CWC 2019 Match 44 – Rahul-Rohit smash tons as India defeat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets

It has become a habit for Hitman Rohit Sharma to smash tons at will. This hundred against Sri Lanka is his fifth in this world cup. Now he holds the world record for most number of hundreds by a single batsman in one season of world cup format. Hats off Hitman, take a bow! As if this was not enough for Sri Lanka, yet another century came their way from the blade of K.L. Rahul. It was pleasant to see Rahul get to his ton after having seen him get good starts, couple of 70+ scores and not reaching to his tons, missing them in inches, but this was awesome!

India had to chase down 265 runs to win. Sri Lanka has defended small totals and they are unpredictable on their given day. It looked like India may get resistance from Sri Lankan bowlers but that never happened. India was in total command of the chase. India had nothing to lose even if they happened to lose this match. Anyways it was predicted that being 2^nd placed team in the chart, India would play the 3^rd placed team i.e. England. But if India happened to win this match and if Australia were to lose to South Africa, then India would move to 1^st place in the table and would play the 4^th placed team, i.e. New Zealand in the semi final leaving Australia to play against England in the other semifinal.

When the openers put on 189 runs for the first wicket in 30 overs, the match is almost over. Sri Lanka had no answers for the Indian openers. At one point it looked as if India would score those runs without losing a wicket. India lost 3 wickets before they could snatch the victory with 6 and half overs remaining.

This was Lasith Malinga’s last match and what a player he has been for Sri Lanka! Take a bow champ, Cricket will miss your services and entertainment!

Earlier, Sri Lanka managed to get to 264 runs which at one time looked unlikely when Sri Lanka was struggling at 55 for 4 in 11.4 overs. Then a 124 run partnership between Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne for the 5^th wicket helped Sri Lanka to post a decent total on board. Angelo Mathews scored a superb ton while Thirimanne scored half ton. With figures of 3/37, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of Indian bowlers.

India are presently sitting at 1^st place in the table after this win and would wait to see who would catch them up in the semis, England or New Zealand!!

Until we catch up with the next match…it is goodbye folks!

Keep watching the 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 30 – Win drought continues for South Africa, as Pakistan upset them by 49 runs

It is really painful to see South Africa being knocked out of the world cup 2019. This officially happened when Pakistan registered a clinical win over the Proteas by 49 runs.

South Africa needed to win this battle if they had to mathematically remain in the world cup prospects without being announced as ‘knocked out’! But amidst all rains in England, the pains and win drought continued for South Africa. It was as if the bad luck had accompanied them as an extra member in the team right from the start and has masked its influence over them. I have never seen such pathetic and lack luster cricket from South Africa. This should be their worst world cup outing ever and they would definitely carry on many bad memories from here when they travel back home. They have not given any single performance or any single name to remember from this world cup as it goes into the history book. This is the sad tale of South Africa!

Chasing 309 runs to win, South Africa never looked in contention of winning the match. It never looked as if they would chase it down. South Africa had carried the wound of every previous defeat into the next match, went with morals and face down only to worsen their wounds in every successive encounter. They never traced their remedies. A 92 run stand between Quinton de Kock (47 runs) and Faf du Plessis for the second wicket (63 runs) and a terminal onslaught by Andile Phehlukwayo (46 runs in 32 balls) were the only events to remember from South Africa’s perspective as far as this match is concerned. Wahab Riaz and Shahdab Khan picked 3 wickets each and pioneered a good win for Pakistan.

Earlier Babar Azam scored a superb 69 to lay foundation for a big total, after their openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman gave a 81 run stand for the first wicket scoring 44 runs each. But the best of Pakistan’s innings definitely came from the timber of Haris Sohail. Sohail scored 89 runs in 59 balls and took his team’s total beyond 300 runs.

After their loss against India, Pakistan needed a quick win to reinforce morals back into the team and this win would give them confidence and keep them alive in the race for semifinal berth.

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

Keep viewing the world cup matches and have fun!

