Yesterday, may be for the first time in the history of the game the world saw four countries from the subcontinent battling it out there on the cricket field. There was a match between India and Afghanistan on one side with Pakistan taking on Bangladesh on the other side. This has so far not been the case either in the world T20 that happens once in two years or the world cup that happens once in 4 years. Much to anyone 's excitement, this has not happened even in the ICC Champions Trophy that takes place once in two years.
The only instance where there can be sub continent teams battling it out would be the Asia cup that consists no other teams but the ones from the sub continent. Until the entry of Afghanistan to the international arena, there were four teams namely Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but so far none of the four teams have played or qualified to the second round of any of the major ICC tournaments together. There is atleast two of the four teams missing out from the list. Most of the time, it would be Bangladesh who would crash out in the initial phase of the tournament.
And, despite deserving to qualify, atleast one from either Sri Lanka, Pakistan or India are found missing from the super sixes or the super eights - whichever is relevant. It was only in the world cup 1996 that all the three teams namely India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified to the quarter finals of the tournament. But, sadly there was no encounter between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Similarly in 1999 world cup, Sri Lanka failed to make it to the super sixes and in 2003 world cup Pakistan failed to go past the round robin stage. And in 2007, both India & Pakistan failed to make it to the super eights but surprisingly Bangladesh made it there.
With the format of the world T20 being so and also with grouping of teams, there can never be a possibility of all three or four subcontinent teams clashing with each other bound to happen. But, one thing that is to be noticed is that there will be atleast two games between two subcontinent teams like in world cups 1999 and 2003 India played both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In 2007, India played both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In 1996, India played both Sri Lanka and Pakistan with Bangladesh not playing then. In both the T20 world cups, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been qualifying to the super eights but with the group theory being followed, all three nations from the subcontinent can never think of playing each other.
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A ray-of hope for sub continent
It was way back in 1996 that a country from the sun continent made it to one of the mega events in cricket, when U.A.E made it to the wills World cup in 1996 and was placed in Group B along with Holland, Pakistan, England, New Zealand and South Africa. Since then, no other nation from the Asian continent has been able to make it to the world cup- be it the ICC Champions Trophy that is held once in 2 years or the world T20 which is also scheduled with the same gap inbetween. Bangladesh-a team also from the sub continent made it to the world cup in 1999, and has since then been a regular part of international cricket.
Bangladesh differs from the other teams, for one-it has been given a test status by the ICC and two for the fact that they have been playing international cricket more regularly unlike the other teams whose presence is felt only in the major events. There have been teams like Hong Kong & UAE who also belong to the Asian continent but have not featured in any of the ICC sponsored events since 1996 after UAE made its appearance as mentioned above. Hong Kong has played two Asia cups in 2004 and 2008. If not, no other Asian teams have even made news otherwise as well.
If the remaining 5 continents are considered, there is the African continent who has seen teams like East Africa who made an appearance in the 1979 Prudential cup and then there was Zimbabwe-who even enjoyed a decade long unsuccessful test run, followed by Kenya who have been playing in the mega tournaments since 1996 and last Namibia who gave a guest appearance in the 2003 world cup played at South Africa. Of course, the Australian continent that consists of only Australia as a country has to be left out of the discussion. The highest contribution is seen from Europe, which has seen countries like Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Bermuda.
The fact is also that the countries that have been facing humiliating defeats have been from the European continent. It was Scotland in the 1999 world cup and Holland in the 1996 world that went without a victory in those tournaments. Then, Bermuda in 2007 lost all three games and recorded for the highest team total conceded when India scored 413 runs in the league stage of the same. The American continent has three nations in Canada, West Indies and USA who have featured in the ICC's mega tournaments. Now, after Afghanistan made it to the world T20 due in Caribbean in April this year, it can be considered to be another feather in the Asian continent's cap, taking the total number of countries from the continent to 6.
Bangladesh differs from the other teams, for one-it has been given a test status by the ICC and two for the fact that they have been playing international cricket more regularly unlike the other teams whose presence is felt only in the major events. There have been teams like Hong Kong & UAE who also belong to the Asian continent but have not featured in any of the ICC sponsored events since 1996 after UAE made its appearance as mentioned above. Hong Kong has played two Asia cups in 2004 and 2008. If not, no other Asian teams have even made news otherwise as well.
If the remaining 5 continents are considered, there is the African continent who has seen teams like East Africa who made an appearance in the 1979 Prudential cup and then there was Zimbabwe-who even enjoyed a decade long unsuccessful test run, followed by Kenya who have been playing in the mega tournaments since 1996 and last Namibia who gave a guest appearance in the 2003 world cup played at South Africa. Of course, the Australian continent that consists of only Australia as a country has to be left out of the discussion. The highest contribution is seen from Europe, which has seen countries like Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Bermuda.
The fact is also that the countries that have been facing humiliating defeats have been from the European continent. It was Scotland in the 1999 world cup and Holland in the 1996 world that went without a victory in those tournaments. Then, Bermuda in 2007 lost all three games and recorded for the highest team total conceded when India scored 413 runs in the league stage of the same. The American continent has three nations in Canada, West Indies and USA who have featured in the ICC's mega tournaments. Now, after Afghanistan made it to the world T20 due in Caribbean in April this year, it can be considered to be another feather in the Asian continent's cap, taking the total number of countries from the continent to 6.
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