The 10th Edition of World Cup Cricket has so far lived up to its expectations with thrilling finishes and long-playing and World Cup winning teams like England upset by minnows such as Bangladesh and Ireland.
England however appeased fans at home and abroad by winning against South Africa, one of the favourites in the series.
In the latest thriller match in Group B, South Africa won against India (one of the World Cup hosts) by three wickets at Nagpur on March 12.
Chasing India’s 296 runs, the Proteas held their nerves to win the match despite a valiant 111 by Indian Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian legend got to his 48th ODI ton and his 99th international hundred and a record Sixth World Cup.
India lost the game with poor fielding and toothless bowling, much like the game against England in Bangalore, where it managed a tie, piling up 339 runs.
Graeme Smith’s South Africa took this win against India with a sense of satisfaction, losing (by six runs) to England in Chennai on March 6.
Earlier, India had scratched to win even against novices such as Netherlands.
Chasing Netherlands’ 189 runs, India won the match with five wickets to spare. Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh scored 50 runs.
India for Finals?
Despite all these reversals, seven points from five matches, India is virtually assured of making it to the last stage of the ICC World Cup.
At press time, India was still on top of the Group B team, with seven points in five matches with a net run rate of + 0.768.
In Group A, defending champion Australia has five points in three matches as on March 13, with the match between Sri Lanka and Australia declared a draw in Colombo because of rain.
Controversial System
Meanwhile, this World Cup has been a stage for unusual controversy with the most controversial segment of its Decision Review System (DRS) used in this World Cup, to enable more consistent application by the umpires.
The change to the DRS rule No. 3.3, which expands the umpire’s scope for interpretation, follows its contrary usage in the first two weeks of the competition.
The previous rule required that the leg-before could be reversed by the on-field umpire, only if the replay showed that the ball was hitting the middle stump.
Black Caps in form
On the other hand, New Zealand lived up to its reputation of performing consistently well in the World cup matches. The Black Caps won against Pakistan (Group A) by 10 runs at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy Sri Lanka on March 8.
Ross Taylor who was the Man of the Match got his birthday gift as he scored 131 runs off 124 deliveries.
Chasing New Zealand’s 302, Pakistan was dismissed for 192 runs in the 42nd Over.
New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka at the Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai on March 18. The match is expected to be a cracker.
A number of New Zealand officials, including those visiting from India in connection with the opening of the new Consular and Trade Commissioner’s Office (on March 17) will be present at the match. The delegation will include the Auckland based India New Zealand Business Council Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony (see separate story under Businesslink).
The Quarterfinals of the World cup will be staged from March 23, with top four teams in Group A clashing against Group B teams.
The winning four teams will meet for semi-finals on March 29 and 30 respectively in Colombo and Mohali (Punjab).
The finals will be played in Mumbai on April 2.
