The cricket World Cup is at the halfway stage. All the teams have completed 6 games with some of them sitting comfortably, while the others are a bit nervous. The defeats inflicted by the likes of Afghanistan and The Netherlands have actually kept the gates for certain teams open. There has been some brutal hitting from the likes of Australia and South Africa. The host, India, has been doing well. The spinners have been mostly effective and that helped Afghanistan because they are a spin heavy side. There has been a huge furore over the empty seats where India is not involved. England’s abject surrender in most of the games was shocking. The World Cup is at the halfway stage.
The top two sides
India and South Africa. India has done exceptionally well so far. The fact that the games are all played at home has helped India immensely. The one factor that is both a joy and a concern for the Indian team is the fact that they chased in 5 out of the 6 games. In the one game where we batted first, our batsmen didn’t cover themselves with glory. The opponents in the Semi-Finals and Finals, likely to be Australia and South Africa, have amassed runs to the tune of close to 400 though South Africa has found themselves in a spot of bother in 2 games while chasing. A substantial score, in excess of 350 in one of the remaining games will make the batsmen feel much more confident going into the final rounds.
The major highlight for India is the bowling in the middle overs. The bowlers have regularly picked up wickets thereby restricting the scoring. Against Pakistan and against New Zealand, when there was a partnership building along, the bowlers, especially, Kuldeep and Bumrah stopped the opponents in their tracks by getting rid of key wickets. Shami has been effective in the 2 games he has played thereby all but driving out Siraj from the team if the need arises to strengthen the lower-order batting. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer continue to be the bottleneck for batting. Their lack of runs is piling on some pressure on Rohit, Kohli and Rahul.
Gill cannot claim that he is back from a bout of dengue and that he is tired. If that is the case, he must not be playing at all. Shreyas’s short-ball woes continue to trouble him with poor choice of shots.
South Africa
What can one say about the batting brilliance of the Proteas? Quinton at the top has been exceptional with 3 hundreds so far. He is supported superbly by the likes of Van der Dussen and Markaram with some late-order hitting from Klaasen and Miller. Marco Jansen’s all-round capability has provided the edge to them. If not with the bat, he consistently chips in with wickets at crucial stages. He may have even upstaged Rabadda which is a huge compliment. India struggled against the pace and bounce of Jansen in South Africa about 18 months ago and will hope that they do not have to play against him in the knockouts.
South Africa is the only team that has posted scores in excess of 350 on more than 3 occasions. Few of them have come against England and New Zealand. If the ground was smaller or if the pitch was placid, it didn’t matter to their bowlers who skittled those teams for paltry scores. The only sore note for South Africa is the captain. Temba Bavuma is not an international cricketer, let alone a captain. If not for the racial quota, he would not been on the side. He drags the team down with his batting. With a punishing top order, dashing middle order and probing bowlers, South Africa is on a mission.
India and South Africa are expected to qualify for the semis quite easily. Their opponents aren’t that strong with one game against each other. That promises to be the clash for the top of the table. The winner will top the table.
The next couple of teams
Australia and New Zealand. Both the teams had contrasting starts to their campaign. Australia lost both their opening games whereas New Zealand won 4 games in a row until they hit the wall against India. New Zealand will be the much-worried team at the moment. The defeat against South Africa was devastating. It will take a lot of effort from them to come out of that annihilation. They lost the game by close to 200 hundreds which in an ODI is nothing short of catastrophic. New Zealand is further hampered because of the injuries to their key personnel.
Matt Henry and James Neesham have joined a growing list of injured players. Williamson is already ruled out of the tournament and Ferguson is also nurturing an injury. New Zealand traditionally struggles against Pakistan. This time, with so many injured players, it is difficult to see them pass the Pakistan hurdle. They will require a super-human effort to do so. New Zealand is known for their tenacity and they will need that in abundance against its perennial foes. Having lost to South Africa and that too so miserably, they must win their remaining games. One of them is against Pakistan.
Australia
World Cup and Australia cannot be separated. Not for nothing are they rated among the favourites in every World Cup. They raise their game and themselves when it comes to World Cup or Ashes. The addition of Travis Head at the top has given them in general and Warner in particular, the much-needed freedom to bat positively. Warner has responded with 2 energy sapping hundreds and Head looked like he was never injured. Mitchell Marsh is supporting them quite nicely but the main problem is the twins. Smith and Labuschagne. Neither of them is able to force the pace and has been found surplus to requirement. It is obvious that only one, if at all, can play.
Bowling is another worry for Australia. None of Starc, Cummins or Hazlewood is able to prevent the opposition from scoring quickly. This will play in the minds of the batsmen who will be forced to take additional risks in trying to boost the score.
Wrapping up the World Cup is at the halfway stage
In all likelihood, these 4 teams will be the final 4 unless Afghanistan or Pakistan can spring a surprise or two.
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