Lanka dahan on Saturday in Mumbai

Its time to face the Lankans in the final of the world cup in our own country. Sri Lanka, the old warhorses who play all their games at home and then come to Mumbai to play the final and claim the trophy as if its  their own without any fight. Just cos Murali is retiring, they want to lift that trophy and touch it. Get off folks.

You are in India, the land where you lost last 2 series 1-5 and 1-3. And in the last ODI you played here against India, you were so shit scared of the rising ball, that your captain got the pitch in Kotla banned for a good year.  2 victories and 8 losses in last 10 completed games is a very proud record isnt it.  I remember Sangakara making a lot of noise when they travelled to Mumbai to play NZ. And now they are saying they know the pitch well, the conditions well just cos they played one game there and Malinga played 2 IPL seasons there.

What a logic.

Sachin Tendulkar grew up playing cricket in Wankhede all his life. Most of them who play for India have played in Wankhede before in either a IPL game or ODI or a Test match.  Zaheer Khan plays his domestic cricket in Wankhede (whenever).  So do they expect on back of just 1 league game in Mumbai and Malinga's 2 IPL seasons, they have a better idea of the pitch and ground?  Cmon get real.

They have a shaky middle order with guys like Masarweera, Mathews, Chamaras (whom their own fans mock as Sir Kapu or Lord Silva), those who have not yet been tested to full. A team which rides on the top 3 is never going to succeed if they lose the 3 in cheap. Game against Pakistan is a testimony.  Even the game against Kiwis is a testimony. Plus India has played SL too often, so they know the way Lankans play their game. Spin heavy attack isnt going to work against India in India. 

They are pressing Murali beyond a point to play the final cos they know without him they cant win a single game. Test matches are examples of that.

The key to beat SL is get rid of Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangananga and they are exposed, bared in the mid sun, unable to lift their game.  They have also called Randiv back and also Vaas back cos they feel Angelo I  m Not out Always Mathews and Muttiah Murali are unfit. Randiv, the same man who looked poor man's no - bowler might not play as they have not yet applied for replacements. They are making Murali bowl on half a leg, even if he is not fit. 

SL fans are obsessed with India and they want SL to win against India to shut the f** up the BCCI. The anger and disgust feelings of Indian victory in SF is visible on SLCricket.com. They badly wanted Stanis to win cos they feel they can beat them in India.

Unfortunately they still run into rampant India who would want to win one more game emphatically and crown themselves as world champions. Besides the revenge of 1996 SF is also on cards. I just want to see how would they react to the loss in the finals.  They blamed squash ball for Gilly's 2007 final 100 and they kept calling for rematch as they felt it was cheating. Cheaters calling the world cheaters cos this time they were on the receiving end.  Think about those 1000s of wickets their bowlers have got who had suspect actions or those who have bent arms beyond 15 degrees and yet got away. Think about those buffoon umpires all this years who've given numerous horrendous decisions on fields.

India through to the finals

What a feeling it is. To be in the world cup finals beating Pakistan for the 5th time in the world cup. Its just difficult to digest. Goosebumps in the  tummy. Butterflies flew all around, screaming and abusing was a bit low key thanks to being in the foren country.

The tension to see in the finals after 8 long years and this time go one step further to lift the cup of glory in homeland was unpalpable. All superstitions were followed. Unmoved at times when things went right for India and when runs were leaked, when wickets didnt fall. Reeling Munna and Bhajji when they leaked runs. Blowing off Kamran Akamal when he showed his stupid poker face on screen during keeping and batting was all done.

Facebooking and watching cricket has been the trend this world cup. Update the status message on FB, update stats on FB, update number crunching there and put on some superstitions like Cmonnnnnnnnnnnnnn and to see a wicket tumble moments after that was all fun. Dont have the luxury to watch on TV on any channel, so have to rely on  the ISP and host of live streaming sites to watch the action LIVE.

It all happened on a day remarkable for Indian cricket, what a day it has been. Reaching 3rd world cup final, 2nd in 8 years and almost with the same group as it was in 2003.  Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Nehra are the survivors of that match India lost in Wanderers to rampaging Ponting and co. This time its a step to go further. Win the world cup in Mumbai, the hometown of Sachin Tendulkar, country's greatest sports icon and perhaps the best ever batsmen to play cricket in all times.

Thanks to Pakistan to turn up in India despite the hot and cold diplomatic relations, thanks to them for making the match living all the hype it had before this game even began. Thanks for them to provide us yet another opportunity to savior this victory. Beating Australia, Pakistan in the route to finals is amazing. The contests with this 2 countries have always been intense, thrilling and top quality. And Pakistan did go out in a proud fashion, forget what Misbah did in final overs, they have done their nation proud with almost flawless and mostly controversy less performance in the world cup. None expected them to come this far given what happened in past year in their build up to the world cup, so Afridi must be a proud man given how his men have delivered.

Sachin Tendulkar has played all 5 victorious games against Pakistan in World cups and he has been man of the match in 3 of them. He has scored 54, 31, 45, 98 and 85 in this 5 games. He has played with great Kapil Dev to Azhar to Jadeja, Mongia, Venkatesh Prasad and the great trio of Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble. Not to forget Javagal Srinath.

