The Quarter Final of the Cricket World Cup 2015

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 that they are no longer Chokers – they still have to progress and I think they will choke against NZ . It was not a great farewell for Sanga and Mahela who have served the SL team for such a long period

India Versus Bangladesh

The Tigers  built up lot of hype with their claim of playing “ fearless Cricket “.. As India batted , they did extremely well for the first 30 overs. Bowling was spot on , fielding was razor sharp. They seem to have had plans for Dhawan , Kohli , Rahane – May be they missed Rohit because of his poor form.  Rohit Sharma rediscovered his form and after a patient vigil at the crease , he and Raina raised their game and started the attack on the Bangla bowling. Rohit had an escape on 91 when the umpires ruled a no ball in his favour that led to him continuing his innings. How much this decision affected the result of the match , one would never know but these things happen . Once India posted a 300 + score , it was clear that Bangla was not in the same league although they did pretend to be . Clearly , the Indian bowling was far superior and Bangla was all out. Indians have taken all ten wickets in their outings so far

Aussie versus Pak

Only if the fielders and batters had backed Wahab  Riaz—it would have been curtains down for the Aussies. First the batters put a poor display and did not put up runs on the board. Reckless shot making and no intent to stay at the crease proved a costly folly to adopt for Pakistan. And when Aussies batted , Wahab Riaz bowled one of the best spells of hostile fast bowling that I  have not seen for a long long time. Cranking up speeds in excess of 150 KM/hr. , Wahab gave great discomfort to the Aussie batsmen –something that you did not get to see. Clarke and Watson were ill at ease at the crease and defending short balls with closed eyes ( thanks the technology that picks up all this ).  A dolly catch dropped of Watson and a reprieve to Maxwell meant curtains for Pakistan..  Finally a retirement for Afridi and Misbah .. No one knows how old is Afridi but he has been on the International circuit from 1996 ..

NZ Versus WI

It was carnage. Guptill was dropped when he made just four runs .. And how dearly he made the WI team pay for dropping him ? It rained sixes and fours as Guptill made the highest score to be made by a batsman in the World cup. WI , just gave up and made no attempt to bowl better  or place the fielders in the right position . The captain was at the long on fence – What would he do standing 70 meters away from the scene of action. Not a good sight to watch but for the home crowd it was great entertainment. WI had no hopes of getting to 694 but they are merry goers and they had fun as they rattled up 250 runs in 30 overs with each one visiting the crease having a go at the bowling.

So , my stakes are that NZ will get past SA—NZ seems to be in form in all aspects of the game .. Batting , Bowling and Fielding and they have the home advantage . And everyone knows what happens when pressure is applied on SA

On the other hand , Aussie and India will have an even match …  Both sides are balanced , have done well through the tournament and the Aussie team should quickly understand that it is NOT the same Indian team that they played eight weeks ago. There is great change and momentum with this Indian team. For  India , key would be to bat first and put a 300 + score at the Sydney ground and handle Mitchell Starc who has been in very good nick with the ball. Sydney  pitches supports spinners and the team should leverage that and create the pressure and get wickets. That could seal their entry in to the final. Both teams have a mountain to climb if they want either of themselves want to be in  the final and so it will be a nerve wracking match , coming Thursday

The heart  and the mind says – it will be India – so do the bookies...

Let us watch with bated breath