ICC World Cup 2011 – XIV – Semi-finals

The two semi-finals were expected to provide two different types of matches and both expectations were fully met.

Semi-final I – Sri Lanka vs New Zealand

On current form, New Zealand had overachieved in reaching the semi-final. After producing the upset of the tournament by humbling South Africa, they were unlikely to produce a repeat performance on the trot. Sri Lanka on the other hand were waiting for New Zealand (SL had beaten NZ by 10 wickets in the league game) and the real fear was that another mismatch would leave fans (both NZ and SL) disappointed. Sri Lanka had been clinical in dispatching England in the quarter-finals but would have been a little cautious of New Zealand's David vs Goliath characteristics.

New Zealand did themselves a favour by winning the toss and electing to bat as chasing at the Premadasa has traditionally been more difficult, however their batting again let them down and they could finally post a total of only 217. All of their top order batsmen got starts but none other than Scott Styris were able to cross 50. The lower half went in search of quick runs and though New Zealand did post 217 on the board, it was unlikely to test Sri Lanka, however memories of the New Zealand vs South Africa match would have been fresh in both teams' minds.

Sri Lanka started their chase cautiously, however Tharanga was starting to get away and hit some boundaries. New Zealand got aggressive on the field and words were exchanged. This probably got to Tharanga and he got out to a great catch by Jesse Ryder diving horizontally. Sangakarra arrived at the crease and he and Dilshan continued serenely. The run-rate was never a problem and the target was slowly but surely being whittled down. After their 100 run partnership, Dilshan was itching to have a go at the bowling and got a couple of pull shots going. However he perished soon after in trying to clear the mid-wicket fence. Everything still looked hunky dory for Sri Lanka, however Jayawardena had an off day and was out LBW to Vettori. It was up to Sangakarra to see them through and he seemed to sense it. He had Samaraweera for company with Silva and Mathews yet to come and less than 60 runs to get. A strange aspect of the New Zealand bowling was that Andy McKay had not only not been given the new ball but was brought in to bowl only around the 20^th over. Given that he was New Zealand's fastest bowler it was a little hard to understand. McKay had now been bowling well and was keeping the batsmen quiet. He dug one in short outside the offstump to Sangakarra, who tried to play the 'Upar' cut a la Sehwag and Tendulkar. Unfortunately he got a thick outside edge and the ball ballooned nicely to Styris at third man.

Vision of the South Africa match now started rising in the minds of both New Zealand and Sri Lanka and when Silva was bowled by Southee, it looked like New Zealand were just a wicket away from causing another upset. Mathews (the Yusuf Pathan of Sri Lanka) held his nerve and though he was injured and had Jayawardena running for him, hit some big blows to take Sri Lanka home. The last 10 overs were quite tense and Sri Lanka would have been happy to escape with a win. Sangakarra (rightly) did not sound very happy at the post-match presentation and blamed himself and Dilshan for not seeing the match through. New Zealand were not disgraced and on current form this was probably the best they could have hoped for.

The only weakness to Sri Lanka's game seems to be in chasing and with the middle order not having to do much through the tournament, it offers their opponents the only window of opportunity. The Sri Lanka bowling is spoiled for riches and Mendis and Herath had a good game against New Zealand.

Semi-final II – India vs Pakistan

You would have to be on another planet to not realise that there was an India Pakistan game on Wednesday. The news media was in its element and the poor viewer was left wondering whether this was a game that was being discussed or had war broken out. With the Prime Ministers of both countries also in attendance it seemed that cricket was the last thing on anyone's mind! It was a wonder that both teams managed to retain their equilibrium and the actual match was played without any incidents on or off the field.

Afridi retained the same squad that beat West Indies (Shoaib Akhtar having missed out and now effectively has ended his career since he had already announced his retirement) but Dhoni sprang a surprise by preferring Nehra over Ashwin. Both choices were slammed by pundits on both sides of the fence, however it was clear that these were the teams that Afridi and Dhoni wanted. Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat, playing to India's strength and potentially to Pakistan's weakness (as teams usually come under increased pressure as they chase).

India started in whirlwind fashion with Sehwag singling out Umar Gul for punishment. Gul had been Pakistan's best bowler in the World Cup, however in the early overs he completely lost his line and was repeatedly hit for fours on both sides of the wicket by Sehwag. Tendulkar was also looking steady and it seemed that Pakistan were in for a real leather hunt. Against the run of play Sehwag was caught in front by Wahab Riaz and even a UDRS review could not help him and he walked back to the pavilion without even completing 50. Tendulkar and Gambhir settled down and Tendulkar played a couple of good drives and seemed in good touch. However this was short lived as the introduction of spin in the form of Ajmal and Hafeez caused both Tendulkar and Gambhir to be all at sea. Tendulkar in particular seemed to be having all kinds of problems and when the umpire upheld a confident shout for LBW off Ajmal it seemed that it was all over for India. However the UDRS which had deserted Sehwag came to Tendulkar's rescue with the ball trajectory being shown as missing leg stump. Having got a reprieve, Tendulkar stretched to meet the next ball and Kamran Akmal for once made no mistake with the stumping. A TV replay was called for and while it seemed that Tendulkar's foot may have been in the air, it was inconclusive with the benefit of doubt being given to the batsman. Not satisfied with these two lucky breaks, Tendulkar rubbed salt in the wounds of Pakistan by offering four more catches before finally getting out for 85. I have never seen Tendulkar play so badly (probably the other times he was playing badly he got out at the first opportunity so the bad form was rarely on display like yesterday) and struggle so much against bowling which though good was definitely not menacing.

While all this was going on, Gambhir waltzed down the pitch to be stumped and Kohli could not keep a cut shot down and hit straight to Umar Akmal. Wahab Riaz now produced the ball of the match by yorking Yuvraj first up and India were in deep trouble at 141-4. Tendulkar and Dhoni left within a span of 20 runs and India were in real danger of being bowled out before their 50 overs were used up. Raina played sensibly and with some support from Harbhajan and Zaheer, the total crossed 250 and eventually reached 260. Ironically this was what Australia had scored against India in the quarter-final in a losing cause. Given the hold the Pakistani spinners had on the Indian batsmen it seemed that Nehra's selection was going to boomerang on Dhoni.

