War Ended - Peace Talks on

India Pakistan encounter would always be associated with WAR without shooting. But then in World cups, Indians have held an upper hand and margin of victories would always be on a better scale than expected. ICC T-20 world cup 2007, being an exception to it. 1992, we won by 43 runs. 1996, we beat them by 39 runs, 1999 we beat them by 47 runs, 2003 by 6 wickets and 3 overs to spare. And lastly 2011, by 30 runs. This would summarize the fact that Pakistan always feel much more pressurized than Indian in a world cup encounter. Not to forget Sachin’s man of the match performances in three out of those 5 encounters.

Considering this world cup in particular, Pakistan projected their Bowling supremacy in almost all the matches that they played, but for last 5 overs against New Zealand. Australia were bowled out for 176 in last league match, West Indies were bowled out for 112 in Quarter final match. Sri Lanka could not chase 260 in their own backyard against the same attack.

Indian Batsmen played with a plan to post a huge total. It backfired as Wahab, Afridi and Ajmal were outstanding with the ball, but Umar Gul over compensated with a mediocre performance. Hafeez was allowed to bowl a decent spell, as we kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Losing Yuvraj so cheaply gave them such an upper hand, that Sachin and Dhoni had to settle for second level score as target to be achieved for Pakistanis. Raina helped the cause with another sensible batting display, this time setting the target. Gambhir did his own grave when he got stumped. He was looking all set for another big score.

Sachin would have felt so embarrassed to receive the man of the match trophy for the kind of innings that he played. Having said that, his mere presence in the middle suggested that, we were fighting against the odds of Pakistan, making a mockery of the match with a comprehensive win against us. Pakistan’s fielding was always bad throughout the tournament, Kamran Akmal’s effort behind the stumps were always ordinary. Surprisingly it remained in the same manner in semi final match too. I would not say we crawled to 260; rather we were guided by Raina’s sensible knock to 260. Wahab’s effort with the ball ensured that Pakistan’s bowling brilliance stayed put in semi finals also. He was quick and accurate to surprise Sehwag and Dhoni, as we all know the bat speed of the two batsmen under consideration.

Hafeez is Mr. Captain’s support. Every match, Afridi would throw the ball to him and his bowling success transformed nicely into his batting brilliance. Kamran Akmal has also got a wide range of shots in his kitty and they started the chase with utmost ease. Dhoni is wonderful in mixing his bowlers and he switched his three fast bowlers end to end until the first break through arrived. Kamran Akmal was consumed by Zaheer. Hafeez played a horrendous shot to get out cheaply. He tried to scoop the ball for scoring a single and paid the penalty. Azad Shafiq is a promising lad and his calmness sent an assurance to the dressing room. Yuvi striked gold twice with Shafiq and Younis Khan's wicket.

Younis Khan’s and Misbah’s role are clearly designed by the team management. One cannot blame them for playing the way they both did. If it would have clicked, it would have set the platform for Umar Akmal, Afridi and Razzaq to finish the game for them. But then, we picked up these three wickets easily and ensured Misbah fought for a lost cause yet again. Bhajji picked up two crucial wickets in Umar Akmal and Afridi, who are match winners on any day.

Technically speaking, Pakistan made a huge blunder to push the 3rd power play way till the end. In his post match interview, Afridi said he was waiting for Bhajji to finish his spell and then he would take the power play. Hardly had he known that he played right into the hands of Dhoni, who would definitely have wanted Bhajji to finish the spell without field restrictions. Nehra was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers with his great Yorkers at the death. Munaf and Zaheer backed him up with impressive spells. Yuvraj is playing as a fifth bowler itself and he was fearless to toss the ball to create opportunities for Dhoni and team India. Clinical bowling performance won the match for us.

India is one step away from lifting the trophy. Let’s all watch Dhoni handing the trophy to Sachin, Yuvraj receiving the man of the series award and revealing the Special Person, Team India going around stadium for a victory lap and all of us joining in the celebration in our own way.

Go India Go,

Regards,

Prashy.

