India-Sri Lanka in world cups..A review

With India set to play Sri Lanka in the final of the world cup, a look at the history between the two teams especially in world cup tournaments would be worth I suppose. If things are seen in the world cup tournaments that include the ICC champions trophy and the T20 world cups, Sri Lanka have been at the delivering end with India losing the plot on almost all occasions. The latest one being in the world T20 held at West Indies where Sri Lanka beat India to move to the semi-finals in West Indies. Of course, India had lost all games in that tournament.

A win against Sri Lanka for India would have been just a consolation after their loss to Australia and West Indies. Before that, India failed to get past the round robin stage of the last world cup after they lost to Sri Lanka and of course Bangladesh before that. Prior to the 2007 world cup, India had won a bilateral series against Sri Lanka at home 2-1 but could not repeat the same a month later. India have beaten Sri Lanka in world cups 2003 and 1999. This time it was India's turn to enjoy with them being responsible for Sri Lanka to go without a win against a major opposition in 1999.

In the 2003 world cup, it was after their win against Sri Lanka that India reached the semi-finals. But, India managed to win all three games in the super sixes which would not have made any difference. However, India's win over Sri Lanka in 1999 and 2003 didn't prove anything worth for India and Sri Lanka managed to reach the semis in 2003 despite being thrashed by India as mentioned. But, India's loss to Sri Lanka in 1996 and 2007 kept India totally out of the tournament. India's world cup campaign in 2007 lasted barely 2 weeks after they first lost to Bangladesh before losing to Sri Lanka.

India's win over Sri Lanka have just aided India's advancement to the next round or has been just another win. But, whenever India has lost to Sri Lanka, the match has made headlines. Previously India-Sri Lanka match in 1979 made headlines for India losing to a Sri Lankan team which was until then not been granted test status. India and Sri Lanka were set to play the finals of the ICC champions trophy 2002 which was abandoned with just one innings possible when rain interrupted the game twice. Since then, India has never played Sri Lanka in an ICC champions trophy. But, things need not be the same this time for both teams.

Well its time to check out some forex trading stuff before the finals.

Is Mohali (India) the right venue to host semis?

Well as an Indian and an avid cricket fan, I am also eagerly looking forward to the fifth India-Pakistan match in world cups (barring T20 world cups and ICC champions trophies). This will be the second time Pakistan will have to tour India to play a match against the hosts after the famous 1996 world cup quarter finals played at Bangalore which was Javed Miandad's last show on the international stage. Needless to be said, India won that battle by 39 runs despite a threatening start from the Pakistani openers namely Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail who saw Pakistan reach 113/1 after 13 overs.

Anyway, that is history and then things were not that serious as is the case now. Things were not anticipated then in the match at Bangalore, with India winning the match unlike what happened in the semi-finals against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens. Now, Pakistan is once again cursed to tour the venue which he last prefers to. So would be the case for India, for whom the ghosts of the 1996 semi-finals might haunt again in case they give a sign a being defeated. This has happened earlier in a tri nation tournament with Pakistan having a high upper hand and people start hurling bottles on Pakistan players.

Luckily for captains of both teams, there was no India-Pakistan match until 1992 which averted something similar in 1987. In 1996, though there was nothing unexpected in the quarter-finals at Bangalore, what happened in the semi-finals was nothing compared to what would have happened had India won that semi-finals against Sri Lanka. The finals of the 1996 world cup was held at Lahore which might have made the then India captain Mohammed Azharuddin think many times before winning the semis. Anything might have happened had India toured Pakistan for the finals in case India managed to do so. Though this was not the reason for the defeat, it cannot be completely ruled out.

Since then, Pakistan has never been a venue for any world cup tournaments be it the world cup, the T20 world cup or the ICC champions trophy. Pakistan has been canceled to host an ICC champions trophy in 2008, which was canceled completely with the ICC not deciding on the venue to host the tournament that year. And then, this time Pakistan was denied to host any matches of the ongoing world cup which would have made Indians smile to a greater extent compared to other countries. Afridi may just think upon going back to Pakistan rather than be the target for bottles and paper rockets gifted by angry fans for having his team trounce India.

One can just see paint colors in Afridi's face with dilemma whether to go in for the kill or save his life from people's anger.

Famous 5 on the cards for England?

Well last night, England moved on to the finals of the world T20 tournament by beating Sri Lanka by 7 wickets. But, the real nightmare for England have so far been the finals of a world tournament wherein it has made it to the finals of a mega tournament on four earlier occasions but to no avail. They were forced to be satisfied with the runners-up tag. The list includes West Indies, Australia, Pakistan in world cups and once again the West Indies in the ICC Champions trophy 2004. It was in 2004 that they made it clear to the world that they can never win a mega tournament no matter what.

