First, some thoughts on the tournament so far :
1. the drawn out schedule was criticized by many, but has allowed top players to stay in the tournament, with a few exceptions. The breaks between games have allowed rest from minor injuries and based on the number of top players who were injured prior to the tournament, it is perhaps a blessing in disguise that the major countries had longer breaks to recover.
2. the tournament is made for TV, and th coverage has been good for the most part. The crowds stayed away from the matches featuring lesser teams, but now the stadiums should fill up, specially given the choice of venues.
3. the only thing I have a problem with is the lame theme song. The FIFA World Cup last year gave us "Waka waka" which is catchy and 'global' sounding enough to be a real worldwide hit. In contrast we have a song that starts with the words "aindey baindey"!! seriously? What were they thinking? The lyrics are not Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's fault, but the melody is nothing to get excited about either. I doubt you will be hearing this song even in local games after the final game. Truly forgettable.
4. Everyone who was calling for an end to the 50 over format should have reason to rethink now. The games have been thrilling, absorbing and hotly contested. Teams have fought hard for each win. I feel that it would be a great loss to the game if this format was to die out. The thing to do as many have suggested is to reduce the number of games to make them meaningful for the participants and the public, rather than the going through the motions feeling that pervades ODI cricket right now.
Now to the quarterfinals :
WI v Pak - this should be the easiest game to call. Based on the form of both teams so far, Pak should win this easily. It is not that simple however, as we have seen repeatedly in this tournament. West Indies are not as bad as they have looked in their last 2 games, and but for a few key injuries would have been credible contenders. Take Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, the fantastic Bishoo, Pollard, Benn and Roach, and add in the missing ingredients - Barath, Edwards, Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor, and even Sammy would have reason to smile. As it stands, the haunted look on his face watching from the dressing room alone as his team lost from a winning position against India in Chennai is likely to be repeated in Mirpur tomorrow. The irony is that Sammy himself would not have a place in this side if the players I named above were all available and fit to play.
Pakistan are little better really. They have 3 and a half batsmen - Younis, Misbah, and the independent firm of the Akmal brothers. They have 2 and a half bowlers - Gul, Afridi and Razzak and Akhtar. Their fielding is truly pedestrian, and they can collapse from any position to lose a game. They do have the one thing that WI do not seem to have - the will to win. They have been running on desire mostly, supplied largely by Afridi and behind the scenes by Waqar. Pakistan should win, but it is not as simple as it seems.
India v Australia - Australia are in disarray now. They have one bowler, in Lee. They have one batsman, in Hussey. Everyone else is just coasting. Ponting is finding new lows with his batting, and everytime he opens his mouth, he's a lightning rod for criticism. In all the captains of the 8 teams now left, his position is a least secure, and he knows it. He would like to go out on a high, but it is hard to tell based on their 6 games so far if there is anything left in the tank to match the fighting spirit. They let Canada score 150 for 2 in 29 overs. What will a Sachin with nothing to lose and a determined Sehwag do to them.
India are a mystery. Their bowling is paper thin, but Dhoni has been a lucky captain so far. They had one loss in the group, and even that one was really close. They gave South Africa a scare before losing. However, the story is more complex than the 4-1-1 win record. They were scared themselves by Ireland, stretched by Netherlands, and England made their hearts stop. I think it is largely due to the uncalled for experimentation being carried out by Dhoni. He was coming off a hard fought series against South Africa, and should have trusted the team to do what they had been doing - Zaheer to get breakthroughs, Harbhajan to choke the runs, Kohli at number 4 and Pathan at 7. The unnecessary tinkering made for an ugly group stage, with too many close calls, giving rise to over analysis. In the end, their fortunes are almost solely dependent on one player - Yuvraj. He is the only seasoned player in the middle order with the experience and self confidence to take on any opposition in any circumstances. If Yuvi can find the form he showed in the World T20 in 2007, India will win it all. If he falters, they will lose. Simple. Until then, enjoy Sachin's swansong.
New Zealand v South Africa - SA should win this one, right? Wellofcourse, as Dhoni would say, but it is again not as simple as it looks on paper. New Zealand always punch above their weight in tournaments, and if Taylor and McCullum fire, they can give SA a real fight, and who knows, maybe even a bloody nose.
SA have holes, that have been papered over. They have Amla and Kallis at the top of the order, but other than that their batting has been patchy. Duminy always flatters to deceive, and du Plessis sounds very confident, but is inconsistent. In the end, it could come down to Steyn and Kallis doing their brilliant bits with everyone else filling in with useful contributions. This one seems more predictable, but should be an interesting game nevertheless if the New Zealand batsmen get going a bit.
England v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka at home, with Murali in the kind of killer form he is in, should skittle out England and fulfill the wishes of Collingwood's little daughter who wants her dad to lose the next game so he can finally come home. England don't really want to be here. They want to go home. They should go home. They should have released Eoin Morgan to play for Ireland. The Irish really wanted to play this tournament. Fucking Poms.
