IPL10 - the awards go to...

After the completion of the IPL10 season, here are the awards we have chosen to award to the respective players. Have a look & feel free to comment!

1. Dad-Of-the-IPL - MS Dhoni. He was the captain of the Dads Army. Not only that,  if the videos were to be seen right after the final got over, Dhoni was seen playing with his daughter, leaving his team to relish the title win!
2. Bowler-Of-the-Tournament - All Leg-spinners. Indian or foreign, there were a large number of leg spinners in the tourney. Even Ashwin started off bowling leg-spin in many matches!
3. Catch-Of-the-Tournament - AB De Viliers Spiderman catch has to be it! Nothing other.
4. ABD-catch-of-the-tournament - Trent Boult came trumps with his catch to dismiss Virat Kohli!
5. Worst-team-of-the-tournament - RCB Back-room team, who picked the team that flops so badly despite containing the best two players in the world!Either the ex-players did well ( e.g. Gayle) or the players from the region did well (e.g. KL Rahul).But, not RCB. God knows if they will reach the last four in the next few years!
6. Jasprit-Bumrah-of-the-IPL - Basil Thampi, for his good showing and precise yorkers! He has to be given more chances to show his true mettle
7. Budding-keepers-of-the-IPL - Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant shone in the IPL, giving themselves a chance to target the national slot. Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel are still around while Naman Ojha was not to be seen!
8. Comeback-team-of-IPL - Punjab under Ashwin did well but could not go all the way!
9. Gentleman-of-IPL - Kane Williamson was a great guy leading SRH to the finals with his genteel nature & proactive captaincy. Too bad his team ran into Daddy's boys!
10. Power-hitter-of-IPL - Ambati Rayudu seemed to have developed new muscles this year to power his way through the opposition. Was it hyderabad Biriyani or Chennai Sambar? He only knows!
11. Confusion-in-IPL - Why Rohit Sharma did not open regularly was a question mark! Even when his team was not performing!
12. Irritating-opener-of-IPL - Sunil Narine for his terrific shows at the top of the order!
13. Youngsters-of-IPL - Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh Krishna, Shubnam Gill, Deepak Chahar impressed with their games & temperament. Worth looking for!
14. Flop-show-of-IPL - Glenn Maxwell, D'arcy Short - For all their hype, their performances were nothing to write about!
15. Openers-of-IPL - KL Rahul & Chris Gayle. Brought Punjab back from wild & cheer into Preity's eyes. Great chemistry in the combination!

Please note that this is is only for fun and not to be taken seriously. Do take it in the right spirit and share your thoughts please!!

2016 USA Tour - Windies edge India in high-scoring thriller

India made their debut in USA, by conceding their highest score to any opposition but redeemed themselves to score the highest chase ever in a T20I only to lose by a single. MS Dhoni was on strike off the last ball to Bravo, who turned out to be more skilful of the two.But, MSD didnt disappoint - highlights of his innings were:

• He scored 43  runs off 25 balls - strike rate was in his Top-20 of T20I innings
• He added 107 runs with Rahul in 49 balls. Rahul was the only one who scored faster than him in the innings.
• He agreed that he had executed the stroke wrongly after guessing the ball.

MSD also took the blame himself, despite his batsmen like Rohit, Kohli letting him down!And bowlers like Stuart Binny letting him down, MSD praised them for pulling back the innings from a possible target of 270! Only he can do this!

Image Courtesy:espncricinfo site

IPL-8 - Match-40 - Gayle storm hits Punjab

Chris Gayle finally hit form to smash Punjab out of the game.

IPL8 - Match-5 - Gayle leads RCB to victory

Despite not staying till the end, Gayle's continued assault meant that RCB went past KKR eventually in a comfortable manner.

2015 World Cup - Bring on the semifinals

After the league stage, the individual standings looked quite interesting - while few batsmen performed as well as their form in league (Guptill, Gayle), the leading bowlers were those who shone in the Quarterfinals (Shami, Wahab Riaz). There are few new entrants into the Top 50 club in both departments but we will now focus on players of teams that still have a chance to win the Cup.

Let us look at the leading batsmen and bowlers once again after the quarterfinal and predict who will do well in their respective semifinal.