India won its first semi final at home. Previously it had lost its 2 semi finals, both chasing in 1987 to England and pretty controversially in 1996 to SL. This time India defended a 260 and won. 

The biggest turning point of the game was the dismissal of Gambhir in the 20th over which led to a mini-collapse in the 25th - 30 th over and a score of 350 became 260. Sehwag in his super assault on Umar Gul had set India on another huge total, but once he was out and the rest just went in the shell. Gambhir has been erractic this tournament. he has thrown away his wicket in almost every game. Something not expected from man of his stature.

Tendulkar was cratchy, scratchy and whatever, but his 85 set India to cross 250 and that proved to be the difference in the end.  MSD is excelling in captaincy, but his batting is concern.

What was too heartening to see was only 5 bowlers were used and everybody took 2 wkts each. Zahee was little bit off color, but he was made up by super Nehra and surprisingly Munaf.  Ashvin;s dropping was a debatable issue, but I still feel he will be a key man in the final and he should replace Munaf in the XI. Nehra got his rythm back in the 2nd spell and at helped him in the super final spell when he just gave few and got Riaz.

It was a day when the bowling and fielding excelled yet again and the batting was iffy.

In the end Younis and Misbah combined together to stall the stanis chase and its likely that this guys wont be part of the LoI set up in the future.  Misbah is test captain, but then who knows what happen in Pak cricket. The others -- Shafiq, Hafeez and UKumal didnt quite turnup to play long innings that could have won their team this game. Yet they came this far and thats applaudable.

For a change there was no sledging this time and there was no "war cry" on the ground at least.  Expecting Pak to react to this loss graciously back their home and not call for the people's head who featured in this tournament. They've got some very good positives in form of Riaz, Shafiq etc and once they are given chances they could come up as well finished product.

But for now lets savior the superb Indian victory and rally behind them to trounce the cheats of the world to avenge the painful defeats of 2007 and 1996. Lets burn the Lanka this time in Mumbai 8 months before the Dusshera festival.

Players and captains seen last

This are the set of players that wont be seen anymore in the international cricket post this world cup:

Pakistan:

Shoaib Akhtar

Misbah Ul Haq ((at least ODIs))

Younis Khan (at least ODIs)

New Zealand

Scott Styris

Jacob Oram

Possibly Daniel Vettori from ODIs

Sri Lanka

Chuck

Mahela (he promised he would look to the future post world cup)

England

KP

Collingwood

Andrew Strauss

Ian Bell

Captains in following countries have changed hands:

1. South Africa

2. New Zealand

3. Australia

4. Possibly England

5.  Possibly Pakistan

India vs Pakistan Preview

Finally, the big day is here.

India vs Pakistan in a World Cup semi final.

Doesnt get bigger than this.  All talks of pressure, mind games, history, cricket diplomacy, Punjabiyat, bhaichara and all would vanish in the thin air once the 2 captains walk out for the toss and the national anthems are played. After that all and sundry shall pave the way for 22 players who shall slug it out in the middle for the glory moment of the day.

Doesnt matter what Misbah said or what Rehman Malik said and backtracked. Doesnt matter what MMS and Gilani shall eat or drink or pee after the game or during the game. WHat shall matter is the battle between the bat and the ball.

4 previous wins are good to hold the psychological edge but only till the start of the game. The chaos, reputations, processes, areas, pre match talks, campaigns thus far would all cease to be important for the heroes of the 2 countries.

India's batting vs Pakistan bowling. Its a contest that has been billed as such.

Its more of the team which handles the pressure the BEST, the team which holds the NERVE BEST, the team which wins small chunks of plays in the entire 100 overs of the day shall prevail in the end. And its going to be INDIA who shall be expected to do this in Mohali, their best modern day ground.

Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh are the key men for Indian batting. Kohli, Raina and MS shall look to carry forth the work done by the top 4.  Zaheer Khan would be the key for the bowling. But it shall depend more on who is the support  cast for Zak. Will Harbhajan turn up? Would Ashvin fox the stanis ? Especially Kamran, Hafeez and Shafiq ?

Who shall tbe the 2nd seamer? Munaf or Neehra ?

Neehara should the one who should get a look in before Munaf now.

What shall Pakistan do ? Will they get in Shoaib or continue to operate with Umar Gul and Riaz? How many catches would Kakkumal drop? How shall Afridi, the bowler do? He has got pretty ordinary record against India and so has Umar Gul. Would they field Junaid Khan who had a word or 2 to say on Sachin?

Its all about who handles the pressure on Wednesday better. But before that the skies should remain clear.

The predictions are:

 

Wed Mar 30
09:00 GMT | 14:30 Local           05:00 EDT | 04:00 CDT | 02:00 PDT	India v Pakistan at Mohali, ICC Cricket World Cup, 2nd Semi-Final	17 - 30° C Forecast Sunny Click here for 10-day-Forecast

Not sure how ToI or NDTV has reported rain showers.