Pakistan started steadily and though Kamran Akmal got out early, both Hafeez and Shafiq did not look in any trouble. The run-rate was around the four and half mark and it looked like Pakistan were in cruise control mode. Munaf Patel was bowling with his usual consistency and probably this was construed as predictability by Hafeez. He tried a pre-meditated scoop over fine-leg, however the ball was wider than he thought and it took the outside edge for Dhoni to complete the catch. The next phase of play was inexplicable as between Kamran and Umar Akmal the rest of the Pakistan batsmen scored a collective 142 runs off 200 balls (including Misbah's tortoise crawl in the early part of his innings). The slow run-rate by itself could have been dealt with, however Pakistan was also losing wickets regularly and finally the last few batsmen were left with a task which was beyond them. The Indian bowling in the middle overs was restrictive and all bowlers played their parts well. Yuvraj was used as a proper fifth bowler and after a very long time, India used only five bowlers to bowl the 50 overs.

Ultimately it was pressure and bad planning that let the Pakistan chase falter after their fielding display in the first innings had cost them 50 extra runs from Tendulkar. The MoM award to Tendulkar was a travesty (you can't reward bad batting, even if it is by Tendulkar) and Wahab Riaz was ignored despite having a standout bowling performance. Is it a rule somewhere that the MoM has to be from the winning team ? Nehra bowling well made his selection look like a master-stroke however the fact was that the wicket was more conducive to spin than pace. India fielded and bowled much above their standard for the rest of the tournament and one hopes that they are able to manage one more such effort for the final.

Finals prediction:

India will win, primarily because of home advantage. If Sri Lanka bat first, then it is likely to be a closer contest. Sehwag is due for a big score and is likely to reserve it for the final.

All my earlier predictions have come true, except for the New Zealand vs South Africa match and that I had predicted a closer contest in the England vs Sri Lanka quarter-final !

On to Super Saturday and one hopes to see a game worthy of a final.

ICC WC2011 – XIII – QF3 and 4

What does one say about the third and fourth quarter-finals ? One produced a massive upset and the other an unexpected thumping.

New Zealand vs South Africa

South Africa had won one close game against India and lost another to England in the group stages, so while the chokers tag was not quite on display it was not buried either. South Africa chose the worst possible way to remind the cricketing world about it in their quarter-final match. As a professional outfit New Zealand would of course have been playing to win, however even they would have admitted that South Africa were firm favourites in their match-up and if they had run South Africa close it would not have been a bad result for New Zealand. What happened was straight out of a nightmare which every South African cricket fan must be having when their team plays in a crunch match.

New Zealand batted first and while they never dominated, they got to a total which required South Africa to put on a reasonable batting display. The South African bowling probably under-performed but still a modest New Zealand total of 221, thanks primarily due to a battling innings of 81 from Jesse Ryder and good support from Ross Taylor, was not meant to seriously challenge the South African batting. South Africa started badly with Amla being desperately unlucky to see the ball balloon to Vettori off McCullum's boot. Smith hung around without looking convincing but Kallis was looking good and the target was being steadily run down. When Smith got out and AB de Villiers walked in, many would have thought that now at least we would see some decent batting. Kallis and de Villiers were in no trouble and the asking rate was well within control when Kallis got a real rush of blood and holed out in inexplicable fashion (with Oram taking a great catch in the deep off Southee). Even then with just over a 100 to get and over 25 overs and 7 wickets in hand, only the most foolhardy would have predicted anything other than a South African victory.

New Zealand applied some pressure by deploying extra fielders inside the circle and given that South Africa were seeking to win without taking risks, scoring suddenly became difficult. In this environment, Duminy and Botha managed to get themselves bowled and de Plessis probably made the blunder of the innings in causing de Villiers to get run out. Now there was real pressure and the last four batsmen were simply not good enough to handle it, probably all the later batsmen when they looked at the scoreboard saw "Choke" written there instead of the score. Vettori marshalled his resources well however even he would admit that he was helped to no small extent by the way the South African's played.

With the win, New Zealand wiped away some memories of their last tour of Bangladesh (the quarter-final was played in Mirpur) and would have left the country in good spirits looking forward to the winner of the England – Sri Lanka match as their semi-final opponents.

England vs Sri Lanka

This was expected to be a close game, especially after England won the toss (all the pundits had predicted that chasing would be difficult). England started cautiously with a new opening pair of Strauss and Bell. Both looked to be seeking to play out the initial spells of Malinga and Dilshan, however Strauss was unable to replicate his form from early in the tournament and was bowled. Bell and Bopara had a couple of useful partnerships with Trott (the new rock for England's batting) but the innings got some momentum only when Eoin Morgan was batting. England were still reasonably placed with about 180 odd on the board and about 7 odd overs to go, however the batting power-play exerted its influence over proceedings and after Swann got out first ball, England seemed intent on ensuring that they played out their 50 overs instead of hustling as many runs as they could. Trott's ability to anchor the innings was marred by his failure to accelerate and with the others unable to get to terms with the bowling, England probably finished about 20-30 runs short of what they could have achieved.

Sri Lanka was expected to have a tricky chase on its hands and Tharanga and Dilshan were uncharacteristically subdued in the beginning. Runs were being scored but not at the rate at which one expects from the successors to Jaysuriya and Kaluwitharana and England would have been hoping that they would be able to replicate the result from the 3^rd quarter-final. However, it was not to be, the awaited break-through just did not happen and whatever England's bowlers tried was not good enough to separate the opening pair. Ultimately it was one of the most one-sided victories in a World Cup match (the Pakistan / West Indies being an earlier reminder of another) and England washed away all the good work of the winter and the Ashes with their World Cup campaign. While all the right noises were made by Strauss during the World Cup (we are here to win, etc.) it seemed as if the team was playing against their will and it seemed a huge effort to turn up on the cricket field.

In a tournament which carried so much importance for other teams, England's lack of enthusiasm stood out and they paid the price in being unable to summon up any reserves when they were needed.

Thus, of the four semi-finalists, three are from Group A with India being the sole survivors from Group B.

Semi-final prediction

New Zealand have been punching way above their weight and even their win against South Africa was 50% their own effort and 50% disintegration by South Africa. With this background, it is hard not to see Sri Lanka as firm favourites to win the first semi-final.

