CWC 2019 Match 43 – Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 94 runs, Imam-Shaheen excel

Pakistan had to win this encounter against Bangladesh by 315 runs which was impossible for any team. That was weird mathematics, but Pakistan would blame themselves for being a part of these tough calculations. This meant that Pakistan had to play for honor, so did Bangladesh. The match anyhow didn’t matter as far as qualification for the world cup is concerned.

Baring Shakib Al Hasan’s gritty 64 runs, there was nothing much to watch in Bangladesh’s innings as they chased 316 runs target set by Pakistan. Bangladesh had given a tough chase to big totals in this edition of the world cup. But today they faltered. Shaheen Afridi stormed through the batting order of Bangladesh and claimed 6 scalps in his man of the match winning spell of 6/35 in his 9 overs. Bangladesh was bundled out for 221 with round 6 overs remaining and conceded the match to Pakistan by 94 runs. Shaheen was superb and lethal with the ball and Bangladesh batsmen had no answers against this Pakistani speedster.

Earlier, Imam ul-Haq scored a superb ton and laid the foundation for a big total for Pakistan. Along with Babar Azam, who showed great form in this world cup, Imam put on a valuable 157 runs for the second wicket. Babar Azam missed out on his ton by 4 runs. Pakistan lost wickets in a hurry towards the end, but a 26 ball 43 by Imad Wasim at the death took Pakistan past 300 run mark. Mustafizur Rahman once again picked a five wicket haul but his efforts could not materialize as far as a win for Bangladesh was concerned.

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh exit from the world cup. This meant that New Zealand make it to the semi finals as the fourth team. It is likely that they play Australia, the first placed team in the semis. But if India win their last match against Sri Lanka and if Australia lose their last match to South Africa, the semifinal fixtures will change. In that case, India will be top placed in the table and will play New Zealand and England will play Australia in the other semifinal.

But to see what would happen, we need to watch out for the final two league matches of the world cup!

Hasn’t this world cup come to the wire…? It wouldn’t be decided until the last match is played!

Until we catch up with more action from the next match, it is goodbye folks!

Keep watching the world cup and enjoy!

CWC 2019 Match 40 – Rohit Sharma registers his fourth ton as India upset Bangladesh, India enter semifinals

India became the second team to enter the semifinals of the world cup cricket 2019 after Australia as they defeated Bangladesh by 28 runs. Chasing 315 runs to win, Bangladesh shed their sweat and blood in a tight chase but faltered by 28 runs in the end. I really loved the way Bangladesh played in this entire tournament. They have chased huge totals and lost by meager margins, like West Indies. They were not fortunate enough to be on winning side on couple of occasions. Bangladesh cricket is at its flourishing best and they are playing really good cricket right at this moment. And India was not different for them. There was always a threat of Bangladesh giving a tight chase and go at the 300 + runs set by India and they had almost done it had India not pulled it off in a thrilling climax. Jasprit Bumrah was clinical with the ball and dismissed 4 of Bangladeshi batsmen while Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets in spite of giving away many runs. Right from the beginning Indian bowlers were in command of the situation. Even as the Bangladeshi batsmen tried to dominate and score at a brisk phase, the bowling changes worked for Indian bowlers. They kept taking wickets and did not allow any batsman or partnerships flourish so as to take away the match from their control. While the wily veteran Shakib Al Hasan was the top scorer for Bangladesh with 66 runs, Mohammad Saifuddin became the thorn in India’s flesh. Saifuddin played a gritty innings with a quick fire fifty and was looking in menacing mood. If he would have some senior batsman giving him company and had Bangladesh got 2-3 more wickets, he would have won the match for Bangladesh. After doing all the hard work with the ball, India had no answers for Mohammad Saifuddin. It happened to be Jasprit Bumrah who dismissed the last two batsmen in the 48^th over keeping Saifuddin at the non striking end which won the match for India. Bangladesh still had 2 overs in hand when they lost the match. Saifuddin would have fancied his chances of getting the required runs if his company would have survived the last two balls. His decision to take a single on the fourth ball of Bumrah’s over cost them the match. Now Bangladesh too are almost out of contention of the semi final berth, but they played superbly and really had deserved better result and couple more wins than this!

