SriLankan Surprise !!

© AFP : Lasith Malinga... Four sure !!

When all thought that South Africa were cruising along in their tie against Sri Lanka on Wednesday... SriLankan pacer Lasith Malinga had other plans !! Before he came on to bowl the 45th over of the innings, South Africa were comfortable at 206/5, with only a boundary needed to reach the victory target of 210 ! Pollock was on strike, and as Malinga rushed in, he gave himself room to loft it over the cover boundary to seal a South African victory.. But Malinga bowled a slower one, right up there, to have Pollocks stumps scattered !!!

South Africa were now 206/6, as Andrew Hall walked in.

One ball to go in the 45th over... Hall on strike... Malinga comes up with another slower one, and all Hall can do was loft it straight into the hands of Tharanga at cover... another one gone !!

South Africa : 206/7. Next man in : Peterson

The next over only saw one run being scored... So, that sets up Kallis against Malinga in the 47th over, with 3 more runs to win. Jacques Kallis batting on 86, and looks easy for him - And what's more... Malinga is on a hat-trick.. Here he comes rushing in with full steam - And the ball is full outside off stump... And Kallis managed to knick this one to Sangakkara behind the stumps - Can you believe it ?!!? Malinga has taken a hat-trick in a World Cup game against South Africa !!! 3 in 3 balls now for him...

South Africa have always been termed "chokers" - Could this be yet another example ?? They are now 207/8 - Just two more wickets and Sri Lanka could pull off an extraordinary win here !! Next in : Makhaya Ntini.

Malinga comes in, with full fire in his eyes... The next ball to Ntini is full and straight - Dead on the stumps, swinging in. And Ntini had a swat at it, but misses... There you go !! Stumps all over, and Malinga gets four in four !!! A magical spell here from the Sri Lankan pacer, only to see South Africa stunned !! Just one wicket remains now, as Langeveldt walks in and 3 more runs to get !! It now looks like an uphill climb..

But South Africa played calm and cool, and Peterson edged one to the boundary, to seal victory for their team... The South African dressing room was tensed, and the Sri Lankans were dancing along... Malinga had changed the course of the game, but South Africa made it in the end.. To a much deserved win against the dreaded team of the tournament :)

Super(b) Eights !!

Ok... So the news is finally out ! India is going back home.. There might have been a few optimistic fans, who would've hoped for a Bermuda win in their encounter against Bangladesh yesterday. But coach Dav Whatmore has made sure that Bangladesh are a much more confident side, and are much serious at their World Cup outings than they seem to be.

India, with one of the most pathetic performances in their cricketing history, will be returning back home. They actually deserved to be beaten with the body language they portrayed on the field in both their encounters against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. No one seemed too interested to play seriously, and after every tournament prior to the world cup, you could hear the captain say, "We are 'preparing' for the World Cup !". Little did the country know that they were only preparing for three games, only to lose two of them :)) Wow !

I was watching a show hosted by Harsha Bhogle on ESPN, which also stars Sunny Gavaskar and Pat Symcox - Who provide their bit of analysis about the tournament. On a point being discussed about the fan reactions back home, Sunny was surprised at the harsh reactions by fans in India to the defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He commented that the fans should understand that this is only a game, and it was basically two bad days that the team had. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka just played much better cricket on those particular days. But is an Indian fan ready to buy that argument ?? Well, as a cricket fan, I'm not ! Sure they had two bad days... But what I see right now is India is ousted out of the tournament - A tournament that is most important for cricket, and one that happens once in four years !! They claim to be preparing for this tournament months before it starts, and now that their claim is over, they can't just say that they had a bad day out ! I'm sorry !

And to the fact that Indian fans over-reacted... Does any one person among the 'expert' group comment on an over-reaction when India wins a match ?? Fans over-react that time as well - They just take the players to unimaginable heights, and treat them as 'gods' !! No expert sees an over-reaction in that. Is an over-reaction only visible when fans are angry and create a mob-like environment ? Maybe the fans are not correct in doing what they are, but such a reaction is expected in a cricket-crazy country like India - Where cricket is more than just a game !

The fact that the Indian team is out, is not good news for sponsors too !! They would be loosing out on hundreds of crores of rupees. Tour operators are already crying since most Indians have already cancelled their trip to the West Indies. The match tickets are selling at dirt cheap rates ! April 15th was expected to be an "India-Pakistan" encounter. It will now be a "Bangladesh-Ireland" encounter :)) And you expect people to flock the stadium and pay hundreds of dollars for that one ??

But looking at the game in general, we now have eight teams moving on to the next stage... And fighting it out for a place in the semis. Australia and New Zealand already have 2 points each, and they would both be playing Ireland and Bangladesh - Which virtually gives them 6 points each - And an entry into the semi finals. It is upto the rest of the teams to showcase their strengths, and prove that they're the best !!