The second semi-final would be absolutely a pressure game with past results counting for nothing, simply because it is an India – Pakistan game. There are various reports of Shoaib Akhtar playing in the semi-final, but in my view, it would be a huge mistake for Pakistan to play him. Shoaib holds no terrors for anyone at the moment and it is likely that he will end up as cannon fodder for Sehwag and Tendulkar. It is hard to predict a winner, however I think India is likely to hold their nerve better and probably fear failure less than Pakistan, so I tip India to win.

ICC WC2011 – XII – QF 1 and 2

It is a cricket broadcaster's dream match-up, India vs Pakistan in the first semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Both teams entered the semi-final in a contrasting but equally deserving manner.

Pakistan vs West Indies

I had predicted that Pakistan will win easily unless Chris Gayle does something extraordinary for the West Indies. As it turned out, Pakistan bowled first and when Gayle got out early, the match was almost over. West Indies could not handle the Pakistan spin attack at all and did not do anything great against the seam attack either. West Indies got one aspect of their selection right by including Chanderpaul and it was he who ensured that West Indies crossed at least a 100 runs. The West Indies batting collapse or rather disintegration was beyond belief and it was hard to relate this team to the teams of bygone eras. This match and particularly the West Indies batting was particularly symptomatic of the problems in their cricket.

Sammy in the post-match interview after their loss to India (in the last group game) had said that they will need to bring their 'A' game against Pakistan, as it turned out, West Indies 'A' would probably have fared better than the senior team. After posting such a low total, West Indies had to hope for a miracle, however Pakistan did not let them off the hook and ensured that they won by a thumping 10 wicket margin. Afridi as a bowler seems to be going from strength to strength and the inclusion of Saeed Ajmal was also a good selection choice. As an outsider, it is hard to figure out the exact issues with West Indies cricket, however choosing a captain who would be hard pressed to retain his place in the West Indies side (I don't think he would make the cut in any other international side, including Bangladesh) is probably part of the problem.

India vs Australia

This was expected to be a close game and it was. Australia won the toss and expectedly chose to bat. Watson went cheaply, however it was clear from the beginning that Ponting was determined to not leave the World Cup without making his mark. He was not as fluent as he normally is, however he was busy as usual and very effective in his placement. Though he did not dominate the bowling he was not troubled either by any bowler. Ponting duly got to a well deserved century and when David Hussey down the order threw his bat around, it looked like Australia had done enough to post a challenging total and their bowling and fielding would see them through.

As I had said earlier, I thought that this would be a match-up of India's batting vs Australian bowling. The first innings had resulted in a stalemate of sorts as the total was not large enough to be out of reach of India, but enough runs on the board for Australia's bowlers to think they had a chance. India started well with Tendulkar and Sehwag batting calmly and as the case when this pair bats, the run-rate was quite healthy. Sehwag survived a caught behind when reviews whether he had nicked the ball were inconclusive, however he perished soon after. Gambhir joined Tendulkar and both settled down to play safe cricket, however Tendulkar got out soon after he completed his fifty against the run of play. There were no experiments in the batting line-up and Kohli duly joined Gambhir. Neither batsmen looked in any trouble and Australia soon turned to spin in the form of Krejza and Clarke, however neither bowler could make much of an impression. Runs were leaking from both ends and it looked as if India would win in a canter.

Playing percentage cricket seemed to bore Virat Kohli and he tried to hit David Hussey out of the ground but managed to only sky it towards Michael Clarke at mid-wicket to take an easy catch. If this dismissal was needless then the next wicket to go was bizarre by any stretch of the imagination. Yuvraj came at the fall of Kohli's wicket and all the time he had spent in the middle in previous matches seemed to be paying off. He was striking the ball well and the run-rate was well under control. It was now Gambhir's turn to get a rush of blood to his head. There were two consecutive occasions on which either of Gambhir or Yuvraj could have been run out, once comically the Australian fielder threw at the wrong end (in fact he made an effort to throw to the wrong end when it would have been much easier to throw to the other end). Gambhir was not content to be let off twice and he attempted yet another suicidal run, however this time the fielder did not oblige and he was run out by yards. It needed the calm of Dhoni to see India through at this stage.

Yuvraj by now was scoring comfortably and Dhoni started in his busy manner, however the re-introduction of Brett Lee into the attack induced Dhoni to cut a wide delivery straight to Clarke at point. With 70 odd more to get, and the last recognised pair of Yuvraj and Raina at the crease, the script seemed all to familiar to Indian supporters. Lee and Tait were digging it short to Raina and though Raina was clearly not fully at ease, he managed to pull a few deliveries and did not let the short bowling intimidate him. The runs to get kept decreasing rapidly and Raina hit the final nail when he lauched Brett Lee over long-on for six, probably the shot of the match. Australia's reign in the World Cup had ended and a semi-final between India and Pakistan had been setup.

Australia had probably too many easy matches earlier in their half and the only real match they faced against Sri Lanka was rained off. By the time they got to Pakistan in their last group match, they had not really been tested and an inspired performance by Pakistan meant that Australia would have come into the quarter-final with at least some loss of confidence. India as always has been supremely reliant on their batting and this match finally showed the reason why Dhoni is sticking to 7 batsmen. Australia fielded poorly and India had their best fielding display to date, which probably resulted in an unexpected swing of about 20-30 runs (runs saved by India and given away by Australia).

A special mention needs to be made about Yuvraj Singh. I have been saying in the past that Yuvraj needs to play with the authority of old and he finally seems to be justifying the faith of his captain and the long rope given to him by the selection committee. All I can say is I hope this run of his continues and today he was deservingly man of the match and the best Indian player on the field.

Semi-final prediction:

History is against Pakistan as they have never beaten India in a World Cup game and I expect it to happen this time around as well. Home advantage will see India through.

ICC WC 2011 – XI - Group Stage Round-Up (So long and thanks for all the fish!)

The rather cryptic heading is taken from the title of a Douglas Adams book (the 4^th instalment of the HGTG 'trilogy in 4 parts'). What I mean is that the associates have been now seen off and the tournament proper can begin. Lip service has been paid to extending the game to other areas of the world and we can bid the associates good-bye for the next four years.

So, what has the last four weeks really thrown up and what does that augur for the quarter-finals ? Let's go team by team and find out.

