Lankans Lose Out as Cornered Tigers Clinch Win at Premadasa

With victory in sight, the Sri Lankans fell just eleven runs short of the required total. A mixture of clever batting from the likes of Misbah-Ul-Haq and Younis Khan, which led to a score of 277 on the board, and inspiring bowling from Shoaib Akhtar and the skipper himself, Shahid Afridi, saw the Pakistan team home.


The match on Saturday between the Lions of Sri Lanka, and the cornered tigers of Pakistan was one which promised to be a cracker, but who would know that both sides would be reduced to praying right down to the last ball?

With Afridi winning the toss, and deciding to bat on the batting friendly Premadasa pitch, things looked like they were lined up for an simple Pakistan victory, but of course it wouldn't be a Pakistan match without all of the tension and stress that they caused their fans!!


To be perfectly honest, I did not expect anything more from Ahmed Shehzad. In fact, I was actually doing 100 bismillah when he got out, because he was wasting so many balls! And then there was the epic mix-up of Akmal and Hafeez, which was the facepalm moment of the whole game. Never have I seen a run out so stupidly selfish in my life! I'm surprised that they didn't ambush each other later on! (although there is no proof that the ambush didn't happen later on!!)


I didn't think Pakistan would make it past 200 the way they were going at a leisurely pace...take your time boys, this is only 50 overs (!)

Something less infuriating was the bowling. Once again Afridi shone and took 4 key wickets. It's like the wickets are coming to him like moths to a light bulb...he seems to have this natural affinity for wicket taking! (which, hey, I'm not complaining about, seeing as our bowlers are so unpredictable!) I will take time here to give credit to the Sri Lankan batsmen...you really did scare the living daylights out of us all!

Once again, a special mention goes out to the amazing crowd who turned up to watch the match. What a delightfully vibrant bunch of people, who were enjoying a fantastic game of cricket, without prejudice. This is the kind of spectators the world cup need, not fans who are rigid to one country, and cannot appreciate and recognise the talents and successes of the other side. The spectators really did make the match more enjoyable!


So that is all from me, join Osiris for his views on the bone-chilling encounter between England and India!

Tigers Clinch an Inspirational Win against Plucky Irish

The world cup has thus far seen precious few cliffhangers and has instead been dominated by lopsided matches, which do nothing more than to add fuel to the debate over this format of the game. However tonight in Dhaka, the world cup got the spark it so badly needed. Bangladesh took on Ireland at a jam packed Mirpur stadium. The game may have seemed insignificant on paper, but in reality both teams chances of a quarter final place hinged firmly on the outcome of this match.

Shakib al Hasan won the toss and decided that his team would bat, I personally felt at the time that this wasn’t the wisest of decision. History shows that teams batting second prosper at Mirpur but perhaps Shakib was still bearing some mental scars from the bashing the Indians inflicted on the Bengalis on Day 1 of the tournament. Nonetheless Bangladeshi talisman Tamim Iqbal did his best to dispel all doubts by smashing the Irish opening bowlers to all parts, playing glorious cover drives, mixed in with playing the ball beautifully off his legs. All in all Bangladesh got off to the most rousing of starts in front of a passionate crowd that lifted them to 50 odd of just 5 overs!

The Irish then reverted very quickly to taking pace off the ball, combined with some lazy antics from the Bengalis, a brilliant start from them was thrown right out the window and Ireland were back in it. Kayes was stumped off a wide ball, Siddique was run out soon after and Tamim himself flayed outside his off stump once too often and was caught easily at point. From a position of immense strength, the tigers suddenly found themselves in trouble at 68-3 and the Sher e Bangla stadium fell into a rather eerie silence.

A mini recovery was led by Rahim amd Rakibul, but quite unbelievably Bangladesh managed to find new and innovative ways of giving their wickets away. One in particular being an attempt to sweep balls from outside the offstump against the spin of George Dockrell. This resulted in no less than three wickets. All in all this meant that Bangladesh were bundled out for just 205 and were staring a loss, that would deflate their hopes of progression right in the face at the halfway mark. The Irish were rightly pleased with their bowling effort but my word….we had no idea of the drama we had in store!

Although Ireland got off to a decent enough start, the Bengalis opened the bowling with spin and by the third over spin was already in operation from both ends. On a Dhaka pitch that was rather slow and low, both openers eventually perished and at 36-2 new life was breathed not only into the Bengali team, but perhaps more importantly also the crowd. The stadium which had fallen silent, was roaring passionately once again. With the crowd and perhaps the nation now believing, that was a massive hurdle crossed for Bangladesh…perhaps this is where the battle was in fact won.

