Lord once again hurt India

 

While I am writing this post, the epic test match is in anti-climax stage and climax is more or less certain unless some drama happens before that, in anti-climax.

The first test match of 4 test match series between India and England got underway  on 21st July and four days are over with home team enjoying the distinct advantage while visitors are struggling hard to save the test match. This epic test match saw brilliant display of batting from Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid, as both  Dravid and Pietersen got brilliant hundreds on a testing surface, brilliant bowling spells from Praveen Kumar, Stuart Broad and Ishant Sharma. Misery of  great Tendulkar continued at this ground as he failed to cross the thirties on this very venue one more time and century on this ground is still far away from him.

If we talk about England I think they batted in tough conditions and also bowled in batting friendly conditions, while Indians got the best batting conditions to bat and best bawling conditions to bowl but failed to take advantage of that and England turned the tide in their favour by battling it out in tough conditions. But Indians were unlucky to lose its premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan on the first day due to injury and other 3 bowlers failed to make any impact on Day 1. Dropped catches of Trott and Pietersen also aggravated the wounds of Indian bowlers and it is pity that, captain who dropped those chances. So far in this match captain Dhoni dropped four crucial catches and India paid dearly for that.

Tactics of Indian captain in the field were also far from the reality so far. When Ishant was bowling well on Day 4, he didn’t continue him after lunch and that’s where match slipped from the hands of India. Mistake even became more visible when Ishant returned with new spell and immediately picked up the wicket of Eoin Morgan which clearly showed that, had Ishant bowled just after lunch India must have got into the comfortable position and could have thought of winning the match but Dhoni failed to take advantage of the moment.

Moreover, in first innings Dhoni batted for 102 balls and scored just 27 runs and didn’t force the issue, as if he was out there to save the test match in first innings of the game. Had Dhoni played his natural game, Indian would have reached closer to the English score in first innings but Dhoni kept playing defensively and finally got out to he new ball. Dhoni used these defensive techniques in his batting many times but he failed often while playing defensively. He has to understand that, he is not technically sound as Rahul Dravid, so he has play his natural game and score runs which will help Indian team in winning more test matches. We all saw when wickets were falling Matt Prior played his natural game and got his team out of the trouble by scoring brilliant hundred. Dhoni has to learn that. Also there is saying offence is the best form of defence.

In the past few matches, Dhoni’s wicket-keeping standard has gone down considerably and he is out of form in batting as well. We all know, how capable Dhoni is, with the bat but only when he play his natural game. I think time has come, when Dhoni have to think about his batting and have to accept the fact that he is not a technically sound batsmen and have to play his natural game under any circumstances and I can vouch, if he will play his natural game he will certainly score more runs in his test career and if he try to kill his natural instincts then I am afraid he will not survive much in the highest format of the game for too long.

So India is on doorstep of defeat at Lords and tough times ahead for Dhoni and his team which is also struggling with disease and injuries to its premier players.

Thumping victory in QF over England put Sri Lanka in semis

It was one of the days which Sri Lankan cricket lovers will never forget as their team made it to the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 with dominating performance. Lankan giants dominated Englishmen completely on the field and achieved easy victory which gave them much required momentum needed for semi-finals and finals. Sri Lanka will play New Zealand in semi-finals and Kiwis failed to win the match in Sri Lanka since 2003, so semis will again become easy transit for the finals as far as Lankans are concerned.

Sri Lanka did make few mistake in the field where they dropped as many as four catches of Eoin Morgan. This was  the only flaw in their performance in that game against England. Dropped catches helped England reaching partly competitive total of 229 and cricket lovers thought that this total will be enough looking at the condition of the pitch in the second innings. Moreover, other night collapse of South African batting against New Zealand confirmed that chase will not going to be easy for the Lankans. But Dilshan and Tharanga had other ideas and both these openers stamped their authority on the match by playing freely and both scored centuries which helped Lanka winning this match by 10 wickets. This clearly showed that how comfortable Sri Lanka is in their home conditions. South Africa lost the match by 49 runs while chasing New Zealand score of 221 shows the difference between the two teams and their adaptability to the pitches and conditions.

