West Indies made to taste their own medicine

Just three days back, Zimbabwe faced the wrath of the Gayle Storm. Little did then West Indies know that they will also be at the receiving end in the very next match. But this was not something new for West Indies when they face South Africa. It was against West Indies in Johannesburg on January 18 this year that several records were rewritten. If West Indies thought all was over, then once again South Africa came up to complete some unfinished business.

If AB de Viliers scored the fastest 50 and 100 in ODIs on that day, he missed to set the fastest 150 record as he was dismissed on 149. Today he set that record as well completing his 150 in just 64 balls. The way de Villiers went about his batting, fastest century in world cup seemed to be under threat but he just missed it by 3 balls as it took 52 balls for him to score his century.

South Africa were coming from a humiliating defeat against India. Before the tournament started, they were one of the favourites to get the title. But their campaign did not hit the right note. They scraped through in their win against Zimbabwe and were defeated convincingly by India. More than to prove anyone else, they had to prove to themselves that they were also contender of the title. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. They had made three changes for this game, two of them were forced. Rilee Russouw came in place of injured JP Duminy, Kyle Abbot came in for injured Vernon Philander and Farhaan Behardien came in for Wayne Parnell. West Indies on the other hand made only one change. Nikita Miller made way for Suleiman Benn.

West Indies got the wicket of de Kock very early in the innings but then Hashim Amla and Faf du Plesis put together an important partnership for the 2nd wicket giving stability to the South African innings and provided the start that they needed, especially after their game against India, this was very important, especially considering that they were batting first. Their strategy was very clear, not to lose early wickets and lay a good foundation for others to come after. Both of them added 127 runs in 142 balls. But unfortunately for South Africa just when they thought that they had a good start, they lost both these set batsmen to Gayle in the same over. Amla had scored 65 and du Plesis had scored 62. South Africa were 146/3 in 29.4 overs.

It was a good start but South Africa had two new batsmen Rossouw and de Villiers at the crease. West Indies would have thought the they had pulled it back. But that was not the case. Rossouw started his innings as if he had been batting already for 30 overs. That helped de Villiers also to ease into his innings quickly and even he started matching Rossouw stroke to stroke. It seemed as if the two wickets that West Indies took, never happened. Such was the impact of their stroke play that together they added 72 runs in the batting powerplay and none of the balls were a dot ball. The way South Africa was batting, it looked as if a totally different team had taken the field compared to the one that took against India. West Indies tried to bring some sanity by dismissing Rossouw in the 43rd over. By then he had scored  61 off 39 balls. Both Rossouw and de Villiers had added 134 runs in 75 balls. South Africa were 280/4 in 42.1 overs with de Villiers still batting at 95 off 50 balls. With 8 overs left and de Villiers in the mood that he was, West Indies would have left the target to their wildest of the imagination.

What seemed to be an explosion so far turned out into a carnage in the last three overs and the victim was the captain of the West Indies team, 23 year old, Jason Holder. De Villiers was merciless. Holder who had conceded just 40 runs in 8 overs ended up with 104 runs in 10 overs, conceding 34 runs and 30 runs respectively in 48th and 50th over. His figures were the worst 10-over analysis in World Cups and fifth-worst overall. South Africa's score at the end of 50 overs was 408/5.

West Indies started their chase with a humdinger of a task. The statistics said that West Indies had never chased a 300+ target. This was 400+. The result of the match was a foregone conclusion. The only interest in the match was to see how West Indies responded to this pressure. Smith's six off Steyn's last ball of the first over suggested that West Indies had come with a resolve. But West Indies' chase received the jolt when they lost Chris Gayle to Kyle Abbott in the second over itself. Post that dismissal, West Indies were never in the chase losing wickets at regular intervals. 

At one stage they were staring the worst possible margin of defeat when they were 63/7. It could have been even worse. In the west indies innings during powerplay, two catches were dropped and one run out was missed. On two occasions Kyle Abbott thought it was out but South Africa did not go for review. Replays suggested that had they taken the reviews, it would have gone in their favour.

Ramdin and Holder added 45 runs for 8th wicket and later Holder and Taylor added 42 runs for the 9th wicket just to delay the inevitable. In the meantime, Holder completed his first one day half century, a milestone that he could not even enjoy. West Indies innings finally folded for 151 runs with almost 17 overs left. In terms of margin, this is the biggest victory in this world cup and even in World Cup history. The margin is joint highest with India. India beat Bermuda by exactly 257 runs in the 2007 World Cup.

It is so difficult to comprehend that a team that lost their previous match with margin of 150 runs faces a team that won its last match by 73 runs breaking a few records in the process. The team that lost its previous match miserably decimates the team that won its previous match with command. Psychology has assumed a totally different meaning.

Week Two Round Up

Two weeks of the event is over. In total 10 matches have been played during this period. West Indies have played 3 matches in this week and have won two. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Sri Lanka have played 2 matches each, whereas all other teams, except New Zealand played one a piece during this period. 6 games were played in New Zealand and 6 were played in Australia.

I have tried to capture a few stats and key moments of week 2.

300-plus
There have been six 300-plus scores in the second week as well. All these six scores came in first innings. None of them were chased. West Indies made two scores. One of the score was 408/5 by South Africa against West Indies, which is the second highest total in the world cup behind India's 413/5 against Bermuda in 2007.

100
There have been 9 scores of 100/100+ in week two, with Chris Gayle top scoring at 215. This is the highest individual score in any world cup and the first 200+ score as well. Shaiman Anwar from UAE was the only batsman from Associates to score a century, 106. Samiullah Shenwari from Afghanistan was a notable miss, scoring 96 runs.

Fastest 150
AB de Villiers scored fastest 150 in just 64 balls. Incidentally it is also a world record.

Five-fors
Only one bowler too five-for in the second week of the world cup. Imran Tahir took 5/45 in 10 overs against West Indies.

Partnerships
There have been ten 100+ partnerships in the second week, the highest partnership being 372 between Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels for the second wicket against Zimbabwe. Incidentally this is a world record partnership for the any wicket. Sri Lanka had three, India and South Africa had two, England, West Indies and U.A.E. had one each. UAE's Shaiman Anwar and Amjad Javed put together 107 for seventh wicket, which is a record partnership in world cups for seventh wicket and it is the only 100+ partnership for seventh wicket in the history of world cup. Already two world records broken in two weeks.

9th wicket saga
It would have rarely happened that in the same match there were two partnerships for the 9th wicket, one in each innings, that came to the rescue of their respective team. It was in the match between Afghanistan and Scotland. Scotland's Majid Haq and Alasdair Evans added 62 runs for the 9th wicket which was a record for Scotland in ODI for the 9th wicket. In the same match, Afghanistan's Hamid Hassan and Samiullah Shenwari added 60 runs off 71 balls for the 9th wicket. Just like for Scotland, this was their highest for the 9th wicket in all the ODIs that they have played so far. 

