Key Features –

1. Johnny Bairstow and Joe Root put up a partnership of 120 for the 2nd wicket, with both of them scoring 90(99) and 88(82) respectively. And, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root put up a partnership of 189 runs for the 3rd wicket.

2. Eoin Morgan’s catch was dropped in the first over of his batting and that costed Afghanistan the whole game. He went on to score 148(71) with 17 sixes which is the most by a player in an ODI innings. It seems “Catches win matches” just proved to be something worth remembering for Afghanistan.

3. Moeen Ali played a quick cameo in the final overs of the game by scoring a 31(9)*.

4. Gulbadin Naib had a good all round performance playing a Captain’s role with both bat and ball. He bowled a spell of 3/68(10) and scored 37(28) as an opener. Hence, we can call it a Captain’s day with both Morgan and Naib being the best performers of the day.

5. Once again the middle order of Afghanistan showed their strong batting skills even when they were aware they can’t win the game. All three Rahmat, Shahidi and Afghan played their part in taking their score to a good total even against a quality bowling attack of England. They scored 46(74), 76(100) and 44(48) respectively.

5. Rashid Khan becomes the FIRST spinner in the history of ODI cricket to concede more than 100 runs. His spell was 0/110(9). On the contrary, the other Rashid, i.e., Adil Rashid bowled a spell of 3/66(10). The difference between the two Rashids was clearly shown today.

6. Even though England put up a total of 397 in 50 overs, Dawlat Zadran was the pick of the bowlers apart from Naib who also picked up 3 wickets and ended with a spell of 3/85(10).

7. Jofra Archer once again picking up 3 wickets. It seems as if whenever he picks up wickets in a game, it’s never more or less than 3. He’s got 3 wickets each in 4 games out of 5 and the one where he didn’t, he never got any. He finishes with a spell of 3/52(10).

Post-Match Analysis –

1. If the middle order of Afghanistan had played like this in every game, they could’ve won matches and made some upsets worth remembering in this tournament but in every game we just saw one of the batsmen taking charge instead of building a good partnership, which they finally did today but still lost the game by 150 runs.

2. Afghanistan are now officially the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup 2019 with 5 losses in 5 matches.

3. Jason Roy’s boots had to be filled up by James Vince who unfortunately couldn’t score big today but has another match to prove himself before Roy comes back to the field.

4. England’s bowling attack all of a sudden doesn’t look like a threat since the Afghan middle order just took them to task and played the kind of cricket nobody would’ve expected from them against the England’s bowling attack. They just showed why they have an amazing lineup. They just lack consistency and with time they surely might be one of the most destructive teams to play against.

5. Joe Root has now been involved in 5 consecutive 100+ run partnerships in the World Cup 2019, the joint most for a play in the World Cup. He holds this record with Javed Miandad and Tilakartane Dilshan.

6. England now have the record of the maximum number of sixes in an ODI innings in the history of ODI matches. They scored 25 sixes thanks to Eoin Morgan who scored 17 of them.

7. England move to the top of the points table with 8 points in 5 matches and the second highest Net Run Rate amongst all the teams in this World Cup. On the other hand, Afghanistan are still point-less in this World cup after 5 matches and are still at the bottom of the points table.

8. England take on Sri Lanka next. And Afghanistan take on India next.

9. We’re done with half the tournament and we now have 6 teams (ENG, AUS, IND, NZ, SL, BAN) in contention for the 4 spots of playoffs with one team officially eliminated and the other 3 practically out looking at their stance on the points table.

10. Joe Root again climbs up the ladder and now is the second highest run scorer of World Cup 2019 with Rohit, Finch and Warner right behind him and Shakib yet on top. On the other hand, Mohammad Amir and Mitchell Starc both have 13 wickets and are currently the top-wicket takers of this World Cup.

Up Next –

New Zealand vs South Africa

It should ideally be an equal contest but South Africa in this world cup haven’t really been in the greatest of touches and on the other hand, New Zealand have been undefeated in this tournament though they’ve got their wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and finally now have to compete against the top teams in their later matches which might even be a complete turn around for them from consecutive wins to consecutive losses.

New Zealand is playing a game after 11 days and would be looking forward to continue their winning momentum. On the other hand, South Africa would also like to continue their winning streak after a convincing victory against Afghanistan. Hence, a contest worth watching!

