QUARTER FINALS 2015 WORLD CUP - A PREVIEW

At the end of all Pool Matches, in Group A and B, the major surprise was Bangladesh pipping England out of the World cup and Ireland almost repeating the 2007 episode in their clash against Pakistan. West Indies managed to scrape their way through, thanks to a crucial win over Pakistan and a thumping win over Zimbabwe. In Quarter finals, we now have all the test playing nations and England alone are practising for the Ashes already, while rest are still continuing their World cup campaign. One can still argue that there are no major surprises, as every one predicted Bangladesh to create upsets.

One has to blame the England Selectors, who have disturbed the dressing room atmosphere with last minute changes announcing Eoin Morgan as Captain, one tournament prior to the World cup. Alistair Cook would have provided solidarity and Ian Bell could have played effective role in Middle Order in the absence of Jonathan Trott. KP should have been picked, keeping the Egos aside and Ravi Bopara should have featured in the eleven more often than rested or dropped. One always felt that England cricket team and their structure never kept the interest of ODI higher than Ashes. Result was for everyone to see, as their decline in ODI started from 1996 onwards. Champions trophy in 2013 under Alistair Cook showed promise but Selectors ensured that Cook was not part of this World cup campaign.

Bangladesh is a very good side on a given day, where they can upset a Vulnerable test playing nation, as they have Mahmadullah in top notch form and their bowlers are bowling well in tandem. Shakib ul Hassan is one of the recognised all rounder, who will try his best to win matches for his side, but looks up to his peers for help to hold the other end too. They would have to play their best game to beat India, but currently the men in blue is not a vulnerable test playing nation and are in red hot form. MCG would suit the Indian Pacers better and Bangladesh has to rely on Partnerships to be in the game at any point. With the form, Ashwin and Shami are in, Bangladesh would have a daunting task to be ahead of MS Dhoni's plans.

The Current Pakistan team cannot be compared to the 1992 World cup unit, as they have not showed any signs of peaking, nor they could be compared to earlier Pakistan unit, who are unpredictable. Misbah and his men are quite predictable as they are one of the worst fielding units and their fast bowlers are not good boundary fielders and they do not have quality spinners who could rattle Australians. Sarfaraz has injected some positive blood into the batting unit, but they have not convinced a cricket lover to think that they can be tough on a day. Australia would attack them from the word go and Pakistan have a lot of things to worry.

New Zealand would play their Quarter final in their back yard and would have another easy game against West Indies. One would be Shocked if West Indies ends up on the winning side. The game would be a clash between Brendon Macullum and Chris Gayle. Devon Smith should ideally make way for Jonathan Carter, who crafted a nice 50 in their previous match against UAE. Considering their seniority, Jason Holder might still make room for Smith and Gayle to be the opening combination. Marlon Samuels has all the calibre to spoil New Zealand plans, if he gets going.

That leaves us with Sri Lanka versus South Africa, which is the best match supposed to be played, as there would be an even contest expected. Toss would play a crucial part and South Africa should extend the match to the last 5 overs, to chase down the target set by Sri Lanka, as they put all their effort to finish the match early and in that event, they would choke and lose the match. By any chance, South Africa sets the target, they need minimum 320 to feel safe as Sri Lanka batting line up is in red hot form too. RSA fielding unit would make it tough for SL, but one might not see Dale Steyn or Mornie Morkel running through the opponents with one spell in a wicket such as what Sydney has to offer. Australians did not feel safe having posted 375 against Sri Lanka in the same venue.

Vernon Philander would play a handy role for AB De Villiers to execute his plans well, but Sangakkara and Jayawardene are key to Sri Lanka's success as was always in the past. De Kock is a weak link and one might see AB De Villiers behind the stumps to allow Rossouw to partner Hashim Amla. If Sri Lanka ends up on the winning side, they would go all the way till the finals and only Australia or India could stop them.