CWC - From 1992 to 2015 - The 50 Over Format Has Thrived Inspite of T20 threats

WHO WILL WIN THE CUP - 2015??

We travel through the journey of cricket world cups from 1992 (Australia-NZ) to 2015 (Australia-NZ). The circle is completed. 6 tournaments in between, 4 champions crowned (Pak in 92, SL in 96, Aus thrice in 99, 03, 07 and Ind in 11)

Its been one heck of a journey for cricket in itself.
From colored clothing in 1992, to subcontinent flavour in 96.
The Lords gallery back in 99 to Africa safari of 2003
The Carribean Calyso magic of 2007 to Indian hot curry of 2011.

The advent of T20 post 2007 did shake up the 50 over format and many predicted its demise soon but it has stayed. Its like the test cricket of one dayers. There are highs and lows, time to recover, replan and make a final charge at your target .. the game has it all. 

The powerplays, field restrictions, bouncer rules, technology, heavy bats, two white balls from both ends have really upped the excitement and enthisiasm of 50 over cricket. It is here to stay ... well done #ICC.

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Team Australia for World Cup 2015 - Best Bet To Win The Cup?

Obviously the firm favorites to win the cup.
No.1 ranked in ODI, hosts and well-balanced side.
This Australian side looks equipped to go the distance!

It must be said that this team is a pale shadow of the great Aussis teams of 90s and 2000s. They don't have a legendary batting lineup including Gilchrist, Ponting, Waugh, Hayden, Bevan nor do they possess arguably the best balanced bowling attacks of all time (Warne, Mcgrath, Gillespie, Lee). This is a team reinventing itself through new talent.

However, the Australian cricket structure is such that it ensures new talent comes up all the time. Take the case of #GeorgeBailey who is also their current #T20 captain. With limited experience, he has catapulted to great heights in the shorter formats of the game. Many other names including Doherty, Cummins, Hazlewood are already being termed as the #RisingCricketStars of the world !

Batting
Looks solid all the way through with low or no chinks in that armoury.
They have the firepower in Warner, Watson, Maxwell, Finch.
Consistent and steady middle order in Clarke, Bailey, Smith, Marsh
More than useful tail - Haddin, Faulkner, Johnson

Bowling
If at all, this seems to be their weak link.
New seamers in Hazlewood, Cummins, Faulkner and Starc are not experienced enough. Seasoned campaigners like Johnson will have to guide them smartly especially as the tournament moves in the elimination stages. Spinning dept lacks depth too. Doherty, Clarke and other part timers may not be very impactful although its going to be about the seamers in the Australian-NZ summer!

All Rounders
This is their big strength. Great combination of batsmen who can bowl and vice versa. Watson, Clarke, Smith, Faulkner can turn matches on their batting or bowling skills alone.

All in all, this Aussie side looks well set to dethrone India and regain the World Cup crown, unless they fluff up in important games or some match winning innings/performances snatches a game or two away from them!  

The Final 15 in the Australian squad for #ICCWorldCup2015
#Michael Clarke
#George Bailey
#Pat Cummins
#Xavier Doherty
#James Faulkner
#Aaron Finch
#Brad Haddin
#Josh Hazlewood
#Mitchell Johnson
#Mitchell Marsh
#Glenn Maxwell
#Steve Smith
#Mitchell Starc
#David Warner
#Shane Watson

Pak v NZ (Semifinal, Auckland, World Cup 1992)

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
A batting superstar has arrived .... 
Best way to describe this match.

Against all odds Pakistan managed to scrape through to the semi-finals of this edition's #WorldCup semifinals (Remember the 1 point they gained from the hopeless performance against England, 74 all out, allowed them to move ahead of Australia and West Indies). Their opposition? The deadly in-form team, New Zealand. Unbeaten until their last league game (ironically their only loss came at the hands of Pakistan).

Stage was set. Eden Park, Auckland all set to stage its first ever World Cup semifinal game. The home team buoyant and clear favorites going into this game. But, as they say ... take Pakistan team granted at your own peril as the #Kiwis were to soon find out.

On a sunny March morning and a jam-packed stadium, NZ captain #MarttinCrowe won the toss and elected to bat first. Runs on the board was the clear plan. #MarkGreatbatch and #JohnWright opened the innings. Greatbatch was is great form and had blasted oppositions into submission during the course of the tournament. Danger man truly. But, the Pak bowlers had done their homework brilliantly. They pinned him and Wright by cramping them for room and no width to free their arms. #AquibJaved and #WasimAkram were awesome in that first spell. Aquib castled Greatbatch on 17.

#MushtaqAhmed then took over and had Wright and #AndrewJones caught to reduce NZ to 87 for 3. This is when captain Crowe and #KenRutherford took charge. Slowly, they built the innings before unleashing a counter-attack on the Pak bowling. Crowe's brilliant run in the world cup continued. He scored a fluent 91 before being run-out in the end stages of their innings.



Rutherford's steady 50 and some late blows for the Kiwi tail enabled them to score a very competitive 262 for 7 in their stipulated 50 overs. Wasim was the pick of the bowlers with an effective 2 for 40.