Serious danger though lay ahead, the Irish who had played superbly well thus far were certainly in no mood to let this game just slip from their grasp. Former England opener Ed Joyce and Irish batting mainstay Niall o Brien took their place at the crease. They started to pick off the Bangladeshi bowling with relative ease, inter-spersed with the odd crushing boundary. However just as Bangla spirits were starting to flag a little again, Ashraful foxed Joyce into a false shot and then ripped one through the defences of white, all this before the sensational and perhaps match turning moment occurred, when Tamim Iqbal charging in off the dived full length to catch danger man O brien literally millimeters off the ground! Before they knew what hit them Ireland were 110-5 and Bangladesh were swarming all over them.

The drama in this match was far from over though, and the Irish displayed their grit and tenacity very well with Kevin o Brien getting his rather plucky power hitting out and Andre Botha down the other end putting up stubborn resistance. Every boundary scored by the Irish was met by pin-drop silence, and with these two at the wicket the game was slipping away very fast from Bangladesh. There were a lot of depressed faces in the crowd as an early exit from CWC 2011 loomed large for the Bengalis.

The match would see one final and defining twist though as Shafiul Islam who had been wayward till now, returned and bowled an accurate spell of pumped up pace, bowling the remainder of the Irish batting lineup to send the partisan home crowd in raptures of joy. Bangladesh won in the end by 27 runs and the party in Dhaka must have lasted well into the early hours of the morning!

Osiris’s Views

In my view, more than anything else this game was important for the way the Bangladesh team finally let their inner passion and spirit loose today. Uptil now the Bengalis had been rather subdued, being very formal in their approach to the World Cup…quite frankly it didn’t suit them. It started with Tamim’s sensational batting and carried on when every the Bengalis took was celebrated with vigour unseen before in CWC 2011! In fact we had quite an intriguing variety ranging from synchronized celebrations, through to shadow boxing and perhaps best of all…the inspiring roar let out by Tamim Iqbal, his arms aloft as he turned to face the rapturous Bengali crowd after having taken a superb catch.

I personally feel that a Bengali victory was crucial to the well-being of the tournament, out of the three host countries, world cup fever has gripped Bangladesh more than any of the others. Days leading upto a match in Dhaka are just one massive street party, with hundreds of thousands of fans thronged out on the streets, creating an atmosphere that puts football world cups to shame. A defeat in this match would have virtually ended Bangladesh’s hopes of progression into the quarter finals and would have thus burst and deflated most of the vibe and atmosphere.

Having said that, I reckon we also do need a reality check here. This was only a game against Ireland and that too on a pitch that severely suited Bangladesh’s army of spin bowling. Even then they only managed to narrowly eke out a win after what was a disastrous effort with the bat overall. Mind you, the Irish deserve a lot of credit for this, they bowled within their limitations, took pace off the ball and fielded generally well to stifle the Bengali flair. They are by a country mile the best of the associate nations. Nonetheless, the other teams that the Bengalis are going to face in their group are unlikely to be so charitable in their batting effort. Keep in mind that in order to progress to the quarter finals the Bengalis now have to defeat Holland and at least one test playing nation in their group. Bangladesh might be ecstatic at the moment, but in order to achieve their goal they will most certainly have to up their game. This should make for intriguing viewing that’s for sure.

The Irish shouldn’t be dis-heartened by this defeat, and judging from the sporting smiles on their faces after the game, they weren’t. Ireland might have had quarter final ambitions, but those were unlikely in all honesty. Ireland did show a lot of fight and a lot of strength, they do the associate nations proud and I would in fact tip them to overturn one of the test playing nations in this campaign. Their band of military medium pacers well suited to sub-continent conditions, and the classy left hand spin and guile of youngster George Dockrell has added a lot to their team. They may have narrowly lost out today but they can take a lot of positives out of this match.

My final mention today has to go to Isis, I think it now falls upon me to confirm that in my view Isis has mystical powers of some sort! Right from predicting who the next batsman to be dismissed would be, right through to predicting that Shafiul would bowl out the last Irish batsman, literally one ball before he did just that! This streak of uncannily impressive predictions shows no sign of ending and if anyone out there is considering having a little bet during CWC2011, it might well be worth your while to consult Isis first!

So that’s all from me then, Isis is in fact covering the big game between Sri Lanka and Pakistan so watch out for that report, it promises to be a good one!

