The eight best teams of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 completed the Quarter-Final line up. New Zealand and India came on top of Pool A and Pool B respectively. Both the teams made it to the Quarter-Final stage undefeated. India had 60 wickets from the 6 games of the group stage, a record of sorts for India in World Cup Cricket. Bangladesh was the surprise package of the tournament. They had a dream run in the CWC 2015, particularly when they knocked England out in the group stages. But, now teams had to play fully to their potential. It was the Knock-Out stages. No team could afford to make mistakes.
The First Quarter-Final - South Africa v Sri Lanka @ Sydney
South Africa played Sri Lanka in the first Quarter-Final of the ICC CWC 2015. South Africa wanted to win to shake off the "Chokers" tag while the Sri Lankans wanted to give a grand farewell to veterans, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Sri Lanka batted first on a good track. However, the Sri Lankan batsmen were no match against the South African bowlers. The Proteas were very disciplined with their line and length and their fielding was as sharp as ever. The Lankans were bowled out for a meager 133. Sangakkara top-scored with 45. Imran Tahir snared 4 of the Sri Lankan wickets.
Chasing 134 was not going to be challenging for the South Afrcian batsmen. And they showed the very same in their batting. They lost just one wicket and chased down 134 in the 18th over. Quinton De Kock found form as he top-scored with an unbeaten 78. The South Africans made it to the Semi-Finals of the ICC CWC 2015 without much sweat.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara walked off the ground one last time as ODI players. They will go down in history as legends of not only Sri Lankan Cricket but also World Cricket.
The Second Quarter-Final - India v Bangladesh @ Melbourne
Defending champions India played Bangladesh in the second quarter-final at the MCG. It was a historic day for Bangladesh cricket as they had made it to the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup 2015. But they had their task cut-out against India, who were particularly in great form.
India batted first on a good MCG batting surface. The Indian batsmen were off to a steady start. They did not underestimate the Bangladesh bowlers at all. And that showed in their performance. Rohit Sharma came back to form with a spectacular 100. He scored a huge 137 of 126 balls, a knock which included 14 4s and 3 6s. Raina continued his good run in the tournament as he scored a quickfire 65 of 57 balls. India ended up with 302-6 in their 50 overs. Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/69 of his 10 overs. Bangladesh had a huge mountain to climb.
Bangladesh needed to get a good start. However, they did not manage that start as they lost 2 wickets for 33. There after, the Bangladesh batsmen managed to get a few starts but could not convert their starts. Bangladesh continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Eventually, Bangladesh were bowled out for 193 in 45 overs. Nasir Hossain top scored with 35. Umesh Yadav picked up 4 wickets giving away just 31 runs in his 9 overs. India win the game by 109 runs and continued their unbeaten run. India bowled out their opposition the 7th successive time in this World Cup.
The Third Quarter-Final - Australia v Pakistan @ Adelaide
Hosts and favorites Australia played Pakistan in the third quarter final. Australia definitely had an upper hand in this contest, but you never know when the Pakistanis would spring a surprise. Pakistan batted first. The Australian bowlers were on the mark right from the word Go. They troubled the Pakistan batsmen with their swing, seam, bounce and pace. The Pakistan batsmen kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Spectacular Australian fielding did not help Pakistan's cause. Pakistan were bowled out for 213 with a ball to spare. Haris Sohail top score with 41. Josh Hazlewood, who was brought into this game in place of Pat Cummins, justified his selection by picking up 4 wickets. Australia had a fairly easy run chase.
However, the Australians had a stuttering start. They lost Finch early. Wahab Riaz was at his best and he sent Warner and captain Clarke back to the hut. The Aussies were 60-3. Watson joined Steve Smith. Both of them carefully took ahead the Australian innings. Smith brought of his half century, a well-compiled one. After Smith's departure, Maxwell joined Watson. Watson brought up his half-century. Maxwell was at his destructive best as he smashed the Pakistan bowlers all over the park. Without any further loss of wickets, Australia got over the line in 33.5 overs. Smith top scored with 65 while Watson remained unbeaten on 64. Wahab Riaz was the pick of Pakistan bowlers with 2 wickets off his 9 overs.
Australia made it to the semi-finals of the CWC 2015. They have set up a date with India at the SCG on 26th March.