BIG MATCH PLAYER - Tag fits Yuvraj better for 2011 World cup

After seeing West Indies getting bulldozed by Pakistan, little people expected of India – Australia match to be an even contest. Australians knew how to play big matches and their 3 world cup victories was more of a pressure factor for Indians. But then, think tank in the form of Gary Kirsten, Dhoni and senior players saw more deeply into the current Australian team and brought out their weakness (No Match winner in form of Spinner) and closed the doors for their dream. Indian Batting is undoubtedly the strength and be it setting or chasing the target, 7 batsmen formula is working wonders for India. One thing, Australian team expected from Dhoni is his uncanny moves. They have faced the stick earlier, in form of Piyush Chawla surprisingly playing only in the finals of 2008 tour. Today, he did nothing exceptional but to cover one of his main bowler leaking runs. Munaf was rightly under bowled and Sachin was made to roll his arms. Kohli was given an over too, which completed fifth bowler slot in the form of 7 overs from Munaf, 2 from Sachin and 1 from Kohli. Yuvraj bowled his quota with such a confidence from Dhoni, that he actually is one of the leading wicket takers in this world cup so far.

Ashwin has got great heart to bowl with the new ball and he has provided the breakthrough in both the matches that he has played. Zaheer would be more than happy to bowl alongside Ashwin as pressure is applied from both ends. Hats off to Harbhajan for bowling with such control throughout the tournament so far, it would be unfair to judge the best bowler only by the number of wickets that he picks in the tournament. No team is daring to take their chances on Harbhajan. Fielding improved leaps and bounds in the match as we saved close to 20 odd runs and for a change, Raina would have felt happy to be leading the fielding unit for the entire set of 50 overs. Ashwin, Kohli and Yuvraj were other live wires in the field.

Australians batted wonderfully well and the way in which Ponting paced his innings, especially when he is not in form, speaks volumes about the character the man possesses. Their batting order was under pressure except for Ponting and the openers. Ponting analyzed the wicket well and brought in David Hussey, who contributed well with the bat in last few overs. Ponting’s hundred was defining moment in history of cricket, as it came when the entire world is against a guy and his team mates had to make a statement that they back their captain. 261 was what Aussies afforded to set India as target. At the end of the first innings, both captains were not fully happy. Dhoni would have preferred to chase less than 250 and Ponting would have preferred India to chase more than 280.

Sachin and Sehwag started the chase mixing caution with aggression. Sehwag was not allowed to play his natural game and it kills him when he is restricted. He was doing a fine job of it, until Watson made him mistimed a pull shot. Gambhir’s role was to play second fiddle to Sachin and once Sachin got out, he took the lead to guide Kohli. Kohli committed suicide when directed the full toss from his bat to Clarke’s hands. Yuvraj is playing with a purpose and he seems to be so determined to win the cup for our team. Aussies could not stop him today, even when Gambhir tried to break Yuvi's concentration with pathetic running between the wickets off three consecutive deliveries. He only lost his own wicket in the bargain. Dhoni tried to calm the nerves of Yuvi, as the required run rate climbed beyond 6 for the first time in run chase. When he got out, many people’s minds went for Yusuf Pathan, even though he is not part of the playing eleven.

Raina joined Yuvi, when we had to score 74 runs from 72 balls. Yuvraj eased Raina’s nerves by scoring 3 boundaries and bringing the required run rate back to below 6. It was heartening to see Raina tackling Bouncers really well, as he kept knocking them for singles. The knack was to get to the other end playing those bouncers, rather than winning an ego battle. 40th Over bowled by Lee turned the match in our favor, as 14 runs were scored and three stunning boundaries, one from Raina and couple from the bat off Yuvi. Tait’s wide ball boundary worsened the scenario for Aussies. The telling blow was Raina hitting Lee for a six over long on in the first ball of the third power play. It was a genuine strategy by us to take the 3rd power play in last 5 overs. Raina welcomed the move suggested by Gary Kirsten in grand style.

Couple of factors won the match for us hands down:
· Yuvraj’s Calmness during the run chase
· Partnerships – 44 for 1st wicket, 50 for 2nd wicket, 49 for 3rd wicket, 25 for 4th wicket, 19 for 5th wicket and last but not at all the least 74* for 6th wicket.

India Pakistan Semi Finals is even bigger and Yuvraj is playing these entire special match winning knocks for a secret person. My guess is Sachin Tendulkar. He is gonna let it out at the end of the tournament.

