CWC 2015 LIVE - Excellent Start For Pak v UAE

#Pakistan v#UAE, #Napier
4th Mar 2015

Paki batting first v UAE.

Pakistan's best start of the tournament thus far!
Very refreshing to see Pak's top order taking responsibility to lay foundation for a big score. More refreshing to see youngsters #HarisSohail and #AhmedShehzad take responsibility.

#LIVE #Score
Pak 109 for 1 in 24.3 overs
Sohail - 48*
Shehzad - 52*

#NasirJamshid's woeful form continues. He was dismissed for a third time trying to pull a non existent shot. Pak need a rethink for that opening slot.

UAE have bowled well though. They are being disciplined enough.

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CWC 2015 - Is Australia Unlucky Or Rusty So Far

#Australia v #Afghanistan, #WACA, #Perth
4th Mar 2015

Some say, they've had a rough time with weather, injuries and unlucky moments in matches thus far.
Their position in the table is a testimony to that thought. 

3 Matches - 3 points is certainly not something you'd look at as Australia's position especially given the quality of their side and being frontrunners to lift the #CWC15 trophy.

Game 1 - Thumped England comfortably at the #MCG
Game 2 - Washed out v Bangladesh at the #GABBA, #Brisbane
Game 3 - Lost narrowly to New Zealand at #EdenPark, #Auckland

Their batting against the Kiwis was far from convincing and clearly showed their unpreparedness in tough situations. This can be exploited by other strong teams in the competition. 

Bowling is plagued with injury scares, latest being the ankle twist of #PatCummins that has put him doubtful for the next games.

#MichaelClarke has to guide his team through this tricky phase and build momentum as they move towards knockout stages.

As for #Afghanistan, at their stunning victory over #Scotland few days ago will definitely lift their spirits. But, its too monumental a task to compete with the Aussies, let alone win a game against them. They can however give a good account of themselves by playing some aggressive and disciplined cricket.

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CWC 2015 - Pak Need To Make A Statement v UAE

#Pak v #UAE, #Napier
4th Mar 2015

After scraping through against #Zimbabwe two days ago and opening their #CWC15 account in Pool B, Pakistan need more than an emphatic win to harbour chances of progressing to the next round of the cup.

The victory against Zim was far from convincing but it should have given them some self-belief. The weight of expectations they're carrying back from Pakistan will now be somewhat lighter. However, unless they really dominate and crush UAE, they will not feel or will not be able to challenge the top teams in this fiercely contested competition.

For beginners, their batting has been absolutely lacklustre especially at the top.
Invariably, they have lost a wicket in the first 2-3 overs of every game played so far. That is putting immense pressure on the middle order and hence not able to push on to big scores.

#AhmedShehzad, #NasirJamshid, #HarisSohail, #YounisKhan must produce good batting starts for players like Misbah, Umar Gul, Maqsood and Shahid Afridi to capitalize later.

Bowling looks ok especially seam. #WahabRiaz, #SohailKhan, #MohamadIrfan have shown they can hurry batsmen with their pace and bounce. #ShahidAfridi remains a disappointment so far. He needs a solid outing to get back to spinning form. #YasirShah should support him well by taking wickets and not just containing runs.

For UAE, their performance against #India at #Perth should be forgotten quickly and enter the new contest with new energy and enthusiasm. They have some way to go to become a top cricketing nation but they have given a good account of them thus far.

All in all, Pakistan's game to win but they dont need a win, they need a winnnnnnn.... it has to be massive to improve thier #NRR and chances to progress!

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CWC 2015 LIVE - SA pummel Ireland - Post Huge Win

#CWC15 #LIVE #Cricket #Score
South Africa v Ireland

After a pasting at the hands of the SA batsmen, the Irish batsmen have floundered completely. Am sure, they were clueless at the merciless annihilation of their bowlers in the first innings.

SA amassed 411/4 in 50 overs (Amla - 159, duPlessis - 109, Rossouw - 61, Miller - 41, ABdeVilliers - 24) with all Irish bowlers taken to the cleaners.

Planning to chasing that mammoth total was a task in itself, let along execution.
The inexperience and quality of Ireland showed against the heavy weights.

#DaleSteyn, #PaulAbbott and #MorneMorkel have ripped through their batting lineup. A lesson in cricket for the men in Green-White i.e. Ireland. This is a massive win for the Proteas.

Score:
SA: 411/4
Ireland: 210 all out
Abbott - 4 wickets, Steyn - 2 wickets, Morkel - 3 wickets

Man of the Match: #HashimAmla

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CWC 2015 LIVE - Amla and duPlessis Tons Puts SA On Top v Ireland

#SouthAfrica v #Ireland, #ManukaOval, #Canberra

A typical #HashimAmla ton has put #SA on top in their Pool B clash against minnows #IRL.
Dropped on 10 by Joyce, off Kevin O Brien, Amla made the Irish pay dearly and completed a wonderful hundred... his consistency is amazing!