Batting

The semifinal between India and Australia will be interesting purely from the perspective of how Mad Glen Maxwell will be tamed by MSD - if you remember, Maxwell has hurt Dhoni quite a bit in IPL (check this knock here). If one sees the chart below, key highlights and analysis include

• Maxwell appears in isolation with a high rotation-rate (David Miller being his nearest competitor). What this means is that these two are very adept at rotating the strike while scoring 300 runs. Dangerous batsman to watch out for the Indians (no surprises there).
• Indians have scored higher mainly because of the abandoned match against Bangladesh and hence contributing to one less innings for Australia
• Australian rotation rate on average is higher than the Indians. The Indians should avoid the dot-balls while trying to increase the same for the Australian batsmen - easier said than done. 
• The size of the circles (calculated from the product of Rotation Rate, Average and Strike Rate) also shows the key batsmen being Maxwell and India's Suresh Raina. 
• Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are the ones who are in the middle of the chart - they seem to be the dangerous floaters who can make an impact in this match (considering their recent form prior to the World Cup) 
• Watson and Dhoni have not hit as many runs as the others but that could be attributed to their position in the batting order. 
• Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan's rotation rates are quite low, compared to the others. This is reflective of the strategy followed by India where they have tried to retain wickets for the end overs.

The other semifinal shows clear trends unlike the one above where the players seem to be bunched together. The South Africans seem to rotate strike better than the others - are the Black Caps focusing more on boundaries alone? Possibly if you consider McCullum, Anderson and Guptill. In terms of runs scored, Guptill is the one who has scored the highest in the competition but there are four others who have scored higher than the next Black Cap (McCullum). But the Proteans lost two matches in the league stage thanks to inspired bowling by India and Pakistan. New Zealand with their home advantage would have to repeat their league form to restrict their opponents - if not, the target (if SAF play first) will be 350+

Bowling

Highlights from the bowling chart shows

• The bowling chart shows Mitchell Starc being the leader but there are four Indians between him and his fellow opening bowler (Mitchell Johnson). India should weather the Starc-storm at the top of the innings to build a good total whether during the chase or setting a target. Considering the fact that Dhawan and Rohit have contained their wickets in the beginning, it will be a good fight at the top. 
• Australia will struggle with their fourth and fifth bowler as they have not been as effective (in terms of wickets and strike rate) as the Indians. Will Faulkner and Watson step up in the semis?
• In this chart, the circles in the lower half show the effectiveness of the bowlers. Jadeja has not had a good Cup so far and hence appears at the top. His spin will be effective against the Aussies especially at SCG where it is expected to support spin.
• Shami and Umesh Yadav are the key bowlers from the Indian team who can hustle the Australian bowlers with the short stuff that Wahab Riaz troubled them with

The other semi-finalists are more bunched together in this chart - four Proteans versus four Black Caps. Steyn has not had a great World Cup so far and hence he appears more at the top of the chart. In terms of wickets, Boult, Vettori and Southee have claimed more in conditions that suit their bowling. Will Imran Tahir have the same impact in New Zealand - probably not, especially on smaller grounds - remember Ashwin's struggle in India's matches in NZ. The battle will be between how the supporting bowlers of both teams contribute to the attack - this will determine who comes on top.

Another list courtesy ICC's twitter id - all of them are still playing in the Cup except the first! The semifinal between NZ and SAF will be a six-fest hopefully. No Indian appears in this list!

T20 World Cup - Has Club Cricket won over the crowd?

India won four of the five matches they played in the tournament !
India also took all the ten wickets of their opponent in four matches !!
Three of the top Five bowlers with the best average in the World Cup are Indians
After Chris Gayle and Shane Watson, the person with the highest number of fifties is Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli also stands sixth in the number of runs scored in the World Cup.

Definitely looks good on paper, right? Yes. But what was the outcome? Nothing different from the previous editions - an exit from the Super Eight stage itself.

Why does the Indian team always deliver such an ordinary performance at the T20 World Cup (after their initial win)? Just look at the same set of players who will appear in the forthcoming Champions League in South Africa and look at the body language! You will know the difference.

T20 as a national game has lost its interest within India especially, thanks to the numerous leagues around the world. Thanks to the ICC ruling, countries play 1-2 national T20's and hence there is no purpose in these games from the players perspective. Hence, you see countries like Australia use this forum as a platform to try out their newcomers (and in the case of George Bailey, a new captain)!

