CWC 2015 - Ireland Beat UAE - Thriller At GABBA

#Ireland v #UAE, #GABBA, #Brisbane
25th Feb 2015

In a Pool B match of the #minnows (well Ireleand arent certainly minnows anymore based on their recent performances), Ireland defeated UAE in a thrilling finish at the GABBA today.

Set to chase 279, the Irish stuttered and stumbled all along before cross the finish line as winners. #GaryWilsom and #KevinObrien were stars of that run chase after they were reduced to 97 for 4 at one stage and UAE seemed to have gained hopes of a win. Cusack and Dockrell kept their heads in the tense dying moments of the game to seal a well deserved win for the team in green over the Arab country.

Earlier, UAE, put into bat by Ireland (a decision that surprised many but probably a move to chase the score quickly and up their net run rate in the Pool standings), started even worse being reduced to 131 for 6 around 35 over mark. It was then that young #ShaimanAnwar took over and showed his class and quality of batting. He stroked a majestic 106 (the first UAE batsman to do so). In company of #AmjadJaved (a good 42), he catapulted the score to a very respectable and fightable 278 for 9 in their alloted 50 overs.

The overall quality of Ireland showed in this evenly matched contest as they won all key moments in the game leaving UAE licking their wounds. UAE can be proud of their performance though.

Man of the Match: #GaryWilson

So what does this Ireland mean for the group positions?
Well, its made the picture really exciting now..

India - 2 games - 4 points
West Indies - 3 games - 4 points
Ireland - 2 games - 4 points
South Africa - 2 games - 2 points
Zimbabwe - 3 games - 2 points
UAE - 3 games - 0 points
Pakistan - 2 games - 0 points

Ireland at three is a huge danger signal for #Pakistan. They really need to pull up their socks and start winning some games quickly. They are yet to play #SouthAfrica as well. Ireland's game against Pakistan will gain a lot of importance for defining final standings in this Pool.

CWC 2015 - Video - WI vs ZIM - Gayle Destruction

#ChrisGayle's stormy 215
#MarlonSamuel's patient and supporting 132

Plenty of records broken
1. Fastest ODI Double Hundred
2. First World Cup Double Hundred
3. Most sixes by a batsman in an innings - 16
4. Highest Partnership for any wicket in ODIs
5. First occasion of a double hundred and hundred in the same innings of an ODI

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CWC 2015 LIVE - Gayle Storm At Manuka Oval

#WI v #Zim, #ManukaOval, #Canberra
24th Feb 2015

There were signs of thunderstorms and rain at the Manuka Oval, venue for the West Indies v Zimbabwe game in Pool B. There was a storm .. but it was a "Gayle" storm that blew one and all away!!

In an amazing display of power hitting and timing, #ChrisGayle recorded the first #doublecentury ever at a World Cup, #fastest double century ever and rewrote a lot of batting records. 

Chris Gayle - 215 off 147 balls, 10 fours and 16 sixes ... need we write more.

The hapless Zimbabwean bowlers were taken to the cleaners really and had no idea what hit them.
As a solace they did get him out off the last ball of the innings caught at mid-wicket by Chingumbura off Masakadza.

It must be noted that Gayle was absolutely "plumb" (according to most experts commenting on the game including #ShaneWarne and #ShaunPollock) in the very first over of their innings. Rapped on the back leg, the Zimbabweans went all up in #appeal for #legbeforewicket. #Umpire #SteveDavis thought otherwise and turned it down. After some consultation, Zim captain decided to #review it with the #third umpire.

- Legitimate ball (no overstepping of the crease by the bowler) - Yes
- Pitching in line - Yes
- Hitting in line - Yes
- Any edge - No
- Hitting wickets - Umpire's call????

Naked eye said dead straight, plumb. Hawk eye said missing stumps and umpire's call. Appeal/Review was rejected and original decision of not out stayed. 

Guess, it was an indicator that Gayle storm had arrived and how? brutal and lethal.

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CWC 2015 - Highlights from First 10 Days At the Cup

#CWC15 

Boy! What a start to this cricket world cup.
Its exploded big time.... especially with some big gun games right at the start of the world cup!

It all started with #Aus v #Eng match, an all time classic rivalry in all forms of the game
Venue: #MCG
A fatal mistake at the toss to bowl first and then a dropped chance in the very first over cost England the game really. Man of the match #AaronFinch dropped for nought went on to score a superb hundred to setup a mammoth 342 target. England never got going really and were bundled out for 231.

In the other game of the day, #NZ steamrolled #SriLanka by 98 runs to announce their candidature as potential world champs. 

Day 2 was huge!
Arch rivals and cricket freak nations - #India and #Pakistan clashed in the match of matches at #AdelaideOval. Billed as the match of the tournament, it didnt live up to its expectations really. India clearly dominating the game to win by 76 runs. #ViratKohli with a superb century stole the show.

Interestingly, the other game of the day #SA v #Zim provided some real excitement. Zimbabwe ran the #Proteas real close in their chase of 340. They were in the hunt for a long time and the #Sprinboks were visibly worried. But, the overall class and quality of their game ensured no upset and they came through. #DavidMiller and #JPDuminy with superb hundreds for #SA, #HamiltonMasakadza and #SeanErvine fought hard for the Zimbabweans.

Day 3 saw the first real upset of the tournament with #Ireland trouncing #WestIndies by 4 wickets. They showed superb all-round ability to chase a 300+ target with ease and sent a serious warning to all other teams in Pool B. 

The next game saw #NZ make heavy weather of a small run chase against #Scotland.
Chasing 142, the #Kiwis lost 7 wickets to accomplish the target. Some chinks there...