Earlier, India who was looking good enough to get 380+ totals, even a 400 at a point played pathetically in the last 10 overs, as they have been doing throughout the tournament, to put 314 runs on board. The runs would be enough but seeing the way the Indian bowlers had bowled in most of their matches and seeing the way Bangladesh had given a tight chase to big totals, the score was gettable by Bangladesh. Bangladesh bowlers really bowled well towards the end and were successful in restricting India below 320. It was complimented by an equally pathetic batting display by the Indian lower order.

To begin with, Rohit Sharma continuing his scintillating form stuck a superb ton, his forth in this world cup and put on 180 runs partnership with K.L.Rahul for the first wicket in 29 overs. Rahul was looking good and made 77 runs. He was looking good enough to get to his ton. India lost Virat Kohli early and Hardik Pandya did not offer anything to the total. M.S. Dhoni continued his pathetic batting just like in his other matches while the lower order were clueless against disciplined Bangladeshi bowling attack. But the best part of the match was a superb batting display by Rishabh Pant who contributed 48 runs in 41 balls. Pant is a batsman to look for as far as Indian team is concerned. He is real talent and promising. If he breaks the shells of some of the negativities he has, he would be an asset for India. His obsession to attack every ball, immaterial of the bowler and condition will be damaging to him and his team. He needs to work over this. Mustafizur Rahman caused demolition of Indian batting order with his five wicket haul.

If India continues giving away their wickets at crucial part of the match and if their bowlers do not get tight and straight, India would definitely face trouble in the business end of the tournament. As of now, India qualifies for the semifinals and will be happy to do that. Indian fans too are would be glad to see their favorite team in the semis, so do I!

Hearty congratulations to team India. I would wish India win their last league match against Sri Lanka before playing their semifinal.

Until we catch up with more action from the next match, it is goodbye from me!

Keep enjoying your world cup matches and have fun!!

CWC 2019 Match 31 – Shakib excels with bat and ball as Bangladesh defeat Afghanistan by 62 runs

It was humiliation yet again for Afghanistan boys as they lost to Bangladesh by 62 runs. Shakib Al Hasan pioneered the win for Bangladesh team with his excellent all round performance. He scored important 51 runs in the third wicket partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim, while the later top scored with 83 runs for Bangladesh. Mosaddek Hossain smashed 35 runs in 24 balls at the end to make sure Bangladesh finished with a healthy 262 runs on board while losing 7 wickets in the proceedings.

As if this wasn’t enough Shakib showed how dangerous an all-rounder he is when he handled the ball. He dismissed 5 Afghanistan batsmen giving away just 29 runs in his 10 overs. Afghanistan was bundled out for 200 runs with 3 overs to spare. Gulbadan Naib (47 runs) and Samiullah Shenwari (49 runs), top scored for Afghanistan. They tried to hold ends but ran out of partners to accomplish the finishing act.

Bangladesh is looking in good touch and it will not be a surprise if they upset few more teams or if they make it to the semis. But a lot of equations need to work in their way and they need to play committed cricket and win each of their next encounters to make it happen. That means they need to fish some bigger fishes. Let us see how they go ahead!

Until we catch up with action from the next match, good bye folks!

Keep watching the world cup cricket and enjoy!

CWC 2019 Match 26 – David Warner smashes one and half ton, Aussies edge over Bangladesh in battle of big scores

I bet, Bangladesh is a dangerous team, I have been telling this. They always looked like upsetting a team or two when they were thought not to. The evolution of Bangladesh cricket can be seen live on field. Their excellent all round performance puts them favorites to win any contest against any of the world’s best cricket teams on a given day. Bangladesh was looking confident of chasing down the mammoth 381 that Australia put on board. It was never easy but Bangladesh always showed the right content. They showed no fear for the score or the opponents in the form of mighty Aussies. It looked like Bangladesh was not going to win the match, they did lose it, but it was fascinating to see how they kept themselves in the game, in contention. Mushfiqur Rahim’s superb ton, Tamim Iqbal’s 62 and Mahmudullah’s quick fire 69 wasn’t enough to chase down the big total, but the effort was commendable.