QF1 – Pakistan vs West Indies

Pakistan has remained inconsistent as expected, capable of great highs and also of abysmal lows (the keeping of Kamran Akmal for example). Afridi seems to have forgotten that he can bat and seems to be happy that he is taking wickets. Younis Khan and Misbah ul-Haq have been solid without being feared by opponents, Shoaib Akhtar maybe has already played his last match, unless he can summon up one final burst of energy. Umar Akmal has reinforced his image as an exciting batting talent. Pakistan should get by the West Indies (one hesitates to use the word 'easily') and will await the winner of the India-Australia match.

West Indies have surprised no one in the tournament. They have played well in parts but the problems that have plagued West Indies cricket for the past few years have been on full display in the tournament. A lack of consistency both in batting and bowling, means that they have struggled to score runs and defend totals. They have capitulated badly against both England and India and these are the last two performances that they are taking to the quarter-finals. Their future in the tournament rests on the broad shoulders of Chris Gayle. Period.

Prediction: Pakistan wins

QF2 – India vs Australia

India have played below potential in almost every match. Their batting has only truly clicked once (in the first match against Bangladesh) and since has promised much but not delivered. The one positive has been the batting of Yuvraj Singh, however he will need to produce the goods for the next three matches. Ashwin made his long awaited debut in the World Cup and everything he did suggests that he should have played much earlier. India will look to Sehwag and Tendulkar to dominate against Australia in the quarter-finals and for the support bowlers like Munaf and Yusuf Pathan to hold their nerve.

Australia have been scratchy in form, however their excellent work ethic and hard playing style has ensured that they keep winning. Their batting is now heavily dependent on Watson and a late contribution from any of the middle-order. Their bowling is what has kept them in the hunt and Lee and Tait have been bowling well. Ponting continues to struggle and he is going to be under increased pressure against India in the quarter-finals.

Prediction: India wins

QF3 – South Africa vs New Zealand

New Zealand have dominated the associates like a school yard bully but have found the going tough against the established sides. The absence of Vettori is not doing them good and they would hope for him to return for the key match against South Africa. New Zealand need Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor to fire against South Africa and for Jesse Ryder to find some form. Their bowling looks capable but may not be enough to dent the South African line-up. New Zealand have to bat well to win.

South Africa have looked like the best prepared team till the quarter-finals stage. They had just the one blip against England but played well in every other match. The surprise of the tournament has been that Peterson and Imran Tahir have not just been able to contain batsmen but also taken key wickets. Smith is the only batsman who has not scored big and the main relief for South Africa must be that Kallis is finding some form. I expect Steyn and Morkel to blow away New Zealand and cruise into the semi-finals.

Prediction: South Africa wins

QF4 – Sri Lanka vs England

Sri Lanka have played well for most of the tournament as expected. What is ominous is that Murali is getting among the wickets. Their three main batsmen, Sangakarra, Jayawardena and Dilshan have all scored runs but their lower order has not contributed much. Sri Lanka remain a dangerous team especially on sub-continent wickets but will come up against England who have reserved their better performances for test sides. I expect the Sri Lanka – England match to be closest in the quarter-finals.

England have to dig deep to find the reserves necessary for a final burst over the next 3 games. England need to find a way to rejuvenate Anderson and ensure that Bresnan continues to perform well. At the moment Swann is the only fully dependable bowler in the squad and I don't expect Tredwell to play against Sri Lanka. This match will also be about the England batting against the Sri Lankan bowling. Given the way the last few England matches have gone, this is likely to provide the closest finish for the quarter-finals and though Sri Lanka will be expected to win, it is not likely to be easy.

 
Prediction: A tough match with Sri Lanka prevailing in the end

ICC WC 2011 – X - ENG vs WI (Swann on song makes sure this is not England’s swansong!)

All the buzz in the cricket world is – what is the deal with England ? They have beaten South Africa and West Indies, tied with India (by all rights a game they should have won), survived by the skin of their teeth against Netherlands and lost to Bangladesh and Ireland. A more bizarre set of results could not have been imagined three weeks ago.

Today's game was no exception to the pattern of England games, see-saw, edge of the seat stuff till the last ball was bowled and the last wicket was taken. If this is a cunning plan devised by the likes of Blackadder and Baldrick, then the only thing I can say is that it is working spectacularly. To start with, England left out Anderson (injured), Shahzad (unwell) and Collingwood (form?) and drafted in Tremlett, Luke Wright and Tredwell (who? Bowls? off spin? hmm.. ok), it seemed basically a question of putting 11 fit men on the field rather than any active selection (yes, leaving Yardy out did show some judgement – finally!). West Indies left out Chanderpaul - this is going to ignite a lot of debate in the West Indies as in the context of the match, he was the one man who could have stayed around and got WI over the finish line, and played Bishoo (brave!).

England batted first and started off briskly. Roach bowled with pace but Strauss seemed set and Trott was going at better than run a ball after Prior had departed. However, no England batsmen capitalised on their starts and ultimately they reached 243 as a sum of parts rather than built on a couple of big innings. West Indies fielded with enthusiasm and took a couple of good catches. So far, it seemed to be going West Indies' way and total seemed pretty gettable. One aspect was that the pitch was very dry and the outfield was pretty fast.

West Indies started their innings as if they wanted to win inside of 20 overs. Gayle went berserk and was clubbing 4s and 6s at will, with a particular brutal assault earning 18 off an over (0 4 6 4 4 0). Swann (who opened the bowling with Bresnan) rode out the storm admirably, though it was Tredwell who got the breakthrough. Sammy (captain ? give me a break) took off from where Gayle left and WI continued on their rollicking way. England was in real danger of being shut out of the game in the first 15 overs as WI had a run rate of over 6 and the target was comparatively modest. When a few wickets fell, WI were suddenly five down with a 100 odd on the board when Sarwan and Pollard got together. Pollard took a few balls to settle down and then started to play the big shots he is known for. This is when Swann came back for his second spell and it was he who got Pollard to get a leading edge (shot intended to be played over mid-wicket ballooned between cover and deep cover). Bopara running backwards got his hands to it but could not hold on, and Swann seemed ready to tear his hair out. Luckily for Bopara, Pollard missed the line on a Swann delivery a little later and was out LBW. It was hard to judge who was celebrating more, Swann or Bopara ! With 6 down for 150 and 90 more to get, it seemed like England were finally on the ascendancy, however Andre Russell had other ideas.

