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Home Truths
Arjuna’s Eye
Pakistan end record Aussie run
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S Africa crush Bangladesh
Sachin never scared me, Gilchrist, Lara did: Shoaib Akhtar
One more chance for minnows to impress
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Home Truths When a side has to find success in how other teams are faring, evidently they aren’t doing things right. India found themselves in a position of a little bit of unease, having to pore over permutations and combinations and a lot of ‘what ifs’. What if the West Indies beat England? What if Bangladesh beat South Africa? What if we lost to the West Indies?
While the nation celebrates Holi, India would be expected to show their true colours and win this one, and frankly, I don’t think that is in doubt. The home side’s problems lie elsewhere.
India will also have to field their 'reserves', but in a match which promises to be much more challenging than the one the Proteas played. With one game to go, India haven’t still played all their 15. Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin still await a World Cup run or wicket between them. The slanging match between the skipper, and the BCCI mandarins (which never happened, according to BCCI) is very much on the cards (if it hasn’t happened already, that is). Apart from the fact that the Ashwin issue is getting to be a little ridiculous, in terms of Dhoni’s stand on the off-spinner, India have not been able to give all their players match practice. So now that India will play the quarter-finals anyway, it is just a matter of figuring out who they play in the first knock-out game. They would like to finish third at least, and avoid the big guns. Either way, the ‘must-win’ tag stays. Pathan must make way for Raina and if sanity has any say, Ashwin too will get in. So if we are to go by Dhoni’s seven-four formula, one assumes Zaheer and Munaf will have Harbhajan and Ashwin in the line-up. That is ironic, since if there was a side in the World Cup against whom a wrist-spinner should be played, it would be the West Indies. But strange are the ways of cricket and captains. With Dhoni, one never really knows. Common sense says all the players need match exposure. But then, common sense isn’t so common nowadays, is it?
Sehwag doubtful
Ashwin, Raina likely to play
Amidst criticism over his choice of the team, Indian captain Mahendra Singh today said the playing eleven will always depend on the nature of the wicket but indicated off-spinner R Ashwin and Suresh Raina will get to play in the last group b league match against West Indies here tomorrow. When asked about players who have not yet got a chance to play in the tournament so far, he said "Initially, they did not get chance to play. But everyone would have played at least one game before the knockout stage." |
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Arjuna’s Eye
There are two weeks left in the World Cup and the tournament is about to start. Right from the countdown, it was clear that this was a tournament about the knockout stage and we are almost there.
India play the West Indies on Sunday but a lot of the tension has gone out after Bangladesh’s heavy loss to South Africa on Saturday afternoon. Bangladesh are eliminated but have given a good account of themselves. Their cricket is headed in the right direction and while they remain very inconsistent in their batting, their bowling has shown great improvement over the last four years. It’s now up to the senior Test-playing countries in the region to keep engaging Bangladesh in contests and ensure the momentum of this performance is kept alive. Looking ahead, India would look to enter the quarter-finals on a winning note and they are favourites considering the wicket in
Chennai. It’s clearly a spinner’s pitch and it would be interesting to see which way M.S. Dhoni goes. I doubt whether he would play three spinners but I hope he has the courage to stick with his leg-spinner Piyush
Chawla. It is also a huge temptation to play R. Ashwin on his home ground and Dhoni seems to have a high opinion of the young off-spinner, I am told. It’s an option for Dhoni to rest senior pro Harbhajan ahead of the big games but it will be interesting to see whether he will actually do that. For West Indies, it’s important to get over their game against England earliest. They pressed the self-destruct button and lost a game that they had under control. They must look ahead and focus on the fact that they are capable of getting themselves into winning positions. Sri Lanka would be watching the game with some interest as it would give an indication about who, between England and West Indies, they will meet in the quarters. Kumar Sangakkara will be happy with his team at the moment. The spinners are in good touch and will become increasingly important as summer sets in and pitches dry out. Sri Lanka will play their quarters at home and, potentially, their semis as well. It all looks good for them other than the lingering question mark on their middle order. I still wish Sangakkara sent Mahela Jayawardene down the order. It would just make old-timers like me breathe a little easier. |