Earlier David Warner carried ahead his scintillating form and smashed 166 runs in 147 balls and was looking good for a double ton. So many batsmen missed out the opportunity of scoring double tons in this world cup! He took away the game from Bangladesh as he put on 121 for the first wicket with Aaron Finch (53 runs) and 192 runs with Usman Khawaja. Khawaja played superbly and missed out on his ton as he scored 89 runs in 72 balls. Glenn Maxwell who was looking in lethal form was run out unfortunately for a 10 ball 32. Aussies lost couple of quick wickets and missed out on crossing 400 runs, which looked possible for most of the match. Surprisingly Soumya Sarkar excelled with the ball as he picked 3 Aussie wickets.

Australia tops the marks card right now and is inches away from playing a semifinal which they very well deserve. Bangladesh’s chances in the world cup looks like a mixed bag. Even if they cannot make it to the semi finals, they can surely spoil the party of few teams. I have not yet written them out!

Until we discuss about the action from the next match, it is goodbye from me folks!

Keep watching the world cup cricket and have fun!

CWC 2019 Match 23 – Shakib-Liton make a cake-walk run chase of mammoth total as Bangladesh cruise to a comfortable win against Windies

When Bangladesh won the match against West Indies with 8.3 overs to spare, I said ‘wow’! Everyone would have. They were chasing 322 runs to win and with the comfortable ease they did it was awesome!

Veteran superstar Shakib Al Hasan showed what a cricketer he is when he remained not out on a beautifully crafted 99 ball 124 as he led Bangladesh to an emphatic win over West Indies. Along with Liton Das, Shakib put 189 undefeated runs for the fourth wicket as Bangladesh pulled a 7 wicket win over the Windies. Liton Das was little short of fortune as he missed what would have been a superb ton by just 6 runs. His 69 ball 94 was a feast for Bangladesh fans, for cricket fans too and it was his innings which fetched Bangladesh a big win with many overs to spare. He added fire to the start given by Shakib. For West Indies, there was only one chance to bounce back in the match when Bangladesh was 133 for 3 in 19 overs. If they would have bowled tightly, with discipline and took couple of quick wickets, they would have put pressure and brakes on the scoring rate, but that was not to be.

West Indies would consider themselves unlucky because they were defending 321 runs. Bangladesh made it look like 121. There was lack of intent in the Windies bowling. It looked that they gave up the match in their minds once Shakib and Liton started shifting gears.

Earlier, after losing Chris Gayle for naught, West Indies recovered from the early hiccups as Evin Lewis (70 runs) and Shai Hope (96 runs) put on 116 runs for the second wicket. Shimron Hetmyer (26 ball 50) and Jason Holder (15 ball 33) were looking on fire as they blasted the Bangladesh bowlers all around the park. But West Indies lost the plot in the last 10 overs. The hard hitters played senseless cricket as they tried fancy shots even when the wickets were tumbling around them. What could have easily been a 370-380 finished with 321 on board. They were definitely 60 runs short. The end result showed that Bangladesh would have even chased down 380 easily.

Bangladesh came back in the last 10 overs and choked the run flow. Shakib Al Hasan had shined with the ball too. He had dismissed 2 batsmen from the opposition camp including those of Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran. Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin took 3 wickets each.

Bangladesh are meaning menace and giving tough time for all the teams with progression of the tournament towards the business end and we know how good they are on their day! With 2 wins and 2 defeats from their 5 matches, they are looking good. 2-3 more wins; they would have surprised some big teams and would have paved their way towards semifinal berth. They may be silent hunters. Watch out for them!

Things are not looking good for West Indies. After a good start in the world cup campaign, they have lost their route and intent. They are looking predictable and beatable. With just 1 win from 5 matches, they are at risk of being knocked out of the contention for final four. They cannot afford to lose their next 4 matches and hope for rain-free matches.