But here could be the possible lineups:

India :

1. Tendulkar

2. Sehwag

3. Gambhir

4. Yuvraj

5. Dhoni

6. Kohli

7. Raina

8. Ashvin

9. Harbhajan

10. Neehra

11. Zaheer

Pakistan:

1. Kakmal

2. Hafeez

3. Shafiq

4. Younis

5. Umarkamal

6. Misbah

7. Afridi

8. Rehman

9. Razzaq

10. Gul

11. Riaz / Akhtar

Will Gambhir raise his game against Pakistan?  Will MS find form against Pakistan and will Yuvraj continue his golden run in this world cup ?

And moreover shall we avenge 2007 and 1996 ? All answered tomorrow in PCA ground @ 230 PM IST

A fact on team defeating Kiwis in semifinal of a world cup

The team beating New Zealand in the semi-final has not won a world cup on 2 previous occasions.  1999 - Pakistan beat NZ and lost in the final to Australia. 8 years later SL beat NZ and lost to Australia in the final.

4 years on may be it would be SL again who would lose to the team beating Australia.

By the way its going, it seems a comfortable typical Lankan win unless they choke worse than what Saffers did.  Saffers should have been the worthy semi-finalists to halt the Lankan run at home. They choked and got kicked out,

A look at Stani batting

A look at the Pakistan batting.

Highest score : 317 / 7 vs Kenya in the first game of the world cup campaign

Lowest score : 184 vs Canada

Highest Individual score : 83 by Misbah Ul Haq

Number of 100s: 0

Number of 50s : 9

Scores : 317/7, 277/7, 184, 192, 164/3,  178/6, 113/0

Only 2 scores of over 200. In the last 3 wins they have chased after their bowlers dismissed teams for low scores (Zimbabwe game exception as it was rain affected). Last 200 score came good month ago. Since then havent crossed 200.

Opening Partnerships : 11, 28, 16, 17, 5, 12, 112*

Hafeez and Shehzad havent been able to fire together as opening pair and except the game of WI, the Akamal and Hafeez pair hasnt fired either. So the team looks soft a bit on the top.

The number 3 has got some runs for Pakistan though in form of Kamran Akamal before and now Asad Shafiq in last 2 games (124).

The middle order of Younis, Misbah, Umar Akamal and Afridi has been inconsistent too. Umar is their top scorer of the tournament with 211 runs and a match winning 47 vs Australia as his highest point.  Younis Khan hit 2 50s in the start of the tournament and since then hasnt fired the way given his experience and usability.

Misbah yesterday said that getting 20s and 30s in a winning cause is better than scoring a 50 and 100 in a losing cause. Well said mate, but he hasnt got firing in last few games:

his scorelines read 0, 7 , 37, DNB,DNB, 83.

Shahid Afridi, best said now is a tailender who can bat a bit in wild fashion.

Hafeez has been more of a bowler than a batsman in this tournament given his form. He struck form only in the quarter final, but then the quality of bowling was debatable.

From the above stats its clear that Pakistan batting has been a bit brittle and they are prone to collapses as ever in last 2 years. They had a mini collapse against Australia in mid-overs, against Canada and also against Sri Lanka.

The men India needs to be wary of :

1. Kamran Akamal : He has tendency to fire big against India.

2. Younis Khan : His past against India

3. Asad Shafiq : He is the man who has looked in form in past 2 games.

and.

4. Umar Akamal : Too unpredictable, dunno which side of him would turn up.

In form batsmen for Pakistan -- not many.

Bowling : Afridi for his faster uns that skids through to the stumps or traps lbw. Umar Gul for his exploits with old ball.

And since the last game between this 2 sides, a lot has happened and Pakistan side has gone through a major change in terms of people playing. Imran farhat, Butt,  Malik, Amin, Amir, Ajmal are no longer part of playing XI.

How SL would make it to the final

How'z it going to be an All Asian final this Saturday ?

India or Pakistan shall play cricket and the winner will go through to the final. 

And SL : "we keep our heads down and make sure we cover all the bases we have to cover".

Thats how Lankans would cross over to make it to the finals. When and if they win the semis in Colombo, their captain shall again cry, "why do we need to cover our final base in Mumbai? As co-host we should cover our final base in our home base to lay the base for upcoming slingers, cheaters and non-walkers"

Statements, statements and more statements.

John Wright

In the run up to the World Cup 2011, the Kiwis had chance to play in all 3 host countries. SL in Aug, BD in Oct and India in Dec. 

They fared poorly here. 1 victory in 11 games means a below below par run up to the world cup. None gave the chance to the team in this world cup. And when they lost to Aus and SL those critics were vindicated. And for much part of the game against SA, those critics wrote off Kiwis. 

But they turned around in this world cup. They have reached semis and just a win away from being in the finals for the first time. Only a small matter of thumping Lankan mongrels and cheats. 

Everybody's talking about Jacob Oram, Danny, Jesse, Nathan McCullum, but spare a thought for the man who is responsible for all this. The man who has known the Indian conditions for 5 years, the man who knows what it takes to succeed as coach. The man who kick started the Indian ascendancy to the top good 10 years back. The man who alongside Saurav Ganguly changed the mindset, attitude of cricket in the country. The man who coached the team through some memorable away, home wins in Tests and ODIs.

That humble man is doing his job without any spotlight, staying in the background, quiet and almost unnoticed. 

