Hot favourites Australia won 2007 cricket world cup for 3rd consecutive time by defeating Sri Lanka by 53 runs in the final at Barbados. Sri Lanka won the hearts of cricket fans with their fighting spirit and never say die attitude. Worst world cup ended on the disastrous note. Rains spoiled the finals party and Sri Lanka hopes. Australian won the cup but Sri Lanka won the hearts. It is the third straight win for Sri Lanka after its success in 1999 and 2003 editions. Incidentally, Aussies defeated Sub continent teams in all the finals. Australia scored 281/4 batting first after electing toss. Sri Lanka was 215/8 at the ended of 36th over. Match was truncated to 38 overs due to delayed start. Sri Lanka lost the match due to Duckworth –Lewis system. Adam Gilchrist scored wonderful 72 ball century to lift the Australians to almost unachievable target. He scored fastest century in the finals of the cricket world cup. Despite mounting run rate, Sri Lanka is in the right direction till the end of 20th over due to positive start by Kumara Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya. Mounting run rate, fall of quick wickets and rain spoiled the hopes of fighting Lankans. Australians are worthy champions as they played exceptional cricket consistently. They are way ahead of other teams in all forms of cricket. Man of the series: Glen McGrath Man of the Final: Adam Gilchrist. … [Read more...]
My dream team: 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup will remain as one of the worst world cup ever. Though India and Pakistan disappointed the fans, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Bangladesh entertained with their fine exhibition of all round Cricket. My Dream 2007 cricket world cup team: Captain: 1. Mahela Jayawardene – He played captaincy knocks in the vital games. He is the shrewdest captain in this world cup. He is slightly ahead of Ricky Ponting in the captaincy race. Openers: 2. Mathew Hayden – He is the best batsman in this world cup. 3. Sanath Jayasuriya – He is the match winner on his day. He can destruct any bowling attack to pieces on his day. Middle order: 4. Ricky Ponting – He is the best batsman on planet earth on current form. 5. Scott Styris – Most consistent batsman for New Zealand. 6. Kevin Pietersen – He is the lone warrior in the England batting Line up. Wicket Keeper: 7. Adam Gilchrist – How can I miss a keeper – batsman who can walk away into any team of any generation? Bowling Attack: 8. Shane Bond – My favourite fast bowler. 9. Glenn McGrath – Best bowler on the earth.10. Muttaih Muralitharan – He is an automatic selection like Hayden and McGrath. 11. Nathan Bracken – he may not have taken maximum number of wickets like Tait, he is the most controlled bowler in 2007 world cup. Sanath Jayasuriya and Scott Styris complete the remaining 10 overs. My dream missed a genuine all-rounder. Who missed selection by a split margin: 12. Michael Clarke – Future hope for Australia. 13. Shane Watson – According to Ponting, he is the most crucial member in Australian team. 14. Shaun Tait – He missed the selection due to lack of control. Speed is not enough man! It is dangerous some times. 15. Lalith Malinga – Future hope for Sri Lankan Cricket. 16. Masharafe Mortaza – He bowled consistently well against the top order of top teams. 17. Rahul Dravid – Bad luck! You are the member of Indian team. 18. Gibbs – Congrats for hitting 6 sixers in an over. Special Thanks: 1. Ireland and Bangladesh teams – for their fighting spirit. 2. Bermuda team – Purely for entertainment. Special Mention: Andrew Flintoff, Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Hussey, Inzamam and Chris Gayle – I disappointed with their performance. … [Read more...]
