It is four in a row for India

India makes it four out of four and maintain their clean slate. It had its own nervous moments in the chase but then it was the cool head of MS Dhoni that took them over the modest target when other batsmen in his team lost their head. 

West Indies won the toss and rightly decided to bat first. They have scored big in this tournament when batting first. But their batsmen's inconsistency is so consistent that they could not post a decent total on the board. Without any disrespect to Indian bowling, it was West Indian batting that failed. Their shot selection was poor. They were not able to adapt to the pitch conditions. They just came in and played the way they wanted to play. Watching the West Indies batting in this match and the previous match, I believe the batting order should be reversed. Jason Holder scored fifty two times in a row. He may as well open the innings. Had he not scored these fifties, West Indies' score would have been far from respectable.

Chris Gayle is not comfortable taking the ones and twos at the crease. He was going for the glory shots and almost perished thrice, twice at third man when difficult chances were put down and once at the mid-on, another difficult chance. But he perished on the fourth occasion and in this duration he had accounted for two other dismissals - Smith and Samuels. Then he himself got out after couple of lusty blows. 

Carter, Sammy, Holder tried to repair the damage but Indian bowlers were right on the money. They did not give away anything and were clinical to ensure that all doors were closed for West Indies. The pace with which the bowlers bowled was really impressive. They used short balls to good effect but may be they out did it which resulted in 16 wides, but otherwise were disciplined. Playing against UAE at the same venue, helped them to make a good assessment on the areas to bowl and they did execute their plans well. 

If Indian bowling was clinical, their fielding was on the sloppy side. Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami dropped half chances whereas Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja dropped regulation catches. Ground fielding was also not as sharp as it was against South Africa.

West Indies brought in an additional seamer in Kemar Roach and that did help them. Their bowlers enjoyed bowling at the WACA which offered them good bounce and carry. Indian batting had not been tested in a chase in this tournament so far. Knowing that and getting assistance from the surface, West Indies bowlers kept it short. The pace and bounce troubled Indian batsmen. West Indies pressed hard and kept on taking wickets on regular intervals. 

West Indies, in the process of bowling short balls, conceded lot of wides, but West Indies persisted with short deliveries as India were giving away their wickets on the same. The lower middle order had not been tested so far in this tournament. This became an opportunity for them and MS Dhoni grabbed this chance with both the hands taking India over the line. Only when he got into middle, some sanity prevailed.

For India, the bowlers did their job, fielding seemed to have lost focus, but the major worry was that the batting that seemed vulnerable to short balls. They also faltered in the chase when the total was a very modest one. So somethings for the team management to work on. They are left with two matches, both the teams Zimbabwe and Ireland though are very spirited, but India need not expect a serious challenge from them, but cannot afford to be complacent as well. India can look forward to bring in couple of players to test the bench strength.

West Indies has just one match left against UAE. It will have to win that match with good margin as West Indies are highly likely to enter a three-way tie for the last two qualifying spots from their group. They not only lost an opportunity to win and make themselves safe in the tournament, they also lost a chance to keep the NRR damage in check.

Week Three Round Up

Three weeks of the event is over. In total 9 matches have been played during this period. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates have played 2 matches each, whereas all other teams have played one a piece during this period. 4 games were played in New Zealand and 5 were played in Australia.

I have tried to capture a few stats and key moments of week 3.

300-plus
There have been seven 300-plus scores in the third week. Of these five scores came in first innings. Two of these scores were chased down. One of the score was 408/5 by South Africa once again went past the 400 mark scoring 411/4 against Ireland. The very next day Australia scored 417/6 against Afghanistan which is now the highest total in the world cup.

100
There have been six scores of 100/100+ in week three, with David Warner top scoring at 178. After Shaiman Anwar from UAE last week, Kyle Coetzer became the second batsman from Associates to score a century. His score of 156 is the highest by an associate batsman and he also became the first associate batsman to score a 150+ score.

Five-fors
There were only two bowlers who took five-fors in the third week of the world cup. Both were taken in the same match. Mitchell Starc took 6/28 in 9 overs against New Zealand. Earlier in the same match Tim Southee took 5/27 in 10 overs.

Partnerships
There have been eight 100+ partnerships in the third week, the highest partnership being 260 between David Warner and Steven Smith for the second wicket against Afghanistan. Incidentally this is the highest partnership for the any wicket for Australia. South Africa had two 100+ partnerships in this period. Out of these there were three 200+ partnerships.

Powerplay
The highest score during the first 10 overs of the innings in week two, in this world cup belongs to New Zealand, they scored 81/4 against Australia. The highest so far belongs to New Zealand - 116/2 against England. It is South Africa who have scored the highest (60/1) in the batting powerplay, and this was against Ireland.

Most extras in an innings
India against West Indies were guilty of conceding most extras in an innings in week three - 26. It is joint highest with UAE in the tournament.

Biggest Victory
Australia's margin of victory against Afghanistan (275 runs) is the biggest victory of the week three, this world cup and even in World Cup history.

Very little to choose between the two sides

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

Pool B match between Ireland and Zimbabwe on Saturday has a lot of importance for the two teams contesting it. Ireland has 4 points from 3 matches and Zimbabwe has only 2 points from 4 matches. In case Ireland wins that game, then it will move into the top 4 ahead of West Indies with 6 points. It will make the contest for the remaining two slots in Pool B for the quarter finals even more interesting. Before this match gets over, the other pool B match between South Africa and Pakistan would have already got over. So that will give us where Ireland, Pakistan and West Indies stand. For Zimbabwe, if they lose, the world cup will come to an end, in spite of their last match against India. In case Zimbabwe wins the encounter against Ireland, then Zimbabwe will also have 4 points and this result will make the group even more exciting.