Let's see what's in store for us in the next stage of the Cup !!!

(Seh)wagging on towards the next stage...

After a humiliating collapse against Bangladesh, no one would have imagined India to stage this kind of a comeback... Yes, any Indian would've imagined that we would win this game, and that by a big margin, but little did we know that India would stage the highest ever total in Cricket World Cup history !!

India's 413/5 is the highest ever total in a World Cup game, surpassing Sri Lanka's 398 against Kenya at Kandy in the 1996 World Cup. Also, this is just the fifth instance of a team touching 400 in One Day international cricket ! With Sehwag returning to form, it was always going to be a big total for India - He reached his 100 in 81 balls, to score the third fastest century in WC history. He looked ominous, and his trademark cut shots were back !! He creamed the off-side, and went on to make 114 off just 87 balls... Ganguly provided able support at the other end, and took charge as Sehwag departed. He has been just magical after his comeback to ODIs, and this is his 5th fifty in six innings - With the non-fifty inning fetching him 49 :) Ganguly and Sehwag added 202 runs, which was the eighth highest partnership in World Cups.

Dhoni contributed a bit, before Yuvraj and Sachin let the ball rolling. India were 289/5 in 42 overs, and went on to make 413/5 in 50 !! They just set the ball rolling all over the park ! The last 5 overs saw 9 sixes from the India batsmen, with the last one from Dravid, equalling the 18-sixes-in-a-innings record just created by SA in the World Cup...

Bermuda could only manage 156 in reply, but Hemp played a gutsy knock. Having been reduced to 110/8, they sure did a great job of it !

A big loss to the game...

I never imagined I would be writing something this eventful in my blog on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. But this truly is a shocking moment for World Cricket, and I thought it was my prime responsibility to bring this out to the cricket fans, who did not already know about it.

Bob Woolmer, the coach of the Pakistan cricket team, passed away yesterday in a Jamaican Hotel, after being found unconscious on the floor of his hotel room. The most incidental thing was the timing of this incident - It all happened a day after Pakistan's exit out of this World Cup !

How many of us know where this great man was born ?!! Well, he was born in Kanpur, India, and made his first-class debut for Kent in 1968 scoring an unbeaten 50. In August, 1972, he played his first one-day international against Australia, claiming 3 wickets for 33. He was a member of the 1975 England World Cup squad, but never got an opportunity for play for England in that tournament, since he broke his hand just before the tournament started. However, later in the same year, he made his test debut against Australia at Lord's. Just a year later, he was named one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year !! In July, 1981, he played the last of his 19 tests against Australia, again at Lord's.

His claim to fame, however, started when he became coach of the South African Cricket Team in 1994. Till the end of the World Cup in 1999, South Africa won 21 tests out of 44, and were victorious in 10 test series out of 15. In the one-day version, South Africa became known as one of the strongest sides, winning 83 out of 111 matches.

In June 2004, he joined as the coach of Pakistan, and gave up his life for Cricket ! Coaching was something that he loved doing, and has he done a good job at that !! The World Cup 2007 would've been his dream, but that received a setback when Pakistan were thrown out of the tournament as they lost their first two matches.

Bob will always be remembered as one of the best coaches in world cricket, and as an innovator for the game. We'll miss you Bob !!
(Image Courtesy : www.hinduonnet.com)

Blastin' the sub-continent !!

India and Pakistan... Two of the favourites for the World Cup, have now become 'favourites' for the World cup !! No one would have imagined that Ireland would oust Pakistan, and send them packing - But that's what they exactly did ! They dismissed PAK for a paltry total, and then sealed a win with a six off the last ball that they faced !! Pakistan is no longer in the tournament, and it seems there's more to their team than just a bad day out in the field... Centered around controversies and 'injuries', they seem to be losing a lot of shine, despite having probably the BEST middle-order line-up in the world today !

India... The land of a billion cheerleaders, as they say, were literally thrashed by their neighbours on Saturday. Dravid won the toss, and elected to bat, on a pitch which he 'thought' would help the batsmen to score big ! Probably he was trying to compete with South Africa, who set records rolling yesterday, but only to forget that they need to win the match in the first place... But anyways, his team did set a lot of records rolling :)) No batsman seemed to be comfortable against a new-looking Bangladeshi attack ! Only Ganguly and to an extent Yuvraj looked comfortable enough, but Ganguly proved to be very very slow. It seemed more of a tedious knock, than a resilient one. Despite a pathetic start, when they were crawling at 157/4, we might have thought of a total close to 220 - Which would atleast give them something to bowl at. But our ever-so-experienced line-up had other thoughts in mind - They decided to lost the next 5 wickets for a mere TWO runs ! Gosh... Isn't that lovely, condidering the already bad start they had received ?

