years.

As he is 32, it’s time to find and groom the next person to whom the baton can be passed. Sadly, one cannot find a promising youngster who could emulate Zaheer. Ishant Sharma is too inconsistent, Sreesanth is wayward, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Ashish Nehra have chinks in their armour which they need to iron out.

It’s high time the BCCI, the national selection committee and the Indian team management did something about this. With Zaheer’s injury history, no one can vouch for how long more he could play for the country. Moreover, the pitches continue to be benign; the NCA is not producing quality fast bowlers.

The cricket administration in India should seriously think of conducting a fast bowling talent hunt to find a genuine quick who can be of valuable service to the country. In the next ten years, India will struggle to retain their No. 1 test ranking without quality fast bowlers. Bowling looks to be India’s bane in the future.

The lack of vision on the BCCI’s part is disheartening. So much of money is being earned but nothing is spent on making the pitches more lively or trying to find bowling talent. They need to prioritize what’s important and by the looks of what we see that is not happening.

Let’s hope that better sense prevails and we do soon have a serious fast bowler who can take up the mantle of leading India’s new ball attack after Zaheer Khan. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long and arduous journey to sustain what India has achieved in the last couple of years. We could very well say goodbye to the No. 1 test ranking.

I'm LeBron, baby!

2008-11-25T09:59:00.000+05:30

It was the year 2004. The Democratic Party was holding its national convention in Boston, Massachusetts. On July 27, the keynote address was to be delivered by a man named Barack Obama. This was his first initiation into national politics and he grabbed the chance with both hands. His speech that night was historic. It catapulted him to national recognition and paved the way for him to run for the US Senate and from there, to the US Presidency. He stressed that night that the country was not about the red states or the blue states but about the United States of America. This appealed to every American that night. Indeed, few would have thought that he would be President of the United States of America one day.

He remarked to a reporter covering the convention - "I'm LeBron, baby!” He was referring to LeBron James - the NBA star of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team who was shooting baskets on his way to stardom during that time. The reporter after listening to his speech that night had to admit that Obama was indeed the LeBron James of US politics.

Barack Hussein Obama never wanted to become a politician. However, his entry into politics came by chance. The first serious thought of entry into politics occurred to him when he was doing community organizing in Chicago early in his career. The one stumbling block in his mind about a full-fledged foray into politics was memories of his father. His father was a politician in Kenya who fared very badly in local Kenyan politics.

Obama's stint in community organizing in Chicago taught him a great deal about serving the people. During his stint, he had the chance to interact with the deprived sections of Chicago society who later on became strong vote banks for him, first in his election as Illinois senator and later in his race for the US Senate. He had this ability to lift the mood of the people with great oratory.

Two persons played a very prominent role in shaping Obama's political figure. The first was Dan Shomon, his first long term political adviser. It was Shomon who advised Obama that he should travel to the southern side of the state of Illinois in a bid to understand the state better, so that Obama, who harbored thoughts of running for a statewide office one day, would not be found wanting in this respect. Shomon and Obama had a very good working relationship. Obama had a superior air during the initial years of his political career and Shomon was particularly concerned that this would distract the working class voters whose vote was crucial. Shomon sought to improve Obama's relationship with the working class which proved quite decisive in his election to the Illinois senate.

David Axelrod was the second person who polished Obama's political image. Axelrod had this uncanny ability to spot national political talent and was soon right in his assessment of Obama as a potential national star in US politics. So when Obama split with Shomon, he turned to Axelrod to become his political adviser. Axelrod was very instrumental in polishing Obama's speeches to the public. Having been educated at Harvard, Obama's speeches had the Harvard baritone which the general public would find difficult to digest. Axelrod helped Obama in delivering oratory that would make him closer to the listening public. This was a giant leap in Obama's career as he soon found that he could attract more crowds at rallies.