Because of their win against West Indies, Ireland not only has the 2 points cushion but also has raised expectation of others for them. Zimbabwe would be hurt by the fact that in spite of they being the test nation, they do not walk in as favourite on Saturday. In a way it is good for them as they do not have that burden of expectation to carry. So far, Zimbabwe has played very good cricket in the tournament. It is their inability to bowl well in the death overs that is hurting them big. In their last match they did well to restrict Pakistan to a modest score of 235, but it could have been even less. Even there they allowed Wahab Riaz, lower order batsman to score 50 and they could not dismiss Pakistan. If they had won that match, they would have been comfortably placed. To add to their woes, their skipper Elton Chigumbura is injured and will not play. Brendan Taylor will lead the side in Chigumbura's absence.

Zimbabwe have chased in all its four games so far. On two occasions, they were chasing huge total and they simply failed in that. Against Pakistan, the target was modest and they failed again. The only successful chase that they had was against UAE, even there it was close. Although their chases have been spirited, but not up to the mark. The other factor that would be worrying for them and would need an attention is the amount of runs that they give away in the last 15 overs. For Ireland, if they can keep wickets in hand in the initial part of their innings, they can put pressure on the latter part of the innings on Zimbabwe bowling.

Even Ireland have chased in all their encounters so far. On two occasions, they have done it successfully, one of them was a close call. The third occasion, they were chasing a mammoth total and were never in the chase. Like Zimbabwe, even Ireland have been guilty of giving away too many runs in the last 15 overs. Even Zimbabwe should keep wickets to put pressure on the bowling at the later part of the innings. For Zimbabwe, the problem so far has been that they tend to loose wickets too early putting lot of pressure on lower order. 

Zimbabwe would expect Hamilton Masakadza to come to the party. He has been quiet for a long time. Taylor has been getting good starts but he needs to convert them into big. Ireland's batsmen are in good nick. But the top order cannot leave too much for Kevin O'Brien in the end.

In the bowling and fielding there is nothing much to choose between the two teams. Both of them are equally unpredictable. There can be some burst, where one of the bowlers can have an exceptional spell. In fielding too they can have exceptional moments and some dull ones too.

When Ireland started their world cup campaign back in 2007, it was against Zimbabwe. That match then ended in a Tie. Even today, there is very little to choose between them. Whoever manages their nerves better, will prevail. Eventually it should be a closely contested game.

Pakistan in Shaky ground, seeking weather God's intervention

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

Right from their first match, Pakistan team are on their back foot. Since then they are only playing the catch up game. After losing the first two games in the tournament, every match has become a do or die affair for them. Thus, their Saturday (March 7) match against South Africa will also be no different. 

In the pool table, after playing 4 matches, currently they are tied at 4 points with West Indies and Ireland. Ireland have played one game less than them and West Indies have played one game more. On the NRR front, Ireland are far behind Pakistan and because of West Indies' loss against India, they are marginally behind Pakistan. So that leaves Pakistan in the third position. In case Pakistan loses, there is a chance that it may move one place down but it will still be above Ireland on the NRR basis. Saturday also features match between Ireland and Zimbabwe. In case Ireland wins that game, then Pakistan will move further down. In case Zimbabwe wins that encounter against Ireland, then Zimbabwe will have 4 points and since there is only marginal difference in the NRR between them, Zimbabwe may overtake Pakistan.

So, if Pakistan has to safely remain in the contention for the quarter finals, irrespective of the result of the other match, it will have to win against South Africa. Unless, the margin of win is huge, South Africa will still continue to be in the second position. But from Pakistan's point of view, a win is more important than the margin of victory. South Africa can afford to lose, but they will not be thinking of anything less than a win.

So, what all they have to overcome if they have to win the Saturday match? 

South Africa, after their loss against India have scored two 400+ scores back to back. Of course, the opposition were West Indies and Ireland. Pakistan's bowling attack is well oiled for them to concede a 400+ score. But these scores by South Africa mean that their batsmen are in form. Eden Park is relatively smaller than SCG and Manuka Oval, where South Africa scored those big scores. So, Pakistani bowling which is the only saving grace for them in the tournament have to be cautious about that. One comforting factor for Pakistan would be the fact that the last match that was played in Eden Park, Australia v New Zealand, was dominated by bowlers. But at the same time, if Pakistan bowlers can exploit the conditions, the South African bowlers are also very much cable of doing the same. So, on that front both the teams even out.

The two matches that Pakistan have won are the ones where they have batted first and the other two where they lost, they chased. So, if Pakistan wins the toss, they should bat first in this game as well. This will negate the South Africans from scoring big and Pakistan will avoid the scoreboard pressure. This also coincides with the fact that the only match that South Africa has lost is while chasing. Now the question is if Pakistan can post a total that they can defend against South Africa. Against Zimbabwe, they could post only 235. This South African attack is much better than Zimbabwe's. With the current form that South African batting is in, what will be the score that South Africa will be comfortable chasing is difficult to guess. I am pretty sure that given a choice, even South Africa will like to bat first.

One more factor that would come to play for whichever team chooses to bat first would be the initial movement that the bowlers would get. We know what Tim Southee did to Australia here on this ground. If we consider this factor, then Pakistan is on a shaky ground. Whether it is batting first or chasing, their highest opening partnership in tournament has been just 11 runs. For all we know, the opening combination could be changed as Nasir Jamshed has failed miserably. They can bring in either Younis Khan or Sarfaraz Ahmed for Nasir. Sarfaraz has not played a single match in the world cup so far and Younis's highest score in this tournament is 6. But the question still remains, who will open with Ahmed Shehzad? Their middle order is also as brittle as their openers. All of them scored in the game against UAE, but this time it is South Africa. To add to their woes, Harris Sohail is nursing injury. Pakistan's middle order heavily revolves around their skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. When chips are down, he is capable of dropping anchor, but that most of the times slows the scoring rate.