More than enough, you'd think as a Kiwi fan then.
Considering Pak's fallibility chasing scores or Kiwi tactics during the world cup to keep shuffling bowlers quickly were all stacked against Pak. Will they pull it off or would this be an end to their on-off campaign?

Then drama. Captain Crowe who suffered cramps and dehydration wasn't fit to take field. A big blow considering his audacious tactics and skill captaincy had brought them this far. His deputy John Wright certainly wasn't an inspirational figure on the ground but had to lead his side.

#AmeerSohail and #RameezRaja opened the innings for Pakistan. As usual #DeepakPatel, the offie opened NZ's bowling. This move to open with a spinner had brought them huge success all throughout. The trend continued when he had Sohail caught by Jones.

Pak 30 for 1.

Captain Imran promoted himself at No.3 to show his men how to lead from the front. He and Rameez slowly pushed things along. Plan was clear. Build and hold wickets for a late onslaught. They added 54 before Rameez fell to #WillieWatson. That brought in the wily old fox #JavedMiandad to the crease. Both him and Imran took it forward by adding 50 runs before Imran fell to #ChrisHarris.

Pak 134 for 3.

However, all this build-up was leading to required run-rate blowing up. Something had to give in. To add to their woes, Mr. Dependendable, #SalimMalik fell cheaply to #GavinLarsen reducing Pak to 140 for 4. 

Will Javed pull off a miracle with youngsters to follow? or Kiwis choke them? 

What Auckland and rest of the world witnessed after that was sheer magic!

In walked a 22 year old tall and burly youngster #InzamamUlHaq
With Javed at the other end, he unleashed an extraordinary counter attack on the Kiwis. This type of audacious strokeplay and power was never seen before!

His breathtaking hitting stunned the Kiwis. They were clueless. They were bamboozled. 

Javed held his end and encouraged #Inzi (as he later popularly came to be known) to play one of the finest match winning innings of all time. His 37 ball 60 became part of cricket folklore.

But there was still some drama to come. Inzy was run out trying to steal a single. Wasim was castled by Watson raising Kiwi hopes yet again. It needed someone to put the finishing touches from either side. #MoinKhan did it for Pakistan. Again, with Javed's astute presence in the middle.

His massive six and couple of boundaries deflated the Kiwis and Pakistan romped home with an improbable win. Amazing scenes at the Eden Park as Pakistan team engulfed Moin and Javed. 

Heartbreak for the Kiwis and more so for Martin Crowe. A golden chance to reach the finals had been lost.

But, the game belonged to the gentle giant, Inzamam.
A superstar had arrived ... in style!

MOM: Inzamam Ul Haq

Watch highlights here....

Can India's 15 Man Squad Win The Cricket World Cup In 2015?

BCCI recently announced a fifteen member team for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in Australia-New Zealand in Feb-Mar 2015.

The biggest question would be: Can this team win the cup?

Sadly, DONT think so.

Unless Captain #MSDhoni finds that magical touch of his to turn this into another victory campaign from 2011. The defending champions look well short on experience, skills and adaptability to Australian and Kiwi pitches and conditions.

Although they travel and play a lot of #OneDayCricket and T20 cricket all over the world, just don't see them delivering the goods this time.

Bowling would be the biggest concern, especially quicks. Going by their performance in the on-going Test match series against Australia (they have leaked 500+ in almost every innings they have bowled). Shami, Bhuvaneshwar, Yadav, Ishant ... well not very sure there is a go-to bowler in case Dhoni needs to!

As regards spin, Ashwin should be OK but no support other than part timers like Jadeja and Raina will hurt badly. Anil Kumble has been critical at picking up just one specialist spinner and feels we should play to our strength.

Batting looks solid and there lies the best chance to win some games. Kohli, Rahane, Vijay have played good hands in this test series and will do them a lot of good in the one dayers. Not to discount Dhoni and Raina who can change games on their head in 20-30 min at the crease.

Fielding should be OK with fresh and young legs but the all-rounder mystery has hounded Indian cricket since Kapil Dev hung up his boots. Where can we get them in India?

All in all the 1983 and 2011 champions would find the going tough in this world cup. Australia, South Africa, Pakistan with their strong bowling units seem favorites to win. What do you think?

Here is the Indian squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
 - MS Dhoni (capt & wk)
 - Shikhar Dhawan
 - Rohit Sharma
 - Virat Kohli
 - Ajinkya Rahane
 - Suresh Raina
 - Ambati Rayudu
 - Ravindra Jadeja
 - R Ashwin
 - Akshar Patel
 - Ishant Sharma
 - Mohammed Shami
 - Umesh Yadav
 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar
 - Stuart Binny

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Ind v Eng (Bengaluru, ICC World Cup 2011)

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What climax? What drama? What a game of cricket?
Spellbinding stuff from both teams in this very high scoring game!

On paper, the Indian team appeared much stronger and expected winners of this contest.
A beautiful afternoon in the garden city and #MSDhoni, the Indian captain won the toss and elected to bat.