Obama decided to contest for the US presidential elections soon after return from his trip to his native Kenya in 2006 where he was accorded a hero's welcome. The Kenyans were delirious at each place he visited, including his father's grave in Nairobi. The trip to his home country was exhilarating for him. He sought the advice of all his close associates as to whether he should run for President in the 2008 election. He had the support and backing of all his aides and most importantly, his family - his wife Michelle and his two lovely daughters - Sasha and Malia.

Thus began a journey that spanned a tedious 21 months of rigorous campaigning and a bitter rivalry with a formidable lady named Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. Obama prevailed in a hard fought battle with Hillary and later on won comfortably against his presidential election rival - Senator John McCain. Hillary Clinton would later on become Secretary of State in Obama's administration.

As the world battles the worst financial crisis in a century, there is a huge weight of expectations on his young shoulders. The world looks upon him to deliver. LeBron James could elevate his game to any position, whatever be the state of the game. His team-mates could rely on him as he always made the basket whenever the team needed it. The next four years of his life would determine whether Obama is really in the league of LeBron James. If the world becomes a better place to live in his tenure, then surely he can lay credentials to the fact that he is indeed LeBron James of politics.

The Star at Lord's

2008-11-06T10:28:00.000+05:30

The headlines in the sports page of the Hindu newspaper dated June 23, 1996 caught my immediate attention - “A star is born at Lord's". I had been following the second test of the India Vs England test series after India's debacle in the first test helped England take a 1-0 lead in the series. We did not have a cable television connection in our home those days (just Doordarshan) and I was following the match on All India Radio. I had listened to the commentators remarking at the brilliance of a man who had made his test debut at cricket's most hallowed turf - Lord's. The newspaper report further embellished upon the debutant whose innings on June 22 caught the world by storm. Indeed, a star was born on that day. His name was Sourav Ganguly.

When the team for the tour of England was picked, the team had a new look. The Indians were going through a low after the ignominious semi-final defeat in the World Cup at the hands of eventual champions Sri Lanka. Mohammad Azharuddin had been retained captain. The team had embarked to England in the hope of winning its first series outside the Indian subcontinent since 1986.

The first test at Birmingham turned out to be a disappointment for India as they lost the match by 8 wickets. The team had to shore up its batting. The team management decided to hand out debuts to two young players in the squad who would go on to become the pillars of Indian batting in the next decade - Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Ganguly had impressed with his bowling when England batted first at Lord's. He had taken 2 wickets for just 46 runs in 15 overs of probing seam bowling including a wicket off just his 7th ball in test cricket. When he came on to bat on the second day of the test, the Indians were 25 for the loss of Vikram Rathore's wicket. Ganguly finished the second day on 26 not out with some silken drives and exquisite timing. The speed with which the ball raced to the boundary was unbelievable, to say the least.

On the third morning, he started off from where he left off on the second day. On AIR I could hear the commentators marvelling at his shots which sped to the boundary like rockets. Each ball that gave the width to play his shots was promptly dispatched to the boundary. He was quite adept at playing the short ball as well; his pull shots had the stamp of authority. Soon, he reached a landmark - a debut test hundred. He became the first man to score a century on debut at Lord's. An enigmatic cricketing journey that would span 12 eventful years had begun.

Soon Ganguly found himself a regular in the test side. He notched up another marvellous century in the third test as well. His one-day stint was not delayed either. He excelled in both forms of the game with his silken batting. The tag of GOD OUTSIDE THE OFF STUMP was soon assigned to him for his shots outside the off stump were deemed to be nothing short of divine. If his batting was all class and elegance, his bowling was a revelation. Sachin Tendulkar had remarked that Ganguly was his batting ally at the top of the order and a secret bowling weapon. His ability to hit the seam consistently and swing the ball fetched him accolades in bowling.

The year 2000 was a watershed in Indian cricket with the match-fixing allegations wreaking havoc. Ganguly was assigned the captaincy of the Indian cricket team after the match-fixing allegations against Azharuddin. He soon realized that captaincy was not a bed of roses but a crown of thorns. However, he was majestically up to the task of reviving Indian cricket from the doldrums to which it had sunk.

