What a delight it was to see the Irish players yesterday do what no other team in this world cup could afford to when they not only had their second win yesterday but also did it with style when they recorded their second successful run chase in excess of 300. First it was in the match against England where they chased down 326 and then yesterday against Netherlands when they successfully chased down 307 needless to be said. But, a little bit of thumbs down to the Irish bowlers for allowing Holland to put up 306 when they failed to win a single encounter.
This is the second time that Netherlands failed to grab even a single victory out of the games that they played. Earlier, they had a similar feat in the 1996 world cup when they lost all five games they played when they faced Pakistan, England, New Zealand, South Africa and UAE. A little bit of effort would have seen Holland register their first win in that tournament against UAE. Though no one expects Holland to win against strong teams like South Africa and India, their performance has to be high against teams like Ireland. After all, Holland have been playing in world cups since 1996 as mentioned.
They have wins against Namibia in the 2003 edition and a win against Scotland in the next edition at the Caribbean. With that apart, Ireland might have just managed to reach the quarter-finals of this world cup with just one more victory with teams like Bangladesh and West Indies out there. When Ireland could have chased down a total of 326 successfully against England, it should not have been a tough thing for the Irish to win against at least Bangladesh though West Indies stand an equal chance. Though Bangladesh were the hosts, they have been under-rated needless to be said.
The match between Ireland and Netherlands was much better than the one between Pakistan and Canada where Canada failed to chase down 184 set by Pakistan. May be, had Ireland been there in the place of Canada may be the Pakistani batsmen would have bee bowled out for even lesser total and may be the Irish might have had another upset there. Very rarely can there be two batsmen from a single team to have notched up two fastest hundreds of this world cup when O'Brien scored it in 50 balls against England and yesterday Paul Stirling scored a 72 ball 101 against Holland.
Showing posts with label Holland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holland. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Victory no 3 for Bangladesh
Well if one can take pains and go through the points table of the ongoing ICC world cup, you would be glad or rather surprised that Bangladesh are now standing at number four behind India, South Africa and England which sees them ahead of the West Indies after their game against Netherlands yesterday at Chittagong. Bangladesh now have wins against England, Ireland and the Netherlands off-late. This can see them through to the quarter-finals along with India and South Africa who would be definite contestants. Teams between whom a tie would break would be West Indies and England along with Bangladesh.
With England having lost to Bangladesh and Ireland, their chances fall comparatively slim, but considering their win against South Africa and a tie against India, West Indies would be in trouble whether they will make it to the quarter-finals or not. In case Bangladesh make it to the second round, they would be doing so at the cost of West Indies to a greater extent or England to a little extent. With England due to play the West Indies, their hope lies in a balance one can say. West Indies though have failed in the past; nothing can be said about their match against England.
Coming to the match between Netherlands and Bangladesh, it was a well fought victory for Bangladesh and rather an expected one. They were playing on their home soil and at the same time playing a team that is yet to win a match in this world cup. They have done it in the past against England and Ireland against whom they were not termed favorites. They had lost to Ireland in their previous encounter and against England, one can see the result of under estimating their opposition. Holland as usual crashed once again but with a better performance compared to the ones against RSA.
There was a batsman from the Netherlands side who could post an unbeaten half century when Ryan ten Doeschate ended up with 53*. They came close to playing 50 overs though they fell short by 4 overs but the runs scored were similar-which guaranteed them on the losing side needless to say. They had the Bangladesh on the naught when their opener-Tamim Iqbal lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the innings. The Bangladesh innings saw just one six compared to the two hit by the Dutch batsmen. Though such comparisons hardly convince the losing team, it feels much better. Doesn't it?
With England having lost to Bangladesh and Ireland, their chances fall comparatively slim, but considering their win against South Africa and a tie against India, West Indies would be in trouble whether they will make it to the quarter-finals or not. In case Bangladesh make it to the second round, they would be doing so at the cost of West Indies to a greater extent or England to a little extent. With England due to play the West Indies, their hope lies in a balance one can say. West Indies though have failed in the past; nothing can be said about their match against England.
Coming to the match between Netherlands and Bangladesh, it was a well fought victory for Bangladesh and rather an expected one. They were playing on their home soil and at the same time playing a team that is yet to win a match in this world cup. They have done it in the past against England and Ireland against whom they were not termed favorites. They had lost to Ireland in their previous encounter and against England, one can see the result of under estimating their opposition. Holland as usual crashed once again but with a better performance compared to the ones against RSA.
