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.

Preview: Super Sunday of Group B in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

It is  Super Sunday tomorrow as double header is in offering for the Cricket Lovers in World Cup.

England will take on South Africa in the morning.   

Looking at the first match between South Africa and England this is going to be a crucial match from  England's perspective after their drubbing against Ireland at Bengaluru. England's major problem is their bowling which has not come good on most occasions in this World Cup. England gave more than 300 runs per match they played so far and out of 3 matches they played 2 matches were against minnows like Netherland and Ireland. So big problem ahead for the England in a match against South Africa which possess superb batting line-up and all their batsmen must be licking their bats to go after hapless English bowlers. Strauss is having plenty of problems going into this must win match. Fielding of the English team is also not upto the mark as they are dropping catches like kids. England have to thank Billy Bowden for their lucky escape against India but that will not happen everyday and England have to play out of their skin to beat Proteas. Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have to come out with new plan to counter Proteas. England problems get worse as they have to play in Chennai which will going to be a turner and Proteas possess 3 spinners in their ranks and spin is the biggest enemy of the English battng. Tough times ahead of Strauss & Co.

Proteas are currently leading the Group B table and looks invincible. From 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. Although Proteas have great batting line-up but they have to be careful against Greame Swann who is having lot of success against them.Proteas won both their matches convincingly and go into this match to strike the hat-trick of victories. 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 they possess great spin weapons in leg-spinner Imran Tahir, left-arm spinner Robin Peterson and off-spinner Johan Botha and they are playing on one of the biggest turner in India. Fielding is the Proteas biggest asset and I must say Proteas starts as favourites to win this game. 

India will take on confident Ireland in afternoon.

India will take on Ireland in the afternoon at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. This match was not rated very high till last week but suddenly this match becomes very important and big for Team India because Ireland is coming in this match after causing big upset of the tournament as they beat England at the same venue. Ireland chased down mammoth score of 300 in that match and stunned England by winning it convincingly. Kevin O'Brien was their star in that match who scored fastest century of the World Cup as he scored 50 ball 100 against England and won the match single-handedly for Ireland. 

India's bowling woes continues in this tournament so far as they have also given average 300 runs in both the matches they played so far like England. But I must say bowling is not that bad as it is presented because India played both their matches on placid wickets and they were also unlucky as far as umpiring decisions are concerned. India will certainly play 3 fast bowlers in this match as Ashish Nehra is declared fit and Piyush Chawla will pay price for the two sixes hit by Bresnan on his bowling in the match against England which resulted in tie. India have to improve their fielding drastically if they want to advance further in the tournament. So far fielding is the weakest point of Team India and thats why bowlers also look ordinary if they are not backed by the fielding. Indian captain MS Dhoni have to show aggression in the field placing rather than setting defensive field and allow the opposition batsmen to rotate the strike which eventually reduce the pressure. MS Dhoni is making same mistake again and again and he has to learn big lesson from the last match when he was forced to bring the field in due to batting Power Play taken by England and immediately Team India got the grip of the match as they picked up 3 wickets due to forced attacking field. Indian batting is in top form but they have to be careful against Ireland because you never know when you will hit on the face by minnows also like Strauss and Co. hit badly by Ireland in last match. I think India must promote Yusuf Pathan in this match who was deprived of long batting stint in last tow matches. Bowling of Ireland will certainly suit very much to Pathan's batting style.

As far Ireland is concerned they don't think much about the quarter-finals or semi-finals. They will not going to lose anything even they lose this match because they are be under-dogs in this match. Ireland will try and repeat their heroics of last match and if that happens then India will come into tremendous pressure. Irish side defeated Pakistan in last World Cup. They defeated England in this World Cup and they will be hoping to beat India as well. Brien brothers and Mooney will certainly create lot of problems for India. Irish side is also very good fielding unit and they will certainly give their 100 percent in the field in-order to beat India. Remember Irish team  don't have any pressure going into this match and that will play crucial role in the outcome of this match because India will be under-pressure from the word go in this match. India have to take this match very seriously and have to beat Irish side convincingly. 

Kevin O'Brien(Star of Ireland victory over England)

Pitch will going to be belter at the Chinnaswamy Stadiium and this match will definitely turn out to be a high-scoring match like the previous two matches. So Super Sunday is going to offer tow mouth-watering games and it will going to be a great treat for the cricket lovers.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 This Week(27th Feb. To 4th Mar.)

10th ICC Cricket World Cup started on 19th Feb, 2011 and since then lot of action happened on-field and off-field. Here is the summary of all the action happened during second week of the World Cup.

