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Indian batting will test Pak bowling
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arjuna’s
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England have will, Lanka have power
Mohit upsets Kamal
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Dhaka, March 25 New Zealand did nothing spectacular for the first 65 overs of the match and South Africa did nothing positive after that. The Kiwis had a lucky break early on, when Hashim Amla chopped one from Nathan McCullum onto brother Brendon’s boot and Daniel Vettori took an easy catch at slip, right at the end of the first over. But thereafter, South Africa looked all set to get the target without much bother as Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis went about their business with a fair amount of command. Even when Smith fell in the 15th over, it still looked in control. Till ten overs later, that is. Kallis skied Tim Southee for Jacob Oram to take a fine catch running around from the square-leg fence and then the madness began. From 108 for two after 24.1 overs, South Africa slid in an avalanche of wickets, to 146 for eight in 37.4 overs. It was an amazing sight, but also testament to South Africa’s strange mix of arrogance and mental frailty. When they were ahead, they looked unstoppable. When they stopped, nothing could get them restarted. The 28th over changed the game. JP Duminy played all over a short one from Nathan McCullum and then, three balls later, even AB de Villiers, looking imperious till then, could not beat Martin Guptill’s throw after being called for an impossible second by Faf du Plessis. If that wasn’t bad enough, a session of pushing and cursing between the two sets of players added to the flavour. Du Plessis did try to make amends, cracking three boundaries and a six in his 36 runs, but he was left with little to do apart from hit out, which led to his demise. For New Zealand, this is their sixth World Cup semi-final, but not one they were too hopeful of till the middle of the second innings. But to their credit, they stuck to their task, making the most of their limited resources to score a sensational win. Oram was in his elements, with four for 39 off nine overs plus Kallis’ catch. Nathan McCullum claimed three for 24, vindicating Daniel Vettori’s faith in giving him the new ball and all ten overs. Earlier, New Zealand were always up against it. They struggled to find a way out of the maze of shorts spells sent down by the South African bowlers and largely failed. They lost Brendon McCullum to Robin Peterson in the third over of the innings and then Dale Steyn forced a skier from Guptill. At 16 for two after six overs, it was very much a crisis for New Zealand. This is where Ross Taylor joined Jesse Ryder in the middle. Ryder has always been a bit if an under-achiever for his side, but today, he put his head down for far longer than he normally does. Nevertheless, Ryder and Taylor did put up 117 runs for the third wicket, which was the backbone of the New Zealand total. But this effort took them all of 27 overs.
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Indian batting will test Pak bowling
Dhaka, March 25 They play in India, with 40,000 screaming fans adding to their list of adjustments. Then they too have the thought of a knockout game and in all honesty, Pakistan as a nation doesn’t take too well to losing, especially to India. But those mental processes aside, there is also one factor that hasn’t been considered. The Pakistani bowlers have not been tested so far in this tournament, apart from that game against New Zealand. And when it comes to tests for the bowling, there are few more daunting subjects than the Indian batting. Pakistan were expected to be tested by three sides in the group - Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Of these, New Zealand, thanks to Ross Taylor, really pasted the Pakistan bowling while the Australian middle-order wasn’t really half of what it used to be. Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Cameron White have largely had a pretty poor World Cup and that form was evident even against Pakistan. The spinners, including left-armer Abdur Rehman, suddenly looked unplayable. Granted, Shoaib Akhtar was the main culprit against New Zealand, none of the others were able to control the rampaging Taylor either. Sri Lanka was very much in the game for a long time, chasing 277 under lights in Colombo. However, this can be rated as the best bowling by the Pakistanis, since they managed to keep the hosts under control and emerge on top. Other than that, none of the sides - Kenya, Zimbabwe or Canada - really had anything to offer in terms of batting and the Pakistanis’ bowling figures were at best flattering. On top of that, Pakistan have largely had a walk in the park in their last three matches, against a timid Zimbabwe, an Australia in a flux, and a West Indies who had no business being in the quarter-finals anyway. Now, we come to India. For starters, we have Virender Sehwag and a Sachin Tendulkar who is determined to make this tournament his own. Then come a very dour Gautam Gambhir and a correct Virat Kohli, followed by an inspired Yuvraj Singh. Then, a M.S. Dhoni, desperately seeking runs, a utility Suresh Raina and a pugnacious Harbhajan Singh. Now if this not a challenge, nothing is. India’s bowling still has issues, make no mistake. But Pakistan would have come across any attack on their bowling for close to a month. This could well be the difference when the sides face each other in the semifinal.