Powerplay
The highest score during the first 10 overs of the innings in week two, in this world cup belongs to Bangladesh, they scored 60/3 against Sri Lanka. The highest so far belongs to New Zealand - 116/2 against England. In fact, top three scores belong to New Zealand. It is South Africa who have scored the highest (72/0) in the batting powerplay, and this was against West Indies. Incidentally there were no dot balls in the phase. There were 3 occasions in the first week when the batting powerplay was taken earlier than the 36th over. 

Most extras in an innings
Zimbabwe against West Indies and Scotland against Afghanistan were guilty of conceding most extras in an innings in week two - 25. It is behind UAE against Zimbabwe on week one.

Biggest Victory
South Africa's margin of victory against West Indies (257 runs) is the biggest victory of the week two, this world cup and even in World Cup history. The margin is joint highest with India. India beat Bermuda by exactly 257 runs in the 2007 World Cup.

First Washout of the tournament

The bad weather did not relent and finally the match between Australia and Bangladesh had been washed out. This made it the first game in this tournament to be washed out and also the game abandoned without a ball being bowled. The game between West Indies and Zimbabwe was briefly interrupted by rain in the second innings and resulted in the reduction of overs.

Another bowler taken off
In the week one, Samiullah Shenwari was taken off from bowling for stepping on to the protected area. This week, it was Tendai Chatara from Zimbabwe, who was removed from attack in his last over against West Indies for delivering two waist-high full tosses.

Slide and dive for the save
Kyle Coetzer and Calum MacLeod were chasing the ball hit by Nawroz Mangal through covers and finally in the attempt to save boundary, Coetzer put in an excellent slide but he failed to pull it well inside and the ball started rolling towards the rope. Just then MacLeod who was behind Coetzer, was alert enough to put in a dive to push the ball well inside the boundary saving one run.

Catch of the week

During the South Africa innings against West Indies when David Miller hit Andre Russell down the ground, it was well struck and seemed go beyond the boundary rope the moment it was hit, but Taylor leaped and stretched his right hand to pull off a spectacular catch right inside the boundary line and he was alert enough not to step on the rope.

Lighter momentsIn the match against Sri Lanka, after castling Sangakkara, Hamid Hassan attempted a cart wheeling that looked very awkward to say the least as he could not finish it well. Later he pounded the ground with both his hands, squatting, a celebration that would have reminded most of us another bowler known for his theatrics.

In the match against Sri Lanka, when Jayawardene played a fast Shapoor Zadran delivery, the ball hit the middle of his bat and the bat snapped right at the point of impact much to the embarrassment of Jayawardene and the other half that he was not holding came down flying on the pitch.

In match against Afghanistan, Majid Haq from Scotland tried to block a Dawlat Zadran delivery and realized a good chunk of his bat is gone. Another bat broken by the Zadrans.

On the fourth ball of his first over against Ireland, Javed bowled a yorker on the off stump and Ed Joyce was completely beaten. The ball clipped the off stump, the bail went off its groove and as everyone in the fielding team started celebrating, to their dismay they found that the bail landed back in the groove. As per the law, the bail has to be completely removed from the top of the stumps. Further it states that "The disturbance of a bail, whether temporary or not, shall not constitute its complete removal from the top of the stumps". Javed would have felt hard done. 

Battle of Experience versus Spirit

India meets United Arab Emirates on Saturday (February 28) and like any other match between a test nation and associate, the test nation will start as favourite. But having seem the matches involving associates in the last two weeks, the test nations may start as favourite but it is not going to be very easy. 

UAE, in its two matches had posted decent score on the board and pushed its opponents closer in defending and ended up on the losing side. India, on the other hand posted formidable scores on the board and decimated their opposition in defense of their total. UAE may have the spirit to compete, but so far they have come across a test nation that is in revival mode and just trying to show some promise and an associate that is as equal as them but for the experience. India is not the same as either of those two side, with all respect to them. But with the form that it is in currently in, it would be much difficult for UAE to stretch them, unless it is really an off day for India.

Without any doubt, UAE will have to raise their game when it meets India. In spite of the skill and spirit, they lack experience, an area which could be exploited by India. Their coach Auqib Javed has played against India a lot, may be not the current team but must have been following the current players. So his inputs would come handy but finally execution lies with the players on the field. India can also not relax. Two points tomorrow would mean that it would make its position on the top of the pool more comfortable. UAE is a team, that has shown that they can raise their bar to compete, whether that bar is good enough or not is a different story.

UAE has no reason to change their composition that they fielded against Ireland. Everyone had been contributing. Their batting line up is among runs and they bat deep. They will have to raise the standard of the fielding and have to bowl well in the death overs.

For India, Mohammad Shami is not available. Either Stuart Binny or Bhuvaneshwar Kumar could come in. Rohit Sharma is the only batsman in the top order who is not among runs and can see the modest attack as a chance to be among runs. MS might rest a batsman in the middle order and bring in Rayudu.

India has met UAE twice in the past, in 1994 and 2004 and both the times India won it. India would like to bat first tomorrow and dismiss the opposition to a lower total to boost their NRR further.

Clash of the hosts

After hosting the game for two weeks, the hosts themselves come face to face. Being the host, both of them have the home advantage and with the kind of cricket that they are playing in the recent times, they are the favourites to win the title as well. But when they face each other on Saturday (February 28) afternoon, the home advantage would be with New Zealand.

This match could as well be the dress rehearsal for the semi-final or final they may meet each other again. Being the tournament favourites, the result of the match will not have any impact on their progressing to the next stage (of course their recent form is testimony to that). However, the result would definitely decide who will be the pool topper, assuming both these team win all their subsequent matches. The pool position will not just decide who they will be playing from the other group in the quarter-finals but will also have bearing on where will they play in case they meet each other again in the semi-finals. Team at the higher position gets the home advantage. 

In the last two weeks, all the matches where both the opponents were full members, were one sided affair. Only those matches where the associates were involved evoked excitement. When it came to pushing the full memeber, it was only the associates who were in front, be it Ireland pushing West Indies or UAE pushing Zimbabwe or Afghanistan almost pulling it from Sri Lanka or Scotland giving a scare to New Zealand. Even the two nail biters were contested among the associates. With the form these two teams are in, there will be a huge expectation that it would be a neck to neck contest. Anything less than that would be a disappointment.

Both Australia and New Zealand have won all their five previous games that they have played. New Zealand played 3 matches in the first week, won all and is coming from a one week break whereas, Australia after playing the tournament opener will be playing only on Saturday i.e. exactly two weeks later. Their second match against Bangladesh was washed out and they had won their first game. This break has done them any good or bad, will be known only after the game.