Days 5 and 6 was for matches of the minnows 
Zimbabwe beat #UAE by 4 wickets
Bangladesh beat #Afghanistan by 105 runs (avenged their defeat the Asia Cup qualifiers)

Feb 20th saw the most destructive and one sided game of the tournament till date when #NZ took on #England at #Wellington. #TimSouthee ran through England batting with a 7-For (a record for NZ) and #BrendonMccullum smashed Enland bowling into oblivion with a whirlwind 77 off 25 deliveries. Match over just after lunch with another 25 overs to go.

Day 8 saw #WI take on #Pak in a battle of teams that looked lost and devastated from their earlier games. WI took that game easily by 150 runs. At one stage Pak were 1 for 4 wickets. #JeromeTaylor with a great spell of bowling built on a superb late flourish by #AndreRussell to setup a score of 310 for the Windies.

One the same day, we also witnessed the first washout of the tournament. 
Australia's game against Bangladesh at the GABBA was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Day 9 had Pool B heavyweights India and South Africa go at each other. Another lopsided affair again with India demolishing SA by 130 runs. #ShikharDhawan with a fluent 137.

The other game of the day saw #SriLanka just crossing the line against #Afghanistan. Again a case of overall ability and skill that allowed the Asian Lions to win the match.

Day 10, finally, finally ... England opened their account with a win over Scotland. MooenAli with a superb all-round performance.

Summary of points:

Pool A
NZ - 6 points
Aus - 3 points 
Ban - 3 points
SL - 2 points
Eng - 2 points

Pool B
Ind - 4 points
Irl - 2 points
WI - 2 points
Zim - 2 points
SA - 2 points 

Expecting a cracking next 10 days with some heavy duty games coming up including
Aus v NZ
Pak v SA
Eng v SL

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CWC 2015 - Englands Easy Win Against Scotland

#England v #Scotland, #HagleyOval, #Christchurch
23rd Feb 2015

England finally opened their account with 2 points against minnows and neighbors Scotland at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch today.

After two demoralizing and devastating losses to Australia (by 100+ runs) and NewZealand (by 8 wickets and 25 overs to spare) in their opening two games, England did themselves and their confidence some good by winning their game today.

Looking at their form, it was expected that Scotland would put up a fight and look to upset the Englishmen. But, the England team looked like they were on a mission to shrug off those two defeats and start afresh.

Riding on wonderful #allround performance by #MoeenAli (century and two wickets), England won the match by 119 runs and lot of respect kept intact. If they had allowed Scotland to get any closer, they would have been badly hurt further.

To be fait to them, they ran into two dominant sides in their first two games. Both Aus and NZ and clear favorites to win the world cup and England came a cropper against them. They needed a minnow like Scotland to register their first win, but this should give them some confidence going into another crucial match against #SriLanka on 1st Mar 2015 at #Wellington. Very important game in that group.

The abandoned tie between #Ban v #Aus at the #GABBA has already thrown this group split wide open. 

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CWC 2015 - Technology - Fire Bails and Stumps

#CWC15 - #Cricket #Technology

Anyone watching this cricket world cup will have seen some amazing technology innovations being used. Be it the #Spidercam or the #Bowling Comparison meter. But, the #Fire #Bails and #Stumps seem to be hogging the highest attention of them all.

Its definitely a sight to behold.
Stumps being broken by express deliveries, #runouts, #stumpings, etc.
Everytime these stumps illuminate giving an awesome feel to the action.
This technology is to aid umpires in making decisions in close shaves, ideally runouts and stumpings. The results are encouraging already.

There is one problem though.
They are helluva expensive.
One set of 6 stumps and 4 bails costs a whopping AUD 7000. Whoa!
A supplier from #NewZealand has the contract to supply these "limited edition" stumps and bails for the World cup. Umpires have been strictly advised to prevent players from taking stumps away after winning matches. Some notable examples of this issue was during the #Irish victory over #WestIndies when players were stopped halfway and asked to leave stumps on the ground.

#ShikharDhawan wanted a piece for his showcase after his man of the match winning perfomance against #SA at the #MCG but umpires didn't allow him to take the stump away.

All in all ... a fabulous innovation and here to stay for years to come I guess!! 

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CWC 2015 LIVE - India Steamroll South Africa at MCG

#India v #SouthAfrica , #MCG
22^nd Feb 2015

India beat South Africa by 130 runs at the MCG.
Huge win considering this was the biggest game in the pool and expected to go down the wire.

Highlights:

India 307 for 7
#ShikharDhawan - 137
#AjinkyaRahane - 79
#ViratKohli - 46

#MorneMorkel - 2 wickets
#DaleSteyn - 1 wicket
#ABDevilliers - 2 direct hit runouts

South Africa 177 all out
#FafduPlessis - 55
#ABdevilliers - 28

#RavichandranAshwin - 3 wickets
#RavindraJadeja - 2 wickets
#MohitSharma - 2 wickets

Man of the Match: #ShikharDhawan

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CWC 2015 - Sri Lanka Scrape Through Against Afghanistan

#SriLanka v #Afghanistan , #Dunedin
22nd Feb 2015

A brilliant #century by #MahelaJayawardene ensured #SL scraped through to a close win against the minnows in a Pool A game at Dunedin.

Sri Lanka made heavy weather of the modest 232 target set by Afghanistan.
At one stage, an upset was on the cards and things got really uncomfortable for the 1996 world champs but #ThisaraPerera and #JeevanMendis kept their cool and used experience to guide SL to a win in Dunedin.

Afghanistan's inexperience in such situations showed as they couldn't press for a win but a very commendable performance from them for sure.

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