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track By Michael Holding Tough outing awaits England In my book, Sri Lanka are favourites; though looking at the way England have been playing and the luck they’ve had, you cannot rule them out. Sri Lanka bat big and have a varied bowling attack, led by the experienced Muttiah Muralitharan who in his final World Cup will look to bowl Sri Lanka to the top. They just look a far better side. England’s best chance of winning is to get top-order wickets because we all know that is where Sri Lanka are strongest. If you get Kumar Sangakkara, that’s a huge wicket. England need to get the Sri Lankan captain cheaply. If England get stuck in early and manage to silence the crowd, the momentum will be on their side and then you never know what can happen. I don’t think Sri Lanka think too much about their middle-order as they have such a formidable top four. All the runs have come from those four. I think they put all their faces in their top four or five and expect them to come good. That is an immense leap of faith but as we’ve seen, no side has been able to destroy the top four. It is going to be very tough for England if they fail to get early wickets. England’s best bowler by some distance has been, unsurprisingly, Graeme Swann. He’s just come in and done what he knows best. He’s not needed to do much else. He is a very important figure in the England set-up and will have to produce the goods. So far he has been consistent and taken wickets in every game. Sri Lanka must concentrate on Swann and look to score off the other bowlers. They should look to play him out and capitalise on the rest. But when the oppositions’ top bowler is taking wickets consistently, it becomes tough to do that. Swann will attack and be good with his variation. He is England’s most dangerous player. I can’t see any major changes to either side in a knock-out match. There’s too much at stake. Both teams will stick to the formulas that have got them this far. Even though Matt Prior hasn’t worked as opener, I can’t see England changing that combination. Much has been said about the nature of the Premadasa surface and how difficult it has been to chase there, but I believe the wicket has eased out. There’s a chance that it will deteriorate, but not to the extent it used to. In fact, not too many wickets have deteriorated in the tournament as expected to; it’s been more a case of teams not chasing well. Even in Ahmedabad, the surface was expected to deteriorate but it didn’t. Australia didn’t have the spinners to exploit that surface and the fast bowlers were negated by India’s middle-order. Looking at the Premadasa, while it is definitely a win-toss-bat-first surface, I don’t think losing the toss is as serious an impediment as it has been made out to be. Chasing sides won’t regret having to bat second. — PMG
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eye By arjuna ranatunga Golden Chance for Sri Lanka If ever there was a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to make the World Cup final, it’s in the next few days. India and Pakistan have done the sub-continent proud by marching into the semis, and Sri Lanka go into the last quarter-final as overwhelming favourites. However, England have also the reason to feel that they stand a chance purely on the basis of having played so many close games, so Andrew Strauss and his men cannot be counted out completely. I am sure they have prepared a turning track at the Premadasa Stadium and the only concern is that England also possess good spin options. James Tredwell is a capable bowler and the world-class Graeme Swann has been a match-winner on numerous occasions. Sri Lanka are good players of spin but they need to be careful about Swann. The biggest plus for Sri Lanka has been the remarkable form of Kumar Sangakkara in this tournament. He has scored against almost all oppositions and looks in complete control of his game. He has enjoyed home conditions more than the other batsmen and while it’s heartening, it’s also a little scary. I hope that the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga will pull their weight if Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have an off day. As I said, this is a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka. England have shown remarkable resilience but their batting has been below par and it’s hard to see them get past Sri Lanka. England’s best chance is if they bat first and put up a good total and then get Swann into the equation. Sri Lanka are reluctant chasers but it would need a really substantial total from England to test the hosts. MS Dhoni’s men put up a really strong performance to set up a showpiece game between India and Pakistan. While Australia are not the team they used to be four years ago, India made them look pretty ordinary. Everything clicked for Dhoni and he executed a masterstroke by replacing Yusuf Pathan