Last week saw
the weather play spoil sport with four matches washed out by rains – the
maximum number of washouts so far in a World Cup and we are not even halfway
through the games of the group stage yet. The tournament organizers have come
in for a lot of stick from fans for not making provisions for a reserve day.
Reserve days have only been provided for the knockout games, not for the games
in the group stage
Following an unexpected reverse against
Pakistan, England scored a resounding victory over Bangladesh, reminding
everyone as to what a dangerous batting unit they are, notching up the highest
team score so far of this completion. In fact, they have crossed 300 in all
their three games played.
West Indies would have fancied their chances
against a struggling South Africa as their bowlers made early inroads in the
first few overs before rain put a halt to further proceedings. For South
Africa, they have to pretty much win all their remaining five games now to have
a chance of making the semi-finals. Their next game is against Afghanistan
where they will hope to register their first win
New Zealand have started strongly with three
wins and then a washed-out game against India but keep in mind that they have
played Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, not the strongest opposition. For
sure, stiffer tests await them in the future.
India followed to their win over South Africa
with a convincing victory of Australia. But in the process, opener Shikhar
Dhawan sustained a thumb injury that will likely rule him out of the rest of
the tournament, which will be a big blow for India. But India will not be
totally dissatisfied with the result of their game against New Zealand, as I
believe that the New Zealand bowling attack could have posed a threat strong to
the Indian batsmen in wet conditions.
After a Houdini-like escape against West Indies,
Australia were in a spot of bother on more than one occasion against Pakistan
but came through unscathed. After their batsmen failed to capitalize on a great
start, the final total of 307 was definitely within the reach of Pakistan.
Pakistan was also cruising at the halfway stage before a middle order collapse
proved to be their undoing. Australia’s resilience is what makes them a force
to compete with even when they are not playing at their best.
Pakistan’s performance so far has as usual been a
source of frustration to their fans. They have been alternating between
periods of brilliance and mediocrity and you never know which Pakistan will
show up on a given day. Against Australia, sloppy fielding, bowling extras
and injudicious shot selection contributed to their downfall
Sri Lanka have not played in a while now with
their last two games against Pakistan and Bangladesh being washed out, though
one suspects that they will happily take the two points they got from those
games given their performance on the first two games
After a dream start for South Africa. It has
been a bit of a letdown for Bangladesh as they still search for their second
win.
For the minnows Afghanistan, their inexperience
clearly showed against New Zealand as they could not make the most of a great
start from their openers. They have shown the ability to compete with the
stronger teams for brief spells but they have just not been able to sustain it
for longer periods during a game.
Weather permitting, we are in a for exciting matches over the next week such as England vs West Indies and India vs Pakistan and New Zealand vs South Africa