Since 1992, after so many cricketing greats like Mike Gating, Ian Botham and others retired, the English team have not at all recovered. The best example for this would be the way England played the 1996 world cup with wins only against Holland and UAE before they finally lost to Sri Lanka in the quarter finals of the same. England then had losses against Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand not to mention. So was the case in 1999 world cup when they had only one sarisfactory win against defending champions Sri Lanka that eventually proved out to be wrong.

managed was a win against West Indies in the super eights of the same. Putting it simple, in every world cup after 1992, England have been able to manage just one win against a major cricketing oppposition. And in the 2003 world cup, if not for their win against Pakistan, they had nothing to take home which happened to be worse when they didn't even make it to the super sixes, something which Kenya and Zimbabwe had no problems in doing. And in the 2007 world cup, all EnglandAnd coming to the other mega event namely the ICC champions trophy, the only time when England have crossed the round robin stage was in 2004 where they ended as runners up.

One can still remember the ICC Champions trophy 2004 where England entered the finals by surprisingly beating Australia in the semis. England were the favorites to win the tournament for two reasons namely one for beating the all conquering Australian side in the semis and two for facing the West Indies team which can gift the match to any opposition including Bangladesh. No matter that West Indies did enter the finals by beating South Africa who were still a decent opposition. But, people's favorites were England and only England. Following suit, England reduced the West Indies to 149/8 only to see the West Indies no lose any more wickets but also end their match by hitting a four.

The relation between Australia and World Cup

Until yesterday, it was only in the test and one day cricket that Pakistan faced humiliating defeats at the hands of the Aussies. But, this was the case even in the finals of the U-19 world cup held at Lincoln. Honestly speaking, I have hardly been following the U-19 world cup since the start. But, when the news that Australia beat Pakistan to lift the title, I was fortunate to watch the highlights of the same. As usual, I don't conclude that as one of the most fascinating finals that the cricketing world would have witnessed. But, it can be rather said that it was one such match that never drew crowds.

The only people to have rejoiced the triumph with their full heart would be the playing XI and nobody else. Even the Australian cricket board (I doubt) would have just given the players a formal reward, that would have added to a small 8 letter long-CONGRATS! However, the fact that Australia beat Pakistan to lift the same would have hit the headlines of leading newspapers of both the nations. On the other side of the world, Pakistan have been receiving humiliating blows from Australia during their tour to Australia when they lost the test series 3-0 and the ODI series on 4-0 at present. The only hope for Pakistan would be the only T20 game that is scheduled after the ODI series.

Pakistan is considered to have an upper hand in this format, for they have been able to beat Australia earlier last year when they played Australia in Abu Dhabi. If stats are to be believed, this is the 3^rd time Australia were lifting the U-19 world cup and are the 1^st one to do so after their victories in the same in 1987-88 and 2001-02. Australia were, needless to be said, the first team to have lifted the world cup thrice four times in senior team as well. And, they have a history of beating Pakistan in the finals of the 1999 world cup, which was also a low scoring game like yesterday's.

In mid last year, Australia became the first team in the history of the game to have won the ICC Champions Trophy on two occasions. And for someone to have done it on successive occasions is another feather in their cap one can say. The only area where Australia have never tasted success of any sort is in the T20 game. Not only for their losses in the T20 world cup, but otherwise also, Australia are not rated among favourites in T20 cricket. They are one team to have lost to Zimbabwe in the inaugural edition of the same in 2007 though they made it to the semis. In 2009, they were the first test playing nation (barring Bangladesh) not to have qualified to the super eights of the T20 WC. They couldn't do what Ireland could do.

When tail-enders take no responsibility...

When an Aussie bowler who made an ODI debut at the age of 30+ and in his second one dayer picks up his first 5 wicket haul against a team who have a history of winning a world cup and making it to the finals of another, one has to indeed question whether Pakistan are indeed interested in playing serious cricket be it the one day or test cricket. If one goes through the scorecard of yesterday's third one day international between Australia and Pakistan, the Pakistani captain did the same mistake that he was found doing in the first ODI.

This time at Adelaide as well, Mohammed Yousuf went in for just five bowlers who bowled their full quota of 10 overs each. May be, had the ICC not imposed any such rules regarding the number of overs a bowler can bowl in an ODI match, Yousuf would have even gone in for just one or two bowlers to bowl the entire 50 overs. The other side of the coin is also that the Pakistan side had hardly any bowler who could give the main bowlers a break and step in as a part time bowler. Such is the destiny of today's Pakistan cricket.

If the recent past is given a close look at, chasing a total of even 300+ is not considered a difficult task. May be this doesn't hold good as far as Australia is considered. At the end of the day, anyone can come out with a reason regarding their team's loss. And how much weight that reason can be given becomes a different issue altogether. Compared to the previous ODIs, Pakistan have been putting a better performance each time they faced the Aussies. They bought the Aussies close to 50 overs in the first ODI while chasing 275. And in the 2nd, they utilized an extra bowler though they ultimately got out for 127.