Now, if we consider that South Africa bats first and Pakistan bowlers are able to make use of the conditions to rattle the top order, even then South Africa's middle order is very robust. They were in the similar situation against Zimbabwe and we know finally what their score was. To South Africa's advantage, JP Duminy is fit and will definitely play the Saturday's game. Now, will he replace Roussouw? But with the form that Roussouw is currently in, it would not make sense, so in all probability Behardien would make way for Duminy. This would mean that apart from de Cock, all batsmen till number 7 are in form. I do not think that South Africa will be even thinking of replacing him. Even if he does not perform, he is a wicket-keeper and they can afford to have him with all other batsmen in good nick. But just imagine, if Saturday is his day and he too joins the party then, Pakistan will be in real trouble .

For now, when we compare the bowling department for the two teams, we can say that the two match each other. South Africa may marginally edge them just because of the consistency, but otherwise they are even. In bowling Pakistan would stick to Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan and Shahid Afridi. They would go with additional seamer in Rahat Ali. South Africa will also stick to Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir. If Vernon Philander is fit then he will be back, else Kyle Abbott will continue. The fifth bowler duties will have to be shared by Duminy and du Plesis. If Behardien is in the team then he would also contribute.

In the batting department, South Africa definitely outweighs Pakistan hands down. If South Africa goes in suicidal mode, only then they can perform poorer than Pakistan. But after getting a wake up call against India, I do not think South African batsmen will do anything silly.

When it comes to fielding, South Africa is definitely a better squad. With their fielding itself, they can create a difference of 20-30 runs. So, if South Africa bats first then while defending the other team will have to assume the target is increased by 20 runs and if South Africa fields first then they would have easily reduced the target by 20 runs.

Now with all these factors let us also add another factor. Pakistan has never defeated South Africa in the three matches that they have played in the world cup.

So, the odds are against Pakistan. It is going to be a tough game for Pakistan. Finally, it is going to boil down to South Africa's batting against Pakistan's bowling. Whoever wins this battle may have the upper hand.

So, what is in Pakistan's favour on Saturday? As of now by all means, it looks to be the weather. Wet weather is forecast for Saturday afternoon, which would mean that either it is a truncated match or the match is abandoned. If the match is truncated, then the equations would change and hence it would be very difficult to predict who will have the upper hand. In case the match is abandoned, Pakistan would get 1 point and that would be very valuable for their journey in the competition, just like what happened in 1992.

Will God come to Pakistan's rescue? But even God helps only those who help themselves.

Scotland's wait continues, Bangladesh gets a step closer

There were no two views on the fact that any target on this pitch was not safe. May be taking confidence from this fact, Bangladesh thought that they would be better off chasing the target. So they put in Scotland to bat. It eventually was proved right. Scotland scored 318 in its 50 overs but at the end of the match they would have thought that they were at least 20-30 runs short. Bangladesh did them no good with the way they bowled and fielded. May be they had made the self assessment of their bowling and fielding and felt that it would be a risk defending a score. 

Having said that the credit goes to the Scotland team. Having lost the match the way they did against Afghanistan, to come out and play the way they did requires tremendous courage. After being put into bat, they were expected to put a big total on the board. Scotland batsmen seemed determined to do that. They were not bogged down by the fact that they were facing a test nation. Neither they were bogged down by the spin heavy attack of Bangladesh. In spite of losing two wickets early, Coetzer and Machan batted with purpose and determination. Later Coetzer and skipper Mommsen stitched in a 141 runs partnership for the 4th wicket at a run rate of 7.5 and at that stage, 300 seemed very possible. 

By no means 318 was a bad score, but they were finally found short by at least 20 runs. It is not that they could not have made those additional runs. A few moments pegged them back. Coetzer's wicket was one such moment. The other moment was in the 49th over when Cross hit a low full toss from Taskin straight on the hands of Berrington at the non-striker end. That was hit hard and definitely would have affected his grip. Before that Berrington was batting with aggression and ease but post that injury he lost his momentum. The very next ball, he was dismissed. In the same over Cross was also dismissed. The dismissal of Berrington and Cross was crucial, together they had added 39 runs in just 3.5 overs. If they had been there together for 10 more balls, easily another 15-20 runs could have been added. But we cannot take anything away from the Scots. They batted their heart out to reach this score.

Even if their performance is seen in isolation, it is an exceptional performance. But if you look at the background under which they were playing this match will make their performance even more creditable. Scotland has never won a world cup match in the three appearances that they have made in the world cups so far. They came very close in their last match against Afghanistan. The next two teams that they meet this world cup are Sri Lanka and Australia. So, their realistic chance to win was today. Thus they put in all that they could to reach that milestone. 

A few statistics will help us understand the effort that they had put in. Kyle Coetzer's score 156 is the highest World Cup score by any batsman from a current non-Test nation. It is also the only 150+ score. His partnership with Preston Mommsen of 141 is the highest for Scotland in a World Cup match. It is also their first 100-plus stand for any wicket in a World Cup match. 318 Scotland's total, is their highest in World Cups. They knew that it is these kind of performances that were needed and they would have been happy to execute that.

As the Scotland did in batting, they put in their heart and soul into bowling and fielding but it was not good enough. Their bowling lacked penetrations and their fielding lacked sharpness. They missed couple of run out chances. They struggled to break partnerships. Bangladesh's regular opener Anamul Haque was also not available due to the shoulder injury, so that meant Bangladesh were one batsman less. Bangladesh batsmen gifted their wickets on more than one occasion but Scotland failed to take advantage of these moments. 

There was a moment in the match when Mushfiqur Rahim got out in the 38th over when Bangladesh required 72 off 72 balls. A couple of wickets post that, could have brought Scotland back in the game. But Scotland simply could not take wickets. The bowlers did not have the pace to trouble the Bangladeshis. Apart from Majid Haq, the other spinners could not put any sort of brake on Bangladesh innings. Bangladesh batsmen made the most of the situation with Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan all making 50+ score.

Bangladesh have kept themselves in the race to the knockouts with this win. Now they just need one more win from their two matches. One of them is against England, which is a must win match for England. For Scotland, the wait for a win in world cup continues.