Shahid & Co. Serve Up Kenyan Kebabs at Hambantota

The 6th match of the World Cup saw the Kenyans face the Pakistanis at Hambantota. With Shahid Afridi's future as captain being questioned, and the Kenyans looking to avoid further embarrassment, there would be a lot riding on this match for both teams.


Pakistan got off to a particularly mediocre start, quite like Australia in their match vs. Zimbabwe, and I have to admit, that with the early wickets of Ahmad Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, I did actually switch over the channel to Sky News; why should I waste my time watching my team lose, when I could be catching up with vital news stories? Only on forcing from my mum did I actually switch the channel back, and I can admit that it was probably the best decision I made that day!

From that point on, 4 batsmen had reached their half-centuries (Y. Khan, K. Akmal, M. Ul-Haq and U.Akmal), including debutant Umar Akmal, who scored the highest number of runs at 71 runs not out, a remarkable feat by the twenty year old, not only that, but he was also a key fielder for the Kenyan innings, taking the catch of Patel, and his quick reaction also led to a fantastic run out of Waters.

All-in-all, I think the Pakistan team really pulled their socks up when it came to the bowling attack. The bowlers bowled well, only to be let down sometimes by mis-fields which could have been easily avoided, apart from that, there was some beautiful bowling in this match, and when better to mention the beast himself, Shahid Khan Afridi, who really did lead from the front, as a captain should in his bowling spell. With figures of 5-16, a captain's best in the world cup, how could he not have been grinning like a Cheshire cat at the post-match ceremony?

One thing I did notice this time when Pakistan were fielding was the fact that for the first time in what seemed like an age, they really gelled together as a team. Never had I seen them like that since perhaps when they won the 2009 T20 World Cup, or maybe even earlier. They may have given the Kenyans some easy runs, but seeing them like this was really heart-warming. I only hope that they keep strong and together as team, because that is what can make or break their chances of being world champions.


As for the Kenyans, they put up a brave fight, but it was not good enough, although they looked strong at first, they gave away 46 extras in the Pakistan innings, consisting of 3 leg-byes, a record 37 wides and 6 no-balls. By golly gosh. And I thought Umar Gul was the king of no-balls, well how wrong I was!! However, instead of being sore losers, the Kenyans just grinned and beared it, which is the most they could do at that point, having lost previously by a massive margin to New Zealand. But hey Kenya, don't get down in the dumps, it's the participating that counts, and just by competing, you are laying the foundations to keep the associate teams in the world cup. If the associate teams can perform to the best of their ability, they will do a whole world of good to those teams who still have yet to make a breakthrough (such as Afghanistan, UAE etc.)

What really made my heart happy was seeing the school children, and also just the general public, supporting both countries, regardless of their own support for Sri Lanka. It was really beautiful to see the love and hospitality of the Sri Lankan supporters in Hambantota for this match, and they have shown what it means to be true cricket fans. It's not about just supporting your own country, its about embracing every aspect of the game with an intense passion and appreciating the hard work and effort that all the players put into their matches, regardless of their country of origin. And for this, those at Hambantota and just in Sri Lanka in general get my salute in honour of their incredibly high level of understanding and love of cricket.


A win of 205 runs has placed Pakistan in the third spot for the highest run-margin win and for their total of 317, they are also ranked third highest in total runs made by a team in an innings, behind India on 370 runs and Sri Lanka on 332 runs. Us Pakistani fans can only hope and pray that they do not continue taking the associates and minnows as easy bait, because during this tournament, the associates and minnows will be hell-bent on the mission of proving their worth in order to stay in the championship come 2015.


So thats all from me for this match. Join Osiris for his report on the West Indies vs. South Africa match!

England Sneak Past Brave Holland

So the World Cup juggernaut moved onto the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. It is interesting to note that Nagpur is in fact the hometown of the BCCI president Shashank Manohar, perhaps that explains why a brand spanking new stadium exists in what may have otherwise been considered a backwater of Indian cricket!

As the teams walked out for the national anthems there was a palpable feeling that there was a lot more at stake here, this match was played against a backdrop of the minnow teams very existance being questioned. The thrashings that were dished out to the Kenyans and Canadians just one day earlier most certainly had not helped matters. So other than facing the Ashes winners, the Dutch had the weight and expectations of the associate nations on their shoulders. However if they were feeling any pressure they most certainly weren't showing it! Peter Borren called correctly at the toss and with a steely, confident look informed Ravi Shastri that the Dutch would be batting first. It was a brave move, particularly in light of the humiliation that Kenya suffered batting first against the Kiwis, but we would soon find out that this was only the start of Hollands bravery.