As far as England is concerned, they made it to the quarter-finals after topsy-turvy performance in the league round and everybody expected that if England is in   quarter-finals after up-down in the league stage then this time something is waiting for them but quarter-finals turned out to be a sorry state of affairs for the England. They came into the World Cup with lot of cricket behind them, so the fatigue factor also played its role in their performance. The looked tired and didn't put fight-back. They got the golden chances from Lankans yet they couldn't capitalise on those chances and got out for the  par total. Once Dilshan and Tharanga started attacking, English bowlers looked completely out of sorts and it looked like they lost all the hopes of winning the game. They were monotonous on the field and didn't look energetic enough to convert even the half-chances. English batting also failed to dominate,  they started defensively against the part-time spinner like Dilshan. There was no intent in their batting in the beginning and they also lost wickets quite quickly and also to the part-timer. Trott played well for his 80 odd but he consumed too many balls. Only Morgan showed some intent but he was also lucky because he was dropped four times by the Lankans. Such poor performance was not expected from the team which defeated Australia just two months back. I think England have to do lot of soul searching about their performance in this World Cup.

As far as Lankan bowling is concern, Muralitharan once again showed his class. He was struggling with hamstring injury, yet he bowled like a champion, no wonder why he is so precious to the Sri Lankan cricket. Malinga, Mendis, Mathews and Herath bowled brilliantly and given red alert to the Kiwis. 

Kiwis go the wings to fly as chokers choked again. England will face Lankan challenge

Bizzare batting.Shattered dreams. Agonising moments. Captain quits after premature loss.That is  story of the team which considered tournament favourites and had all the resources to win the tournament but couldn't get rid of their chokers tag. 5 times they reached to the knockout stage in Cricket World Cup.but never crossed the line, this reflects the entire picture of South African cricket since its return to the International Cricket. Now there will be definitely talks of lot of changes but I think Proteas have find ways to improve their luck.

Team which got whitewashed at the hands of India and Bangladesh few months ago and also lost the home series against Pakistan won the game simply because of its opposition's mistakes will now move to semis. Probably the biggest upset of the tournament. Kwis knocked out tournament favourites convincingly. This tournament unfolded with full of uncertainties so far and its difficult to say who will win the elite trophy. Any team which will play better cricket than its opposition on a day will win and now on there are no favourites with two tournament favourites in Australia and South Africa exited prematurely. 

Looking at yesterdays match. South Africa started the game on a promising note they picked early wickets and put the pressure on Kiwi batting but Ryder had other ideas as he stuck at one end and kept picking up runs in the company of Ross Taylor and duo build the partnership of over 100 runs which provided some stability to the Kiwi innings.South Africa failed to pack a punch after to early wickets and John Wright's impressions were clearly visible in the batting of Kiwis. I think it was good strategy by Kiwis to build a partnership rather than going bang bang and losing wickets. Although it looked like Proteas will get them below 200 but young Williamson and Nathan McCullum helped Kiwis to achieve the score which can be considered competitive but not the winning score. 

In the innings break everybody were assured of South Africa's win looking at their strong batting line-up and target of 222 looked easy on a pitch which was quite good for the batting but as the innings started Amla got out in a unfortunate way which is rarely seen in cricket but it happened and from there on indications were coming that day don't belong to South Africa because Kiwis scored 20 runs extra and Amla got out in unfortunate manner in the 3rd over. South African innings progressed with Smith-Kallis partnership and it looked like game is in the pocket of Proteas. But Proteas destiny took another twist and with 100 for 2 Proteas bowled out for just 172 runs and losing the match by 49 runs. Three incidents which clearly suggested that day didn't belong to South Africa. First one, Kiwis scored 20 runs extra, Second, Amla got out in a unfortunate manner and Third AB DeVilliers got run-out which rarely happens with the athlete like DeVilliers. So it was simply not the Proteas day and it was sad end to the promising team's journey. Smith quit from the captaincy right after the match. It was really disappointing for the Smith to quit on a losing note.

Kiwis bowled and fielded very  well and grabbed the chances which came their way. Vettori's captaincy was also very impressive as he made South Africa earn their runs and put too much pressure by field placings and forced Proteas to take the risk and Proteas failed miserably by doing so. Normally you don't find Kallis getting out by playing such a reckless shot but pressure created by Vettori forced Kallis to play that kind of shot under the circumstances. New Zealand now in semis for the sixth time and it will be interesting to see that they will be able to cross the line this time or not.

Overall unpredictable contest and Proteas have to blame their destiny rather than their game because in yesterday's game everything was controlled from the heaven for the Proteas otherwise player like Amla don't get out in such unfortunate manner. If we talk about South Africa, I think they are not destined to win ICC tournaments. In 1992 they lost because of rain and rain came in when Proteas were very near to the victory but rain changed all the equation. In 1999 they got tied with Australia and thrown out of the tournament and yesterday 3 incidents happened where they were unlucky. It clearly suggests that South Africa's destiny is against them.