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Pakistan end record Aussie run
Colombo, March 19 Pakistan overhauled the total with 54 balls to spare. Australia had already qualified for the quarter-finals but will now finish third in the group rather than top, a place now occupied by Pakistan. Earlier, Pakistan produced a clinical bowling display as they bundled out defending champions Australia for a modest 176 in 46.4 overs. The Pakistani bowlers stuck to a superb line and length to rattle the Australian batsmen with their top half being dismissed for 134 after Ricky Ponting chose to bat after winning the toss at the R Premadasa Stadium here. All the six Pakistani bowlers returned with a wicket with pacer Umar Gul the pick among them with figures of three for 30 runs. The other seamers Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz chipped in with two and one wicket respectively. The spin trio of Shahid Afridi, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez also made the maximum use of a slow track, picking up a wicket each as Australia lost wickets at regular intervals. Both the teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals but today's result will decide who top the group. For Australia, who have maintained an unbeaten run in their last 34 World Cup games, today's score was their sixth lowest total in the showpiece event. Haddin top-scored with 42 runs with three fours and a six. Vice-captain Michael Clarke and Steven Smith were the other main contributors with 34 and 25 respectively. After losing Shane Watson cheaply for nine, Australia recovered through a 63-run stand between Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting. — Agencies Scoreboard Australia: 176 (46.4 ovrs) Watson b Gul 9 Haddin c Akmal b Riaz 42 Ponting c Akmal b Hafeez 19 Clarke b Razzaq 34 White run out 8 Hussey c Misbah b Rehman 12 Smith b Afridi 25 Johnson c Akmal b Razzaq 0 Krejza b Gul 7 Lee c Misbah b Gul 5 Tait not out 0 Extras: (lb 5, w 10) 15 Bowling: Gul 7.4-1-30-3, Rehman 10-0-34-1, Afridi 9-0-34-1, Riaz 6-0-39-1, Hafeez 10-0-26-1, Razzaq 4-0-8-2. Pakistan: 178/6 (41 ovrs) Kamran lbw b Lee 23 Hafeez c & b Lee 5 Shafiq c Watson b Johnson 46 Younis c Haddin b Lee 31 Misbah c Haddin b Lee 0 Umar not out 44 Afridi c Lee b Krejza 2 Razzaq not out 20 Extras (b 2, lb 1, w 4) 7 Bowling: Lee 8-1-28-4, Tait 8-1-37-0, Johnson 9-1-40-1, Watson 6-0-26-0, Krejza 10-0-44-1.
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Dhaka, March 19 Chasing a stiff victory target of 285, Bangladesh were shot out for a paltry 78 in 28 overs. This was Bangladesh's second score of less than 100 after they were bowled out for 58 against West Indies in an earlier group league game. After their 284 for eight in 50 overs was aided by three half-centuries from Hashim Amla (51), Jacques Kallis (69) and Francois du Plessis (52), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (3/14) blazed through the top-order, picking up Tamim Iqbal (5), Imrul Kayes (4) and Shahriar Nafees (5) before Smith took a great low catch off Robin Peterson's first ball to dismiss Mushfiqur Rahim (3) as the Tigers plunged to 36 for five in the 16th over. The procession was ongoing and while the crowd sarcastically cheered the team crossing 58 (their score against West Indies), the hopes of a fight ended when skipper Shakib Al Hasan edged one to Morne van Wyk for 30. — PTI Scoreboard South Africa: 284/8 (50 overs) Amla b Razzak 51 Smith st Rahim b Mahmudullah 45 Kallis c & b Shakib 69 Duminy c Rahim b Hossain 17 Plessis c Tamim b Hossain 52 van Wyk b Shakib 5 Botha run out 12 Peterson not out 22 Parnell b Hossain 0 Tsotsobe not out 4 Extras: (lb 3, w 4) 7 Bowling: Shafiul 5-0-44-0, Hossain 8-0-56-3, Razzak 10-1-47-1, Naeem 7-0-42-0, Mahmudullah 10-0-46-1, Shakib 10-0-46-2. Bangladesh: 78 (28 overs) Tamim c van Wyk b Tsotsobe 5 Kayes b Tsotsobe 4 Siddique lbw b Botha 2 Nafees b Tsotsobe 5 Rahim c Smith b Peterson 3 Shakib c Wyk b Peterson 30 Mahmudullah run out 5 Naeem b Peterson 8 Shafiul b Peterson 0 Razzak c Peterson b Tahir 0 Hossain not out 8 Extras: (lb 5, w 3) 8 Bowling: Botha 7-1-23-1, Tsotsobe 5-2-14-3, Peterson 7-3-12-4, Tahir 5-0-20-1.