There is no wonder that the favourite for the World Cup and one of the finalists is West Indies. Why is not such a surprise? The team is not from one country - it is made of a combination of island countries (a replica of the type of teams you would see in IPL!) It will not shock anyone if they go on to win the title!

This is also possibly the reason why the crowds stay away from the World Cups while they will throng the stadiums in CLT20! The crowd is able to relate better to the IPL and Big Bash teams rather than their national teams in T20 especially. This is very much synonymous to the football leagues all over the world, especially in the European regions. You can talk to any football lover and he will tell you that he is an Arsenal fan rather than a fan of England. Of course, when the World Cup or the Euro Cup come, they are fanatic followers of their country.

From the players perspective also, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard have clearly stated their interest where their intentions to participate lie in. It is an open fact that players like to have the financial cushion in their short careers and this can be possible (especially for players from cash-strapped cricketing boards) in IPL or Big Bash alone!

Hence, the cricketing circus has reached its maturity level (though not to the scale of football obviously because of the limited reach) in T20 cricket. Now, the next step for ICC is to take it around the world for the non-Commonwealth countries to follow it more closely. Maybe they need an Ecclestone to take them to the higher level!

IPL5 - KKR gets past CSK

KKR finally had their moments of glory in their fifth attempt. After several controversies, they had the trophy to cherish under a captain who led from the front. If reports are true, there will be a bus ride in Kolkata and the team will be honored by the Chief Minister of West Bengal! Manvinder Bisla deserves his moment in the sun, thanks to his blistering knock.

Let us look at all the teams and see how they fared overall:

1. Kolkata Knight Riders - Gautam Gambhir proved that his demotion from the post of vice-captain from the national team was so wrong. He put runs on the board consistently and ensured that there were winners from the rest of the team as well. Kallis was wonderful with his all-round abilities while Sunil Narine gave the mystery factor to the team. Best Indian player - Gautam Gambhir. Best Foreign player - Sunil Narine.
2. Chennai Super Kings -  Lucky was the word attached to the CSK team. In the knock-out stages, they showed that they had the skills to match as well. Without a singularly outstanding player in their team, CSK was able to reach the final and take the team to the last over. Simply hats off to the overall franchise for being able to be consistently successful. Best Indian player -  Suresh Raina. Best Foreign player - Faf Du Plessis.
3. Delhi Daredevils - A team that was so consistent in the league phases, Delhi failed in two attempts to reach the final! Call it choking or bad strategies but Sehwag's team had done all the right things in the initial phase.With all their international players (Kevin Pietersen, David Warner, Mahela Jayawardene) firing, Sehwag provided the Indian touch to ensure Delhi reached the final stages. Sehwag also nurtured the Indian fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron very well - a good sign for the national team. Best Indian player - Umesh Yadav. Best Foreign player - Morne Morkel.
4. Mumbai Indians - While Rohit Sharma shone in bits and pieces, Mumbai was also helped by timely knocks from Rayudu, Tendulkar and Pollard. The bowling was in the safe hands of Munaf and Malinga. Harbhajan led well though his individual form was not encouraging. Best Indian player -  Ambati Rayudu. Best Foreign player - Lasith Malinga.
5. Royal Challengers -  RCB was unfortunate to lose out on the knock-out stage because of their run-rate. Their dependence on Chris Gayle was worrying for the management while Murali's efforts on the field was exemplary as usual. Though Vinay Kumar and Zaheer Khan were among the wickets, they were not consistent enough to threaten the other teams. Best Indian player - Mayank Agarwal. Best Foreign player - Chris Gayle.
6. Kings XI Punjab - David Hussey captained the team mostly in the absence of Adam Gilchrist but the role Punjab played mainly was that of party-poopers. Spoiling RCB's chances to move to the next stage, Kings performed well in patches thanks to the efforts of Mandeep, Awana and Piyush Chawla. Best Indian player - Mandeep Singh. Best Foreign player - Azhar Mahmood.
7. Rajasthan Royals - Led ably by Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan lost steam after their good start. Ajinkya Rahane, Owais Shah and Shane Watson shone for the team but the bowling was their weak-spot. Siddharth Trivedi was their best bowler and he was ranked 18th on the wicket-taking list - proof enough that the team was lacking the firepower. If the team can introduce more star power to their bowling lineup, they can do much better than where they finally ended up. Best Indian player - Ajinkya Rahane. Best Foreign player - Owais Shah
8. Deccan Chargers - The only surprise from the Chargers was how they managed to avoid the wooden spoon this year. Thanks to Dale Steyn, the Chargers gave their opponents a lot to worry about but the batting was not consistent despite the efforts from Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White (both appearing in the Top 10 list of top scorers). Best Indian player - Shikhar Dhawan. Best Foreign player - Dale Steyn.
9. Pune Warriors - Sourav Ganguly's team was erratic to start with and then went downhill in the latter part of the tournament, not knowing whether the captain was part of the team or not. Robin Uthappa and Steve Smith tried their best with the bat but their efforts were not enough. The bowling department lacked penetration which is reflected in the overall position of the top wicket-taker Ashish Nehra (25th)! Best Indian player - Robin Uthappa. Best Foreign player - Steve Smith.