Australia have problem of plenty when it comes to selection. Michael Clarke returns to the team after injury. It will be interesting to see, if Shane Watson is retained. If they decide against Watson, then he could make way for Clarke, else it will have to be George Bailey. Bailey had scored 55 in the tournament opener. Mitchell Marsh who played in Faulkner's absence, took 5 wickets and will retain his place. It is being talked that Josh Hazlewood would make way for Pat Cummins. 

As far as New Zealand is concerned, they have tested their combination in three matches and there seems to be no issues with that except for Ross Taylor's form. When other ten are doing very well, they can allow Ross Taylor to be part of XI, knowing how valuable the player he is. 

If at all there is any weakness in Australia, it is their middle order. It is not the quality of the players but the form, especially Watson and Smith. Even Clarke is coming in from injury and has played only 2 ODIs in last 12 months. If the trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Adam Milne can get the Australian openers cheaply or even early, then it would be really a mouth watering contest. Otherwise both the teams match each other on every aspect.

This will be the first match in Auckland. 

*Image: courtsey Star Sports

Nail biter two and guess what...

It was a second nail biter of the tournament, or should I say this one was a finger biter rather. The nails had already gone in the game between Ireland and United Arab Emirates. Even for those who had nails, the nails would have been long gone before the game ended. And...Guess What? This was again a head-to-head between the associates, like the previous game. But this was really really close.

Afghanistan won the toss and decided that they will bowl. Gardiner came in place of Coleman for Scotland. In Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib had come in place of injured Mirwais Ashraf.

Scotland started their innings knowing that they have not scored more than 200 in world cup. Playing against an associate and with high scores being posted so far in the tournament, they would have thought this was their chance. Similarly, they were also looking for an elusive world cup win. 

Afghanistan started with Shapoor and Dawlat. Dawlat as he did against Sri Lanka struck in his very first over dismissing Calum MacLeod. Scots then laboured through the powerplay scoring 38/1. After putting in all the hard work, both Hamish Gardiner and Kyle Coetzer got out in space of 3 balls. Scotland were now 40/3. Machan and skipper Mommsen added 51 runs in 61 balls but both of them fell in succession soon. Scotland once again faltered after having a solid partnership. Scotland were 95/5 in 22.2 overs. It was not such a bad score but Scotland already had half of their team back in dressing room. Another partnership blossomed between Cross and Berrington. Once again they lost two quick wickets, Cross and Davey this time. Afghanistan were right on top and their domination was to be seen with the areas that the bowlers were bowling.

When the poweplay started in 36th over, Scotland were 142/7. Berrington and veteran Haq, who was not a novice with the bat, were at the crease. If they could stay till 50 overs, they could still end up in a reasonable total. In the 37th over, Afghanistan's consistent bowler Dawlat struck again removing Berrington. Scotland were now 144/8 and their dream of going past 200 in world cup looked unlikely. Majid Haq and Alasdair Evans batted with purpose and determination, just hung around and ensured that Scotland did not bundle up before their full quota of overs. They not just succeeded in that but also took Scotland past 200 for the first time in the world cup. Their previous best was 186, against South Africa in 2007. They also added 62 runs for the 9th wicket which was a record for Scotland in ODI for the 9th wicket. 

Afghanistan were not able to close the innings after such a spirited performance initially. They were also guilty of bowling very ordinary towards the death. In 48th and 49th overs together they gave away 23 runs. On top of that they gave away 25 runs as extras of which 12 were wide. Now the target for Afghanistan was 211, which was a modest one.

When Afghanistan started the chase, they would have definitely thought that the win was theirs. Only that they had to put a method to the chase and more importantly execute that method. On the other hand, Scotland would have  been high on confidence after their first total of 200+ in a world cup. It was for sure there was going to be some contest.

Ahmedi and Mangal started for Afghanistan and for the first two overs, Mangal did not get a strike and Ahmedi also did not look up to the mark. But in the overs to come Ahmedi changed the gears gradually, striking the ball well. Ahmedi was scoring almost run a ball. In the 8th over, Afghan's chase was jolted by none other than Evans, who even in batting combined for that 9th wicket partnership. By the time 8th over ended, Mangal and Stanikzai were back in pavilion. Afghanistan were 46/2. 

Shenwari came in and he put down the anchor while Ahmedi continued in his free spirit. Afghanistan looked cruising. At the end of 18 overs, Afghanistan was 85/2 and in the meantime, Ahmedi had completed his brisk run a ball half century. It seemed that this pair will take them through. But then Ahmedi, who was playing with maturity and control simply blew it away giving a simple catch to Machan off Berrigton. It seemed Afghanistan had no answer to Berrington's and Davey's accurate bowling. Afghanistan nose dived from 85/2 to 97/7 in 23.4 overs.

Shenwari was the only recognized batsman left and the remaining three were the bowlers. The game had been turned on its head once again. When Afghanistan were bowling, they let the Scotland recover from 144/8 to 210. Now they offered them this collapse. Scotland would have already started celebrating their first ever world cup win. But Shenwari had something else in mind. He had not lost and he was not there to lose. He assessed the situation very well and probably drew inspiration from what happened in Scotland 's innings. He understood that if they were there at the crease till the 50th over, they had an outside chance.

He just hung in. Scoring just one an over and two an over. From 25th to 30th over, the runs scored in each over were 1, 0, 2, 1, 4 and 2. First big over for them came in 31st when they scored 9. Shenwari looked calm, in control and seemed to know what he was doing. Dawlat was supporting him in that cause. In the next 4 overs, they scored 1, 7, 2 and 6. Right before the powerplay started, came the moment of madness. Dawlat, in a rush of blood, attempting to go over the rope, mistimed the hit for an easy catch to Mommsen. Even before the catch was taken, Shenwari looked gutted. His frustration and outburst was for every one to see. Together they had accumulated 35 runs in 68 balls and now all that was gone. It seemed with this wicket, any chance of Afghanistan coming closer to the target was also gone.

Afghanistan now required another 79 run in 90 balls. It was a feasible equation but the only thing that Afghanistan did not have was wickets. Hamid Hassan joined the crease with Shenwari and apparently he too was given the same instructions as had been given to Dawlat. Hamid seemed to be a keen student and followed the instructions to the letter. Shenwari reached his 50 but barely celebrated. His mission was not over. Both of them added another 21 runs in the batting powerplay.

Afghanistan required 58 runs off last 10 overs. Shenwari was not just farming the strike but at times, he trusted Hamid to face as well. From over 41 to 45, their scoring pattern was 1, 1, 6, 7 and 2. Afghanistan now required 41 runs of 30 balls. This 9th wicket partnership reminded us of the 9th wicket partnership in the other innings. Even this like the other 9th wicket partnership in the match was proving to be a crucial one. It was still not evident when Afghanistan would launch an attack.

