World Cup Cricket '07 - Favorites - 2

Wow!! What a drama this world cup has already witnessed. It’s just a week through the world cup and already a former world cup winner is out of the competition and another former winner is in the verge of getting eliminated. Continuing from where I left in the last post, I’ll go ahead analyzing the next two teams in my list. In fourth, its two teams West Indies and India.

Although India has an uphill task in hand, to qualify for the Super eight, I still believe they can sneak to the next phase (Actually, its more of a hope than a belief)

4 West Indies:

Batting:

Openers: Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle: One of the best in this world cup. In the last one year, they have made 6 centuries and 14 half centuries between them. They are in exceptional form. West Indies reached the finals of ICC Champions trophy last year (Oct’06) in India, all because of the 3 centuries by Gayle (against Bangladesh, England and South Africa). But off late, he is kind of struggling to score. In the last 10 innings (after the ICC Champions Trophy) he has scored only 162 runs (16.2 runs per innings) with only one fifty and 7 one-digit scores (2 ducks). At home, we can expect him to get back to his devastating form. And the other Opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul case is totally opposite to Gayle’s. Although he was scoring consistently in the last one year, nothing was exceptional. But when it comes to the last 3 months, he is at the form of his life. In the last 9 matches, his batting average stands at 73.57 runs per innings (with 2 centuries and 3 half centuries).Although he never seems to play in the V, or off the front foot, he has his own way of scoring runs. When both these openers get their eye in; it’s no stopping West Indies from imposing a big score or chasing down any score.

First down and middle order: Similar to all other great teams, West Indies has their best and classy batsmen in the middle order. First down is Ramnaresh Sarwan. He is the most consistent player in the present West Indies team. As far as I remember, he has never had a bad season. He is one of the few players who have 40+ batting average (to be precise, 44.01) in ODIs. He stands 12^th in the list of highest ODI batting averages (right next to Sachin Tendulkar). In his last series at WI (against India), He was in supreme touch, he scored a century and 2 fiftiess (one of it is 98*) in the 5 match series. In the middle order, they have Marlon Samuels and Brain Lara. Marlon Samuels is a batting all-rounder. Although he possesses a very balanced technique, he has been very inconsistent. But off late his batting is in the upswing. In the recent Pakistan and India ODI series, he was very productive scoring a century and 3 half centuries (Averaging 50 runs per match). If he carries this form into the World cup, I am sure he is going to blow off the opposition’s slow bowling attack (medium pacers or spinners) in the middle overs. He can score quickly too.

Next in the middle order is one of the batting legends of all time, Brain Lara. Being a Sachin Tendulkar fan let me put him as the Best “Left” handed ODI batsman in the whole world. He is not in the best of the forms for the past 2 years now. Starting from Feb’06(After the CB Series in Australia), he has played 41 matches and scored only at an average of 28.11 (with only 5 half centuries) But when it comes to home, he always gives his best. All his great innings have been at West Indies (400* and 375). And he has already announced that he doesn't want to continue playing in ODIs after the World Cup. So I am sure he will try his best to sign off his ODI career in style.

Lower-order: Although, they have a top-class top order batting line up, they lack powerful hitters during the slog overs. This is one of the weak points of this West-Indies team. Since 2006, there lower order has scored only 5.78 runs per over (last 10 overs) and only 19.41 runs per wicket (last 10 overs). This is the worst among all the eight main test playing nations. Slogging department belongs to Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Bravo was more of a bowler at the beginning of his career. In the last one year, he has improved himself to a genuine all-rounder. In the last 20 innings, he averages 41.27 with one century (112* against England in Champions Trophy ’06) and 2 fifties. But when it comes to the other two, they are more of a swing and miss guys. And West-Indies do have the worst batting bowlers among the good teams.

Bowling:

West Indies has a pretty week bowling attack. The main seamers are Ian Bradshaw, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor and Corey Collymore. All of them are bits and pieces bowlers. They have a one-dimensional bowling attack. Ian Bradshaw has been one of the most economical bowlers in the past 2 years but he lacks wicket taking skills. I don’t think he will be playing all the matches; he will be selected depending upon the form of the other bowlers. Jerome Taylor is their main strike bowler. Pace and accuracy are his main weapons. In the last 2 seasons, he has turned into West Indies' spearhead of the bowling attack. Getting important breakthroughs in the crucial stages of the game solely depends on his shoulders. Other two seamers Powell and Collymore have pretty bad Strike rates (49.76 and 48.69). They are not going to be much of an impact on West Indies fortunes of winning the World Cup for the third time.

But when it comes to all-rounders, they have a very good bunch of bowlers. Bravo, Samuels and Gayle have been very effective in the recent past. West Indies may be the worst batsmen in the last 10 overs, but when it comes to bowling they are one of the best in deaths. They have been very tight, leaving only 5.85 runs per over and 20.02 runs per wicket (in the last overs). Gayle and Samuels have unsettled lots of teams by firing their offies flat and fast in the death overs.