Go India Go,

Regards,
Prashy.

Pakistan – West Indies 1st Quarter final Match – A Preview

Pakistanis are hot favorites to win the game, as they are playing in front of second home crowd (if I may say so). If only Bangladesh was the fourth team which qualified from Group B, it would have been a war, considering the history of the two nations. Having said that, West Indies - Pakistan match would still pull in crowd, as it’s a world cup event and Bangladesh are co-hosts and it’s a cricket loving nation too. Crowds would support Pakistan as people’s memory would be West Indies wiping Bangladesh for a meager 58 all out in Group B match.

Regarding the team strength and Performance in group matches goes; Pakistan is already beating West Indies on those two counts. West Indies lost to India badly, whereas Pakistan has beaten Australia in their last group match respectively. Pakistan’s confidence is way high, as they have a great balance in their team, compared to West Indies, who rely heavily on Gayle at the top and Pollard at the bottom. If at all, any surprise factor can creep in, it would be from West Indies’ side, as Pakistan has put their strengths out for view to the entire world and they are going to back it up. West Indies, on the other hand can bring in surprise by promoting Andrew Russel or Saamy himself up the order in batting front. Though Saamy's promotion up the order against England did not work wonders for the team, England were surprised then.

Kamran Akmal and Hafeez would continue to open, as the middle order has become stronger after Asad Shafiq played two back to back steady knocks. Younis Khan and Misbah in middle order along with Razzaq in lower order would bring in their experience to steady the ship, if there is some collapse. Afridi and Umar Akmal are ready to burst with blistering knocks. They both are game turners in span of two overs. On the bowling front, Hafeez is doing more than handful job with his off spin. He might chance his arm with the new ball, as Windies have both left handed openers. Afridi is in terrific form with his bowling. Whenever he needs a breakthrough, he relies on himself to do the job and has highly succeeded. Akhtar would give his all, as he has announced his retirement at the end of the world cup. But then he personally would not want it to end before the final. Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman should be the other bowlers.

West Indies would be happy to find Gayle and Kemar Roach fit for the important clash. Darren Saamy would take lot of positives out of India’s match, as Devon Smith striked superb form with the bat. Darren Bravo is all fine for number 3 slot and Saamy would want him to play a sheet anchor role. Saamy definitely has to take a call whether to play Sarwan or Chanderpaul for the match, as Sarwan was the main reason for poor run chase against England and India. If he is assigned that role specifically in the past, then probably they need to come up with alternative plan for Sarwan’s role. Ideally, him batting at No.3 could solve matters for the captain. Chanderpaul opened the innings in one of the match and I don’t think so, he would fit in the team as opener, as Devon smith wiped off the confusion. To me, Chanderpaul has to sit outside. As I said earlier, Saamy and Russel should play the floater’s role. Pollard should be provided good platform to finish the match. Ravi Rampaul made a strong statement that he should be picked. Saamy is a smart captain not to do silly mistake of dropping Rampaul. Roach and Russel are other two seamers. Benn and Bishoo would play the spin option.

Somehow, I see an upset on the cards if West Indies bats first. If Pakistan bat first and sets a score below 270, West Indies might chase it with few overs to spare. You would watch Chris Gayle putting lot of price on his wicket while batting. I would like Saamy to promote Andrew Russel up the order to surprise Pakistan. Is it Kemar Roach's 5 for OR Gayle's hundred that's going to create the upset, let's wait and watch.

Regards,
Prashy.

Much Awaited Easy Outing for Indians

West Indies loss ensured the much awaited easy outing for Indians against one of the top sides in group stages. Dhoni won the toss and batted first, not having Sehwag to bat alongside Sachin. But then Gambhir could easily fit in the role with little master. Sachin walked knowing he had nicked the ball off Ravi Rampaul, when the whole world was awaiting 100 hundreds from the Legend. Soon, Gambhir followed and quickly we were two down for 51 runs on the board. Yuvraj and Kohli, the men in form for this world cup, curtailed their strokes initially to build a nice partnership. Yuvi went on to score a fine hundred, beating the Chennai heat and a possible dehydration.

