CWC 2019 Match 42 – Hope – Roach guide Windies to a thrilling win over Afghanistan

In an unimportant match of the world cup 2019 played between West Indies and Afghanistan who were playing for honor after being knocked out of the world cup, West Indies won the contest by 23 runs against a gritty Afghanistan team who gave a tight fight in a superb chase. Chasing 312 runs to win, Afghanistan lost the match by just 23 runs. West Indies would have had their heart in the mouth when Afghanistan was giving a chase at their big total with a ‘never give up’ attitude. After losing their opener Gulbadin Naib early in the match, Rahmat Shah (62 runs) and the 18 year old Ikram Alikhil (86 runs) put on 133 runs for the 2^nd wicket in quick time. Had Ikram scored his hundred he would have become the youngest player to achieve that feat, but he missed out narrowly. But what an innings he played!

Even as Asghar Afghan (40 runs) and Sayed Shirzad tried some heroics, they couldn’t take their team home because Afghanistan kept losing wickets around them. Kemar Roach with 3/37 was the most impressive bowler for West Indies while Carlos Brathwaite with 4 for 63 was the leading wicket taker.

Universal Boss, Chris Gayle had played his last world cup match. Though he did not flourish with the bat, he took a wicket and ended his career as far as world cup matches is concerned. On the verge of his retirement in the next few months, what a campaigner this big man from the Windies has been for cricket! He is a brand. Take a bow champion Gayle!

Earlier Shai Hope (77 runs), Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran (58 runs per head) and a terminal onslaught by Jason Holder (45 runs in 34 balls) made sure that West Indies reached a healthy total. In between the Afghanistan bowlers bowled tight spells and denied Windies from scoring free. But the Windies came back to post 300+ total on board which was looking unlikely at the midway of the match.

It is sad that the Afghanistan team will go home losing all their world cup matches, but they had their moments. They would have won 2-3 matches if they would have played to a different plan. But they will learn with time!

West Indies, too had a mixed bag of fluctuating fortunes. They were not a bad team; they lost few tight and close matches which they would have won. They will take few lessons home, and of course..this win, in their last match!

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

Keep watching the world cup matches and have fun!!

CWC 2019 Match 39 – West Indies lose to Sri Lanka in a tight chase

The match between Sri Lanka and West Indies was not of much importance as both teams have already lost the opportunity of making it to the semifinals of world cup 2019. But each team had to play this game for their honor, for their fans, to boost the self confidence of the team and dressing room and to walk away with a consolation. Both these teams had their bit of disappointments and missed fortunes, some things destined and some things created by themselves.

Chasing a mammoth 339 runs to win, West Indies had a bad start when Lasith Malinga dismissed Sunil Ambris and Shai Hope for almost nothing on board. But it was the partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen which created hopes for the West Indies to win this encounter. While Pooran got a superb hundred under pressure, Allen scored a superb half ton and became a surprise hero for Windies. But their efforts weren’t enough as West Indies couldn’t manage the pressure scenario towards the end of the game and lost the combat by 23 runs. Had one among the set batsmen stayed back to take their team home and if the tail would have wagged longer, West Indies would have won the match. It was so near yet so far scenario for Windies, yet again. But throughout the world cup they have shown a grit and attitude to chase big totals in spite of losing early wickets. They have gone close to the winning target and fumbled at the threshold of win. Fortune hadn’t been their companion throughout the competition. But West Indies really played well. Three unnecessary run outs cost Windies their match, but the fielding of Sri Lankan players too need to be appreciated. They held nerves and made use of the chances at their disposal.

Earlier Sri Lanka batted superbly with their top order blasting all cylinders. West Indies bowlers had no clue so as to what to do to put brakes to the scoring rate of the islanders. Sri Lanka came to the party, but it is too late for them. Had they played such good cricket all through the tournament, ignoring the rain curtailed matches, they would have created an opportunity for themselves to be in contention of semifinal berth. A superb ton by Avishka Fernando laid foundation for a huge total for Sri Lanka and they kept building on that foundation. Earlier to that Karunaratne (32 runs) and Kusal Perera (64 runs) put on 93 runs for the first wicket in 15 overs and made their intentions clear. Useful contributions from Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Thirimanne enabled Sri Lanka to post a mammoth 338 runs on board.