Preview: 2007 Cricket World Cup Final
Most disastrous world cup in cricket history will end in Barbados today. Two best teams, Australia and Sri Lanka, will clash in the finals of the 2007 cricket world cup. Can Australia able to achieve Hat-trick cups? Can Sri Lanka able to repeat 1996 finals? Will this final become another dud as in 2003? Batting: Except Michael hussy, all the Australian batsmen are in roaring form. Mathew Hayden, leading run scorer, is creating shivers in the opposition bowlers. Ricky Ponting, world’s best batsman, is playing captaincy knocks at high strike rate. Michael Clarke is the most composed batsman in the world cup. He is the “Rahul Dravid of Australia”. Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson can increase run rate within a short span of time. If Hussey and Gilchrist fire to their potential, it is almost impossible to this Australian team. Sri Lankan batting is not looking as formidable as Australian lineup. It may brittle under pressure from Australian fast bowlers and finals atmosphere like their neighbours (Indians) in 2003 final. Except Mahela Jayawardene, no other batsman is looking as promising as Australians. Sanath Jayasuriya is inconsistent throughout this tournament. Though Chamara Silva is playing well in this world cup, his inexperience may cost him dear in the finals. Kumara Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga and Arnold are playing well throughout the tournament. If they play well, Sri Lanka may upset the world champions. Australia team was beaten in most of the matches by the individual brilliance of the opposition rather than team effort. Sachin Tendulkar, Brain Lara, Kevin Pietersen and Gibbs proved this fact in recent times. Can Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene repeat this feat? Batting Rating: Australia – 8/10. Sri Lanka – 6/10. Bowling: Glenn McGrath will try his best in the last of his glittering International career. If Sri Lankan batsmen able to play this legend well, match may be in the Sri Lankan kitty. Sri Lankans hammered Shaun Tait in the super 8 match. Nathan Bracken is another danger man. Sri Lankans can easily play Brad Hogg and Shane Watson. First 10 overs are crucial against Australians. They will try to exert maximum pressure in those overs. Sri Lankans are blessed with the most versatile bowling line up in this world cup. If Vaas and Malinga can able to take the top order wickets of Australians, Muralitharan will take care of the rest. Australians have not faced these 3 bowlers for the past 14 months. This is the most worrying aspect for the Australian team management. Bowling Rating: Australia – 7/10. Sri Lanka – 8/10. Fielding: Both teams are equal in this aspect. Rating – 8/10. Captaincy: Ricky Ponting already established his credentials as one of the great captains. Mahela Jayawardene has surprised everyone with his maturity, tactics and captaincy knocks. He is the captain of my “dream team”. He is slightly ahead of Ponting in captaincy aspect. Finals of the 1999 and 2003 world cups are ended on disappointing note with Australia ruthlessly crushed Pakistan and India. Can Australian able to repeat it against another sub-continental team, Sri Lanka? My Verdict: Australia is favourite as it is more balanced than Sri Lanka in all departments. Sri Lanka crushed Australia in 1996 world cup in Lahore (thanks to Aravinda batting and Ranatunga captaincy). Australia is waiting for revenge. … [Read more...]
2007 Cricket World Cup Videos
Cricket world cup 2007 turned out to be a damp squib. It is the worst organised world cup ever. Organisers spoil the party by not allowing musical instruments into the cricket stadiums thereby destroying the spirit of Carribeans. Death of Bob Woolmer and the investigational failures brought bad name to Jamiacan Government. Watch the official video of 2007 cricket world cup: Before the start of this world cup, no one thought about this cup in this manner. Exit of India and Pakistan in the first round made this one an economic disaster. Organisers, Sponsors, Advertisers, Local people and teams are unhappy even though it brought cheers to the fans of Bangladesh and Ireland. Failure of West Indies team made the things difficult for organisers. Watch the unpfficial video of world cup: When will this world cup end? … [Read more...]
Fallen stars from sub-continent in 2007 cricket world cup
2007 cricket world cup changed the fortunes of many super stars along with their teams. Some of these stars faced the wrath from fans in their countries. Cricket Gods from India and Pakistan became the most hated persons in their countries. TV channels stopped airing commercials of these stars. That is the power of failure. 1. Sachin Tendulkar: This is the first failure of Indian God in a world cup tournament. He is the highest scorer in 1996 and 2003 editions. For the first time, he faced charges on his attitude from an Indian coach. He became a pawn in the hands of seniors’ mafia. BCCI issued show-cause notice to this fallen star. If he will play in his natural style, we will again see the “Sharjah” Sachin. It’s all in the mind. 2. Injamam-Ul-Haq: He repeated his worst performance in 2007 world cup as in 2003 edition. After his superb performance in 1992 debut world cup, he failed to replicate his performance. These are inerasable black spots in the wonderful career of this Pakistan legend. 3. Sourav Ganguly: His low strike rate in the initial power play overs is another reason for India’s debacle in this world cup. He is never a team man and a selfish cricketer who always form a coterie of his favourites. As per media, he is the force behind the seniors’ mafia and leaked dressing room news to his favourite Kolkata journalists. His attitude is always a big problem.4. Younis Khan:It is the most unexpected failure in 2007 world cup. He went to the event on the back of stunning performances. He failed even against weak teams. No excuses please.5. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh: They played spoil sport with their attitude along with their play. Selectors should not even consider them for at least 2 years. Along with Harbhajan and Ganguly, they are trying to form a coterie in the team. Sack them and save cricket.Dravid’s biggest mistake is his belief in Virender Sehwag. Inclusion of Sehwag and Ganguly changed the batting line up and team spirit. Indian selectors decided to send a youth team under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Youth should grab these opportunities and replace those ageing stars. … [Read more...]
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