Until we catch up with more action from the next match, it is goodbye folks!

Enjoy your world cup matches…hope you are doing it!

CWC 2019 Match 16 – Bangladesh and Sri Lanka share points as the rain hit match gets abandoned

Rain seems to be the main antagonist in this world cup cricket 2019. Most of the matches are looking like being washed out, many of them even without a single ball being bowled. This is really disappointing for the world cup because it reduces the glamour of the tournament with most days going off-action. The teams are keeping their fingers crossed and praying that it doesn’t rain for their matches. Playing at the mercy of the nature hurts but it is a fact that man has never controlled the nature.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would be highly disappointed to share points after their match at Bristol was washed out and abandoned even without a single ball being bowled. This was the 3^rd match to get abandoned in five days in this season of world cup. This meant would have meant heavens for both teams. Sri Lanka had won a match and lost one before this encounter, they also had a point shared due to rain, against Pakistan. This is the second match for the islanders which is disturbed by the rain, wherein they had to be satisfied with just one point. On the other hand, Bangladesh had won one match and had lost two in their previous 3 outings. With this one being abandoned, they would get one point. Both teams now have 3 points each out of their 4 matches that they have played. Things aren’t looking good for both teams. Before winning their next matches on a trot, to keep their contentions alive in this world cup, they would offer serious prayers to the rain gods!

I wish to catch up with you all for more discussions about the actions from the next match. Good bye until then!

Keep enjoying your world cup matches!

CWC 2019 Match 12 – Ruthless England gift big crushing defeat to Bangladesh

Time and again this English team is showing how powerful and ruthless they are. They are also showing clear intentions of owning the world cup this time. When the cricket world cup is being played in your backyard and you are at the top of your game, what else is needed? This match between England and Bangladesh at Sophia Gardens was another opportunity for the powerful England team to stake their claim on the world cup 2019, to announce it clean and loud that they are here for a business.

England looked to be playing cautious game when they had not lost their wicket yet even in the 19^th over. But the run rate was telling some other story. They were 128/1 in the 20^th over when they lost Jonny Bairstow for a well made fifty. England was really looking to bat Bangladesh out of the match by setting a huge win margin. Until this level of the match, Bangladesh never looked as if belonging to this match. The end result too proved the same. England finished with mammoth 286 for 6 in their stipulated quota of 50 overs. Jos Buttler (64 runs in 44 runs) and Eoin Morgan (35 runs) gave solid contributions in quick time and added fuel to the fire lit up by dangerous Jason Roy. As if taking lessons from the top and middle order, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett too smacked quick runs. They put on 45 runs for the 7^th wicket in just 17 balls and made sure that England finished big.

But what we missed here was a possible big 200 from Jason Roy. I really did not understand what this person who had scored a quick fire 150 was trying to do in the over in which he was dismissed. There were 15 more overs to go and he had a good chance of scoring a double ton to his name. This would have also given England a chance to post 450 runs on board, not that 386 wasn’t enough! He was batting as if he was settling a personal revenge on Mehidy Hasan. He was looking to hit all the balls of his over out of the park. He succeeded in the first three and in the fourth Mehidy trapped him. That was obvious. Either Roy would smack 6 sixes in that over or Mehidy would get better of him. Sometimes when you are on a dangerous mission there will be collateral damage. Another thing was Jos Buttler missing out on making his hundred. What a form this dangerous batsmen is in!!

A gritty century by seasoned campaigner Shakib Al Hasan made sure that Bangladesh made 280 of the required 386 runs at the end of their chase. They made sure not to lose by big margin which would affect the net run rate but losing by 105 runs was big enough. Bangladesh never looked to chase this down but their application and intent in each match looks good. They are a good lot with immense talent. May be opting to bowl first went wrong for them. We cannot be sure. And England batting the way they are doing, not only Bangladesh, they would give a run for money to every team in this world cup. Pakistan was lucky enough to escape defeat in the hands of England. The result would hurt Bangladesh but they would try to forget this one and focus on their next match hoping to pull off 2 points from that one. England, except that small falter in the Pak match is having a good ride!