The wicket had a spongy bounce for the medium pacers and a sharp turn & Bounce for the spinners. Kieran Pollard and Bishoo bowled wonderful twenty overs, where they kept the runs tight. Dhoni’s wicket came at the time, when 3rd power play was about to be taken and since Raina was a new batsmen in, Yuvi pushed the 3rd power play to the last five overs in a plan to allow Raina to settle in and throw his willow later. Raina got out cheaply though. Right at the stroke of Pollard’s spell completion, he picked up Yuvi’s wicket. As usual, 3rd PP had its effect on, when we lost 4 wickets for 28 runs.

Pick of the bowlers for West Indies was Ravi Rampaul, who made the best use of the little opportunity that he got. Playing his first match, he ensured that he better be picked for the rest of the tournament as he was very effective both with the new ball and later with reverse swing. The one that he bowled to Sachin was a ripper. Sachin knew there was a deviation and when he realized the ball missed his elbow, he knew it was from his bat and walked off the field when Steve Davies shook his head to say not out. “What a Gesture from the Legend!” This is no way lesser to famous Gilchrist’s walk in Semi Finals against Sri Lanka.

Talking about Yuvraj’s Innings, the way in which he paced the innings was pleasing to the eye, as he was leaving all the balls outside the off initially, unless it’s a Juicy full length delivery. He ducked down to short balls, but did not spare the ones which did not bounce much. Pull shots were rightly picked. When Darren Saamy had the ball in his hand, Yuvraj danced down the wicket and walloped him over long on for a huge six. Right left combination helped the matter as he built an awesome partnership with Kohli, who is becoming Mr. Dependable when quick wickets fall at the top. Dhoni would be pleased as we enter the quarter finals stage, as 4 out of the 7 batsmen have scored individual hundreds.

West Indies have things to worry, as they have lost two back to back matches, not able to chase achievable scores. Devon Smith alone played with purpose, once his wicket was taken, procession started and Indians had an easy outing much to their surprise. Dhoni realized the effect of Reverse swing in the match and kept his seamers for late overs. In the first fifteen overs, he had brought in three off spinners and Zaheer. Munaf did not even bowl a single over by then. Harbhajan picked the important wicket of Pollard, caught in the deep and it was an anti climax of the match.

Darren Bravo, in his little partnership with Devon smith, was playing with a purpose. He exactly resembles Brian Lara in many of his strokes and the way he runs. I Remember Sir Vivian Richards' words before the start of the tournament, when he said 'Watch out for Darren Bravo, cause he resembles Brian Lara and might do a Lara type in one of his innings'. Who knows, he might as well reserve that for Quarter final match against Pakistan. His rush of blood cost him his wicket at the hands of Raina, who has the habit of picking wickets, though not with his best deliveries.

A Win by 80 runs, after having scored less than 30 runs from what it should originally have been, is a welcome sign for quarter finals clash against Aussies. Positive factor of it, being the match played in Ahmadabad (Indian Crowd) against a weak Australian side, no doubt. Ponting’s bad form, No match winner in form of a spinner could be the factor which India can cash in on.

Go India Go,

Regards,

Prashy.

England Team - Front runners for Lifting 2011 World cup

Group B became such a tough group to predict 4 teams qualifying for Quarter finals, thanks to England for playing 6 tough matches. R Ten Doeschate surprised one and all with his century against England and made them have a tough first match. Match against India was anyway high intensity before the start and Tie ensured what an evenly fought match it was. Ireland chased down 328 scored by England with 5 balls to spare and created History. To everybody’s surprise, England pulled it off against South Africans at Chennai in a low scoring thriller. Just when they thought they had pushed Bangladesh out, 9th wicket partnership was undisturbed till they crossed the score line. Final game against West Indies was another humdinger as England snatched victory from jaws of defeat.

Coming to Yesterday’s match, England posted a decent 243, but could not play out their quota of 50 overs. Poor shot selection by settled batsmen at various stages was the reason behind it. At one stage, the scores read 151 for 6, and Luke Wright understood the importance of putting close to 250 on board. Strauss, Trott, and Bell – All got starts but could not convert it to decent individual scores. Darren Saamy showed great confidence in his young bowlers Andrew Russel and Bishoo, who took 7 English wickets put together. Morgan tried to play reverse sweep too early in his innings and lost his wicket. Bresnan and Swann dragged the score past 240.