Afghanistan added 3 more runs to their total in the 46th over. Now the equation was 38 runs off 24 balls. Afghanistan still held back the attack. Having no other choice left, Mommsen had to bring in Haq for his last over at this point of time. Shenwari decided that this was the over that he will take on as it was now or never. He hit three sixes in 4 balls bringing the equation to 19 runs off 20 balls. In an attempt to take the chase further closer, Shenwari attempted for another maximum only to be caught at deep mid-wicket. 

Haq had the last laugh. Scotland camp went into celebrations. Both the dressing rooms were engulfed in contrasting emotions. If the events happening in the field were not good enough for the excitement, the third umpire added spice by asking Shenwari not to leave the field. There were doubts on if Scotland had the right number of fielders inside the circle. There was no twist to the tale, Shenwari had to leave. His brave fight back came to an end with his personal score of 96. 

It seemed as if he had gone for one too many. Even if he had not attempted that six, the equation could have still been manageable with he there at the crease. But there was no reason to blame him as he was the one who brought the match to this stage. He was justified in attempting to close the match soon. Shenwari was devastated. He did not even go to the dressing room. He just crossed the boundary and sat dumbstruck. He was not able to believe that he could not clear the rope on that occasion. 9th wicket stand between Hassan and Shenwari was 60 runs off 71 balls. Just like for Scotland, this was their highest for the 9th wicket in all the ODIs that they have played so far. But those record did not matter to him. Whatever mattered most, he could not achieve.

Now it was left to Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran to take Afghanistan over line. Scotland needed just one more wicket. Afghanistan needed 19 runs off 19 balls. The fight was for the first win in world cup. Evans bowled the 48th over. The two batsmen did not try anything fancy looking just for singles. Their approach said that they wanted to push it to the last few balls before they tried anything fancy. Evans conceded 5 runs and the equation came down to 14 runs off 12 balls. They seemed to be doing the right thing.

Berrington, hero for Scotland with the ball bowled the 49th over. Hamid and Shapoor were still dealing in singles. A very mature approach to the game by the two so-called tail-enders. The pair added 4 more runs in 5 balls. The match was going to the wire. Afghans needed 10 off 7 balls. Last ball of his over and in attempting to bowl away from Shapoor, Brrington bowled a wide. That gave Afghans one more run and one more ball and Afghans made it count. The last ball was bowled a little short, Shapoor shuffled across and pulled it away down to the fine leg getting the much needed boundary. Now Afghanistan needed 5 runs of 6 balls. Scotland needed just one wicket. It was not over, it was still anybody's game.

Wardlaw was the bowler to bowl the last over. Hamid Hassan took a single off the first ball and now 4 were needed of 5 balls. Shapoor nudged the next ball on the leg side and immediately set off for a run that was not there and was rightly sent back by Hamid. Mommsen picked the ball and threw at the striker's wicket in an attempt to run out, Shapoor dived full stretch and the ball missed the stumps. Had it hit, it would have been curtains for Afghanistan. The equation now was 4 out of 4. Tension built up on both the sides, so was it building up among all those who were watching the game. Wardlaw in an attempt to bowl a yorker ended up bowling a low full toss on the leg stump which was picked up by Shapoor and the ball went past the short fine leg fielder and they knew that they had done it.

The most exciting match of the 2015 cricket world cup was over. It left the Scots heartbroken and Afghans into frenzied celebration. It was pity that one of the teams had to lose today, a tie would have been a fair result. Afghanistan team known for its resilient character showed it up again. 

When everything seemed lost, one man believed in his ability and sought support from his bowlers, though could not finish it himself but put them in a position where they thought that they could do it. It was such a selfless innings on his part. When he attempted that 4th six in that over, he was on 96. Had he not attempted that six, he could have easily scored his 100 and may be still won the match. Even if Afghanistan had not won, no one would have complained. But he put his team first. For his selflessness, team spirit and match-defining innings he was rightly adjudged the man of the match.

The defining moment:

Shapoor Zadran after hitting the winnings runs. ©ICC

Resurgent West Indies take on favourites Proteans

Two weeks into the tournament, we are entering the stage of tournament where any result will be a make for one team and break for another. Such is the contest between the resurgent West Indies and tournament favourites Proteans on Friday, February 27. 

Yes, South Africa can still be called tournament favourites. They have played just 2 games and have won one of them. Only that the win against Zimbabwe was not convincing and the loss against India was demoralizing. But with 4 more games in hand, they can always make a come back. We have seen that happen in this tournament and their opponent on Friday is one such example. Starting the tournament on the wrong foot, losing to Ireland, West Indies had done pretty well in their victory against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Now they have 4 points out of three games and a healthy Net Run Rate.

A win for West Indies would push them to a position of safety in the pool table where the quarter final slot will be almost sealed. A defeat however will make their next two games must win for them. On the other hand for South Africa, a win would keep their progress on track and defeat could derail them. They are still a good team to make a first round exit but not ending up on the top 2 of the pool would mean that they will have to face Australia or New Zealand in the quarter finals, which they would prefer to avoid.

Both history and statistics are in South Africa's favour. South Africa lead 16-1 in the recent 18 encounters. In the world cup it is a bit closer with South Africa leading 3-2. In the recent series back home, they had defeated them 4-1, the loss coming in a dead rubber.

After the heroics against the ordinary Zimbabwean attack, cricket enthusiast s and fans would be waiting with much anticipation to see how Gayle performs against one of the best attacks in the world. However it is worth mentioning that he does not have a very good record against South Africa, his highest score in 13 matches against South Africa being 45.

Though each of us would like to witness a Steyn v Gayle battle, but his participation seems doubtful because of his back problem. Suleimann Benn, who missed the Zimbabwe game could play tomorrow, instead of Nikita Miller, if declared fit. Apart from these two changes, West Indies will retain the same squad as against Zimbabwe. 

Vernon Philander will not be available after he suffered a hamstring injury during match against India. Thus Kyle Abbott, will be the likely replacement. Farhaan Behardien could return in place of Parnell. The management could instead go with Rilee Russouw as well.

One thing that AB will be mindful of would be the over rate. He is already on warning. In case he is not able to get the overs bowled in right time, he may miss the next match.

This is Sydney's first match of the tournament and South Africa will not have good memories of this ground. It was here on this ground that South Africa was set an infamous target of 22 runs off 1 ball in the 1992 world cup.

Even though South Africa will start as favourite, it is South Africa which will also be under pressure.

*Image: courtsey Star Sports

First nail biting finish of World Cup 2015

Those who were protesting against the reduction of number of teams in 2019 got their case strengthened after what happened in Brisbane. The match between Ireland and United Arab Emirates definitely qualified to be the first match in this edition to end in a nail biter. There had been other close matches, in fact United Arab Emirates was involved in a thriller themselves, but nothing came any closer to this. Ironically, all the close matches that have been played in this tournament had involved associates.

Ireland won the toss and decided to bowl first. Having chased 300+ against West Indies, they must have thought it is their strength. Each team have made one change to their squad. Manjula Guruge, the left-arm seamer, replaced the offspinner Nasir Aziz. Ireland had also brought in Alex Cusack for off-spinner Andy McBrine.