If there was a team selected from the other eight teams to play against the winners Kolkata, this would be my list of sixteen players

1. Shikhar Dhawan
2. Chris Gayle
3. Ajinkya Rahane 
4. Suresh Raina (captain)
5. Mandeep Singh
6. Robin Uthappa
7. Azhar Mahmood
8. Steve Smith
9. Mayank Agarwal
10. Ambati Rayudu (wk)
11. Lasith Malinga
12. Dale Steyn 
13. Piyush Chawla
14. Parvinder Awana 
15. Umesh Yadav
16. Morne Morkel

What would be your list?

IPL4 - Best of the rest

The IPL4 is over and CSK defended their crown successfully. RCB were not good enough in the final but which team would have been? Let me come up with a team of eleven consisting of players from the other teams who

• have done well in the latest tournament
• have 4 overseas players (just like the tournament guidelines)
• have players who are not veterans or injured or rested

What did the team look like? See below

1. Chris Gayle - any doubts on this gentleman, even though his national selectors are not interested in him.
2. Paul Valthaty - stand-out performance in the IPL that helped Punjab defeat CSK
3. Jacques Kallis - the best all-rounder in today's age
4. Virat Kohli - I would make him the captain of this team as well
5. Shaun Marsh - The best opening batsman that Australia never chooses
6. Ambati Rayudu - Wicket-keeper for the team as well as last-over specialist (a la Javed Miandad)
7. Shikhar Dhawan - 400 runs in the tournament without anyone noticing it!
8. Iqbal Abdulla - Best performance by a youngster
9. Lasith Malinga - again, no more arguments
10. Rahul Sharma - A definite future Indian spinner maybe not in test matches to start but definitely in the shorter version.
11. Sreenath Aravind - Left-arm opening bowler in contrast to Malinga's pace.

What do you think of this team? Any thoughts? Will they beat CSK? 

IPL4 - CSK defend their crown easily

MS Dhoni added another trophy today to his crowded cabinet - second one this year after the 50-over World Cup. Chennai Superkings are somewhat similar to how Australia were in the international cricket till late. The CSK team came prepared for the finals, knowing exactly what to do. Each member of the team were pumped up and having experienced a victory last year, they knew what needed to be done. RCB, on the other hand, had been runners-up once and seemed destined to repeat the performance once again.

When the first innings started, it was very evident how the two teams differed on the nerve-count. CSK were stealing extra runs while RCB were giving away over-throws - a reflection of the dominance of the match from very beginning. Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey have been doing a decent job as openers in this edition of IPL but today they rose to the occasion with a sterling performance. Vijay's confidence must have been boosted by his selection to the Windies tour - his booming sixes came out of the closet enabling CSK to run away from their opponents. Hussey, as his wont, rotated the strike and hit the big shots equally well. Though the batting fell away after the dismissal of the openers, the team ensured that they passed 200.

Nothing went according to plan for the RCB's bowlers. Their fielders also let them down in this crucial match by giving away runs when they were not present - Two tough chances were dropped off Vijay as well. Zaheer Khan bowled reasonably well but none of the other bowlers could make any impact. Aravind and Gayle took wickets in their last over to reduce their scoring but by then the horse had bolted.

After 205 was scored, RCB had their hopes on Chris Gayle to fire. Ashwin produced his magic to get rid of the dangerous Gayle in his first over - two balls that turned followed by one that went on with the line. This meant that the pair of Kohli and AB De Viliers had to do all the running. They hit the big shots and rotated the strike, keeping the match in interest, till Raina and Jakati produced their bits of brilliance. Even though wickets fell around him, Sourabh Tiwary did not make any effort to increase the run-scoring. He does not seem to be cut out for the big stage at this time.