Now, in the 3^rd, Pakistan despite losing 4 quick wickets for 60 runs put up an 85 run partnership that could have well been converted to a winning total of 287. Some irresponsible shots from the blades of Shahid Afridi and Naved-Ul-Hasan have to be dealt with seriously if this is not happen once again. It looks like the PCB has failed in handling Afridi, who has the power to make it big but is allowed to play reckless shots, which are at most of the times irresponsible. Such shots can make only a gully cricketer and not an international. It is no more than a black mark on Afridi for playing such shots.

A 19 year old Umar Akmal along with Fawad Alam were found playing decent cricket compared to what Afridi & Naved played. Tail end batting is assumed by the Pakistani players to just give an entertainment to the crowd and nothing else. It is the performance of these tail enders who make a difference between a victory and a defeat. Pakistan have to learn from the Aussies who had a last ball victory in the ICC Champions Trophy which was made possible by tail enders Brett Lee & Nathan Hauritz who put up a 19 run partnership and also stood for 20 balls without taking unwanted risks like the ones taken by Afridi & Naved.

A Look At India's Run In ODI

Well a couple of days back, cricket avatar had written about the status of team India in test cricket which shows that India had wins against only two teams namely Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 2009, one of which was at home and the other one owing to the fact that it was the senior pros that won the only game against the Kiwis out of the three that were scheduled. Added to this would be the fact that India gained a lot due to other teams' bad performances. Now, a quick look at team India's run in the one dayers will be of some worth one can suppose.

In the past one year or so, though team India has played enough number of games, the number of teams that India has faced is not justified. Majority of India's wins came against Sri Lanka, against which India won 8 out of the 11 matches that it played with Sri Lanka winning just 2. The other major team that India has faced in 2009 is Australia against which it has played 7 matches out of which India could manage just 2 wins and in the ICC Champions trophy, team India managed to escape from the jaws of defeat after the game was ruled out.

Then, India played a game against Pakistan in the ICC Champions trophy which it lost convincingly. And the other teams that India have played against include New Zealand and West Indies. Though the 3-1 victory against New Zealand can be given a pat on the back, the ones against the West Indies can never be. India managed to win the series against New Zealand in New Zealand which is something good for India. West Indies is not the team that any team would be satisfied beating be it at home or otherwise. In addition, India won the tri series against Sri Lanka that New Zealand was also a part of.

In the ICC Champions trophy, India's lone win came against West Indies that was stripped of the big guns that included Chris Gayle and co. If the 9 test playing teams in the world are given a closer look at, only victories against the teams namely Pakistan, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand (to some extent) can be worth it. A win against even a team like England cannot guarantee a caliber for any team though ICC considers the matches against minnows as valid one day internationals in deciding the rating the team is to be given. India had two close encounters against Australia, where India lost by a small margin, but however, all these were at home.

So, on can conclude that India's wins have either come against weak oppositions or at home or subcontinent conditions that has placed it in the number 2 spot in the latest ICC's one day ratings.

Once Again India Set To Play Sri Lanka

It has hardly been a week since the fifth one day international between India and Sri Lanka got abandoned. However, the issue is not regarding the Kotla pitch. But, it is the frequency with which India have been playing Sri Lanka off late. The 2 test and 5 one day matches played by India against Sri Lanka is still afresh in the minds of the people. Now, India and Sri Lanka are entitled to play yet another tri series that will be featuring Bangladesh as well and starting on 4^th January at Dhaka. Not only are these two the only instances where matches between India and Sri Lanka have been played but there are a few more as well.

Earlier in 2009 somewhere in Jan-Feb 2009, India and Sri Lanka have played a 5 match one day series which India won 4-1 in Sri Lanka. Then comes the tri nation simple tournament (Compaq Cup) that involved New Zealand in addition to India and Sri Lanka somewhere in September prior to the ICC Champions trophy 2008 2009 that once again India won. And before that, India had toured Sri Lanka in August 2008, bringing the number of tournaments involving the two countries to four. Added to that would be the two mega events in ICC Champions Trophy 2009 (though that tournament didn't involve a match between India and Sri Lanka) and the ICC world T20.

And going still back would be just foolish. It is just not understandable as to why tournaments involving the same two teams are repeatedly being played in such small intervals. A similar such feat was evident when Bangladesh played Zimbabwe repeatedly for 5 times in a time span of just more than a year somewhere in between 2005-06. On the other hand, there are matches between some teams that have been a long time since last played. Like, India last played New Zealand in early 2009 and prior to that it was somewhere in September 2009. Then the fate of an India-Pakistan tie is very much in front of us. So is the case between Australia and Pakistan.

I last remember Australia last playing Pakistan somewhere in 2004 which Australia won (obviously) and since then onwards, tournaments involving both the teams have been canceled and Pakistan has never been to Australia for a test series until present. It would not be wrong to call the recently started Australia-Pakistan test series as a new episode involving the two teams. This is in the recent past the case involving all teams that are bound to tour Pakistan. And the ICC is not even found to shift the venues to some neutral venue like UAE which hosted the one day games between Australia and Pakistan. With this, fans who intend in watchin their favourite teams clash have to wait for the ICC to schedule matches or else be contended with the highlightes of the previous matches.