India, are currently leading the pack and are cruising their way into the knockouts. Netherlands, despite an impressive start stand no chance this World cup and must improve considerably if they want to make another World cup appearance. Ireland on the other hand, have played laudable cricket but still find themselves in a precarious position. However, they still do stand the tiniest of chances of going through. For that to happen, the Irish have to win and win with huge margins against both South Africa and Netherlands. Despite this, England and West Indies’s results need to go in their favour too. Highly unlikely, I would say.
The real race is between England and Bangladesh. England are a point ahead but are a match short and a win for England still may not do the trick for them, theoretically at least.
Theoretically speaking, even India, West Indies and South Africa may miss out. Here’s how:

How can India be eliminated?
Albeit only in theory, this indeed is a possibility. For this to happen, WI must down India, England must beat WI (with a big margin), Bangladesh must beat RSA, RSA must beat Ireland and Bangladesh must beat the Netherlands.
With this, the WI will top the group with 8 points followed by Bangladesh and South Africa with 8 each and England with 7 (Higher NRR than India).
Only in theory, nevertheless, cricket’s a funny game.

How can West Indies be eliminated?
Not many would have even thought that the West Indies would progress to the 2nd round of the World cup but an impressive couple of weeks and a few star performances has made this happen.
The WI should qualify to the next round but again, could be eliminated. For this to happen, India must beat WI, England must beat WI, Bangladesh must down South Africa and Bangladesh must beat Netherlands.
With this, India will top the group with 9 points, followed by South Africa and Bangladesh at 8 points each and England with 7 points.
The way WI cricket has gone over the past decade, this sure is a possibility.

How can South Africa be eliminated?
One of the favourites to lift the trophy, South Africa too might find themselves out before the knockouts.
For this to happen, WI must beat India, England must beat WI, Bangladesh must beat South Africa, Ireland too must beat South Africa and Bangladesh must beat the Netherlands.
With this, the Windies and Bangladesh will end up with 8 points, closely followed by India and England at 7.
This seems highly unlikely as South Africa must lose to Ireland. Nevertheless, K O’Brien may just have different ideas.

How can England be eliminated?
England after a huge Ashes win have failed to discover form in the One day format. A loss to WI might spell doom for the English
However, a win would not guarantee them a spot either as if India may end up with a better NRR or more points if they beat WI.
Spots are up for grabs. All the action is happening in Group B. The quarter finalists from Group A is a no brainer. I would still have my money on England making the last 4 (from B) with India, RSA and Windies filling up the rest.
Nevertheless, an interesting week lies ahead and England and Ireland will be hoping a lot of other results go their way too.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh cruised to what turned out to be one of the more comfortable wins of the World Cup when they beat Netherlands at the ZAC Stadium in Chittagong by six wickets. Bangladesh made 166/4 in 41.2 overs with Imrul Kayes being declared the man of the match.

There were a couple of unnecessary wickets that Bangladesh threw away in the end, but the initial batting of Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique had done enough to assure them of the win.

Tamim Iqbal departed early in the innings of their chase of 161 when he was bowled by Mudassar Bukhari for a duck. However, the batting of Kayes and Siddique was like a soothing balm for the side which needed to win this to get to the quarter-finals.

Siddique departed for a well-made 35 while Kayes scored an unbeaten 73 to guide the team to the win. There was a sterling contribution of 37 by Shahriar Nafees that went a long way in stalling the possibility of a collapse.

In the final analysis, Netherlands should have got to much more than what they finally did. On a track that had not spun too much, apart from the first few overs, the Netherlands should have had it easy. And yet, some poor running between the wickets, brought about some frustrating batting by Netherlands meant that the Dutch were bowled out for 160 in 46.2 overs.

That the Netherlands side did not bat their full quota of 50 overs told a story by itself. There were starts for many of the batsmen but they took so much time to settle down that by the time it was the turn to accelerate the frustration took the better of them.

After Wesley Barresi had been declared lbw for 10 and a strange decision to bat tail-ender Mudassar Bukhari up the order had backfired, Eric Szwarczynski and Tom Cooper took the score to 66/2 in the 23^rd over.

One would have thought that with the starts that both the batsmen got, it would have made sense for both of them to go on to get a big one. Instead, this was the start of the end for the Dutch batting.

Szwarczynski ran himself out at the non-striker’s end while Cooper followed him soon after, run-out again after being dropped by the wicket-keeper.

There were a few runs added by Alexei Kervezee and Ryan ten Doeschate but once the former had played one of the more uncalled for stroke of the game and was stumped, the rest of the batting just capitulated and were bowled out.