Consistency v Inconsistency

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

India is one of the two unbeaten teams in the world cup so far. India has played three matches till date with first two matches against tough opponents in Pakistan and South Africa. The third was against UAE. Will it be able to make it four out of four like New Zealand did or will it stumble at West Indies is what will be the point of interest in the match. West Indies have won two of its four games. It posted three 300+ scores in its first three matches and then was bundled out by South Africa for half of that. If India has shown tremendous consistency so far, then West Indies has been very inconsistent.

Ideal situation for West Indies would be to win both of its remaining matches and seal a spot in the quarter finals, but losing Friday's game should not impact them in a big way unless they lose it like they did against South Africa. So, this game is actually a no pressure game for them. If they take the field without thinking about the result, they could have the result their way. West Indies has played all its games on different venues, but if one venue that was going to support their seam bowlers is this venue. Their bowlers will enjoy bowling at the WACA which offers good bounce. It will be an open question, if they replace Suleiman Benn with an additional seamer as they have spin option in Gayle and Samuels if at all they need spin.

India is sitting pretty at the top of the table with three games still remaining. A loss is not going to hurt them in terms of qualification to the knockout but will definitely hurt their reputation. Clean slate is an addiction and India would try to keep it that way. Hence, India could be under pressure. They played against UAE at the same venue, but their bowlers did not have the pace to use this pitch. West Indies team will be a totally different attack compared to UAE. They have the necessary pace to exploit the conditions. Even the spinner Suleiman Benn would get the bounce from this wicket which could trouble the Indian batsmen.

South Africa had ripped apart West Indian bowling in their previous match. Will India be able to repeat the same? Well, not really, at least not on this pitch. The pace and bounce could trouble India if West Indies could bowl in the right areas. To be honest, Indian batting has not been really tested. The real test could be on Friday, but it also depends on which West Indies team takes the field. So far, India and West Indies, both of them have posted big totals batting first. West Indies, crumbled chasing a big target and the only time India had to chase a target was a score that it could have even chased in a truncated T20 game. So, India has not been tested in chase and West Indies has failed in chase. So, it will be interesting to see how they react, as one them will have to chase for sure.

Indian bowlers did bowl against UAE on the same ground. But it will be difficult to judge how they fared, as the batting was not of the highest standards. Whatever be the form of West Indies batsmen, they still have big names in Gayle, Smith, Samuels, Simmons. Ramdin has been their consistent batsmen in the recent past. From Indian point of view, Ashwin did get the benefit of bounce, which UAE batsmen could not cope up. West Indies batsmen could also face the same problem, although they are much better than the UAE counterparts. For West Indies, Dwayne Smith's form is definitely a problem. Will they play him tomorrow or not is a question mark. With the form that Indian pacers are in, they could fancy doing well on this pitch. The biggest factor that will determine the course of the match will be West Indies' batting. West Indies has only stroke makers, however we saw the other side of both Gayle and Samuels against Zimbabwe. If West Indies batting could repeat that, they could challenge India. But then, had West Indies been consistent, then it would have been a force to reckon with already.

For India, all the top order batsmen are among runs and must be feeling good. If they stick to their approach of keeping wicket initially and launching at the end, they would find themselves in a good position. Having said that they faltered against both Pakistan and South Africa in the last 5 overs. So this is something that they will have to be mindful of.

As far as fielding is concerned, India definitely has an edge over West Indies. It is not that West Indies team is a bad fielding unit but again, they lack consistency. India has dropped only one catch so far in the tournament from 22 catches that came their way. And their ground fielding has also maintained the standards. Whereas West Indies team has been sloppy on the field for most part of the tournament.

As far as India is concerned, whenever they have taken the field, it looked as if they have some plan and are executing it well. On the other hand, West Indies hardly looked like following any plan. If this continues, then India will certainly be the favourite, else it will be a close contest. 

Only hand picked moments for Afghanistan, rest of the match was Australia's

Even before the match started, the action began at the toss itself. When the changes in the Australian side was revealed, hardly anyone was surprised at the changes made. In spite of it not coming as a surprise, it was hard to believe that a player with the caliber of Shane Watson did not find a place in the playing XI. Such kind of decisions can be taken only by Australia and only they can afford to take such decisions with the kind of bench strength they have.

George Bailey was the captain of the side in the world cup opener, he scored 55 runs in that win against England. Michael Clarke returns after injury and George Bailey, not only loses the captaincy but also his place in XI. Mitchell Marsh was drafted in the playing XI because of the injury to James Faulkner. Mitchell Marsh took 5 wickets in the game against England but could not do much in the game against New Zealand. He could have been easily replaced by James Faulkner as James Faulkner is the first choice. But luckily for Mitchell Marsh, another all-rounder in the team, Shane Watson is also not doing well. So, the axe was on Shane Watson instead of Mitchell Marsh. The team combination of Australia looks settled and they would not expect any changes in the team for the coming matches as they have all the bases covered with the team. The only way George Bailey or Shane Watson could make way into the team would be either one of the current team member under performs or is injured. Such fierce is the competition to get into the playing XI that all players are always on their toes.

Steven Smith was also not in the best of the nick, coming into this match. He was promoted to the number 3 slot and he made the most of it. So this makes Shane Watson's comeback even more difficult. He missed his century but never looked out of sorts throughout the innings. Both Warner and Smith are attacking batsmen but kept themselves under check. Afghanistan also bowled well for the first half of the innings as they had been doing in their past matches. Australia's run rate hovered around run-a-ball. Australian batsmen pressed the pedal post half way mark and in the process made the record score in the history of the world cup. Maxwell was the wrecker-in-chief and Warner too teed off post his century.

Afghan bowlers, being at WACA, started with short balls but soon realized that it is not working. Thus they went fuller. Among the associate nations, it is Afghanistan bowlers who bowl the maximum number of yorkers. They bowled yorkers at every stage of the match, and could get Faulkner bowled by one such delivery, but apart from that it was no match to the opponents. It is the lack of consistency that has costed them throughout the tournament. This match was no different. On top of that they had to bowl to batsman like Maxwell who was far from conventional batsmanship. His unorthodox shots left Afghan bowlers perplexed on where to bowl to him. They had no answer to him. It would have been a lifetime experience for them, considering the frequency of games with full members.