#FafduPlessis at the other end completed a masterful century as well.
He too was offered a half chance at slip off #Dockrell early in his innings.

How well Ireland will repent those two missed chances?
And how much will they chase with likes of #ABDevilliers and #DavidMiller to follow!
Going by the things of it ... 400+ looks a possibility big time...

#LIVE #Cricket #Score
SA - 255 for 1 (38 overs)
Amla - 140*
DuPlessis - 106*

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CWC 2015 LIVE - SA Bat v IRL - Lose de Kock early

#SouthAfrica v #Ireland, #ManukaOval

SA have won the toss and elected to bat in their Pool B game at Canberra.
Its an important game in this group, both teams need a win to ensure next stage berths at #CWC15

Ireland, mind you, are unbeaten in both their games so far (beaten WI and UAE)
So, SA will not take them lightly for sure.

The game started with a maiden from #JohnMooney.
He then claimed #QuintondeKock caught behind for 1.
Initially given not out by the umpire, the #Irish went for a #review of the decision. The replays conclusively showed deKock had nicked the ball and was given out correctly.

#HashimAmla was then dropped by #EdJoyce off #KevinOBrien.
A huge chance missed. As luck would have it, Amla is now opening up and hitting some exquisite boundaries.

#LIVE #Cricket #Score
South Africa: 51 for 1 in 9 overs
#Amla - 30
#FafDuPlessis - 13

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CWC 2015 - The BeeHive Technology - Pitch Map

#CWC15

The #PitchMap, or popularly known as #Beehive, is a fantastic innovation that shows variations in bowling lengths, bounce, trajectory of balls delivered by bowlers.

Shows up as a graphical pitch with the short, good and full length delivery zones, the hives in honeycomb or balls indicate where the bowler has pitched the ball throughout an innings, or at a particular batsman or left/right handed batsmen, etc. 

White blinking dots indicate wicket taking deliveries
Yellow dots generally indicate boundaries
Green dots generally indicate sixers
Red dots generally indicate dot/maiden balls (*Color coding can change from tournament)

The beehive is used to analyze if a bowler has been consistent enough? what areas has he captured maximum wickets? which areas has he been taken for most runs by batsmen? is he bowling enough dot balls? is there a specific plan at the certain batsman? The analytics possibilities are numerous.

Team strategists use this data for planning innings, bowler spells and tactical decision making in matches. All in all, a wonderful technology used to enhance viewer experience and assist sportspersons to perform better!

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CWC 2015 - Rest Day For All Teams

#CWC15

 

2nd Mar 2015 is rest day at the World Cup 2015.

No matches are scheduled on this day.

A good break/holiday for all teams battling it out over the last two weeks.

 

There have been stunning performances - both individual and teams.

Matches have been lopsided and close but overall this has been very entertaining so far.

 

Most refreshingly, the minnows/associates have given a great account of themselves.

None of the minnows' games have been boring or just-another-match type. In fact, some of the most thrilling encounters have involved these teams. e.g. Ireland beating West Indies chasing 307, Afghanistan running Sri Lanka really close or Scotland troubling New Zealand in a small run chase.

 

Afghanistan's astonishing win against Scotland or Ireland's close shave against UAE are classic examples and proof that these teams need more exposure at world level. This has also sent a signal to #ICC to rethink number of participating teams at the next world cup from 14 to 10?

 

The New Zealand v Australia is arguably the best match of the tournament so far with that stunning Australian fight-back defending only 151.

 

India has surprised one and all with their dream run in the tournament beating two favorites, Pakistan and South Africa, pretty easily and topping Pool B easily.

 

West Indies have played the most games so far, 4.

They have been a mixed bag so far. Shocking defeat at the hands of Ireland, Stunning win against Pakistan, Gayle's brutal annihilation of Zimbabwe and getting equally annihilated by AB deVilliers' South Africa. They run into red hot India next followed by UAE. They need to win both games to stay afloat for qualification to next round.

 

New Zealand has been the team to beat with their audacious opener and captain Brendon McCullum showing ingenuine abilities to experiment and surprise the opponents. Sri Lanka, England and Australian batsmen have found that out facing the Kiwi quicks and spinners. They don't have heavy weight superstars in that side but boy do they click as a unit! simply outstanding.

 

Australia have been a bit unlucky thus far. They whipped England in their opening game and then had to wait 15 days before they could play another ball! (their game against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain). No wonder their batting looked jaded against Kiwis.

 

All teams, with the exception of Ireland, have played already played 3 games atleast going into this break tomorrow. So, we are like at the middle stage of the tournament. Some teams are clear favorites to move ahead (NZ and Ind), some teams are peaking at the right time (Sri Lanka), some teams are stuck inspite of good performances (Aus and SA) while some have disappointed outright inspite of promise (Pak and Eng).  

 

The second stage of the league stage starts on 3rd Mar 2015 when South Africa take on Ireland, another spicy encounter important for both sides.

 

Look forward ....

 

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