Still fresh cranks the second upset,to be proper,of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.Bangladesh did almost everything to make sure they lost the match last night after making progress chasing 226 against England.For the first time any team was chasing under lights in Chittagong in an ODI,and at one stage the hosts were 155-3.Thanks to some harakiri committed by Imrul Kayes and Shakib-al Hasan,and a devilish spell from Ajmal Shehzad,they slipped to 169-8.The spectators - Bangladeshi supporters - had started vacating the stands,and soon,it was half empty.Though the hosts were very much ahead of the required rate at that time,not many would have really believed that the last two wickets were gonna see them through.
And then,as a friend put it,cricket happened.Mahmudullah and the number 10 batsman,Shafiul Islam,had other ideas.The required rate was creeping up,but they showed sense not take undue risk,took their time to weather the Shehzad burst as England pressed for the kill.By the time he was finished,Bangladesh required 33 off the last 5 overs.It was an astounding experience to witness how the batsmen held their nerves and England kept on losing theirs,especially James Anderson.In the end,the unbelievable happened,something that would put the South African performance in Chennai to shame,with an over to spare and without any more casualties.
Group B is being stretched wider and wider.If there had to be a 'Group of Death' in this Cup,it always had to be this one.But only because 5 of the 7 teams in this Group are Test playing nations,where the other one has 4.But thanks to England,this pool is really turning out to be a slippery trough.
Look at the matches they have featured in.Started with the Netherlands running them long,then the tie of swinging fortunes with India which would perhaps be one of the most important factors in determining the fate of the Group.Then came Ireland,down in the gutters 111-5 chasing 327,only for the storm named Kevin O'Brien to blow the cross-border rivals off.To make matters more interesting,they chose to shock South Africa,who were expected to shoo them off,and did so for the greater part of the match,only to collapse from 124-3 to 127-7 and choke 6 runs short of the 172 run target.
After last night,it's pretty hard to predict the qualifiers from this group to the knockout stage.England have played themselves into worry.As the points table stands,Bangladesh and even Ireland have a fair chance of making it to the quarters,at the expense of England.Both Bangladesh and Ireland have South Africa and the Netherlands to contend with,while England have West Indies.If Bangladesh beat Netherlands,and England lose to West Indies,as looks enormously possible,Bangladesh will have edged out England.However,Ireland will have a chance if they manage an upset over South Africa,and win it against the Netherlands,as their net run rate is healthier than that of Bangladesh.On the other hand,if England lose,Bangladesh have a upper hand over them and South Africa lose the upcoming matches including today's,the English will go through only in the event where Ireland loses to the Netherlands.So,unless they win their last match,it's too much of a pickle for England.But then again,the word 'possible' is reaching new heights this Cup,as we saw in the Group A encounter between Pakistan and New Zealand,92 runs ARE 'possible' in the last 4 overs of an innings!
To focus on today's big match,it has been billed for long as the match deciding the Group topper.South Africa started well,only to justify their ineluctable 'chokers' tag in their last match.India,on the other hand,have been the only unbeaten team of this pool,but scratchy at best.Serious worries with the bowling attack,unlike the Proteas who seem to have struck upon the right mix of variety and potency.While Imran Tahir,their newest recruit,has been pretty impressive,Piyush Chawla,his Indian counterpart in the right arm leg-break department has struggled to settle into a consistent rhythm.It's reported that he's likely to be fielded again ahead of Ashwin amidst pressure to play the latter.Yuvraj Singh did a good job in saving us the blushes in the last two matches,both in batting and bowling.Fielding is not yet upto the mark.It's interesting to note that the first two matches,India batted first and blasted the opponents.The next two,shivers ran down the spine while chasing modest totals against two of the least fancied teams.
Maybe the real problem doesn't lie with the batting or bowling prowess,or the combination,rather it may lie in the psyche,the intent or the lack of it.It was so evident in the England match,where the body language more tha anything else was more than disappointing,coupled with Dhoni's insipid captaincy.