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England will face Lankan challenge.

Today Lankans will take on English at Premdasa Stadium,  Colombo. Lankans are favourites for the contest considering they are playing in their home conditions but remember they lost to Pakistan in a league match against all expectations at the very same venue and with Proteas loss against Kiwis yesterday nothing can be predicted. One factor that favours England  is the way England survived in the tournament. I think they survived, so there must be something in store for them in the tournament.

Looking at Lankan side, They rely heavily on their top 4 batsmen. If England crack their top-order than it will be easy for the England to win the contest. Captain Sangakkara is in sublime form and he is the biggest threat to England. He is one man who can win game from any situation, so its important that England pick up Sangakkara as early as possible.  Engalnd also have to win the toss because batting second in Premdasa and against the spinners like Murali, Mendis and Herath on a turning pitch will not going to be easy. So England have to win the toss. Malinga is bowling nicely and he will definitely pose threat to the top-order English batting. It takes a while to get used to the Malinga's so called 'Slinga' bowling action and remember he is the second bowler after Roach who picked up hat-trick in the tournament. 

Lankans have Dilshan. Tharanga, Sangakkara and Jayawardene in their batting line-up who are quite experienced and very dangerous in their home conditions. Also England don't have too many spinners to take advantage of turning track. Engalnd possess Greame Swann who is No.1 spinner currently in ICC ranking but how effective he will be against Lankan batting which play spin well, that time will tell. Withdrawal of the left arm spinner Yardy due to depression is also a very big blow to England. England is already facing injury problems and now Yardy going out of the tournament will not go well with English side. 

England have the batsmen who can do the job. Strauss as captain performing well with the bat and Bell, Trott, Morgan and Bopara are in reasonable form as well so things are not that bleak for England but Yardy incident have put England on the back-foot.One of Sangakkara's comments that was of interest is how he saw England as having a well-balanced side and one of the best in the tournament. Yet they have struggled and this is not just a matter, or even a question of the Michael Yardy departure from a stress-related problems. Whether is because he felt he wasn’t performing, as he should be is another matter.

Not too surprising, the British media were more interested in the Yardy story than the game which looms and is a chance for England to pull together a repeat of their ICC World T20 success in the Caribbean a year ago. It is a far from pleasant condition. In the case of Yardy, the stress concern is one, the player has to handle at such pressure areas of the game. The World Cup is one of them. More importantly now, is how England need to get their nose in front. These things are not always that easy. It is a matter of being focussed and application.

Overall, good contest in prospect and Sri Lanka will start as favourites because of their spinners but  it will be known late in the evening who will emerge as winner and go to semis. Cricket is game of great uncertainties and anything can happen in this miraculous game.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: From Group Stage to Quarter-Finals

After 31 days of intense hard-fought cricket 8 teams reached to the Quarter-Finals of the ICC World Cup 2011.  Now Quarter-Final scenario is as under:

Date	Matches	Venue	Time
23/03/2011	Pakistan v/s West Indies	Mirpur	IST 14.00
24/03/2011	India v/s  Australia	Ahmedabad	IST 14.30
25/03/2011	South Africa v/s New Zealand	Mirpur	IST 14.00
26/03/2011	Sri Lanka v/s England	Colombo	IST 14.30

Now let’s go through the journey of these 8 teams from Group Stage to Quarter Finals and find out what advantages and disadvantages they carry with them from Group Stage to Quarter-Finals.

Group A:



Pakistan: Team that topped its Group against all expectations. Before the start of tournament Pakistan was written off by many experts and nobody given them chance because of the controversies related with this team, like match-fixing, delay in name of captain, ban on 3 best players,etc. but  Pakistan once again proved their unpredictability by topping the group and beating two of the top teams in the World Cricket who are strong contenders of the title as well. They beat Australia, Sri Lanka, Canada, Kenya and Zimbabwe. They lost to New Zealand which was also not expected.

They played as a unit under the captaincy of Shahid Afridi who lead them from the front and emerged as leading wicket-taker from Group Stage with 17 wickets. Lot of eyebrows raised when Afridi was announced captain of the team but this guy proved every cricket pundit wrong. Shahid Afridi was considered weakest link of this team before the start of tournament but at the end of Group Stage he emerged as Pakistan’s major strength.  Pakistan’s bowling was always considered their asset and tournament so far has also confirmed that. 