England had definite plans of going to Quarter finals and since they did their home work really well, they went all out for getting 10 West Indies batsmen out. The task was simple – To get Gayle out and early. Swann started with the attack along with Bresnan. It looked like two different matches were happening at two ends. Bresnan and Tremlett were taken head on by Gayle in their first over itself and Swann could easily bowl out maiden overs at the other end. Swann is an efficient wicket taker and when he was played with utmost respect by two opening batsmen, Strauss picked his magic card (for the day) out. James Treadwell, playing in his opening match, was bowling with strong support of his captain. He striked gold when he picked Gayle in his first over, followed it up with two more scalps in first spell. Strauss was never bothered at any point as West Indies were playing attacking cricket. He Knew that the match was about ten good balls for his side.

Darren Saamy wanted to outsmart Strauss’ captaincy when he promoted himself up the order and continued from where Chris Gayle stopped. He succeeded brilliantly until Strauss brought in his hidden card in form of Ravi Bopara. It clearly showed that Strauss read the conditions so perfect. Bowlers, who bowl stump to stump line in Chennai wicket is bound to succeed. Another master stroke was holding back Swann, as Treadwell started picking wickets. Strauss waited for the inevitable during the last spell of Treadwell and Swann. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Andrew Russell were on course to victory with their partnership, Russel being the dominant partner. The wicket of Sarwan sealed the fate of West Indies. Pollard created the fear with mighty blows, but equally provided chance for the fielders. Ravi Bopara dropped a swirling catch, but then Pollard did not utilize the missed opportunity and got LBW off bowling of Swann.

Credit should be given to England for playing 6 tough games and staying afloat when everybody was finding excuses for England team to be out early from the tournament. Since Ashes victory was considered as million dollar achievement, people attributed the inconsistent performance of England to fatigue. Strauss and his men tried till they are dead and are a happy bunch now as they move to the elimination round as sure shot favorites. Swann, in his post match interview highlighted the point that they might repeat Pakistan's effort of 1992. I totally agree with him, as they faced all the tough conditions in their prelim rounds itself.

South Africa Bangladesh match would decide the teams that are going to qualify for next round from Group B. Thanks to England for pushing the suspense this far.

Regards,
Prashy.

South Africa choked India after Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir’s brilliance.

Batting Brilliance followed by batting disaster ensured a South African win. We can always pinpoint Ashish Nehra’s last over, Munaf patel’s 14 run over (his 10th), Zaheer’s 15 run over (his 9th) as reasons for losing the match. But ideally we lost the match in our first innings itself, when we lost 9 wickets scoring 29 runs only, after scoring 267 for 1 at the end of 40 overs. The top order batted like a dream and Middle & Lower order batted like a nightmare. Sehwag and Gambhir missed out on their Individual tons too, as they both had a good chance of achieving that. How at the end of the match, one wished either Gambhir or Sehwag to achieve that feet, because that alone would have made sure that we consume all 50 overs.

Dhoni has slammed in press conference that, batsmen should stop playing cricket for the crowd, as it’s not about scoring sixes and four without getting their eye in. Also South Africans have Dale Steyn, who specifically was brought in to disrupt the run flow. Even Greame Smith would have been taken aback when he looked at the batting collapse of Indians. I guess Dhoni and Gary Kirsten have to re think strategies on when to pick the third power play, as time and again, it’s leading us into a scenario of merely losing wickets without any runs added. At least, the approach of batsmen during the same should undergo a change, if they stick to the same formula. Or Sachin should be a silent partner in the 3rd power play rather than playing aggressor role.

Coming to blistering start provided by Sachin and Sehwag, it was a treat to the eye when Sachin hooked Dale Steyn over deep square leg boundary for a six. Sehwag was simply outstanding with his fierce cuts, Cover drives on the up, and Straight drives off Morkel. Whatever fear that South Africans had in connection with a rollicking start from Sachin and Sehwag’s bat, it all came true and none of their plans seemed to work. Even the South Africans in the crowd stood and applauded as Sachin and Viru matched or bettered shot for shot.