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 28 – India survive Afghanistan scare, clinch a thrilling win

It wouldn’t be wrong if I tell that India won the match but Afghanistan won the hearts of millions. I have kept telling that Afghanistan did not show their potential in this cricket world cup 2019 and they look just like an inclusion to finish the format. I have also said that I would love to see them upsetting a team or two. But today it seriously looked like they are all set to upset team India!

When Indian Captain, Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat, Indian fans would have rejoiced, me too! Everyone would have thought that India would bat Afghanistan out of the match and set up a mammoth total on board. But that was not to be. Virat Kohli said at the toss that Afghanistan is a dangerous team and they would not take them lightly. The entire Indian team took this statement seriously and played as if they had to make every word of it true.

Afghanistan totally exposed the weaker side of Indian team. It would be a wakeup call for team India who at time look pathetic in comparison to what appears on paper. If the top 3 Indian batsmen fail to deliver, it is over for team India. The next part looks so sluggish and unpredictable. All teams know this, and Afghanistan showed it clearly. India’s struggle to get runs on board was like thirsty people searching for oasis in the desert. Rohit Sharma had scored 1 run in 10 balls when Mohammad Nabi showed him the pavilion. India would not have got a worse start than this! They hadn’t even scored 10 runs in the first 5 overs. Virat Kohli looked great and scored a 63 ball 67. In the entire match, he was the only confident batsman who hit the ball as it needed to be hit. The pitch was playing its part. K.L.Rahul continued his obsession of getting out to wrong and fancy shots. He threw his wicket when he was looking good at a steady 30. Vijay Shankar showed promise but was not in a good nick. Kedar Jadhav held one end and scored a slow fifty, which proved to be important from the perspective of Indian side at the end of the match. M.S. Dhoni once again came under the scanner when he played a pathetic innings as if he was training himself for coming back to the test squad. It was one of the most irresponsible and immature innings I have seen from MSD, a player I always loved to see. He was just ridiculous. Even Afghanistan bowlers would have got frustrated bowling at him. Dhoni and Jadhav were painful thorns in Indian innings and hurt the most. They played defense at will and never tried to take the attack to the opposition. The pitch was bad but not that tough for the likes of Dhoni and Jadhav. They made Shane Warnes, Muralitharans and Kumbles off Afghanistan bowlers. Afghanistan would have loved to play a series against India instead of playing in the world cup! India could manage only 224 runs on board. 300 or in worst case, a 260 or 270 was looking good when Kohli was playing. It was a pity that they couldn’t even reach 250. Afghanistan bowlers were clinical and gave away nothing. There were so many overs which conceded 1 or 2 runs. While Nabi picked 2 wickets, Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled tidy spell of 1 for 26 in his 10 overs.

Afghanistan had a chance of making a cake walk of this match, but they messed it up! In spite of losing regular wickets, Afghanistan was in the hunt for winning the match. Initially Indian bowlers bowled to a plan. They kept it straight and tight. They created pressure without giving away too many runs, though Afghanistan bowlers targeted Hardik Pandya and Shami to grab some runs. Jasprit Bumrah got two quick breaks for India by dismissing set batsmen Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi in space of 2 balls in 29^th over. At this stage, Afghanistan was 106 for 4 in 29 overs. The target was still achievable. They just needed partnerships going so that they could take the risk at the end. But Indian bowlers showed great character and choked runs. This kept the graph of asking run rate constantly ascending. In between Indian bowlers kept taking wickets. Mohammad Nabi was the thorn in India’s flesh. He was playing sensibly. Though he was not scoring at a brisk rate, he was accumulating runs even as wickets tumbled around him. Afghanistan needed 21 runs off last 2 overs. Bumrah gave away just 5 runs in the penultimate over. Mohammad Shami claimed a hat trick in the last over and guided India to an 11 run win. Nabi was one of Shami’s victims. He made a good 52 in 55 balls. On his given day, Nabi would have won the match for his team, he had almost done it. Nabi needs applause for his all round efforts. He would be the unsung hero of the match! Shami picked up 4 wickets while Yuzvedra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya took 2 wickets each.