Pakistan’s weakest link is their batting and their top order failed miserably in the Group Stage. Their experienced batsmen in Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq performed but in patches. So batting is not at all consistent. Umar  Akmal showed his talent but he also failed to do full justice to his talent. Pakistan were lucky enough that their bowling came good and saved them but batting is very big concern ahead of the knockout stages I think Afridi and Razzak have to consider themselves  all-rounders and shoulder more responsibility with the bat. Wicket–Keeper Kamran Akmal’s performance with bat and gloves was also not good during the group stages as he dropped too many catches and didn’t score runs either. So Pakistan have to rectify these problems because now  one mistake will throw them out of the tournament. Its good that they will be playing depleted West Indies side in quarter-finals.

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Sri Lanka: Considered strong contenders for the title before the tournament. Advantage of playing in  home conditions. But Sri Lanka had tarnished their reputation a bit during the group stage and no longer looks strong favourites especially after their defeat against Pakistan. They were not tested enough during group stage as match against Australia got washed out. But against Pakistan they faltered badly which nobody expected. they are also responsible for giving hopes to Pakistan. They beat, Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe and  New Zealand. They lost to Pakistan and match against Australia got washed out.

They are one of the most balanced side after South Africa. But somehow their batting did not remain consistent during the tournament except captain Sangakkara who is leading run-scorer in the tournament so far. Jayawardene, Dilshan, Tharanga all  performed in patches but did not remain consistent enough to give confidence to the team management. So Sri Lanka have to work out their batting problem before their match against England and they have plenty of time to do so. Although they are favourites to win against England but they can’t take that for granted. Lankan fielding was always considered their strong point but somehow they did not live upto the expectations, so they have to improve in that area as well if they want to go far in the tournament.

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Australia: 4 time champions and defending champions since 1999. Playing the tournament to defend the title. They were unbeaten for 34 matches in World Cup since 1999 and finally Pakistan broke their winning streak which left them with lot of unanswered questions.Remember this is not the team which possess greats like Hayden, Gilchrist, McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan who were part of their earlier successful World Cup campaigns. But still they are good enough team to beat anybody and they are No.1 ranked team in ICC rankings. Their bowling looked good in patches and with Lee firing from the top they looks to pick up early wickets but they don’t have good spinner in their ranks which is needed badly in the suub-continent conditions. Tait and Johnson also failed to impress. Spinners in Krezja and Smith are also very ordinary. So with one bowler you can’t win tournaments.

During the Group Stage they beat Kenya, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, lost to Pakistan and match against Lanka was washed out. They would have  lost the match against Lanka looking at the conditions in that match but to their good fortunes match washed out. Form of captain Ricky Ponting is also major concern. Ponting’s poor form is continuing since last six months and that is very big concern for Aussies. If captain don’t fire then team looks down and out even before entering the field and that is what happening with the Australia, so Ponting have to hit the form at any cost because his batting form is very important in terms of Australia’s performance in knockout stages. If  Ponting forget about strike-rate, quick singles.strokes,etc. and concentrate only on spending time in the middle till the 45th over then he will definitely hit the form. Fielding is their asset.

They ended with 3rd spot in their group which was not expected from them and they must be disappointed over this.

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New Zealand: Completely written-off by cricket pundits after their losses against Bangladesh, India and Pakistan prior to the World Cup. They beat Kenya, Canada, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Lost to Sri Lanka and Australia and made it to the QFs. They have talent but that talent is not turning into the performances but the match against Pakistan showed what Kiwi team is capable of . They completely outplayed Pakistan team in Group Stage. New Zealand is very talented side and have to perform as a unit.  Batsmen like Guptill, McCullum, Taylor have to shoulder responsibility of getting team to the good total which their bowlers can defend. They have very good coach in John Wright which is an asset. They performed well in patches but consistency still lacks and have to work hard to achieve that.

New Zealand is always considered as a very good fielding unit. At the moment they are not considered favourites to reach the semis but they are good enough side to reach the semis but remember they have to beat giants like South Africa in order to reach the semis.

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Group B:

South Africa: Played like a champion throughout the group stage. They won against India, Netherlands, Ireland, Bangladesh and West Indies. Lost to England but that was also very close match. Strong contenders of the title simply because of the balance of their side. They have every variation in their bowling and their top-order batting also looks good. However form of captain Greame Smith is a matter of concern for them.They rely heavily on Amla, Kallis and DeViliers to give them good score. They have two lethal bowlers in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel who can run through any side with their sheer pace and accuracy. Their bench strength is also very good. Imran Tahir, the leg-spinner is the find of tournament and bowled superbly so far.

