ICC World Cup 2011 - Quarter Finals 1: Pakistan Vs West Indies

   Finally, the suspense ends the quarter finals are set to start and game 1 see's two time former world champions West Indies face off with the former world champions Pakistan. Easily a mouth watering clash considering the history between the two sides.With both teams possessing players who have the caliber to win matches on their own potential, it will be one contest even neutral fans will look forward to.

West Indies Report :
   Windies have been branded the "Minnow Slayers" this world cup. They thrashed them and stamped their authority, which luckily helped get through to semis over hosts Bangladesh. The only test playing team they managed to beat in the league stage. The reason I am saying this is, Pakistan can be worse than 'minnows' some days and if that happens tomorrow, Windies will have a feast. Jokes apart, Windies have been close to winning their last two matches . They bowled well to restrict their opponents to a low total. Their batting is solely dependent on their top order. None of them seem to stand up from the middle order excepting a few strokes of genius from Darren Lara Bravo. A lot more is expected from the likes of Sarwan, Pollard and their 'once upon a time anchor' Chanders (if he plays). The return of Gayle and Roach should give them a boost. Pakistan's batting has been their weak link too. They have struggled against quality bowling. You never know what to expect from their team. Infact , the players themselves aren't aware. Windies should somehow send the news that its the birthday of their top 5 batsmen. This is the 'CHEATCODE'  to activate the Jumping Monkey aka Kamran Akmal.  Windies have the potential to beat Pakistan. They just need get everything intact and play normally instead of screwing up things themselves. 

Pakistan Report :
   On paper easily Pakistan have the edge, the edge is so big that you could have Shoaib Akhtar mark his run up on it. Pakistani outfit would definitely believe this to be a walk in the park. Considering, there is no real opposition in this Windies outfit. Windies lost all their games to the teams that have qualified in the quarters from Group B. Afridi's boys have gone from strength to strength topping the list in Group A. Their bowling has looked solid. Except for one wild innings from Ross Taylor, every other time bowlers have delivered for Afridi and he has been the most boisterous, picking 17 wickets so far, leading the wickets tally in the tournament. Batting has really been a mixed bag, you never know what to get from the Stanis on a given day. Clearly, bowling is going to be their strength once again. Not much to fear from the opposition. Chris Gayle is more like a self-timed bomb, more often blowing up his own game(avg 32 vs Pak). Kieron Pollard another Gayle clone, only batting lower down the order. Middle order has time and again collapsed as seen in the games vs England and India respectively. Playing Benn, Bishoo/Miller will not be a pre-match concern for batsmen bred in these conditions. Umar Akmal has been playing the finishers role and will look to continue to deliver for his captain.

Watch out for:

• Gayle Vs Afridi
• Benn Vs Akmal(s)
• Pollard Vs Gul

   Playing in Dhaka, Windies will have fresh memories of thrashing the home team and then facing the wrath of the crowd. Pakistan will be the front-runners, playing in not so new conditions and with momentum behind them. But, if both the team look to play cricket for 100 overs we may witness yet another run-feast and the teams need to compromise with what they get. Everybody is looking forward to the first game of the quarter-finals and expect no less than a cracker of a contest.

ICC World Cup 2011 - SWOT Analysis : WEST INDIES

   The other "Indian" team in the world cup other than the Indians of course is the West Indies. Gosh!! that was as lame as I can get. They are two time world champions, hard to believe from the current state in which they are, it seems as a completely different dimensional world where the Windies were once indomitable. With game changers like Gayle, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Pollard, Bravo(s) they still are a team no one is likely to take lightly. Darren Sammy once again leads this side, and hopefully the contract problems will not rise up again till the world cup is over. Selectors have gone for spinning options in Miller, Benn and provide some teeth to the attack with Roach, Rampaul, Rusell who will be joined  by captain Sammy, Pollard, Bravo and perhaps Gayle. There is balance to this team but notable names like Edwards, Taylor are missing who can make impact immediately. Carlton Baugh's selection is debatable. 

