Knight Riders discharged Deccan. Preview: RR vs DD and RCB vs MI

Finally, Gambhir came up the order and Kolkata Knight Riders opened their account of victory in IPL 4. Chasing KKRs par total on a pitch which had something in it for spinners, Deccan lost 3 quick wickets at the start of the innings. Shikhar Dhawan, Ishank Jaggi and skipper Kumar Sangakkara got out early leaving Deccan in all sorts of trouble. Chipli and Dan Christian gave some fight back after top-order collapse but in the end Deccan found 9 runs short of the target and lost the match. Second consecutive defeat for Sanga and his boys. Most importantly Sangakkara who were in tremendous form at World Cup looked completely out of sorts in IPL 4.

KKR started their innings brilliantly as Bisla and Kallis given them solid and steady start at the top and Kingiht RIder batsmen capitalise on that start and put up good total for the Deccan to chase. Monoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan played superb cameos for KKR which helped them in reaching good score. Gambhir once again failed with the bat but he came up the order this time and that was heartening for Shahrukh Khan and KKR. Deccan bowling looked ordinary except Amit Mishra who bowled superb spell for Deccan. Steyn was good in 1st spell but lost his way in 2nd spell. Ishant Sharma was disappointing from the Deccan’s perspective.

So KKR moved on and Deccan have to wait for sometime for the win. KKR started as favourite in this game and they lived upto the expectations of the fans at Edens. Crowd response was  mild from Kolkata as most of the fans refrain themselves from KKR match because ‘DADA’ was missing from KKR line-up.

Man of the Match

Two games coming up today and both are going to be terrific games.

 

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Warnie’s Royals face Sehwag’s Daredevils.

In the first game today, Rajasthan Royals will take on Delhi Daredevils at Jaipur. Rajasthan Royals looks confident side after win in their opening game. On the other hand Daredevils will be keen to open their victory account in IPL 4. On paper RR and DD don’t have much difference. But confidence factor and shrewd tactics of captain Warnie gives the edge to RR. Moreover, they are playing at home and will have definite advantage of home crowd support and conditions. The likes of Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid and Botha who was star in RR victory against Deccan will play important role in today’s game as well. RR bowling  also looks good even though it don’t have any big name except Shane Warne.

Daredevils batting is lacklustre and there is no doubt about it. The way they struggled against Mumbai Indians, seriously put question-mark on DDs batting. Except Sehwag and Warner they don’t have anybody on whom team can rely. If Warner and Sehwag will get out early then DD will surely fail in this match as well. Aaron Finch is good batsmen but it will be difficult for him to play on slow and low pitches of India. Daredevils have relative good bowling line-up as they have Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan in their ranks.

Rajasthan Royals will certainly have upper hand in this match and Shewag have to pull out the win at any cost just to get the momentum.

Team Info:

Delhi Daredevils

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Irfan Pathan, Naman Ojha(Wicket-Keeper), Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Venugopal Rao, Aavishkar Salvi, Prashant Naik, Rajesh Pawar, Robin Bist, S Sriram, Tejashwi Yadav, Unmukt Chand, Varun Aaron, Vikash Mishra, Vivek Yadav, Yogesh Nagar, Shahbaz Nadeem (Foreign) David Warner, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Aaron Finch, Mathew Wade, Roloef van der Merwe, Andrew McDonald, Travis Birt, Collin Ingram, Robert Frylinck.. Greg Shipperd(Coach)

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Team Info:

Rajasthan Royals

Rahul Dravid, Pankaj Singh, Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Aditya Dole, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Ashok Menaria, Deepak Chahar, Dishant Yagnik, Faiz Fazal, Nayan Doshi, Pinal Shah, Samad Fallah, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Amit Singh, Dinesh Salunkhe, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sumit Narwal, Ankeet Chavan (Foreign) Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Ross Taylor, Johan Botha, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Tait.Shane Warne(Coach/Captain).

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MI will face RCB Challenge

Confident Mumbai Indians will take on jubilant Royal Challenger Bangalore at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Both the teams coming in this match with a win under their belt. Both teams also look par as far as resources are concerned but MI  have little edge in their bowling with Malinga firing from the top. The runners-up of the third edition of the IPL retaining most of its previous players in the squad, the team management is keen to rotate the players in the initial games to asses their depth in both the departments - batting and bowling.