Afghanistan were good on the field but they were not very sharp and missed a few half chances, had they been converted, at least they could have put some brakes on Australian scoring. Afghanistan had an impossible task of chasing 418 to win and they had to do that facing the likes of Johnson, Starc, Hazlewood. In such matches, these teams should try to bat the complete quota of overs, rather than going for glory shots. Afghanistan's batting seemed to be doing only that and coped very well with the attack, but the additional bounce undid some of the batsmen. Nawroz Mangal was the pick of the batsman scoring run a ball ans was out to one such rising ball where he could not keep the ball down while gliding it to the third man and Finch took a wonderful acrobatic catch. Ashgar Stanikzai was the only batsman who did not show any resolve to stay at the crease and was dismissed playing unnecessary shot early in his innings. There were moments of brilliance in their batting but finally, Australian attack was too good for the Afghanistan batsmen. As a result, they lost with the biggest margin in the world cup.

Australia did what they do best. They were clinical in their approach. A lighter opponent did not mean that they were relaxed. They played with the same intensity as they would have played against any other team. 

Without ant doubt, Warner was the man of the match. He was dismissed for 178 when 12.3 overs were remaining. Just imagine, if he was there for the whole 50 overs, what could have been his score. A 200 was certainty and 300 was a possibility. Australia could have crossed the 500 mark as well. But all these are 'could haves'. Still Australia scored the highest total in any world cup. This was the third 400+ total in this world cup and we are just halfway through in the tournament.

For one team it is respectability, for another it is safety at stake

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

We have come to a stage of the tournament, where result of every match will be keenly followed in view of its impact on the pool standings. So, the match between Bangladesh and Scotland is also one such match which not only the Bangla fans will be following but also the English fans. Yes, you read it right. English fans will be following it. They will not only be following it but cheering their neighbours during the match. A loss for Bangladesh in this match would mean that England has a better chance to go to the knockouts.

In Pool A, it is assumed that New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia will go through to the quarter finals. The contest for the fourth slot is between England and Bangladesh and in theory even Afghanistan is also in the race. For now, let us assume that Afghanistan is not in the race, because that is a remote possibility. Bangladesh is left with three matches and England is left with two more games. For Bangladesh, now at 3 points, to get to the quarter finals, it has to win at least two of the remaining games and England, now at 2 points, has no choice but to win both of its remaining games, one of which is against Bangladesh. If we assume that England wins the game between the two, then Bangladesh will have to win the remaining two to get past England. Hence, their Thursday's match against Scotland is a must win for them. A win would still keep them at fourth position only.

If Bangladesh wins their match against Scotland, they will be tied in points with Australia but Australia has a very good NRR. In case they want to overtake Australia, then their win has to be big. Scotland is coming back after that energy sapping encounter against Afghanistan, where they lost the match with a very narrow margin. They would have been deeply hurt by the fact that they were very close to winning and yet the win eluded them. They are desperate for their maiden win in the world cup and considering that their last two matches are against Sri Lanka and Australia, they would fancy their chance against Bangladesh on Thursday. So, they would come with all that they have to secure a victory.

Though Bangladesh outwitted Afghanistan in their opening encounter, their batting did struggle against the Afghanistan bowling. Had it not been Mushfiqur and Shakib in batting, they would have failed to put a decent score. Against Sri Lanka, batsmen did score but their strike rate was not impressive. Bangladesh has to bowl and bat with purpose if they have to make a match out of it and they can certainly not take Scotland for granted. Fortunately, because of their abandoned match against Australia, they have that one point advantage. Hence they need not really worry about the NRR unless they are competing for the third place in the pool. So all that they have to do is win. If they lose tomorrow's encounter, they will still theoretically be in race, but practically it would be a difficult task to achieve.

On the other hand Scotland has nothing to lose apart from the possibility of a win-less world cup. They would be determined not to leave this world cup without a win. Considering the three opponents that they have to face in the tournament, their best chance is against Bangladesh. How important this match is to them can be assessed by the fact that they have hired Shane Jurgensen as a consultant only for this match and incidentally he is the ex-coach of Bangladesh. This might be a coincidence but the fact is that they are treating this match as very important and they want to win it by all means.

Bangladesh will be playing their first match in New Zealand, whereas Scotland has been playing all its games in New Zealand. So Scotland will be better prepared in terms of the conditions. The pitch for the match in Nelson is full of runs. The last two matches in Nelson gives an indication that whatever be the score, it can be chased. Ireland chased 305 and Zimbabwe chased 286. 

Whichever team is batting first has to score big, because there is a chance that even the big score might not be enough. For both the teams, batting is a concern and they have to address that. Openers have not clicked for both the teams. Unless the openers lay a solid foundation, it would be difficult for the team to set a decent target or chase it. When it come to bowling, Scotland has a decent seam attack and if Bangladesh does not pull themselves up, they could pose trouble. Josh Davey has taken 9 wickets so far and is Scotland's highest wicket-taker in this World Cup. If Scotland relies on their seam attack, spin is Bangladesh's strength. There is a possibility that Scotland may face some difficulty against spin and thus Bangladesh might bring an extra spinner. For any limited overs match, fielding is an important factor. Both the teams have been shabby to say the least. Finally, it could be the fielding that could be the actual difference in a win or loss.

The match has to be a keenly contested one as for both of them something is at stake. For Scotland it is respectability, for Bangladesh it is safety.   