West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Rusell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath.

Strenghts:

• "Gayle Force". No team would like to be the one on the receiving end.
• "Kieron Pollard". The man can tonk the ball some distance and we shall let his bat do the talking.
• "Batting". The batting finally looks to be coming around with all holes being plugged and Sarwan, Chanderpaul's experience will be mightly useful in sub-continent conditions a.k.a. batting pitches.

Weakness:

• "Team" game. Whether they play as a united team or as individuals who impress is a bother for many.
• "Consistency". The only consistency this team has showed us recently, is the lack of positive results.

Opportunities:

• Darren Bravo, who has impressed cricket followers all over will be keen to cement his place at no.3, despite the return of Sarwan and the rock solid Chanderpaul.
• Benn n Miller will have a task up their sleeves to help the side win games and get the ball rolling or rather spinning.

Threats:

• The Windies have not played top-notch cricket for a while, and it shows with their current rating of 8 in the ICC ODI ratings. They don't need just one big knock from Gayle but, a consistent show to take them all the way and re-live their glorious past.

    They are placed in the Group B, along with hosts India, Bangladesh and top teams South Africa, England. The Windies are very much capable to make the cut to the Quarters, it remains to be seen whether they overcome their internal issues and play as the team that they're capable of.

ICC World T20 - India beat Sri Lanka & make it to semis

In the final game and must win situation, the Indian team did wat is the best kept secret around the world *WIN*. Batting first Ind put on 144 and then bowled 20 miserly overs giving the Lankans just 73 runs and picking 9 wickets. So, win by 71 runs means Ind go through to the semis thanks to a brilliant performance.

Now that the eves have qualified it remains to see if the "Men in Blue" follow suit. What a co-incidence?!! I dint see that coming... Honestly! They too similarly have to face the islanders in their final super 8 match and win by a margin of atleast 20 runs batting first. Not so tough huh?! Lankan men though, will not be as easy as the Lankan eves and will try India dont sneak in the semis like the Pakistanis did yesterday. Oh, yea! we told you it will happen.. Dint we?

Despite all the numbers and calculations it will depend on whether Aussies bt Windies in the final game of the super 8 stage. So, once again a billion hearts will have prayers on their lips, only strangely supporting the obnoxious Ozzies.. Ha! Its so simple, Aus bt WI and  Ind crush SL and they're through. Only they have to do it now.

So, lets not shift focus from the eves, after all it is their moment. "India beat Sri Lanka and qualify for the semi-finals". Hope, we get to read this once again. Till then let me hear you say.. WAH! (one more time)

ICC World T20 - How Pakistan are better placed than India

Final four games and most people don't realise that the race to the semis is still alive for all super 8 teams. It has been helped by the fact that Australia and England have been unbeaten and this in fact will be very crucial in the last few games as well. Pakistan the defending champions still have a ray of hope, and a very glossy one that! same time ex-champs India have also lost 2/2 but, are not as comfortable as Pakistan are.

So, why is Pakistan better placed than India to make it to the semis you ask.. simple "Net Run Rate" dear, the very three words MSD would pay to remove from the Englsih vocabolary. As of now Pakistan hv a NRR better than SAF, NZL who are ahead only because of points. So, all Pakistan need is a victory over SAF today and hope that England remain unbeaten in their match against the Kiwis. That should do it.. Pakistan once again from no where will go through, with the biggest baddest grin you'll ever see but cant see-see.

Meanwhile India has to think on parallel terms.. They need to pray Aussies bt host Windies and then Men in Blue go and beat Sri Lanka by a big and I mean BIG! margin. That's unlikely but, never say never.. India should be happy to be getting away from Barbados for the time being. Last game at St. Lucia where they beat Saffers should give them some positive mind-set. But Lankans wont be sad either, they can definitely play the quality of spin India is providing them. But, no Murali will definitely be a positive for Indians. So, some exciting times ahead. Lets hope the unexpected happens and we are in for a treat! Till then let me hear you say.. WAH!

