Time to make the miracle happen

Cricket is such a crazy game that anything is possible and the shortest format of the game has always been full of surprises. This world cup was just an example to prove it.
     India who started as favourites, have scratched their way into the semis. New Zealand as a team have played the best cricket so far. West indies as expected made sure all their T20 stars are at their best. England being unpredictable as I said before the tournament have made their way into the semis in a much convincing fashion.
     In a high pressure tournament of this calibre, there were moments of joy, frustration, sorrow, panic. It was a great pleasure to watch Afghanistan play at this level and giving some tough time to the top teams. Bangladesh played some good cricket. But they just have to learn how to hold their nerves. With the crop of players they have, they will be a good team in the coming decade.
  
Pakistan and Sri lanka are yet to find their batting stars. They really need to look at the players whom they have to bank on and whom not to. South Africa have been a great team which always misses out on these kind of tournaments. Before the start of world cup, De Velliers was opening the batting and I thought that was a great move because if he stays for six overs, he is definitely going to take the game away from the opposition. Then I really couldn't understand what happened. It felt as if there wasn't a clarity about his role in the team. The small errors they made, cost them the tournament.



      Like I hoped for at the start, Kane Williamson has scripted the storyline perfectly until now. The way he has handled the conditions with the resources he have was admirable. It's not a team with superstars. But it looked as if there is clarity on the role assigned to each player and they were doing it to perfection. They are yet to have a high scoring game. Being an unknown entity, Mitch Santner has bowled really well on the spinning tracks which he is not much used to. He'll be the key against England at the Kotla. Hopefully Kane continues the script like he has so far.


England literally lost to Chris Gayle  in their first match. But the match against south africa must have lifted their morale. The starts they get and the way Root and butler are playing, it shouldn't surprise us that they are in the semifinal after that incredible chase against South Africa. They are playing the same brand of cricket like they did back in 2010. And Root is doing a KP of 2010 here. Though they managed to win, they struggled on a turning track against Afghanistan. They are again going to Delhi to face the kiwis who have won everything with their spinners so far. It's going to be a good battle to watch.



West indies started off on the back of a Gayle special against England. Sammy has made sure that all their individual stars have come to the party. Every team has their own way to go about the game. They play to their strengths. West indies strength have always been the fire power they have in their batting line up. They have played to their strengths do far. They rely on  those big Sixes and boundaries to score runs. If you look at the scorecard against England, Gayle scored 86 runs of 16 balls in boundaries and 14 singles with 18 dot balls. Similarly Samuels scored 32 in 8 balls and 5 singles and 13 dot balls. They tend to struggle when those boundaries doesn't come, like they did against Afghanistan.




India unlike west indies, have played on pitches that were tough to bat on. They was demolished against New Zealand by the spinners. The match against Bangladesh was a great team effort with the genius of MSD. It was the Kohli special against Pakistan and Australia. Indian bowlers have done really well. All five bowlers have stuck to their roles and are doing it to near perfection. It's just the batting which really didn't fire so far except for that one man, Virat Kohli. Every game he keeps improving and raising the bar for others. His work ethic is unbelievably good. But it's high time the openers and the finishers fired. Unless they do well, it is definitely going to be difficult to cross the line from here.


 The game plan of India is exactly opposite to that of the West Indies. They relish on getting those singles and twos and the odd boundary in every over. It has been the game of Virat and it has worked wonders for him and the team. Even in the match against Australia, it's the running between Dhoni and Kohli that put Aussies on the back foot. The key for India against Windies will be not to give easy boundaries and make them run for their runs. That's when they struggle. But for the same reason I believe, the pitch is going to play a huge role. It has been very flat so far. If it remains the same, I am afraid that the bowlers have to play out of their skins to restrict WI.




The tournament so far has been great fun. Of course there were heart breaks as it always tends to happen. It has given us a few moments to cherish. And now it's just the final showdown of the carnival between four different kind of teams. Like the pre tournament ad says, it's time to make the miracle happen. And it'll be interesting to see who's gonna make it happen.