Gambhir was classy yet again with his over extra cover shots for spinners. The way in which he paced his innings spoke volumes of the form he is in. Just when he tried to hit the accelerator button, he lost his wicket and that was closed door for Indians. It was so disheartening to see the lower order trying to smash the likes of Steyn and Morkel, but all they had to do was play run a ball and ensure that our score reaches 310 to 320. Dhoni was at the other end, watching the irresponsible men walk in and walk out.

When we started to Bowl, Dhoni awaited Zaheer’s magic against Smith. It got delayed, as Zaheer has to bowl five overs in the spell to achieve that. Ashish Nehra started well with Zaheer, but then he consistently provided two consecutive boundary balls at various stages. Munaf, the fastest spinner in the playing eleven, kept batsmen tight but for his last over, where service was required the most. Harbhajan was the pick of the bowler, but he could have gone and snatched the ball from Dhoni to complete his spell and sent a message to Robin Petersen as to who the boss was. At this time, I remember Sachin snatching the ball from Azharrudin in the famous Hero cup and bowled the historical last over.

The batting collapse and mediocre bowling performance of Munaf & Nehra cost us the match. Fielding cannot remain as an excuse, as the elimination stage is fast approaching and players have to raise bars to hit the finishing line as a team. It was one bad day at office with respect to batting and we should not repeat the mistake.

To end this post on a high, Will Zaheer, Bhajji, Sreesanth and Ashwin make the winning combination for us in the remaining part of the tournament?

Regards,
Prashy.

Where India stands at the end of Ireland Match ?

M Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore has produced 4 amazing matches in this world cup so far.
· Australia could not chase 227 against Indians in warm up match.
· England and India scored 338 in both innings and ensured a Tie.
· Ireland chased down 328 with 5 balls to spare against England for a win.
· India chased down 208 with 4 overs to spare, against Ireland.

Is there any pattern to the way in which the wicket played in these matches? First and last match had a pattern, wherein the wicket was helping the slow bowlers. Indians crossed the line against Ireland, whereas Aussies could not do it against Indian bowling attack.

Similarly, 2nd and 3rd match had a pattern, where the wicket remained intact for both the innings, infact got better in the second innings. Ireland crossed the line against England, whereas England could only equal the effort of the Indians.

I want to drive home the point that Dhoni pushes his team to be on top, given the toughness of situation at hand. In a world cup game, any opposition is tough, or else there wouldn’t be a scenario, where Minnows rule over champion’s side on a given day. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, England have all faced it in the past. ‘Win the toss and bat first’ should always be the formula to be successful, especially when your team is packed with 7 batsmen. But then Dhoni pretty well understood that Ireland match could be a platform where his batting power could be put under pressure for a run chase. It paid rich dividends, as Irish fielders projected 207 as something close to 240 and MS Dhoni also had words of praise for Ireland fielding at post match interview.

At the end of the day, nothing lost, as Indian bowling was also tested this time bowling first. Piyush Chawla had another bad day at the office. Surprisingly Yuvraj’s bowling spell was more than satisfying, as it does a world of good to his confidence about his place in the side, for starters and spill over benefit that it has in his batting. He remained not out and saw the team through during a tight run chase. He was helped at the other end, initially by Dhoni, who built an awesome partnership and later by Yusuf Pathan, who made a joke of the situation the team was pushed into, by Irish team.

Yusuf Pathan’s innings told a lot about the state of mind he is in. It’s really crucial that he plays fearless and at the same time, ensure that he takes the team across the border. He just cannot have a bad day in this world cup, as he might be in similar situation very few times and at most important stage of the world cup and be it any opponents. Harbhajan and Zaheer would become more crucial to serve the partner role for Yusuf in those crunch situations. Of course, this situation would come if the batting collapse happens during a run chase. If only Ireland made our entire 7 batsmen to bat, there are other teams, who would push the button more and bring Bhajji and Zak out along with Yusuf and we should not collapse there.