ICC World T20 - Super 8 Group F preview

The story in Group F of the super 8 its more likely the same. Lets have a quick look at the teams.

Australia - *Ozzy desperate for T20 success*
Ex-world champions in every format of the game. Wait a minute.. not T20! But, they did beat the defending champs quite convincingly. Got the best pace attack and use SPD Smith and Puppy Clarke as frontline spinners!
Since 2 of their 3 super 8 games are in Barbados their weak spin dept may not affect them. Look good to cruise into the semis despite the loss against Zimbabwe in the practise match and sudden slump against Bangladesh in the previous match. Hunger to win in this format is bringing the best out of them.

Wah say, "Better late than never" No.1 finish

Sri Lanka - *Lanka living in the Past*
Very well balanced side but, seems to lack the ability to give the final blow when the opposition is weak. After Sangakkara the batting looks like crockery, looks good but the cracks cant be hidden.
Lankan attack sans Moorali will make life tougher, Slinga Malinga will have too much riding on him. Dilshan, Jayawardene, Sangakkara have their task cut out. Jayasurya needs to bat higher probably no.4.

Wah say, "Surprised?" No.4 finish

India - *Incredible India*
Will have to play out of their skins to restore lost pride after the humiliation that defending champs of '07 could not go past the super 8 stage in '09. MSD will look to senior players to play with responsibility. But when Yuvi, Bhajji are among them its Dooms-day!
Nevertheless, Indian contingent looks balanced. Should be able to give a fight. The road ahead is difficult and the journey still a long one. The opening pair is still in search of some calmness, the fielding needs to lift the game. Yusuf should be tried higher in the batting order probably ahead or Yuvi at no.4.
Praveen Kumar is injured and Umesh Yadav of the Delhi Daredevils is his replacement.

Wah say, "Thou shall fight on the beaches, Thou shall fight on the cricket grounds, Thou shall fight ... Thou shall never surrender." No.2 finish

West Indies - *Curry-Bean flavour*
The home team will have the advantage of knowing the conditions but, it comes down to performance and Windies look iffy at best. Good range of allrounders available for the captain in Sammy, Bravo, Pollard and himself.
Sarwan needs to click soon. Big-Benn will be crucial and how Gayle uses him. Rampaul is better suited in the dressing room and nowhere near the field.

Wah say, "If u play the perfect host.." No.3 finish

ICC World T20 - Super 8's fixtures

The ICC World T20 championships moves into the Super 8's stage and here are the top 8 teams that have progressed so far:

Group E:

• Pakistan
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• England

Group F:

• Australia
• Sri Lanka
• India
• West Indies

Here's how the games are likely to be played:

• May 6 - Barbados

 Pakistan v England
 South Africa v New Zealand

• May 7 - Barbados

 Australia v India
 Sri Lanka v West Indies

• May 8 - Barbados

 Pakistan v New Zealand
 England v South Africa

• May 9 - Barbados

 India v West Indies
 Sri Lanka v Australia

• May 10 - St. Lucia

 Pakistan v South Africa
 New Zealand v England

• May 11 - St. Lucia

 Sri Lanka v India
 West Indies v Australia

The top 2 teams in Group E and Group F will move into the semi-finals. So, now that we are past the minnows or any possible upsets. We are in the business end of the world T20 thingy. Hoping the battles will be fierce and not affected by rain so, we don't have to swear on Mr. Duckworth and Mr. Lewis in the upcoming games.