Until we catch up with the hot and happening news from the next match it is good bye from me folks!!

Don’t forget to enjoy your world cup viewing…!!

CWC 2019 Match 9 – Henry-Ross tailor New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh

If Matt Henry’s lethal spell of 4/47 spelt destruction of Bangladesh batting in the first half of the match, veteran Ross Taylor made sure that New Zealand did not choke against a disciplined bowling attach of Bangladesh in the second half of the match.

After deciding to bowl first at The Oval, against Bangladesh, New Zealand bowled with tight discipline and restricted Bangladesh to 244 runs. Bangladesh batted with grit and confidence that they carried from their win in the first match of the competition and looked good to put at least 275 on board. But they ended up playing 4 balls short before they were bundled out by the Kiwi bowlers. Shakib Al Hasan once again showed that old is gold for any team. He led the batting responsibilities and crafted a 68 ball 64 runs. The top and middle order of Bangladesh if not versatile and attacking, were sensible and showed intent. They contributed small packets of runs to the total and made sure Bangladesh bowlers get some respectable total to defend. Matt Henry was at his destructive best for New Zealand and bowled tight spells. All other bowlers too were tidy.

Martin Guptill was in an attacking mood as New Zealand batting kick-started in brisk pace. Captain Kane Williamson and the senior campaigner Ross Taylor put up 105 valuable runs for the 3^rd wicket and made sure that New Zealand was going in right direction. As the Kiwis were looking to have a cake watch of this match, Bangladesh bowlers bounced back. They created pressure, took couple of wickets towards death and created a small panic in the New Zealand camp. It was unnecessary for the Kiwis to undergo that small disturbance. But it was good to see that the match was not one-sided and Bangladesh showed character of ‘never say lose until the last ball is bowled’ attitude. Amidst all these, handy contributions from Neesham, de Grandhomme and a sensible finish by Mitchell Santner made sure that New Zealand ticked off a win against their name, the second in the competition. They would be happy to lead the table now with 2/2 stats.

Still New Zealand would not feel it a comprehensive win as they were troubled by Bangladesh bowlers towards the end of the chase. But things went in their favor because Ross Taylor had already booked a win for his team and had laid foundation for that to happen with his crafty 82 runs.

Bangladesh on the other hand would not feel bad for this match because they did not allow New Zealand to dominate the match proceedings in any department and gave a tight run for their win. They will surely take a lesson or two from this match. Had they scored 25-30 runs in addition to what they had posted on board, they would have won the match. Bangladesh is a good team. They are going to test the nerves of each and every team. All teams should look out for their match against Bangladesh; they are definitely not going to have an easy time out in the middle.

That is all about this match folks!

We will catch up with the updates from the next match of the cricket world cup and discuss about all action from the same.

Until then, keep watching the world cup…Good bye from me..!!

CWC 2019 Match 5 –Bangladesh upset South Africa as Shakib-Mushfiqur make run feast at The Oval

Majority of cricket lovers would never have expected to see a result like ‘Bangladesh beat South Africa by 21 runs’ in a cricket world cup match. Yes, this did happen at The Oval wherein Bangladesh team made a clear statement, loud and clear that they are her for business and they shall not be taken lightly.

I am really impressed the way Bangladesh beat South Africa in all departments to register a famous victory in a world cup match, much to the delight of their fans and followers. But a non-Bangladesh fan too would give a secret admiration and silent applause seeing the way this team performed and rose to the occasion. It is all in the game spirit isn’t it?

South Africa was at the loss of their Mr Dependable, Hashim Amla and their bowling superstar Dale Steyn. As if this wasn’t enough, Lungi Ngidi became the third victim of injury to add to the woes of the Proteas. But no one controls injuries. South Africa had to play with whatever resources they had in reserve and they played their best possible team against Bangladesh.

