Friday, March 18, 2011

1999 final opponents square off again

Pakistan have not had a lot to cheer about in cricket lately, but one thing that they can still lay claim to is that they are the last team to beat Australia in a World Cup match, way back in 1999. That was in the group stage and Australia went on to win the more important match, the final, against Pakistan.

Sadly for Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar has announced that he will retire after the World Cup. He was part of that 1999 team, which also included Abdul Razzaq. On the opposite side Ricky Ponting was also a feature of the Aussie team in that tournament.

But it’s 2011 now and Australia have had a great run in the current tournament, despite everyone’s predictions that they were ripe for a beating. Pakistan have also done well, with their only loss coming against New Zealand. In that match they failed to display any disciplined bowling, except for Umar Gul, who did a great service for his team. The top order is of some concern, as they just haven’t managed to kick off the innings.

The Aussies have had great innings with the bat and had with the ball as well until, that is, the two minnow nations of Kenya and Canada managed to hit them for a lot of runs. Kenya scored over 260 in 50 overs, while the Canadians got off to a terrific start in the mandatory Powerplay, scoring 77 runs.

They will definitely have to lift their game against Pakistan and against future opposition. The Pakistanis can be highly unpredictable: they can put on a brilliant performance or crumble completely. The head-to-head record is not encouraging, either. Australia have won nine of the last 10 ODIs between the two countries and that helps to make them the match favourites according to the Castrol Predictor, with a 62% chance of victory.

Must-win match for Bangladesh

Bangladesh could have qualified for the quarter-finals if the West Indies had beaten England in their recent match. However, the English were not done with the tournament yet and now Bangladesh need to beat the mighty South Africans if they are to get through.

They will have the support of the Dhaka crowd and they will be coming off a high after beating England in Chittagong, but things might be a bit more difficult against the Proteas. South Africa have won the last five ODIs between these two nations and they are also the stronger team, according to the Castrol Predictor. The Predictor rates the South Africans nearly 33% stronger as a unit and this combination of factors results in the Proteas having a 79% chance of winning the match.

The home team has certainly come a long way after the beating they took against India and the West Indies. The bowlers conceded a few too many runs against India while the batting failed abjectly against the Windies. Since then, they came away with an easy victory over the Netherlands and, just prior to that, managed a stunning win against England. A win against South Africa would not only get them through to the quarters, but would also be a huge morale boost for the team and country. One cannot forget how Bangladesh upset the Proteas in the Super 8 round at the 2007 World Cup and they will be looking for a repeat of that day.

South Africa have lost just the one match – the low-scoring encounter against England. Other than that, they have had a pretty good time at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, beating not only the minnows, but the West Indies and India as well. The win against India, especially, would have been savoured, as they are the favourites to lift the Cup. South Africa are not too far behind and their batsmen and bowlers have done a terrific job.

Not only did the bowlers take 9/29 against India to restrict them to under 300 runs, but their batsmen have also been in fine form, including AB de Villiers, who has two centuries in the competition already. They are tough opponents to beat any day, and the only thing that might work in the Bangla Tigers favour is the home advantage.