Carribean T20 - Attention Indian Fans! Vijay replaces injured Sehwag

As expected , an INDIAN player is injured. Courtesy: IPL. It is none other than the swashbuckling opener, Virender-JATMAN-Sehwag. The details of the injury is not known yet,must be the usual hamstring/ribs/shoulder injury or maybe mental disorder because of the fact that Double Ds dint make it to the semis. No prizes for guessing who flying to the Carribean to replace him, its Murali-Now you know why I scored in IPL-Vijay. Its a great oppurtunity for the guy to make a mark in T20s and thus make it to the ODIs too. The advantage for Vijay is that there are no other backup openers in the Indian Squad. So,even if he doesn't perform he still plays, but we hope it doesn't happen.Ya, we know people may say Rohit Sharma may open. Cut the Crap right now. Period. Vijay entered the test arena as a replacement for Gambhir too. Viru's loss is Vj's gain. All we can say is ALL THE BEST to VIJAY and GET WELL SOON, WE WILL NOT MISS YOU to VIRU. To show your love & affection send your best wishes directly to Viru @sehwagvirender.


P.S- Sehwag has injured his shoulder , now don't ask if its Left or Right :)

B.B.O.T.D. - DeVil

Believe it or not, today is the very day 26 years ago DEVIL was born. Daredevil by heart, Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is the bday bum of the day. Half human pure evil, AB is young and a strong prospect for South African cricket. He's already a first choice player in any format of the game. His adaptability, maturity and aggression are quite stunning for his age. No surprise why he is already seen as someone who will take South African cricket to new heights. Be it T20, ODI or Test cricket AB has been there done that.. Add to that his alien, ambidextrous fielding skills makes him one of the highly reputed fielders in world cricket, getting him comparisons from none other than "Jonty" himself. Already he has produced some memorable performances like his double hundred against Ind, 174 against Eng or 178 against the Windies or even his 102* for the Daredevils against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL(mind-blowing that!!). He has set his standards high, and it is only exciting to see what he can do to beat that. So, what's next?



p.s: Also is Adil Rashid's birthday. Cheers

W.W.W.S. - SAF's tour of India Begins

• The Proteas started the Indian tour on a bold note against the Board President’s xi crucial warm-up match. Captain Smith had his intentions clear giving all his bowlers and his batsmen good bowling practice ahead of the most awaited (read retarded) 2 match test series yet. His frontline pace attack made mince meat of the top order. The day was severe on high reputations, as Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhinav Mukund all failed miserably. Pandey disappointed as well but, since he outscored all named previously and he attacked the bowlers he is pardoned. Biff gave his spinners a dozen overs each and this allowed Abhishek Nayar and Shikhar Dhawan who came 6-down (can you believe that) to build a partnership. Nayar scored a ton exactly and Dhawan was dismissed at 70 and thus the BPxi bundled out for 318 on day 1 of the warm up game. Saffers looked happy, Biff satisfied.. nice lunch I suppose.



• The Duleep trophy final also started with very less attention as both teams looked depleted due to players unavailability. South Zone led by Dinesh-butter-fingers-Karthik won the toss and decided to bat first. West zone ran through the top order and then entered captain Dinesh-I-can-fukin-bat-Karthik. He took the responsibility once again and restored some respect at the end of day one. Karthik unbeaten on 161 with the help of Gautam and Sathish have taken the SZ’s score to 356/6 at stumps.



• Meanwhile, the bite-gate controversy only involved more cheers. Shahid BoOm bOom Afridi claimed he was only trying to smell the ball and feel it. You can do that Shahid but please, avoid doing that with your teeth next time. Since he is banned for 2 T20 internationals and they are playing just one against Australia and he is the captain of Pakistan in T20’s PCB have announced Shoaib Malik will lead the team for the game against the Aussies.



• Ottis Gibson will now take over as the new coach of the West Indies confirmed WICB. Only, he won’t take over immediately but, from the home series against Zimbabwe.

B.B.O.T.D. - SOMETHING BIFFY ABOUT IT!

It’s late already but, I have to post this before the day ends. Else, these ppl won’t get this chance for the next 365 days. No kiddin! I remember ignoring Saqlain Mushtaq and I still feel bad for having done such a merciless thing. So, Biff, Jadu, Malik, Rose, Fulton we shall honor you with the prestigious Bday Bum of the day. And all u had to do to earn this was play the damn game. Sheesh, was that hard enough?