I just wondered, everyone would have, why Vijay Shankar and Kedhar Jadhav were never given the ball? When every spinner of Afghani camp could bowl tight spells and frustrate Indians, Shankar and Jadhav would definitely come in handy. The adamancy of sticking to bowling five bowlers, continuing Hardik Pandya in spite of him leaking runs looked weird and horrible, especially when India’s greatest think tanks, Kohli and Dhoni were on field! If you are not using the services of these two bowlers, why play them? You can increase your batting strength by playing Pant or all round strength by playing Jadeja! This would definitely bring trouble to India, especially seeing the batting line up! I am sure that Kohli would tell that he would play the same team even in the next match and not give a chance to Pant or Jadeja. I never understood the role of Jadhav and Shankar in the team? First of all I have an objection of them being in the team in place of many others who deserve their places!

Indian team will be two steps ahead if favorism and politics are kept away and if Indian think tank thinks of importance of winning matches rather than giving importance to characters!

I wish India come to senses quickly and play sensibly in the coming matches. They are looking sure to play a semi final, but you never know!

On the other hand, I would clap for Afghanistan, I would have clapped twice if they would beat India, in spite of being an Indian fan! But I would congratulate team India for pulling the win out of the jaws of defeat. Just the last two overs belonged to India even as Afghanistan dominated the other 98 overs of the day. That makes the difference between the two teams. And was there a luck factor involved?

Until we catch up the next time, it is goodbye from me folks!

Keep enjoying your world cup matches and have fun!

CWC 2019 Match 27 – England get Malinga-Mathews shocker as Sri Lanka clinch a superb win

No one would have expected Sri Lanka who are looking ‘not that great’ in this world cup season to clinch a win against one of the ‘world cup favorites’ England who are playing clinical cricket, that too after posting a meager 239 runs on board. Thanks to a sensible and splendid knock by Sri Lanka’s Mr. Dependable, Angelo Mathews who scored a gritty 85 and remained undefeated till the end. With wickets tumbling around him, Mathews never gave up the hope. He did not throw his wicket and showed great character! Avishka Fernando’s quick fire 49 in 39 balls brought some life in Sri Lanka’s innings after they were 2 down for 3 in the third over after winning the toss and electing to bat at Headingley. Along with Kusal Mendis (46 runs) Avishka built the innings when Sri Lanka needed the most. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were the pick of the bowlers and took 3 wickets each. But it was Adil Rashid who pulled back England back into the game when Sri Lanka was looking good to settle down and put a decent total on board. He dismissed Kusal and Jeevan Mendis in two consecutive balls and reduced Sri Lanka to 133 for 5 in the 30^th over. What Mathews did from there was decent and epic. The other batsmen faltered to contribute anything great to the scoreboard as Sri Lanka had to settle with 232 runs losing 9 wickets in the proceedings.

With scintillating form what they showed in this world cup, especially with the bat, anyone would have put their money on England to chase the total down in 40 overs or even less. But English team showed that they too are human! Except Joe Root and Ben Stokes, no batsmen showed any intent to stand there and score runs for their team. Small scores are tricky, many times! Some England batsmen did not apply themselves, may be they had taken win for granted and others played fancy shots throwing their wickets instead of giving company to Stokes who was batting superbly at one end. My heart would go to Stokes the way he played. Had he got company of couple of players, may be from Jos or Moeen, he would have just won the match for England. Ben Stokes would remain as unsung hero as far as this match is concerned because his undefeated 82 wasn’t enough for England to make a match out of it. He tried his best to pull off a win which wasn’t on cards, but it was too late!

Did I mention Lasith Malinga! How could I end the article without mentioning this bowler who won a match for his team when things were looking unlikely, when Sri Lanka was written off after the first session? He helped Sri Lanka to snatch a win under England’s nose! He dismissed 4 out of the top 6 England batsmen, all of whom would have easily won the match for England had they flourished! He dismissed Vince, Bairstow, Root and Buttler…the entire heart and soul of England’s batting lineup, the chase-masters! In spite of Stokes’s gritty innings, England lost their last 5 wickets for just 40 + runs. But it was Malinga who had written the script of England’s downfall, much ahead in the second session. Malinga won the man of the match for this superb win, but for me, Mathews would remain as the hero who scripted the win for Sri Lanka behind the screen, with a decent and silent innings that he played like a master!

