Super 8 match between Sri Lanka and South Africa is the best match in 2007 cricket world cup after Zimbabwe and Ireland tied match. South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by just one wicket in this low scoring match. Lalith Malinga’s superb final spell (4 wickets in 4 balls) turned an ordinary one sided match into super hit suspense thriller. South Africans just escaped from their “Chokers” tag. If they want to win this world cup, they should overcome this psychological obstruction. Jacques Kallis once again proved why he is the most valuable cricketer in International cricket. Great cricketers play wonderful innings in crucial stage in vital matches. Best Delivery: Lalith Malinga’s slower ball to Shaun Pollock. Significant point: At the end of 32 overs, South Africans needed just 50 runs from 18 overs with 8 wickets in hand. South Africa won this match with the help of last pair. Do you believe it? It happens only in cricket! Highlights: 1. Lalith Malinga – 4 wickets in 4 successive balls. First time in International cricket. 2. Charles Langeveldt – 5 wickets in a single match. First time in this world cup. 3. Muralitharan’s bowling 4. Jacques Kallis – Carefully crafted superb innings. 5. Sri Lanka late recovery with fine half centuries from Dilshan and Arnold. 6. Graeme Smith Captain Innings. 7. Vaas and Ntini’s tight bowling speels. Failures: 1. South Africans ability to move from winning position to losing position in a suicidal manner. 2. Sri Lankan top order failure. 3. Shaun Pollock failure as strike bowler. 4. Graeme Smith’s fault to complete Makhaya Ntini bowling spell. Any way match between two teams of different style at Providence stadium, Guyana gave real entertainment to cricket fans. If Sri Lanka were won this match, it will remain as one of the greatest match in cricket history. … [Read more...]
World Cup Review: Sensational group stages
2007 world cricket world cup group stage matches created tremors in the cricket fraternity. Early exit of Pakistan and India, murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, superb performance from Ireland and Bangladesh are the major highlights in this world cup. 1. Death of Bob Woolmer: Suspicious death of Pakistan coach was overshadowed the wonderful performances from cricket stars. ICC failed to nullify the bookie’s control in fixing cricket matches. This resulted in the death of trend setting and passionate coach like Bob Woolmer. 2. Ireland and Bangladesh wins: Though over shadowed by match fixing allegations, fighting spirit of these two teams entertained cricket fans all over the world. Ireland performance is a revelation in this world cup. Bangladesh sent shock waves by defeating India in a pure professional manner. 3. India and Pakistan team disasters: Pathetic performance from the best sub continental teams. Disastrous batting performance from batting Gods like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Younis Khan, Md. Yousuf and Injamam-Ul-Haq. 4. Marketing failure: This world cup lost 60% of viewers market in the first round itself. With the exit of India and Pakistan, this world cup lost its sheen. 50% of group 8 matches will be one sided. 5. Organising failure: Most of the stadiums are empty during world cup matches. Organising committee failed to create cup fever among West Indies youth. Whoever murdered Bob Woolmer, it is the first time a coach was murdered during world cup. 6. Australian performance: Australian cricketers’ performance is the only shining grace in this world cup. Fastest world cup century by Mathew Hayden and fireworks by Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke added entertainment to this otherwise disastrous cup. 7. 6 sixers in an over by Gibbs and fine fielding by Bermuda cricketers, energetic performances from Irish cricketers, Shane Bond’s fast bowling are other highlights in the group stages of the 2007 cricket world cup. 8. Match fixing allegations: Match fixing allegation resurfaced again in this world cup. There are wide spread rumours on the fixing of the Ireland-Pakistan match. ICC should punish the culprits with severe punishments. As an Indian cricket ardent fan, 2007 world cup is a disastrous failure. Switch off your TV and enjoy life. Good times will come. … [Read more...]