The Fourth Quarter-Final - New Zealand v West Indies @ Wellington
The fourth Quarter-Final was played today between hosts New Zealand and West Indies. The Black Caps played in front of their huge home support at the Cake Tin. McCullum called it right and elected to bat first.
The New Zealand openers walked out to huge applause and cheers. They were off. However, the Kiwis did not get off to a good start as they lost their skipper early. Williamson joined Guptill. They both stitched a partnership. Guptill played particularly freely as he stroked the ball to different parts of the ground. All the New Zealand batsmen played around Guptill as he continued playing his shorts all around the Westpac stadium. He played magnificent cricket and brought up his 100 first, 150 next and eventually 200. Martin Guptill became the first New Zealand batsmen to score a double hundred when he brought his up with a four down the ground. It was a treat to watch Martin Guptill bat. Not one of his shot was any modern day cricketing shot but all his shots around the park were traditional cricketing shots. He eventually remained Not Out for 237 for 163. The Black Caps piled on a huge 393-6 in 50 overs. All the West Indies bowlers were expensive; Jerome Taylor was the top wicket taker with 3. Gayle had to come good for the Windies or else the Kiwis were already through to the semis.
West Indies had a horrible start. They lost Johnson Charles right in the second over. Lightning Boult struck the Windies today. He bowled a straight spell of 10 overs and picked up 4 wickets in his spell. Gayle did play his shots and aggressive cricket. However, the Windies run chase virtually folded when he was castled by Adam Milne. He fell for 61 of 33. The West Indies continued losing wickets and eventually were bowled out for 250 in the 31st over. The New Zealand flags were flying all over the Cake Tin. The Kiwis had made it to the semis of the World Cup 2015. Trent Boult snared 4 wickets and gave away 44 runs in his 10 overs. But the hero of the day was Martin Guptill. A great knock which will go down in history as one of New Zealand's best as well as one of cricket's best. He led his team off and will be a key when New Zealand take on South Africa in the first semi final.
From 14 teams, the CWC 2015 has come down to 4 teams. And rightly, the four best teams of the competition have made it to the semi finals. Now it will be a test of consistency and playing the big games as the semis get underway on Tuesday.
The Semi-Final Line-Up:
The First Quarter-Final - South Africa v Sri Lanka @ Sydney
South Africa played Sri Lanka in the first Quarter-Final of the ICC CWC 2015. South Africa wanted to win to shake off the "Chokers" tag while the Sri Lankans wanted to give a grand farewell to veterans, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Sri Lanka batted first on a good track. However, the Sri Lankan batsmen were no match against the South African bowlers. The Proteas were very disciplined with their line and length and their fielding was as sharp as ever. The Lankans were bowled out for a meager 133. Sangakkara top-scored with 45. Imran Tahir snared 4 of the Sri Lankan wickets.
Chasing 134 was not going to be challenging for the South Afrcian batsmen. And they showed the very same in their batting. They lost just one wicket and chased down 134 in the 18th over. Quinton De Kock found form as he top-scored with an unbeaten 78. The South Africans made it to the Semi-Finals of the ICC CWC 2015 without much sweat.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara walked off the ground one last time as ODI players. They will go down in history as legends of not only Sri Lankan Cricket but also World Cricket.
The Second Quarter-Final - India v Bangladesh @ Melbourne
Defending champions India played Bangladesh in the second quarter-final at the MCG. It was a historic day for Bangladesh cricket as they had made it to the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup 2015. But they had their task cut-out against India, who were particularly in great form.
India batted first on a good MCG batting surface. The Indian batsmen were off to a steady start. They did not underestimate the Bangladesh bowlers at all. And that showed in their performance. Rohit Sharma came back to form with a spectacular 100. He scored a huge 137 of 126 balls, a knock which included 14 4s and 3 6s. Raina continued his good run in the tournament as he scored a quickfire 65 of 57 balls. India ended up with 302-6 in their 50 overs. Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/69 of his 10 overs. Bangladesh had a huge mountain to climb.