The dutch openers set an aggresive tone from the get go, not afraid to play their shots and even go the aerial route. However when Wesley Barresi fell to a flighted ball from Swann outside offstump, they found themselves at 58-2 with both openers dismissed. Most pundits at this point would have predicted the Dutch charge to unravel, but in stepped Ryan Ten Doeschate. He took the game by the scruff of its neck from the first ball he faced. His century including three sixes and his innings took off with particular impetus with the introduction of Pieterson into the bowling attack. His county Essex and those he has played against would have known of Ryan Tendo's prowess, but to perform in such a sublime way on the biggest stage of all is another level all together. None of Englands bowlers posed many problems to him, apart from Swann as he cruised to his century at well over a run a ball.

Ryan Tendo was ably supported along the way by a stodgy and defiant innings from Tom Cooper, before aggressive knocks from de Grooth and the captain Peter Borren propelled the Dutch towards an incredulous 292 - 6 from their 50 overs. Alright so perhaps the pitch in Nagpur was so flat that even 300+ could be relatively easily overhauled, but how many of us had expected the Dutch to get anywhere near 150 let alone 292! It was a magnificent effort from the Netherlands and Ten Doeschate in particular and it provided a refreshing and much needed boost to the case of the associate nations.

England walked out to bat knowing that they were facing a second humiliation by the Dutch after that infamous victory in the 2009 T20 World Cup at Lords. Perhaps thats why they set off at the rate of knots with Strauss and KP smashing a rather toothless looking Holland bowling attack to all parts of the ground. The introduction of Doeschate and Seelar into the attack slowed things down though and it was quite telling that KP ended up with a much lower strike rate than Strauss who was galloping along at over a run a ball. The frustration told in the end as KP gifted is wicket away. Strauss was caught very well by Cooper running in from a deep midwicket position.

Despite these losses though, England were cruising, Strauss had played an excellent knock and Trott was in the process of showing just how much of a belter this Nagpur wicket was.

To Hollands credit they refused to give up their resistance. As England closed in on victory, Doeschate returned and Baressi completed a very smart stumping off a leg side wide to dismiss the set Trott, before Ryan Tendo knocked Ian Bells middle stump out to leave England wobbling at 241-4. More importantly England now needed another 53 runs to win in just 42 balls, finally we had what this World Cup had been crying out for, a well contested cliffhanger of a game!

I must say at this point that as we watched the game unfold, Isis kept on saying that we'll be in for a very tight finish to the match. I adamantly maintained that England would cross the line with ease. As it turned out....Isis was proved right as Bopara and Collingwood saw England stumbling and tripping their way home! The Scorecards will record this as a 6 wicket win for the English but it was anything but that, the Dutch showed an unexpectedly high amount of bravery and tenacity. England may have sneaked home, but it is the Dutch and in particular Doeschate who deserve all the plaudits.

There is no doubt that England did put in a classy display with the bat to save their blushes, but one incident epitomised Englands shambles in the field more than anything else. Doeschate on just 47 lofted Swann straight up in the air, the mid off and mid on fielders, Anderson and Pieterson charged in to take the most simple of catches, before stopping dead in their tracks, waiting for the other to take the catch, the ball dropped right in between them. The look on Swanns face said it all.

England have their points from the win, but Strauss has a lot of thinking to do before his team face a rampant India. If England bowl and field like they did today, I would not bet against India touching 400 odd!

So that wraps it up for Day 4 of CWC 2011, Pakistan take on Kenya tomorrow at Hambantota and Isis will be reporting on that encounter. As Pakistan supporters I think its safe to say that our nerves are well and truly jangling already, see you then!

Watson and Clarke Rescue Aussies in Ahmedabad

Today saw three-time world champions Australia, take on one of the more stronger sides of the underdogs, Zimbabwe. 


Australia seemed to be in a spot of trouble after the mandatory powerplay. With a run rate of just 2.8 per over, things did not look promising. Not only that, but Australia managed to make the second lowest total in the mandatory power play of the cup, coming just above Canada, and below Kenya. Okay, fair play, there had only been three matches prior to this one, but still. The fact that half the teams playing in the previous three matches were minnows, does highlight the fact that this was not the hard-hitting, ball smashing, wicket-breaking Australian team that everyone had come to aspire to and envy. There was just an element of spark missing from the team today, and I for one found the match incredibly dry to watch for that reason. 

