CT: Game 12, India vs West Indies

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

‘Down and almost out’ – This is India’s story in the Champions Trophy as they pray for Pakistan’s victory against Australia. Coming into the Champions Trophy, India were touted as one of the favourites along with South Africa, but contrary to those speculations, Pakistan beating Australia and India defeating West Indies by a huge margin is the only possible route for India to qualify to the semi-finals and not follow the South African way. Their bowling performance against the Aussies was slightly better when compared to the performance against Pakistan. Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar performed well with the new ball and Amith Mishra certainly justified Dhoni’s decision to pick him for the match. However, Ishant Sharma once again showed that he was a bowler short of confidence with his display of wayward bowling, and Harbhajan went for 6 runs an over during his spell. India never got a chance to bat against the Aussies with the match being washed out during the Australian innings. As mentioned earlier, India’s hope now rest on Pakistan beating Australia.

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CT: Game 11, Australia vs Pakistan

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Pakistan have been the form-team of the tournament so far. In fact, they’ve been so impressive that JP Duminy has picked them as his favourites for the title. In the two matches they’ve played so far, the bowlers did a sterling job in one (against West Indies) and the batsmen came to the party in the other (against India). And they’ve been on a roll without a major contribution from Shahid Afridi – who at some point in the tournament is sure to murder a bowling attack. Pakistan have not played Mohammad Asif yet, which is probably the right call, especially since the other bowlers have performed well so far. Asif’s match-fitness in physical and mental terms is still suspect, and while there is no doubting his talent, there is less doubt about his ability to consistently make wrong decisions. A spell of working his way back into the team might actually do him immense good, and Pakistan will profit in the long-term from it. However, considering that Pakistan have nothing at stake in this match, Asif might get his first game. Pakistan’s main weakness is their inconsistency, especially while batting. When the batting clicks, they are hard to stop, but when it falters, they resemble a house of cards falling down. Even in the match against India, Pakistan fell at least 20 runs short of what they should have achieved given the platform laid by Yousuf and Malik.

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CT: Game 10, England vs New Zealand

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

They have perhaps exceeded their own expectations by qualifying for the semi-finals with a game in hand. So it was no surprise to see the players take a day off from their gruelling calender and relax, with some team bonding sessions, in the build up to this game. The match maybe of no consequence to them, but Strauss will be egging his boys to carry on from where they left off against the Proteas. Owias Shah and Collingwood are the men in form, but the biggest plus so far has been Eoin Morgan, who has come into his own in this series, notching up 2 match winning half centuries. The biggest concern in the English camp seems to be the availability of Matt Prior, more than the batting or the bowling, and that is in itself a positive sign. The only possible change could be the inclusion of Ryan Sidebottom at the expense of Graham Onions. So we can expect an aggressive English side to take the field against the Hungry Kiwis at the ‘Bullring’.

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CT: Game 9, Australia vs India

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Tendulkar always reserves his best against the Aussies. Testimony to this would be the cricket fans around the world who would agree that 1998 belonged to Tendulkar, who single-handedly took India to the finals at Sharjah with a breath-taking century against Australia and then bettered his efforts in the finals taking India to victory against the Aussies. Numerous such shows have been provided courtesy the little master, and India would bank upon one such effort from the batting Maestro.

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CT: Game 8, South Africa vs England

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Group B has been thrown nicely open with England’s shock win over Sri Lanka, and this match has suddenly assumed much greater importance than what people thought it would have. The pitch at Centurion has been a tad on the slower side, while the weather is forecast to be sunny.

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CT: Game 7, New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Sangakkara in his post match interview, described the wicket as ‘unfit’ for ODI’s. With an even cover of grass, the bowlers can expect some pronounced seam movement and good bounce. If the batsmen get in, they should make it count. It would be difficult for the new batsmen to play their strokes straightaway. The team winning the toss will be looking to bowl, and make early use of track to their advantage.

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CT: Game 6, India vs Pakistan

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

This is where the Champions Trophy actually starts – with this ‘mother of all battles’. In the future, depending on the fate of One Day Internationals, historians will point to this match and say either

  • a) in spite of the great crowds for the India-Pakistan match, it was generally acknowledged that ODIs were on their way out, and that this was one of the few matches that could still compete with the Twenty20 revolution. Or,
  • b) This match proved that the ODI was still healthy, alive and kicking. One only had to be at the Centurion on that day and experience the fanatical devotion of the fans to know that something that struck such a deep chord with such a large mass of people, could in no way be called ‘dead’ or ‘dying’.

The venue couldn’t have been more apt – It was here in 2003 that these two sides last met in a match that has since been summed up by two words: Sachin Tendulkar. The occasion is perfect for an established master or a rising star to play the kind of innings or bowl the kind of spell for which generations will remember him.

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CT: Game 5, Australia vs West Indies

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

The defending champions kick off their campaign with an easy game against the West Indies. Coming on the back of a resounding series win over England, the Aussies will be high on confidence and will be looking to build some momentum ahead of the crucial game against India on Monday. However they will be without the services of Nathan Bracken, who has been ruled out due to a knee injury, and Micheal Clarke who will be rested, after he complained of a sore back on the way to Johanessburg from London.

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CT: Game 4, England vs Sri Lanka

Friday, September 25th, 2009

The team from the Emerald nation would be brimmimg with confidence after defeating one of the tournament favourites – South Africa – with ease. The Lankan batting, which was thought of as the team’s weak link prior to the tournament, dispelled that notion after a power-packed performance against the Proteas. While the Dilshan show remained the stand-out performance, Sangakkara and Jayawardene’s batting displays were no mean feats either. The bowling departnemt, which has always been the back-bone of the Lankan team, lived up to its reputation, making life difficult for the South African batsmen. Sri Lanka would look to continue in the same tempo, taking on a weakened English side.

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CT: Game 3, South Africa vs New Zealand

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

South Africa: The hosts have not been given much time to recover from their demoralizing defeat to Sri Lanka. However, the defeat would have hopefully acted as the kick-in-the-pants they needed to shake off their rustiness after a long layoff. They are still amongst the stronger teams in the tournament and thus remain strong contenders for the title, but their path to the semi-finals look a tad more arduous than it did three days ago. However, their bowling might have to be relooked at. Makhaya Ntini, who sat out of the first game, should get a look in for this one. For a team that is under the gun, the experienced players will be a better bet than a rookie, so Wayne Parnell might have to sit out of this one. Another return that would boost the team is that of Herschelle Gibbs.

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Last Match: Pakistan vs. England: Pakistan won by 71 runs  |  Upcoming Match: India vs. Sri Lanka, Perth - 08 Feb, 2012 (04:20 GMT)