Team of the Group Round; Match # 3

In previous blogs it was mentioned that the 2015 edition would be a runs galore gala and it proves in the Group Round; Match # 3 held in the mid of this week. No surprise, the Team that has been selected this session has collectively scored around 1100 runs, on the other hand bowlers and all rounders shared a decent collection of 20 wickets amongst them.

 Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan and West Indian Chris Gayle formed a fearsome opening pair together, not only scoring record 161 and 215 runs respectively but also picking 2 wickets each in their all round as well as Man of the Match performances  against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

English batsman Moeen Ali delivered similar display piling 125 runs and picking a brace of wickets with his off spin. Sri Lanka’ Kumar Sangakkara (105) and West Indies’ Marlon Samuels (133) also netted centuries in the middle order, but the most explosive batting display was of AB De Villiers who ripped apart West Indian bowling attack by smashing 162 runs in just 66 deliveries, so the South African skipper honorably deserved this time to lead the Team of Group Round; Match # 3.

All rounder Kevin O’ Brien of Ireland got two wickets before hitting a quick fifty off 34 balls during a successful runs chase against the UAE.   

But more decisive in the above match was the Irish wicket keeper Gary Wilson who scored 80 runs besides catching two Emirates’ batsmen behind the stumps and was, therefore, awarded the Man of the Match.

Wrist spinner Imran Tahir again performed well to be included in the Team of Group Round second time, bowling five West Indies batsmen out through his deceptive spinning.

English pacer Steven Finn got 3 wickets and Shapoor Zadran picked 4 against Scots in different matches, however the Afghan also contributed important 12 match winning runs during 10^th wicket unbroken stand, leading the debutant Afghanistan to have their first ever victory in World Cup event.        

Team of the Group Round; Match 2

Brendon McCullum ‘ blistering 77 runs off 39 balls against England demonstrate how to lead from the front, so the Kiwi skipper is ideal to open and captain the Team of the Group Round: Match 2. He is paired with Shaker Dhawan, who hit 137 runs to contribute in the India’ huge victory against South Africa.

Man of the Matches, both Mahela Jayawardene and Shakib Al Hasan were pivotal in Afghanistan’ consecutive defeats. The Sri Lankan scored a century and Bangladesh all rounder scored important 76 runs besides getting 2 wickets against the World Cup’ debutant to guide their teams to victories.

All rounder SC Williams contributed with 76 runs and 2 wickets in Zimbabwe’ win against UAE. Kiwi handy man Anderson again chipped in important 11 runs in chasing a low target against Scotland plus his 2 wickets earn him a place in this team. Similarly Andre Russell smashed 42 runs off 17 balls against strong Pakistan’ bowling attack and also picked 3 wickets leading West Indies to bring back in the event.

Scottish wicket keeper Matthew Cross caught four top order Kiwi batsmen behind the stumps and created severe troubles for the Black Caps to chase a low target.

In the spin department Ravichandran Ashwin and  Daniel Vettori both took equal wickets but the Indian defeated his Kiwi counterpart to get a place in this team because his 3-wicket haul was against a much stronger South African team.              

Tim Southee set a new World Cup record of best bowling by getting 7 wickets and the pacer forms a formidable pace attack here together with West Indies Jerome Taylor who ripped apart Pakistan top order very quickly in his 3 wicket haul. 

Team of the Group Round: Match # 1

When almost every important team has played their first match, a Team of the Group Round; Match 1, has been drafted on the basis of performance of individual players, which is stated below;

The  Australian Aron Finch’ 135 runs against the English bowlers and Irish PR Sterling’ 92 against West Indies played a pivotal role in their teams’ victories, so the responsibility to open the inning given to them.

In the middle order India Virat Kohli’ 107 against formidable Pakistan bowling attack, South Africa’ David Miller and JP Duminy’ 138 and 115 respectively in a record 5^th wicket stand against Zimbabwe, are significant performances to validate their positions.

Among the two all rounders New Zealand’ Corey Anderson’ 75 runs and 2 wickets against Sri Lanka and Mitchell Marsh 5 wicket haul besides scoring  23 runs against England, consolidate the batting strength of this team further.

India’ M S Dhoni took 3 vital catches behind the stumps but more importantly it was his shrewd captaincy against Pakistan, which confirms his position as the skipper behind the stumps.

In the spin department Imran Tahir gets a slot as his 3 scalps against Zimbabwe guided South Africa to the victory.

Although, Pakistan and England tasted defeat in their opening matches, but their pacers Sohail Khan and Steven Finn are included in this team for exceptional performances, picking 5 wickets each against strong batting line ups of India and Australia respectively.            

Top Spinning Mills

How good spinner are you today depends on how good mysterious inventor you are . The art is no longer just about loop, angle and flick these days. Varieties even in special deliveries like flipper, googly, carom ball and doosra reveal the limitless ingenuity of human skills.

Despite Australia and New Zealand’s reputation of having seamer-friendly tracks, spinners will have a huge role to play in the tournament .

Mantra of veterans duos

It would be foolish underestimate veterans, if they are in--pair . Either it was the duo of Imran Khan and Javeed Miandad in 1992, Arjuna Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva in 1996 or Steve Waugh and Shane Warne in 1999 World Cup, old rivals’ partnership often bore fruits in bigger stage.

The mantra often works when it matters most.

Line & Good Length

Pitches are likely to offer some pace and bounce, so fast bowlers can expect more assistance, both in the air as well as off the deck. The bowlers, therefore, bowl just short of a good length and also vary their pace which has now become the main weapon for bowlers in limited-overs cricket.

To batsmen, that also help stroke-play. But if the bowlers are them,  …….. 

Aerial & Ground Field Strength

The larger dimensions of specially Australian grounds together with new rule which mandates five fielders inside the 30-yard circle at all times in an innings, must have a huge impact on how the teams work out their strategies and players to cover the entire field. That require much greater agility and anticipation as well as  speed and stamina. 

In a way only a few players like Tilkaratne  Dilshan, Faf  du  Plessis, Suresh Raina, David Warner , Martin Guptil and Umar Akmal can qualify that standards, however it is a surety that the fielding standard in the World Cup 2015 will be at another level over all.

The Core to Score

Although not batting-friendly venues, but One day cricket is all about runs and totals, so expect high scoring matches. And the  core to score is

How about these batting maestros.