Well as expected, the New Zealand bowlers did a havoc on the Kenyan team by thrashing them by ten wickets to gain four wickets. This match would hardly go down as one of the greatest achievements in a world cup game though there are quite a few matches where a team has been able to win a match by ten wickets. South Africa in 2003 world cup is a good example to have done it twice against Kenya and Bangladesh before losing to West Indies, New Zealand and sharing points with Sri Lanka after the match was tied by D-L method.
One can hardly understand the importance of such games which can only play a spiolsport in a tournament such as a world cup where a rain can just divide points between the two teams despite possibilities going in for a strong team that has been awarded test status by the ICC. The entire game against New Zealand and Kenya lasted just above 30 overs which is less than a T20 game wherein 40 overs are found playing even in those matches featuring lesser rated teams like Kenya. To be exact, the game lasted just 31.5 overs. Of course, this was not the case in India's match against Bangladesh.
One can debate regarding the standards of Bangladesh and Kenya with the former being awarded the test status. But, as a matter of fact, Kenya beat Bangladesh in the 2003 world cup. But, though things have changed a lot since 2003, Kenya going down in standards in international cricket and Bangladesh constantly raising high in the same, the other side of the coin needs a consideration with India being a much better outfit compared to New Zealand. Still, the match was a below par one with expectations raising high for the Kenyan team since the 2003 world up and henceforth.
Kenya managed to make it to the semi-finals of the world cup in 2003 after registering wins against New Zealand (walkover), Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the league stages with a win against Zimbabwe in the super-sixes. That was more of a luck and this time it was as though New Zealand gave a double thrashing to Kenya keeping in mind what happened two world cups back. But, the match between the aforementioned teams is nothing but a mismatch with expectations being high from the Kenyan side. But, this is one of the games which New Zealand can win to reach the quarter-finals.
Showing posts with label World cup 2003. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World cup 2003. Show all posts
Monday, 21 February 2011
Friday, 30 April 2010
Sad that Kenya misses out from World T20
For the second time in a world T20 tournament, the stunners in world cricket- Kenya are found missing from the world T20. Kenya last made their appearance in the inaugural edition of the same in 2007 when they were grouped with New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Kenya as expected missed out by losing to both the teams it was grouped with. Much to anyone's amazement, Kenya didn't even make it to the ICC Champions trophy played in South Africa last year. Of course, there were just 8 teams which participated in that trophy with even Bangladesh and Zimbabwe missing out.
If the statistics of the Kenyan team is given a close look at, they should have by now been awarded the test status similar to Bangladesh. Even Bangladesh doesn't deserve to play test cricket which is a different issue here. And, coming back to Kenya, they were the first non test playing nations to make the cricketing world stunned when they not only beat the West Indies in their inaugural world cup in 1996 but also were successful in getting the West Indian team that in a couple of weeks from then onwards made it to the semi finals of the same for a score less than 100.
In that edition, Kenya defeated the West Indian team which defeated South Africa for the first time in the quarter finals after South Africa were fresh from 5 consecutive wins against Pakistan, New Zealand and England in the league stages. In the world cup 1999 which was played in England after 16 years, though Kenya failed to win even a single match, they were seen crossing the 200 runs mark in 5 out of the six games that they played, with the 198 which they scored against Sri Lanka being the only exception. Kenya is the only non test playing team to have defeated India on two occasions.
The best from the Kenyans came in the 2003 world cup when they beat Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which saw them become the first non test playing nation to make it to the semi finals of a world cup. Perhaps! Kenya were also the first non test playing nation to make it to the super sixes of a world in 2003. In the same edition of the world cup Kenya defeated three test playing nations in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh which is a unique record shared by Ireland when they did it in 2007 and if the word defeated is replaced by unbeaten. And, with such a Kenyan team failing to make it to the world T20 on two successive occasions is need a bad fortune for cricket lovers.
If the statistics of the Kenyan team is given a close look at, they should have by now been awarded the test status similar to Bangladesh. Even Bangladesh doesn't deserve to play test cricket which is a different issue here. And, coming back to Kenya, they were the first non test playing nations to make the cricketing world stunned when they not only beat the West Indies in their inaugural world cup in 1996 but also were successful in getting the West Indian team that in a couple of weeks from then onwards made it to the semi finals of the same for a score less than 100.