It was a good contest which all fans would have loved to see at the beginning of the tournament. It seemed that both these teams had kept their best for the last, but the consequences of the match wouldn’t do favor to either teams!

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 34 – Kohli-Shami excel as India beat West Indies by huge difference

India defeat West Indies by 125 runs at Old Trafford after they won the toss and elected to bat first. Chasing 268 runs to win, Windies made a mess of their chase and were bundled out for 143 runs with more than 15 overs remaining. Nicholas Pooran scored 28 runs in 50 balls and he happened to be the highest scorer in the match. The West Indies seemed to be lost in their intent and were batting like school boys. Indian bowlers were clinical in their approach seeing that they did not have a great total to defend on board. India had sent half of West Indies team packing in the 24^th over itself with just 98 on board for the Windies. They never recovered from there and lost the next 5 wickets for 45 runs in next 11 overs. Mohammad Shami with 4 for 16 in his 6.2 overs was the most successful bowler for India and pioneered the bowling attack. He looked unplayable. While Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets giving away just 9 runs in his tight spell of 6 overs, all other bowlers were of great support to these key bowlers.

Earlier India had a slow start. Following early dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (72 runs) and K L Rahul (48 runs) put on 69 runs for the 2^nd wicket and laid the foundation for India to make a decent total. Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav once again proved to be waste selections for India as they almost contributed anything to the total. In fact they gave away their wickets cheaply and created pressure. MS Dhoni played a turtle knock yet again and scored a 50 while Hardik Pandya’s 38 ball 46 helped India to put 268 runs on board.

India is 1 point or 1 match away from getting their semifinal berth while it looks like the endpoint for West Indies.

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

Enjoy seeing your world cup matches!

CWC 2019 Match 29 – West Indies lose to New Zealand at the verge of win in spite of Brathwaite special, Kane crafts a classic ton

Two special centuries, a cut-throat chase and a thrilling match, what else you would want to see in a world cup cricket match. Kane Williamson, playing in his classy form at the top of his game almost took away the match from West Indies when he scored 148 runs. New Zealand put 291 runs on board after being 7 for the loss of 2 wickets in their first over. That was a commendable effort. Thanks to that partnership of 167 runs for the third wicket between Kane and Ross Taylor (69 runs) who pioneered the New Zealand’s innings. They both played with caution and saw that no more panic buttons were pressed after losing Colin Munroe and Martin Guptill in the first over. After those two salutes by Sheldon Cottrell in the first over following the dismissal of two Kiwi batsmen, nothing much worked for the Windies bowlers. They kept searching for wickets but the two Kiwi batting masters knew what and how to take the innings ahead.

West Indies start too wasn’t great and it was a photo copy of Kiwi innings. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran were dismissed very early by Trent Boult. West Indies were 20 for 2 in the 7^th over. Then came the resuscitation act. The Gayle storm took its way and Shimron Hetmyer gave good support to the storm from the other end. Chris Gayle (87 runs) and Hetmyer (54 runs) put on 122 runs for the 3^rd wicket and that too in quick time. West Indies were 142 for 2 in 22 overs, much ahead of the required run rate and were looking favorites to win the match. Then Hetmyer trying an unwanted fancy shot was cleaned off by Lockie Ferguson. The same bowler dismissed Jason Holder for naught in the very next ball. This double blow shuffled the chasing mathematics of West Indies. Chris Gayle too was looking frustrated and in look for big shots to keep the run flow intact. 10 runs later, the big man Gayle was dismissed by Grandhomme. Now the chase would be very difficult for Windies with their half team back in the pavilion. When in 27 overs and 12 runs later, following Gayle’s dismissal, when West Indies were reduced to 164 for 7 with a double strike from Trent Boult dismissing Nurse and Lewis in quick succession and with West Indies needing 126 runs more to win in the remaining 22 overs, it looked like end of game for West Indies.

