We didn't see this match. We were too wrapped up in the India-Sri Lanka match. The scorecard shows that the Windies didn't have too many problems going into the Super 8's with 2 bonus points. Ireland is through too - thanks to their upset win against Pakistan. Good for them.
Either Bangladesh or Ireland will take the 8th spot in the Super 8's. No, that's not true. England can lose to anybody on their off day. Now that India and Pakistan are not in, it is England's responsibility to play tension filled matches against the underdogs.
Showing posts with label Group D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Group D. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Pakistan Vs Zimbabwe, Group D
Inzaman Ul Haq walked onto the beautiful Sabina Park for the last time as the captain of the Pakistan team and lost the toss. Zimbabwe put Pakistan in and rued the decision. The hit or miss Imran Nazir finally started hitting and his century powered Pakistan to 349 in 50 overs. Amid rain delays, Pakistan bowled out Zimbabwe for 99 runs and won handsomely.
This win, whether the team played for Bob Woolmer or Inzi or for their own pride, will bring the team a modicum of joy. And this win will both ameliorate and infuriate Pakistan cricket fans. They must be wondering why this particular Pakistan team could not have shown up earlier.
It would not be unfair to say that this match was all about Inzi. Inzi was playing his last ODI and probably his last international match. He strode the stage well these last 15 years and it has been a pleasure watching him play. Inzi was the first Pakistani player we liked. We have a lot of respect for Imran, Javed, Abbas, Akram, etc., but Inzi - we genuinely liked. We wanted him to do well but wanted Pakistan to lose. Things usually did not go as we wished; for whenever Inzi did well, Pakistan almost always won. Our dream came true one magical day when Inzi made an exquisite 122 in Karachi while chasing an Indian total of 349. Pakistan lost that match. To be honest, we were more thrilled with the innings we saw than the close victory.
Our first memory of Inzi goes back to 1992 world cup semi-final. We don't remember much of that innings but we do remember that somewhere in the middle of this innings, Tony Grieg realizes he is watching a great batsman bat. This realization dawns slowly on Tony, suddenly, he shouts: "Inzamam Ul Haq, you little beauty" and then he realizes his enthusiasm is a bit over the top and ends tamely with: "that's what Javed (Miandad) must be saying to him".
We never forgot this because it was incongruous to call Inzi "a little beauty". For Inzi was not beautiful and he definitely was not little. We will miss you, Inzi: Your numerous comedic run outs, your ugly slouching over the bat, your calm at the crease, your sublime timing of the cricket ball, your seemingly immovable frame in the field which seemed weightless when coming down the pitch to hit a cricket ball and your divine stroke play.
Inzaman Ul Haq, you little beauty. Er...That's what Javed must be saying to him.
This win, whether the team played for Bob Woolmer or Inzi or for their own pride, will bring the team a modicum of joy. And this win will both ameliorate and infuriate Pakistan cricket fans. They must be wondering why this particular Pakistan team could not have shown up earlier.
It would not be unfair to say that this match was all about Inzi. Inzi was playing his last ODI and probably his last international match. He strode the stage well these last 15 years and it has been a pleasure watching him play. Inzi was the first Pakistani player we liked. We have a lot of respect for Imran, Javed, Abbas, Akram, etc., but Inzi - we genuinely liked. We wanted him to do well but wanted Pakistan to lose. Things usually did not go as we wished; for whenever Inzi did well, Pakistan almost always won. Our dream came true one magical day when Inzi made an exquisite 122 in Karachi while chasing an Indian total of 349. Pakistan lost that match. To be honest, we were more thrilled with the innings we saw than the close victory.
Our first memory of Inzi goes back to 1992 world cup semi-final. We don't remember much of that innings but we do remember that somewhere in the middle of this innings, Tony Grieg realizes he is watching a great batsman bat. This realization dawns slowly on Tony, suddenly, he shouts: "Inzamam Ul Haq, you little beauty" and then he realizes his enthusiasm is a bit over the top and ends tamely with: "that's what Javed (Miandad) must be saying to him".
We never forgot this because it was incongruous to call Inzi "a little beauty". For Inzi was not beautiful and he definitely was not little. We will miss you, Inzi: Your numerous comedic run outs, your ugly slouching over the bat, your calm at the crease, your sublime timing of the cricket ball, your seemingly immovable frame in the field which seemed weightless when coming down the pitch to hit a cricket ball and your divine stroke play.
Inzaman Ul Haq, you little beauty. Er...That's what Javed must be saying to him.
Monday, March 19, 2007
West Indies Vs Zimbabwe, Group D
We didn't see this match so we won't have any pithy comments or astute observations to make. That not true, we do have one very astute observation to make - West Indies is through to the Super 8's. Are you blinded by our brilliance? Do not be afraid, you are not alone. It happens all the time.
Here is the match report and the scorecard if you want to know mundane and self evident things.