In that edition, Kenya defeated the West Indian team which defeated South Africa for the first time in the quarter finals after South Africa were fresh from 5 consecutive wins against Pakistan, New Zealand and England in the league stages. In the world cup 1999 which was played in England after 16 years, though Kenya failed to win even a single match, they were seen crossing the 200 runs mark in 5 out of the six games that they played, with the 198 which they scored against Sri Lanka being the only exception. Kenya is the only non test playing team to have defeated India on two occasions.
The best from the Kenyans came in the 2003 world cup when they beat Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which saw them become the first non test playing nation to make it to the semi finals of a world cup. Perhaps! Kenya were also the first non test playing nation to make it to the super sixes of a world in 2003. In the same edition of the world cup Kenya defeated three test playing nations in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh which is a unique record shared by Ireland when they did it in 2007 and if the word defeated is replaced by unbeaten. And, with such a Kenyan team failing to make it to the world T20 on two successive occasions is need a bad fortune for cricket lovers.
Monday, 1 February 2010
The crowd's take on the match
Well from Eden gardens to Lahore in 1997, there have been much disturbances to the sporting action on the field, most of which has resulted in abandoning the matches. No one can forget the way the semi finals of the Wills world cup 1996 was washed out due to fan fury in the game between India and Sri Lanka when the scoreboard for India read 120/8 during their unsuccessful run chase of 252 imposed by Sri Lanka. However, hardly anyone would have noticed the way India lost the third ODI to Pakistan in Lahore which saw Ijaz Ahmed blasting a 84 ball unbeaten 139 to take Pakistan through in just 26.2 overs.
It was neither India's weak bowling nor the strength in the Pakistani batting line up that saw such a splendid performance from the Pakistani batsmen. But, it was the stone throwing incident in the 2nd ODI at Karachi that made India surrender the 3rd ODI to Pakistan. Then there have been many such incidents like the first three ODIs between India and West Indies, which took place irrespective of whether India won or lost. The third ODI between India & West Indies had to be called off after 27 overs owing to a stone throwing incident despite India being in a dominating position and were ultimately declared winners.
The other incidents that need not be highlighted specially is the one in the 1996 world cup where Australia and West Indies cancel their group matches against Sri Lanka scheduled at Colombo after news papers reports of LTTE strikes in the city, that was favored to Sri Lanka finally. Then comes the way England and New Zealand call off the matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya anticipating some trouble from the crowd especially England in 2003 world cup. The ugliest of them all being the one in the 2nd finals of the Commonwealth Bank series 2008 where a streaker was hit by Symonds after smuggling himself onto the field at Brisbane.
There was a similar incident even in the previous game as well that was let off lightly. The latest one that we hear is the one recently in the fifth and the final one day match of the first part of the Commonwealth bank series between Australia and Pakistan, where a spectator comes in from behind and hugs on to Khalid Latif in the deep. The case was hardly any different when a fan was found throwing a water bottle at a Pakistani fielder in Bangalore in 1999 after India's chances of winning was ruled out by the Wasim Akram led side. This has to be something that the ICC should keep an eye upon at least in Australia, where such incidents are fresh unlike the ones in the sub-continent.
It was neither India's weak bowling nor the strength in the Pakistani batting line up that saw such a splendid performance from the Pakistani batsmen. But, it was the stone throwing incident in the 2nd ODI at Karachi that made India surrender the 3rd ODI to Pakistan. Then there have been many such incidents like the first three ODIs between India and West Indies, which took place irrespective of whether India won or lost. The third ODI between India & West Indies had to be called off after 27 overs owing to a stone throwing incident despite India being in a dominating position and were ultimately declared winners.
The other incidents that need not be highlighted specially is the one in the 1996 world cup where Australia and West Indies cancel their group matches against Sri Lanka scheduled at Colombo after news papers reports of LTTE strikes in the city, that was favored to Sri Lanka finally. Then comes the way England and New Zealand call off the matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya anticipating some trouble from the crowd especially England in 2003 world cup. The ugliest of them all being the one in the 2nd finals of the Commonwealth Bank series 2008 where a streaker was hit by Symonds after smuggling himself onto the field at Brisbane.
There was a similar incident even in the previous game as well that was let off lightly. The latest one that we hear is the one recently in the fifth and the final one day match of the first part of the Commonwealth bank series between Australia and Pakistan, where a spectator comes in from behind and hugs on to Khalid Latif in the deep. The case was hardly any different when a fan was found throwing a water bottle at a Pakistani fielder in Bangalore in 1999 after India's chances of winning was ruled out by the Wasim Akram led side. This has to be something that the ICC should keep an eye upon at least in Australia, where such incidents are fresh unlike the ones in the sub-continent.
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