And then he played…the big man…Carlos Brathwaite! Initially he played with caution, rotating strike and hitting the odd bad balls for a four or six. In the last 5 overs he took in charge and started mercilessly belting the New Zealand bowlers all around the park. He smashed 5 sixes and 9 boundaries. He was looking in a menacing form even when he did not have company to bat with. Even when West Indies lost their 9^th wicket, Carlos was looking confident of getting those runs needed for his team to win. He fought single handedly, like a lone warrior, focused on the target, not much worried what was happening around. New Zealand almost looked like they have given away the hopes of winning this match. They had no clue what Brathwaite was trying to do. Moreover they did not understand where to bowl at him! In the 48^th over bowled by Henry, Brathwaite gathered 25 runs with 3 massive sixes and brought the score of his team very near to the winning target. With 7 balls remaining West Indies needed just 5 runs to win and Brathwaite decided that he is not going to take the match till the last over. Bang! He smashed the last ball of Neesham’s over high into the air. The commentators were on their toes. Right at the same time, Ian Bishop was commentating and was full of adrenaline! He would have revised his lines million times in his mind when Carlos skied that ball, which could cross the line and give West Indies a famous win when no one would have even thought that the match would go anywhere closer to the New Zealand total. Bishop would have screamed at the top of his voice, in high emotion – ‘Remember the name…Carlos Brathwaite!’ following that probable match winning six from Carlos. The moment was ready. Everyone’s eyes were set on that ball which was flying towards the boundary with great speed. And then that happened! Trent Boult came into the way of the ball, into the way of West Indies win, in the way of Windies hopes and held the ball in both his hands before the ball could cross the boundary. It was ‘so near, yet so far’ moment for West Indies! New Zealand had won the match by 5 runs. Each and every New Zealand fielder going and congratulating Brathwaite was worth seeing. But I feel no one would have read his emotions, the way he would have felt! He was standing as a lone ranger, lost in emotions. He would have won the match for his team and become hero of the day. But no one rules fortunes!

I really felt for Brathwaite! His face clearly depicted pain. But what a man! What a match! The cricket lovers, immaterial of any country, will definitely remember the name for this innings, ‘Carlos Brathwaite’! Carlos, you are a hero! Had he got someone supporting him at the other end, had Windies not lost wickets in such hurry, West Indies would have won that match! But they really won everyone’s heart, especially the way Brathwaite made a match of nothing! New Zealand would be satisfied that Boult held that ball; else they had almost lost the match even as that ball was flying!

Did I tell that Carlos Brathwaite also scored his century? Yes, he did and it was epic!

West Indies would consider themselves to be unfortunate not to have won this match, but the match always belonged to New Zealand, minus Brathwaite!

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

Keep enjoying your world cup matches 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 19 – Root’s excellent all round performance steers England to register an easy win against Windies

An excellent century with the bat and couple of wickets with the ball, England would not have expected more from their star all-rounder Joe Root in their encounter against West Indies at Rose Bowl Cricket Ground. Chasing 213 runs to win, England did it comfortably in 33.1 overs losing just 2 wickets in the proceeding. Joe Root masterminded the chase with an unbeaten 100 in 94 balls. there were no hiccups in the chase as Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes contributed useful runs at the other hand while giving good company to Root.

Before that, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer put on a useful partnership for the fourth wicket after losing 3 early wickets and poured life into the match. Even as West Indies were looking good enough to put good number of runs on board, English bowlers tore into their defenses and made sure that the score board did not accelerate at any point of time. No batsman was allowed to settle. Thanks to Windies batsmen who played brainless cricket and showed no intent and content in the match. They just allowed England to dominate them at every stage of the match. I was really disappointed with this effort from West Indies, who had showed too much of promises at the beginning of the world cup. This loss will definitely hurt them as they are now one of the teams to be out of contention from semi-final berth. There is lot of time in the format but with rain pouring and disturbing a match or two every now and then, it is very difficult for the Windies to progress to the business end of the tournament with this mindset and with almost nil game plan. They now have won only one match out of their 4, with two losses and a rain washed match. I wish they pick up sooner than later.

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were tidy with the ball and picked three wickets each while applying pressure on the West Indies batsmen and almost giving away nothing in return. Joe Root took two crucial wickets at important junctures of the match while the other bowlers ably supported them.

England is looking not only good but also pretty dangerous. Now with 3 wins out of 4 matches that they played, they are fancying their chances in the semi-finals. They look to be one of the best teams in this season of world cup and are meaning discipline. They will definitely be a tough nut to crack for the rest of the teams too. They look like having a perfect game plan and are also following it seriously. They are a lucky lot too since none of their matches till now have been interrupted by the rain! English rains are partial to the local team or what?

Anyways it is pleasure seeing this English team at the top of their game!!

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

Keep seeing and enjoying your world cup matches!!