Black day in Indian cricket history
India was demolished by inspired Bangladesh in the group B match of 2007 cricket world cup at Port of Spain. March, 17, 2007 will be remembered as black day in Indian cricket. On a day of major upsets, India was outplayed by Bangladesh while Pakistan was defeated by Ireland. India’s famous paper tigers displayed worst batting performance while Bangladesh cricketers performed clinical exhibition of finest cricket. Why India was demolished by Bangladesh: 1. Fine performance from Bangladesh cricket team. 2. Lack of fighting spirit in Indian cricketers. 3. Increased confidence in Bangladesh cricketers after their win against New Zealand in the warm up match. 4. Poor shot selection by Indian batsmen. 5. Selection of Virender Sehwag ahead of Dinesh Karthik. Rahul Dravid should be blamed for his obsession with Virender Sehwag. In spite of repeated failures, Dravid prefers Sehwag ahead of fighting cricketer like Dinesh Karthik. Dinesh Karthik saved India in crisis situations in the past. 6. Young cricketers of Bangladesh shamed their experienced counterparts with their superb play. Mushfiqur, the 18-year-old wicketkeeper, shamed his opposite 30 year old 10,000 run scorers. Bangladesh cricketers are no more minnows in international cricket. They proved the critics wrong by their finest play on the greatest stage of world cricket. Bangla! Keep it up. Indian paper tigers should concentrate more on their cricket instead of endorsements. Will Indian team also return from West Indies like Pakistan? Wait and watch. … [Read more...]
Sensational wins by Ireland and Bangladesh
Whoever wins 2007 world cup, this world cup will be remembered as “Minnows world cup”. Small teams entertained cricket fans with their fighting spirit, never say die attitude and sensational wins over big teams. Wins of Ireland and Bangladesh over Pakistan and India may have stunned cricket fans, but it is good news for ICC. These wins will increase awareness about cricket in associate countries. If Bangladesh, Ireland and Kenya can able to reach quarterfinals, it is tremendous boost to spread cricket in more countries. Ireland: This soccer mad country is the surprise story of this country. The way they played against Pakistan indicated the quality of their stars. The way they tied Zimbabwe match illustrated the fighting spirit of Irish cricketers. More teams should play frequently against this team to raise the quality of players to test level. Ireland cricketers silenced the critics who questioned their (associate countries) inclusion in this big event. Bangladesh: Bangladesh finally arrived on the big stage. They stunned their famed neighbours with finest exhibition of all round cricket. They defeated New Zealand in the warm up match. If they continue to play in this manner, they may reach quarterfinals. Their win against Pakistan in 1999 world cup was suspected as match fixing. Bangladesh win over New Zealand in the warm up match is rated by most critics as a fluke. They silenced their detractors with sensational win over India. They never lost control over the match. Kenya: They reached semi finals in 2003 world cup. If they can able to defeat England, they will reach Quarterfinals in this edition. If these minnows (no more) will reach quarterfinals, 2007 world cup will be remembered as a watershed year in cricket history. … [Read more...]
Preview: India-Bangladesh cricket world cup match
World Cup favourite India will play with cricket mad country Bangladesh in the first round of 2007 Cricket world cup. India is one of the hot favourite to win this edition of world cup. Bangladesh created sensation by defeating New Zealand in the warm up match. India should not underestimate this Bangladesh team. They defeated Pakistan in the 1999 world cup. If Indian cricketers can able to play to their strengths, it is a cake walk for them. On present form, this match is no contest. Indian cricket team: Pros: 1. Strongest batting lineup in the world. 2. Mix of youth and experience. 3. Useful slow ball bowlers. 4. Exceptional watch winners. 5. Wonderful performance in the warm up matches. Cons: 1. Inconsistent batting performance. 2. Too much expectations back home. 3. Too many experiments in the team. Bangladesh Team: It is too much to expect any sensation in this match. India can easily win this match. … [Read more...]