Overall, CSK retained their core players which meant that they had a settled combination. No tinkering of the team was done - evidence was the fact that the same team played for six consecutive matches. Players like Southee and Aniruddha Srikkanth contributed in the earlier matches while not staying in the eleven later. The local Chennai players contributed as well - Badrinath was exceptional whenever the team was in trouble while Ashwin was the spearhead in the spin department. RCB came into the final becase of the heroics of Gayle and when the Caribbean failed, their hopes went up in a smoke. As far as Dhoni is concerned, it was a regular day at office for the cpatain.

What a captain, What a team!

Related articles

• IPL4 - the final lines are drawn (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• IPL4 - Raina takes CSK to the finals (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• IPL4 - Top 4 teams identified. (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

IPL4 - the final lines are drawn

RCB made Mumbai rue their indifferent matches over their last week by thrashing them in Chennai. Chris Gayle started off with a powerful display against hapless Abu Ahmed (why did SRT do this mistake?). He was joined by his partner Mayank Agarwal, who took on Harbhajan Singh - yet another evidence that the Punjabi is losing his plot. Though the latter batsmen could not convert the start into a 200+ score, the target was much more than Mumbai could handle. Look at the worm below - the (R-B) difference was always over 40 at any point of time - signs that Mumbai Indians were never in the hunt during the chase.

Today, it will be the match between the South-Indian teams once again. The charismatic MSD against the cool Dan Vettori. There will be others who will contribute to the match but how the captains think out their strategy will be key. There are many mini-plots in the match - Gayle against Ashwin, Kohli vs Badrinath (for the Indian middle-order slot), Hussey vs Vettori, Morkel vs Mayank and so on. My favorites - CSK.

IPL4 - Raina takes CSK to the finals

Chennai Superkings came from behind to score a wonderful win over RCB (the same team that they lost to, in Bangalore few days back). Suresh Raina scored a quick-fire knock and overcame cramps at the end to guide his team to victory in the company of Albie Morkel. MS Dhoni had given the impetus after Badrinath steadied the ship with Raina. Altogether, a brilliant team effort by CSK to win in the last over.

The confidence the team has to chase down any score from any position is their biggest asset. The trust they show on players like Morkel or Raina was repaid at a very opportune moment. CSK scored 50 runs in the last 3 overs to win the match despite Gayle's heroics with the ball. The Caribbean failed with the bat but made up with the ball to increase his teams chances but to no avail.

Earlier, in the match, the bowlers led by Bollinger had done their bit to restrict RCB to a score that was eventually chased down. Though Virat Kohli helped RCB accelerate at the end, it proved to be less in the final analysis. The early dismissal of Chris Gayle made it easier for CSK. RCB, though, have another chance to make to the final in the next match while CSK are through to the finals at home.

IPL4 - Top 4 teams identified.

It was a long-drawn affair for this year's IPL - 70 matches were played before the top 4 teams were identified. Here below, I have tried to note the individual performances in the IPL4 - teams that had batsmen scoring fifties/hundreds & bowlers claiming 4/5 wickets in an innings. It is not so surprising to see who has the best of all:

• Batting performances has been led by CSK (Hussey, Badrinath, MS Dhoni being the stalwarts) - obviously hinting at their batting stronghold for success so far.  Chris Gayle ensured that RCB gave a good fight to CSK (in fact, he was instrumental in the win over Chennai in the last match). It is surprising to see Punjab do well, helped by the heroics of Paul Valthaty, Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh - they slipped in the middle bunch of games which cost them the final berth.
• The bowling department sees Punjab and Mumbai lead the way - Malinga for MI while Piyush Chawla and Bhargav Bhatt did the job for Punjab XI Kings. KKR and CSK have no such performance at all. 
• KKR is a surprise - they have neither the number of landmarks nor the bowling performances. They are definitely the team that relied more on team-work rather than individual brilliance. Will this help them win the final matches? Time will tell.

IPL4 Match 69 - RCB finish on top

Chris Gayle - let us stop mentioning any further - led RCB to an easy win over favorites CSK. Though, it has to be argued, that the bowling of Zaheer Khan and Sreenath Aravind put the hosts in front with their early wickets.