CWC 2019 Match 15 – Rain hits hard at South Africa as their Windies encounter gets washed out

What can I say about South Africa? I cannot just believe what is happening with them in this world cup. As if losing three matches upfront at the beginning of the tournament wasn’t enough, the rain had to intervene playing spoilsport in their fourth game against West Indies, a must win for them. A team has to win at least 6 out of their possible 9 games to set up their place in semi finals. But South Africa has lost three out of three that they had played before their encounter with West Indies and this one was a wash out.

West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first in an overcast condition at Rose Bowl Cricket Ground. South Africa had to win this if they had to remain in contention to a semi final berth. But the start was not really great for South Africa. West Indies looked lethal with their ball and meant business right from the word go. South Africa lost two quick wickets in the form of Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram with just 28 runs on board in 6.1 overs. 1 run and 8 balls later it started pouring as if rubbing salt on South Africa’s wound. The rain never stopped and the match had to be called off. Sheldon Cottrell had picked both South African wickets and had celebrated them in his signature ‘salute march’ style. Looking at the start and going by the toss it looked like West Indies would have an edge over South Africa if the match had run its entire length. But we could never tell what was written for South Africa, they also might have pulled out a win!

South Africa looked extremely dejected but no one controls the weather. West Indies too would be disappointed to share their points with South Africa as they had a good start, even toss working in their favor! On the other hand, South Africa should be contended to get a point to their account. Does this point change fortunes for them? We need to wait and see. The Proteas need to keep their fingers crossed and wish that some tricky mathematics would work their way in future days. At the same time, they need to work out things and try to win the next matches. Winning five out of five seems to be weird expectations, but South Africa doesn’t have any other option if they needed to live, alive in the tournament!

For more action from the World Cup 2019, we will catch up in the discussions of the next match. Good Bye till then!

Enjoy viewing your world cup matches!!

CWC 2019 Match 10 – Coulter-Nailed Windies lose to Aussies by a thin margin

When you would have reduced your opposition to 79/5 in 16 overs and when you feel that the match and couple of points are in your kitty, how would you feel when someone whom you have never expected to bat, goes out of sorts and enables his team to add another 200 to that total and in the end make sure that you are defeated? Angry or frustrated? I feel both and many more feelings would erupt to the surface.

This is not about possibilities. This is the real story of West Indies who were disappointedly beaten by the Australian team by 15 runs after West Indies had dominated the first 16 overs of the match.

West Indies won the toss and elected to field first, at Trent Bridge. They would have been proud of their decision when they sent half the Aussie team back to the pavilion with just 79 runs on board, their new ball fast bowlers creating havoc and panic in the Aussie camp. It never looked like Australia would play the full length of the match and would be bundled out for a petty score. All batting resources of Australian batting line up including Warner, Finch, Khawaja, Maxwell and Stoinis were dismissed by Windies.  Only one person was holding ground amidst all the disaster, Steve Smith! A 68 run partnership between Smith and Alex Carey pumped hopes in the Aussie camp. That was a small rehabilitation act.

Nile Nails the Windies with his storming 92 – Little did the Windies know that the tsunami was about to come their way even after dismissing Carey. Then that happened, just like the final half hour in a thriller or a horror movie which puts you on the edge of your seat. In came Nathan Coulter-Nile to join Smith. He took the counterattack on to the Windies bowling attack and smacked 92 runs in just 60 balls, falling sigh of just 8 runs of what would have been one of the best hundreds you would ever watch in a world cup match. But he had done his job, which was more than expected. Even after Smith was dismissed for a responsible knock of 73 runs, having added over hundred runs for the 7^th wicket with Nile, the latter continued his onslaught and kept hitting big boundaries at will. He made sure that Australia scored 288 runs and posted a demonic total for West Indies to chase. Australia could not play out their entire quota of 50 overs. They were bundled out in 49 overs. But the score board was looking scary for West Indies. They would curse themselves for not having made of the advantage they had got in the first 16 overs and they would not have an easy chase for sure. Coulter Nile had scored the best ever personal score by a number 8 batsman, ever in the history of the world cup game and what a time it was for him to rise to the occasion!

