Is it going to be the Deshis or the Lankans?

Bangladesh Vs Srilanka and Zimbabwe Vs Pakistan…These 2 matches assume significance for certain teams as a win will mean that they are through to the next round.
Srilanka has to win this match to keep their hopes alive. After the Deshis had overcome the Indians, Srilanka cannot take them lightly. The key to the match lies in the team fielding first. Predictions were made before the tournament started that the team batting second will have more probability of winning in the Carribean which has proven to be true so far in the tournament. A few wickets will give Bangladesh the breakthrough and they can beat the air out of the Lankans, the same way they did to the Indians..
The Pakistanis will hope to forget this tournament as early as possible- there were plenty of haunting moments- their early exit from World Cup, their worst show in recent history, their coach,Woolmer’s death under suspicious circumstances adding salt to their already excruciating pain. One thing they will not wish for is a complete wash in the tournament- they will be desperately hoping to win their last match and salvage some pride. Zimbabwe on the other hand will hope some remaining charm from St.Patrick’s day rubs on them as well
The Lanka-Bangla duel attains significance to the Indians as well. They will hope that either Bangladesh beats the Lankans and give the Indians a fair chance to move to the next round or Lanka drubs the Deshis to a big win so that the net run-rate will be favourable to the Indians. All this takes precedence only after assuming the Indians will win in the make-or–break encounter with Sri-Lanka on March23rd.

Who do U Call a minnow !!!

March 17th, 2007 marked a day where the so-called giants in the cricketing arena were brought to face reality. India and Pakistan lost matches which were considered to be mere cake-walks; rather they slipped and ended humiliating only themselves.

Upsets of the World Cup

traces the list of world cup upsets in the history of the game. The game of cricket is very unpredictable where a team which looks extremely superior on paper losing in a manner, so humiliating. Bangladesh and Ireland have made a bold statement of their arrival to International cricket sending strong signals to other nations to take cue from them.
This takes significance as the top teams that had lost on March 17th were from cricket crazy nations of India and Pakistan. The pressure was always going to be on these teams as no-one expected the ‘minnows’ to win. The manner in which the 2 teams lost had lot in common.India and Pakistan were batting first in a pitch that was as listless as these teams. Both the teams faced a very energetic opposition who outclassed the opponent in every department, in particular fielding. The Indian team will hope that the similarity ends there and that they will not be joining Pakistan out of the World cup. The average 'unselfish' Indian fan will now end up praying for other teams as well,so that the equations are in India's favour.
Both India and Pakistan are definitely a better side but they paid the price for not taking the opposition seriously. Thanks to these neighbours from the Indian- sub continent and largely to their attitude, the underdogs had a field day and will probably move to the next round of competitive cricket.

Its all within the neighbourhood....

India, Bangladesh encounter will bring to close the inauguration round of matches for all participating teams. March17th will showcase the Bangladeshi neighbors take on India first time outside the sub-continent. Bangladesh is not close to the ‘minnows’ bunch as acknowledged by the Indian captain, Dravid. It will be a different outing for the Indians as they take on a very young Bangladesh team, which will be overpowered by the Superstar effect showcased by the Indians’ armory.
On paper, Indians are a far superior side compared to Bangladesh. They have only lost one out of the 14 contests between the 2 teams. Indians have batsmen like Saurav and Sachin who will be raring to go against Bangladesh with averages of 56 and 49 respectively. Adding to this will be the fact that Sachin enjoys an average of 80 in all the opening encounters of India’s World Cup clashes plus he has not scored a century so far against Bangladesh, the only test playing nation against which he has not done. He will be waiting to better his record in this match. So Indian fans will expect ‘runs feast’ from Sachin. No wonder the stadium is already booked to its full capacity.
Despite all these odds in India’s favour, Bangladesh has the ability to outclass their opposition. Their captain, Habibul Bashar has 3 fifties to his credit against India. He will add solidity to the batting department which already has batsmen who can shock any opposition. Moreover they have capable new ball bowlers like Mortaza and Hossain and spinners like Rafique, Razzak and Saqibul who can make the best out of the slow and low Carribean pitches. Moreover, Indians have an aging team as against the young brash of Bangladesh.
A couple of unexpected wickets and agile fielding could boost the confidence of this Bangladesh team and who knows might even win them the match. But the Indians will surely not take them lightly and will try to win and that too in a manner which is convincing.