If we were to look at the Australian innings, there was a poor use of the powerplays all round, by both the fielding and the batting side. I was expecting with an opener like Watson for there to be lofted shots left, right and center, and at least a score of about 50 from the first ten overs, but it seemed the Zimbabwean bowlers had a different agenda on their mind. There is no denying the fact that the Zimbabwean bowling attack definitely kept Australia tight. A mix of clever bowling, and well-informed referrals gave the Zimbabweans the key wickets they needed, first that of Brad Haddin, who was out on an LBW by Utesya, and then that of the all-round danger-man Shane Watson who was out on an LBW by Cremer. The Zimbabweans really impressed me however with their run-out of Ricky Ponting. At first I refused to believe that he had been run-out, but when I saw the quick work of the fielders working together to stump Ponting, I was well and truly impressed. 

Batting at number 4 was my personal favourite, Michael Clarke, who played a superb innings, especially after a middle order "mini-collapse" from the Aussies. Shane Watson received a lot of hype (and indeed man of the match) for his 79 runs, and so he should, because that is an incredibly respectful score, however, I feel that Michael Clarke should have been awarded man of the match due to his utilisation of the balls in which he made his runs. He got the runs on the board fairly quickly, whilst rotating the strike and maintaining a level of consistency in the middle order. Clarke may have made 58, but perhaps what some people are forgetting is that he did so in 55 deliveries, and he remained not out. Watson took nearly 100 balls to make his 79 runs. 


One thing that I have to mention is the wicket of David Hussey. I was talking to Osiris at the same time as watching the match, and as Price came on to bowl, I said to Osiris "I have a feeling that Hussey will be bowled in a minute" and literally five seconds later....BOOM! Hussey's clean bowled and I'm being worshipped as a cricket medium (ok, so the second thing didn't happen, but Osiris couldn't get over it!) 

Not much can be said about the Zimbabwean innings, apart from the fact that they did manage to stretch it to a decent total of 171, so credit to them for doing that. In all honesty, I was expecting the likes of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson to rip their batting apart quite early on, but obviously not. Another thing which stumped me was that there was no sense of happiness or celebration when a Zimbabwean wicket had fallen. Come on, you may be playing an underdog side, but at least show some spirit guys! It really made the match dull and dry, and a lot less enjoyable. Even Sri Lanka were more jubilant when they got Canadian wickets yesterday! Perhaps the lack of atmosphere could also be attributed to fact that the stadium was barely even half-full. 


All in all, it was a one sided game, but the Zimbabweans did cause a stir by keeping the Australians at such a low score in the opening overs. 


That's all from me. Join us tomorrow for England vs. Netherlands which is bound to be a thriller, reported by our very own Osiris! 

Sangakarra Denied Century as Canada Collapse at Hambantota

Today has proven to be a testing day for the associate teams. Given the Kenyan upset just a few hours prior to their match with big cats Sri Lanka, would Canada take example from the crushed Kenyans, or not set their hopes too high?

With the looming threat of utter embarrassment for the Canadians, they were kicked into action by keeping the Sri Lankans quite tight during the mandatory powerplay. The Lankans managed a mere 54 off the mandatory powerplay, however, this wasn't a waste of balls for the Lankans, but a clever game plan. Aware that they were playing minnows, they played a cautious innings, which managed to stretch their score to 332. Bearing in mind that none of the two teams had previously played at the stadium before, the Lankans made a pretty respectful total in my opinion. Whilst Sangakarra was denied his century and stupidly hit the ball straight into the hands of bowler John Davison, Jayawardene seemed relieved when he got his century, only to be caught out on the next ball he faced. The third highest run scorer for the Sri Lankans, as predicted, was Tilakaratne Dilshan, with a respectable 50 runs at the end of his innings. 


I would like to bring to light some of the things I noticed during the match. Was it me, or were the Canadians getting more injuries than they were getting runs or wickets? First it was Osinde, Canada's best bowling option, who was seen to have injured his hamstring in his third over bowling, whilst Canada's star batsman, Rizwan Cheema, was hobbling during his innings. There was also another batsman who was injured and had to have a runner. Perhaps this shows that Canada are not yet ready for the strain of the world's biggest cricket tournament, if they have so many injury prone players in their team, and not just any players, but the best players they have. 