India started winning more test matches abroad under the efficient leadership of Ganguly. He was a no-nonsense captain and a defiant leader. He dismissed all the conventional notions of an Indian captain and often took the battle to the opposition. This particular quality endeared himself to his teammates and to the cricketing public both in India and abroad. His man-management skills were exemplary. He backed youngsters to the hilt and was rewarded for his faith in them.

Ganguly catapulted India to an important series win against Australia at home in 2001. The series will forever be remembered for VVS Laxman's epic 281 and Harbhajan Singh's bowling but Ganguly's captaincy in the series was remarkable. He led India to victory in the second test in Kolkata after being asked to follow-on - only the third team ever to win a test match after being asked to follow on. He followed that up with a memorable win in the last test at Chennai.

This win instilled a strong belief in the team that they could beat anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances. He led India to test wins over Zimbabwe, West Indies, England and Australia. He also led India admirably in the one-day version of the game. India won the NatWest Series in England chasing down 326 runs in the final after being in a spot of bother at 146/5 at one stage. Under his leadership India also reached the finals of the World Cup in 2003 where it lost to defending champions Australia.

However, a test series win had eluded the Indian team. It was in this backdrop that India undertook its historic tour of Pakistan in 2004. He led India to a historic series triumph in Pakistan - a feat no other Indian captain could achieve. Coach John Wright was also instrumental in Ganguly's leadership skills. Their association was one of the memorable moments in his tenure as India captain.

John Wright's resignation and Greg Chappell's appointment as coach marked the turning point of his career. He fell out of terms with Chappell. His batting form also waned and soon he found himself out of the team. Cricket pundits wrote him off and indicated that his career was over. However, fate would play a crucial role once again in the life of this elegant cricketer.

Ganguly returned to the team for India's tour of South Africa in 2006-07 and impressed one and all with his batting. He had announced with his bat that he was not done yet. He also cracked four consecutive half-centuries on his return to the one-day team. He also shone on the tour of England where he finished as the second highest run-getter in the test matches.

The home series against Pakistan later in 2007 saw Ganguly at his best. He plundered runs off the hapless Pakistan bowlers and made his maiden test double hundred. He was here to stay. Talk of retirement of the senior players in the team - Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Kumble began to surface in early 2008 following India's win in the 20-20 World Cup. That side was a young side which convinced the selectors that youngsters are the future of Indian cricket.
The failure of the batsmen - Ganguly included - during India's recent tour of Sri Lanka prompted speculation that soon the seniors would be asked to retire by the selectors and Ganguly would be the first one to be axed was doing the rounds. He was dropped from the Rest of India team for the Irani trophy and speculation was rife that he would soon hang up his boots. A new selection committee replaced the old one at this time. Ganguly was picked for the test series against Australia.

Ganguly announced in a press conference later that the series against Australia would be his last. He remarked that he had had enough of the selectors' jokes. He was right, for; nowhere in this world except in India would you find such blatant disrespect for the senior players. The players know when it's time to retire and they don't need anyone telling them that this is the time they should retire.

An era of cricket has come to an end at Nagpur. His cricketing career was one of twists and turns but will be remembered for the grace with which he batted and the stout-heartedness with which he led India. He is India's most successful captain and he changed the way the team approached their cricket. He made the team understand the importance of being aggressive and the team is reaping its rewards now. The present Indian team is set to dominate world cricket but one should not forget that the seeds were sown by Ganguly. Indeed, Sourav Ganguly is the Godfather of aggressive Indian cricket.

Let's salute a brave cricketer as he walks away from the game. The star at Lord's is set to fade away and we realize that he is irreplaceable. Let's wish him all the best for a long life and a bright future. Who knows, he might become a commentator and one might see a star in the commentary box.

Well done and Good Luck, Sourav!!!!