Ten Doeschate scored a half-century and remained unbeaten till the end.

This win takes Bangladesh to six points from five games. They have one more game to play against the South African side at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur and if they win that one as well, they will be through to the quarter-finals.

However, if Bangladesh lose that game, then, they will need to either hope that West Indies beat England or that West Indies can lose all their remaining games and go below Bangladesh on the net run-rate.

Against Bangladesh, England flattered to deceive with both the bat and ball, which eventually ended in another shocking defeat for the battered Englishmen. After Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and surprisingly asked Andrew Strauss’ men to take first strike, England had a great chance to bat Bangladesh out of the game. But, they never looked it command during their innings. They cannot be faulted for adopting a cautious approach at the start. But, the problem was that no one kicked off after getting their eye in. Strauss, Matthew Prior and Ravi Bopara all got into double figures, but no one went on to make a substantial contribution. The only partnership of note was between Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan, who has replaced the injured Kevin Pietersen. Trott and Morgan batted with a lot of sense and purpose and looked on course to reviving the England innings. Unfortunately for the batting unit, both fell just when it seemed that the innings was on the upswing. At least one of the two needed to carry on. Instead, England lost the momentum and it was all downhill for them from there onwards. In hindsight, it was an utterly disappointing batting effort.

For England to make a comeback from there, they needed to put in an extremely disciplined and hard-hitting effort. But, the Bangladesh openers had totally different plans. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes came out all guns blazing as Bangladesh looked set to pull off yet another upset. Until the pair was at the crease, England looked down and out for the count. But, England fought back well courtesy some disciplined bowling and fielding and an excellent spell by Ajmal Shahzad. The quickie’s three-wicket burst brought them right back into the game, and with Graeme Swann also supporting him ably, England seemed in firm control of the game. But, when it’s England expect the unexpected.

Just as the game seamed all but sealed, Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam combined forces to leave England shell shocked. Importantly, it wasn’t a ‘slog all’ partnership and both the batsmen picked and chose their shots. England were clearly not prepared for this unexpected onslaught and were found wanting at the end. As the boundaries started coming, the England heads began to drop. In the end, Bangladesh cruised to victory in a sense as England yet again let their guard down when a pressure cooker situation arose.

The win will boost Bangladesh’s confidence no end. Following the disaster against West Indies, they needed a win like this to raise their sagging morale. The latest win means they are still alive in the competition and could pip England to sneak a place into the quarter finals. Of course, it will not be an easy task, but they will be buoyed nonetheless. The performance of the opening batsmen will give them a degree of assurance as they look ahead to the remaining to clashes. Bowling wise too they have been performing reasonably well. But, it is the middle-order batting that is Bangladesh’s biggest concern. They need to set things right over there. In spite of his inconsistency, the experience of Mohammad Ashraful should be given a chance yet again since the others haven’t done any better.

For the record, Bangladesh’s remaining two games in the league phase will be against Netherlands and South Africa. They should be able to overcome the former test, but the Proteas will be the big challenge for them. That said, they had, in fact, got the better of South Africa four years ago in the Caribbean. The win came on a sluggish pitch that assisted Bangladesh’s spinners and the South Africans succumbed to the pressure as their frailties on slower surfaces were exposed. In that context, Bangladesh would hold a distinct advantage as they are playing the South Africans at home this time. Home environs should give them a lot of confidence to come good on the big day. But, before that, they need to see off Netherlands. True, the Dutch have been going downhill ever since running the Englishmen close in the opening game. However, they showed marked improvements against India and hence cannot be underestimated.

Shifting focus to England, all they can do now is play out of their skins and beat West Indies. They need to also ensure that they improve their run-rate as much as possible in case that comes into the equation. Most importantly though, they need to get their mindset right. Somebody needs to come up with something magical or inspirational to get England’s thinking back on track. After all, beating West Indies will not be an easy task for them considering that the Caribbeans managed to crush the Irishmen, who had successfully chased down a mammoth England total and rewritten history.

A lot needs to go right for England in the game against the West Indies. Also, they need some degree of luck to boost their confidence, which has taken a definite battering. Strauss and coach Andy Flower need to put on their thinking caps on and assess the areas where England can show marked improvements. After all, they cannot afford any mistakes against the Windies else it would be all over for England. In short, it’s time for the think-tank to head to the drawing table and start from scratch all over again.

