Australiaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!

Yes, - Australia are the World Champions yet again!!!! That is a hat-trick as was Gilchrist's performance in the 3 consecutive finals !!! What a performance by Australia!

If ever there was a clear winner in a WC tournament since the West Indian dominance ended, it was Australia in WC 2007 !

Let us not taking anything away from the fighting Lankans, in fact they bowled excellently and batted like fighters in the most difficult conditions!!! But after Jayasuriya and Sangakara, there was no one left to take them home against the Aussies!

I think that both teams played excellent cricket and were fitting finalists and there was only one difference in two sides - Adam Gilchrist!

And that difference won Australia the world cup and deservedly so - they have dominated the cup right from onset and it would have been unjust if they would have lost today! As my friend Kannan pointed out, it makes one think that there should be more than one match for the finals - may be best of three or something.

Coming back to the nicest man in the 'baddest' team, Adam Gilchrist played an amazing innings on a track where others like Hayden, Ponting, Jayasuriya etc. struggled to stroke the ball with same ferocity as his. Gilly was on his way right from the beginning while Haydos was surprisingly subdued and Gilly set the on side on fire and in fact equalled the record for maximum sixes in an ODI innings jointly held by Ponting and Imran Nazir! One has to only see the wagon wheel of Gilly's innings to see how much he scored on the leg side! Amazing strokeplay, exhilarating display of batting by the ever-dangerous Gilly! Paisa Wassool !

Others played their part in the whole match and so did the spoilsport weather, but it was a good game of cricket overall and the side that deserved to win, did! That brings me to another point that a final should not be curtailed and definitely not be decided on the D/L method, but more on that in some later post.

But this game was not all about Gilly's strokelplay and it was also an important game for 3 people retiring / moving on from their current roles:

Ever-accurate and nagging Glenn McGrath, an awesomely effective John Buchanan and also the fighter Russel Arnold!


McGrath capped his career by the player-of-the-tournament award (which I personally feel should have gone to Hayden), but what a man he has been! He has been accuracy personified in the world of cricket and no bowler even comes close to the accuracy with which McGrath bowled in both forms of cricket. Often disliked for his aggressive sledging by lot of people (including yours truly), one has to applaud the discipline and effectiveness that this great man brought to Australian Cricket and world cricket.
Glenn McGrath - Take a bow!

I was fortunate to listen to and meet John Buchanan in person and he is no doubt effective as Gilly called him a legend today! It has been a fairytale for John and his team and kudos to them for showing and teaching others how cricket should be played!

Congratulations and a big "thank you" to Australia ! The True World Champions!

(Images Courtesy: Cricinfo)

Australia: Threats

Just one more match to go and Aussies will reign supreme officially once again!

Let us put ourselves in shoes of Lankans and see what we have on our plates:
(Aussies in their current form)

Batting :
Matthew Hayden: Clearly, the man of the tournament so far - in the form of his life - their biggest threat if Aussies bat first. (or second, or third...oh, just don't give the bat in his hands)
Adam Gilchrist: As explosive player and more dangerous than Hayden himself! If clicked, a dynamite! Has been inconsistent in the tournament so far, but you never know when he might just come on top again. A threat even though he is not as much in form.
Ricky Ponting: A thorn in flesh of bowlers all around the world - sticks to his wicket in ODI's like the combined efforts of Rahul Dravid+ Jayawardane+ mcMillan+Chanderpaul in test cricket! Currently in the form of his life.
(Do we even need to go any further and analyze the rest of the players?)
M Clarke: Was supposed to step in the shoes of Steve Waugh, and is warming up to the task handsomely. Unbelievably(?), he has the highest average in the entire Australian team in the world cup currently!
Brad Hodge: Started with a , but hasn't got a bat in his hands and played only 1 inning after the century!
Symonds and Hussey: They were supposed to light the world cup up, but have not done much so far - against spinners, both have the ability to turn a match around!
Shane Watson: Believe it or not, no bowler has been able to get him out in this tournament! His 32 ball 65 were any indication, he is a threat as big as Gilchrist!

Bowling :
Glen McGrath: The pigeon is flying higher than everybody else! As accurate as ever, he is the silent assassin. He runs in, throws the ball, ball lands on the off stump line, moves just to take the edge and lands happily in Gilly's gloves! Wicket - after wicket- after wicket! This man is not a pigeon, he is a warhorse! Big big threat. (as always)
Shaun Tait: Not thought of much before, has been the pleasant surprise for the Aussies. Has bowled the new ball extremely well and swung the ball superbly to trouble both right and left- handers. Bowls a lot of wides, but takes a lot of wickets too! Big threat!
Nathan Bracken: They say that the best hunters 'hunt in pairs'. Bracken and Tait have done just what no other pair could do in the World Cup. Bracken almost averages as good as McGrath in this world cup and is in a great form too. Big Threat!
Brad Hogg: Bowling on top of his form. Just to give an example of his current form, here is a small comparison:
Murali : 78 overs - 23 wickets. Hogg: 80 overs - 20 wickets.
Not bad, eh? But if I am a Lankan, I wouldn't be too bothered about Hogg, he is not a threat. If Lankans manage to flay the first 3 bowlers, Hogg would not be a problem.

