SRI'S Blog

My prediction in my blog of Feb 10 th in the run up to the tournament  was an Aussie – SA final with NZ being the  underdog to get to the final  . It turned out to be right. SA choked in the semis against NZ and so  it was an Aussie – NZ showdown. Aussies won the trophy in a thumping manner. The final was devoid of any  thrills , with NZ capitulating to the strong Aussie attack.If one expected a high octane final , it was not so . It was a dump squib and it gave the Aussie the chance to flex their muscles in front of their crowd. McCullum won an important toss.  But the first three balls he faced from Mitchell Starc probably dictated  the course of the match. I thought McCullum would change his approach for the final and would stay  at the crease  for a period of time before doing his regular attacking brand of shot making. . But No – The first ball he face , whizzed past him , the second one he charged down the pitch but Starc ou...

Well Well Well –  We “ gave the cup away “ and No “Mauka Mauka” from here onwards … Australia beat India hollow and square to get in to the finals .   India ended up on the losing side in spite of the Prayers , the heart of many Indians that wanted an Indian win  and the bookie predictions… How can that happen? But it did happen and the Indian juggernaut journey came to an end. In all big matches , the toss plays a important role . Clarke won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. Putting runs on the board is the best thing to do . India got rid of Warner early and Finch was playing an uncharacteristic innings .. However Steve Smith continued his dominance of the Indian bowling to get to a better than run a ball century.  India got back right in to the game with some quick wickets  and there were optimism  that  India could restrict the Aussies down to 280 or so..  Ashwin bowled a superb spell in the middle to keep things tigh...

It was a nerve wracking  match and it was fight to the finish  and one of those matches that kept everyone on their toes .   For match updates ,  most of us  had no need to get to  websites to get the latest scores. Many of the WhatsApp groups had live updates going ! And each group  had their predictions and on the state of the match.  Both teams fought with great intensity and will to win but just when it mattered the most,  SA faltered  and that was in their fielding and they paid their price for it – A loss at the semifinal stage  and again a team with so much promise  faltering and not delivering to its potential I cut short my fitness routine in the morning ,  to view the match that started at 6.30 AM IST. I was keen to watch NZ either bat or bowl.. if it was batting , wanted to see the explosive McCullum and  if it was bowling , watch Boult and Southee. Boult and Southee have been in tremendous f...

The Semifinal line up is complete – It is the Proteas versus the Kiwis  and the Aussies versus the Indians—the script of the Quarter finals did not quite go as per the form book. First, Proteas won rather easily against the Lankans and then Aussies huffed and puffed to a win against a Wahab Riaz led Pak attack SA versus Srilanka This was a disappointing match . SL made a  hash of it .. Giving wickets to a part time spinner like Duminy is Crime – Added to that Imran Tahir took four wickets .. If you look at the dismissals , they were not special deliveries. Mahela pulled a rank long hop to mid-wicket fielders hands. SL looked jaded and out of sorts and Sanga defended as if he was playing a test match. Although it was a small target to chase , knowing SA’s penchant for the “ Choker tag’ , there was lot of nervousness in the SA camp . But SL did not have  a quality spinner to test them . Herath could have made a difference. SA romped home and there are claims t...

This week saw the end of the qualification matches .. While Group A  teams that qualified  got settled well ahead of the  final around of matches , Group B went till the last match and Pakistan and WI got through at  the expense of the Irish. Irish looked jaded in their matches against  India and Pak and lost out an great opportunity to get to  the Quarters.. Group  A qualifiers saw  the exit of England and that was not as per the script. Bangla  Tigers did the surprise that I was keenly waiting to happen. So the Quarter Line ups see SA play  SL ,  India Playing Bangla Tigers , Aussies Play Pakistan and NZ play  WI .. From here on it is anybody’s game .. Every team fancies their chances and  hope to get past their rivals . Bangla Versus England and NZ England needed a win to stay in the race for the qualification.  Bangla batted first and put up a par score which I thought the English would get with some...

T here were some matches where the big boys flexed their muscles and their opponents simply crumbled.. The ones where the big boys did well was – Ireland Versus South Africa , Australia versus Afghanistan  , Pakistan Versus UAE—Ireland , Afghanistan and UAE lost comfortably. Bangladesh managed to chase down a 300 + plus score against Scotland leaving the Scots with no victory so far in this World Cup.. In all these matches , the bowlers were at the mercy of the batters --- The matches that hinged interest was the India Versus West Indies ( WI ) , South Africa ( SA ) versus Pakistan and Aus. versus SL India versus WI The Indian bowlers performed again creditably. The pace and the bounce outdid the WI batsman including Gayle – Dropped catches not helping , WI were on the mat all through the innings due to splendid display of the Indian bowlers . Shami and Umesh hustled the batsman with pace and bounce while Mohit did the job of softening them up , Ashwin and Jaddu ...

N o – I am not going to write about the “ stroll in the park” that the Indian team had when they met the UAE team.. MSD and team .. it was one of those club cricket matches—Forget that you played against UAE – The week had several outstanding matches – First it had the West Indies against  Zimbabwe and Gayle the Gagnam style man came to form with some great and lusty hitting that took the  wind out of the sails of the African team. Gayle’s double century was laced with several muscular hits and Marlon Samuels joined him in having fun. West Indies  won with great comfort. The reason I talk about this match is because of the fact that West Indies and Gayle got a taste of their own medicine from South Africa and may be just one man  in their next match Afghanistan won their first World Cup match beating the Scots – A nerve biting thriller ( may not have served that kind of high quality game but never the less ) , the Afghans kept their nerve to win the mat...