Take a bow gentlemen for John Wright. He is a master coach behind this super thumping of Saffers in quarters by Kiwis.

WATERBOY's world cup

Waterboy does it. The man who was dropped on grounds of poor form, inept attitude and fitness has showed it to the world he belonged to the top spot. What a world cup he is having. 

And now that SL are through to the semis and would make it to the finals too, the WATERBOY shall account for that humiliation and taunts in Lankan tour in July - August 2010. 

Cant wait to see revenge of 1996 and 2007 being taken in our own Mumbai next weekend. But before that small matter of getting past Pakistan.

Yuvi wants the world cup for himself, his team and moreover to the nation of 1 billion plus NOW. 

SA choke

Going going going gone. At 3/121 to 172 all out.

SA lose by 49 runs to go crashing out of the semi final race and Kiwis make yet another appearence in the semis. For the first time India and Kiwis go to the semis together. And if tomorrow its England who come up trumps its going to be India vs England final.

Mouth watering stuff.

But SA. What are they made of ? After restricting NZ to 221 and just needing 3 222s to win, they lose yet again. 121 is a dreaded # for them. They collapsed at 121 itself against England and today again they went down.

Generations have gone by but the South African dream has nt materialized.

1992 : Semi final crash, they were not to be blamed for that 21 off 1.

1996: First signs of choking with loss in QF. Thanks to Brian Lara

1999 : Epic choke to Australia 2 times.

2003 : Their own world cup, they need 1 run to go through instead they tie and go out.

2007 : Lose their way in semis to Australia

2011 : Kiwsi blast them out.

Many termed SA as fav team to win the world cup. Not to be. They choked. They had a super team this time.  Amla, Kallis, Smith, ABD and Duminy. None fired when it mattered. Amla got good starts but except 1 100 never went on to make a hundred.

Imran Tahir, their new playtoy couldnt fire against big teams.

And biggest of them all, they choked in their minds. They chased 297 successfuly against India but could not  chase 172 and 222.  There are plenty of South African coaches around, none as best as Gary Kirsten for India. And now they shall desparately want him to coach them.

No decision reviewed this game. Good

What a game Kiwis had. Both captains are going to step down post this campaign, but its Vettori who'z  got better of Smith on a venue where they lost 0-4 to Deshis. Oram, Ryder, Nathan McCullum had a super game today.

And now they travel to Colombo for their semi final against SL or England (England my favorite).

SA need some time off and may be a reconditioning program for empowering mental strenghts. This is a World Cup and it doesnt get bigger than this. They had 4 spinners, but that didnt matter in the end cos their batsmen lacked the steel resolve to conquer something which India, England and Australia have.

Its a glorious upset and what a turnaround for Kiwis.

All attributed to one man, who started it all for Indian turnaround, good 11 years back. Take a bow for John Wright.

Saffers seem to be choking again

3/121 to 7/147.

Only Saffers can do that. They have to accept that they are eternal chokers and they shall always do it. Though they are yet to lose this or win this, but a big ? is set up on their worthiness of winning this tournament, which they desparately want to.

And 8tgh gone.

South Africa cannot win the bigger games, no matter waht conditions, no matter which countries. Pity India lost to them and they couldnt get Saffa choke.

And whoz the hero of chokers? N McCullum and J Oram.

Cant stop laughing.

Dear Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi, welcome to Mohali. The super ground in Indian Punjab. You shall be playing semi final against India on 30th March, 2011 in that ground. 

We heard that you've said that you wont be short of support in Mohali? Are you banking on few Pakistanis who shall travel to India on visas and then disappear and never return? Or are you talking of few fools who cheered for Pakistan in those dark Sharjah days? Or do you feel India is still under pressure when it comes to play Pakistan ? 

I am not sure if you have arrived in Punjab or are yet to arrive or will not arrive. You are arriving in a country which has blown hot and cold over the diplomatic relations for different reasons. So given that backdrop, shall you arrive? Shall your board let you arrive without the drama and idiotic statements? Shall you keep quiet and let your play do the talk? 

I am curious to know when you say you would not be lacking support. Who shall support your team? Thats troubling me. India has gone past those days when there were few, very few who blew crackers on a Pakistani win in Sharjah. Gone are those days, that mindset and moreover  those set of players from your country. Now the players you've got are mad, idiots, clowns and jokers. Lunatic as Ian Chappell and Intikhan Alam calls them.

Do you think you are gonna stop Indians with the bowlers like Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rehman and Wahab Riaz ? And yes Hafeez too? Do you think K Akamal would be able to pouch anything in his butery gloves  that day? You are most welcome in India after 2007. But come and play. Dont give mad statements. There is no pressure on India. Pressure is on Pakistan. They shall play before a crowd who shall want the men in blue to steamroll them and go through to the finals.

Are you ready to handle it ?

India's through to the semifinals

Australia's World cup run has ended. And in what a style. India was the team who did it. They have twice ended their run of 17 tests wins and now 12 years of unbeaten World cup run has been ended by the team called India. 

None gave India the chance to beat Australia today given the way they played in the league games. League games saw India taking few games easy and most of the experts called India a undeserving favorites. 