The Carnival is here to Celebrate

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. There’s no better scene in cricket than watching an interesting session of a test match. There isn’t an enthralling moment than Mitchell Johnson running in to bowl at the Gabba and the 20,000 spectators beating the advertising boards in the rhythm of the bowler’s run-up. As a fan it gives me goose bumps. But I also wonder what the batsmen will be thinking when a fast bowler who is capable of bowling at 150kmph is running in with the backing of sound made by the crowd. But like Virat kohli said when one can ignore everything else and concentrate only on the ball bowled that’s when the player believes he belong at that level.

Much to the contrary of test cricket, there’s another version of the game. It is the version in which the entire match is just a little longer than a single session of a day in test. This is a format which was introduced more than a decade ago in England to fill the calendar after Benson Hedges cup. It also helped ECB to drive people to the ground in the evening for entertainment much like watching a movie.

T20s had a sedate start in world cricket. During the early days of it, many including me thought this isn’t proper cricket at all. But cricket proved us wrong as it has always evolved and re-evolved into its best possible form. It’s kind of weird that it was India who is the only nation to vote against the inaugural t20 world cup, won it. MS Dhoni said “One thing is for sure. This format is going to be an instant hit in our country” after winning it.    

The Indian Premier League which was inaugurated in 2008 has evolved as the biggest franchise T20 tournament in the world. It looks as if T20 is all about entertainment, which is not the case actually. This format has entirely changed the dynamics of the game. The fielding standards have been raised all over the world. It has had a greater impact in the way the other two formats, especially ODIs are played now.   

Initially everybody thought this is going to be a batsman’s format. But over a period of time the game by itself proved that bowlers have an equal share or even more contribution to a team’s win in a T20. Because the more batsmen are trying to dominate, the more bowlers have a chance of getting them out. So there is a balance between bat and ball provided the boundaries are not brought in too much.

Five world cups have given us five different champions. It clearly sends out a message that no matter how good a team is, a small error in a crunch game could make their campaign a disastrous one. This time the world cup is hosted by India. Most of the Australian, South African and West Indian players have a great experience playing in the IPL.

India will clearly start the tournament as favorites. On paper the squad looks the most balanced one. Ashwin is going to be the key bowler. But like I said earlier if in a crunch game India’s top three batsmen fail then the team will definitely be in deep trouble. That is why I believe Yuvraj Singh is going to be the key for India. If he can come to his own like he did recently in Asia cup then India is the team to beat in the tournament.

With AB Devilliers opening the batting and if he bats for ten overs with Faf, Duminy and Miller to follow, South Africa is capable of taking the game away from the opposition. Imran Tahir and Steyn will be the key for them. If they deliver and if they can avoid the smallest forms of errors like they did in the Eden Park against New Zealand, they could possibly write a fairy tale script this time around.  

Australian batsmen have a great experience in IPL. But it’s their inexperienced bowling lineup and the lack of quality spinner that might hurt them. They will miss Mitchell Starc who has been phenomenal in the IPL. The onus is definitely on the batsmen who are capable of doing wonders. It is going to be tough for them in India. But with Australia, the kind of team they are, you never know. They definitely will be tough competitors.

West Indies have picked their best T20 squad. This is more or less the same team that won the tournament in 2012 except for the fact that they will have to play without their best spinner. Considering the balance and experience they have playing in these conditions, if they play up to their potential they definitely will end up in the semi finals at least.

New Zealand will start as dark horses this time unlike the 2015 world cup because of the conditions here. They will miss Brendon badly. But much to most people’s negligence, Kane Williamson averages around 45 in T20Is in the past one year or so. But the key role has to be played in the middle order by Anderson and Elliot. With Trent, Mitch, Ross and Martin around hopefully Kane can do something magical for their country.

England and Pakistan are going to be the un-predictables. Sri Lanka is still searching for a batsman to fill in the void of Sanga and Mahela. Bangladesh may give us some surprise wins. For me India, South Africa and West Indies have the best possible chance to be in the semi finals. The one other team to be in the top four is difficult to pick.

I may end up being totally wrong. It’s a funny game that anything is possible in cricket. There’s going to be a lot of happiness, some sadness and frustration from the losses. But one thing is for sure. So much of good cricket is going to be played which is going to give us great joy and pleasure. It’s going to be a great carnival with a lot of fun and I am definitely looking forward to it.