After having won the toss and putting Bangladesh to bat, nothing really worked for South Africa at any point of the match. Bangladesh batsmen started ferociously and kept the same tempo going. They never stopped attacking the African bowling. The highlight of the match was a 142 run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim for the third wicket. The scored 75 and 78 runs respectively and made sure that their team got a big total on board. Mahmadullah played a handy and breezy knock at the end along with useful contributions from other tail end batsmen to register massive 330 runs on board losing 6 wickets in the process.

This was by par not only the highest total registered by Bangladesh in world cups or in any game; it would also be the highest ever total chased down in the history of cricket world cup if South Africa would accomplish it. So, if South Africa needed to win this, they should have made a world record chase!!

It was not that South Africa batted badly. In fact they almost chased the runs down but fell short of 21 runs. Chasing down 331 for any team would be difficult. And South Africa was coming from reduced morals after being defeated by England in their first encounter. They too had injury issues with key players but South Africa cannot complain. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. When Faf du Plessis was batting, it looked like South Africa had an upper hand. In fact at various junctures of the match it looked like South Africa would cross the line. If a suicidal run out of Quinton de Kock, who was their key player would have been avoided upfront right at the beginning of the match when South Africa had a good start to their chase, things would have been different. Apart from Faf who top scored with 62 runs, there were useful contributions from Markram, van der Dussen and Miller but those were never really enough. Someone had to get a big century and they needed couple of big partnerships which never happened. JP Duminy tried his best to take his team’s total as closer as possible to that of Bangladesh’s total but that really did not work as a beauty from Mustafizur was too much for him. Duminy’s wicket was the final nail in the coffin for South Africa. And it was a matter of fact for Bangladeshi bowlers to wrap up the match in their favor and they did it with precision.

Bangladesh has started their campaign in a superb way by a great win against one of the strongest teams in the competition. Their morals will definitely be high in the upcoming matches. Other teams need to watch out for this team. Bangladesh is looking lethal. But Bangladesh is known for their premature celebrations and strange ways of taking things for granted. This egoism might hurt them. If the concise egoism of the team is under control and if they play within the brackets of their senses, they can do wonders in the world cup and prove threat to many teams.

On the other hand, South Africa, with this loss is two down. They need to recover in quick time and they just have 7 more games to do that. The team think-tank should re-assemble and make strategies to handle their game in a different way. They would try to fancy their chances in their third match and that would be against another tough team, India! India is gearing up for their first match and they will be happy enough to start their campaign against a team which has lost two matches and are low in morals. But team India too has its own set of problems. On the other hand, South Africa may enter that match as wounded tigers, trying to prove a point. They would definitely be a menace for Kohli and boys. India v/s South Africa would be a lovely match to see!!

That is all from this match folks..!!

See you all with more match discussions of England v/s Pakistan match.

Until then, it is good bye!! Enjoy your CWC viewing!!

Dinesh Karthik provides immunity, India clinch thriller against Bangladesh

India v/s Bangladesh – Nidahas Trophy

Behind every successful man, there is a loser,

If it weren’t for Shankar, we wd hv missed the DK special

Dinesh Karthik saved Rohit Sharma (horribly horrible captaincy), Vijay Shankar (who was not sure what, where, how and for whom he was playing) and Shardul Thakur (who made sure India chased a stiff target), from coming under the hammer and scanner…while single handedly winning the match and trophy for India…one of the bestest short format finish, Take a bow man!!!

29 runs, 8 balls, 10 minutes, an intent to win, made this match a Karthik Special

Put the whole tournament on one side… The last two overs was nothing short of a thriller…at its electrifying and eccentric best…

Autoimmunity (Shankar) and Immunity (Karthik) at a distance of 22yards… was a rarity…a recipe for thriller…

Moral of the match…

Make sensible selections, keep politics away (it could cost tournaments, pride of a country, though it’s back up plan in the long run, administrators need to be sensible)

Make a captain who can think…

Virat Kohli… Don’t rest this guy…ever…

Congratulations TeamIndia 🇮🇳