India has never thumped minnows. Thats Lankan speciality. India is known to beat big teams. Australia to be precise. The quality that two teams produce is of highest order. No half measures. Emotions run high, banters and everybody gives more than 100%. 

Everybody within the 2 teams want to win and not give an inch to the other team. And probably thats the reason why Tests or ODIs between this 2 teams are sparkling and intense. 

Today's game was no different. It saw Ricky Ponting ending his century draught. It saw Indians fielding the best in the entire tournament. It saw MSD handling his bowlers too well and rarely earning plaudits from the pundits in the commentary box. 

Tendulkar was at his imperious best before walking yet again. Gambhir was furious when he was out run out in the 3rd attempt, but that was his fault. Yuvraj replied to his anger saying he is not Viru and  they havent batted together that much. Point taken. 

India committed harakiri but then Yuvraj the man came to the fore yet again. What a world cup he is having. 341 runs and 12 wickets with 4 MoM awards. He is India's man of the moment. Not too long ago his commitment was questioned and so was his place and attitude. He's replied to every one those who questioned him. 

Virat Kohli continues to be an ass finding newer ways to get out. MSD continued his wretched run and when he departed at 187 the match was boiling towards Aussies but then in came Raina and the next 2 overs that got us 27 runs changing the equation dramatically in India's favor. 

Think about the commitment of Bret Lee. He was injured on head just above left / right eye and yet he bowled last 2 overs. He wanted to win it. But India had some other plans.  India are through to their 5th semifinal and 3rd one at home. This time they should go one step better. Beat Pakistan and go through to the finals. 

Today was that day when everything went right for India -- the fielding, bowling and batting. Ashvin took 2 wickets. How many runs did he give ? 52. Did he turn the ball square? How many wickets he got with peach of a ball ? Wild slogs both time to get Ponting and Watson.  He has not done any better than Chawla.

India have to think about Munaf what to do about this guy. He is listless, needless and useless. Anybody can hit him for runs. He doesnt take wickets, he cant field and he is even lax on the field.  Either play Nehra or get in Sreesanth. 

Today's win provides an deep feeling of satisfaction. India has come to full elements. And it would take huge effort from Pakistan to stop India from playing finals.  But thats for another day. 

Ponting has had his moments under sun for 12 years in World cups  but now its time for new champion. New team to take the reins. And hopefully it would be India, for the consistent run it has shown in ODIs post 2008.

Wooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we are in semis. 

West Indies blow away yet again

What an one sided QF it has been. West Indies have just been blown away by the Afridi men. In the end nothing deserving to be called a quarter final of a damn world cup. West Indies blew away any premature talks of their revival. Their insipid record of not beating a top Test team in a ODI remains and would go on until they take on the same opponents in the home series in May this year.

Pakistan through to their 6th semi final, first in 12 years. And all set for a dual in Mohali. But then would they arrive in India without a drama given the cold relations? Some statements have already been made in the media and over generous India have already provided 5000 visas to the stani fans. A few of them could disappear and do not go back only to see..................

That apart, should India win tomorrow, an another battle would be on cards but before that its time for the most intense battle of the modern times in a ODI or a Test coming up tomorrow in Motera of Modiland.

Two reasons why India would win against Australia

Rewind to 1996

Venue : Bangalore

Teams : India vs Pakistan

India were 3rd in their group behind Australia and SL.

Pakistan were 2nd behind South Africa. South Africa was  group topper

Pakistan were defending champions. (1992)

India had lost out in the first round of the previous world cup (1992).

India had defeated Pakistan in Bangalore by 39 runs ending career of Javed Miandad.

Pakistan captain Wasim Akram was under fire for pulling out last moment in the game.

Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings with Navjot Siddhu.

Now back to 2011

Venue : Motera

Teams : India vs Australia

India finished 2nd in group, Australia finished 3rd.

South Africa are group toppers in B group.

Australia are defending champions

India crashed out in first round of 2007 world cup.

Ricky Ponting is under fire for poor batting form and lot of other reasons

Sachin Tendulkar opens the batting for India even now with Virender Sehwag.

The fact that India are playing defending champions in 2011 as in 1996 and also they knocked out in the previous world cup as now, this should be enough indicator of who should have the last laugh on Thursday in Motera.

If Pakistan can find a lot of similarities in their world cup wins and conclude that they can win this one, then well even we have it.

WI vs Pak Preview

The quarterfinals start tomorrow and its going to be 2 volatile teams taking on each other. Pakistan and West Indies take on each other. The teams prone to collapses. One due to ineptness and the other due to madness. Both teams have enough experienced heads. Both teams have folks who can go mad. Both teams have colorful jokers. T20 experts both teams possess.

Pakistan are surprise group toppers. They broke Australia's unbeaten streak in Colombo.  They would expect to go past Windies to be in semis and unfortunately play in Mohali.  Mohali is in India. India. India.

West Indies have better opening pair. Gayle and Smith D. Gayle on his day is a tormentor. Smith has been in good form off last few games. India would swear by that. Pakistan have a lose opening pair.  The # 3 slot for Windies is hold by Darren Bravo, the Lara alike.  Its Kakmal for Pakistan or Shafiq. Shafiq guided the chase against Canada and Australia in the league stage.