People said that we have players who've scored more number of runs than any other player in the world, the total matches played by our players is more than any other team competing in this tournament, we have players who have loads of experience with fourteen-thousand-something and ten-thousand-something runs behind their belt... But the expert forgot a simple thing - That experience doesn't really count in cricket unless you have the passion to perform ! And that passion could be seen in the fighting Bangladeshi tigers...

Seems that almost every player in the team only plays now to save his position in the side, rather than to do a job he's actually sent out there to do... He'll earn a name for himself in the advertising world, you see.. Otherwise, how do you expect him to do more ADs ?!?! A selection in the India team is way beyond a matter or pride now... It's all about money, honey :) The Indian Cricket Board would be the most disappointed with their defeat against Bangladesh... Naaah ! Not because they did not perform well, but because probably now they might have to spend some extra money to get India into the Super Eight... Well, just kidding... But, you never know ;))

Adding to the World Cup History...

© AFP : Ireland, with their lap of honour, after the tied game against Zimbabwe

It was always destined to be a competitive match, but no one imagined it would turn out to be only the third tied game in World Cup cricket history !! That's what happened when Ireland took on Zimbabwe in their opening group encounter. Zimbabwe were chasing 222 for victory, and the match had its own swings. Zimbabwe needed 7 to win off the last over, and 2-2-1-1-2 was what they managed from the first five deliveries. This meant that they needed ONE run to win off the last ball... With Matsikenyeri on strike, and 73 runs to his name, it looked probably and very much possible. But as he tried to drive the ball, he missed and his partner was short of his crease as they tried to steal a single. The Irish jumped in delight, and celebrated with a lap of honour around the ground !! This resulted in only the third tie, and incidentally all three have involved an African nation...

In the other group match, Sri Lanka literally walked over Bermuda, with mammoth 243-run win. They put on a 300+ total on board, which was always going to be impossible for Bermuda to chase. But the Sri Lankan attack made sure that they were all out inside half their alloted overs. At 29/6, there was a speculation if Bermuda would even make it to 50, but they reached a pretty 'respectable' 78. India face Bermuda on Monday (19-March), and all eyes would be on India batting first... And the crowd-favourite Dwayne Leverock (who looks more popular than Dhoni himself !).

Ireland vs. Zimbabwe, Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Ireland : 221/9 (50 overs)
JP Bray : 115(137)
AR White : 28(48)
E Chigumbura : 6-2-21-2
GB Brent : 10-1-40-2

Zimbabwe : 221 (50 overs)
V Sibanda : 67(84)
S Matsikenyeri : 73*(76)
WK McCallan : 9-1-56-2
KJ O'Brien : 2-1-8-1

Man of the Match : JP Bray (Ireland)

Sri Lanka vs. Bermuda, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Sri Lanka : 321/6 (50 overs)
DP Jayawardene : 85(90)
KC Sangakkara : 76(83)
LPC Silva : 55(45)
S Mukuddem : 10-0-50-2
KAD Hurdle : 9-1-61-2

Bermuda : 78 all out (24.4 overs)
DL Hemp : 14(18)
LOB Cann : 28(32)
MF Maharoof : 7-1-23-4
SL Malinga : 5-2-10-3
M Muralitharan : 6.4-0-28-2

Man of the Match : DP Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

Aussenya on a roll !!!

It was Australia's first game, and they sure made it big !!! Ponting had a very interesting comment to make at the toss... He said that even though they are no longer world champions, they still are the favourites to win the cup... Which might be true from his line of view, but the only difference this time is that there are a lot of teams capable of causing a biiiiiiig dent to that thought of Mr. Ponting :)

Kenya, on the other hand, started off very calmly and on a positive note. They had Canada on the backfoot in all domains of the game, dismissing them for just under 200. That was never going to be a tough chase with the now-vastly experienced Kenyan batting attack.. So, Kenya open their account in the points table as well...

Australia vs. Scotland, St. Kitts
Australia : 334/6 (50 overs)
ML Hayden - 60(73)
RT Ponting - 113(93)
GB Hogg - 40(15)
RM Haq - 7-0-49-2

Scotland : 131 all out (40.1 overs)
CJO Smith - 51(76)
GD McGrath - 6-1-14-3
GB Hogg - 7.1-1-16-1

Man of the Match : RT Ponting (AUS)

Kenya vs. Canada, St. Lucia
Canada : 199 all out (50 overs)
GEF Barnett - 41(50)
IS Billcliff - 34(63)
JK Kamande - 10-1-25-2
SO Tikolo - 9-0-34-2

Kenya : 203/3 (43.2 overs)
MA Ouma - 58(89)
SO Tikolo - 72(76)
AC Cummins - 8-0-32-1

Man of the Match : SO Tikolo (Kenya)