#Sehwag and #Tendulkar started in blazing fashion and put on 46 until Sehwag was prized by #TimBresnan for 35. #Gambhir joined Sachin and both of them tore into the English attack. Sachin was severe on #GraemeSwann, the premier English spinner and notched up his century. When he fell for a superb 120, score read 236 for 3 in 38.2 overs.

This meant an ideal launch pad for the Indian middle order to unleash their guns in the last 12 overs.
#YuvrajSingh 58 and #Dhoni 31 launched an assault of epic proportions to propel India past 300 shortly. When Dhoni was claimed by Bresnan at team score of 305 in the 46th over, India was looking well beyond 350 as target.

However amazingly, they just imploded through poor strokeplay and tight disciplined bowling by the English bowlers towards the end. Final score India 338 all out in 49.5 overs. Bresnan starred with a 5-for, mostly responsible to hold that total back.

One bowl short of 50 overs. Will that one unplayed delivery cost Indians dearly?

A massive target none the less. England needing around 7 runs per over from the start to chase it down. Looked real tough. However to their advantage the Chinnawamy stadium is extremely flat and docile for batting.

England captain #AndrewStrauss and top batsman #KevinPietersen opened England's innings in style pummeling the Indian quicks to all parts of the park. They reached 68 in under 10 overs before Pietersen was caught and bowled by #MunafPatel. #JohnathanTrott followed soon after for 18, scoreline 111-2 (16 overs). Runs were under control but they needed to ensure wickets were not lost too soon.

#IanBell joined his captain and slowly they started dominating the Indian bowling. Strauss was severe on the seamers and equally attacking against the spinners. Ian Bell found his touch too. In no time, they had crossed 150, then 200 and 250 as well (under 40 overs). Strauss completed a brilliant hundred to match Sachin's century while Bell completed a wonderful supporting fifty.

At 281 in the 43rd over (and on course for a facile victory), tragedy struck for England. In desperation, Dhoni threw the ball to #ZaheerKhan, the master of reverse swing, and he produced a magical spell to claim Bell and Strauss in one over followed by #PaulCollingwood soon after.

Suddenly, the target seemed to be slipping away from England's grasp. However there was still some twist left in the tale. Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, who had bowled wonderfully, produced some massive sixes against #PiyushChawla to get things closer. When #AhmedShahzad smashed Munaf Patel for six over long on in the last over needing 10 runs to win, England sniffed victory again.

Last ball, 2 runs to win.
Munaf to Swann
A good yorker, dug out by Swann towards mid off and scamper for a run.
Scores tied
India 338 all out
England 338 for 8 

Amazing scenes in the dressing rooms. England felt they should have won. India thought they shouldnt have been stretched this far after putting up a mammoth score.

All in all, a tremendous result.
Cricket was the winner in this one!

MOM: Andrew Strauss (As Nasser Hussain put it during the presentation party - very few innings can match, let along surpass, a Sachin Tendulkar hundred and Strauss did just that today!)

Match Highlights:

India vs Sri Lanka (World Cup Final 2011)

(ICC 50 overs a side ODI - World Cup)
Mumbai, 2nd Apr 2011

The two most powerful teams of the tournament (considering the sub continent conditions) met in the final of World Cup.

Some confusion at the toss, coin spun twice .. Sri Lanka won it and elected to bat.

 

After a stuttering start (#ZaheerKhan bowled three straight maidens at #UpulTharanga before claiming his wicket), Sri Lanka steadied through #Dilshan and captain #KumarSangakkara.

 

Dilshan was bowled by #Harbhajan with team score on 60, bringing in #MahelaJayawardhane.

He went on to play one of the most memorable knocks in one day cricket that day with a scintillating 103*. Pure elegance, class and his counter attacking at end of their innings was awesome!

With due support from Sanga, Saamrweera, Kulsekhara and Perera, Mahela posted a very formidable 274 runs on the board for India to chase. Remember, as a thumb rule in finals, runs on the board are best. Chasing means pressure especially with the stakes so high.

India began disastrously. #VirenderSehwag was trapped leg before by #LasithMalinga second ball. #SachinTendulkar playing his last world cup followed soon after edging one behind again off Malinga. Mumbai was dumbstruck. At 31 for 2, and the opening blaster pair out, India were in trouble.

The young brigade of #GautamGambhir and #ViratKohli steadied the ship with useful partnership of 83 runs before Kohli fell to Dilshan.

In walked #MSDhoni, ahead of the in-form #YuvrajSingh. A move that surprised experts, crowd and most probably SriLanka too. He along with Gambhir pulled the game away from Sri Lanka to a position of certainty and authority. By the time Gambhir fell for a superb 98, the writing was on the wall.

Befittingly, it was Dhoni who hit the winning shot (a massive six over long on) to lift the cup for India. His stunning and authoritative 91* ensured a facile win for India. Their 2nd world cup!!
The cup was dedicated to the #LittleMaster of course who had played 6 world cups without any success!

MOM: M.S. Dhoni, India

Watch highlights of this game on the video link in this post.