The middle order is brittle. Sarwan, Chandu, Pollard form the next 3. Misbah, Younis and Ukamal form the next 3 for Pak. Who combusts first, it shall be a competition.

Bowling is also on same length though Umar Gul provides little bit edge to Pakistan for his old ball exploits. Man to man comparison in bowling indicates that it should be a good match. Rampaul, Roach and Russell have been in good form. Bishoo had a good 2 games. So Benn might sit out to get in Roach, if fit.

Pakistan's bowling is a bit light with just 2 pacers, 2 spinners and a half bowler in Abdul Razzaq -- the Palak Paneer guy.

So which side explodes first would be the loser and the other one would go through. West Indies ended SA campaign in 1996 while Pakistan lost to India in 1996 QFs.

If Pakistan lose that might be the end of lot of guys like Kamran Akamal, Shoaib Akhtar and hopefully Ijaz Butt too.

India win by 80 runs

India won and they play next Australia. Australia's quest for the 5th title is going to end in Ahmedabad and Ponting is going to continue walking to his ODI sunset. Doesnt matter if he does not walk on the field.

India won by 80 runs however not before getting a scare when Devon Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan were batting with ease. That time, the Indians had given up on the chase and they looked despirited, deflated and even disinterested.

It took Zaheer to strike once again as in England game to bring India back in the game and after that Windies choked or they just didnt have it in them to win from the strong position they had for 2nd game in running. R Ashvin made his way to the team on his home ground and got 2 wickets. Well he didnt inspire a lot of confidence as in that he shall turn the bowling woes to riches. He got 2 wickets, which even Nehra got that day and even Chawla got. 

He didnt turn the ball square on a pitch he knows more than anybody else other than Tendulkar. He didnt bowl that many carrom balls....So whats the hype and talk all about? Harbhajan Singh was useless in the first spell but then it took his maiden over to get Zaheer strike off Smith's stumps in his 2nd spell. 

Munaf Patel, well he is as useless in the team as is Yusuf Pathan, the fuddi Pathan. Good for nothing lads. Cant bat, cant bowl and cant field. 2 liabilities. Munaf did a ugly swipe in the 50th over 5 balls 2 soon. Ashvin hit the ball to a 4 in the 49th over and he looked to take score past 270 but our Munnabhai couldnt stick around yet again. This lad was insipid in the field and when he bowled. He looks so disinterested and he sleepwalks the game. Why is he even in the team ?

Sachin Tendulkar walked when he was not out given by Steve Davis. He should not have walked and should not walk in the knock out games ahead esp against Australia. He didnt nick it and there is no snickometer for the DRS. So even if there was a review, he would have got away. But then the man has played his cricket with integrity, so he wont compromise against it. 

Gambhir again threw away the start he got. Kohli and Yuvraj then took the score to 173 when it looked India would cross again the 300 mark, but it was a distant dream. They collapsed yet again losing 7 for 50. Rampaul took 5 as did Bresnan and Steyn previously. 

This kind of performance wont be good enough to win the world cup. So India has to address the batting powerplay and middle order batting below 4 once again. That just cant do in the quarters especially when the next 2 games are against Australia and Pakistan(if both win).

Quarter final lineups

In the end South Africa demolished Deshis way too easily and eased England's way to the quarters thus kicking out the inept Deshis out of the tournament. Just right. 

The lineups are more or less clear now. 

Australia finish third in their group and Pakistan topped it. 

South Africa shall take on Kiwis. If India win tomorrow they go 2nd in the group and play Australia in the quarter finals in Motera. 

If they lose they take on SL in the quarters. 

If India win then following would be the lineup

SA vs NZ

Ind vs Aus

Eng vs SL

WI vs Pak

If India lose then

SA vs NZ

Ind vs SL

WI vs Aus

Eng vs Pak

Coming back to the game tomorrow, Sehwag seems to be in doubt based on media reports so that opens up a spot and Raina should come in. Even if Sehwag plays Raina should still come in place of Pathan. And of course Ashvin coming in place of Nehra or Munaf. Even no harm in trying Sreesanth. At least somebody with pace will be there.

Australia's world cup unbeaten run ends

Ricky Ponting must decide when to quit playing ODIs. When he failed the Ashes, it was believed the motivation to win the 4th title in row would get him some runs, but he has scratched around like a dog with just 102 runs in 6 games in the world cup so far. 

Today he was insipid with the bat, with the ideas and major force responsible for the loss after 12 years in the world cup. 

He just didnt bring on his best bowler of the day Bret Lee when 2 quick wickets fell and they still needed 34 runs to win. Instead he continued with Krejza and thus lost the game. Thoo.

He hasnt decided to quit, he still wants to play on. He insists the runs would come on and may be the quarters would be the one match where he'd get those runs. 

Australia losing a game after 12 years to Pakistan and ending up 3rd in the group is just not done. They have been slow starters, they have been insipid with the bat and ball both. They just dont show up their side of champions they have been for last 12 years. 

And no wonder they folded out for 176 in an idiotic RPS wikat, yet they could have made a match out of it given their opposition was PAKISTAN -- side always susceptible to a collapse any point of time.