UAE started their innings very cautiously. They knew the importance of keeping the wickets and wanted to bat the full overs to post a good total on the board. With their experience against Zimbabwe, they knew that they could push the scoring towards the end of the innings to post a decent score if they had wickets. They saw through the powerplay without losing wickets, scoring 44. In the 12th over and 14th over, UAE lost two wickets. UAE were 53/2. Amjad Ali also departed soon after scoring 45. Soon UAE lost another wicket. Halfway mark UAE were 92/4 with vetaran Khurram Khan and top scorer for UAE from previous match, Shaiman at crease. Before the batting powerplay began, UAE lost another two wickets and they were reeling at 131/6 at end of 35 overs. 

Javed, who was instrumental to push their score to 285 against Zimbabwe was at crease with the top scorer of that game Shaiman. With six wickets down, Ireland would have thought the game is in their favour. Now began the UAE onslaught, for which Ireland were definitely not prepared. The two added 47 runs in the batting powerplay. UAE now 178/6. Amjad took the lead in the aggression. Shaiman scored another 50 of the tournament in 51 balls. 

It seemed Ireland was letting the good work slip here. All of a sudden the runs had started flowing. Once a sub 200 chase now easily looked like a chase somewhere between 240-250. It seemed to be the same story as against the West Indies, where they gave away 43 runs in the batting powerplay and conceded 124 runs in the last 10 overs. After his 50, Shaiman changed gears ably supported by Javed. The pair added 100 runs in 65 balls. Finally their partnership lasted 71 balls before Javed got out at 46.1 overs. 107 runs that they scored together is the highest seventh wicket stand for any team in World Cup history. There has never previously been a 100-plus stand for the seventh wicket in World Cups.

Shaiman's belligerence continued and Ireland seemed a bit rattled and Kevin O'Brien seemed to have no answer to Shaiman. In the 48th over, he conceded 19 runs and in the same over Shaiman completed his first century in just 79 balls. He is the first batsman from UAE to score a World Cup hundred and the second UAE batsman to do so in any ODI. The only other UAE batsman to score an ODI hundred is Khurram Khan. Shaiman finally got out at the score of 106 and UAE finished at 278/9, their third highest total in ODI and another 275+ score in this tournament. Ireland conceded 100 runs in the last 10 overs. 

In an era where 300 is a par score, 279 should be chased, that is what Ireland would have thought going into the break. Considering Ireland is the only team which has chased 300+ score 3 times in the world cups, they should be backing themselves here. Whatever be the history, this is another match and would have a scoreboard pressure while chasing. if fact, it is they who made it difficult for themselves in spite of a good start with the ball. 

In spite of defending a good total, UAE could not have asked for more. In form batsman Stirling was dismissed in the 2nd over itself, when the score was just 4. Having received an early jolt, Ireland were determined not to lose any further wicket even at the expense of increasing required run rate. Both Joyce and Porterfield literally put their anchors and Ireland were 35/1 at the end of powerplay. Guruge and Naveed bowled exceptionally. 

Amjad Javed was introduced immediately after the powerplay. In his very first over came a moment, which may served as an hint to UAE that it was not their day. On the fourth ball, Javed bowled a yorker on the off stump and Ed Joyce was completely beaten. The ball clipped the off stump, the bail went off its groove and as everyone in the fielding team started celebrating, to their dismay they found that the bail landed back in the groove. As per the law, the bail has to be completely removed from the top of the stumps. Further it states that "The disturbance of a bail, whether temporary or not, shall not constitute its complete removal from the top of the stumps". Javed would have felt hard done.

On the other hand, Ed Joyce who was fluent in his innings against West Indies was living dangerously in this innings. He could have been run out 3 times, could have been bowled and even could have been caught. But when it seemed that it was going to be his day, Javed had the last laugh and got him out caught behind in the 19th over. Finally Ireland's resistance was broken. Joyce and Porterfield had added 68 runs in 102 balls. Ireland were feeling the suffocation and soon Porterfiled also played across a Tauquir ball and got bowled. Soon the inform Niall O'Brien also dismissed. Halfway, Ireland were 97/4 and the asking rate was close to 7.5. There was another partnership between Balbirnie and Wilson, together they added, 74 runs in 80 balls. Ireland were 171/5 in 38.4 overs. 

UAE were fighting passionately. The amateurs were not giving any easy chance to Irish batsman. Wickets at regular interval meant that the game was moving towards a tight finish. Kevin O'Brien joined Wilson with 108 required off 68 balls and Wilson was on 43 off 46. Required run rate was touching 10. The only hope for Ireland now was the big-hitting Kevin. Kevin understanding the need of the hour went full throttle on the gas right from the word "Go". Wilson let him be the aggressor and soon Kevin reached 24 runs in 13 balls. By the end of 42nd over the asking run rate had been brought down to 9. 

With no choice left, Tauquir went to his "go to" man Javed. And Javed responded. Kevin on his very first ball went for the heave and lofted the ball high in air. Nasir Aziz, the substitute fielder, moving from long-on came a little bit more inside getting into a very poor position. So he had to lean backwards to make a catch of it and eventually spilled it. To add insult to the injury that ball crossed the boundary as well. This drop was to prove costly. Had this catch been taken, UAE could definitely have taken an upper hand. Even now, the odds were in UAE's favour provided, they took their chances.

The heat, both of the moment and the actual one was taking a toll on the fielders and batsmen. Wilson was cramping and so were the fielders. UAE had lost their opening bowler Manjula Guruge, who bowled exceptionally in the beginning to possibly cramps.

After the drop, Kevin went on to add another 22 runs to his tally, scoring 50 off just 24 balls. Javed on whose bowling he was dropped the previous over dismissed him this time. Kevin had played a crucial part in the Ireland chase scoring 50 runs off 25 balls. When he left, Ireland still required 36 off 32 balls with 4 wickets in hand. This brought back the memory of the Zimbabwe chase against UAE, when Zimbabwe required 32 off 32 balls with 4 wickets in hand. UAE were marginally in a better situation here. Another close contest was on the cards.

As against Zimbabwe, it was up to Naveed and Javed to bowl the last 5 overs. Now it was Wilson's turn to up the ante. Wilson scored 12 runs in 46th over bowled by Naveed. Ireland were now chasing runs less than the balls available - 23 off 24 balls. 

Once again, UAE's key man Javed gave a scare to Ireland in the 47th over. On the 5th ball, Wilson went down on a knee to hit Javed and missed. UAE appealed for LBW which was turned down. From naked eye, on the first instance, it looked as if the ball had just hit outside the line of off stump. With one review pending UAE did not want to waste it by not taking at this crucial juncture. It seemed that their review was justified as the replays showed the ball had come back enough to hit him in front of off stump. But then there was a twist to the tale, the replay also showed the ball to be only clipping the top of the stumps, which meant that the umpire's call would prevail, which in this case was NOT OUT. It seemed the luck had deserted UAE. But that was not the case. The very next ball, Mooney trying an adventurous shot got out. Javed had conceded only 3 runs in this over, one of which was a leg bye and taken a wicket. The equation - Ireland required 20 runs of 18 balls with 3 wickets to spare.