However, having said that, the Canadian bowlers showed an incredibly high level of aggression and determination towards getting vital wickets. It's a different story that their approach didn't work. Particularly flustered were Davison and Baidwan, the latter of which was actually given a warning after bowler a serious bouncer in anger. Competition is only healthy, but when it gets to the point where you want to fracture someone's skull with a cricket ball, I think its time to tone things down just a tiny notch. 


All in all, the Canadian innings was an incredibly slow and painful version of the previous Kenyan innings. It's like the lethal injection, and being behead with a blunt axe. Both forms of execution will kill you, but one will be more slow and painful than the other. So to use that analogy, every time a Canadian wicket fell, it was like taking a blow from the blunt axe for the Canadians. The Canadians ended up all out, giving the Lankans a colossal victory of 210 runs. 

It was predicted that this would be a one-sided game, however, for the start of the Sri Lankan innings, it seemed as if Canada were putting up a good fight. However, it soon became apparent that Canada were destined for a massive loss, just as the Kenyans had been subjected to a few hours earlier. 

Kiwis Crush Outclassed Kenyans

The second match of the ICC Cricket world cup concluded at Chennai with the most emphatic of victories possible for the Kiwis. If we thought yesterday's match was one sided...well we hadn't seen anything yet! Its actually ironic to think that many pundits were picking this match to perhaps be one of the first upsets of the world cup, it turned out to be anything but!

The Kenyan innings actually started rather promisingly despite the early loss of pinch hitter Obanda. Kenya in fact reached 40-1 before Hamish Bennett turned on a display of accurate pacy bowling. His dismissal of Kenya's best batsman Seren Waters set in motion an epic collapse from the Kenyans who lost the remainder of their wickets for just 29 runs to end up on a paltry total of 69 all out.

Southee and Bennett were the main destroyers for New Zealand, with Hamish Bennett in particular generating some serious pace as the Kiwis scythed through the Kenyan batting line up. In all fairness though, the Kiwi bowlers didnt have to do very much...they just needed to pitch the ball in or around the stumps and the Kenyans capitulated in front of them.

When it was the New Zealanders turn to bat, the predictable carnage followed...with Martin Guptill and McCullum smashing the Kenyans to all parts to overhaul the target in a mere 8 overs! The Kenyan bowling attack looked pretty modest in all honesty however, thinking about it they had absolutely nothing to bowl at and were therefore rather ripe for the picking.

For the kiwis though, this was a clear response to those who thought it would be them who would be targetted by the minnows for an upset. How New Zealand perform against the better teams is another question all together, but for now they have started their campaign with a thumping 10 wicket victory.

Osiris's Views

Not a whole lot to analyse here in all honesty, but the manner of New Zealands victory was a lot more crushing than expected. New Zealand were seen as one of the lower ranked established nations in a bad run of form, taking on Kenya one of the better associate nations. If there was going to be an upset then it would be in this game.

The fact that the exact opposite happened will now add a lot of fuel to the recent debate that has taken centre stage. The ICC has tabled a proposal to reduce the number of teams taking part in the 2015 world cup to just 10, in other words this would entail getting rid of all the associate nations. This proposal was met with some vociferous opposition, with influential voices arguing that this would terminally hamper the development of the associate nations.

I myself personally feel that the smaller nations should very much be a part of the competition, this is after all the World cup, why should we then close the doors to the world? However unfortunately extremely lopsided matches like the one that took place today in Chennai will lend credence to the ICC's proposal.

In any case thats still a whole four years away, for now the Kiwis will be feeling a lot brighter and the Kenyans will need to somehow pick themselves up from this drubbing. Thats all for now, please do check back later though for Isis's report on Sri Lanka and Canada's game at Hambantota, Isis will also be reporting tomorrow on what looks like an interesting game between defending champions Australia and Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad.

Deshi's in disarray as Sehwag and Kohli smash India to Victory

Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli absolutely blitzed the hapless Bengali attack to amass a mammoth 370 from their allotted 50 overs. The tigers bowling was absolutely woeful, with not a single bowler returning figures to be proud of. The bowling was a mixture of poor line and lengths, lacklustre effort and ill discipline as a total of 15 wides were sent down. Mind you perhaps this was the effect of the brutal onslaught that Kohli and Sehwag subjected them to. Sehwag had the highest world cup score in his sights when he was finally bowled out for 175 while Kohli too reached his century. By reaching such an imposing total in the first match of a world cup and that too on Bengali soil sends a very ominous message of intent to the other teams in the competition.