An expected win for Pakistan but their worries are far from over

By winning against Zimbabwe, Pakistan had kept their hopes alive in the campaign. Now with this win against UAE, they have revived their campaign. After its defeat against Pakistan, Zimbabwe is clearly out of the race of quarterfinals. If something does not go terribly wrong, for both India and South Africa, they will continue to be in the top 2 with India retaining the top spot. In Ireland's defeat against South Africa, its NRR has taken a plunge. That is why, Pakistan had to win this match against UAE comprehensively. And that is what they did. As a result, their NRR has got the boost and they have overtaken Ireland in the pool table. But they have played one game more than Ireland. Unless West Indies wins against India, till the last day of the league stage i.e. March 15, we will not know which two teams from West Indies, Ireland and Pakistan will go into the knockouts. But the margin of win here has ensured that Pakistan is still in the race.

UAE won the toss and elected to field first. May be they would have been influenced by what happened against India. They did not want themselves to be in a situation where they would not be sure of what they can post on the board to avoid an embarrassing defeat or getting all out as they did against India. 

All the Pakistani batsmen used this match as an opportunity to be among runs. Obviously the attack was not the same as they would get when they face a better opposition, but spending time in the middle of the pitch does give one some confidence. It is confidence that the batting line up lacked. It was evident in their game against Zimbabwe. Nasir Jamshed failed once again. It would be difficult for Pakistan to give him any more chance considering that they have only two more games left before the knock-outs. For that matter, even Ahmed Shezad was dropped very early in the innings. Their top order is definitely fragile. As I said in my preview, the only aspect of the Pakistani cricket that looks in order is their bowling.

For UAE, once again Naveed and Tauqir did the best in bowling. When all others were going easily above economy of 6.0, they finished with less than that and also were the only two to complete their quota. Javed had been good for UAE but in today's match, he could not bring out his best. Pakistan would have found the bowlers to be too slow. Even though the opposition was moderate, both the batsmen, Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shehzad were trying get in form and hence they did not go after the bowling. They just ensured that they did not fall below RR 4.0 and occasionally they were getting some 10+ overs. It was only after 30 overs that they touched RR 5.0. It was very sensible for them to do that, considering that it would have been very tempting for them to go bang bang, but they decided to go slow and steady and lay a proper foundation for the stroke makers to come and express themselves. That is what they did and Pakistan ended up with a formidable total. This is what Pakistan has to do consistently if they have to go forward in the tournament, irrespective of who the opponent is.

UAE bowlers cannot be blamed for the runs that they have conceded. They lack experience and experience would come only playing more games, which they do not do. But they have to come out with a plan for bowling in deaths. Their approach is one dimensional and they are conceding too many runs and too easily.

It was a mammoth total for them to chase. The openers should have applied themselves more and stayed there but that did not happen. For UAE it was again their most reliable batsmen Khurram Khan and Shaiman Anwar who came to their rescue and gave some respectability to their total. Khurram has scored so far 45, 36, 14 and 43. He is the most experienced player in the team and has provided solidity to the middle order, but he has to convert those good starts into big score for UAE to make an impact. Shaiman, another batsman who has scored three 50+ scores in the four matches and he has been the top scorer in all the innings. If he was not there, UAE would not have been able to score whatever they have so far in this tournament. In fact he is now the top scorer in this tournament with 270 runs. One more player, who has made an impact with the bat but no one talks about him is Amjad Javed. He has scored 25, 42, 2 and 40 in his four innings coming at number 8 at a strike rate nearly 120. His innings had always given the late impetus to the UAE innings. 

But from UAE point of view, a loss by 129 runs is not a bad one considering, there are teams who have lost with bigger margins than that in this world cup. One more aspect of their game that they have to improve on is fielding. More than improving, they have to take it very seriously. Had they taken the catches that came their way, they could have put Pakistan on the back-foot. Ground fielding also concede too many extra runs. All these contribute to the final score.

These kind of matches have been occasions for the lower rung teams to have the much needed contest against the regular nations and for the full members, in the context of the tournament, an opportunity to improve their NRR. Arguments will start again about the one sided nature of such games, but then when we talk about these matches, we cannot ignore to include the Australia-England match or New Zealand - Sri Lanka match or India - South Africa match.

Spartans take on the mighty Persians

Both Afghanistan and Australia are coming into the match after thrilling encounter. Only that for Australia, the result did not go their way and for Afghanistan it did. Whether Australia would have been demoralized with that defeat or not, Afghanistan must definitely be high in confidence with the way they pulled it out. Australia's confidence would have been hardly hurt, considering the way they defended the meager score of 151.

Their last match is out of their way. The opposition for both the teams are quiet opposite of what they had faced in their previous match. If it was the fellow associate for Afghanistan, it is the world number one this time. On the other hand, if it was an in-form co-host for Australia in their previous match, it is an enthusiastic associate who wants to do all it takes to make a mark in the world stage.

Like any other match that involves an associate, the result is consequential only for the test nation that play against them. This match is no different. Australia has played 3 games, one won, one lost and one no result. A win is a must for Australia and will not be a difficult task, however spirited the Afghans may be. Australia's loss to New Zealand has done considerable damage to their NRR. Thankfully for them, as of now that will come in to play only if they are tied with Bangladesh. Such a situation is highly unlikely. Afghanistan's batting is vulnerable. Even if Australian's are not able to dismiss them early, they will definitely be able to prevent them from scoring by their accurate bowling and fielding. If Afghanistan bats first, then Australia will definitely have to chase a modest total. The only interest in such a situation would be how many overs would Afghanistan play. On the other hand, if Afghanistan has to chase, then Australia will have to set them a big target.

For Afghanistan, this match is all about gaining experience, especially their batting line up. They will be up against the likes of Johnson, Starc and Hazlewood. If they are able to survive this attack and also score at the same time, it will give a lot of confidence to them. Australia is a team, that will not take this game lightly and it will come all out against them. Afghanistan will also be suffocated by the Australian fielding, which will create addition pressure on the batsmen. So this will eventually be the experience that an associate could look forward to. Similarly, Afghanistan bowlers will be up against the most destructive batting line up. The line and length that they choose to bowl against this team will be crucial. Afghanistan will have to lift their fielding as well to restrict the Australians from scoring big.