South Africa don’t have any weakness except their tendency of choking under-pressure but that also has been rectified too an extent during the match against India where they won the game from hopeless position. Fielding is their biggest asset and they bat deep. South Africa is the strong contender of winning the title.

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India: Considered as strongest contender of the tournament, failed to live upto the expectations. They failed to play their entire quota of 50 overs in all the matches they played during the group stage. Captain MS Dhoni turned the World Cup in laboratory and experimented with new combination in every match and never allowed the team to settle down. Some of his decision were completely brainless including shuffling of batting-order. India won against Ireland, Bangladesh, Netherlands and West Indies but none of these victories were convincing enough. Team lost to South Africa after getting into strong position and tied the match with England after scoring 338 runs.

India’s batting considered as one of the best in World but they failed to live upto the expectations so far. Yuvraj, Sehwag and Tendulkar were consistent but apart from these three everybody else looked patchy. Virat Kohli looked in good touch with century under his belt in the first game against Bangladesh but constant shuffling in his batting order affected his batting. Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni are the big disappointment of the tournament so far.

Bowling is the weak link of India and except Zaheer Khan none of the bowlers looked impressive. Harbhajan Singh emphasised heavily on containing the batsmen so his economy looks good but he failed to pick up wickets according to the expectations. India is no more favourites for the title and their journey will end after the match against Australia. So all  the fans who are hoping of India winning the trophy have to erase those hopes from their minds and heart because this team is good for nothing and man who is responsible for this situation is MS Dhoni, The Captain. Team which lose 7 wickets for 33 runs, 9 wickets for 29 runs and 7 wickets for 50 runs are not expected to win the trophy and many cricket pundits has already written off Team India.

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England: This team was almost out of the tournament but came back strongly in their last match and saved their place of quarter-finals. They beat, Netherlands, West Indies, South Africa and tied with India. They lost to Ireland and Bangladesh. England is the only team which involved in four unexpected results during the Group Stage. They were expected to lose against India, they tied. There were expected to lose against South Africa they won. The were expected to win against Ireland and Bangladesh they lost. It was  up and down tournament for England so far. They also plagued with injuries to their major players which hampered their performance. But somehow they managed to reach the quarter-finals and they are dark horse in the knockout stages.

England had its moments in the tournament. They played like champions in few matches and played like novices in few. They have big problems in every department and they are not clicking as a unit which is biggest problem for them. Sometime their batting comes good, sometimes their bowling but both are not clicking together and thats where England’s problem lies. They have to play Sri Lanka next in QFs and that too in Sri Lanka which is very uphill task but they can take clue from Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka. Their biggest asset is their captain Andrew Strauss who is leading from the front.

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West Indies: Very vulnerable team. They lost to India, South Africa and England. Reached the quarter-final on the basis of better run-rate as Bangladesh was also having same points. West Indies although can pull out surprise because they will be playing Pakistan  which is very mercurial side but I think West Indies don’t have the team which can make much impact. Gayle spent more time in dressing room than ground because of fitness issue. Roach also got injured before the match against India. So West Indies have their issues. Sarwan and Darren Bravo looked completely out of sorts. Form of Sulieman Benn is also big worry as he failed to make any impression in the spin friendly conditions. They also failed to utilse the full batting potential of Keiron Pollard by keeping him in lower-order.

West Indies is in hopeless position but they have few match-winners who can turn things around. Ravi Rampaul’s performance and Bishoo’s form will certainly give them some some confidence going into the next match.

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 Team which didn't qualify for the quarter-finals are Canada, Kenya and Zimbabwe from Group A and Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands from Group B.

Group of Death has made Cricket World Cup 2011 interesting.

Group of death is open and interestingly poised with the victory of England over West Indies. England did everything right from winning the toss to batting first and posting more than par total on a pitch which have the reputation of rank turner. Although match got interesting with opening onslaught from Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy but fall of regular wickets didn't help the cause of West Indies. Andre Russell gave some hope later in the innings with good clean hitting but West Indies lost too many wicket upfront, so they couldn't sustain the pressure and ended on losing note.

Andrew Strauss and his men got the oxygen they required to stay in the tournament with a win over West Indies. Had they lose yesterday they would have been packing their bags right now to go home but to their credit they were lucky with the toss, played superb cricket and also got little help from the West Indies in the field. England's journey in this World Cup is like Hitchcock's story. It is full of thrill, suspense and drama. Now with the victory over West Indies hopes of England are alive and tomorrow if Bangladesh lose to South Africa which is most likely then England will go into QFs and from here onwards I won't be surprised if England go on and win the trophy as well. Remember Pakistan was in similar situation in 1992 World Cup and won the trophy.