Here is the match report and the scorecard if you want to know mundane and self evident things.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Ireland Vs Pakistan, Group D
While India was being taught a cricket lesson by Bangladesh, another underdog was pulling down a listless giant. Bangladesh and Ireland should not be compared. Bangladesh is a much better team and has more international experience. What Ireland did today was amazing. They pulled off an upset win over Pakistan. Pakistan's batting was abysmal and their bowling except for Sami was not very good either. When a team has to defend a total of 132 they can't afford to bowl 11 wides. That is just unacceptable.
This has happened time and again. Pakistan and India have a terrible time batting on seamer friendly wickets. Whether this is due to an inherent weakness in batting technique or a mental stumbling block is not relevant. To be eligible for being called the best team in the world, any cricket team has to succeed in all sorts of conditions. Pakistan and India cannot.
On a seamer friendly wicket, Pakistan gifted its wickets hand over fist. Having seen the dismissals, there were very few balls which warranted wickets. Most of the wickets that fell were due to loose shots and brilliant fielding/catching. The Pakistani batsmen have no one but themselves to blame.
A lot of changes are imminent for the Pakistani team. It was unfortunate to see a great batsman like Inzi slink off the field in such a way. Bob Woolmer has been under as much (probably more) fire as his sub-continent counterpart, Greg Chappell, mostly because it is easier to shift blame onto a foreign coach for a team's failings. Whatever the case might be, Bob Woolmer will be gone (especially since his contract expires soon). We are looking forward to the book Bob Woolmer will write in the near future. Rana Naved and Imran Nazir are two other players who might have to start looking at other opportunities.
The Irish fielding was fantastic as was the Bangladeshi fielding. If we may digress, Cricket has become an athletes game (yes, we figured it out by ourselves). It is not enough if one is a talented batsman or a talented bowler. One has to be a good fielder too. Like everything else there are exceptions to that rule. If one is as talented as Glen McGrath, they can be given a pass but even Glen McGrath is a very safe catcher and an adequate fielder. There can be no room for a Munaf Patel. Players from Pakistan and India (this is not a subcontinent trait because both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are excellent fielding sides) have to improve their fielding to have any hope of being the best team in the world.
Couple of things before we sign off:
The much advertised April 8th Super 8 match between India and Pakistan might be played by Bangladesh and Ireland.
We feel very bad that Inzi had to exit the world cup stage this way.
This has happened time and again. Pakistan and India have a terrible time batting on seamer friendly wickets. Whether this is due to an inherent weakness in batting technique or a mental stumbling block is not relevant. To be eligible for being called the best team in the world, any cricket team has to succeed in all sorts of conditions. Pakistan and India cannot.
On a seamer friendly wicket, Pakistan gifted its wickets hand over fist. Having seen the dismissals, there were very few balls which warranted wickets. Most of the wickets that fell were due to loose shots and brilliant fielding/catching. The Pakistani batsmen have no one but themselves to blame.
A lot of changes are imminent for the Pakistani team. It was unfortunate to see a great batsman like Inzi slink off the field in such a way. Bob Woolmer has been under as much (probably more) fire as his sub-continent counterpart, Greg Chappell, mostly because it is easier to shift blame onto a foreign coach for a team's failings. Whatever the case might be, Bob Woolmer will be gone (especially since his contract expires soon). We are looking forward to the book Bob Woolmer will write in the near future. Rana Naved and Imran Nazir are two other players who might have to start looking at other opportunities.
The Irish fielding was fantastic as was the Bangladeshi fielding. If we may digress, Cricket has become an athletes game (yes, we figured it out by ourselves). It is not enough if one is a talented batsman or a talented bowler. One has to be a good fielder too. Like everything else there are exceptions to that rule. If one is as talented as Glen McGrath, they can be given a pass but even Glen McGrath is a very safe catcher and an adequate fielder. There can be no room for a Munaf Patel. Players from Pakistan and India (this is not a subcontinent trait because both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are excellent fielding sides) have to improve their fielding to have any hope of being the best team in the world.
Couple of things before we sign off:
The much advertised April 8th Super 8 match between India and Pakistan might be played by Bangladesh and Ireland.
We feel very bad that Inzi had to exit the world cup stage this way.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
West Indies Vs Pakistan, Group D
The world cup is of to a rollicking start with the West Indies beating Pakistan by 54 runs. Both teams have mercurial temperament and are consistently inconsistent. Both teams can beat anybody on their good days and could lose to any team on their bad days.
On this particular day, Pakistan won the toss and asked the Windies to bat. The Windies then proceeded to make heavy weather of it. The Pakistani bowling was pretty good for the most part. Samuels has been in pretty good form and once again he played a solid innings in the middle overs to stabilize the West Indian innings with Lara. Though at the innings break everyone was talking about how the Windies needed about 30 more runs, the fact that they got to 241 in the first place was due to a fantastic cameo from Dwayne Smith. Smith hit a rapid fire 32 from 15 balls and saw the Windies to a defensible total. The West Indians scored about 58 runs in the last 5 overs.