with Suresh Raina. The latter saved 10-20 runs and then came in and batted beautifully when the game was in the balance with 80 runs left and only five wickets in hand. His role was critical. Finally a word on Yuvraj Singh. He has been exceptional in this tournament. He has always possessed the talent but now he is utilising it magnificently. Not only is he batting like a champion, he is also becoming a vital element in his captain’s bowling plans and has been the surprise package in India’s attack. If India was missing a player, it was an all-rounder who bowls reasonably well. Yuvraj has filled that gap for his captain and might just have saved his best for the next game. After all, he would be taking on his arch-rivals at his home ground. — Gameplan
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England have will, Lanka have power
Colombo, March 25 Now, if English captain Andrew Strauss was distressed by this bit of news, at least he did not show it at the media briefing ahead of his team’s crucial quarterfinal against Sri Lanka here tomorrow. Yardy’s state of mind in a way mirrors the feelings of the entire English squad. There was also this bit of news emanating from England just a few days ago that Paul Collingwood’s daughters were actually praying that England should lose that important game to Bangladesh so that daddy could come back home early. Strauss though is staying optimistic. “The time has come in this World Cup to play smart cricket. We never expected before the start of this World Cup that we will play so many close games. But it’s good that we have been in a couple of pressure situations already. So we are prepared. New players are standing up and delivering. Ravi Bopara did it with the ball for us in our last game. James Tredwell was playing his first game and he bowled beautifully. So as captain I’m feeling confident that I have the players I can go to in times of crisis,” said Strauss. 23-year-old leg-spinner from Yorkshire, Adil Rashid has been named Yardy’s replacement but he will get here only on Saturday and will come into the equation only if England progress to the semifinal. To get there though, England will have to down the home team, so dominating and confident in their own environ. And there is more cheer in the Sri Lankan camp with the bit of news that Muthiah Muralitharan is fully fit and available for this knock-out match. “Yes, Murali is 100% fit. He has always contributed whenever the team has needed him the most. And he will deliver tomorrow as well,” said Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara. “I have had a look at the wicket and it seems to be flat and full of runs. I expect a good match tomorrow,” he said. The stats also say that Lanka are very hard to beat at home. But Sangakkara knows that statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamp post- for support, not illumination. “This is a knock-out match. Past records don’t mean a thing. It’s a do-or-die situation. And we will give it our best,” he said.
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Mohit upsets Kamal
Ludhiana, March 25 Kamal Chawla who finished runner up in the 2008 edition of the national championship was found today struggling against his opponent Mohit, who dominated since the start. He kept his composure at crucial junctures and eventually managed to romp home victorious 5-2. Meanwhile, defending champion, Sumit Talwar from Chandigarh registered a comfortable 5-0 victory against Nitin Bhalla from Punjab; whereas Dhruv Verma, Rahul Chadha and Joy Mehra, all from Punjab came out rimphant in their respective encounters to secure berths in the knockout phase.
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Dhaka, March 25
In my book, Sri Lanka are favourites; though looking at the way England have been playing and the luck they’ve had, you cannot rule them out. Sri Lanka bat big and have a varied bowling attack, led by the experienced Muttiah Muralitharan who in his final World Cup will look to bowl Sri Lanka to the top. They just look a far better side.
If ever there was a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to make the World Cup final, it’s in the next few days. India and Pakistan have done the sub-continent proud by marching into the semis, and Sri Lanka go into the last quarter-final as overwhelming favourites. However, England have also the reason to feel that they stand a chance purely on the basis of having played so many close games, so Andrew Strauss and his men cannot be counted out completely.
As if injury to at least half a dozen frontline players was not enough, the England squad was rattled further by some more unpleasant news today. And this time it is not injury but depression. The team’s left-arm spinner Michael Yardy has left the squad mid-way through the World Cup and has returned home to England because he was finding it extremely difficult to deal with the depression of it all.