Preview: England-New Zealand World cup match
This is a match between two teams of similar style of play. Both teams have high hopes in this world cup as they trounced World champions Australia in recent matches. Both teams are headed by astute captains. England won a tournament in Australia after a long time while New Zealand white washed Australia in the recent series. But, New Zealand was defeated by Bangladesh in the warm up match due to slow nature of West Indies pitches. England was convincingly thrashed by Australia in the warm up match. England cricket team: Pros: 1. Collingwood is in superb form. 2. Presence of world class all rounder Andrew Flintoff. 3. Michael Vaughan Captaincy. 4. Kevin Pietersen big hitting is very useful on small West Indies grounds. Cons: 1. Inexperienced team. 2. Inconsistent team. 3. Absence of Marcus Trescothick New Zealand cricket team: Pros: 1. Captaincy of Stephen Fleming. 2. Emergence of Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton. 3. Brendum McCullum is in scintillating form. 4. Jacob Oram’s all round abilities. 5. Presence of world class off spinner Daniel Vettori. 6. Shane Bond bowling. Cons: 1. Failure to play spinners. Crucial contests that will decide the outcome of this match: 1. Jacob Oram × Andrew Flintoff. 2. Daniel Vettori × Monty Panesar 3. Michael Vaughan × Stephen Fleming 4. Paul Collingwood × Ross Taylor 5. Kevin Pietersen × Peter Fulton, Brendum McCullum New Zealand is starting as favourite team to win this match despite their failure to beat Bangladesh. … [Read more...]
Are captains are crucial in winning the World Cup?
There is a perennial debate about the captain’s role in winning cricket matches. Are captains are really important in changing the fortunes of the team? If you analyse the previous world cups, it is difficult to under estimate the captain’s role. 1. Who can forget Imran Khan’s inspiring captaincy in 1992 cricket world cup? 2. Who can forget Steve Waugh’s never dyeing spirit in 1999 world cup? 3. Who can forget Kapildev’s words before the West Indies Batting in 1983 world cup finals? 4. Who can forget Arjun Ranatunga’s imaginative captaincy in 1996 cricket world cup? 5. Who can forget Clive Lloyd’s wonderful batting in the finals of the 1975 world cup? 6. Who can forget the Martin Crowe’s tactics in the 1992 world cup? 7. Who can forget Allan Border’s role in winning the 1987 world cup? 8. Who can forget Ricky Ponting century in the finals of the 2003 world cup? If you recall above scenes, no one can under estimate the Captian’s role in winning world cup.An inspiring captain can able to achieve superlative performances from team members. Some captains like Ranatunga and Ponting may be proactive while Lloyd and Border may be diminutive in their style of functioning; they all successfully extracted wonderful performances from their team members. One common quality in all successful captains is they protected team members in crisis situations. 1. Ranatunga protected Muralitharan in crucial times while Imran Khan stood behind Inzamam in 1992 world cup. In 2007 cricket world cup, we already saw the inspiring captaincy from West Indies captain Brian Lara. He encouraged youngsters and stood by them even in failures. They repaid the captian’s faith by showing superb performance against Pakistan. We have to wait and see the performances from other captains before giving judgement. … [Read more...]
5 Wicketkeepers are crucial in 2007 world cup
5 Wicketkeepers are going to play a crucial role for their team’s fortunes in 2007 Cricket world cup. When wicketkeeper is a batting all rounder, it adds depth to batting lineup. Those 5 wicket keepers are: 1. Adam Gilchrist. 2. Mahendrasingh Dhoni. 3. Kumara Sangakkara. 4. Brendon McCullum 5. Mark Boucher 1. Adam Gilchrist: He is the most destructive batsman in the world cricket today. Gilchrist can single handily change a match course. He is the all time great wicket keeping all rounder. If Adam Gilchrist will play in his style, it is difficult to contain the rampant Australian cricket team. 2. Mahendrasingh Dhoni: He is the rising Indian star who can play according to the situation of the match. His batting ability added depth to the already strong Indian lineup. He played crucial role in the recent Indian success story. 3. Kumara Sangakkara: He is the most consistent player in the inconsistent batting lineup of Sri Lankan cricket. His experience and ability to play well in crisis situations will be very useful in the tense world cup matches. In my opinion, he will be among the top 10 batsmen in 2007 cricket world cup. 4. Brendon McCullum: He is the most in form batsman in the New Zealand cricket team. If he failed to play up to his potential, New Zealand may not even reach quarterfinals. Along with Jacob Oram, he played crucial knocks in the recent New Zealand success story. 5. Mark Boucher: His experience and all round ability may be crucial for South Africa to win 2007 Cricket world cup. Along with Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Adrian Prince, he should play well for South Africa to lift its maiden trophy. These 5 wicketkeepers should play crucial knocks for their countries to lift 2007 cricket world cup. … [Read more...]
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