There was a batsman from the Netherlands side who could post an unbeaten half century when Ryan ten Doeschate ended up with 53*. They came close to playing 50 overs though they fell short by 4 overs but the runs scored were similar-which guaranteed them on the losing side needless to say. They had the Bangladesh on the naught when their opener-Tamim Iqbal lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the innings. The Bangladesh innings saw just one six compared to the two hit by the Dutch batsmen. Though such comparisons hardly convince the losing team, it feels much better. Doesn't it?
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Back to the pavilion
Well after the game between Pakistan and New Zealand got over a couple of days back, things have returned back to what they were with India beating Netherlands yesterday by 5 wickets. Though India have had to face the music in matches against England and with matches against South Africa and West Indies yet to happen, all that is left for we viewers is to wait and watch for these encounters. On the other hand, the match between Sri Lanka and Australia was washed off and South Africa spoiled all viewers' hopes against England when they failed to chase 172.
In that match against Holland, India lost 5 wickets which was not at all necessary keeping in mind the opposition they were facing. Holland are yet to win a game in this world cup and their dream can only be hoped to relish against Ireland at the fag end of the pool matches. On the other side of the tournament, even Kenya are yet to win a game with Canada already having opening their account and their hopes lie in that game against Zimbabwe. Anyways, those games are just for the sake of time pass with big games lined up in succession.
Something that the Holland team can realize is that five of their batsmen came up with decent scores with them crossing the 20 run mark. That can be the only achievement for a team like Holland who have not won a single match in the 1996 world cup-the time when they started playing cricket at the international level. Coincidentally, even Kenya started their world cup campaign in the same year 1996 and have been featuring themselves since then in all world cups. However, Holland missed out in the 1999 edition. But, that can hardly draw anybody's attention no matter what.
India could make this match theirs by having in Piyush Chawla who could not have entered the world cup at any other time. He was not a part of the game against Bangladesh and got belted against Ireland for 7 runs an over compared to the overall run-rate of 4 an over. A part time bowler in Yuvraj Singh happened to be the most successful bowler with a half century and 5 wickets to his credit. But keeping in mind Yuvraj's experience and Piyush's area of expertise, both stand at the same level. At the end, the match was just a walk over for Indians who registered another win.
In that match against Holland, India lost 5 wickets which was not at all necessary keeping in mind the opposition they were facing. Holland are yet to win a game in this world cup and their dream can only be hoped to relish against Ireland at the fag end of the pool matches. On the other side of the tournament, even Kenya are yet to win a game with Canada already having opening their account and their hopes lie in that game against Zimbabwe. Anyways, those games are just for the sake of time pass with big games lined up in succession.
Something that the Holland team can realize is that five of their batsmen came up with decent scores with them crossing the 20 run mark. That can be the only achievement for a team like Holland who have not won a single match in the 1996 world cup-the time when they started playing cricket at the international level. Coincidentally, even Kenya started their world cup campaign in the same year 1996 and have been featuring themselves since then in all world cups. However, Holland missed out in the 1999 edition. But, that can hardly draw anybody's attention no matter what.
India could make this match theirs by having in Piyush Chawla who could not have entered the world cup at any other time. He was not a part of the game against Bangladesh and got belted against Ireland for 7 runs an over compared to the overall run-rate of 4 an over. A part time bowler in Yuvraj Singh happened to be the most successful bowler with a half century and 5 wickets to his credit. But keeping in mind Yuvraj's experience and Piyush's area of expertise, both stand at the same level. At the end, the match was just a walk over for Indians who registered another win.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Who gives a damn about Holland?
Well as expected and as usual, yesterday South Africa beat Holland by 231 runs at Mohali to become the fourth nation in this world cup to have registered a 200+ run margin of victory after Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies did it against Canada, Kenya and Holland respectively. Likewise, Holland was the victim of such a batting display for the second time after West Indies did the same to them four days back. It would just be a waste of time to talk about the South African batsmen who notched centuries and a quickfire 40 off 15 balls who was Duminy.
South Africa were facing Holland for the third time in a world cup and all three world cup games have been memorable ones for the against Holland. In 1996 world cup no matter that South Africa under Hansie Cronje did well to beat all five teams in the round-robin stage but their highest team total came against Holland when they ended their 50 overs piling up 328 runs which was one of the highest team total at that time. South Africa won that game by 160 runs needless to be said. Then in their next encounter in 2007, Herschelle Gibbs smashed 36 runs off an over.
