In the previous post all must have read about what happened in the Antipodes over the first fortnight of the World Cup 2015. As always the second fortnight also brought some high voltage clashes and thrillers to keep us updated with the tournament daily. If it was Gayle’s 215 that was the highlight of the first 2 weeks then the man of the moment in the second 2 weeks is Sangakkara without any doubt. Not to say the bowlers have also decided matches just like the previous fortnight. Starc’s death bowling and a spirited Pakistani comeback were all instances where the Bowlers shared the lime-light.
NEW ZEALAND:
The co-hosts were simply superb in the first half and maintained that in the second half also by maintaining a clean sweep of 6-0 wins in the group. Having played against all the big boys in the first half itself the second fortnight was just like gearing up for the quarters for them. Trent Boult and Dan Vettori continued to beat batsmen and the middle order was also put into the test and they also performed well showing that there are hardly less problems for the Kiwi’s. McCullum as always continues to be the aggressor no matter what and his opening partner, Guptill also joined the party scoring a century in the last match.
AUSTRALIA:
The other co-hosts came into the 2nd fortnight with 3 points from as many games but collected the full bounty from the next 3 outings and finished second best to New Zealand. Coming into their performances, all players are in form and Mitchell Starc is arguably the best death bowler of the tournament. Not to forget the solidity of Clarke and Smith and the blitz from Warner, Finch and Maxwell. At the end they finished second in the group with 9 points.
SRI LANKA:
The Asian Champions, came into the 2nd half with 4 points from 3 matches and also got the same from the next 3 games. Sangakkara continues to just score centuries at will and their bowlers are backed up with huge totals to defend, which was seen against Bangladesh and Scotland and against England, though the bowlers failed, the batsmen scored the target without any problem. Lasith Malinga is on track to be full fitness and this was evident that toe-crushing Yorker that rattled Clarke’s stumps. Others contributing with the bat were Dilshan, Thiramanne who scored centuries and Mathews who has scored the fastest Sri-Lankan 50.
BANGLADESH:
The tigers, surprised everyone and were favoured as one of the teams outside the top 8 to qualify for the knock-outs. Led by Mortaza, their batting was ably supported by Soumya Sarkar and Mahmadullah Riyadh and Shakib came in with some fine all-round performances. The bowlers on the other hand were not at their best against New Zealand but in the all-important match against England, they fired down perfect and sent the Poms Packing. Mahmudullah became the first Bangladeshi to score a world cup century and doubled it in the next match and is looking in fine form.
ENGLAND:
What Newton is to gravity is what England is to cricket. But what they showed here was some dismal performances and led to their early exit from the cup. They were not unified on the day. When the batsmen racked up 300 on the board, the bowlers failed to apply pressure and when the bowlers restricted the opposition to under 280, the batsmen lost the plot. As many of the experts said what they lacked was imagination and creativity, the batsmen knew that once they withstand Anderson and Broad in the initial overs, there are no problems after. They managed to defeat Afghanistan but the damage was already done.
AFGHANISTAN:
Probably the second best associate nations as they never lost the match before putting up a fight. Against New Zealand, they were the first team to restrict the Kiwis to under 5 runs an over. Against Australia, they were totally outclassed by the Kangaroos and against England in a dead-rubber they failed register a win which if they had done would have just dented England’s campaign further. But with the provided background and the amount of match practice they got, they put up a good fight for that.
SCOTLAND:
The Scott’s, are still in search of a maiden world cup win and will continue to be in search of that having clean washout of 0-6 in this campaign. Josh Davey put up some performances and not to forget Coetzer’s 156 that almost won the match against Bangladesh. But apart from that they were totally in a disarray and might as well improve their strengths the next time they qualify.
INDIA:
The Defending Champions were just like Pool B’s New Zealand. Collecting the full bounty in all the 6 matches and also all 60 wickets, they look like a formidable line-up and when questions were raised over form of middle order, they responded with match winning contributions. The Pace trio of Shami, Yaadav and Mohit continued to ask questions to the batsmen and Ashwin was bowling miserly spells apart from the outing against ZIM. Raina too chipped in with some off-spinners and Jadeja continues to fill in the spot of the 5th bowler in the team.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The Proteas, entered this fortnight with 4 points from 3 games and were expected to take full bounty from the remaining matches, but they lost against a quality Pakistan attack but went on to dominate the other 2 matches against the UAE and Ireland. De Kock continues to raise doubts over his place in the squad whereas Amla and du Plessis scored centuries and de Villiers just meant business. The South African Pace attack was not just a single man show but a combined attack of Steyn, Abott, Morkel and Philander ably supported by the spin of Imran Tahir.
PAKISTAN:
The Men in green, the antipodes defending champion, started their first leg on a silent note and then were resilient as they shrugged of the staring blues as they collected all the 8 points from the remainder 4 games. Fielding an all-pace attack was finally its strength and the Pakistan bowlers dictated victories against the opponents. Their batsmen were coming back to form as one player some bits and pieces knock in one game or the another with Misbah alone performing in all those matches. Shezhad had a magnificent outing against UAE, Sarfraz had a good outing with the bat and the glove bagging 2 times the player of the match award. Apart from them Younis, Harris have also scored some runs in their bags. Fans are yet to witness BOOM BOOM Afridi magic.
IRELAND:
Probably the best Associate nation of the 4 teams that played in the World Cup. Having 4 points from 2 games in the first half, they started off with a hammering blow from South Africa, and then managed to win over Zimbabwe to keep their hopes alive and then lost to India and in the final do-or-die game against Pakistan, barring Porterfield’s century other failed and they managed only 237 on the board which wasn’t enough. Their bowlers are all medium pace bowlers who bowl in the 130s and they do not have a 140s+ bowler who could have made the difference in the team.
WEST INDIES:
The Caribbean boys. Having played 4 games already in the first 2 weeks they had more rest than other teams and they played only 2 games winning one and losing one. Their first match against India was a thriller as they managed to bring down the Indian batting order with some quality bowling and that continued to run through the UAE line up. Their batting doesn’t revolve around anyone with all players making useful contributions with the bat.
ZIMBABWE:
The Zimbabweans almost pulled out a narrow win against Ireland which would have seen them in contention for the quarters and hopefully have some pride as their board in under debt for having to pay salaries to players for months. As a result of those incidents, their prolific run-getter Brendon Taylor signed a Kolpak deal with a county sacrificing his national duties. Sean Williams put up and all-round show and the bowlers who held the plot in the initial overs seem to be nowhere in the successive overs and it cost them as all the matches they lost were by close margins and also their fielding was below par.
UAE:
The Emiratis. They came to the World cup surprising all associate nations and provided some quality cricket with Shaiman Anwar their stand-out performer and some bits and pieces performaces from the others, unlike the first half of the tournament where they played some good cricket, the second half was a big test and against Pakistan, and South Africa they conceded 300+ totals and against West Indies, their top order totally surrendered. But like Afghanistan, they also take some positives from the tournament and hope to do better the next time.
So with the group stages over, it is up to the 8 best teams that qualified to provide some cricket over the next 2 weeks and who takes the World Cup???? Wait and Watch………
-S.T. Guha Karthikeyan
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