Week 4 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

There 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 backed them up . Only if the catching had not been ragged , WI could have never got to 182.  None of the WI batters applied themselves to the task and soon India was chasing before the dinner break. Indian batters faltered .. Rohit failed again , Dhawan followed him and it was left to Captain cool and Ashwin to forge a partnership that saved India from embarrassment. I saw some signs of lethargy with the Indian team. Fine , the team has qualified for the Quarters but the focus on the game should not go away at any point.. May be this was the wake up  call to the team for the future matches

Pak versus SA

This was a  great match. Batting first , Pakistan struggled  throughout the innings trying to dominate the strong SA pace attack. A total of 222 over 50 overs   is not even  a par score against   a great SA batting line up. But Pakistan’s bowlers fought back . bending their back and generating pace off the wicket and exploiting SA’s known Choker tag . SA started brightly and at a fast pace . It looked like no one wanted to build a innings through the 50 overs- And if one of the SA batsman had done that , it would have been an easy victory.  AB was the only exception. He also did not bat patiently. He went for the ball and for a short period of time that AB hit the ball all over the park , playing some incredible , arrogant and some unbelievable shots , it looked like he will guide SA to a Win and probably their reputation changing from the “ chokers” tag. But playing once too many shots cost his wicket and Pakistan romped home and probably securing a Quarter final place.  Pakistan brought in their regular keeper Safraz who also opened and that also changed the way Pakistan played. Scoring runs and picking up victims behind the stumps ( including some diving ones ) Safraz played his part ..  For South Africa , being one of the best teams on paper and  if they have to win the title , there has to be huge mental change in  them handling pressure.. David Miller known for his free play scratched around for 13 balls without scoring a run before a Wahab Riaz Yorker ended his misery. Other SA batsman just could not handle the pressure that was created by Pak bowlers.. So SA maintain their reputation !

Aus versus SL

This was  roller coaster match. First Aussies pulverized the  Lankan attack .. everyone in the Australian team had fun with the bat including Shane Watson who has been out of form and out the team and out of sorts. The Srilanka counter attacked. Dilshan sent Mitchell Johnson to the boundary six times in an over . that was sizzling . For a bowler like Johnson to be treated that way , great to watch. Then Sanga got in to the act and hit is third century in a row. Lanka was in the hunt as Chandimal and Mathews continued to dominate . However an injury to Chandimal that forced him to retire probably had  a bearing on the match  result. Aussies took their chance and run out comfortable winners although if one followed the match , it was not that easy as the score line suggested.

Meanwhile Ireland ran out winners by a whisker against Zimbabwe .. It looked an win for Zimbabwe when the last over of the  match was being bowled but two wickets in the final over meant that they lost by five runs chasing down 331

Bangladesh has the opportunity to nail England early this  week – Let us see if the English stay in the hunt for a qualification berth