The optimist would say there hasn't been enough motivation for the Indian team to play to potential yet.But today,it is South Africa we are up against.This is different.Perhaps this is the kick in the ass we have been missing.Let's hope it brings the Men In Blue out with all guns blazing in Nagpur.De ghuma ke!
And then,as a friend put it,cricket happened.Mahmudullah and the number 10 batsman,Shafiul Islam,had other ideas.The required rate was creeping up,but they showed sense not take undue risk,took their time to weather the Shehzad burst as England pressed for the kill.By the time he was finished,Bangladesh required 33 off the last 5 overs.It was an astounding experience to witness how the batsmen held their nerves and England kept on losing theirs,especially James Anderson.In the end,the unbelievable happened,something that would put the South African performance in Chennai to shame,with an over to spare and without any more casualties.
Group B is being stretched wider and wider.If there had to be a 'Group of Death' in this Cup,it always had to be this one.But only because 5 of the 7 teams in this Group are Test playing nations,where the other one has 4.But thanks to England,this pool is really turning out to be a slippery trough.
Look at the matches they have featured in.Started with the Netherlands running them long,then the tie of swinging fortunes with India which would perhaps be one of the most important factors in determining the fate of the Group.Then came Ireland,down in the gutters 111-5 chasing 327,only for the storm named Kevin O'Brien to blow the cross-border rivals off.To make matters more interesting,they chose to shock South Africa,who were expected to shoo them off,and did so for the greater part of the match,only to collapse from 124-3 to 127-7 and choke 6 runs short of the 172 run target.
After last night,it's pretty hard to predict the qualifiers from this group to the knockout stage.England have played themselves into worry.As the points table stands,Bangladesh and even Ireland have a fair chance of making it to the quarters,at the expense of England.Both Bangladesh and Ireland have South Africa and the Netherlands to contend with,while England have West Indies.If Bangladesh beat Netherlands,and England lose to West Indies,as looks enormously possible,Bangladesh will have edged out England.However,Ireland will have a chance if they manage an upset over South Africa,and win it against the Netherlands,as their net run rate is healthier than that of Bangladesh.On the other hand,if England lose,Bangladesh have a upper hand over them and South Africa lose the upcoming matches including today's,the English will go through only in the event where Ireland loses to the Netherlands.So,unless they win their last match,it's too much of a pickle for England.But then again,the word 'possible' is reaching new heights this Cup,as we saw in the Group A encounter between Pakistan and New Zealand,92 runs ARE 'possible' in the last 4 overs of an innings!
To focus on today's big match,it has been billed for long as the match deciding the Group topper.South Africa started well,only to justify their ineluctable 'chokers' tag in their last match.India,on the other hand,have been the only unbeaten team of this pool,but scratchy at best.Serious worries with the bowling attack,unlike the Proteas who seem to have struck upon the right mix of variety and potency.While Imran Tahir,their newest recruit,has been pretty impressive,Piyush Chawla,his Indian counterpart in the right arm leg-break department has struggled to settle into a consistent rhythm.It's reported that he's likely to be fielded again ahead of Ashwin amidst pressure to play the latter.Yuvraj Singh did a good job in saving us the blushes in the last two matches,both in batting and bowling.Fielding is not yet upto the mark.It's interesting to note that the first two matches,India batted first and blasted the opponents.The next two,shivers ran down the spine while chasing modest totals against two of the least fancied teams.
Maybe the real problem doesn't lie with the batting or bowling prowess,or the combination,rather it may lie in the psyche,the intent or the lack of it.It was so evident in the England match,where the body language more tha anything else was more than disappointing,coupled with Dhoni's insipid captaincy.
The optimist would say there hasn't been enough motivation for the Indian team to play to potential yet.But today,it is South Africa we are up against.This is different.Perhaps this is the kick in the ass we have been missing.Let's hope it brings the Men In Blue out with all guns blazing in Nagpur.De ghuma ke!
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