England would like to forget this match as early as possible and march towards the semi-final berth which they truly deserve. They need to come back to their winning formula and gain momentum in quick time. You never know!

But it would be interesting to see if Sri Lanka can pull off couple more wins and change the equations of the table! It looks unlikely for them to make it to the elite four stage…but…!

Until we catch up the next time to discuss more action from the next world cup flick, it is goodbye from me folks!

Keep enjoying the world cup matches and have fun!

CWC 2019 Match 25 – South Africa humiliated yet again as Williamson steers New Zealand to a thrilling win!

Kane Williamson smashed a sensible and undefeated match-winning 106 in 138 balls as he guides New Zealand to a superb win in a thrilling chase. Needing 242 runs in 49 overs to win, New Zealand started slowly on a tricky pitch. The ball was doing a bit and South Africa bowlers were putting pressure on Kiwi batsmen. New Zealand had never lost a match before this encounter and South Africa had just won 1 out of their last 5 matches. South Africa had everything to prove in their attempt to survive in this world cup. But one of the commentators said that ‘It is looking like Fortune is playing revenge games with South Africa’. So true it is! They had to win this contest. They were well placed in the match when New Zealand had lost half of its team for 137 in 33^rd over. They needed 105 runs in 16 overs and had 5 wickets in their quiver. And it happened, couple of dropped catches in the 38^th over bowled by Imran Tahir, wherein both Williamson and Colin de Grandhomme were dropped closed the doors for South Africa. You don’t drop catches if you need to win the match, especially if there is a specialist like Williamson who can win matches for his team when he keeps going and Grandhomme who was looking in menacing touch, hitting the ball at will. Even after that, South Africa dropped catches every now and then and missed a run out. The batsmen took advantage of the small disturbances working in their favor. Williamson and de Grandhomme put 91 runs for the 6^th wicket and sealed the match in favor of their team before the later departed with 14 runs needed to win. South Africa tried to put pressure on Kiwi batsmen but it was too late. Williamson sealed the match with a might six and a single. New Zealand had won the match by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare.

South Africa had missed out on appealing a nick by Williamson off Tahir, but then they were unsure of appealing it and of course, fortune favors the brave. It was not that South Africa weren’t brave, New Zealand was more courageous. They held their nerves in the tight match and also conquered their tense moments well. The pitch wasn’t favorable to chase easily and they needed to play sensibly. It was bad luck for the Proteas that Williamson was holding the fortress from one end and when he is there at the center, he means business.

Earlier in the day, it looked like Edgbaston would hand over one more washed out game to the world cup format. The overcast conditions weren’t looking good. In spite of the match being delayed for one and half hours, the match was reduced by 1 over per side.

Rassie van de Dussen (67 runs) and Hashim Amla (55 runs) and a handy run a ball 36 by Miller made sure that South Africa put 241 runs on board. For a team like New Zealand who are looking in top form, it was looking like it would be an easy chase. The runs were good but did not look good enough. Amla played dead slow for his runs. All other batsmen too suffered. New Zealand bowling was tight and clinical. They did not allow any Kiwi batsmen to flourish and go after them blazing. Lokie Ferguson picked 3 wickets for New Zealand but the pick of the bowlers was Colin de Grandhomme. He took a wicket while giving away just 33 runs in his spell of 10 overs. Matthew Henry was also clean, he just gave away 34 runs in his spell.

New Zealand are just few steps away or one more win away from their semi-final berth while for South Africa, it looks like end of road, if some odd mathematics doesn’t work in their favor!

This match will be remembered for Williamson’s gritty knock and match winning ton in a tight chase!

I will catch up with more news from the next match, until then it is goodbye from me!

Enjoy your world cup matches!!