So, u don’t scream like a mad bull


Or blame my family over this ..


Or act crazzzzzzeeee …


Or Gimme cheap(GAY) looks…



So, grab ur partner/partners and hit the dance floor.. and P.A.R.T.Y.


U have earned it!!! U are officially the Bday Bums of the day. Happy Birthday! :)

W.W.W.S. -While Wah were Sloshed...

• Pak lost to Aus again.


• Ind bowl out Bangers for 233.


• Saf announced their test and ODI squad for Indian tour.


• SL resume the romance with Ind.


• Pak u-19 reach u-19 WC finals.


• GG does a Viv, in search of the Don.

The second ODI between Australia and Pakistan played at Sydney, resulted in the Aussies thrashing the Stanis by a mere 140 runs margin. Opting to bowl first, Stani’s fast bowlers were not effective enough. Aussie openers, Twatto & Marshy put up a hundred run stand and set the drums rolling. The spinners though brought them back in the game. White once again played well, his fifty helped Australia post 267. Not a mighty but, a competitive total keeping both the teams interested in the match. The second innings however, faired very poorly for the Stanis. Bollinger started strongly claiming 2 early wickets, Pak – 2/7. Clint McKay continued the Aussie onslaught reducing Pak to 7/71. Peter Sizzle was sizzling as well.. Not long before Pak were all out for 127 falling short by a mere 140 runs. Aus now 2-0 up in the 5 match ODI series.

The other Pakistani team though was just proving to be unbeatable. The u-19 boys beat the Windies and moved into the finals of the u-19 world cup. Sri Lanka face Australia in the other semis match.

Saffers announced their test and ODI squad for the Indian tour starting in February. Botha gets into the test squad. Gibbs in the ODI squad. Peterson in both. Albie Morkel still missing. I hope Prince is not going to Open the batting with Smith again. It’s clearly not his game. I’d prefer to see Amla-Smith opening, followed by Kallis, AB Devil, Prince then Doominy. Let’s see wats in store for us ahead.

Sri Lankans though don’t seem to be interested in sitting idle. They got the time, they got the deal. Yet another Ind-SL tournament now featuring Kiwis. The Ind-SL romance just can’t be kept under wraps for the moment.

Gautam Gambhir who hit his 5th consecutive ton in tests against the Bangers at Cheetah-gong, was very much in line to achieve sir Don’s record of 6 consecutive test tons in the 2nd test at Dhaka before he got out on 68. Awwww… u just can stop feeling for the man. Gauti however did manage to equal sir Viv Richards record of 11 consecutive 50+ scores in as many tests. Wow!! I dint see that coming..

India earlier bowled out the Bangers for 233 in the 1st inn at Dhaka. Ishant claimed 4 wkts, Zaks took 3. Mysteriously, Mishra-ji was dropped in this test. Pragyan Ojha and Bhajji made their return. Also, Murali Vijay replaced the injured VVS Laxman. MSD resumed duty behind wickets. Mahmudullah once again played well for his 96.

2009 - gone bys & good byes 4th QTR

In the ongoing series of the Quarterly review of 2009, we have finally reached the last of the four quarters. Nevertheless, the cricket has not. In the final quarter the quality and quantity of cricket was taken to a new level.

First, the tests. Sri Lanka visited India for a battle of the spin stars. So, that was Murali+Medis+Herath Vs Bhajji+Mishra+Ojha. Disappointing to say the least, Lankans went down 2-0. Murali was simply attacked, Mendis was even dropped, Herath was a bit of “if - but” throughout. Sehwag continued destructing attacks as a routine thing. Gambhir notched up 4 test centuries in a row, after 2 in kiwi-land. Sachin, Dravid, Laxman got runs and more runs. Sri Lanka were overpowered and a list of injuries to players dint help either. As a result, for the very first time since India began playing test cricket.. they became the #1 test side in the world courtesy some crap rating system (read ICC). West Indies toured Australia, with the players and WICB finally putting down their swords. But, that dint change the course of the test series. Aussies easily winning 2-0. Australia then beat Pakistan 3-0 in tests, winning from losing situations thanks to the generous Pakistanis. The far more interesting test series were played between Pakistan-New Zealand and South Africa-England.