Wilson was facing Naveed and it was now or never for both of them. Wilson hit consecutive four of the first two balls, to Ireland's delight. But soon the table were to be turned. It was Javed again in action. Naveed's thrid ball was short and angled into Wilson. Wilson tried to steer it to the third man, the ball was in air for a while and that was enough for Javed,  at short third man, to dive forward and pluck a low catch. Wilson's laboured innings had come to an end. He had scored 80 off 69 balls and could not take Ireland over the line. The equation seemed balanced at this point of time. Now it was up to who held their nerve better more than anything else. Ireland needed 12 off 15 balls with 2 wickets in hand.

Javed started the 49th over. Ireland required 10 runs of 12 balls, pretty much gettable, only concern for Ireland, only 2 wickets left. Javed bowled 2 dots balls to Cusak. Then gave 3 runs in next 2 balls. It was getting tighter. Ireland required 7 runs of 8 balls. Javed went back length and Dockrell went over the cover for a 4 and the equation read 3 runs of 7 balls. The last over equation was 3 runs of 6 balls. The match now was clearly beyond UAE's reach and Ireland prevailed with four balls to go.

Ireland did not make it easy for themselves. First they let UAE off the hook when they were bowling conceding 147 runs in the last 15 overs. Then their batting collapsed in the chase. Had it not been Kevin's pyrotechnics, it could have been a different result. It was an important match for Ireland to win and they would be happy to have 2 more points. 

What a heartbreak for UAE! They came so close to winning it. There had been moments that were not seized by them. It was two thrillers for UAE in a row but this one was a real nail-biter. What a roller-coaster it was! In the end, it was a game of nearlys, could have beens and should have beens. 

My man of the match:

Gary Wilson was declared the man of the match by the jury. He played the anchor role and played the aggressor after Kevin left, but he did not finish the job in hand.

It was Kevin O'Brien who changed the complexion of chase. If it was not for his 50 off 25 balls, it could have been a different result.

But then it was Shaiman Anwar who scored 106 off just 83 balls that allowed the UAE bowlers to defend a decent total.

But for me, the man of the match is Amjad Javed. It was Javed who took the attacking route in UAE innings. He added record 107 runs with Shaiman Anwar and inspired him as well to go the attacking way. When bowling, he was the one who broke the partnership between Joyce and Porterfield upfront. He took the wicket of dangerous Kevin O'Brien when he looked like taking away the match single handed. Then he took Mooney's wicket to add pressure on Ireland. Later he took the all important catch to get rid off Wilson. He was the one who helped UAE comeback whenever the game seemed drifting away from them. It was a pity that he ended up on the losing side.

Contest to ensure position of safety in Pool A

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh meet at a crucial encounter which will determine the course for the two teams in the tournament. Currently Bangladesh is one point ahead of Sri Lanka, courtesy the wash out against Australia and they are at the third place. So a win against each other would mean that they would be ahead of the other in as many games and with three more games left.

Both of them have won against Afghanistan, the only difference being the way they won. Sri Lanka's win against Afghanistan can be called anything but convincing. Had it not been Mahela Jayawardene's century and Thisara Perera's pyrotechnics in the end, Sri Lanka could have been two points less. Bangladesh's win against Afghanistan was emphatic and that gave them the right start to the campaign. That win also meant that they have a healthy positive NRR which could come handy towards the end.

Both these teams had a match against the hosts, though different. Bangladesh was lucky to share point with Australia, and this extra point has put them in an enviable position on the table. A position that has made the journey of Sri Lanka and England (which is at 5th position in the table) difficult. Sri Lanka on the other hand, lost to New Zealand in their opener, a game that they would like to forget. That game took their NRR to negative and they could not gain much against Afghanistan as well, where they must be more than happy with a win.

Sri Lanka, the runners-up of 2011 have failed to put a convincing performance in this tournament so far. Only a win tomorrow will put them to a position of safety in this tournament. They need some inspiration to take their campaign forward. After century from the classy Jayawardene in the last match, Sri Lanka would be looking for similar performance from their seasoned campaigner Kumar Sangakkara who has just made 39 and 7 in the first two games in this World Cup. Thilakaratne Dilshan is another performer who is due to join the party. Good news for them is that, Lasith Malinga is also returning to form in the two matches he has played.

Sri Lanka will also draw some confidence from the 32 - 4 record against Bangladesh in ODIs and the last time they lost to Bangladesh was in 2013. Another record that would come handy would be - they have never lost to them in a World Cup. But off late Sri Lanka have been winning against Bangladesh by only narrow margins. With the way some so-called lesser teams are performing in this tournament, Bangladesh will draw inspiration to win against Sri Lanka.  

For Bangladesh, their stars Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza were largely responsible for their win against Afghanistan. Bangladesh would expect the same performance against Sri Lanka as well. Expectation would be on Tamim Iqbal as well to contribute big. 

From the team that played against Afghanistan, Jeevan Mendis will not be available for Sri Lanka due to hamstring injury. Others should be available for the game. With the game at MCG, and last performance from Perera, he will be retained in the XI. Jeevan Mendis was an all-rounder. Either he could be replaced by Sachithra Senanayake or considering it is MCG, it could be pacer Dushmantha Chameera.

Bangladesh could still retain the same team as that against Afghanistan. Eight batsmen and the three-man pace attack could give them the depth that they would require against Sri Lanka's formidable attack. Al-Amin Hossain will not be available for selection as he has been sent home after breaching team rules.

This would be the third match in MCG. In the past two games, the team batting first has scored 300 plus scores and the the opponents have not been able to chase the target under lights. So the same formula could come handy for the teams on Thursday.

Having reached the third position on the table, Bangladesh would try to be there for the remaining of the group stage. Similarly Sri Lanka would be desperate to move up the table. Both of them could achieve this only if they win. So only one of them will move forward.

*Image: courtsey Star Sports

First WIN in the world cup at stake

After a thrilling encounter between Ireland and United Arab Emirates today, there is another mouth watering clash between the associates in store for all the cricket lovers. It is Afghanistan and Scotland who meet in Dunedin tomorrow, which would be their third game in the competition.

Both of them have lost their first two games. Afghanistan lost heavily their first game to Bangladesh whereas in their second game, which could have gone either way, they made the seasoned Lankans run for their money. Scotland, on the other hand have made low scores in both their games, one playing first and one playing second. In their first game against the New Zealand, they did give some scare to New Zealand claiming 7 wickets in defending their total. Against the out of form England, they were outplayed courtesy Moeen Ali's century.