Team Bangladesh celebrating an Irish wicket

Bangladesh faced off an underrated Ireland in a low scoring match at their home ground in Mirpur. Bangladesh chose to bat after winning the toss. It was another show piece by two minnows which gave some excitement to the tepid world cup fever. Bangladesh rattled Ireland by 27 runs bowling Ireland out for 178 in a reply to Bangladesh’s 205 all out in the final over of the first innings. Tamim Iqbal earned man of the match award for his better than run a ball 43 in a low scoring encounter.

After scoring 70 against India at a contrasting strike rate to the asking rate, Tamim Iqbal came back to his fearless ways of dominating the bowling upfront and creamed the Irish bowlers to all sides of the park. Imrun Kayes was expertly stumped on the leg side by Niall O’Brien and became the first to depart as a victim to Mooney, who kept a steady line and length while giving away just 25 of his 7 overs. Bangladesh took 67 runs in their first power play but quick tumbling of wickets put breaks on the scoring and they could manage only 19 runs in the next five. Raqibul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim shared the highest stand of the innings of 61 runs which gave Bangladeshi bowlers to have something to bowl at as they were reduced to 205 all out on the second ball of the last over of their innings. Andre Botha was pick of the bowlers as he claimed 3 wickets for 32 in his 9 overs at an economical rate. The teenager Dockrell showed good promise and kept the slow pace and made it difficult for the Bangladeshi batsmen to hit him away as they could only manage 23 of his 10 overs with two scalps to his name.

The Irish captain, William Poterfield had a confident start alongside Paul Stirling who could only be his companion till the 6^th over as he was stumped by Rahim of the bowling of wily Razzak. Poterfield was next to depart of Shakib al Hasan’s bowling as he tried to flick him through mid wicket and handing a simple catch in the process. Bangladeshi crowd was dancing in the aisle as Ashraful, unsuccessful with the bat, dashed out a caught and bowled from Ed Joyce. Irish hopes were still on the younger of O’Brien brothers, who was their saviour in their famous win against Pakistan in the 2007 world cup. As Ashraful uprooted the stumps of Andrew White, Irish were stunned by Shakib al Hasan snatching the heavily priced wicket of Niall O’Brien. Ireland were in a slump but the elder O’Brien showed courage as he guided them to 151  before holding out for an individual score of 37 of 40 deliveries including the one and only maximum of the match. The last hope for Ireland kneeled with the wicket of Andre Botha of slinging Shafiul Islam, who was reversing and skidding the cricket ball. Shafiul changed the game on his head and took four important wickets and became the hero for Bangladeshi supporters.

Bangladesh now needs to work on their batting and raise the bar as they did against India. They now meet West Indies and will be demystifying quite a few sceptics about the fourth berth, to the quarter-final, in Group B.

Final Score

BAN                205 all out (49.2)

IRE                 178 all out (45)

MOM               Tamim Iqbal

Virendra Sehwag

It is being touted by a number of Indians, including Virender Sehwag, as a revenge game. However, MS Dhoni and his men would do well to concentrate on playing proper cricket, like they would have done if they were facing another side. Of course, the shock loss against Bangladesh still haunts the men in blue. However, in an effort to go the extra mile keeping the grudge in mind, they might find themselves in trouble again. Looking back, one must except that the Indians were highly overconfident four years back. Sehwag, himself, was one of the culprits, who woke up the Bangla tigers by reminding them of the then ensuing India’s tour of Bangladesh, when the ICC Cricket World Cup had not even begun. And, as the cliché goes, the rest is entrenched in history. While it is good for the Indians that they are more alert this time round, it shouldn’t result in them giving over importance to the game just like the entire unwanted hullabaloo around how and why India should win the cup for Sachin Tendulkar.

On paper, India are definitely the stronger of the two sides. In fact, when it comes to the batting department, they are better than most sides in the tournament. Having said that, the opening game would be played at Mirpur in Bangladesh, which will undeniably give the home side a distinct advantage. And this is where the fact that they have beaten India in the past in a Cricket World Cup game will be of great help to Bangladesh. After all, nothing beats experience when it comes to the big stage. India will need to be wary once again, but the good news for them is that with Dhoni at the helm of affairs, the current squad, with all due respect to Rahul Dravid, looks a lot more settled and balanced than the wearing bunch of 2007.