Sachin’s from is another good aspect of Mumbai Indians. Andrew SYmonds missed out in last match against DDs on the account of injury, so it will be interesting to see that MI will feature him in this match or not.On the other hand RCB will bank on in-form batsmen AB DeVilliers and Virat Kohli. Both are in good touch. Zaheer Khan provides great strength to RCB bowling and he will spearhead the RCB bowling attack against his ex-team.

It will going to be battle of nerves more than anything else as both teams are equal on paper and nobody starts as favourites in this game.

Team Info:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Daniel Vettori (Captain), Virat Kohli, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB De Villiers (wicket-keeper), Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dirk Nannes, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohammad Kaif, Abhimanyu Mithun, Charl Langeveldt, Luke Pomersbach, Rilee Rossouw, Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar, CM Gautam (Wicket-Keeper), S Arvind, Mayank Agarwal, Arun Karthick, Asad Khan Pathan, Abrar Kazi, Ryan Ninan, Bhareth Narayanan, Nuwan Pradeep.Ray Jennings(Coach)

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Team Info:

Mumbai Indians

Sachin Tendulkar (c), Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Ali Murtuza, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Surul Kanwar, Surya Kumar Yadav, T Suman, Yazvendra Singh Chahal, (Foreign) Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, James Franklin, Moises Henriques, Alden Blizzard, Dilhara Fernando

History in the making! Preview: Bangladesh V/s South Africa

Its a game which matter the most in the tournament. Result of the game between Bangladesh and South Africa will play crucial role in deciding the fate of four teams from Group B which is known as 'Group of Death' as well.  Victory of Bangladesh over England changed all the permutations of Group B and I think England will be cursing themselves over the defeat against Bangladesh. So what this game holds? 

This is the most crucial match for Bangladesh in the history of their cricket and it will give them chance to create an history. If Bangladesh win this game they will qualify for the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup for the first time and this day will register as golden day in the history of Bangladesh cricket. I believe key to Bangladesh's success depends on the pitch and the spinners and I think Bangladesh cricket administrators will certainly provide the rank-turner to the Proteas. We all know teams from outside sub-continent struggles against quality spin especially when they are playing in sub-continent and Bangladesh have lot of spinners in their ranks which is not very good sign for the South African batsmen. Batsmen like Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal and Captain Shakib Al Hasan have to score big runs in order to put pressure on South Africa and if this trio fires then anything can happen but Bangladeshi batsmen have to face the raw pace of Morkel and Steyn upfront and if these two bowlers will be confronted well then Bangladesh can think of winning the game. 

If we talk about South Africa, they played like champions in this World Cup so far. Although they lost to England but that was near contest. I think match against India made them very strong and given them great momentum. If they lost that match against India then situation would have become more difficult for them but they hold their nerves in that game and inspite of getting lot of hit in first 15 overs from India they came back strongly and snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat. No doubt they are the most balanced side in this World Cup but they often crumble under-pressure but they got rid of that weakness in the match against India. They already made into quarter-finals but they will be going into this match with the intention of winning it and try to sustain the momentum ahead of knock-out stages. Injuries to their key players like AB DeVilliers and Imran Tahir must be a little worry but I think both Tahir and DeVilliers will get fit ahead of the match against Bangladesh. I think this match will going to be very important match for Greame Smith as well as he has not fired with the bat so far in the tournament and he has the chance tomorrow to hit some batting form ahead of the crucial knock-out stage. If Smith hits the form then I believe Proteas will become more strong and even invincibles.

So great game ahead of knock-out stage, probably the most important and crucial match of the ICC Cricket World 2011. Teams like India, West Indies and England will keep close eye on this game because this is the game which will more or less decide, who will qualify for the quarter-finals from Group B. This match also have the capability of creating history in World Cricket and most important game for all the Bangladeshi fans.