It was not a bad chase by the West Indies batsmen to be precise. Though they had a disappointing start, West Indies recovered in the middle, added useful partnerships and kept themselves in the contention of winning the game. One of the set batsmen should have applied himself to get a big individual score with the other hard hitting batsmen fastening up the things around if the West Indies had to win this contest. Shai Hope, Nicolas Pooran and Jason Holder with 68, 40 and 51 runs respectively were the top contributors for Windies. The lower end batsmen too made handy contributions but that was never enough.

Once Jason Holder who was looking gritty and fancying the chances to take the match till the wire and if possible win the match for his team, was dismissed, Australian bowlers took command of the situation and made sure that they did not leak those vital runs which were meant for their win. With 5/46, Mitchell Starc was lethal and was instrumental in destroying the West Indies batting. He was the go-to bowler for his captain. Australia would be happy to get this win after they were down and out right at the beginning of the match. West Indies would have exactly the opposite emotions since the match always belonged to them.

Coulter Nile was the real hero of the match but the person who stood as a saint and created a hope of making a match out of nothing for the Aussie team was Smith. Carey’s contribution in the rebuilding process too is worth praising.

Until we catch up the action from the next match, goodbye folks!!

Keep watching the world cup cricket and enjoy!!

CWC 2019 Match 2 – Thomas rips through Pakistan batting as West Indies register a superb win

Seeing this match which happened to be the second match of the cricket world cup 2019, played between West Indies and Pakistan, I seriously felt if anyone had made it clear to team Pakistan that the world cup is a 50 over format and not a 20 over one.

West Indies, after winning the toss and electing to bowl at Trent Bridge, got Pakistan all out for 105 runs in 21.4 overs. Later the Windies chased this total down in 13.4 overs losing three wickets. The entire match finished in less than half session and looked like highlights of a match. People who would have switched on to their television sets a little late would have missed all action. It was pleasure to see the big man Chris Gayle smashing Pakistan bowlers all round the park and making sure that his team won the match comfortably. After Gayle departed for half a ton, Nicolas Pooran finished off the formalities with few big shots.

The West Indies chase was made easy earlier in the day by a combination of superb fast bowling by the Windies bowler and some ridiculous batting display by Pakistan batsmen. Pakistan team was looking hurry for no reasons they could explain. Even as they lost wickets at regular intervals none of the batsmen took the responsibility to stand adhered in the middle and build up an innings for his team. Pakistan lost last 6 wickets for just 30 runs in 33 balls.

After Andre Russell gave a superb start by dismissing Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam in quick succession, newbie Oshane Thomas displayed lethal fast bowling and demolished Pakistan batting within no time. Captain Jason Holder chipped in with 3 wickets. Thomas was declared the player of the match for his match winning figures of 4/27 in 5 and half overs. While Pakistan were on ‘mission self suicide’, the Windies were thoroughly professional and were on ‘mission demolition’.

Windies will be happy to start with a win but team Pakistan need to reopen their blueprints and match strategies and reassemble themselves and see that they bounce back in quick time and register couple of victories to their name before it gets too late.

It was fascinating to see team West Indies playing as a unit, in a disciplined way. I recollected the Windies team of the yester-years wherein they were a lethal combination of fast bowling stalwarts, playing whom most teams and many players feared. Windies batting looks sluggish and lacking experience, though things seem to work with courage factor intact. If they totally depend on their bowling, they need to re-strategize. But it is early days to tell anything. For time being it will be celebration time for Windies and lot of homework for Pakistan think-tank!

See you all with more chit-chat from match 3 of CWC. Until then…it is goodbye from me!!

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Match 46: QF4: New Zealand march into semi-finals as Guptill smashes double-hundred, WI fall short by 143 runs..

Date: 21.03.2015

Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand enter semi-finals beating West Indies by 143 runs in the 4^th and last quarter-finals. After posting 393 runs on board, NZ bowlers bundled the West Indies for 250 runs in 30.3 overs. Martin Guptill raised from a slow and steady start and headed to score a demolishing double ton as NZ took control of the match in the first session itself. WI had to make a record chase in their turn and getting anywhere near to that mammoth total was an uphill task. Martin Guptill became the first Kiwi player and the 2^nd batsman to register a double hundred in the Cricket World Cup. Undefeated on 237, Guptill also became the highest run-getter in the World Cup history.

Highlights of the Match:

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first.

NZ made a slow and steady start after losing the dangerous opener and Captain Brendon McCullum early in the match. Kane Williamson (33 runs) and Martin Guptill consolidated the stand for Kiwis by putting a 62 run partnership for the 2^nd wicket.