The Bengalis did their best not to be over-awed and gave their suffering fans something to cheer at long last by starting their innings in blistering fashion. Imrul Kayes latched onto Sreesanth to the tune of 24 runs in an over to typify Bangladesh's frenetic start. Surprisingly the tigers most attacking player, Tamim Iqbal was rather subdued and meandered along to a half century. It was Munaf Patel that extinguished any outlandish hopes Bangladesh may have had, with his nagging line and length.

Nonetheless the Bengalis did put up some serious resistance with their top six batsmen all scoring above 25 runs, with Shakib and Tamim posting half centuries to lead their team to 283-9 in their 50 overs. Under normal circumstances this wouldve been seen as an excellent effort from the tigers but on the day it paled into insignificance in the face of India's colossal score.

The Indians thus start their World cup campaign with a resounding 87 run win.

Osiris's Views

Well cricket fans all over were psyched up for a cracking opener to CWC 2011, in the event it turned out to be depressingly one sided. I must admit that having to sit and watch India mauling the Bengali bowlers was not particularly pleasant, but this is a fact that we must all accept, the Indian batting lineup is simply awe inspiring. India's opponents need to make plans to not only restrict the free flowing nature of the Indian top order but to dismiss them early with the new ball, for if the likes of Sehwag or Tendulkar get set with Dhoni, Kohli, Yuvraj and Pathan waiting in the hutch....quite frankly you'll be toast. New Zealand found that out in Chennai when India smashed 360 against them in a warm up game and the Bengalis found that out first hand today.

The indian bowling is perfectly suited to the conditions though the Bengalis did show today that it can at least be tackled. India were out for revenge today and boy did they banish the ghosts of that 2007 match in style. At this point in time the Indians are looking like an unstoppable force.

The Bangladeshis are likely to be quite depressed but I feel they can take a lot of heart out of their batting performance, and with home conditions in their favour I would tip them to knock over one or two of the more fancied teams in their group and advance to the quarter finals. Dhaka might be a little gloomy tonight but I think it won't be long before the spark and vibe returns.

Finally it is very interesting to draw a direct comparison with Pakistan here, for we also played Bangladesh at this very same venue in a warm up match. On paper it would seem that the Indians trumped our performance by miles since we scored 285 in our first innings in comparison to their 370. However interestingly our margin of victory was by 89 runs while Indias win today was by 87 runs. This shows that despite the dew factor, the bengalis found life a lot tougher against Pakistans bowling attack than they did against Indias. Despite this though the fact still remains, India are hot favourites while Pakistan are very much outsiders. Lets see what exactly we can muster up as the tournament progresses!

Tomorrow I will be reporting on the New Zealand vs Kenya match, while Isis will be reporting on the match up between Sri Lanka and Canada. So join us then for Day 2 of the World Cup!

Bangladesh vs India - (25 over update)

10: 15 am - So here we are, the World Cup 2011 is here and welcomed by a roaring Dhaka full-house, the home captain Shakib won the toss and perhaps a little surprisingly chose to bowl first, he claimed this was down to the dew factor during the second innings. Be that as it may, I personally feel that this was a rather negative move and that too against a power packed Indian batting lineup, first sign of Bengali nerves perhaps?

If there was any doubt about a nervy home team, they were confirmed with the very first ball as Shafiul Islam was slammed through the covers for four of the very first ball of the tournament! India then ravaged the Bengali attack to the tune of 32 runs of the first 3 overs. The bowling was abysmal, no pace…the line and length was all over the place, varying from wide of the off stump….right through to loose balls on the batsmans legs, it was absolutely abysmal from the Bengali seamers and they only gained a semblance of control with the early introduction of spinners.

A farcical run-out gave reason for the packed stadium to finally celebrate, as both Indian batsmen ended up at the same end and Shakib was left with the easy task of running Sachin out. However its been all India from there on end, the Indians including Sehwag are batting for the long term, the Bengali attack looks completely benign and despite the massive score, I don’t think this pitch is in fact as easy to bat on as the Indians have made it look.

Things finally started to change a little bit with the introduction of Mahmudullah, how dismissed Gambhir in his very first over! The ball skidding through, keeping a little low and knocking back Gambhirs off stump. Nonetheless Sehwag is looking in murderous form and unless the Bengalis get him out soon, he is likely to single handedly take the game away from Bangladesh

At the halfway mark of the Indian innings then, India are a mammoth 160-2 overall the Bengali attack has looked very benign and when you think that India still have Yuvra, Dhoni and Pathan to come, Bangladesh are very much staring into the abyss of a chase of around the 350 run mark unless something rather dramatic happens.