For Australia, there are quiet a few batsmen who are itching to strike form, Warner, Watson, Smith, Clarke to name a few. This will be an opportunity for them to be among runs. James Faulkner is available for selection. It would be interesting to see if they get him in the playing XI or not. Will he come in place of the injured Pat Cummins or will he replace Mitchell Marsh for a like-to-like replacement will have to be seen. For Afghanistan, Nawroz Mangal has not been able to strike the right chord with his batting. Will Afghanistan bring in young opener Usman Ghani?

It could be another one sided game but will be keenly watched to see how Afghanistan does in this game, especially with representation of associates in the next world cup being the talking point.

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

Two teams from the same home to fight it out

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

When Pakistan meets United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, it will be as if players from same group playing with different names. Pakistan has been using UAE for their home games in the recent past. Thus it would have allowed players from both the teams to play together. To add to that more than half of UAE squad have Pakistani origin. Players from both the teams would be familiar with each other. 

One interesting fact associated with this match would be that Mohammad Tauquir and Misbah-ul-Haq are the two oldest captains in this tournament. UAE also has the oldest player of the tournament in Khurram Khan. Whether Younis Khan, another veteran, will find a place in the playing XI or not will be of interest to the followers.

In its first two matches, UAE posted decent total on the board and fell just short of defending those totals against both Zimbabwe and Ireland. They have good seamers in Javed, Naveed and Guruge. They have been bowling impressive upfront but towards the end they lose the intensity and accuracy. This key problem has to be addressed when they face Pakistan. In Mohammad Tauquir, they have a very good off-spinner who has the ability to keep it tight in the middle overs. But then the fifth bowler is a problem, Krishna Chandra and Rohan Mustafa have not been very impressive. In fact, they can bring in spinner Nasir Aziz in place of Rohan Mustafa.

Now coming to the third match which was against India, would not have done their confidence any good. They would have experienced the real difference between a Zimbabwe or Ireland and in form India. It was a bit ironic that it was Ashwin's spin that caused them trouble. Their batsmen could not handle the additional bounce in WACA. Their batting simply crumbled.

Shaiman Anwar has been their hero in this tournament. He is their top scorer with a century and a half century. The other batsman on whom they can depend on is the veteran Khurram Khan. Other batsmen have not been consistent. The lower order does wag, but cannot be relied on. So, the ideal situation for the UAE in tomorrow's game would be to bat first and post at least something beyond 270-280. They will have to play the Pakistani seamers cautiously. Afridi seems not to be in his best and may not be lethal but for UAE's lack of experience he could still pose problem.

If UAE bowls first, which they have not done in the tournament so far, they have to suffocate Pakistani batting initially and also get wickets on regular basis to keep pressure on them. Most importantly, they have to dismiss Misbah early. If Misbah drops an anchor, then Pakistan has high probability of reaching big score. Zimbabwe has shown that Pakistan can be restricted to a sub 250 score. If UAE is able to do that then they can fancy their chance. In batting, then they will have to keep wickets till 35 overs and take the offensive path post that.

Pakistan after two dismal initial performances against India and West Indies, must have drawn some confidence from their victory against Zimbabwe. They would not have seen Zimbabwe as a threat to begin with but having been restricted to 235, coming back and winning the match by 20 runs would have given confidence to their bowling. But the biggest enemy for Pakistan is its inconsistency. To add to that. right from the start of the tournament, they have not been able to sort out the right combination for the team. Their openers have not been in the great form. Wicket-keeping has been a problem. After playing Younis Khan in the first two games in different positions, they dropped him in the third. It seems he has become their liability. Having failed to hit the right combination, they can use the match against UAE to further experiment with their XI. Wicket-keeper Sarfaraz could come in place of Nasir Jamshed or Ahmed Shahzad. Spinner Yasir Shah could come in for Rahat Ali, considering spin troubled UAE against India. If they win the toss, they should opt to bat first. If at all something looks normal in their line up, it is their bowling. Whatever total that they post, they should be in a position to defend. So far UAE has revolved around Shaiman Anwar, if they could get him cheap, they could restrict UAE.

For this game, without any doubt, Pakistan starts favourite. For Pakistan, it is not just the two point but they have to look this as an opportunity to boost their net run rate as well. With the current form their batting line up is in, even if they bat first, it is unlikely that they will go beyond 300. UAE should take advantage of this situation. Pakistan will be looking at improving the net run rate, hence there is a possibility that the Pakistani batsmen may go after them and that makes them more vulnerable. When UAE is batting, they have to target batting for the full 50 overs and in case they are chasing, take the chase as close as possible to the target. These approach will add pressure on the volatile Pakistani team.

My prediction for tomorrow is that this match will be as close as Pakistan v Zimbabwe. If UAE bats first, it could also get to UAE v Zimbabwe like situation. I see it as 55-45 tilted in favour of Pakistan, just because of lack of experience in UAE ranks.

Ireland makes their progress challenging

If anyone would have said South Africa would win hands down against Ireland, no one would have been surprised. Even the margin of victory would not have come as a surprise. On the contrary, it is just 201 runs is a surprise especially after the initial collapse that Ireland had.

Ireland had played two games before this and had chased in both the games and that too successfully. One of them was a 300+ score against West Indies. Ireland also has the history of chasing 300+ scores three times in their brief history of world cup, the most by any team. With all these information if we believed that Ireland would have been able to chase down 412 against South Africa, we would have been far from reality. 

Whenever we talk of records, just talking about it objectively does not help. The three oppositions against whom Ireland had chased 300+ was Netherlands, England and West Indies. Chasing against Netherlands would not have been a big deal, Ireland has always had that edge over the fellow associates, obviously not that they have always won against them. Coming to the chase against England, it was largely because of one man's belligerence. Kevin O'Brien had to create a record of the fastest century in the world cup history to achieve this. The batting line up was pretty much the same even in that game but Ireland were 111/5 when Kevin O'Brien started the counter charge. In the same world cup just before that match, the same Ireland team had lost to Bangladesh chasing a modest 206. After that match, there were two matches against West Indies and South Africa, where they could not chase a 270+ target. So, the Irish team lacked consistency and that was because they lacked experience.