Russell seemed like a clone of Pollard and he too seemed to want to finish the match in a hurry. Russell and Sarwan (who was not scoring but not looking in great difficulty either) put on close to 70 runs and suddenly with 20 odd to get and plenty of overs to go, it seemed like a repeat of the England vs Bangladesh match. Earlier, Swann seemed to have got his man when Russell hit down Trott's throat at deep mid-wicket but Trott fell and touched the boundary rope with his shoulder, resulting in a 6 being given. It seemed like the writing was on the wall with a final piece of luck going the Windies way. England were not done yet and Tredwell got into the act by dismissing Russell, but England nerves were still jittery as Sarwan was still around and the target was within striking distance. Swann now returned for his final spell and in one over accounted for Sarwan and Roach in one over. Sarwan got out to a classic off spinner's dismissal (caught at forward short leg when he attempted to tickle a ball to the leg side but the turn defeated him) and Roach slogged and holed out like a good tail-ender of an earlier era (not really, tail ender slogging never seems to go out of fashion!). A last panic run-out meant that England had won and defied their critics and baffled their followers yet again.

For my money, Swann deserved the Man of the Match though it was Tredwell that finally got it – doesn't quality of bowling count over absolute number of wickets ? Swann exhibited tremendous courage under fire when Gayle was running amok at the beginning of the innings and it was Swann who came back every time and put the brakes on the scoring when West Indies were threatening to run away with the match.

The qualifying situation in Group B says that spots may still change if Bangladesh beat South Africa, but I don't think anyone sees that happening. None of the top sides have lost to the lower teams (except for England) and I don't see South Africa succumbing to Bangladesh anytime soon. Famous last words ? time will tell !

ICC WC 2011 – IX – IND vs SA (Move on, as one TV ad says!)

I waited for a day to post this so that all the emotion of having watched the match would be drained out and a somewhat unbiased analysis could be done.

First, let us get a few obvious things out of the way. Yes, India's batting let itself down, the eventual score was a good 50 runs short of what was possible at the 40^th over. Dhoni, as captain, supposed to be street smart, missed quite a few tricks and paid the price. Graeme Smith must be quietly celebrating and sending a bunch of roses (a la Munnabhai) to all those who called his team chokers (Graeme, if I were you, I would hold off on that till you do this a few more times!).

To start with, Tendulkar and Sehwag laid what could be argued as the perfect platform for the innings. Sehwag hogged much of the strike, however Tendulkar was the one who had a strike-rate of close to 150! The hooked six off Steyn was worth going miles to see and for me was the highlight of the innings. Steyn being Steyn got his revenge later in the innings in a telling reminder of why he is considered the best bowler in the world today. The major change in South Africa's tactics was their reliance on pace in the shape of Steyn and Morkel, probably from the memories of India's recent tour where pace was the medicine which India couldn't handle comfortably through the series. However, it was spin that caused India's downfall. After Sehwag fell, Gambhir could never manage to rotate the strike and Tendulkar started going cold. Peterson and Botha bowled some tight overs and even Francois du Plessis could not be taken for many runs. Somehow a run-rate of over 6 was being maintained, however it was more due to the legacy of the opening stand rather than the first wicket partnership.

The infamous Batting Power-Play

I think team's should just forget that they have something called a batting power-play. After the initial start and reasonable consolidation, India must have been looking at a score of 350+ and with two well set batsmen, it was logical to take the batting power-play early (it was taken before the 40^th over, though Shastri on TV made a case for taking it even earlier, immediately after the Bowling Power-Play, which as a tactic would have surprised South Africa and forced them to re-think their strategy). However, the context was more than two well-set batsmen, remember that Tendulkar was going cold from being kept away from the strike and after the formality of completing his 48^th (does the man have no limits!) ODI century, he felt the need to accelerate the scoring. Doing so, he fell to an ugly attempted hoick over mid-wicket and next ball Gambhir belatedly realised that he was the one to blame and duly holed out.

Now came the bizarre procession, with the remaining batsmen committing hara-kiri and Dhoni left at the other end wondering when the nightmare would end. It was ironically Ashish Nehra who was at the end of both the batting and bowling innings. The first trick Dhoni missed was in not calling for the power-play much earlier, India could have taken it anytime from the 16^th over to the 35^th over. At best, India would have scored runs, worst case even if they had lost a couple of wickets, there would have been enough time for the remaining batsmen to not panic. The second was in promoting Yusuf Pathan to no. 4. Yes, we all love to see the big guy hit it out of the park, but given that it is Kohli who has produced the goods at No. 4, it is just wishful thinking to expect Pathan to be an adequate replacement given Pathan's limitations in technique (he can hit the bad and average balls all right, however he has great difficulty in dealing with good balls). This would have been a good time for Yuvraj to justify his selection, however the person supposed to be in the best form (I completely disagree here!), disappointed. I have said this earlier in my blog, I think it is criminal to keep Raina out for Yuvraj and the sooner the Indian think-tank realises it the better for all concerned.

Steyn bowled straight and fast at the death and Morkel too came back strongly after the stick he took in his first spell. India ended up 50 short and more importantly did not use up their 50 overs, a third trick that Dhoni missed (well not that it was entirely his fault, however he could have told the batsmen at the other end to ensure that they played out the 50 overs). An eventual score of 296 did two things, firstly, India would have been shell-shocked at losing 9 wickets so cheaply and South Africa would have been jubilant in feeling that this was eminently gettable, given that they were earlier facing the prospect of chasing 350+.

