World Cup : Cricket

[Vikrant]

Bangladesh knocks out England That was great

England vs. Bangladesh Highlights Scorecard Report from Cricket World Cup Bleacher Report

 

[Vikrant]

Sunil Gavaskar: 'England Are Useless at Cricket and Football'

Sunil Gavaskar England Are Useless at Cricket and Football Bleacher Report

 

[Vikrant]

India vs Ireland is going on right now. Things don't look too good for Ireland.

---

"Ireland will be very disappointed having started so well. Two key batsmen got scores but didn't go on. The key point is that India bowled well, especially after the first 10 overs.
"The spinners got through their overs well and Ashwin showed his class with a bit of variation and then the pace bowlers came back in and got among the wickets to leave Ireland under pressure. You would expect India's big guns to come out now and knock the runs off."

...

Cricket World Cup 2015 Ireland v India - BBC Sport

 

[idb]

Brilliant result for Bangladesh.!
Are England gone now?

 

[idb]

Oops...yes they have.
England out of Cricket World Cup Kevin Pietersen and Ian Botham lead the reaction - Cricket - Sport - The Independent

 

[Vikrant]

Brilliant result for Bangladesh.!
Are England gone now?

My apology! I should have been a bit more clear. That would have avoided some wear and tear on your fingers.

 

[Vikrant]

India sets a world cup record by thrashing Ireland to register record 9th successive World Cup victory. India is on a roll right now

---

HAMILTON: Shikhar Dhawan cracked a scintillating century as a rampaging India on Tuesday created a record winning their ninth consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup match by demolishing Ireland by eight wickets to seal the top spot in the Group B table.

Chasing a respectable Ireland total of 259, opener Shikhar Dhawan (100 off 85 balls) sent the Irish bowlers on a leatherhunt en route his eighth ODI hundred as the defending champions reached the target in 36.5 overs to record their fifth consecutive win in this tournament.

...

India thrash Ireland to register record 9th successive World Cup victory - The Times of India

 

[Vikrant]

Auckland World champions India extended their unbeaten record at the cricket World Cup on Saturday with a six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their final group match before a noisy crowd of predominantly Indian supporters.

Suresh Raina (110) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (85) combined in an unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 196 at Eden Park to give their team a sixth successive victory in the tournament.

...

Cricket World Cup Brendan Taylor s ton in vain as India romps home

 

[idb]

NZ vs West Indies in the quarter finals I think.

 

[Vikrant]

India, the defending champion, eliminated Bangladesh in a Cricket World Cup quarterfinal with a 109-run win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on on Thursday


Cricket World Cup 2015 India powers into semifinals - The Washington Post

 

[Vikrant]

Bangladesh looks pretty joyous for a team that lost the game

India vs Bangladesh Here is a 5-point analysis The Indian Express

 

[Vikrant]

Australia defeated Pakistan. So this means, it is going to be India vs Australia in the semi final.

Australia recover from wobble to book India semi-final Reuters

 

[Vikrant]

I was able to find a video of last over between England and Bangladesh. This is the over which knocked England out of the world cup.

 

[idb]

NZ's Martin Guptill batted throughout the innings to end on 237 N.O. with a strike rate of 145.4.
It was the highest score by a NZer, the highest score in a World Cup and the first double century in the knockout phase of a World Cup.
NZ set a target of 393 for 6 for the West Indies with the Windies falling short by 143 runs.

NZ now meet South Africa on Tuesday for the semifinal match.

 

[idb]

Daniel Vettori's classic catch on the boundary.
Magnificent.

Radio Sport - Chromeless Video Player

 

[Vikrant]

This is the semi final lineup:

India vs Australia

New Zealand vs South Africa

 

[idb]

NZ beats South Africa to advance to the final...with a dramatic second-last ball hit for six off Steyne!!!

 

[Vikrant]

NZ beats South Africa to advance to the final...with a dramatic second-last ball hit for six off Steyne!!!

