28.4.07
What a Bummer! But anyways.. !
The ICC (International Cricket Circus) provided one of the worst world cup finals ever. The players who put up with it deserve more than this. Anyways, negatives aside.. what a match for Australia!! Gilchrist's 149 off 104 balls easily the best match-winning innings I've seen in quite a while in a crunch match like a world cup final. Hats off to both the Aussies and Sri Lankans who provided the entertainment in an otherwise dull tournament, the only two sides along with New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and Ireland who need to be applauded for their efforts. Well, let's hope other teams fight better in the next one in 2011. And.. Goodbye Glenn! We will be looking for someone like you for a long time!!
25.4.07
A repeat of 1996
Like I'd hoped Sri Lanka is going to the final to meet the Aussies who are on a winning streak like no one has ever seen before just after having drawn the semi-final against South Africa. They have never lost a single world cup match since that tie in 1999 which shows phenomenal attitude and the push for victory everytime they take the field.
The finals which would be a repeat of 1996 between Sri Lanka and Australia should be a good contest. Let's hope its not as one-sided as the semi-finals were. Australia would be looking to stop Sri Lanka from doing it twice and Sri Lanka would give their best to put an end to the world cup winning streak of Australia. Let's hope the final atleast makes this world cup memorable for the right reasons.
The finals which would be a repeat of 1996 between Sri Lanka and Australia should be a good contest. Let's hope its not as one-sided as the semi-finals were. Australia would be looking to stop Sri Lanka from doing it twice and Sri Lanka would give their best to put an end to the world cup winning streak of Australia. Let's hope the final atleast makes this world cup memorable for the right reasons.
8.4.07
Super Eights : Right now
God.. I'd lost the pace (like Irfan had), as soon as India crashed out of the world cup and various incidents that had taken the spirit out of the game. But, I'm so happy to witness the spirit of the Sri Lankans (Kumar Sangakkara seems to be their spiritual leader, always creating something behind the stumps, he is a match-winner).. Check this video out from youtube, which emphasises the importance of such a player in such a side, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlFF98dM8sA. And, wow ... is Bangladesh making a name for itself or what. If they improve their consistency with the bat from now on, they can beat any team in the world on a given day and can fight till the last ball. Their bowling and fielding is god-like at the present, something I would expect of my own Indian team. Well anyways, here is how the points table looks like:
After India went, I started to support Sri Lanka. Well, they were my second favorites anyway to win the world cup eventhough I had the feeling, Australia's world cup winning streak will take some doing to break. When Sehwag got out in the most dubious fashion with a slow throw from Sangakkara during their India tour, I believed that he would create such opportunities in the world cup and he did. Brian Lara's stumping off Vaas was un.... believable! Malinga's 4 in 4... Murali's performance against India, Jayasuriya's 100 against the West Indies, Ashraful's tenacity against the world no. 1 team (his scoop over fine-leg, I mean..), Aftab's amazing sixers, Tamim Iqbal coming down the wicket against Ntini (and Zaheer Khan of course, who can forget that... no Indian who was awake that night can forget that.) etc.. send a strong message to the world, that now, the sub-continent has 4 world class teams who believe they can win at the highest level (well, two of the teams haven't proved themselves of late.. but they will eventually as soon as other petty/off the field issues get solved and they concentrate more on the game) .
Well, I hope either Sri Lanka (which seems all set for the semis), or Bangladesh do well in the next stage.. and who knows we might as well have a sub-continent world champion. And if Sri Lanka manages to do it.. it will be the first sub-continent team to win the world cup twice!..
Go Sri Lanka.. take the world cup!
| Super Eights | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.510 | 1053/161.1 | 864/172.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.549 | 1057/196.0 | 747/194.2 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.437 | 567/109.4 | 560/150.0 |
| South Africa | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.629 | 855/179.5 | 996/185.0 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.062 | 955/200.0 | 911/188.2 |
| West Indies | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.177 | 776/188.1 | 993/187.2 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.775 | 641/168.0 | 778/139.1 |
| Ireland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.934 | 566/133.0 | 621/119.4 |
After India went, I started to support Sri Lanka. Well, they were my second favorites anyway to win the world cup eventhough I had the feeling, Australia's world cup winning streak will take some doing to break. When Sehwag got out in the most dubious fashion with a slow throw from Sangakkara during their India tour, I believed that he would create such opportunities in the world cup and he did. Brian Lara's stumping off Vaas was un.... believable! Malinga's 4 in 4... Murali's performance against India, Jayasuriya's 100 against the West Indies, Ashraful's tenacity against the world no. 1 team (his scoop over fine-leg, I mean..), Aftab's amazing sixers, Tamim Iqbal coming down the wicket against Ntini (and Zaheer Khan of course, who can forget that... no Indian who was awake that night can forget that.) etc.. send a strong message to the world, that now, the sub-continent has 4 world class teams who believe they can win at the highest level (well, two of the teams haven't proved themselves of late.. but they will eventually as soon as other petty/off the field issues get solved and they concentrate more on the game) .
Well, I hope either Sri Lanka (which seems all set for the semis), or Bangladesh do well in the next stage.. and who knows we might as well have a sub-continent world champion. And if Sri Lanka manages to do it.. it will be the first sub-continent team to win the world cup twice!..
Go Sri Lanka.. take the world cup!
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