Team India will go through acid test against Proteas ahead of QF

Team India's serious World Cup campaign starts from tomorrow with the match against Proteas. So far India were playing weaker teams in the tournament and yet they struggled. So Indians will be under tremendous pressure going into this match. India have lot of worries in  bowling, fielding, running between the wickets and top-order batting but remember India have little edge over Proteas according to the statistics of recent times and that suggests out of last 10 ODIs against Proteas, India won 6 of them. Something which can give boost to the Indian team but over all record of India against Proteas is poor which suggests out of 65 ODIs Proteas won 39. But when we talk about recent performance Indian team have little edge. 

 India's main worry in this World Cup is its bowling. So far bowling failed to pick up early wickets except for one match against Ireland. Indian bowlers are certainly struggling on the flat pitches of sub-continent. India's main worry are its regular spinner in Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla, both failed to impress so far in the tournament. Harbhajan Singh have picked up only 2 wickets in 4 games although his economy is quite good but remember he is attacking bowler and expected to pick wickets rather than containing the batsmen. What to talk about leggie Piyush Chawla, 2 top wicket-takers in the tournament are leg-spinners and this guy Chawla struggled to pick the wickets in the conditions which favours the spinners and his economy is also poor. India is clearly struggling with 3rd seamer as well and captain Dhoni is completely confused in picking up right combination and that confusion reflects in his statements. I believe they have to continue with 2 pace -2 spin combination and they must replace Chawla with Ashwin in the game against South Africa just to check whether Ashwin fits the bill or not ahead of the knockout stage. I think  not playing Ashwin so far, Dhoni did it deliberately. I think he wanted to introduce him in a big match like this as a surprise package and I believe this can prove master-stroke as well.

Fielding and running between the wickets is also very big area of concern. India struggled badly in the outfield. India fielders allowed opposition batsmen to pick singles easily and also allow them to convert singles into 2s and 2s into 3s and thats not going to help because the opposition team supposed to get 270 in normal circumstances is ending up with 300 or more means 30-40 runs extra just because of poor fielding and extra pressure on Indian batting as well. India has dropped quite a few catches as well. If we look at the match against England Strauss was dropped by Harbhajan when he was new to the crease later in the same match Virat Kohli dropped Ian Bell and both these batsmen took the match away from India. Had those 2 catches taken then I believe result of that match would have been different. So lot to improve in the fielding and I think India have to employ faster fielders on the boundaries and slow fielders in the close-in because singles are anyways available even though field is up but it is important to stop extra runs which are taken when ball goes near the boundary and slow fielders don't able to throw the ball back quickly enough. India have to improve running between the wickets as well. So far we have seen India clearly struggled in this area as well in the tournament. In the first match Tendulkar got out because of poor calling. I think calling have to be precise and batsmen have to work hard in nets to set the good rhythm with their partners while running between the wickets, so that they can be in a sync with their partners in match while running.

Indian top-order batsmen are also struggling and they have to come good now, because one failure can cost dearly. Sachin, Shewag, Gambhir and Kohli have to bat well and out of these four, tow players have to take the anchor role. I think Sachin and Kohli have to play the role of anchor and Gambhir and Sehwag have to go after the bowling and that will be ideal situation for the middle-order batsmen where you have hitters like Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan who can easily capitalise on the good start given by the top-order batsmen. So Indian top-order have to take some responsibility and one or two of them have to carry their bat through the innings. We have seen how Indian team struggled to chase scores in last two matches where top-order failed. However, Yuvraj's form with both bat and ball is a big plus for India.


Squad:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni(Captain/WK), Virender Sehwag(Vice-Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel. Gary Kirsten(Coach)

Talking about Proteas, I think they are the most balanced side in the World Cup.   Amla and DeVilliers are in great nick and batting looks very good as they possess one of the best batting line-up in the world which includes star batsmen like Jacques Kallis. However Kallis is not among the runs so far in the tournament but he is big match player and against India he is terriffic and in the match against India he will definitely going to make a big score because he loves Indian bowling very much..Proteas won  their first two matches  convincingly but lost to England in a cliffhanger and that will be playing on their mind in this match and they will certainly play better cricket compare to the match against England and will not going to repeat those mistakes which they did against England. Proteas lower-order batting is a bit of concern which often cracks under-pressure and they have to work on this weakness. I think they must promote Morne Wan Vyk up the  order and send Kallis or DeVilliers down the order just to consolidate the lower middle-order.  