Congratulations! If we beat Aussies, we will meet you guys in the final

 

[idb]

It was an astonishing game, befitting the semi-final of the World Cup.
NZ had to chase down 298 runs in 43 overs.

Personally, I hope that we meet India in the final - that will give us an almost home advantage.
India will have to play well to get past Australia tomorrow though.

 

[Vikrant]

This semi-final has been a long time coming, long enough for a touch of paranoia to creep in. World Cup fever has not quite captured Sydney in the same way that it has overtaken Auckland and the rest of New Zealand. The city is just too cosmopolitan to be consumed by one game of cricket but the match against India has been preying on the mind of a good proportion of Aussies, despite the fact all the football codes are well under way here.

In the hiatus since the quarter-finals there has been much agonising among interested parties about the pitch at the SCG and the crowd. What will the curator (groundsman), Tom Parker, prepare? Earlier in the week Indian journalists sought to bluff their way through security to find out. Australia have acknowledged they would like to see an extra bit of grass and as much pace as possible; India would prefer it to be dry and not too fast. Parker keeps his own counsel. It would be a surprise if the ball turns significantly.

Then there is the crowd. There are concerns here that more than half of those crammed into the SCG on Thursday will be supporting Australia’s opposition. This has happened before when the Lions have been touring here but has seldom been the case in Sydney when Australian cricketers have been involved. For many Aussies that does not seem quite right.

By comparison the usual cricketing talking points have not loomed large. There are very few selection issues. Josh Hazlewood captured four wickets in the quarter-final against Pakistan so it is highly unlikely Australia will juggle with their bowling attack. He will surely be preferred to Pat Cummins again. Moreover, the curator would have to be in a treacherous mood to provide a surface that demands the inclusion of Xavier Doherty as an additional spinner to Glenn Maxwell.

There has been some debate about Aaron Finch’s place. Since smashing 135 against England on the first day of the tournament Finch has scored only 64 runs in five innings at the top of the order. There is the suggestion he might be dropped with Shane Watson yo-yoing back up the order and Mitchell Marsh or George Bailey coming back in. The conjecture has been more among the sideline sages with space to fill than the selectors. Expect Finch to play. And expect unbeaten India to play the usual XI.

Advertisement

India will have noted how discomforted Michael Clarke, Watson and Maxwell were by the barrage of short-pitched bowling from Wahab Riaz in Adelaide. Umesh Yadav is the fastest of an India attack who have been both hostile and disciplined throughout. But it would be a mistake for Yadav to copy the length bowled by Wahab too often. The Pakistan paceman comes from a different angle, which on the evidence of this tournament is more effective in the modern game. For Yadav, unlike Wahab, the bouncer is more likely to be a shock delivery than a stock one.

It will not be quiet in the stands at the SCG and, if they can hear one another, there will be one or two exchanges in the middle as well. Inevitably this has been another topic of conversation for those waiting for the first ball to be bowled. On Monday James Faulkner delivered the party line: “It’s the nature of the game; it’s a semi-final, it’s cut-throat. There’s going to be words said and it’s going to be a really tough contest. Neither team will be backing down.”

Such sentiments were reiterated by Mitchell Johnson on Tuesday. “It [sledging] is all part of the game,” he said before recalling the duel between Wahab and Watson at Adelaide and hinting that he might be participating in something similar against India. “That was exceptional and mighty entertaining.”

It may well be a feisty affair but both captains recognise it is not the team who sledge best who prevail, it is the one who stay calm and composed in the heat of the battle. Steve Smith hopes recent history will have a bearing: “We’ll have a little edge over them with a few scars from the matches throughout the summer; they didn’t beat us once.”

But this is the World Cup. Auckland delivered a stunning contest on Tuesday. Another epic is on the cards in Sydney with Australia starting as the favourites to take on New Zealand in the final at Melbourne on Sunday. It would be quite a pleasant surprise if it was more gripping than the first semi-final.

Sydney simmers but Australia v India semi-final will reach boiling point Sport The Guardian