Verdict:

They have one of the best top orders in the World cup. But their batting line up is very unpredictable. As I said before, they have a very bad lower middle order batting line up. Their chances of winning this world cup depend on their top 5 player’s performances. When it comes to bowling, they don’t have a dynamic bowling attack and except for Jerome Taylor, they lack strike bowlers in the crunch situations. When they win the toss, it is advisable to go for chasing rather than opting for defending a total. So overall, they have more negatives than positives in their plate. Being the hosts, with thousands of passionate fans to back them up, I guess they atleast have a very good chance of making it to Semifinals.

4 India:

Batting:

Openers: India has 3 openers in their 15 (excluding Sachin Tendulkar): Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag. Sourav Ganguly will be playing as opener for sure but when it comes to the second opener its going to be performance and situation oriented. Sourav Ganguly’s last ODI, before Jan 07, was on Sept 06, 2005 (Vs NZ, Final of the tri-series Ind-Zim-NZ). Last year, Ganguly making a comeback was a mockery in every other newspaper in India. Even people were ready to bet on Saddam Hussain getting released but not on Ganguly returning to international cricket. But amidst all this, the way he has comeback is unbelievable. After India’s record chasing streak in ODIs, they slumped to the rock bottom in the ODI ranking list with the series of defeats. With no other option, India turned towards Sourav again. He was picked up for the test series in SA. He ended as the highest Indian run-scorer in that series. And that good showing, reserved himself a place in ODI team as well and then he capped his fairytale comeback with a four ODI fifties (98 and 68 against WI and 62 and 58* against SL). After his return to ODI, he has played 9 matches scoring 502 runs at the average of 71.71 (with 6 half centuries). Already he has scored half centuries on both the world cup matches (Against Bangladesh and Bermuda). If he continues with his present form, with the strong middle order to follow him, India is going to score some mammoth totals in this world cup.

Robin Uthappa has always been attractive to watch, hard-hitting, with every shot in the book, unafraid to hit the ball in the air. But when it comes to temperament and consistency, he has a long way to go. He tries to go at all the balls thrown at him and ties to score most of his runs in boundaries. It’s up to the seniors, who play in the other end, to calm him down and help him build his good starts. On his day, he can take India to a flying start, scoring more than 100 runs in 10 overs. Hope he plays sensibly to give some decent starts in the vital matches.

And next is the out-of-form (for almost 2 year now) Sehwag. Its been 59 matches (almost 2 years) since he has scored an ODI century (He scored a century against Bermuda yesterday!!). In this period, he has scored only 1549 runs at the run rate of 27.66 (with only 8 half centuries). He was extremely lucky (all thanks to Rahul Dravid’s efforts) to be picked in this current World cup team. If he gets past this bad form and gets his eye in, he is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world. The Whole India will be praying for his return to form. If that happens, Sehwag and Ganguly will make the best ODI opening pair of this world cup.

Middle Order: One of the strongest middle orders among all the teams in this world cup. This is the major strength of this Indian team. This is because they have 2 players(Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid) who have scored more than 10k runs in ODI, one player who was the best batsman of 2006 (Yuvraj Singh) and the one who is the deadliest hitter of the ball in the cricketing history (Mahendra Singh Dhoni). At 34, probably this will be the last world cup for both Sachin and Dravid. For the past one year, He was/is criticized from all sides and rumor mills keep on rising abt retirement from cricket very soon. But when you pull out the stats for the last one year, it reads totally different picture. He has played 25 ODIs(since Jan 2006), scored 938 runs at the average of 46.90 (Career ODI avg – 44.18), this includes 3 centuries and 6 fifties. Indian people forget things very soon, they expect him to score century every other match. It was really shocking that even his own home crowd booed him in his last test match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. He always answers his critics with his bat. I expect the same this time too. Wait and watch!! God will unleash his power!!

Rahul Dravid, nicknamed The Wall, is the most consistent batsman for India for more than 10 years now. A lot will depend on Dravid to score in the middle overs. Yuvraj is a totally different player in this world cup to the last 2003 world cup. He has matured a lot and has worked really hard in his batting skills. Now he stands as one of the key players in this Indian team. After the BCCI selected him as a regular player in tests, along with the responsibilities, his confidence has peaked a lot. His record speaks for him, in the last 15 months, he has played 34 ODIs, scoring 1393 runs at an amazing average of 60.56 (Career avg 35.76) with 3 centuries and 9 fifties, that includes 3 man of the series awards. And next to Yuvraj, comes the wicketkeeper ‘Mahi’ Dhoni. Dhoni along with Yuvraj make up a good combination. They are the main heroes for the India’s unbelievable run in setting the new record for consecutive run chases in ODIs. Dhoni has established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks. He tends to reach out and drive the ball by extending his wrists. He has the uncanny knack of hitting big sixes and especially the ones over extra covers off both fast bowlers and spinners. We are surely going to see some amazing sixes from his bat. With the team packed with so many great players, I really doubt Dinesh Karthik getting a match in this world cup (Touchwood!! Unless otherwise someone gets injured). He is a promising youngster who can bat down the order and although he was a wicketkeeper, his fielding has been exceptionally good.