This time, the record for the highest victory margins is seen getting better and better as matches go by. First, it was Sri Lanka who inflicted a 210 run defeat on Canada which was followed by but not bettered by Pakistan who did the same to Kenya when they washed them by 205 runs and then there was the West Indies who crushed Holland by 215 runs to better Sri Lanka's record by another 5 runs. Now, that record as well is broken with South Africa bettering that record by 16 more runs when the margin was 231 runs but of little use.
It is not a match that anyone on earth would cherish no matter what the record books have to say. In 2007, South Africa fell just short of making it to the history books for yet another reason when they ended their innings at 353 at the end of the stipulated 40 overs with still 7 wickets in hand. Had there been further play possible, may be the target of 414 runs set forth by India against Bermuda might have been surpassed. In addition to Gibbs' 36 runs over, Kallis had a 30 run over in the 40th. At the end, with games against England & India yet to come, who cares what happens against Holland?
South Africa were facing Holland for the third time in a world cup and all three world cup games have been memorable ones for the against Holland. In 1996 world cup no matter that South Africa under Hansie Cronje did well to beat all five teams in the round-robin stage but their highest team total came against Holland when they ended their 50 overs piling up 328 runs which was one of the highest team total at that time. South Africa won that game by 160 runs needless to be said. Then in their next encounter in 2007, Herschelle Gibbs smashed 36 runs off an over.
This time, the record for the highest victory margins is seen getting better and better as matches go by. First, it was Sri Lanka who inflicted a 210 run defeat on Canada which was followed by but not bettered by Pakistan who did the same to Kenya when they washed them by 205 runs and then there was the West Indies who crushed Holland by 215 runs to better Sri Lanka's record by another 5 runs. Now, that record as well is broken with South Africa bettering that record by 16 more runs when the margin was 231 runs but of little use.
It is not a match that anyone on earth would cherish no matter what the record books have to say. In 2007, South Africa fell just short of making it to the history books for yet another reason when they ended their innings at 353 at the end of the stipulated 40 overs with still 7 wickets in hand. Had there been further play possible, may be the target of 414 runs set forth by India against Bermuda might have been surpassed. In addition to Gibbs' 36 runs over, Kallis had a 30 run over in the 40th. At the end, with games against England & India yet to come, who cares what happens against Holland?
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Wow! It is the West Indies!
Well there have been a couple of 200+ run margins in this tournament with the latest one to join the club being the not-mighty West Indies who inflicted a 215 run win against Netherlands yesterday at Delhi. Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan had beaten Kenya ruthlessly by 205 runs following which Sri Lanka outplayed Canada by 210 runs both by the host nations who are one of the favorites to win the trophy and against weaker teams as mentioned above. Now, the record has been broken by another 5 runs when West Indies did what was expected against Holland yesterday.
It is fascinating to see the three 200+ run margin records having a margin of 5 runs with Sri Lanka belting Canada by 210 runs at Hambontana on February 20th which was three days before Pakistan did the same against Kenya and a week later West Indies joins the club by bettering Sri Lanka's record by 5 runs. All these three events took place in a span of just two weeks of the tournament starting and with ten days of the first one by Sri Lanka. There are matches yet to come where teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand etc will take on Kenya, Canada, Holland etc.
This is one such rare matches involving the West Indies where all the top five batsmen show their talent with three of them scoring half centuries, one other batsman falling just a run short of achieving that feat and the other scoring a decent and a handy 30. A total of 332 and that too by West Indies seems a lot but, have a look at the opposition whom they are playing. May be other stronger teams might fail in getting such a huge margin of victory against such teams but for sure, their performance will be better against West Indies.
The man-of-the-match Kemar Roach is seen picking up a hat-trick but look at the batsmen whom he has dismissed-the last three batsmen players namely some Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Bernard Westdijk and gets awarded the man of the match for his 6-27 when there was Kieron Pollard who made a quickfire 27 ball 60. Nevermind who was awarded the man of the match for anyhow West Indies would have won against Holland but, it should be seen whether they can do it against India and England with them already losing to South Africa. Even a narrow escape or a close encounter against them would be appreciated.
It is fascinating to see the three 200+ run margin records having a margin of 5 runs with Sri Lanka belting Canada by 210 runs at Hambontana on February 20th which was three days before Pakistan did the same against Kenya and a week later West Indies joins the club by bettering Sri Lanka's record by 5 runs. All these three events took place in a span of just two weeks of the tournament starting and with ten days of the first one by Sri Lanka. There are matches yet to come where teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand etc will take on Kenya, Canada, Holland etc.