CWC 2019 Match 24 – Morgan’s big hundred humiliate Afghanistan as England register 150 run win

A ruthless innings of a 71 ball 148 by England captain Eoin Morgan left Afghanistan team clueless as England register a big win against them. Morgan created many records in the match, the most interesting one of all was his 17 might sixes which is an all time record in a single innings by any batsman, not only in the world cup match but also in one day international cricket. Immaterial of the team you are supporting, if you are a true supporter of cricket, you would relish such an innings. I was surely looking for a 200 from Morgan who was hitting the cricket ball mercilessly as if taking revenge on it. He was in such top form. England batsmen hit 25 maximums in this match, which is also a record in any single innings.

It was Jonny Bairstow who started the initial onslaught when he went on rampage against Afghani bowlers. Joe Root, who is in brilliant form held the innings together as the other batsmen were hitting the ball at, will. He played sensibly and crafted 88 runs to his credit, while Bairstow hit a superb 90. These both batsmen were not lucky enough to reach their personal milestones scoring 100 even when they were very close to that 3 digit number. Had they taken little caution, they would have got their tons, making three tons in a single match. Moeen Ali gave the final touch to the match hitting 4 sixes in his 9 ball 31. England posted mammoth 397 runs on board. With the form and attitude shown by Afghanistan batsmen in this format of world cup, it looked rather an uphill task even for them to think of reaching a score anywhere near to it. Afghanistan’s bowling prospect that was in so much news even before the world cup started, Rashid Khan had a bad match with his ball, like all his counterparts. But English batsmen were rather targeting Rashid and hitting him mercilessly. He had an unusual record which he would never have wished to have. His 9 overs did not give him a single wicket but England batsmen collected 110 runs from his spell.

Afghanistan lost the match by 150 runs with Hashmatullah Shah top scoring with 76 runs for them. England bowlers were too clinical in their bowling and backed the total set by their batsmen with disciplined bowling supported by superb fielding. The Afghanistan batsmen were really never in the game. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid were the pick of the bowlers for England and picked three wickets each.

Of all, Morgan’s innings will be remembered in the history books as one of the finest one day innings and world cup innings. What a game he had!

England top the table now and are almost few inches away from having a place in the semifinal slot. For Afghanistan, it looks as if they are at the end of their road, as far as this world cup is concerned!

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

Enjoy your world cup matches!!

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 22 – Rohit-Kohli bat Pakistan out of the match, Indian bowlers excel in rain affected game

A world cup match!

A Sunday!

And….

An ‘India – Pakistan’ Match…!

What would cricket lovers from all over the world wish for, more than this..!

It is a perfect recipe for blasting entertainment.

It was Indo-Pak encounter this time to be played at Old Trafford Cricket Ground and India were going into the match with confidence of winning 2 matches and a little disappointment after their game against New Zealand got washed out! One more important thing was that India had never lost to Pakistan in their last 6 encounters in the previous world cup cricket matches.

Pakistan Captain, Sarfaraz called it wrong when he put India into bat after having won the crucial toss. The match would be played in an overcast condition as there was threat of rain.

India opened with K.L.Rahul and Rohit Sharma, a new opening pair. These two had never opened together for India. With Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan who scored a ton against Australia and found form and also was injured in the same match being rested, it was an experiment as long as India was concerned. Vijay Shankar was given a chance due to his possible all-round capabilities which he himself and also team India had to explore!

India played in three gears. Slow gear at the beginning, medium gear in the middle where they picked up the pace and accelerated the game and rampage gear at the end.

India started cautiously. Credits should be given to Rahul, who took time to find his rhythm and slowly accumulated runs. He gave a good start with Rohit Sharma wherein they put on 136 runs for the first wicket in 23.5 overs before Rahul got out for a well made 57. On the other hand, the hitman Rohit Sharma was at the top of his game. While comforting his new, young partner, Rahul and allowing him to discover himself, Rohit, being a senior partner played as a champion and took the responsibility of accelerating the score. His 113 ball 140 almost sealed the match in India’s favor. I seriously felt bad when he mistimed Hasan Ali for a catch to be held by Wahab Riaz when he was seriously meaning business at 140. We know, if Rohit hits a hundred, he is obviously looking for a big score or even a 200. I was waiting for his double ton, so as many Indian fans. But he missed the big one because when he got out, there were more than 11 overs remaining and Rohit was playing a destructive innings, in his top gear! But he had done his job.