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Sachin never scared me, Gilchrist, Lara did: Shoaib Akhtar
Colombo, March 19 Instead, it was dashing Australian 'keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and West Indian legend Brian Lara who "scared the hell" out of him during his 14-year international career. "Yes, that's true. But that doesn't mean I have no respect for Sachin. He is a legend and will always remain as one. But Sachin would never scare me. Guys like Gilchrist and Lara would scare the hell out of me," Akhtar, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket after the World Cup told espnstar.com in an interview. Shoaib who played 46 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan was in awe of Lara and Gilchrist. "Gilchrist would simply take me on. Lara was class apart. In fact, I would be so attracted to his persona that I wouldn't know where to bowl...His body-language was just too cool!" For someone who has been in the news for his off-field activities as well as his on-field exploits feels that had the iconic former Pakistan captain Imran Khan been around during his playing days, things would have been different. "He (Imran) was like a father figure. I have missed him badly. If he would have been there, I would have become a better bowler and a better person, may be," he answered. Talking about his regular run-ins with the PCB, Akhtar said that it is the system that made an anti-establishment man. "The system made me quite an anti-establishment fellow. Ever since I started playing cricket, I was told that, I wasn't good enough. Whether at the club level or national or international level, I was told I was never good enough. That made me more determined. "My system refused to swim with the tide. I was exactly the opposite. In spite of this, I have played cricket with my head held high. No one say I have compromised myself when playing for Pakistan. Have you ever seen that I been linked with match fixing?," he shot back. Akhtar whose career was start-stop one due to numerous injuries including five major knee surgeries also spoke about playing through pain. — PTI
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One more chance for minnows to impress
Kolkata, March 19 The tie could be the two nations' last on cricket's biggest stage, provided the International Cricket Council goes ahead with its proposal to trim the 2015 edition to a 10-team competition. Zimbabwe, who crushed Canada by 175 runs after their loss to Australia, would start as the favourites against the 2003 semifinalists, desperate to register their first win of the tournament, at the historic Eden Gardens. The team's thumping win over the North Americans, was, however, followed by abominable performances against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. That the batsmen failed miserably during those matches didn't help Zimbabwe's cause. Under all-rounder Elton Chigumbura's captaincy, Zimbabwe's showing in the tournament has been far from impressive, with their batting proving to be a disaster. In four of the five matches, their top-order failed to perform, leading to early finishes. "We fielded well and bowled superbly, but that can't be said about our batting," Chigumbura summed up the batsmen's showing after their seven wicket loss to Pakistan in the last match. "We have to work on it because that has been the big problem through the tournament. Besides the batting part, we've put up a big fight. My biggest concern is on the batting in the first 15 overs, especially against stronger teams. We have to really work on that when we get home." Zimbabwe will look forward to their off-spinner Ray Price, who has been their leading wicket-taker with seven scalps. The batsmen's poor run has led to heavy defeats for the Africans in their all their matches. Kenyan skipper Jimmy Kamande felt that the upcoming match was important in terms of gaining experience. "This tournament is a stepping stone for Kenyan cricket. A lot of guys here have never been to the World Cup, we know what it takes to achieve here, whatever we gain, we take it back home with us and try to improve our performance." The Kenyans were annihilated by New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka before suffering a five-wicket loss to Canada, but they can take confidence from their performance against three- time defending champions Australia, in which they totalled a respectable 246 for six chasing 324. Collins Obuya scored an unbeaten 98 while Tanmay Mishra struck 72, efforts which helped Kenya take some pride out of the match. — PTI Match at kolkata starts: 9.30 am
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When a side has to find success in how other teams are faring, evidently they aren’t doing things right. India found themselves in a position of a little bit of unease, having to pore over permutations and combinations and a lot of ‘what ifs’. What if the West Indies beat England? What if Bangladesh beat South Africa? What if we lost to the West Indies?
There are two weeks left in the World Cup and the tournament is about to start. Right from the countdown, it was clear that this was a tournament about the knockout stage and we are almost there.
Dhaka, March 19
Well, some went India’s way, some did not. England kept them on the boil with a come-from-behind win against the Caribbeans, while Bangladesh were decimated by South Africa. This brings us to the one that is actually in India’s control - the last league game against the West Indies at Chennai on Sunday.
Take a lesson from the South Africa-Bangladesh match played at Mirpur on Saturday. Now, Lonwabo Tsotsobe had been warming the bench all through the World Cup, but in he comes, and destroys the Bangla top-order. Granted, he had some help from the batters, but he kept his basics intact and the hosts paid with wickets. South Africa took the opportunity to field those players who hadn’t played, and even this virtual B team was enough for Bangladesh.
India opener Virender Sehwag is doubtful for their final group B match of the World Cup against West Indies here tomorrow due to a knee injury. "Viru has got an allergic reaction in his right knee. We will take a call (on Sehwag) either in the evening or by morning before the game," Dhoni told reporters on the eve of their match at the MA Chidambaran Stadium here.