the Aussies have it Easy-- The Cup is Theirs

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 outsmarted him following him and the third ball did colossal damage – Fast and furious , it was a brilliant Yorker and before McCullum could bring his bat down , the ball thundered in to the off stump and the LED lit bails took off. That was it for the NZ for the final.

Double Century maker Guptill and Promising Williamson looked jaded , were soon outfoxed.  However Elliot and Taylor pulled it back and NZ were at a nice looking 150 for 3 when the batting  power play  overs started. It was then James Faulkner who turned the game on its head in favour of Australia .  He got rid of Taylor and Anderson in the same over and Starc got rid of Ronchi. There was no recovery for the NZ from this point.

Shot for 183 – incidentally  it was the same score that India defended against WI  in 1983 to win  the World Cup for the first time. While Starc, Johnson and Faulkner were taking wickets , it was Josh Hazelwood who was choking the batsmen with his great length  and line . It was difficult to get runs out of him. He did this against India as well in the semis that actually forced some poor shot making against the other bowlers.

NZ need both Southee and Boult to fire. Boult did get Finch in  his first over but Warner attacked and Steve Smith played real cool innings . Calm and assured at the crease , he continued with Clarke,the road to victory for the Aussies. Clarke played a delightful knock to get Aussies closer to victory in his final one day match. As anticipated the Aussies finished off the match before the batting power play overs started. The final was a stroll in the park for the Aussies.  

Aussie team was strong in all forms of the game –Deserved to win the title without any doubt for the way they played the game. Their batting , bowling and fielding was top notch .  Although Clarke is retiring from the ODI format , they have a very strong team that  will go on to  win more laurels for them.  Steve Smith , Maxwell ,  Hazelwood , Starc  , Warner Faulkner are still young and can carry the Aussie team to  success . I believe that we are going to see the Aussie domination of the game once again for  a period of time