Proteas are the best bowling side in the tournament in terms of pace and accuracy. They have great variation in their bowling department. They have two terrific opening fast bowlers in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and Indian batting is quite vulnerable against genuine pace and bounce. They possess great spin weapons in leg-spinner Imran Tahir, left-arm spinner Robin Peterson and off-spinner Johan Botha but since Tahir is injured I think they will go in with Johan Botha. They can also think of playing Lonwabo Tsotsobe who had great success against India in the last series and pace is also the Indian weakness so there is no harm in going with pace attack. Felding is the Proteas biggest asset and I must say Proteas starts as favourites to win this game. Imran Tahir is the joint second leading wicket-taker in the tournament and he was trump card for Proteas in previous matches but I think he play or don't play doesn't matter in the match against India because Indians play spin well.


Squad:

Greame Smith(Captain), Hashim Amla, Jacque Kallis, AB DeVilliers(WK), Morne Van Wyk(WK), Jean-Paul Duminy, Collin Ingram, Faf DuPlessis, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell. Corrie Van Zyl(Coach)

Wicket at VCA Stadium in Nagpur will going to be a belter and will allow score in excess of 300 if teams bat well. I think toss will not going to be a factor in this match because wicket will going to be the same for entire 100 overs and there is no problem of dew as well because we are in mid-March. VCA stadium have the history of big scores. So it will going to be run-feast for the batsmen and nightmare for the bowlers especially Indian bowlers who need some assistance from the wicket.

Super Sunday lived upto the expectations of cricket lovers

England won cliffhanger against Proteas.

There was lot of talk about England's loss to Ireland prior to this match and cricket pundits written-off England completely and announce that England will go home this time without reaching even quarter-finals. These words also got the support from the England's batting against Proteas at Chennai where Proteas bowled out England for only 171 after English  captain Strauss won the toss and elected to bat on a rank turner against the side which was heavily loaded with spinners. Writing was on the wall for England when Smith and Amla given solid start to the Proteas innings and at one stage Proteas were 63 for 0 but in came transformation and suddenly game started changing and given some belief to the Englishmen of winning this game when they cleaned skipper Smith. Englishmen capitalize on this big breakthrough and soon picked up wickets of Amla and Kallis who were playing well till that time and victory was just looking very near for the Proteas. 

Once Amla and Kallis got out middle-order of Proteas collapsed badly and from 124 for 3  Proteas reached 124 for 6 in a space of  few overs and once again Proteas firmly confirmed their chokers tag. Steyn and Wan Vyk tried hard to get Proteas out of the difficult situation but English bowlers and fielders were too good in the field, kept the pressure, picked up wickets when it mattered the most and had a last laugh after the match. Pitch was turning left-right-center and Englishmen utilized the conditions better than the Africans and pull off the cliffhanger and left Proteas in a disarray. A contest which started in a dull manner gripped the spectators in the second-half and provided thrilling entertainment to the cricket lovers. England won it by 6 runs in the 49th over. Who says one-day cricket is boring? It was a match which you want to watch again and again if you are true cricket lover. 

England have to work hard on their batting skills. They have to find out ways and means to play on turning tracks and against the spinners if they want to advance further in the tournament and have to learn quickly because they will get the similar pitches and conditions everywhere in the sub-continent. Kevin Pietersen is out of the World Cup and this is big blow to the English side and they have to find out suitable replacement. If Eoin Morgan is fit then they have to include him in the squad.

For Proteas, result from this match is unexpected and they were favourites to win this contest but once again they choked under pressure and lost it from the position of strength. Lot of work ahead for the Smith and Co.   Form of Jacques Kallis with the bat is big worry for them and Kallis have to come good in the next match which is against India if Proteas wants to make a mark in the tournament. Before this match they looked unbeatable but match against England changed it all for them and its good that they lost the match so early in the tournament. Now they can analyse their mistakes and will sort out all the problems. I think this match was big eye-opener for them. The are the most balanced side in this World Cup and expected to go through the later stages of the tournament but they have to come out of the mental problem of choking under pressure which is associated with them since their re-entry in the International Cricket.