The batting of both the teams have some amazing quality batsmen who are all capable of doing wonders with the likes of De Kock, Amla, Markram, Van Der Dussen and Miller from South Africa, and Williamson, Ross, Munro, Guptill and Latham from New Zealand.
The All Rounders of both teams are also equally good and match winners with both bat and ball with the likes of Phehlukwayo and Morris for SA, and Neesham, Santner and Grandhomme for NZ.

Both teams also have that one bowler who is their most dangerous bowler and been the top rated bowlers as well with the likes of Rabada for SA and Boult for NZ.

Both teams are equally capable of winning the match and we should expect a high-scoring game with a close encounter unless one of the bowling sides plans to do some wonders.

Probable XIs –

SA – De Kock, Amla, Markram, Faf, Dussen, Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris, Rabada, Tahir, Hendricks

NZ – Guptill, Munro, Williamson, Taylor, Latham, Neesham, Grandhomme/Southee, Santner, Henry, Ferguson, Boult

Possible replacements –

NONE for both teams since both teams are coming off from a fine victory. There are slight chances of Southee coming in place of Grandhomme since he’s completely fit now and raring to go, and this change won’t be a surprise since they’re playing against a quality batting attack of the Proteas.

Key Features –

1. Shai Hope and Evin Lewis put up a great partnership for the 2nd wicket and scored 96(121) and 70(67) respectively to take the total to 321 in 50 overs.

2. Shimron Hetmeyer and Jason Holder played some great knocks towards the end scoring 50(26) and 33(15) respectively.

3. Even though the Windies ended up scoring 321 in 50 overs, Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin picked up 3 wickets each and had good spells of 3/59(9) and 3/72(10) respectively.

4. Shakib Al Hasan once again proving as to why is he the No.1 ranked All Rounder. He bowled a spell of 2/54(8) and is the top scorer of this World Cup as of now by scoring a brilliant 124(99)* today. He becomes the third person in this World Cup to score two centuries after Root and Rohit.

5. Liton Das showed his proper temperment and what can he bring to the team no matter what position he plays in. He scored a worthy knock of 94(69)* to build a match winning partnership with Shakib of 189(135), after the loss of Sarkar, Tamim and Mushfiqur early on in the innings.

6. Bangladesh becomes the first team to successfully chase a target of 300+ in World Cup 2019 as of yet.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. Bangladesh winning today means West Indies, after a dream start against Pakistan, is almost certain to be the fourth team to get eliminated from the tournament after SA, PAK and AFG.

2. Chasing a target of 322, which apparently is the second highest successful run chase in World Cup history, that too against a bowling attack of 5 seamers all bowling 145+ is never an easy feat to achieve. Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan made the chase look so easy and chased it down with 51 deliveries to spare. This surely should be a wake up call for all the teams who are yet to play against them that they shouldn’t count them out so easily and are a tough team to reckon with.

3. Every team probably has their BEST batsman batting at the No.3 position, except for Sri Lanka. Shakib Al Hasan for Bangladesh and Shai Hope for West Indies proves why are they the best for the team today. Rest of them are Virat, Root, Williamson, Smith, Babar, Rahmat and Faf for their respective countries.

4. Bangladesh now has 2 wins and is back into contention for the qualification in this World Cup, but remember they are yet to play Australia, India and Pakistan in their remaining 4 games, which probably makes their condition worse.

5. Shakib Al Hasan looks to be the lone consistent batsman for Bangladesh with scores of 75(84) vs SA, 64(68) vs NZ, 121(119) vs ENG and 124(99)* vs WI, all against the top teams! No.1 All Rounder for a reason well proved by him!

6. West Indies play New Zealand next who are still undefeated in this World Cup. On the other hand, Bangladesh take on Australia next who are, as of now, the table toppers with 8 points to their name.

7. West Indies is now placed 7th on the points table with 3 points in 5 games. And Bangladesh just cruised up to the 5th position with 5 points to them!

Up Next –

England vs Afghanistan

Probably one of those one-sided encounters which might just be a blessing in disguise for Afghanistan if it rains but always advantageous to England who can look to cruise their Net Run Rate.

Jason Roy won’t be available for England in tomorrow’s encounter as well as the next one which is against Sri Lanka, hence I don’t think England would really miss him as such for these two matches since they obviously have the upper hand in both these encounters.

England are the 1st ranked team in the ICC ODI Rankings and Afghanistan are apparently 10th, which is last according to the teams playing in this World Cup. And along with that is the fact that Afghanistan haven’t won a single game whereas England are one of the favourites to qualify and already have 3 wins in 4 matches, positioned 4th on the table. And to add to the misery is that England are the hosts. Hence, can’t really imagine a contest between the two and England should always have the upper hand tomorrow.

