India's first in the warm up games...

The one that was much awaited was finally here... India @ The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 !! In their new jerseys and lighter shades, the are the dark horses of the tournament... With one of the best batting line ups in the world (on paper, of course - They still need to perform !), they finally set out for their first outing on West Indian soil this year...

Here are the warm-up matches which took place on 6th March, 2007...

India vs The Netherlands
Result : India won by 182 runs
Brief Scores :
IND : 300-9 (50 overs)
R Dravid 74(92), SR Tendulkar 61(59), RN ten Doeschate 5-57, PW Borren 2-45
HOL : 118 (37.5 overs)
B Zuiderent 32(73), RN ten Doeschate 31(39), Y Singh 4-12, A Kumble 2-14

India, fresh out of a series win, did not look very confident, but the important thing was they were much more confident than the opposition !! The opening three looked to get starts, but could not hang on. It was Dravid and Tendulkar who led the team to more than a respectable total, with cameos by Dhoni and Pathan. The Netherlands never looked impressive in the field, and lost out to India, who looked much more comfortable than the minnows.

Australia vs Zimbabwe
Result : Australia won by 106 runs
Brief Scores :
AUS : 290/7 (50 overs)
MJ Clarke 82, SR Watson 81 (Opening the batting), SC Williams 2-48
ZIM : 184/7 (50 overs)
SC Williams 44, S Matsikenyeri 35, SR Clark 2-33

Australia has ruled world cricket for a long time now... But this world cup looks at AUS in the absence of Shane Warne, and injuries to Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds (who might end up playing most games) and a few more key players. AUS is therefore, not looking at it's best, which could spell problems for them. The start was easy, and they scored 290 with ease. Zimbabwe, who are never the same team without Andy and Grant Flower, tried to fight hard, but the Aussie pace attack was too good for them, with Clark claiming 2 and Bracken and McGrath claiming 1 each...

Canada vs Pakistan
Result : Pakistan won by 77 runs
Brief Scores :
PAK : 273/8 (48 overs)
Mohammad Hafeez 61, Inzamam-ul-Haq 59, S Dhaniram 2-26, H Osinde 2-41
CAN : 196 (46.4 overs)
Qaiser Ali 37, AA Mulla 31, M Hafeez 3-10, I Anjum 3-23

Pakistan is another strong contender from the subcontinent, but with lead bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif involved in controversies about their fitness / drug tests, they look a shade below their capabilities... But Mohammad Yousuf is in the form of his life (Easily the best, and the most consistent player performing in current times). Canada did not pose too many problems for PAK, as they rolled of to an easy win with Hafeez leading the attack with both bat and bowl.

Bangladesh vs New Zealand
Result : Bangladesh won by 2 wickets (Yeah !! You read that right !)
Brief Scores :
NZ : 226 (47.2 overs)
JDP Oram 88(107), BB McCullum 46(54), A Razzak 4-26, M Mortaza 4-44
BAN : 230/8 (49 overs)
T Iqbal 46(48), J omar 45(86), D Vettori 3-38, JEC Franklin 2-54

The first upset of the World cup, and definitely not the only one expected... This World Cup has the largest number of teams participating... And hence, we can expect a lot of upsets !! Bangladesh caused NA to drop their heads, after the latter thrashed AUS to a 3-0 series win on home soil. NZ got off to a bad start, when Macmillan was the sixth man to depart with the total score on 75. Oram and McCullum, the major stakeholders in their 3-0 series win came to their rescue yet again, and made sure they reach a good enough total of 226. Bangladesh, however, had other plans. With an excellent opening partnership of 85, they just went along the chase very positively. But as most minnows do, they faltered just before the end, and were reduced to 199 for 8. 28 more runs to win... But only 2 wickets remain... They stood their ground giving NZ a run for their money, and managed to sneak in a win, causing the first upset of the tournament ! NZ now needs to get their act together, to come back fiercefully into the tourney !

India beware... Bangladesh is in your group !!!