IPL4 Match 55 - RCB win their sixth in a row

Since Chris Gayle has come to the scene, RCB has achieved greater heights on the field, led by the man from Caribbean islands. This match was no different, with a power-packed performance to follow up the good show put up by the RCB bowlers (Sreenath Aravind in particular has been making good progress). Virat Kohli, in his first match as a captain, impressed with his field placings and ultimately finished the match as the winning captain.

IPL4 Match 50 - Gayle strikes twice at same place

Chris Gayle repeated his histrionics in Bangalore once again to take RCB to yet another convincing victory. Scary thought for the RCB Management that what will happen when law of averages catch up with Gayle but as of now, they are enjoying. Dilshan came to the party as well today and that spelt more trouble for Kochi.

IPL4 Match 47 - Gayle force sinks Punjab

In what was the most lop-sided contest in this IPL season, Chris Gayle led the way for his team by his scorching century and followed it up with a 3-wicket haul. The ground in Bangalore is relatively smaller compared to others around the country and Gayle made it look smaller with his large hits. Punjab was shocked by the impact shown by Gayle and collapsed against the huge target when it was their turn to bat.

IPL4 Match 24 - Gayle force hits KKR

An ex-KKR player and now an import for RCB, Chris Gayle smashed a century to help his team defeat KKR at Kolkata. The target was a stiff one but Gayle and Dilshan (and later Virat Kohli) reached the required score in a canter.

Related articles

• Bangalore confirm Gayle signing (espncricinfo.com)

World Cup 2011 - On to the Semi finals

Two ten-wicket wins and two incredibly close matches - that sums up the four quarter-finals that were played in the 2011 World Cup.

West Indies were always in contention with Ireland and Bangladesh for the final slot in the quarterfinals. That itself showed their current form and capabilities. Over-dependence on Gayle in the batting front and Roach in the bowling department meant that they were always at the mercy of their opponents. Their coach, Gibson blamed the senior players for not putting their hands up during the match against Pakistan. Gayle was furious and tweeted his response back. There are going to be changes in the team following the disaster which is not surprising. The team morale was not high and one can see the same players play the IPL with great camaraderie. The unity that was on display during the times of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards are missing altogether. It will be a long time before the team makes a decent comeback into international cricket. They will struggle to beat top nations for a while, as has been in the last 20 months.

England also had a severe bashing at the hands of the Sri Lankans last night - no one was surprised though. The English had managed to stumble their way to the quarterfinals and clearly had to depend on other teams' generosity to make the cut. Injuries to several players hampered them and the media were quick to point out the grueling schedule that the team had to endure over the last six months. It has been the same with the other teams as well, one can say. The English team's strategy in ODI cricket is far from adequate - notice the experience of the players in this format for further insight. 

Australia came into the tournament being ranked No.1 in ODI, as per ICC rankings. Though the rank did not justify them, the team was able to string together victories that enabled them stay at the peak for a long period. Injuries to players (mostly bowlers) meant that there were frequent changes to the playing eleven. It was not noticed as long as they were winning. Ponting's loss of form coincided with the lack of batting might in the Oz team. Watson and Haddin were probably the most consistent players for the last one year. After the retirements of a number of greats (like Mcgrath, Warne, Gilchrist), the Aussies were never able to recover. The loss of Warne left a gaping hole in the spin department - this was one of the biggest concerns going into the tournament which was expected to support the spinners.

South Africa prepared their campaign very well, adding a number of spinners to their squad who were capable of standing up to the demands of the subcontinental pitches. Imran Tahir was the surprise weapon, who showed initial promise of picking up a bushel of wickets. Opening the bowling with a spinner and Steyn, Greame Smith had a good strategy in place. They beat the Indians due to the help of their lower order, assuring everyone that they had left their choking back in Africa. Kallis and Smith were not firing in the first few games but it did not matter. The other batsmen were showing good form in bringing the team to the knockout stage. One great catch followed by a runout in the Quarterfinals meant that the cat was among the pigeons. No matter what the lower order tried, the writing was on the wall. The Proteas had choked once again - they cannot deny this any longer. This stigma will stick to them for another four years or till the time they win a knockout match in the World Cup.

On to the semi-finals then with three subcontinental pitches along with New Zealand contesting for the final match in Mumbai. May the best team win.       