Key contests

Sehwag vs Bangladesh opening bowlers

This contest could go a long way in deciding the fate of the match. Back in 2007, Sehwag failed to give India the much needed brisk start. Also, there was no Gautam Gambhir around to steady the innings and the rest just capitulated under pressure. Sehwag is very much aware of the added responsibility this time around. And with Gambhir and, of course, Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order, he can go all out in an effort to decimate the Bangladeshis at home. If he comes of well enough the so-called revenge will automatically take shape. And even if he fails, India have enough firepower to fight back. However, it is a fact that a Sewhag special always tilts the scales in India’s favour. And so, the team management would do well to not cloud his thoughts with too many things and let his mind be free of the worries of losing his wicket. If Sehwag cuts loose and the Bangladeshis do not have a backup plan, they would be in serious trouble.

Indian middle order vs Bangla spinners

If India get off to a smashing start, then they have the wherewithal to pile on the agony for Bangladesh in the middle overs. And, even if they lose early wickets, there is enough depth in their batting to aid them overcome a poor start. Still the contest between the Indian middle order and the spinners of the home team promises to be an intriguing one. This is because at home, the Bangladeshi tweakers are equally effective as any other in the world. When the conditions are in their favour, they can be ruthless. Remember, on a sluggish pitch in the Caribbean four years ago, they strangled even the strong South African side. And hence, India need to tread this path carefully. In Abdur Razzak and skipper Shakib Al Hasan, they have two genuinely good, wicket-taking spinners. And with the home support to back them, they could be doubly dangerous. This is where Yuvraj Singh’s role could be particularly crucial. He isn’t having the best of times and neither is he the best player of spin. But, he is experienced enough now to get his act right on the big stage. Virat Kohli, who is expected to make the final eleven ahead of Suresh Raina, is another vital cog for India in the middle-overs. He has the dual ability to rotate the striking freely with lightning running between the wickets and also pierce the gap on crucial occasions. And thus, Kohli’s success or failure could end up having a major impact on the eventual result.

Slog success

Ideally, India would want Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan out in the middle during this stage of the innings, the latter more so. Not only is Pathan in form, but he is also high on confidence following the success in South Africa, which no one believed he could achieve, at least to the extent he did. And with Dhoni too showing his true colours during the practice game against Kiwis, it would be a genuine treat to watch them together, purely as a great cricketing experience, irrespective of the team one is supporting. Again, this could be a highly defining phase of the game.

Indian opening bowlers vs Bangla openers

This is where India lost it four years ago, and this is where they could get into trouble again. Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar struggled in 2007 and let the Bangla openers get off to a flying start, which eventually sealed the fate for India. While Zaheer has matured since, the same cannot be said about his current bowling partners. S. Sreesanth can blow hot or cold depending upon his mood while Ashish Nehra has the tendency to come up with a shocking bowling performance every now and then. This will be India’s major not only in the opening game but for the remainder of the tournament as well. However, it will be important to start well and thus the Mirpur game assumes greater significance.

Clearly, the contest that will most probably decide the match.

Shahadat Hossain celebrates his wicket

I write this article as I watch Bangladesh take on England at the home of cricket lords. Its lunch time on the second day of the first test match and Bangladesh seem to be playing without any motive, an absolute disgrace to the game of test cricket.

It was almost coming down to lunch time before umpire Ashoka de Silva from Sri Lanka decided on one more over before the clock ticked over the stipulated 1 o clock time. Bangaldeshi skipper Shakib al Hasan handed the ball over to former captain Mohammad Ashraful.

Ashraful bowled an over of absolute dollies depicting nonchalance towards the game of test cricket. Slow leg breaks, nothing more than 40 miles per hour short and wide, some looped up even over the shoulder. The balls were so slow that one of them couldn’t be recorded on the speed gun. Atrocious piece of cricket!

So, the question arises should test cricket be streamlined to the top 8 teams in the world? Will test cricket miss the Bangladeshi’s?

The matter is as much the concern of survival of test cricket as it is of giving an opportunity to upcoming nations like Bangladesh on the international arena. But do they deserve it? Are they doing justice to it?

After seeing something like this I have my reserves about answering these questions.

Well, it can always be said that the critics are always out armed with daggers ready to strike. However, in retrospect one could say that it was one over to lunch and a culmination of slackened bodies and minds could have caused this.

Whatever be the reason, one thing is certain international test cricket was not made for this. International test cricket was made for quality and I am afraid that is not to be seen anywhere keeping the ashes aside.

The South African batting got of to a sedate start before RP Singh got the better of Gibbs. This did not stop AB de Villiers from piling up the runs as he looked in supreme control throughout his innings. South African’s were looking to post a challenging total, when Indian captain MS Dhoni introduced spin into the attack. The Indian spinners especially Jadeja bowled magnificently on a slow spinning track to restrict the South Africans to a low total.