Guptill changes gears

After the departure of Williamson, Ross Taylor joined Martin Guptill who was close-in for his 50. Guptill decided to press the accelerator and elevate the run-rate for New Zealand. He mastered the Windies bowling at one end and smashed the ball to all corners. Taylor played the 2^nd fiddle (42 runs) and rotated the strike letting his dominant partner do the punishing act. The duo put on 143 runs in 135 balls for the 3^rd wicket which was the foundation for a mammoth total. Guptill got 99 runs out of those 143. In the proceedings Guptill had reached his hundred. The big one was yet to come his way.

Guptill reaches double-ton, a class apart…

There was no one to stop Guptill as it looked that the day is made for him. West Indies bowlers were silent spectators and could not do much than bowling their quota of overs and hope Guptill doesn’t take over them in the demolition act. But Guptill had no sentiments as he was given a liberal licence to kill and thrill.

West Indies could only witness the magnificent onslaught by Guptill as he went on to smash a big double hundred. As if the double century was not enough, Guptill came to a more tormenting mood past his 200 and was heading for more. He was a terminator on mission and was unstoppable.

Guptill put on 46 runs in 29 balls for the 4^th wicket with Corey Anderson (15 runs), 55 runs in 19 balls for the 5^th wicket with Grant Elliott (27 runs, 11 balls), 32 runs in 13 balls for the 6^th wicket with Luke Ronchi (9 runs) and an unbroken 28 run partnership in 8 balls for the 7^th wicket with Daniel Vettori (8 runs, 2 balls) to take New Zealand total to 393 for 6.

Martin Guptill remained undefeated on a World Record Double Century in the World Cup history with 237 runs to his credit. He scored these runs in 163 balls with 24 hits to the fence. He also smashed 6 brutal sixes in the proceedings.

The mammoth total was looking difficult to achieve right from the beginning.

Boult destruction for Windies

Trent Boult bowled an exceptional spell and was instrumental in the destruction of West Indies batting line-up, especially the top order. The rest was formality. Boult started his campaign by dismissing Charles in the 2^nd over of the match followed by the wicket of Lendl Simmons in the 6^th over reducing WI to 27 for 2 at that stage.

Chris Gayle who was playing like a champion at one end and Marlon Samuels looked good to repeat their world record stand as they put on 53 runs in 22 balls for the 3^rd wicket. Boult returned with fury to bag the wickets of Samules (27 runs) and Dinesh Ramdin in the space of 5 balls in the 10^th over of the session. West Indies were suddenly 80 for 4 at the 10^th over mark. The run rate was good but WI had lost too many wickets at this juncture.

Mini-Gayle Storm

Everyone was expecting the Gayle-Storm to play spoil-sport in NZ camp if WI had to win or go closer to victory. The Gayle Storm did come but lasted for a small period. Before Chris Gayle was dismissed by Milne in the 17^th over, Gayle made a brilliant 61 (33 balls, 2×4, 8×6) and lit the field with crackers and fire-works.

West Indies surrender and exit…

Jason Holder (42 runs, 26 balls), Jonathan Carter (32 runs) and Darren Sammy (27 runs) chipped in with useful runs but they were never going to be enough. West Indies were finally bowled out for 250 runs in 30.3 overs. At that stage it would have been a match winning total had West Indies lost 2 or 3 wickets. The chase was good but there was no intention or planning from West Indies perspective.

New Zealand won the match by 143 runs and progressed into the semi-finals. This team is playing like champions and didn’t they deserve a place in the semis? The Kiwis continue their un-beaten record so far and a couple of wins with the same attitude will see a new winner of World Cup title in the record books.

West Indies never looked too promising in the World Cup format except that world record partnership between Gayle and Samuels and a superb double-century by Gayle, which was one of its kind in the CWC history until mastered by Martin Guptill in this match. West Indies should go back to the drawing table and create a promising team for future.

Martin Guptill was exceptional in the match and it looked like the match was between him and the West Indies. His double century was a master class and would be remembered for long. His innings was a mix of mass and class, caution and aggression and was really a treat to watch. The whole WI team made 13 runs more than this man before they were bundled out. He was rightly adjudged the Player of the Match.

Wishing Good Luck to team NZ in their future journey toward a maiden WC title…..