India tame Ireland

Big hype, lot of drama, superb performance by minnows and under-pressure Indian batting was the ingredients of this match but in the end India won it without much hiccups. This match lived upto its hype and Irish team spread lot of jitters in the Indian batting line-up after getting out for 207. Irish team bowled well and fielded well and provided tough fight to the Indians on a pitch which was having something in it for the bowlers. Irish supporters once again got something to cheer about.

Dhoni won the toss and against all expectations, he decided to field first, a decision which was forced after Irish batting performance against England. Irish team lost its 2 wicket quite early and Zaheer Khan once again became nemesis of top-order batsmen as he picked 2 quick wickets up-front. But captain Porterfield and Niall O'Brien stopped the wickets fall and build record partnership  for the 3rd wicket and provided solidity to the Irish innings but once Niall O'Brien got out wickets fell at regular intervals and finally Irish team got all-out for just 207 runs a score which looked like piece of cake for the so-called best batting line-up in the world. Irish hero of the last match, Kevin O' Brien failed to do any damage in this match and go out cheaply. Yuvraj Singh ended with career best bowling figures of 5-31 which is a record in World Cup for any left-arm spinner. The problem Team India to sort out is the collapse of top-order in slightly testing conditions which was evident in this match.

Indian innings started with a disaster as Sehwag and Gambhir got out cheaply and given some hopes tot Irish team. Irish team bowled well and reduced Team India to 100-4 which included big wicket of 'CRICKET GOD' Sachin Tendulkar and created lot of excitement in the match. Here on captain Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh started playing sensibly and stopped the further damage by building good partnership. This partnership steadied the Indian innings but once again this match witnessed the twist when Dhoni got out and India still needed 41 runs to win from 10 overs. Irish created some panic in Indian camp with the wicket of Dhoni but in came Pathan who massacred the Dockrell by hitting him all over the park and made the run chase easy for Team India. Pathan made 30 valuable runs and Yuvraj Singh ended with brilliant half-century  and sealed the Indian victory quite easily after all the drama. I think Dhoni have to think about Piyush Chawla after this match as he failed to deliver on a pitch which suited the spinners. This was second consecutive match where Chawla given more than 8 runs an over and failed to pick-up single wicket on a pitch which provided 5 wickets to the non-regular left-arm spin bowler like Yuvraj Singh.

Team India must be feeling like out of jail after this match and I must appreciate the Irish team's performance, they fought hard and spread the jitters in the Indian camp I feel ICC must make Ireland regular cricketing nation allow them to play atleast  ODIs and T20s after their performance in this World Cup. This will definitely help in the growth of Irish cricket. Irish team can improve a lot if they get to play International cricket regularly against the big teams.

So Super-Sunday of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 lived upto the expectations of cricket lovers and provided lot of entertainment and excitement.

Proteas open World Cup campaign with a victory over Carribeans

As South African team entered the ground, few minutes later, it presented itself in the form of Johan Botha, standing at the top of his run up, ready to open the bowling. A pitch that looked relatively flat provided Botha with sharp turn for the third ball he bowled which was quite unique. While Chris Gayle was walking back, Graeme Smith's Zimbabwean strategy of opening the bowling with spin was justified. 

Smith, who was battling a case of the sniffles, can be forgiven for forgetting the next 20 overs didn't work out for any of the South Africans bowlers. Steyn's first over was worth 11 runs, Jacques Kallis bowled two overs that went for 10 and nine, and Imran Tahir's second over was 11 as well. Darren Bravo threatened to honour the tradition of a West Indian batsman scoring a century against South Africa to cause an upset and they were settling down as comfortably as content cats on a cuddle cushion in the sun. Then came the drinks break. West Indies used it to relax and South Africa to strategise. They came back in a miserly mood. The next six overs had 27 runs scored off them and then Bravo was out lbw to Botha. Smith had been using Robin Peterson from the other end but when one wicket fell, he sensed that it was time to unleash the mystery man. It was a decision laced with risk, a decision that the South Africa of before may not even have considered. This South Africa was willing to chance it.