1. the drawn out schedule was criticized by many, but has allowed top players to stay in the tournament, with a few exceptions. The breaks between games have allowed rest from minor injuries and based on the number of top players who were injured prior to the tournament, it is perhaps a blessing in disguise that the major countries had longer breaks to recover.
2. the tournament is made for TV, and th coverage has been good for the most part. The crowds stayed away from the matches featuring lesser teams, but now the stadiums should fill up, specially given the choice of venues.
3. the only thing I have a problem with is the lame theme song. The FIFA World Cup last year gave us "Waka waka" which is catchy and 'global' sounding enough to be a real worldwide hit. In contrast we have a song that starts with the words "aindey baindey"!! seriously? What were they thinking? The lyrics are not Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's fault, but the melody is nothing to get excited about either. I doubt you will be hearing this song even in local games after the final game. Truly forgettable.
4. Everyone who was calling for an end to the 50 over format should have reason to rethink now. The games have been thrilling, absorbing and hotly contested. Teams have fought hard for each win. I feel that it would be a great loss to the game if this format was to die out. The thing to do as many have suggested is to reduce the number of games to make them meaningful for the participants and the public, rather than the going through the motions feeling that pervades ODI cricket right now.
Now to the quarterfinals :
WI v Pak - this should be the easiest game to call. Based on the form of both teams so far, Pak should win this easily. It is not that simple however, as we have seen repeatedly in this tournament. West Indies are not as bad as they have looked in their last 2 games, and but for a few key injuries would have been credible contenders. Take Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, the fantastic Bishoo, Pollard, Benn and Roach, and add in the missing ingredients - Barath, Edwards, Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor, and even Sammy would have reason to smile. As it stands, the haunted look on his face watching from the dressing room alone as his team lost from a winning position against India in Chennai is likely to be repeated in Mirpur tomorrow. The irony is that Sammy himself would not have a place in this side if the players I named above were all available and fit to play.
Pakistan are little better really. They have 3 and a half batsmen - Younis, Misbah, and the independent firm of the Akmal brothers. They have 2 and a half bowlers - Gul, Afridi and Razzak and Akhtar. Their fielding is truly pedestrian, and they can collapse from any position to lose a game. They do have the one thing that WI do not seem to have - the will to win. They have been running on desire mostly, supplied largely by Afridi and behind the scenes by Waqar. Pakistan should win, but it is not as simple as it seems.
India v Australia - Australia are in disarray now. They have one bowler, in Lee. They have one batsman, in Hussey. Everyone else is just coasting. Ponting is finding new lows with his batting, and everytime he opens his mouth, he's a lightning rod for criticism. In all the captains of the 8 teams now left, his position is a least secure, and he knows it. He would like to go out on a high, but it is hard to tell based on their 6 games so far if there is anything left in the tank to match the fighting spirit. They let Canada score 150 for 2 in 29 overs. What will a Sachin with nothing to lose and a determined Sehwag do to them.
India are a mystery. Their bowling is paper thin, but Dhoni has been a lucky captain so far. They had one loss in the group, and even that one was really close. They gave South Africa a scare before losing. However, the story is more complex than the 4-1-1 win record. They were scared themselves by Ireland, stretched by Netherlands, and England made their hearts stop. I think it is largely due to the uncalled for experimentation being carried out by Dhoni. He was coming off a hard fought series against South Africa, and should have trusted the team to do what they had been doing - Zaheer to get breakthroughs, Harbhajan to choke the runs, Kohli at number 4 and Pathan at 7. The unnecessary tinkering made for an ugly group stage, with too many close calls, giving rise to over analysis. In the end, their fortunes are almost solely dependent on one player - Yuvraj. He is the only seasoned player in the middle order with the experience and self confidence to take on any opposition in any circumstances. If Yuvi can find the form he showed in the World T20 in 2007, India will win it all. If he falters, they will lose. Simple. Until then, enjoy Sachin's swansong.
New Zealand v South Africa - SA should win this one, right? Wellofcourse, as Dhoni would say, but it is again not as simple as it looks on paper. New Zealand always punch above their weight in tournaments, and if Taylor and McCullum fire, they can give SA a real fight, and who knows, maybe even a bloody nose.
SA have holes, that have been papered over. They have Amla and Kallis at the top of the order, but other than that their batting has been patchy. Duminy always flatters to deceive, and du Plessis sounds very confident, but is inconsistent. In the end, it could come down to Steyn and Kallis doing their brilliant bits with everyone else filling in with useful contributions. This one seems more predictable, but should be an interesting game nevertheless if the New Zealand batsmen get going a bit.
England v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka at home, with Murali in the kind of killer form he is in, should skittle out England and fulfill the wishes of Collingwood's little daughter who wants her dad to lose the next game so he can finally come home. England don't really want to be here. They want to go home. They should go home. They should have released Eoin Morgan to play for Ireland. The Irish really wanted to play this tournament. Fucking Poms.
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