Pakistan toured New Zealand in November, a side which saw a new captain in MoYo and few ICL stars returning to the side along with the i_wanna_be_ShoaibAkhtar Md. Asif. Kiwis too were playing with the return of ICL stars like Tuffey and Bond. The test series was closely fought closer than it seems 1-1 the final result. Players who impressed were Umar Akmal, Md. Asif, Aamer, Bond, Tuffey, Vettori. Not so surprisingly Bond got injured after m.o.m performance winning the first test. This left Kiwis losing the final test and helped Pakistan drawing level in the series. The England-South Africa series up the stakes even higher. England managing to draw the 1st test with just the last wicket remaining, denying Saffers a victory. Upbeat Proteas then lost the 2nd test to the Poms after a batting slump. Proteas fought back hard in the 3rd test, once again England managing a draw, denied victory by one wicket. This confirmed England were now the most annoying side in test cricket. Remember the Ashes – Cardiff test? Saffers somehow did manage to pick 20 english wickets and thus won the 4th and final test leveling the test series 1-1.



ODI’s first saw the Aussies thrash England after losing the Ashes test series.
Australia beat England 6-1 in a 7 match ODI series. The tri-nation series held in Sri Lanka featured India, New Zealand and the hosts. India won the tri-series all geared up for the prestigious Champions Trophy in South Africa. Australia won this major event in the cricketing calendar without pulling a muscle. Shane Watson was impressive, taking his role in the team to a new high. Pakistan for once was very impressive, only losing to the Kiwis in the semi-finals, raised questions about the match being fixed. England surprisingly made it to the semis of an ICC tournament, losing to their friends, defending champs and eventual champs = Australia.
Australia then played another 7 match ODI series this time in India. Beating India at home 4-2. Pakistan lost the ODI series in NZl, but won their area of expertise the T20’s. England beat SAf at home 2-1, becoming only the 2nd nation to beat SAf at home in ODI’s. Sri Lanka – India continued playing cricket as though nothing else was left to do. India won 3-1, with the final ODI at Kotla, New Delhi being abandoned. Ind, Bangladesh and no prize for guessing Sri Lanka played a tri-series, this time Sri Lanka winning the finals.



The Champions League T20, held in India saw some of the top domestic teams fighting it out T20 style. Which means the top 3 teams from the IPL, 2 teams from Aus, SAF, Eng and 1 each from W.I. , S.L., NZl. 12 champion teams and only one possible champion of the champions. The tournament did raise a few questions as the current world T20 champs dint have any representative side i.e. Pakistan were booted out. Nevertheless, the tournament took off to a flier, the current IPL champs i.e. Deccan Chargers were blown out in the very first round. This left Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils in the next round but, in the same group. But, it dint stop there, none of the Indian teams qualified for the semis. Trinidad & Tobago team the surprise package. In fact, they beat the Cape Cobras and met New South Wales who beat Victoria Bushrangers in the finals of the Champions League. New South Wales emerged as the winners of the first champions league T20. Being crowned champion of the champions. Kieron Pollard left an impact with a batting strike rate of 197!


So, in a year action packed with cricket it wasn’t easy summing things up. Major tournaments like the Ashes, ICC Champions Trophy, T20 World cup, Champions league T20 and of course the IPL all featuring in a single calendar year. Hope, you’ve enjoyed reading as much as enjoyed watching the cricket and wishing 2010 takes the competition to the next level. Until then say “Wah”.