Pakistan continued to be a mystery and dont know if this is going to get them the world cup. Afridi continues to behave like a kid when he has bat in his hand and Umar Akamal continues to fool the world with his talent. I wonder what makes him fake those injuries?

And the biggest negative factor of the game was their keeper Kakkumal didnt drop a catch!!!!!!!!!!

Deshis crashing out is good for

What a insipid display by Deshis in a game they had to win to go through. They just folded out for 78 and lost by 206 Goddamn runs. 

Good they are out, they didnt deserve to be in the quarter finals with such a pathetic performance.

Quarter final lineups

The league games are around the finishing corner and the 3 QF spots are still to be grabbed within 4 teams : India, England and West Indies being the most likliest contenders in addition to BD.

Lets take Group A first:

Current standing after today's game in Group A

Sri Lanka	9 from 6
Australia	9 from 5
Pakistan	8 from 5
New Zealand	8 from 6

The only game tomorrow that holds significance is the biggest game of the group now between Australia and Pakistan.

So here are the possible scenarios if Australia win:

Aus (11)

SL (9)

NZ (8)

Pak(8)

And if Pakistan win :

Pak(10)

SL(9)

Aus(9)

NZ (8)

If there is a tie or a no-result

Aus (10)

SL (9)

Pak (9)

NZ (8)

So in this scenario its a forgone conclusion that SL would end up 2nd in their group at all times.  If Aus lose tomorrow, they drop to 3 and Pakistan go to top.

But the most likely scenario is an Aussie win and in this case Aus finish top, Kiwis 3rd and Pak 4th.

Group B

The most complex, weirdest and ipen scenario:

If SA win tomorrow and India win on Sunday (the most likliest of the scenarios)

SA (10)

Ind(9)

Eng (7)

WI (6)

BD(6) out

A defeat tomorrow means more stones would be pelted on Deshis bus and may be axing of Shakib from the captaincy. End of Crapafool may be.

But if Deshis win tomorow and India win on Sunday, WI go out.

Ind (9)

SA (8)

BD(8)

Eng(7)

WI(6) Out

India end up as group toppers.  But if India lose on Sunday, then England go out and West Indies top the group.

WI (8)

SA(8)

BD(8)

Ind (7)

Eng(7) out

If BD lose tomorrow and West Indies beat India then

WI win

SA(10)

WI(8)

Ind(7)

Eng(7)

All sorts of permutations and combinations are possible though, but the most likeliest of the scenarios are :

SA beat BD

Aus beat Pak

India beat WI

So the final group standings should look like:

Most Likely scenario - Aus win

Aus (11)

SL (9)

NZ (8)

Pak(8)

Most Likely scenario -- SA and India win

SA (10)

Ind(9)

Eng (7)

WI (6)

And in this case the quarter final line up would be:

SA vs Pak

Ind vs NZ

Eng vs SL

Aus vs WI

India play its QF in Ahmedabad, Eng ends Lankan campaign in Colombo, Australia sails past West Indies in Mirpur and SA would beat Pak in Mirpur.

Fairy tale campaign of England

What a world cup England are having. Hot blooded, exciting, adventurous, fabulous, breathtaking......Remember an adjective and place it here. It'd be apt for describing England's campaign. The story is similar:

1. Get a good start from top 3.

2. Fluff it up in the middle overs

3. Stage a recovery of some sort

4. Leak runs when bowling

5. Some wickets fall

6. When dead and seem dusted,somebody would nip a wicket and every body shall rally around him. Most often resulting in a win but not after providing sea saw of fortunes, heart breaking fights and in the end awing everybody.

Something of this sort was unimaginable to think of England teams of 90s (post 1992) and almost entire 2000s(except 2004). They took ODIs to be of least importance and considered appearing in world cups to be a mere formality. No wonder they went out miserably in every tournament. Since making the finals of 1992 world cup, they have crossed the first round only 2 times -- 1996 and 2007. They were kicked out in 2003 and 1999 (their own party).

This England team seems to be different. They have got solid top 3. Oh no, 2 of the top 3. Strauss and Trott. No KP now, Prior is forgettable. Bell is inconsistent. Collingwood is out of form and may be out of chances too. But then comes somebody who does a rescue act and poses a decent total on the board. Luke Wright against WI, Eoin Morgan against BD and Bopara against SA.

Bowling, they have their own Nehras, Munafs and of course they have match winners like Swann. They have their own share of Tredwells and Shehzads (had). All combined together they either fall short of winning when none expects them to lose or they win when everybody has given up.

Should England go through on Saturday evening in the Quarters (should SA win, everybody goes thru), they would be the team who would be tested the most in the knock outs and should be expected to play their A game in the quarters ownwards.

Should they lose, that would be too unfair for them. They deserve to reach at least semi-finals. Such has been the English story, who are now my 2nd fav team after India.

Maverick English!!!

England are new Pakistan in this world cup and surprisingly Pakistan are not the ones they used to be all this while.

How did this happen ? May be that long tour last summer did the trick and Strauss inherited the typical stani unpredictability and maverickness from the Afridis, Butts and Yousufs.

After messing up with their batting for the nth time in the tournament, they are now turning it with the ball in the middle and they have grabbed half Windies side and are just 5 wickets away from giving themselves a chance to go through quarters. And in between that stand Kiran Potdar and Ramu Sarwan.

