Team India dethroned Aussies from the World Cup, Kiwis face Proteas challenge

Its been one evening which every Indian cricket lover waiting desperately and finally it arrived, when Team India dethroned Aussies  from the Cricket World Cup and ended their 12 years regime. Team India also broke Aussie arrogance. It was India who started process of diminishing Aussie regime from 2001 with turnaround in that Eden Garden test match and from that series onwards Australian cricket  started declining and yesterday India put final nail in the coffin. India moved to semi-finals where they will play Pakistan, indeed a mouth-watering contest in prospect and Australia already left for the home where Ponting & Co. have to face lot criticism. Its end of an era in Australian Cricket.

Dhoni once again remained unlucky with the toss yesterday and Australia decided to bat first after winning the toss on a wicket which had something in it for the spinners. I think India did everything right except winning the toss. They fielded like leopards and I have not seen such a brilliant fielding in long time from Indian side. It was really heartening to see. It was good to see Dhoni attacked the batsmen and he reaped the fruits of attacking, by picking up wickets at regular interval which jolted Australian batting. Yuvraj Singh has found sublime form in this World Cup with the bat and ball. Indian bowling was also terrific but it became more terrific because fielders supported the bowlers however Munaf Patel was disappointing. Ashwin is the unsung hero of this team so far, he bowled brilliantly in whatever opportunities he got. 

Indian batting also delivered as Tendulkar, Gambhir and Yuvraj got half-centuries under their belt. Raina also re-discovered himself in this match by playing a small cameo. It was big call from Dhoni to drop Yusuf and replace him with Raina. It could have backfired but to Dhoni's credit it worked and its good for Team India that they found their proper playing eleven before semi-final.However there are areas of concern as well for India. Running between the wickets looked ordinary. Bowling of Munaf Patel was not upto the mark. Throwing of wickets by batsmen after settling in, Dhoni's poor form with the bat.etc. and Indian team have to sort out these problems before semis. Overall good performance by Team India and they will go to Mohali with lot of confidence, where they will take on arch-rivals Pakistan on next Wednedsay.

For Australia, everything went wrong in this match except Ponting's century. This Australian side was not the same which we watched over the years. It had the same old aggressive attitude but quality was completely missing. If we talk about averages of the batsmen, then most of the batsmen averages in mid-thirties which clearly indicates the quality. They were dependent heavily on rejuvenated Brett Lee in this tournament but one bowler can't win you matches and that bowler can also have off-day, so needed 3 to4 quality bowlers to win the game. They did alright by reaching the score of 260 which was par score under the conditions prevailed but they did not had the bowlers who take advantage of the conditions. They clearly missed two quality spinners on a wicket which had something in it especially for the spinners. Krezja was the only spinner in that side but he also bowled wrong line and length. So he struggled badly. David Hussey picked up wicket but not because he bowled good balls, he got the wicket because of the mistake from the batsmen. I think with this game Australian dominance in the World cricket is over and after 12 long years we will see new champion emerging. Its good for cricket. For Aussies and Ponting, it is a time of soul searching. Ponting era is also ended with this game and we will see change in Australian leadership in coming days. Sad end for the great captain and great batsmen who dominated the World Cricket for more than a decade.

Kiwis face Proteas challenge at Mirpur.

Kiwis will take on Proteas today at Mirpur in Dhaka. Its the fight for third semi-finalist spot. Kiwis have shown in the tournament that, if they play to their potential they can beat any team. I think Kiwis need little bit of luck also to go with their performance. They have class and talent in their batting but that batting has to click together if Kiwis wants to advance into the semis. Brendon McCullum, Guptill, Taylor are capable enough player to win the games on their own. Who can forget that league match against Pakistan in this World Cup where Ross Taylor alone ruined the Pakistani bowling and won the match for the New Zealand. Although they were lucky also in that match and that much luck is always on your side when you perform well. Kiwis beat Pakistan, Kenya, Canada and Zimbabwe during their journey towards quarter-finals. Kiwis won all these matches convincingly and none of the matches went to the wire. They lost to Australia and Sri Lanka but they beat the best team of their Group. So you cannot count Kiwis out of the contest today. They are bit handicapped because of captain Vettori's knee injury but they still have good bowling line-up and Tim Southee is their stand out bowler so far in the tournament. I think if Vettori play today and entire Kiwi team put collective effort then it will not be difficult for the Kiwis to beat Proteas.and seal the berth of semis.

Talking about Proteas they are best side in the tournament alongwith Pakistan. They have quality 4 pacers and 3 quality spinners to choose from and they are the most balanced side among all the teams. Their batting line-up is excellent which consists players like Amla, Kallis, DeVilliers, Smith. Remember they are the best fielding side of the World Cup. Dale Steyn is No.1 bowler in ICC ranking and Hashim Amla is No.1 batsmen in the ICC ranking. They possess lethal spin bowling combination which will come good against the side like New Zealand which is not used to playing spin. Imran Tahir will be the key for South Africa. South Africa don't have many weakness except their mentality of choking under pressure which often hampered their progress in the big tournament. Amla, Kallis and DeVilliers are in good form and capable of taking on any bowling line-up in the World. They are also lucky in a sense that Australia is out of the tournament and they stands with very good chance of winning this World Cup, all they required is mental toughness under-pressure. If they will be able to do so then they will definitely emerge as winners.

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.

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)