Tahir came back with the confidence of a man who had spent years bowling at this level and took two wickets in two overs, which could have easily been three had he held on to the second return chance that went his way. Tahir showed why his debut was more anticipated than start of the tournament itself by most South Africans, disguising the googly craftily and showing no fear in tossing it up, getting hit a bit and then reaping the rewards.Tahir bowled an initial spell of two overs and two more spells of four overs each, the wicket-taking spells. He had Peterson and Botha keeping him company at the other end, with Peterson a silent, yet vital, partner along the way. Peterson had taken the most wickets of any of the South African bowlers in the warm up games and was emerging as an unlikely striker. 

The presence of three spinners even rubbed off on Steyn, who ran through the West Indies tail with the clinical approach of a surgeon. With the wicket-taking responsibility evenly spread, Steyn could save himself for when he was needed and, as a result, "bowled quicker" at times. He was able to play a slightly different, but equally effective role. Purists would not have recognised this South African attack and, although they may be pleased with its results, they'll be happy to hear that normal service has not disappeared from Smith's mind completely. South Africa have eight days to think about what to do in their next match, against Netherlands in Mohali. Until then, they can bask in the knowledge that their captain is living up to his promise of being dynamic and affording them the luxury of variation, and that he is enjoying the unpredictability.

Indeed, a great victory for Proteas and West Indies have to pull-up their socks immediately. Windies also got handicapped because of the injury to Bravo. 

Pakistan thrash Kenya, African lions take on Calypso Kings today

As expected Pakistan thrash Kenya comprehensively at Hambantota. This match was very important for Pakistan to get into the groove of World Cup and they succeeded in this. Their middle-order got good opportunity of getting among some runs which they grabbed with both hands. Bowlers also had good work-out and Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi stood out with the ball as he claimed five-for. However worry for Pakistan is the way their openers  approached the game and failed miserably in the process can be a warning for Pakistan team. Kenya lost its second match in a row. 

They started brilliantly but failed to continue with the early over momentum. Kenyan bowlers torn apart by the Pakistani middle-order. Pakistani batsmen forced them to bowl wrong lines and which resulted into 47 extra runs. Overall bad match for Kenya and here on their hopes of doing well in the tournament also finishes. It was completely one-sided affair and Pakistani won it convincingly and started their World Cup journey on a high-note.

Big match coming-up later in the day where African Lions will take on Calypso Kings at Ferozeshah Kotla,Delhi. This is first international match to be played on the Kotla ground after pitch fiasco in 2009 so it will be interesting to see how pitch behaves. Apart from the pitch, focus will be on two teams in South Africa and West Indies. South Africa is coming in this tournament after beating India at home 3-2 in ODI series but that result does not indicate how close that series was as India fought very well. As far as West Indies is concerned they lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka before the World Cup but good thing for West Indies is that they played their last series in Sri Lanka and they are more acclimatised to the sub-continent conditions and that can help them in this key match. Both the teams  will start their World Cup campaign with this match and whoever win this contest carry big  advantage in coming matches. 

If we look at South African squad it looks very balanced and with the return of star all-rounder Kallis this team looks pretty formidable. If we talk about strength of the Proteas then it is their bowling which stands out. They have two fearsome opening bowlers in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel who can run through any side on any ground and pitch. Both have great pace with good accuracy. However, Proteas lack a bit in spin department where they have only Johan Botha who is experienced but not a kind of bowler who can make much impression. South Africa is banking highly on leg-spinner Imran Tahir who is Pakistan origin player and rated very highly in South africa but he is inexperienced and that can prove costly for Proteas. As far as batting is concerned Proteas are also having advantage as they have in-form opening pair in Hashim Amla and Greame Smith. Amla loves playing on sub-continent pitches and prolific scorer for proteas in last two years. Form of AB DeVilliers is a big concern for South Africa as he failed to score against India in home-series but he is class player and can hit the form anytime.