This is one such rare matches involving the West Indies where all the top five batsmen show their talent with three of them scoring half centuries, one other batsman falling just a run short of achieving that feat and the other scoring a decent and a handy 30. A total of 332 and that too by West Indies seems a lot but, have a look at the opposition whom they are playing. May be other stronger teams might fail in getting such a huge margin of victory against such teams but for sure, their performance will be better against West Indies.
The man-of-the-match Kemar Roach is seen picking up a hat-trick but look at the batsmen whom he has dismissed-the last three batsmen players namely some Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Bernard Westdijk and gets awarded the man of the match for his 6-27 when there was Kieron Pollard who made a quickfire 27 ball 60. Nevermind who was awarded the man of the match for anyhow West Indies would have won against Holland but, it should be seen whether they can do it against India and England with them already losing to South Africa. Even a narrow escape or a close encounter against them would be appreciated.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
England yet to learn
Well it is not something new for cricket viewers and players who have had to pay a heavy price for underestimating their opponents be it whomever they are playing. History dates back to the 1970s where Australia lost a game to Zimbabwe and India losing the plot against Sri Lanka when both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka were yet to be awarded test status. Moving further, West Indies were bowled out for 93 runs despite chasing 166 against Kenya in the 1996 world cup with players like Brian Lara and Richie Richardson. And then, Sri Lanka losing to Kenya in 2003 and Pakistan losing to Bangladsh in 1999 is well in front.
India have paid the price thrice in world cups when they as mentioned above lost to Sri Lanka in 1979, lost to Zimbabwe in 1999 which ended their dreams in the super-sixes itself and in 2007 when they lost to Bangladesh by 5 wickets to give an early exit along with Pakistan. This time as well, this is the second time that such a thing has happened and it is nice to see the deserving teams emerging out victorious at the end of the day. The teams who have had to pay a price for their underestimating are India (1979, 1999 and 2007) and Pakistan (in 2007).
One can remember the way the same Holland bundled out the runners-up India in the first match in 2003 for 204. Timely strikes from Anil Kumble and Javgal Srinath saved India from making it to the record books for the wrong reasons when Holland were bundled out for 136. Holland were yet to win a match in a cricket world cup and had India lost that one, one can imagine the fate of the team and that of the world cup. Yesterday as well, Holland gave England bowlers a fitting reply when they amassed 292 runs ion the board and then had the man-of-the-match award on their side.
The man of the match was awarded to RN ten Doeschate for his 119 that included 3 hits out of the ground along with 9 hits to the fence. Things didn't stop just there for, RN ten Doeschate had two out of the four wickets of England that fell and was one of the two bowlers from the Netherlands side to have bowled his full quota of 10 overs. It was good to see the England batsmen undoing the damage that their bowlers-Anderson and co were found doing. Chasing 293 runs might have been easy against Holland but this can be considered as a warning call to England.
India have paid the price thrice in world cups when they as mentioned above lost to Sri Lanka in 1979, lost to Zimbabwe in 1999 which ended their dreams in the super-sixes itself and in 2007 when they lost to Bangladesh by 5 wickets to give an early exit along with Pakistan. This time as well, this is the second time that such a thing has happened and it is nice to see the deserving teams emerging out victorious at the end of the day. The teams who have had to pay a price for their underestimating are India (1979, 1999 and 2007) and Pakistan (in 2007).
One can remember the way the same Holland bundled out the runners-up India in the first match in 2003 for 204. Timely strikes from Anil Kumble and Javgal Srinath saved India from making it to the record books for the wrong reasons when Holland were bundled out for 136. Holland were yet to win a match in a cricket world cup and had India lost that one, one can imagine the fate of the team and that of the world cup. Yesterday as well, Holland gave England bowlers a fitting reply when they amassed 292 runs ion the board and then had the man-of-the-match award on their side.
The man of the match was awarded to RN ten Doeschate for his 119 that included 3 hits out of the ground along with 9 hits to the fence. Things didn't stop just there for, RN ten Doeschate had two out of the four wickets of England that fell and was one of the two bowlers from the Netherlands side to have bowled his full quota of 10 overs. It was good to see the England batsmen undoing the damage that their bowlers-Anderson and co were found doing. Chasing 293 runs might have been easy against Holland but this can be considered as a warning call to England.
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