1.	2nd week of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 started with cracker of the contest between India and England at Bengalruru which ended in tie. It was only 4th tied match in the history of World Cup
2.	This time Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni locked horns with ICC over UDRS.
3.	UDRS once again created problems as Billy Bowden gave decision in favour of Ian Bell over LBW. Decision referred to the TV umpire and it was found that ball was hitting stumps but distance between hitting the pads and stumps was more than 2.5 cm. Billy Bowden stuck to his decision and ruled it in the favour of batsmen which received lot of flak from the cricket lovers and the experts.
4.	Ireland created big upset this week and finally wait for upset got over as England lost to the Ireland after scoring over 300 runs.
5.	Kevin O’Brien of Ireland scored fastest century of the World Cup as he scored his century in just 50 balls which eventually helped Ireland in beating England at Bengaluru.
6.	Kemar Roach picked up sixth hat-trick of the World Cup in the match against Netherlands while Lasith Malinga picked up 7th hat-trick of the World Cup in the match against Kenya. Both Roach and Malinga ended up with 6 wickets tally in their respective matches.
7.	Shahid Afridi lead Pakistan to the 3rd consecutive victory in the World Cup as he won all three matches on his bowling.  He picked up 3 consecutive 4 wickets haul in 3 matches played so far in the World Cup.  Pakistan became first team to beat Sri Lanka at Premdasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan also survived near scare of losing the match against Canada.
8.	As many as 386 Boundaries and 58 Sixes hit in the World Cup this week in 9 matches played so far in 2nd week
9.	India-England match fetched highest TRPs among all the broadcasts.
10.	BCCI and ICC once again locked horns over the UDRS system when MS Dhoni criticised the UDRS and BCCI backed him against ICC.
11.	Sachin Tendulkar scored his 47th ODI hundred against England and now he is 2 short of 100 centuries in International cricket and 3 short of 50 centuries in ODIs.
12.	Sachin Tendulkar became highest century maker in the World Cup after his century against England. Sachin now have 5 centuries to his name in the World Cups.
13.	Many umpires looked idiots when UDRS proved their decisions wrong. Daryl Harper was the worst hit by UDRS as his maximum decision reversed by the referrals.
14.	Shaihd Afridi is the leading the bowlers in this World Cup with 14 wickets under his belt which includes two 5 wicket hauls after 2nd Week.
15.	Andrew Strauss of England emerged as highest run scorer after 2nd Week with total of 280 runs.

Dull games continues in Cricket World Cup 2011: Today Its Sri Lanka V/s Kenya

I think its really pity on the part of the ICC associate  teams like Netherlands, Canada, Kenya,  and Ireland that they are losing matches one after another in the World Cup. Netherlands did raise some excitement against the England but failed to pull out any upset. Canada was expected of giving tough fight to the Zimbabwe but they also surrendered quite easily. So no upsets so far in this World Cup and the way associate countries performed so far also signals that there will be no major upset will happen in this World Cup.

Yesterday two matches played between Zimbabwe-Canada and West Indies-Netherlands but both ended as one sided affairs where stronger teams scored  more than 300 runs and bowled out opposition for paltry total. Apart from Kemar Roach's hat-trick nothing was interesting in both the matches. Roach picked up sixth hat-trick of the World Cup against Netherlands.  I think, decision taken by the ICC of reducing the teams from 14 to 10 in the next World Cup is correct because nobody likes to watch dull matches in the event like World Cup. There were hardly any spectators in the ground during these dull matches which is quite unique for the tournament like World Cup. One  can understand from the fact that out of the 49 World Cup matches 26   involves weaker teams, so more than 50% matches are useless in this World Cup. 

In earlier World Cups atleast one or two upsets happened but this time it looks like all the big teams are playing carefully and negating the chances of upset by learning from the earlier World Cups, but yet you can't predict anything about the teams like India and Pakistan who can lose match to any team. India lost to Bangladesh in last World Cup. Sri Lanka was defeated by Kenya in 2003 World Cup and went on to play semi-finals.So hopes are still alive but it is highly unlike that any upset will happen and  create some excitement.

In this World Cup New Zealand is the one team which does not look  strong on the basis of current form and looks vulnerable but they also played very well against Kenya in their first match and crushed Kenya badly. Today one more dull game going to happen and that is between Sri Lanka and Kenya. Cruel memories of 2003 World Cup must be fresh in the minds of Lankan players and they will definitely going to take revenge of that loss. It is also important from the Lanka's prospect to play this match with high intensity and beat Kenya by big margin in order to increase their run-rate after unexpected loss against Pakistan. Its important for Sri Lanka to try out few things in this match and they will be bolstered by the return of Lasith Malinga who is fit and likely to play today's match. Malinga will provide teeth to the Lankan pace attack and also get match-practice ahead of their remaining big matches against Australia and New Zealand. On the other hand Dilshan and Tharanga have a chance to fine-tune their batting skills because both the Lankan openers were clearly struggling in the matches played so far. Sri Lanka have to include Ajantha Mendis in this line-up because he is far better spinner than Rangana Herath. 

Squad:

Kumar Sangakkara(Captain/WK), Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Mahela Jayawardene(Vice-Captain), Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Kapugedara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, Tillakratane Dilshan. Trevor Bayliss(Coach)

As far as Kenya is concern, nothing going right in their favour so far in this tournament. They lost both the matches they played and will go in this match with lot of pressure. However they can take inspiration from the 2003 World Cup match against Sri Lanka. Tikolo, Ododyo and Collins Obuya are key players for Kenya and they have to fire in this match if their team have to do well. Kenya is capable team but somehow they don't look confident enough, like they were in earlier World Cups. I believe if they play as a unit and with some confidence then they ask few questions to the opposition. Lets hope today's match becomes exciting and Kenya give some fight to the Lankan team to break the jinx of dull matches which involves minnows.

Squad:

Jimmy Kamande(Captain), Thomas Odoyo, Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo, James Ngoche, Elijah Otieno, Shem Ngoche, Maurice Ouma(WK), Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo, Seren Waters, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya(WK), Nehemiah Odhiambo. Eldin Baptiste(Coach)