Ireland Clinched a Historic Victory over England in World Cup Cricket 2011

Ireland secured an incredible 3-wicket victory over England in Bangalore, India today in a group B match of the ongoing World Cup 2011. A record-breaking innings of 113 off 63 by Kevin O’Brien helped Ireland to successfully chase down England’s big total of 327 runs.

Winning the toss, England captain Andrew Strauss decided to bat first and his batsmen proved his decision true with their sensible batting. After a 91-run opening partnership between Strauss and Pietersen, England’s middle order built on the momentum given by the openers. Pietersen played a good innings of 59 off just 50 balls. Strauss’ 37-ball innings came to an end when he was played on by Dockrell on 34.

Trott and Bell added 167 runs for the third wickets. Trott missed his hundred just for 8 runs, while Bell fell on 81. Despite having a good platform given by the top order batsmen, England’s lower middle order failed to score quickly in the slog overs. After 50 overs, England could score 327 runs, losing 8 wickets.

In reply, Ireland did not have a good start as they lost Porterfield’s wickets in the first ball of the innings. At one stage, Ireland was struggling at 111 for 5, leaving Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack in the wicket.

Kevin and Cusack then pulled the string for Ireland, contributing 162 runs off just 103 runs for the sixth wickets. Kevin literally steamrolled the English bowling attack with his magnificent innings. Here, it is noteworthy that he made the record for fastest hundred in World Cup by reaching three figures in 50 balls.

Cusack missed the half-century just for 3 runs, but his 58-ball innings played a big role in Irish victory. Later on, Mooney’s unbeaten 33 off 30 balls ensured Ireland’s triumph.

Among the English bowlers, only Graeme Swann could show some resistance, picking up 3 wickets for 47 runs.

Kevin O’Brien was man of the match for his extraordinary innings.

Bowling: A Cause of Concern for India in World Cup 2011

India is considered as one of the favorites in the ongoing World Cup Cricket 2011. They started off very well, clinching a big-margin victory over Bangladesh in the opening match. However, their weak bowling was brutally exposed by the English batsmen on Sunday as England tied India’s total of 338 runs.

No Indian bowlers could dominate over the English batsmen. In fact, most of them even failed to show any resistance against Strauss and Bell, let alone dominance. What was clear from India’s bowling performance is that they must consider a plan B with their bowling attack.

Even against Bangladesh Indian bowlers were not at their best and it was only India’s batting that ensured an easy victory that day. If Nehra is fit, he should be brought in the next game against Ireland.

For spin attack, Yusuf Pathan cannot be a reliable spinner you can trust for 10 overs regularly. His batting could be effective in the batting power-plays, but it did not happen in many matches. More than that, there is no use of carrying an extra batsman when you bowlers are conceding all the runs scored by your batsmen. So, the ultimate solution is to play an extra spinner, and thus, increasing maximum spin options for Dhoni.

Overall, I think, India should play Ravichandran Ashwin alongside Harbhajan and Chawla at the cost of a batsman.

Kemar Roach Guided West Indies to a Commanding Win over Netherlands

Pacer Kemar Roach’s six wickets including a hat-trick guided West Indies to a 215-run victory in a group match of the World Cup Cricket 2011 in Delhi on Monday.

Winning the toss Netherlands sent West Indies to bat first. The Caribbean side put 330 runs on the scoreboard losing 8 wickets after 50 overs thanks to three half-centuries from Chris Gayle, Devon Smith and Kieron Pollard. In reply, Netherlands got all out for 115 runs after 31.3 overs with Roach finishing 6 for 27.

West Indies got a good start as the two openers- Smith and Gayle- brought 100 runs in the opening partnership. Gayle scored 80 runs, while Smith got out for 53. Pollard then played a blistering innings of 60 off just 27 balls, hitting five 4s and four 6s. Seelar took 3 wickets for the Dutch side.

Except Tom Cooper, who scored 55 off 72 balls, no other Canadian batsmen showed any resistance against the Caribbean bowlers. Besides Roach’s 6 wickets, Benn also picked up 3 wickets for West Indies.

Kemar Roach got the man of the match award for his match winning bowling performance.

Zimbabwe Defeated Canada by 175 Runs in World Cup Cricket 2011

Zimbabwe clinched a 175-run victory over Canada today at Nagpur in India in a group A match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2011. Batting first, Zimbabwe scored 298 runs losing 9 wickets after 50 overs. In reply, Canada got all out only for 123 runs after 42.1 overs.

Zimbabwe did not have a good start as they lost 2 wickets at 7, but Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine led Zimbabwe towards a big total, adding 181 runs for the third wicket. Taibu fell just 2 short of his hundred off Balaji Rao and Ervine scored 85 runs. After that Williams’ 30, Cremer’s 26 and Utseya’s 22 guided Zimbabwe to 298 runs. Balaji Rao picked up 4 wickets for Canada.

Chasing big total, Canadian batsmen could not show any resistance against the Zimbabwean bowlers. Gunasekera’s 24 was the highest score in Canada’s innings. Raymond Price and Graeme Cremer shared 3 wickets each for Zimbabwe.

Tatenda Taibu was adjudged man of the match for his match winning innings.

No Worry for Indian Team for Virender Sehwag Injury ahead of England Match

Indian team is preparing to take on England in Bangalore this Sunday in their second match of the ongoing World Cup Cricket 2011. Today morning news surfaced in the Indian media suggest an injury for in-form Indian opener Virender Sehwag who played a magnificent innings of 175 runs in the opening match against Bangladesh. It appeared as a big cause of concern for the Indian cricket fans.

However, a BCCI press release, made public later on the day, assured Indian fans of Sehwag’s fitness. It reveals that Sehwag took a hit on his left ribcage while batting in the nets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday morning, but the injury was nothing serious and the player is now fit to play on Sunday.

This would really come as a big relief for the Indian supporters who are just expecting the hard-hitting opener to build on his innings against Bangladesh in the coming matches of the tournament. India is thought to be one of the hot favorites to the World Cup this time and Virender Sehwag is a vital member on this mission.

India Facing England on Sunday in World Cup 2011

After beating Bangladesh comfortably by 87 runs in the opening match of World Cup 2011, India is now going to face England on 27 February in their next match. India may have got off to a very good start to the tournament, but some of their weak points were exposed against a spirited Bangladesh side. So, the Men in Blue have no way to be relaxed, rather they are running against time to sort out those little but significant problems.

First of all, Indian bowlers conceded 283 runs to an under pressure side who were chasing a mammoth total of 371. Except Harbhajan and Munaf Patel, no other India bowler seemed to be a threat for the Bangladeshi batsmen.

Another thing is that Indian batsmen looked to be imbalanced while facing bounces or Yorkers, especially during the batting power play. I know some might try to prove me wrong by India’s huge total.

Well, you cannot just expect someone like Virender Sehwag to hit a big century everyday. In fact, Sehwag has managed only 14 centuries in his 229-match ODI career so far.

There is no doubt, India would start as favorite against England, but Dhoni’s men need to improve on these areas if they want to go far in this tournament.

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