Playing Nostradamus...

It cannot get any better than this. 4 teams-Australia, Srilanka, South Africa and New Zealand, now have a realistic chance of winning the World Cup. Australia is a clear favourite. But this is the game of cricket; never discount the chances of others. This edition has been interesting thanks to the teams involved and their undying desire to win the cup. The super eights have been a revelation. All these 4 teams have shown their spirit by adapting to the conditions here and playing in a very sensible manner – very creditable for the professionalism that they have portrayed.
This time, it will not take a Nostradamus to find the team that will move to the next round. The writing is simple. The money is now on these teams. But who will go further to win the cup? All the predicted four have shown maturity and all characteristics required to make a champion team.
My prediction of the outcome at the end of super eights is Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the order of their rankings. South Africa and Srilanka will have the same points but since South Africa had beaten Sri Lanka, it will end up higher. The first semi-final will be between Australia and Sri Lanka where my bet is on Sri Lanka. They will cohere together as a unit and beat the Aussies. In the other semi-final, New Zealand will take on South Africa and emerge triumphant.
That leaves the final to be between 2 very evenly placed teams. Both the teams are so capable of upsetting the opposition and they have a team which is very adaptable to any conditions, be it spin or pace bowling. But my gut feeling suggests that New Zealand is going to have the last laugh. Anyone has a different reasoning? Share it…

The Black Caps are here...

The Black Caps have never been as confident in the previous editions of the World Cup as they are now. The Chapell-Hadlee resounding victory against the Aussies has done them a World of good. To me, they are one among two teams potent enough to beat the Aussies, the other being Sri Lanka. So I excitedly await the virtual World Cup finals showdown between the Black caps and the Lankans on April 12th in the Super eights. The March 29th encounter between West Indies and New Zealand re-affirmed my abilities on New Zealand. Stephen Fleming, one of the longest reigning successful Captains does deserve a World Cup Title to his resume to make justice for his skills.
On their opening match in the Super eights, the New Zealand was put up against the West Indies who appeared to be drained by 2 continuous days of action. They appeared to be dispirited and without energy and were in no mood to put up a fight. On the other hand, New Zealand showed boldness and attitude that suggested that this World Cup was theirs and no opposition dare stop them. West Indies had a bad start despite Gayle’s resistance and they kept losing wickets regularly. Inspite of Lara’s vain efforts at holding his batting unit together, the West Indies barely were able to produce a fighting total. New Zealand’s bowling attack had done its homework and the batsmen had to just complete the formalities, which they did with utmost ease.
With 2 consecutive losses, West Indies face virtual elimination. It will be tough for them to make a comeback. But ultimately, this is Cricket and anything can happen, you can never discount anyone.