As far as West Indies is concerned they are not the formidable side now but they still have very good players in their ranks. Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Keiron Pollard and Shivnarine Chanderpaul can win matches single-handedly. West Indan bowling is not that great but they still rely heavily on the pace but they don't have any impact pace bowler in their ranks. Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor,etc. can bowl one or two great spell here and there but lacks consistency and remember they are plying in sub-continent where pitches don't help fast bowlers  too much so this is huge disadvantage for them. They have one spinner in Sulieman Benn who is not that dangerous and will do containing job rather than picking up wickets. I believe West Indies are not favourite to win today's encounter against Proteas but as they say cricket is a game of high unpredictability and whoever play well will emerge as winner.

So great contest in offering after few dull matches and hoping to see lot of sixes and fours from the big bats of Gayle and Pollard.

Squads:

Greame Smith(Captain), Hashim Amla, Jacque Kallis, AB DeVilliers(WK), Morne Van Wyk(WK), Jean-Paul Duminy, Collin Ingram, Faf DuPlessis, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell. Corrie Van Zyl(Coach)

Darren Sammy(Captain), Carlton Baugh(WK), Adrian Barath, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo,  Keiron Pollard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ravi Rampaul, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Sulieman Benn, Devon Smith. Ottis Gibson(Coach)

Team South Africa: Analysis and Odds for ICC World Cup’11

South Africa (Group B)

Group Rivals :-	India, England, West indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands
Coach :-	Corrie Van Zyl
Captain :-	Greame Smith
Best Performance in WC :-	Semi-Finalists 1992, 1999, 2007
Highest Score in WC :-	356-4 (50 Overs) v/s West Indies in WC’07
Lowest Score in WC :-	149 All Out (43.5 Overs) v/s Australia in WC’07
Best Individual Score :-	188*, Gary Kirsten v/s U.A.E in WC’96
Best Bowling :-	5-18 Andrew Hall v/s England in WC’07
Matches Won/Lost/Tied/NR	25-13-2-0
The Odds :-	11-5
ICC ODI Ranking :-	No.4

MAN TO WATCH Jacques KALLIS Jacques Kallis is the top all-rounder  in World Cricket. He is pivotal member of South African team around whom entire South African batting revolves. His records speak volumes about his ability. Being consistent player with both bat and ball  for more than a decade Jacques Kallis is rated at par with the likes of Tendulkar. He has immense concentration powers and very difficult to dislodge once he gets his eye in. He can play aggressively as well as defensively. His abilities with the ball is no less than his abilities with the bat. He is equally good bowler. He has the ability to play in all kind of conditions and he will be keen to win the first World Cup for his country. This is probably the last World Cup for the Jacques Kallis and he is desperate to do well. He is plagued with rib injury and will be a nervous starter  but once he will get into the groove he will certainly make the most out of his outing in the middle. Although South Africa possess good match-winners in their ranks but they will be highly dependent on Jacques Kallis. Watch out for new records in this World Cup which this man will create. Career-best performance: Batting: 139 v/s West Indies at  Johannesburg  in 2004 Bowling: 30-5 v/s West Indies at Dhaka in 1998

South African team popularly known as Proteas. They have chokers tag with them since they re-entered international cricket in 1992. This tag they achieved due to their inability to cross the final hurdle in important tournaments. They always had the privilege of very talented and world-class players in their ranks but these players often choked under-pressure. They failed to win World Cup since 1992 though they had best of the team compare to some other teams in World Cricket. Proteas always rated very highly by the cricket experts but often faltered. South African team  is currently in top form as they won the ODI series against India at home and coming into this World Cup with great momentum. They don’t have much injury problems compare to other teams and their star performer Kallis is  fit and raring to go. They have best of the opening ball attack in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and both of them  can demolish any batting line-up in the world with their sheer pace and swing. The have good batsmen in Hashim Amla who is in top form and loves to perform in sub-continent. Form of AB DeVilliers is a matter of concern but apart from that they don’t have much weakness. Greame Smith is captaining the side for many years and this is one team which looks quite balanced. I believe South African team is firm favourites of winning the World Cup this time round simply because of their resources and also law of averages. They are force to reckon with in this World Cup and very difficult team to defeat in its group.

 Key Players for South Africa:  Greame Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn  and Morne Morkel