Bangladesh are facing an embarrassing and a very heavy defeat here while the Indians are looking every bit the tournament favourites that they are.

The Road to the World Cup 2011 - Flashback

This is the first in a series of videos we will be releasing in the build up to the World Cup 2011. The excitement and anticipation is building and so what better way to whet the appetite than a look back at the previous editions and winners of crickets illustrious and premier tournament. Presenting....The path to the 2011 World Cup, produced by our video specialist Isis!

1^st February 2011: New Zealand vs Pakistan 4^th ODI – Napier

Background

A buoyed up Pakistan faced the hosts in a key ODI at Napier. The Kiwis absolutely thumped Pakistan in the first match of the series, the Pakistanis then launched a comeback in the rain abandoned match at Queenstown before leveling the series in convincing style at Christchurch. The Pakistani batting was in destructive form, their bowling was clicking, could they put their unpredictability aside and continue their momentum? With the series tied at 1-1 and three matches to play, this was a crucial game for both teams.

Brief Match Analysis

The pitch at Napier has a reputation for being an absolute belter, so much so that in the build up to this game the local commentators were saying that a score of around about 300 would in fact only be a par score! Both teams were therefore chomping at the bit to win the toss and bat first. As it turned out it was Daniel Vettori who called correctly and elected to bat rightaway. If Pakistan weren’t careful this could be a definitive early setback for them in this game.

As expected the Kiwis got off to a flyer, with Guptill in particular laying into the Pakistani opening bowlers, epitomized by a cracking six that flew into the midwicket stands off Razzaq. However very much against the run of play, the Kiwis starting throwing it away. Tight and pinpoint bowling from Wahab Riaz and Razzaq saw the Kiwi top order throwing their wickets away. From a position of strength, the New Zealanders slipped to 44-3 on a flat batting paradise of a pitch!

The severe fluctuations in this match had only just begun though, New Zealands all rounders played aggressively to stage a good fightback lower down the order and in the end allow their team to post a relatively respectable total of 262-7.

The Pakistani openers walked out knowing that on this pitch, they should achieve their target at a canter, however they soon found themselves at 84-3 despite the powerful hitting of Ahmed Shehad. Pakistans steady middle order duo of Misbah and Younis Khan added 90 odd runs together….before we got the customary batting collapse! Pakistan were reduced to 198-6 and NZ were back in it!

Perfect time then for the Razzler to hit his straps and when he smashed a boundary and a six it looked like game set match to Pakistan…not quite though. Razzaq spooned a catch to Vettori of Hamish Bennett and when Wahab Riaz had an epic brain failure and swiped across the line to give McCullum an easy catch, Pakistan were suddenly 250-8. Still needing another 15 runs to win from 12 balls and just 2 wickets in hand.

It was Misbah ul Haq who was holding the Pakistani innings together, with a classy knock that included a good mixture of rotating the strike, and some big hits of his own. A very calm and collected….almost masterful knock and that too at above a run a ball! In the end Sohail Tanvir cracked three boundaries to get Pakistan over the line, with Misbah finishing on 93 not out. A thrilling match but in the end Pakistan taking the plaudits as well as a 2-1 lead in the series with another two matches to play.

Osiris's Views

Most cricket websites appear to be saying that Pakistan made a mountain out of a molehill in chasing a target of 263. While this is true to an extent, I do not completely agree with this assessment. The pitch was excellent for batting, but in my opinion also a bit slower than the pundits expected. A target of 263 was not as easy as it was made out to be and that too under lights. Pakistan were never really in complete control, even at 173-3 the required run rate was still rather high, and when Pakistan lost wickets in the batting powerplay in my view the Kiwis held all the aces.

Therefore the Pakistanis deserve a lot more credit than they are getting for overhauling this target, Misbah’s batting was nothing short of coolness personified and in the end he was unlucky not to get what would have been a very much deserved century.

Pakistan are gaining some much needed momentum ahead of the world cup and this is crucial to say the least. However there are worrying signs as well, I personally feel that Sohail Tanvir’s bowling is simply not upto the mark and in the sub-continent he will be cannon fodder. Perhaps this is not such a bad thing though, since he can quite easily be replaced by a spinner, either Abdul Rehman or Saeed Ajmal. Pakistan have now won 2 matches on the bounce but there are still 2 matches to go, no matter what happens in this series, the Pakistanis will still be underdogs at the world cup and that is testament to the massive challenge that faces our cricket team. How they respond to this challenge remains to be seen.

Signing off till the next game!

Osiris