Cover Points : World Cup

Semi Final brings Pakistan a full circle

gchakravarthy — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:08:00 GMT

A tale of the PowerPak v. the Safferers:

Albie in the Finals!!! Steyn alive, charging like a Jacques ... for one Morkel, made it to Botha Finals" - Younus Khan 23 minutes ago
Will this be Pakistan's Doom(iny)? 29 minutes ago
Wasim bowling to Wessels ... in the commentary box!! Oh! It's a *** comment followed by a *** comment. It's all crappening here ... 31 minutes ago
Akram WAZ a great bowler, but 'IM a crappy commentator. "Suppperb bowling ... supperb bowling ... suppperb bowling ..." 35 minutes ago
Full-of-crap Wessels is silent now!! 40 minutes ago
Says one green to another ... you're blue! ABD falls to AfriD and in comes JPD about 1 hour ago
Said one charger to another ... you're out of juice! But Gibbs checks the ball from Afridi after it has bowled him. Is this a sign of more hapless allegations to come? about 1 hour ago
Pakistan take a catch ... AMIRacle! Graemey innings ends. Maybe just as well for the Saffers! about 1 hour ago
Umer Goal! about 2 hours ago
Empty Wessels is making too much noise. about 2 hours ago
JP TooMany about 3 hours ago
Roll off van Der Nerve !! about 3 hours ago
Can Y. Khan do an I. Khan in the cricket World Cup? about 3 hours ago

Choke De! South Africa?

gchakravarthy — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:27:00 GMT

Indian fans might not have the opportunity to chant their favorite catchphrase any longer in the second ever World T20 Cup.

The news cloud online seems to be full of suggestions that they could have a similar-sounding one for South Africa, if their previous performances in World Cups, indeed in any major ICC tournaments for that matter, are anything to go by.

And that was when they were NOT expected to win those tournaments anyway.

This time around, they actually have been the favorites from day -4.

The last time they went into something having been expected to come out winners on the other side thereof, they lost a test series to Australia.

Some Aussies would like to firmly believe so, especially since the Australian team was unceremoniously sent off from the tournament. Others are pretty sure that will happen.

But, looking from within South Africa, it seems like the chokers tag might be turned right on its own head in what is a factually well backed up take.

Ireland back into nether land?

gchakravarthy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:22:00 GMT

Ireland may have crossed the first hurdle in the current World T20 tournament - one of beating a Test playing nation - to make it to the Super8, but the euphoria of that victory was quelled by a metronomic rather than meteoric performance from the other Test playing team in their group, one whose wont it had been to display more of the latter.

Repeating their Super8 entry in the longer World Cup in 2007, where they vanquished a much more serious adversary in Pakistan than Bangladesh, Ireland may not be strangers to the Ire of subcontinental cricket maniacs nor to the company of hallowed rivals in an elite club.

But they had indeed been strangers to defeat in the shortest version of the sport. Ireland, coming into this World Cup, had not lost a single T20I match. One could argue that with only 5 matches under their collective 28+ belt (apologies to the spring chickens in the team) it was just beginner's luck, but a record it was. Now they sit in the Super8 but only having put in, what some would argue and at their own peril, is their rightful place.

Many might jump the gun and point out that this should put the underground ramblings of Ireland displacing Bangladesh as a Test nation to rest.

But we might not have seen the last of Ireland yet. Pakistan might be keen to avenge their 2007 embarrassment, but New Zealand and Sri Lanka have not yet seen much of Ireland and though it might be unlikely, I wouldn't put it past the Irish to give at least one of those teams a bitter taste of their stouts.

And speaking of stouts, Regan West, one of the handful thirty-plussers in the Irish team proved that being stout and astute might indeed be too much to ask for in the same person as he limbered over the crease after his very first ball ... what a West!

Foresight is 20-20

gchakravarthy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:22:00 GMT

Alright. It is the 9th of June, 2009 and the preliminary stages of the World Cup T20 have just concluded.

(Maybe the calender is still showing 5th of June and maybe the World Cup has just started in all earnest! So what's your point??? Just stick with the post, will ya ...)

Here's how the teams stack up:

Team	P	W	L	T	NR	PTS
GroupA
India (A1)	2	1	0	0	1	3
Ireland (A2)	2	1	0	0	1	3
Bangladesh	2	0	2	0	0	0
GroupB
Pakistan (B1)	2	1	1	0	0	3
Netherlands (B2)	2	1	1	0	0	3
England	2	1	1	0	0	3
GroupC
Australia (C1)	2	1	1	0	0	3
Sri Lanka (C2)	2	1	1	0	0	3
West Indies	2	1	1	0	0	3
GroupD
South Africa (D2)	2	2	0	0	0	4
New Zealand (D1)	2	1	1	0	0	2
Scotland	2	0	2	0	0	0

If anyone had predicted that the Super 8 would include Ireland and the Netherlands ... they'd have been laughed into oblivion.

Are you laughing?