Tough time ahead for West Indies and they have to win against India and they also have to pray for South Africa's victory over Bangladesh with big margin. If Bangladesh win tomorrow then Bangladesh will qualify and  West Indies have to win the game against India at any cost and if Bangladesh lose with big margin against South Africa then West Indies don't feel  much pressure going into the game against India. So far West Indies won matches against minnows in this World Cup and they lost to big teams like South Africa and England which will not put them in good mental state and they will be under tremendous pressure because one more mistake can result into their exit from the tournament. So they will be hoping to do well against India and  have to pray for Bangladesh defeat against Proteas.

All of sudden match between South Africa and Bangladesh became very important and this is the match which will going to decide the fate of West Indies, England and India too an extent. So in short South Africa holds the key because South Africa is already qualified for QFs and their win or loss against Bangladesh will not matter much to them but that result will decide who will go into QFs apart from South Africa. World Cup started on a dull note but as it getting closer to the business end it has become more and more interesting. I think first time in the history it will happen that cricket lovers of England, West Indies and India will be praying for South Africa's win.

Really cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.

Do or Die game for Englishmen against Carribeans

Its been unfortunate and forgettable tournament for the English team so far and today is their D-Day and they have to come good on this day. If they lose today they will go home, so they have to win at any cost. They can take inspiration from Pakistan's 1992 World Cup victory where Pakistan was in the similar situation and from that situation they bounced back and ended up as champions. So still little hope alive and to keep it alive England have to win.

So far England's journey in this World Cup is bit scratchy. They involved in four matches which ended with unexpected results which is very rare in International Cricket. They have 5 points from the 5 matches they played so far and this is also highly unexpected of them because before the start of tournament they were considered one of the team who can lift the elite trophy on April 2 but now they are on the stage where they can be knocked-out of the tournament. I think if they win today then I believe they will win the World Cup for sure. England also plagued  with injuries as half of their team was injured before the start of tournament and to add to their woes Kevin Pietersen also suffered hernia problem and left the team in the middle of tournament. English bowlers  also don't look that fit and this is because of fatigue.  The amount of cricket they played before the World Cup definitely affecting their bodies and mind. More than physical, it is mental fatigue which is affecting England because they did not get the time after Ashes to switch-off from the cricket and kept playing cricket till the World Cup. You need good amount of mental and physical rest before the tournament like World Cup.

Coming to today's game, I think Andrew Strauss is key man for England. He is captain and he is their in-form batsman. Strauss have to lift his game today and have to lead his side from the front. Good innings up-front from the captain will certainly boost the morale of entire team. Strauss have to make his luck to work today in terms of toss. In Chennai team batting second always face trouble, so Strauss have to win the toss and put runs on the board. Pitch will certainly turn more in second innings and whichever team bats second will face lot of problems. Batting is not very big problem for England so far in the tournament as Trott, Bell and Bopara are in good form and their batting have been bolstered little bit with the return of Eoin Morgan and he holds the key in the death overs for England. Morgan have to stay on wicket till 50th over and have to play the finisher role with perfection because good start requires good finish as well.  England restricted Proteas on the same ground last week  for just 165 and won the game even after scoring 171 runs. So they take inspiration from that victory. Swann and Yardy holds the key in this match and if these two bowlers bowls well than England can think of winning this contest. So its a must win situation for England to stay in hunt.

As far as West Indies is concerned, they are really not the team which they were in 70s and 80s but still they have good enough players who can win them any game on their day, so in that way one cannot count West Indies out of the contest. They have quality players like Sarwan, Gayle, Pollard, Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo who can change course of any game in a minute. Bowling also look far more better with Roach picking wickets consistently and with his speed he can do lot of damage in opposition batting. Sulieman Ben bowled well for them and he holds the key on rank turner of Chennai. So far West Indies has won against minnows in this tournament and they lost to giant South Africa, so it will be interesting to see how well they compete against England. West Indies will be under no pressure today because even if they lose today they still get one more game against India, so they have to play freely and have to take full advantage of opposition's weakness and that is pressure because England will be under tremendous pressure going into this game and West Indies have to just take advantage of that.

Today good contest in offering at Chepauk and its a must win game for England. If England lose today the fate will be sealed and for West Indies nothing to lose today as they will still in hunt with game under their belt.

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.