Will England cross the line this time or will they implode?

If England lose, the Group B would be new Group A where except the European sides everybody would go through to the quarters. If they win they exert little bit of pressure on India and if SA beat BD tomorrow, its the end of unpredictability in B as well as everone except BD and Ire, Net go through to the quarters.

Interesting!!!!!!!!

Fact about West Indies

Before writing off England against the most crucial game of Group B later today one must remember the fact that West Indies has not beaten a serious Test opposition in an ODI since June 2009.  Plus how they play on turning track (if ) of Chennai would be an observation for MSD and team to decide on the team composition for the Sunday's game. 

Negative media coverage

The kind of reaction Indian media has given to the India's performance in the 5 games so far is at best called knee - jerk. They are out to highlight negative stuff. Open any newspaper or watchout its website, you'd find negative reprotage on India's chances. Views of players who are a bit negative on India's chances are put in high prominence. If there was a mini-break to the players in between 8 days of the 2 games, then thats highlighted as well. And then immature, fool fans react in the comments section that the players do not play for country.

And then there are idiotic articles on the web which say that Tendulkar is not lucky for India in the world cups. They also go onto compare that sans Sachin, India won the T20 world cup in 2007.

At best this kind of reporting and coverage is detrimental. How much players read this is not known, but this is very disgusting to read and even open up the sites like ndtv.com or timesofindia.com or cricketnext.com.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/team-india-skips-practice-session/55441-13.html

http://cricketnext.in.com/blogs/vivekatray/2813/62280/quick-fix-for-team-india.html

Few more.

Every ex-cricketer is an expert in India be it the likes of Vinod Kambli or Saba Karim or Atul Wasan. Every body offers 2 cents of advice to the skipper on the team combo, powerplay strategies and what not. Just that they failed miserably when they turned up to play in their playing days. And having just one or 2 caps in the belt, they are advicing to men who have on average 100 caps in their belt.

Looking back at the moral sapping defeat to SA

So India lost the first game of the tournament and in an insipid style.  In a way it was good they didnt deserve to win after spineless performance from the lower middle order and the middle order.

Yuvraj Singh attempted what he does the best -- hit successfully, but Saturday wasnt his day. MSD has forgot to hit fours and sixes and like dogs he scratches around and then stands infurirated and gives some spectacularly inefficient statements in the press. Yusuf Pathan is a mug and he shines occasionally to seal his spot for next few games. He has never delivered when needed the most. The best he can do now is to focus on IPL career. No more needed in the world cup.

He is useless in all departments. Cant bat, cant bowl, cant field.

Same goes for Virat Kohli. After that opening 100, he has faltered away. He has been bowled, caught & bowled, run out in last 4 games. What was he attempting on Saturday is best answered by him.

Coming to the fielding, it was the best display in the tournament unforunately didnt come good. Munaf Patel continued to be lax and listless with ball and field. Do we really need him? He is too passive and Sreesanth is too charged up. Extreme characters in the team.

He leaked runs in 48th over in England game too and here again. Both times he got the opposition in the game again after Zaheer Khan and Harbjhajan respectively had got India back into the game.

Foolish stuff.

Ashish Nehra, I guess his India career is almost good as over. No imagination, no yorkers like Zak and no wickets. Giving last over to him was a big mistake. Well if he did manage to get RP out and somehow stop 13 runs from being leaked, India could have hailed him as hero. But he did a good favor to the side by leaking 18 runs to a tail ender.

India needed this defeat at this stage and hopefully after the 8 day break they shall come out all guns blazing. The quarters scnario would be clear by then. They shall know what they'd need to do to go through should there be some upsets in this next few days.

Hopefully they will learn something from the games so far and make some changes in the personnel :

Suresh Raina for Virat Kohli in his IPL home ground

R Ashvin for Munaf Patel in his home and IPL home ground

May be Sreesanth for Nehra

Sreesanth is drama queen / king, is erractic and all the negative things, but only one thing he's got what others in the pace department dont have -- PACE. And if he is ready to play in the team cause and not let his emotions get better of him, he can very well turn out to be surprise package for West Indies.  But dont know predictions dont always come true in Indian team combination.

There is a very little chance India might not make it to the final 8.

The remaining games are:

SA vs Ireland : SA expected to win and get 8 points

WI vs England : England need to win this to stay afloat. if they do they shall end up with 7 points.  If they lose, they are out and BD go in. India also go in.

SA vs Bangladesh :  SA should win this and top the group with 10.  If BD win they go through and if SA lose this one they should still make it provided they dont lose to Ireland.

India vs WI : If India lose to WI and BD win their other game vs SA and WI lose to England they could go out depending on how bad they lose. If India win they end up 2nd in the group and go through.

I guess the turning point in Saturday's game were:

1. 9 for 29 in 9

2. One additional over for Zaheer in batting power play where he leaked 17 runs and if he was saved for last over, he could have got India 2 points.

3. Nehra over Harbhajan

Hopefully this was the bottom India saw and hereon they shall rise to the occasion and not squander the 100s from Tendulkar and starts from Delhi dashers.