Hats off to Yuvi for achieving a feat, which is unique for any left arm spinner in a world cup. 5 wickets and 50 plus runs scored by a left arm spinner in same match have happened for the first time in a world cup. No doubt Dhoni backs his men, but I feel he does it with the intention of providing fair chance before anybody is judged. Yuvraj has proven track record in the past to play demolition innings. Dhoni is shaping up Yuvi to be a threat again. Somewhere, Dhoni misses Praveen kumar, who is a street smart bowler and one who could bowl really well in death overs. In his absence, Munaf is seen as a guy, who could fit in that space.

India Netherlands match is going to be another test platform. My guess is that Ashwin and Nehra would play their first match in the world cup. If we all know Sachin well, I don’t think so, he would take rest, as he has never done it in world cups. To support that statement, Sachin has taken enough rest in the recent past to miss any game in the world cup. If Raina is part of the plan, Netherlands match is one place, where he might get a chance to play. Hardly that scenario would happen. Indians are approaching this world cup in a better mindset so far.

Go India Go.

Regards,
Prashy.

M A Chidambaram stadium produced another cliff hanger

Right from India – Australia tied test way back in 1986, till date, Chepauk has produced some great matches and England-RSA group A match of world cup 2011 was no exception. 171 runs put on the board would have brought back England, bad omens of them getting eliminated from the world cup after group matches similar to what happened in 1999. Strauss and his men wiped it off brilliantly with a stellar performance with the ball. The thing that stood out in the entire match was Captaincy.

Greame Smith is full of surprises in this world cup. A Captain, who has done his homework thoroughly and puts it in practice so effectively, which ensures certain talent crop up. Imran Tahir is a sensation in this world cup and he proved it with another 4 wicket haul. We have already seen captains starting the innings with the spinner. West Indies, New Zealand, Zimbabwe have done it too. But then Greame smith could bring in surprise even then. Robin Petersen was thrown the new ball and he picked up both the openers in his first over, rather first over of the match. Strauss dig his own grave, whereas KP did nothing wrong, but the turn and bounce in the wicket did the needful.

Couple of overs later, Petersen beat Bell in flight only to take a return catch to dismiss him. Ravi Bopara walks in to play a slow and important innings along with Trott to rescue England from death. Smith ensured that Spinners bowled the maximum overs and even part timers like Du Plessis looked unplayable, if they hit the right spot. During the partnership, one of the messages that they sent to the dressing room was that run scoring would be tough and more so, while chasing. Still, at the end of England’s Innings, 171 would not have pepped them enough, as they were short of 30 runs. All Strauss would have thought is for the fast bowlers to support the effort of spinners to pull off a miraculous win.

England could do that exactly, simply because of calculative moves of Strauss, who was a man with a mission. He did everything right, though he copied the style of Smith’s by starting the innings with a left arm spinner. Yardy could not make inroads into the strong batting combination of Amla and Smith. 63 run partnership kept the dressing room calm. After Smith’s wicket, Kallis came and played couple of stunning drives to keep the spirits high. But then Amla got out bowled when he tried to run the ball to third man.

In walked AB De Villiers, who achieved the feat of scoring back to back hundreds in a world cup. Including him, six others have achieved that feat in world cup. Mark Waugh, Saeed Anwar, Rahul Dravid, Mathew Hayden and Ricky Ponting are the others. Spare a thought for these legends. This factor also ensured that De Villiers’ wicket was key to England’s chance of testing RSA’s middle and lower order. James Anderson produced a beauty to get rid of AB. The ball moved away off the seam and on the way to the wicket keeper, clipped the bail and everyone realized the moment a bit late. After De Villiers’ wicket, 3 wickets fell as the scorecard read 124.

Strauss used Swann in three spells. KP was given nine overs and he created so many chances too. Matt Prior had a fantastic outing with the wicket keeping gloves apart from a missed stumping chance and a tough caught behind chance, both off KP. Stuart Broad turned out to be the life savior for Strauss with his fantastic spell of 4 for 15 in 6.4 overs. He along with Anderson and Bresnan bowled some tight overs in the middle and backed up Spinner's efforts efficiently.

A win against South africa was unexpected for both teams, but then it acted as a pain killer after their last match loss against Ireland. Hats off to England’s guts for topping the group A with 5 points. But then they have already played more matches compared to others in the group. They would go into the match against West Indies and Bangladesh as favorites, but then one could never predict the result.

Regards,
Prashy.