Rohit also added 98 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli. The team India captain too was looking in top notch. He too missed a hundred when he got out on his personal score of 77 made in just 65 balls. Hardik Pandya’s breezy 26 added to the woes for Pakistan. Mohammad Amir, as expected was the thorn in the flesh for India, but Indian batsmen had other bowlers to target. Amir picked 3 Indian wickets to his credit.

If Pandya would come a little late in the innings or if Rohit or Kohli carried their bat till the end, the score would have gone well past 370 runs for sure. But India finished with a mammoth 336 losing 5 wickets in the proceedings. This meant that Pakistan had to bat sensibly and also with good grit and intention, composure and brains to get to this total, it wasn’t tough either. It also meant that India had to bowl decently not allowing Pakistan batsmen to settle down and build partnerships. It wasn’t easy for Indian bowlers as well, especially with rain on cards!

When it rained in between the Pakistan innings it looked like another wash out was on cards, especially when India had posted such a total and had played superbly! The rain did come in between and interrupted the match for long periods. But India had bowled 20 overs, needed for a result to be declared. At all junctures, Pakistan was way behind the DL par score! India was fancying a win, big win too!!

Indian opening bowlers Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah gave a dream start for India. They were hard to score. And then Bhuvaneshwar had to walk out due to his injury after having bowled just 2.4 overs. This was advantage point for Pakistan because they can now pick the part time bowlers to score runs. Vijay Shankar completed Bhuvaneshwar’s incomplete over and got his first wicket in the first ball he bowled in the world cup in the form of Imam-ul-Haq. Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam were looking lethal as they had settled down to put a century partnership for the second wicket. But the required run rate was always increasing. Fakhar and Babar tried to pull gears and were in attacking mood.

Kuldeep Yadav pulled the math in India’s favor when he dismissed both settled batsmen in quick time, within a span of 2 overs. Pakistan was on the back foot. Indian bowlers were applying pressure on the Pakistan batsmen and Pakistan batsmen found it difficult to score runs. Required run rate was slowly going out of reach. Surprisingly Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah couldn’t come to the part and were also targeted by Pakistan batsmen.

Hardik Pandya gave a double blow to Pakistan when he dismissed Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in quick successions, in 2 consecutive balls in the 26^th over of the second innings. Pakistan was 129/5 at this stage and needed more than 200 runs in 23 overs which was an uphill task. There was no logic that Pakistan would win from here and even magic was a mirage! Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan tried to smash runs when a difficult chase was on cards following rain and application of DL rule. At 40 overs, Pakistan could manage 212 runs losing 6 wickets. Even if it wouldn’t have rained and if the match would go to full length, India would have won by more than 100 runs for sure. Chasing 336 was always a difficult equation and Pakistan showed no intent in doing it after a particular point of the match. Indian bowlers were clinical and superb after Indian batsmen had almost batted Pakistan team out of the match. Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav were the heroes with the ball; they took 2 wickets each and did not allow Indian captain worry about missing Bhuvaneshwar’s services.

By DL method, India won the match by 89 runs. Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer for Pakistan with 62 runs to his credit.

Pakistan has just won 1 out of their 5 matches, with 3 defeats and 1 match being washed out. Their campaign in the world cup looks difficult. They have to win all the other 4 matches and hope that it doesn’t rain in any of their games. This is expecting too much, but they have to! One more loss, it is end of road to Pakistan!

On the other hand India would take this win, especially when it is against Pakistan, the so called arch-rivals. It was sad to see a one sided match, but Indian fans will take it, any day! India is the only team apart from New Zealand which had not lost any match until now in this season of world cup. India has won 3 out of four games and has an undesired washout to their credit. With 5 more games to go, India will fancy their chances for a semi-final berth!

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

Keep watching and enjoying your world cup matches!