Bowling:

Seamers: Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth. Most certainly, Zaheer and Agarkar will open the attack in most of the matches. IN 2005, When Zaheer Khan’s pace dropped and his attitude was also questioned, he was dropped from the ODI side. At that juncture, he was invited to join Worcestershire to play 2006 England county season. He worked hard to put down his extra pounds, he got his rhythm back and he ended up as the leading wicket taker of 2006 county season. This really helped him to regain the spot in Indian team. There’s no turning back after that. After his return, he has played 12 ODIs, taken 20 wickets at the average of 23.70. He has cut down the number of extras balls he used to bowl. Now he is the heart of the Indian bowling attack.

Ajit Agarkar has been India's most effective ODI bowler since 2005. He has been consistently performing for the past 2 years. He has the best record in West Indies pitches when compared to any other bowler in this world cup (In 7 matches, he has taken 12 wickets with average of 20.16 and a phenomenal economy rate of 3.61 runs per over) With Left hand bowler Zaheer at the other end, they will make a good opening bowling pair. The first change bowler will be Munaf or Sreesanth. Munaf is the trump card for this Indian bowling attack. His nagging length outside the offstump corridor, reverse swings and a well-directed Yorker has troubled even the best of the batsmen. Particularly in his last 9 ODI matches, he has taken 16 wickets (at the average of 20.06). If his body holds well throughout the series, he will be a surprise package for other teams. Sreesanth is the India’s find of 2006. He is already famous among the bowling greats like Wasim Akram, Imran khan, Allan Donald and Dennis Lillie. They already are raving about his immaculate seam position when the ball leaves his hand. He was very effective in test matches but when it comes to ODIs, he has been leaking lot of runs. He tries too many things at a time and ends up being thrashed all over the park. Its early days for him, only experience will build him as a very good bowler. But in this world cup, I guess he won’t be playing much of a part, unless one of the other three plays really bad.

Ohh..How did I forget the only ‘allrounder’(supposed to be) in the Indian team? Irfan Pathan. Similar to Sehwag, he is extremely lucky to be picked in the team. He is in the worst of his forms for the past 8 or 9 months. In the last 14 matches, he has taken only 13 wickets at an average of 39.07 and at a very bad economy rate of 5.90. He never completed his full quota of 10 overs in any of these matches. Not only the length and swing is missing, his pace has also gone down to 120+ kmph. He is most unlikely to play in any of the matches.

In the spin department, India has the best 2 spin bowlers in Harbhajan and Kumble. It’s hard to pick one from them. They will be picked depending on the opposition and pitch. More the left handed batsmen, better to go for Bhaji. When it comes to minnows and inexperienced teams, its always Kumble. He has got Ph.D in dismantling inexperienced batting line ups. Off late Harbhajan’s new weapon doosra was very effective and the batsmen were always in two minds in having a go at his bowling. But he has turned out to be more of an economical bowler than a strike bowler. Since 2006, Harbhajan has the best economy among all the bowlers playing in this worldcup. He played 29 matches, had an economy rate of 4.14 and his bowling at the deaths is also one of the best (at economy rate of 4.76 but again with a bad average of 60). Its because of Munaf and Harbhajan, India stands third in the list of most economical bowling at the death. In the 32 matches played since 2006, India has conceded only 22.21 runs per wicket and only 6.25 runs per over.

Most probably, India will be going with only 4 specialist bowlers, so its up to the part timers to make up for the fifth bowler. India has pretty good part-time bowlers in Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj. Its going to be very interesting how Dravid is going to use them in the middle overs.

Verdict:

In paper, none of the other world cup teams can compete with India’s great batting line up. They have the right blend of experienced and young players. And even in bowling department, they have hell a lot of experience. But unpredictability as a team is the main concern. One day they will play like champions and in the very next day they will fall like nine pins. So it all depends on how faster India accustoms to the West Indies condition and lots depend on how they start the series. If they all gel up well, they will strike gold for sure.

India has already played 2 matches in this world cup. And they are already struggling to move to the next stage of the series. Now they are waiting for their next game against Srilanka on March 23^rd(Friday). Its do or die match for them. If they win, they move to Super-eights. If not, it’s going to be a very bad news for its 1 billion fans back home. It is expected to be cracker of a match. Every Indian is impatiently waiting for this match. If they make it to the next phase from here, this come-from-behind effort will drive them to heights (atleast to the semifinals).