South Africa's innings

Smith and Amla started cautiously and Zaheer Khan and Nehra were bowling tidily without being threatening. It was all going very well for India, however Amla was scoring a boundary almost every over and the run-rate though not great was not being allowed to mount either. Zaheer Khan duly got Smith out in his second spell, its high time that Smith ironed out this problem with his technique (as the TV commentators never tire of telling us). Now came India's best phase in the bowling innings. Kallis was the one who was reprising Gambhir's role and South Africa would have been very anxious at this stage. The South African worm was way below India's and Amla was now in Tendulkar's shoes. The run-rate was slowly mounting and though Pathan and Yuvraj were taken for runs, Harbhajan Singh was bowling reasonably well. The absence of Chawla (finally!) meant that no one was leaking runs and it was all very satisfactory. With the fall of Kallis and Amla, South Africa were in a spot of bother, however the every reliable AB de Villiers was hitting the ball well and Duminy was giving good support from the other end by running hard. India's fielding was starting to wilt under the pressure when AB gave his wicket away. Now came the key part of the match where the batting power-play was taken. South Africa played sensibly and Duminy reminded everyone that he too was capable of big hits. Even at this stage, India were reasonably in the hunt and it would have been South Africa who were under the greater pressure.

Now came Dhoni's fourth miss and probably the most costly. He under-bowled Harbhajan Singh and ignored Nehra in favour of Munaf Patel. I think Dhoni just completely lost track of who has bowled how many overs and what plan he needed to have for the final 5 overs. Two consecutive overs from Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan were taken for over 15 and it was crunch time. Zaheer Khan had bowled very well till this stage and his penultimate over messed up his bowling figures, though he came back strongly in his last over (but which was the 49^th over of the innings!). It was now, 13 to get off the last over which was a toss up between Nehra and Harbhajan Singh. In that situation, Dhoni went with Nehra, a decision which I agree with at that stage, however the mistake had been made earlier. Nehra must be the unluckiest bowler to bowl for India (he seems to have taken over the mantle from Javagal Srinath!), the first ball saw a Chinese cut for four and now the equation went to a more manageable 9 off 5. A ball later, a monster hit for six by Peterson (this came out of nowhere!) meant that it was all over bar the shouting. In the final analysis not bowling Harbhajan earlier, not giving Nehra time to warm up, he came back to bowl the 50^th over after manning the outfield for most of the innings, not managing the end from which Zaheer Khan bowled his last over were all serious tactical mistakes by Dhoni. During Zaheer's over it was Tendulkar who was talking to Zaheer whereas Dhoni was sulking behind the wickets. This is not a good sign and the sooner Dhoni recovers from it the better.

Dhoni is still the best bet by far to lead India and he needs to get on with the job at hand rather than prove the world wrong by persisting with Chawla and not playing Ashwin and Raina. India is still alive in the World Cup, however it has a not so easy last outing against the West Indies and depending on the position in which they qualify, they are likely to meet either New Zealand or Sri Lanka (assuming India qualify 2^nd or 3^rd in the group).

In yesterday's match, Australia got by Kenya, however given that New Zealand had thumped Kenya, the end result would not have satisfied Ponting (yesterday was his best opportunity to play himself back in form, however he could not manage even a 50).

ICC WC 2011 – VIII - ENG vs BAN (Woe is me says Strauss!)

There are two teams that are giving their supporters the ride of their lives in this World Cup, one of course is Pakistan and the other surprisingly is England. Today's match between England and Bangladesh was petering out to an expected English victory till the ninth wicket pair of Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam had other ideas. I was following the match only in bits and pieces till that time, peeking at the score in between getting some work done, however the last 45 minutes had me glued to the television screen.

England batted poorly for the second game in a row and managed to put up only a modest score, mainly thanks to Trott and Morgan. Strauss form at the beginning seems to be a distant memory and no one else seems to be willing to shoulder the responsibility for carrying through the innings. Another puzzling aspect is the role assigned to Collingwood, he seems to be slipping down the order and today in fact came after Swann. Right now it looks like Collingwood is holding his position just because there is no one else rather than by his performances. England had a horror batting power-play (again!) and were bowled out in the last over.

Bangladesh started their innings as if they wanted to finish within the first 20 overs but settled in after the first few overs. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes were both playing well and England did not look like it had the bowlers to trouble them. Bangladesh were cruising towards victory at the half-way mark, however England were now looking steadier with Swann, Bresnan, Shahzad and Collingwood doing a good containing job. However, Bangladesh being themselves, practically handed the match to England with a set of injudicious strokes and suicidal running between wickets. Suddenly at 165-8, England were looking good and the equation of runs to balls went in England's favour for the first time in the match. Swann and Shahzad bowled a couple of tight overs and it seemed all over for the Bangla Tigers.

Now came the excitement. It was Swann's last over and till that over, he had bowled extremely well, though in the last couple of overs he was tending to focus on leg stump rather than off. Swann's last over ended up being the costliest of the innings with two 4s and a 6. Shafiul was batting on 19 off 21 balls with three 4s and a 6 ! Mahmudullah at the other end was holding his nerve and in fact was the steadying influence. Shahzad had now completed his quota and so had Swann. It was now up to Bresnan and Anderson. Bresnan bowled a tidy over and it was up to Anderson to bowl at the death. Anderson completely went to pieces and had a shocker of an over where he bowled three wides (one of which raced away for 4). The equation was now looking more balanced when Shafiul decided to star in his own slasher movie. Bresnan's next over saw Shafiul slashing away to glory and he had the England fielding running ragged. It was rightfully Mahmudullah who hit the winning run with as authentic a cover drive that one could hope to see and Bangladesh had earned a come from behind victory which even their most diehard supporter would not have imagined.

England has to wonder where they go from here and will have to get into the juggling act of net run rates and watching the results of other games (a role that India supporters are accustomed to playing!). West Indies hold the key to the group now and their next set of matches will determine the last couple of spots for qualifying and will result in heartbreak for either England or Bangladesh. What is particularly worrying for England is that after the 8^th wicket fell, England did not look like taking a wicket though Strauss rightly attacked the batsmen by putting in a slip and extra fielders in the ring. Strauss was left scratching his head (literally) in the last few overs when he could not get a wicket for love or money. In the final analysis it was Anderson's bowling at the death that tilted the balance in Bangladesh's favour and England's best bowler in the (now distant and almost lost in the mist of time) Ashes victory is looking like a pale shadow of himself.

We have the India vs South Africa match tomorrow to look forward to and I for one am unwilling to speculate on the result (I suspect about 55-45 to South Africa).

ICC WC 2011 – VII - IND vs NED – Ho hum!

India played Netherlands yesterday in a match that had no excitement attached to it. In my view, India does not do well in such games as the weight of expectations is such that they are expected to hammer the opposition, however real life rarely obliges (the match against Bermuda where the combined Indian batting vented their frustration in the last World Cup being the exception).