When they meet tomorrow, it is the "first win" in the world cup that is at stake. Afghanistan are playing their first world cup whereas Scotland is playing its third edition. Both of them have not won any match so far in the world cup. However both of them have come across each other quiet a number of times in the past. Both know their games very well and the contest could be very similar to what we saw between Ireland and UAE.

Both these teams have played in Dunedin earlier in this tournament and will have happy memories of the same. It was here where Scotland took 7 Kiwi wickets in defending a meager total. When Afghanistan were here, they came close to cause an upset against Sri Lanka. So both the teams must be aware of the surface here. Last time they played here, it assisted the seamers for both the teams and both the teams have the seamers to exploit these condition. That will make the contest more interesting. 

The seam attack of Afghanistan - Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran and Hamid Hassan have been bowling pretty well upfront. It is their inability to repeat the same towards the late middle overs and towards the end that is causing them more problem. So, Scotland's plan should revolve around this aspect of Afghanistan. Their batting lineup has not fired so far, apart from some performances that just saved them some embarrassment to say the least. If they can negotiate the early phase of Afghanistan bowling, then they can put pressure on Afghanistan. Afghanistan should try to be as accurate as possible upfront against the Scottish batsmen, who are already under pressure to perform.

Afghanistan's batting was far from impressive against Bangladesh but they showed tremendous resolve against a much better Sri Lankan attack to put on a modest total. But they still struggle to pace their innings, not knowing when to score and how much to score. Scotland's bowling struggled against England, Moeen Ali to be in particular. They may be under pressure conceding a 300+ score. So, Afghanistan's batting will have to take advantage of this situation. On the other hand, if Scotland dries the Afghan scoring upfront, then they will be under tremendous pressure. Majid Haq could play a crucial role here.

Mirwais Ashraf has been ruled out after the injury which forced him off the field against Sri Lanka. It would be interesting to see if they replace him with another seamer in Aftab Alam or they bring in opener Usman Ghani to strengthen their batting. 

In both the games played so far, Scotland had only 4 specialist bowlers and the fifth bowler combination of Berrinton, Machan and Coetzer proved to be expensive against England. It would be interesting to see if they bring in a specialist bowler. Evans who came in place of Taylor may still retain his place as he bowled exceptionally against England. They could also retain Coleman who came in for Gardiner.

Whatever be the spirit that they display against the full members, however close they may take the full members to the line (on their day, they could find themselves on the other side of line) but both Afghanistan and Scotland would know that this is their best chance to get into the history books registering their first win in the world cup. It is this single point that will make them go all out tomorrow and will make the match interesting for us. 

*Image: courtsey Star Sports

Zimbabwe struck by the Gayle storm

If Brisbane was hit by dual cyclones, then on Tuesday, Canberra was hit by Gayle storm. It was a day when the statisticians following cricket all over the world were kept busy.

West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. This is what West Indies have been doing in their previous games. So that meant Zimbabwe would chase and that is what they had been doing in the past two games. West Indies made couple of changes to their squad, Jonathan Carter came in for Darren Bravo and Nikita Miller came in for Suleiman Benn. Zimbabwe on the other hand made one change, Stuart Matsikenyeri came in for Solomon Mire.

Zimbabwe had a dream start getting the wicket of Smith as early as 2nd ball of the innings. That was it for Zimbabwe and nothing after that went their way. Both Samuels and Gayle went about their business steadily. The intent was very clear, they did not want to lose wickets. It was not the Gayle that we know in the initial part of the innings. However, he was still scoring at almost run a ball. On the other hand Samuels was in no hurry scoring at a strike rate less than 50. 

Failing to break the partnership, Zimbabwe brought Sikandar Raza for the 17th over who responded immediately. On the last ball of the over, Samuels glided the ball to the backward point where Chatara spilled a sitter. In the very next over Gayle got to his 2nd half century in the last 20 innings. In the 31st over, Samuels reached his 50 off 95 balls. Gayle still sedate by his standards scoring just above run a ball and Samuels just above a strike rate of 50. Sikandar Raza was still bowling well to keep West Indies under check. In the meantime it had been drizzling for most part of the innings and bowlers found it really difficult to grip the ball. 

On the very first ball of the batting powerplay, Gayle reached his 22nd ODI hundred, a performance not just the West Indies wanted, but the whole world wanted. It was just 36th over and he was not yet done. West Indies were 166/1 at this point of time. The pair added 55 runs in the powerplay. There was a moment in the powerplay when Zimbabwe would have thought that they have pulled it back. Gayle hit a fuller length from Panyangara going across, slamming it high over long on. Sikandar Raza caught it with ease but to Zimbabwe's dismay it was a No ball. The very next ball also resulted in the similar result, but being a Free Hit was of no consequence.

Then came what the Zimbabweans feared the most - not Gayle's carnage but their own death bowling. They were justified in their fear. Zimbabwe had conceded 152 runs in the last 10 overs in this match, they had conceded 146 against South Africa in the same number of overs. Against UAE, less formidable side, they conceded 81 runs in last 10 overs.

The last 10 overs saw records tumbling one after the other. In the 44th over, their partnership 259* was highest by the West Indies for any wicket in ODI history. The same over saw Gayle going past his highest ODI score, 153* with a six. In the 45th over, he hit three consecutive six to go past the highest individual score ever by a player in a World Cup, overtaking Gary Kirsten's mark of 188* against the UAE in 1996. In the same over, West Indies reached the 300 mark, third time in a row in this competition. In the 46th over, Gayle made World Cup history to become the first batsman to score an ODI double hundred in world cup. In this process he even became the fastest batsman to reach the landmark in 138 balls bettering Virender Sehwag's record of 140 balls. His first 100 came in 105 balls and for the next hundred, he required only 33 more balls. Gayle also broke the monopoly of India in scoring double centuries. In the 47th over, Samuels reached his 8th ODI hundred. He got there in 143 balls. In the same over they went past the highest partnership for any ODI wicket, 331. Gayle also equalled the most sixes in an ODI at 16 tied with Rohit Sharma and AB de Villiers. Manuka Oval is supposed to be the biggest ground in Australia but Gayle's innings proved that there is no ground in the world that is big for him. 

Finally Gayle's innings ended on the last ball of the innings with his personal score at 215. Quiet emphatic innings and that had set Zimbabwe a mammoth total, 372. It was heartening to see all the Zimbabwe players coming to Gayle and Samuels and congratulating them.