The only time Sri Lanka have ever won a world cup, that has been against Aussies in the finals.

This time, it only looks tougher!!!

Finals : Australia vs Sri Lanka

It is Australia in the red corner and Sri Lanka in the blue!!!!

Yes, the Australians have crushed Proteas very comfortably and as expected by all at the beginning of WC, they go on in the finals to meet Lankans.

Almost nobody gave Lankans a chance at the beginning of the WC that they will reach finals, and neither did they fancy themselves is my guess.

Well done to both the finalists!

A preview of the game coming up soon.

PS on Aus-SA game: Why did Smith not bowl himself? The most creative / innovative and thinking captain of the tournament, but will not play in the finals. Sigh.

Awesome Aussies Unstoppable

Man, what are they made of?

South Africa are 27/5 in the semi finals and all Aussie pacers led by McGrath are creating havoc !!! Great stuff, Aussies!

This sure looks like it's going to be another one sided affair ! :-(

Sri Lanka Rewind To 1996

Captain Mahela Jayawardane paced his innings superbly to help Lankans take one foot in the Finals. And then Malinga along with Murali destroyed the Kiwis to storm into the Finals!

What a performance, for a while it reminded me of their stupendous bowling against India at Eden in the semi finals of 1996!

Lankans exploited the conditions extremely well - did well exactly what they were supposed to do- batted their way to a well made respectable score of 289 and then crushed the wingless Kiwis by excellent pace and spin attack.

Kiwis simply choked in their 5th semi finals and off went the collective wish of many Indians (especially girls) to see talented, handsome and fighting Kiwis win the world cup this time!

But Kiwis lost the plot in the last 2 matches and were comprehensively beaten by Aussies and Lankans and will return home a dejected team.

The Lankans, on the other hand, will want to go back to 1996 where they defeated Aussies in the finals to win the World Cup for the first time!

Kiwis vs Lankans

The best 4 teams of the tournament have finally made it to the semi finals and rightfully so.

The stage is set for the first semi final - to be played between Lankans and Kiwis and it promises to be the match of fighters.

There are obvious players to watch out for in both teams like - Bond, Fleming, Styris, McMillan, Murali, Vaas, Jayasuriya, Sangakarra etc and then there are others who keep a low profile but play when it matters like the Malingas, Silvas and Orams.

But let us face it - on paper and by form - Lankans look to be a better team to win tomorrow.

However, Kiwis are stung badly the defeat against Aussies and will want to get back in a big way. Also, let us not forget that this is the knock out match - everyone is going to give his best - The Kiwis have never won the world cup and if there is a chance, they know that this is the one. Fleming has led by example and will need his team to play out fo their skins idf they have to pull this one through.

Lankans know that they are the best team to put Aussies under pressure if they reach finals and they will want to be the first team from sub-continent to win the WC twice!

Both teams are fighting teams and the only deciding factor is going to be this:

If Kiwis can play Murali better than the way Lankans play Bond, then Kiwis can win this match, otherwise, it will be Lankans in the final.

(Image Source: Google Images)

Fletcher 1 Lara 0

What a fantabulastic match!!!!

The send off match for 2 individuals - a send-off by their teams for their tremendous contributions to the respective teams - one of them a coach who helped England win the memorable Ashes victory against all odds and the other - a player who enthralled the audiences world over by his amazingly beautiful batting style and hunger for runs.

Both teams were badly bruised and humiliated in the tournament so far and needed to go out on a high for themselves and the two individuals.

And it couldn't have been better than the match it turned out to be!

For the WI, the only hope, as I have always said, was the final arrival of Gayle storm, and boy did it come? Chris Gayle finally thundered and played a wonderful innings for his 79 complimented well by the new opener Smith (instead of Chanderpaul), Samuels got his act right too in the final match and scored wonderfully to his potential (hopefully that would have reduced his guilt of getting Lara run out) and even Chanderaul played a breezy knock with a SR of 88!

Final total - a formidable 300, which would have reduced Lara's agony of being run out stupidly.

For the England too, it was a response that had failed them earlier in tournament. Vaughan finally came good with bat (and surprisingly with ball too) and played an excellent captain's innings for his 79 but WI kept their grip on the game as wickets fell at regular intervals. The only man standing between WI and victory was Pieterson who was p laying a characteristically aggressive innings. WI were awesome in the field and it was Bravo who had kept them in the hunt by effecting 2 run outs, 1 catch and 2 key wickets including that of England's man friday Collingwood. But apart from Pieterson's century, almost equal contributor to England's hopes was the old chap Nixon who played a superb cameo to bring the equation to 4 of final 6 balls. Lara turned to Bravo yet again who responded by taking out the dangerous Nixon, but Stuart Broad, all of 21 years old and 6 match experience denied the honours to Bravo and won the match for England, and for Fletcher.

England won with 1 wicket and 1 ball to spare - doesn't get any more interesting than this, does it?

Wonderful game by all players from both sides but finally Lara didn't get the send off victory game. That was unfortunately as characteristic as Lara's role in WI cricket - that of valiant innings and disappointing losses.

Thank you guys for another memorable game in this World Cup!

(Images source : Cricinfo)