Bangladesh needed to get a good start. However, they did not manage that start as they lost 2 wickets for 33. There after, the Bangladesh batsmen managed to get a few starts but could not convert their starts. Bangladesh continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Eventually, Bangladesh were bowled out for 193 in 45 overs. Nasir Hossain top scored with 35. Umesh Yadav picked up 4 wickets giving away just 31 runs in his 9 overs. India win the game by 109 runs and continued their unbeaten run. India bowled out their opposition the 7th successive time in this World Cup.
The Third Quarter-Final - Australia v Pakistan @ Adelaide
Hosts and favorites Australia played Pakistan in the third quarter final. Australia definitely had an upper hand in this contest, but you never know when the Pakistanis would spring a surprise. Pakistan batted first. The Australian bowlers were on the mark right from the word Go. They troubled the Pakistan batsmen with their swing, seam, bounce and pace. The Pakistan batsmen kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Spectacular Australian fielding did not help Pakistan's cause. Pakistan were bowled out for 213 with a ball to spare. Haris Sohail top score with 41. Josh Hazlewood, who was brought into this game in place of Pat Cummins, justified his selection by picking up 4 wickets. Australia had a fairly easy run chase.
However, the Australians had a stuttering start. They lost Finch early. Wahab Riaz was at his best and he sent Warner and captain Clarke back to the hut. The Aussies were 60-3. Watson joined Steve Smith. Both of them carefully took ahead the Australian innings. Smith brought of his half century, a well-compiled one. After Smith's departure, Maxwell joined Watson. Watson brought up his half-century. Maxwell was at his destructive best as he smashed the Pakistan bowlers all over the park. Without any further loss of wickets, Australia got over the line in 33.5 overs. Smith top scored with 65 while Watson remained unbeaten on 64. Wahab Riaz was the pick of Pakistan bowlers with 2 wickets off his 9 overs.
Australia made it to the semi-finals of the CWC 2015. They have set up a date with India at the SCG on 26th March.
The Fourth Quarter-Final - New Zealand v West Indies @ Wellington
The fourth Quarter-Final was played today between hosts New Zealand and West Indies. The Black Caps played in front of their huge home support at the Cake Tin. McCullum called it right and elected to bat first.
The New Zealand openers walked out to huge applause and cheers. They were off. However, the Kiwis did not get off to a good start as they lost their skipper early. Williamson joined Guptill. They both stitched a partnership. Guptill played particularly freely as he stroked the ball to different parts of the ground. All the New Zealand batsmen played around Guptill as he continued playing his shorts all around the Westpac stadium. He played magnificent cricket and brought up his 100 first, 150 next and eventually 200. Martin Guptill became the first New Zealand batsmen to score a double hundred when he brought his up with a four down the ground. It was a treat to watch Martin Guptill bat. Not one of his shot was any modern day cricketing shot but all his shots around the park were traditional cricketing shots. He eventually remained Not Out for 237 for 163. The Black Caps piled on a huge 393-6 in 50 overs. All the West Indies bowlers were expensive; Jerome Taylor was the top wicket taker with 3. Gayle had to come good for the Windies or else the Kiwis were already through to the semis.
West Indies had a horrible start. They lost Johnson Charles right in the second over. Lightning Boult struck the Windies today. He bowled a straight spell of 10 overs and picked up 4 wickets in his spell. Gayle did play his shots and aggressive cricket. However, the Windies run chase virtually folded when he was castled by Adam Milne. He fell for 61 of 33. The West Indies continued losing wickets and eventually were bowled out for 250 in the 31st over. The New Zealand flags were flying all over the Cake Tin. The Kiwis had made it to the semis of the World Cup 2015. Trent Boult snared 4 wickets and gave away 44 runs in his 10 overs. But the hero of the day was Martin Guptill. A great knock which will go down in history as one of New Zealand's best as well as one of cricket's best. He led his team off and will be a key when New Zealand take on South Africa in the first semi final.
From 14 teams, the CWC 2015 has come down to 4 teams. And rightly, the four best teams of the competition have made it to the semi finals. Now it will be a test of consistency and playing the big games as the semis get underway on Tuesday.
The Semi-Final Line-Up:
Date
|
Teams
|
Venue
|
March 24
|
New Zealand v South Africa
|
Eden Park, Auckland
|
March 26
|
Australia v India
|
SCG, Sydney
|
No comments:
Post a Comment