For a change, I was listening to the pre-match analysis on TV which had Navjot Sidhu, Ian Chappell and Simon Doull apart from Harsha Bhogle as the anchor. Both Sidhu and Chappell were speculating on the Indian XI and were saying that probably both Ashwin and Nehra would play in place of Chawla and Zaheer respectively. However, MSD sprang a surprise on all by making only one change and bringing in Nehra in place of Munaf Patel! I must admit that this googly from MSD had everyone including me playing down the wrong line ! It was very hard to fathom this decision and even when Ganguly was asked about it, he could not manage a convincing answer beyond saying that MSD is obviously backing Chawla and is building his confidence.

Thus, rather than the match, the selection generated the most debate. The match itself had some points of interest. India's bowling did not shine and though they managed to bowl out Netherlands, the two main spinners did not inspire much confidence. Harbhajan bowled economically without looking like taking a wicket and Chawla's two wickets were presented rather than earned. Nehra bowled well enough, however assuming only two medium pacers would be playing, then it would be hard to displace Munaf Patel. The reasons for continuing to keep Ashwin out are mystifying to say the least and MSD is not particularly shining in the captaincy department at the moment.

Given that Netherlands had posted only a modest score, India were expected to canter to an easy win. India started at a frenetic pace but when Gambhir and Kohli both got out bowled, they were in a spot of bother. However, Yuvraj was playing with some confidence and his fifty ensured that India finally got to a comfortable win. The result shows that India won by 5 wickets and with 12 odd overs to spare, however the only positive to emerge was that India registered their third win and with the tied match against England, have ensured their place in the quarter-finals.

In other matches, Pakistan had a horror of a match against New Zealand where nothing went right for them. If conceding close to a hundred runs in the last 5 overs was not bad enough, the keeping of Kamran Akmal must rank as the shocker of the tournament. Enough has been said and written on it and without adding to the fire, it is safe to comment that at the very least Pakistan should find a more competent keeper. I was surprised that Shoaib Akhtar did not come to blows with him on the field.

The tournament is gathering momentum now and this weekend should give a good indicator of form going into the last two weeks

ICC WC 2011 - VI - First two weeks round up

The first two weeks of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 are behind us and we are slowly headed towards the business end of the tournament. At the outset, let me add a disclaimer that I have neither watched nor followed all the matches, however am giving my impressions of whatever matches I have followed or watched.

Let me start by expressing my dismay at the incident of the stoning of the West Indies team bus in Bangladesh after they had beaten the home team earlier. There is no question that cricket has a huge following in the sub-continent and the fan following can border on the fanatical at times. Clearly, cricket is viewed as much more than a game and it is pointless to say that whatever happens should be left on the field. Despite the strong emotions attached with the game, it is necessary for all to exhibit restraint in the manner in which displeasure at a bad result is expressed. I hope that this is the last such incident at least in this World Cup if not for the future.

In recent matches, India laboured to beat Ireland and England surprised South Africa. I have covered the India vs Ireland match in an earlier post (India vs Ireland - No Mishaps!). The England vs South Africa match was expected to be won by South Africa and they seemed well on their way when they restricted England to 171 and then Smith and Amla batted their way to a fifty run opening partnership. However, it was not to be and England kept making inroads into the South African batting and clawed their way to a 6 run win. England can take huge positives from this match, however South Africa have to now wonder how they managed to lose from such a dominant position. When Amla and AB deVilliers are at the crease, the South African batting looks rock solid, however their form has glossed over the recent failures of Kallis and the inability of anyone down the order to contribute. The "c" word is again making the rounds and I am sure Smith must be having nightmares about it.

The Irish stunned England earlier in the week and Kevin O'Brien blazed his way to a record breaking century. It remains to be seen whether he can replicate his form against other teams, else it may be a case of promising much and not delivering.

England's batting has looked in good shape, especially the top order. Pietersen is due for a big score and playing Bopara in place of Collingwood is something they should have done a long time ago. Swann continues to impress and remains the best spinner on display in the tournament (yes I know Afridi has been taking all those wickets), despite competing with Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh, which is no mean achievement.

A lot was expected from Bangladesh, especially after their reasonably assured batting performance against India (their bowling was massacred as it ran into Hurricane Sehwag) and their recent good results against New Zealand. They even managed a reasonable win against Ireland (where their batting had failed), but came badly unstuck against the West Indies.

West Indies in turn have looked good in parts, however consistency has been eluding them in recent years, and they would primarily look towards Chris Gayle to get them deep into the tournament. Other teams handle pace reasonably well so even though Kemar Roach bowled at express pace, he may well find himself without support from the other end.

Pakistan have looked focused on the job at hand and even though they have been inconsistent in their batting (Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq being the exceptions), their bowling (always their strength) has looked good with Afridi being on a roll with wickets by the bagful in each match. Umar Gul, imho, is by far the most under-rated bowler in world cricket and his value to the Pakistan team cannot be underestimated. Pakistan is quietly turning out the team that the eventual winner will need to get past.

Sri Lanka will be ruing their loss to Pakistan, but their rained-off game against Australia combined with being in the group which has Canada, Kenya and Zimbabwe means that there are no concerns about qualifying, however they have to pull up their socks to be a threat in the tournament.

Australia have looked by far the most settled, without being the juggernaut that they used to be in earlier editions. Tait, Lee, Watson and Johnson are all bowling well with Krejza providing spin support. Their batting is what they will be concerned about, especially the inability of Ponting to convert on his good starts. Watson remains the premier all-rounder in the tournament, which should be a wake up call for a certain Jacques Kallis.

Nothing much to note for the minnows, except that Ireland and Netherlands have shown that they are able to compete. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh need to differentiate themselves from the rest and show that not only can they compete, but they can also harbour hopes of winning against the more established teams.

The first two weeks of matches have not thrown up too many surprises, except for Ireland's stunning run-chase against England.

On current form, Afridi looks the most dangerous bowler (especially against weaker teams) and Imran Tahir must be considered the gamble of the tournament so far. In batting, Sehwag has set the standard but Amla and AB deVilliers are not far behind as also Tendulkar and Strauss.