Coming to this world cup, chase against West Indies was executed very well. The bowling attack was also not bad. May be the West Indian bowling attack lacked consistency, but it did not lack the pace and bounce that could trouble the Irish batsmen, but they did negotiate it well and three of the top four batsmen, ensured that their chase was easy. In the very next match, target was reduced by 30 runs and the pace and accuracy would have also reduced considerably against UAE, but they struggled to go past the line, it is a different story that they eventually did. A team that chases 305 against a West Indian attack is expected to chase 279 against UAE with ease. But that was not the case. Again we can attribute it to lack of consistency. 

Against a target of 400+, even the West Indies batting line up, that boasts of the likes of Gayle, Samuels, Simmons, etc. wilted. The attack that they faced was no different from what Ireland had to face. Considering that West Indies were coming from a batting performance that broke several records, pundits would have given them a chance to get to that target. But that did not happen. Obviously it does not mean that Ireland could not do that but it looked unlikely. South Africa were playing their fourth game, had posted two 400+ scores in a row, their bowling had decimated the batting line up that had scored 372 in their previous match, psychologically South Africa did have an upper hand. To add to this, they have two bowlers in their attack who are in the top 4 rankings. All that I am trying to imply is that certain statistics do not project the practical aspect of the game.

But in all the three games in this world cup so far, Ireland had been pretty consistent in one thing - their death bowling. In the batting powerplay which had been always from 35.1-40.0, they have conceded 43, 47 and 69 against West Indies, UAE and South Africa respectively, which means a minimum RR of 8.6. Then in the final 10 overs the numbers are even bad. It is 124, 100 and 131. If Ireland continues to leak so much runs in the last 15 overs, then they will always be chasing big target. So they are not left with any choice but to chase only big target. So, another way to look at the above record is that they concede too many runs too often and hence probability of chasing big targets increases.

Sometimes, when you have to chase such a big target, the teams should be realistic. I am not saying that they have to go with the mindset that they will not be able to chase it but they will have to go out with the mindset of finishing closer to the target. The loss to South Africa was not going to hurt them, but the margin of defeat would. They should have chased the target in phases and all the top order batsmen should have ensured that. They should have put a price on their wicket and should not have lost it. The tournament has enough examples to suggest that if you have wickets in hand, it is easy to propel your score, of course that necessarily may not work in a chase as in does in batting first. But wickets in hand does add pressure on the team bowling. The margin of defeat has put Ireland in a vulnerable position now. Thanks to Andy Balbirnie and Kevin O'Brien, else the equation could have been even worse. What I am trying say is that the top order batsmen should have shown the same resolve that these two did. Their resolve took the match to the 45th over, and also allowed Dockrell and Sorensen to play with some freedom to add to their total.


As far as South Africa is concerned, they seem to have recovered from their loss against India, but both the games that they have won post that is by batting first. How much confident they would be chasing is not clear, especially if it is a big score. Currently they have two pain points to address. One Quinton de Kock's failure so far. Roussouw has shown his form in the two chances that he got. He could be an option to open the innings. Dropping de Kock means that AB will have to keep wickets. How comfortable AB is in doing that will be a question. With the form the other batsmen are in and de Kock being a wicket-keeper, he cannot be considered a liability for sure. The other pain point is the number 7 slot. This was not actually tested today but if definitely a weak link. Parnell was put in for Behardien in the match against India and it did not succeed. Behardien  cannot be expected to be the fifth bowler but when Duminy is in that problem is taken care partially. Not a major problem at this point of time, but certainly to look at before the knock outs.

Ireland face Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan in their last half. They have to win two of them to be in the contention for the knockouts. South Africa on the other hand are in course to finish in top two.

First of the couple of acid tests for Ireland

*Image: Courtesy Star Sports

Ireland has won its first two games. It chased a 300+ total against West Indies with ease but at the same time against UAE it went down to the wire. But for Ireland, what matters the most is that it has four points from two games. It has 4 more games and it has to win just 2 more to get into the quarter-finals. Though Ireland is not short of courage, but its courage will be put to test for the first time in this tournament when it would meet South Africa on Tuesday (March 3, 2015).

South Africa has played 3 and won 2 games. The most recent being the decimation of West Indies. It must be high on confidence. Though it struggled with Zimbabwe in its first match and in their second match batting collapsed in the chase against India, the third match saw what their batting line up is capable of. Ireland is a confident unit but having received wake-up call early in the tournament, South Africa will not take them lightly. They will treat them the same way as they would have treated India and West Indies.

A win in tomorrow's match for each of the team will mean that they will progress one step closer to the quarterfinals. Whatever be the quality and temperament of the Irish side, South Africa will start as favourite. Irish loss is not going to be a shock anyway, but what Ireland have to take care is that the margin of defeat is not huge. In their group particularly, NRR is going to decide at least one team for the quarter-finals. If, for Ireland, making into the knock-outs is priority, for South Africa, it would be to finish in top 2. They would not like to face Australia or New Zealand in the quarter-finals itself.

From the team perspective, neither of the team has any need to make any changes from the previous XI. So that would mean that South Africa will retain, Kyle Abbot and Rilee Rossouw as both Vernon Philander and JP Duminy are still recovering from injury. So far in the tournament, South Africa's pacers have been a disappointment when you compare them with that of Australia and New Zealand, I would even say Afghanistan. So against Ireland, they will have a point to prove. Ireland will be facing such a pace attack for the first time in the tournament. Will have to see how they cope up.

Ireland as usual is expected to give a tough fight, but AB de Villier's team should not be sweating for sure. If the clash offers a thrilling finish, then it will boost the confidence of Ireland and will raise eye-brows in the South African camp. A few more hours and we will have our answers.