Pakistan's innings started off with a bang (a huge six by Imran Nazir) and ended in a whimper. Nazir, Hafeez and Younis Khan (who played a terrible shot) fell in quick order. Though Inzi and Yousuf built a partnership, it wasn't enough and they didn't get a chance to free their arms after getting all set. Their fall hastened Pakistan's demise. Shoaib Malik played a good innings but the result was not in any doubt by that time. Windies bowled really well. They stuck to their line and length and were electric in the field. Bravo's caught and bowled wicket of Umar Gul was just fantastic. In contrast to this Pakistan's fielding was bad. Younis Khan dropped a catch of Sarwan of the very first ball. Sarwan went on to make 49 runs.
The West Indians exposed every chink in Pakistan's armour. Pakistan's weakest link - Rana Naved -was targeted for 49 runs. The Pakistani opening pair wickets were captured quickly and that put a lot of pressure on the middle order. Pakistan did not do itself any favors either. Pakistan's best bowler in the match, Umar Gul, did not complete his 10 over quota. Asked about Pakistan's opening pair problems, we were flabbergasted to hear Inzi say that they were mixing and matching to see what their best pair would be. No Inzi. You don't "mix and match" openers in the world cup to see who your best opening pair is. You do that before the world cup starts.
The presence of all-rounders in the one-day team serves Pakistan well. So, it was strange to see that they left out Azhar Mahmood but included Rana Naved. Rana Naved then proceeded to have a horrendous day in the field. It was also very surprising to see that Sami was not in the team. Inzi and Yousuf eschewed pushing for singles. Inzi is not known for his running between the wickets but there were several instances where they missed out on easy runs because they refused to run hard. Because they missed out on easy runs, they (Inzi and Yousuf) had to go for the big hits. This cost Yousuf his wicket after he was well set.
However, all is not lost for Pakistan. Afridi will be back in the team soon and that should bolster their batting and bowling a little bit. They could drop Danish Kaneria (who had a disappointing day) since Hafeez, Malik, and Afridi would serve as the spin option and play a batsman or a bowler. They should also drop Rana Naved for Azhar Mahmood or Sami. Pakistan will make the super 8 and though this loss hurts, they still remain in contention.
This win should give the West Indies confidence and that might be a problem. West Indies does not deal with confidence well. Their 'confidence' almost always becomes 'over confidence' and they implode spectacularly. Lara's job as the captain is to see that they don't lapse into over confidence for the coming matches.
On this particular day, Pakistan won the toss and asked the Windies to bat. The Windies then proceeded to make heavy weather of it. The Pakistani bowling was pretty good for the most part. Samuels has been in pretty good form and once again he played a solid innings in the middle overs to stabilize the West Indian innings with Lara. Though at the innings break everyone was talking about how the Windies needed about 30 more runs, the fact that they got to 241 in the first place was due to a fantastic cameo from Dwayne Smith. Smith hit a rapid fire 32 from 15 balls and saw the Windies to a defensible total. The West Indians scored about 58 runs in the last 5 overs.
Pakistan's innings started off with a bang (a huge six by Imran Nazir) and ended in a whimper. Nazir, Hafeez and Younis Khan (who played a terrible shot) fell in quick order. Though Inzi and Yousuf built a partnership, it wasn't enough and they didn't get a chance to free their arms after getting all set. Their fall hastened Pakistan's demise. Shoaib Malik played a good innings but the result was not in any doubt by that time. Windies bowled really well. They stuck to their line and length and were electric in the field. Bravo's caught and bowled wicket of Umar Gul was just fantastic. In contrast to this Pakistan's fielding was bad. Younis Khan dropped a catch of Sarwan of the very first ball. Sarwan went on to make 49 runs.
The West Indians exposed every chink in Pakistan's armour. Pakistan's weakest link - Rana Naved -was targeted for 49 runs. The Pakistani opening pair wickets were captured quickly and that put a lot of pressure on the middle order. Pakistan did not do itself any favors either. Pakistan's best bowler in the match, Umar Gul, did not complete his 10 over quota. Asked about Pakistan's opening pair problems, we were flabbergasted to hear Inzi say that they were mixing and matching to see what their best pair would be. No Inzi. You don't "mix and match" openers in the world cup to see who your best opening pair is. You do that before the world cup starts.
The presence of all-rounders in the one-day team serves Pakistan well. So, it was strange to see that they left out Azhar Mahmood but included Rana Naved. Rana Naved then proceeded to have a horrendous day in the field. It was also very surprising to see that Sami was not in the team. Inzi and Yousuf eschewed pushing for singles. Inzi is not known for his running between the wickets but there were several instances where they missed out on easy runs because they refused to run hard. Because they missed out on easy runs, they (Inzi and Yousuf) had to go for the big hits. This cost Yousuf his wicket after he was well set.
However, all is not lost for Pakistan. Afridi will be back in the team soon and that should bolster their batting and bowling a little bit. They could drop Danish Kaneria (who had a disappointing day) since Hafeez, Malik, and Afridi would serve as the spin option and play a batsman or a bowler. They should also drop Rana Naved for Azhar Mahmood or Sami. Pakistan will make the super 8 and though this loss hurts, they still remain in contention.
This win should give the West Indies confidence and that might be a problem. West Indies does not deal with confidence well. Their 'confidence' almost always becomes 'over confidence' and they implode spectacularly. Lara's job as the captain is to see that they don't lapse into over confidence for the coming matches.
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