Zimbabwe's chase did not start well as they lost their opener Chakabva in the very 2nd over to Holder. After 2.3 overs into the innnings, the game was interrupted because of the rain. When the play was resumed, the target had been revised to 363 from 48 overs. Soon Zimbabwe lost two more wickets in in-form Masakadza and a fluent Sikandar Raza within 8 overs. Zimbabwe were 46/3. Taylor and Williams consolidated with a partnership of 80 runs off 73 balls before Taylor was dismissed for 37, another innings where he could not convert the start. Williams was aggressive on the other hand. Williams and Ervine who combined together to rescue Zimbabwe against UAE, once again added 51 off 46 balls. Williams mistimed a pull through midwicket off Holder, that ended going up straight to midwicket where Smith took it comfortably. That brought an end to a fine innings by Williams, scoring 76 off 61 balls. Ervine continued from where Williams left, he together with Matsikenyeri added 49 runs off 35 balls keeping Zimbabwe still in the chase. That is when the man of the day struck, coming to bowl for the first time in the innings, Gayle bowled the well set Ervine for 51 off 41 balls. With that dismissal, Zimbabwe's chances of winning also got depleted. Though, the tail wagged a little bit but it was too late and Zimbabwe were bowled out for 289 in 44.3 overs. 

As against South Africa, even here Zimbabwe were ahead of West Indies in the over to over comparison during the chase, even at the end of 44 overs. The only difference  being that West Indies had lost only 1 wicket whereas Zimbabwe had lost 9 wickets. Zimbabwe has to seriously start thinking about their death bowling. On the other hand, West Indies have to think about their attack as a whole. They allowed Ireland to chase down 307 and now they allowed Zimbabwe to come this far.

Two Associates - Contrasting Ambitions

It is the battle of associates in Pool B on February 25. 

Ireland meets UAE to fight it out for the two crucial points on the platter. For Ireland, the two points will help them build on their quarter finals ambition whereas win for UAE would give them the boost and motivation to compete against the other teams in the competition.

Both the teams come from a totally different background. Ireland is the strongest among the four associates competing in the competition and were the first to qualify for this world cup. They are the most professional unit among the associates. The players have central contract, most of them play in the English counties and their system has even produced few players who have represented England, leaving the shores of Ireland. On the other hand, UAE team is full of amateurs. Only couple of players in the squad are native of UAE and others in the team have subcontinental origin. They have a totally different full time jobs and it is cricket that unites them. Most of them are in their middle ages. Yet they are here competing with the full timers in this event, shoulder to shoulder.

Ireland had been giant killers right from their first world cup in 2007 where they tied with Zimbabwe, defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh. In 2011, they chased a 300+ total to defeat England. In this edition, in the very first match, they have defeated West Indies. Their intention is clear, they are not here to just participate. Their destination is knock-outs. On the other hand UAE is in the world cup only the second time. Their only win in the world cup had come against the Netherlands in 1996. They came very close to defeating Zimbabwe in the opener this edition. They would like to go to the next stage but more than that they are here to compete and cause a couple of upsets in the process.

Ireland is unlikely to make any change to the squad that defeated West Indies. Three of the top four batsmen score 50+ in that match. Andy Balbirnie and Kevin O'Brien add solidity to the lower order. McBrine bowled exceptionally and Dockrell was among wickets. They are high in confidence and will definitely start as favourite when they take on UAE.

UAE's batting looked good during their match against Zimbabwe. Except Amjad Ali, all were among runs and they got a boost from Amjad Javed and Mohammad Naveed in the lower order. Both of them bowled well upfront in the innings as well. Shaiman Anwar's belligerence and veteran Khurram Khan's experience helped UAE to set Zimbabwe a formidable target of 285. Their bowling unit led by skipper Mohammad Tauqir kept UAE in race till as late as 45th over. They too do not have any compulsion to change their playing XI.

The two teams have never met before in an ODI and when they meet, each of them will have a point to prove.

*Image: courtsey Star Sports

England too good for their neighbour

It would be an exaggeration to be called a British rivalry but here were two countries from the British Islands, one formidable force and the other a minnow in cricket, facing each other at the world stage to achieve different objectives. Scotland have never beaten a Full Member nation in a one-day international and they were there see if this could be their day.

Scotland won the toss and decided they will bowl. Scotland made a couple of changes bringing in Freddie Coleman and Alasdair Evans replace Hamish Gardiner and Rob Taylor respectively. It was brave to see England have not changed their playing XI. It seems England wanted to make some statement. 

Wardlaw and Davey started for the Scots and Moeen Ali and Ian Bell started for the England. England started cautiously reaching 25 in 5 overs. If Moeen was doing the bulk scoring then it was Davey who conceded the most in this period. England riding on Moeen were moving steadily scoring 58 in the powerplay. It seemed England had come with a plan and resolve and Scotland had no answer to these two men. England reached the 100 mark in the 17th over. This was England's first 100 runs partnership in this tournament. Moeen Ali scored his second ODI hundred in just 91 balls and Bell accumulated 50 in 80 balls, England were 163/0 in 28.2 overs. Finally something went the right way for Scotland and at the beginning of the 31st over dismissed Bell for 54 off 85 balls. The partnership was 172 in 30.1 overs and it was England's highest partnership for the 1st wicket in the world cups surpassing 158 put by Dennis Amiss and Barry Wood against East Africa at Edgbaston in the first World Cup in 1975. 

The platform had been set and a 350+ score was surely on the cards. The wicket did not have any bearing on Moeen Ali's game and he continued with the same aggression. Moeen Ali fell just before the powerplay to Majid Haq at 128 off 106 balls. It is his career best in ODIs. England were 201/2. Ballance and Root also fell in quick succession. England were 203/4 on 36.1 overs. With cluster of wickets, England's progress was reined. Morgan and Taylor ensure no further wicket fell in the batting powerplay, scoring 22 runs. Morgan and Taylor added for 49 for 5th wicket, later Morgan and Buttler added 45 for 6th wicket. England finally ended with a score of 303/8 in 50 overs and Morgan himself scored 46 off 42 balls. After the record opening stand, England should have scored a definite 350+ score but considering their performance in the first two games, they will be happy to take this 300+ score as well.

When Scotland began its chase, it would have been reminded that they had chased down 260+ scores 4 times in ODIs. But none of the teams were a full member. In theory, it looked possible but not probable considering that England would have been really high on their confidence after posting 300+ to chase. But Scotland were never in chase losing wickets in regular interval. Their chase received an early jolt when dangerous Calum MacLeod was dismissed early and even their in form batsmen in Machan and Berrington fell cheaply. The only time they looked in the match was when Kyle Coetzer and captain Preston Mommsen added 60 runs for 4th wicket. But later, Coetzer and Mommsen fell in quick succession and then it was just matter of time before the curtains fell on Scotland's innings.

Scotland were dismissed finally in 43.2 overs with a final score of 184. England's bowlers who were at the receiving end so far in the tournament were on the top this time. They did not allow Scotland to even come nearer to the chase. This win would have boosted their NRR a bit, but more than that England would be happy to get 2 points on the board. For Scotland, it would be a disappointing performance but they will draw inspiration from the fact that they could restrict England to a modest 303 considering the start that England had.