World Cup 2011 - Windies-Pak in Quarter-finals

The first Quarter-final gets underway in Mirpur on Wednesday between two teams that are not too dissimilar. The West Indies have, to take Greg Chappell's words few years ago, forgotten how to win. Pakistan is, the least to say, one team whose players themselves will not know how they will play on the day of the match (no, I am not hinting any other thoughts here). Castrol Index shows both of them to be very close - in fact, Windies lead the Pakistan team 150-149.

The Paks have beaten the World Champions in their last match and that must have given them a lot of confidence but that is not assuring anything for this team. Their bowlers have mostly won the match by restricting the targets that their not-so-sure batsmen have to chase. Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi have been the stars while the others have been more steady than spectacular. Hafeez, in particular, was miserly in the match against Australia. On the Mirpur pitch, will he be so effective against the Windies who admittedly played the Indian spinners better than most expected?

The batting of Pakistan has revolved mainly around Umar Akmal so far. The youngster is so talented that he will be able to walk in to any team's playing eleven but one is not so sure about where his priorities lie, if stories are to be believed. He shares a strong bond with his elder brother and that is where the rumor-mills start their tales about him feigning injuries to save Kamran's place in the squad. Misbah and Younis have played their part but failure to hit the boundaries (check their rotation rate) will cost the team critical runs in the final overs.

West Indies have to thank Devon Smith for his contributions so far and expect him to shore up the batting with the returning Chris Gayle. If Gayle can put his head together and stay for a decent period at the wicket, he can take the match away from the opposition. His is the key wicket for Pakistan for the dependency on him is so high that Windies have lost their way after his dismissals. Bravo has blown hot and cold while Sarwan has been disappointing. Only if these players can put up a score against Pakistan that is challenging to chase, the bowlers can probably play on the pressure created on the minds of Pakistan batsmen.

Kemar Roach is one bowler who will be expected to rip through the top-order of Pakistan with his sheer pace. Benn has opened the bowling but has not been so effective. Bishoo was very impressive in his stint against the Indians - he will play and I feel that he will do well once again taking wickets by the handful. Rampaul will play, thanks to his fifer against the Indians - who will be dropped to accommodate remains to be seen since Russell had played well in earlier games. It is a good sign for the Windies that their bowlers have slowly started to show signs of taking wickets.

An even game is what one might be tempted to call. But, Windies have not won enough against major test-playing nations in recent times. Will this be the match that will stop the bad streak? Will Pakistan self-destruct as they can? Interesting match in store tomorrow but I will support the Windies to create an upset here!

World Cup 2011 - Big-hitters to watch

Let me stick my neck out to start some posts on predictions in the 2011 World Cup. This one is going to be about Eleven players who I feel will be the big-hitters to shine in the tournament. Maybe they will not be consistent throughout the tourney but they will make their mark by their big shots - when they do, remember this post :)

1. Yusuf Pathan - the latest flavor in town. Has scored two centuries in the last 5 innings he has played, both with his team in dire streets and one that got India the victory.
2. Viru Sehwag - Will be rejuvenated after his 'injury' break - look out for his batting against test-playing nations. Maybe a good chance to score a 200
3. Yuvraj Singh - has not been in great form of late but will like the medium pace bowling on Indian pitches. Will feast on all bowlers other than those who can turn the ball
4. Jesse Ryder - The same fella who has fallen into trouble again (this time while tweeting) - will be eager to show the world his shots
5. Brendon McCullum - A guy whose stroke-making is ideal for the shorter formats. On his day, can tear any bowling apart but alas, the day does not come regularly.
6. Kamran Akmal - Provided he plays the Cup with his head straight, the diminutive keeper is capable of very big shots on his day.
7. Shahid Afridi - The "teenager" of the tournament (well, mentally still he is) can blast the ball into his territory only if he can manage his head well.
8. Luke Wright - Another surprise here. Will not be a first-choice player in the eleven but if he gets a chance, can tonk the ball heavily.
9. Chris Gayle - Relieved of his captaincy, Gayle recently scored a triple ton versus Sri Lanka in similar conditions he will face in the Cup. If Sammy can keep him motivated, sky is the limit
10. Kieron Pollard - He made his reputation during the Champions League and IPL - will India be his lucky mascot once again?
11. Charles Coventry - Held the record for highest score in an ODI before Sachin scored the double century. Has struggled from the expectations after the knock but gets a chance with the minnows.  

Let me know if you agree with me or not. Who do you think will shine?

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - How will teams innovate? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)