At this point an upset in the qualification seems unlikely with the only point of interest being the order of qualification which will determine the opponents for the quarter-finals.

ICC WC 2011 - V - IND vs IRE (No mishaps!)

India vs Ireland - March 6, 2011 (ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - Bangalore)

The major emotion expressed by Indian team supporters will be one of relief that India managed to navigate past Ireland without any mishaps! With this win, India have maintained their unbeaten record and can look forward to qualifying for the next stage without any problems.

To start off, MSD won the toss and elected to field, which in itself can be construed as a defensive move. Ireland had chased down a mammoth England total just days before and the indifferent form of Indian bowlers must have prompted this decision rather than any reading of pitch conditions, etc. Against weaker opposition, there are two paths a team can take, if you believe that batting is your strength then bat first and post a huge total and then ensure that the weaker team is either bowled out or contained for a much lower score, or if bowling is your strength then bowl first and get the opposition out for a low score and then knock off the required runs quickly. Both ways, a healthy net run rate is ensured apart from the points for the win.

By being defensive and bowling first (when batting is clearly India's strength), Dhoni chose to give his bowlers protection by putting the onus on the batsmen to chase down whatever was conceded by the bowlers. However, Zaheer Khan had other ideas and his two wicket burst in the first couple of overs ensured that Ireland were never in danger of posting a large total. In fact they would have been bowled out for a much lower score, but the two front-line Indian spinners Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla did not take a single wicket between them, with Chawla being generous in conceding runs too. It was left to the gentle left-arm spin of Yuvraj Singh to derail the Irish and he ended up with a five wicket haul and in the end Ireland posted a very modest 208 at the end of their innings.

Sehwag started off India's chase in typical style by cracking a boundary off the first ball of the innings. He was looking to run away with the game when he got a leading edge and ballooned a simple return catch to end his innings. Gambhir was looking comfortable and had also started to do his typical walk down the pitch to fast bowlers when he played a very casual flick and ended up giving a simple catch to short fine leg. Tendulkar and Kohli too looked calm and composed when Tendulkar too got out and when Yuvraj ran Kohli out, India were in a spot of bother at about 100-4. Dhoni and Yuvraj settled down to getting singles and twos with the occasional boundary, but never seemed to be asserting themselves. It was left to Pathan to demonstrate that cricket is still a simple game of bat and ball and he gave the crowd something to cheer about after Dhoni had departed to a simple LBW decision. Pathan hit effortlessly and there is a real case for him to be promoted as a pinch hitter early in the chase rather than as a finisher down the order.

Yuvraj was adjudged man of the match for his five wickets and unbeaten fifty, however in my view, he is still to attain his fluency of old. One doesn't know what the problem is since he has been spending enough time at the crease (this is his second consecutive fifty), however he is not at all looking comfortable at the crease. Short balls continue to surprise him and he looks at his best only when he is able to free his arms and drive through the covers or do his hoick over mid-wicket. Yuvraj is occupying a key position in the Indian team and one hopes for his sake as well as that of the Indian team's that he rediscovers his touch at the earliest. He is able to retain his place right now because of the bonus of his bowling.

The Indian bowling continues to be unimpressive and the fielding is indifferent. I had said in my earlier posts that I would reserve judgement on Piyush Chawla and my fears have come true. It is time that he was 'rested' and Ashwin or Nehra tried in his place. My vote would go to Nehra, simply because he is a wicket taking bowler and has proven himself in big matches earlier. It would have been ideal to have a settled combination by now, however given the form of the bowlers one is likely to see changes in the bowling line-up in every match.


Watch out for my round up of the first two weeks of the World Cup in my next post ! I would appreciate your feedback using the Reactions buttons just below the end of the post. Thanks!

Movie review - 7 Khoon Maaf (7KM) - 2011

There are some things one does as a matter of principle, read any book written by John Le Carré, listen to any music recorded by U2,  watch any movie in which Aamir Khan acts in – you get what I mean. Vishal Bhardwaj is fast getting a similar reputation, so it was with a sense of anticipation that I set out to watch his latest  movie, 7 Khoon Maaf (loosely translated as Seven Murders Forgiven in English) which is based on a short story by Ruskin Bond. The anticipation was tempered with some sense of foreboding as early reports had been very mixed.

Without too much suspense, I can reveal that I was very disappointed with the movie, though there are some points of interest. I can outline some part of the plot without spoiler alerts as the basic premise is well known. Priyanka Chopra plays the part of the black widow who serially murders her husband of the day. The count has mounted to six as the film opens and we are supposed to wonder about what is going to happen to the seventh (else the title has no meaning) which builds to the climax of the movie.

Sadly, the entire story never grips your attention. Husbands one and two (Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham) get the longest screen time, probably because of their star value and the rest of the husbands get short shrift. Irrfan Khan looks confused on how to play his character, Annu Kapoor shines briefly, no idea why the story needed a white guy (and a Russian to boot) and Naseeruddin Shah wanders in and out in the blink of an eye.

Priyanka Chopra gets to play a character which ages during the movie, but she is no thespian and there are no light moments in the movie to showcase any other abilities. About the only positive is that the story always keeps moving forward and the movie does not slacken though there is next to no suspense and no plot complications to speak of. There is only the most obvious justifications for each murder (or death should one call it?), and no attempt on answering why an educated, well off woman like the character played by Priyanka Chopra is willing to take all the abuse and not have any remedy other than killing her husband and that too in very simplistic ways. The climax/ending took the cherry in my view and left me extremely unsatisfied with the resolution.

Lastly, the music is better than the movie, however the insertion of songs in the movie seem forced. Usha Uthup lends her unmistakable voice to Darling, though the song sounds better by itself than in the movie.

Some moments of unintentional hilarity during the movie were provided by my fellow cinema goers, one lady to my right was remarking on the salsa (it is actually a tango, there is no way one can confuse a salsa with a tango) early in the movie. Some ill-advised couples had brought children into the cinema hall (btw, the movie does have a justifiably Adult rating), what were they thinking ? A majority of the audience seemed to be comprised of older couples (this was a late night show on Friday, so guess it was put the kids to bed and off to the movies night!) in their 30s and 40s. So the targeting of the movie was right, though the execution was completely off the mark.

Sadly one is forced to conclude that this is an experiment gone horribly wrong.