The main contributions for South Africa came from AB de Villiers, who scored 63 runs and Graeme Smith, who scored 26 runs. The rest of the South African batting line up looked fragile on the slow turning wicket. Albie Morkel, hit two boundaries in the final over as South Africa posted a score of 130, a challenging one on this slow turning track.

The Indians started the run chase in a confident manner as both Gambhir and Sharma took charge of the innings and hammered the South African pacers to all parts of the ground. India was well placed at 47 runs without the loss of any wicket after the fifth over of the innings. Things were looking in control and Indian fans expecting their team to win comfortably. However, this was short lived as South Africa introduced spin in the sixth over itself. Johan Botha then got the better of Gambhir to open up the Indian batting lineup. Botha struck a further blow to India as he removed Raina, and Duminy completed the assault by getting rid of Sharma in quick succession.

The Indian innings headed for a disaster with the dismissals of Dhoni and Pathan, as the South African spinners started to outclass the Indian batsman. The only resistance was provided by Yuvraj Singh as he scored 24 runs to keep the Indian hopes alive in the match. However, India was left to do too much in the end as they lost by 12 runs to the Proteas. The only other notable contributions were from the openers Gambhir, who scored 21 runs and Sharma, who scored 29 runs. The otherwise shaky Indian batting line up lived up to its reputation once again as they went down tamely to the South Africans. The best bowler for South Africa was J Botha as he picked up three crucial Indian wickets to turn the match in South Africa’s favor.

With this win, the Proteas remain unbeaten in the tournament. They would now be hoping to take their tally to six consecutive victories, when they take on the in form Pakistan in the First Semi Final clash. Pakistan, last year’s losing finalist will not spare an inch as they look to head for an interesting battle against South Africa.

The first International T20 match featured the likes of Australia and New Zealand played at the scenic Eden Park stadium in Auckland. The game has made rapid strides since then with the inaugural T20 World Cup Men’s competition being held in South Africa during September 2007. The competition played over duration of two weeks show very entertaining cricket from all the teams. It was the first time that T20 had made it this big and all the teams were uncertain about their performance in the tournament. The first bowl out in the history of T20 cricket was played between India and Pakistan in Durban after the teams were tied in the mandatory 20 over’s period.

Bangladesh proved once again that they are no longer the minnows in World Cricket with their shock defeat of the West Indies; Zimbabwe had also contributed their bit to make the tournament exciting by defeating the Australians in Cape Town. The group stages itself had laid the foundation for the tournament ahead. A young Indian team led by their inspirational captain MS Dhoni, steam rolled over England, South Africa, and title favorites Australia to set up the summit clash against arch rivals Pakistan. The final was an exciting affair with Misbah Ul Haq almost ensuring victory for Pakistan with a big six in the last over of the tournament. However, his miscalculated shot helped India achieve a dramatic 5-run victory over Pakistan and be crowned the T20 champions of the World.

The highlight of the tournament was an over in which Yuvraj Singh of India hammered Englishman Stuart Broad for six sixes of consecutive balls in that over. The most number of runs in the tournament was scored by Gautam Gambhir of India, while Umer Gul of Pakistan snapped up the maximum number of wickets. The Highest strike rate of 183.68 was achieved by Yuvraj Singh and the highest score in a T20 match was 117 scored by Chris Gayle of West Indies against South Africa. Daniel Vettori of New Zealand had the best economy rate amongst the bowlers conceding only 5.28 runs per over in a competition that favored the batsman. The highest score in a T20 match of the tournament was achieved by Sri Lanka when they amassed 260 against the minnows Kenya.

The second edition of the T20 World Cup is currently underway in England with 12 teams making it to the Men’s competition. The tournament is scheduled to be conducted after every two years except for West Indies hosting the tournament in 2010. The matches are being played in locations such as Lord’s, Trent Bridge, The Oval, and Taunton. The group stages have recently finished with Ireland and Netherlands being the surprise package of the tournament. The Dutch had raised their hopes of qualification into the Super 8 round of the tournament with an emphatic victory over England in one of the group games. However, Pakistan steam rolled them and ended all their dreams in the competition.

Ireland has been constantly improving since they first entered the big stage, a memorable win against Pakistan in the Oneday International World Cup held in West Indies, they also went on to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the Super 8 round of the competition. The in form teams of this tournament South Africa and Sri Lanka are playing solid cricket to keep their hopes alive of a summit clash, but West Indies, Pakistan, and New Zealand along with the Defending champions India will not make things easy for them. The last half of the tournament promises to be as exciting as the first half, which will throw many surprises and entertain the audiences with display of exciting cricket.