Probable XIs –

AFG – Zazai, Noor, Rahmat, Najibullah, Shahidi, Nabi, Naib, Ikram, Rashid, Aftab, Hamid

ENG – Bairstow, Vince, Root, Morgan, Buttler, Stokes, Moeen, Woakes, Archer, Wood, Rashid

Probable Replacements –

1. Jason Roy’s injury opens the window for James Vince to play against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka since he’s their backup opener. So Root will continue at No 3 even though he scored a century in the previous game as an opener. Also, Plunkett should be rested making way for Moeen Ali. Hence, making their combination of 5 proper batsmen, 3 all rounders, 2 spinners and 4 seamers.

2. Asgar Afghan replaced Najibullah Zadran in the previous match which was a surprise since the latter was in consistent form and was the lone fighter for their team in the middle order. Hence, I expect Najibullah to come back in place of Afghan who scored a 0(5) against South Africa. Though, it won’t be a surprise if Samiullah Shenwari gets a match since Afghanistan are already eliminated of the tournament and could bring back their benched players Dawlat, Mujeeb and Shenwari in their remaining matches.

Key Features –

1. Rohit Sharma being the second person after Joe Root to score two centuries in this World Cup till now. He scored a 140(113).

2. Virat Kohli and Lokesh Rahul also made the top order stronger along with Rohit, by scoring 77(65) and 57(78) respectively.

3. Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam put up a good partnership for the 2nd wicket by scoring 62(75) and 48(57) respectively.

4. Imad Wasim put up a good batting performance towards the end and scored a worthy 46(39)*.

5. Haardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav’s 2 wickets each in the middle overs made it pretty easy for India to win. Pakistan lost those 4 wickets for just 12 runs, leading to the collapse. Vijay Shankar also proving his worth with the ball picking up 2 wickets as well.

6. It was always a one sided encounter even before the DLS played its part to worsen the situation of Pakistan who then needed 136 runs in 5 overs.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. Once again the Indian top order showing their consistency even though Rahul opened after a very long time in ODIs and Shikhar Dhawan wasn’t playing. A new opening combination in crucial encounter and it fortunately came off really well too.

2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s hamstring injury after Shikhar Dhawan’s injury will be a huge concern for India since he has been a regular wicket taker for India in the first two matches picking up a total 5 wickets in those.

3. Pakistan are also logically eliminated from the tournament just like South Africa and Afghanistan since they just have 3 points after 5 games and India, NZ, Eng and Aus are way too high to catch up with.

4. Kuldeep Yadav coming back in form is a huge boost for India since he hasn’t been performing well enough since the IPL. But, on the contrary, Bumrah goes wicket-less for the first time in this World Cup and bowled a spell of 0/52(8).

5. Shoaib Malik’s failure with both bat and ball is a huge concern for Pakistan and probably gives them a chance to test Haris Sohail again who is a consistent player but doesn’t have a place in the playing XI due to the batting order.

6. Virat Kohli walking off when he neither edged the ball nor was given out by the umpire was the biggest key feature of the match.

7. India is now positioned 3rd with 7 points in 4 games, still undefeated just equal to New Zealand. On the other hand, Pakistan is positioned 9th on the table with just 3 points in 5 matches but the worst Net Run Rate amongst the 10 teams in this World Cup. Remember, they are the same team which defeated England😂.

8. India now take on Afghanistan next whom they tied against in the Asia Cup when they last met each other. On the other hand, Pakistan take on South Africa next who are both on 3 points after 5 matches each.

Up Next –

West Indies vs Bangladesh.

Both teams with 1 win, 2 losses and 1 No Result in their 4 matches each. West Indies on one hand would want their bowling to fire up again so that their batting doesn’t have too much of pressure. And on the other hand, Shakib would like some company from the other batsmen from Bangladesh with a good bowling performance by the skipper Mortaza who has been a failure in this World Cup 2019.

Evin Lewis’ form is a concern for West Indies and Tamim Iqbal’s form is a concern for Bangladesh. Hence, both teams in a similar position in terms of their openers. Nicholas Pooran for West Indies has shown proper class in his batting with proper consistency, and Shakib Al Hasan is one of the leading run scorers of this World Cup. Hence, both teams in a similar position when it comes to their middle order saviours too.

Sheldon Cottrell’s injury would be a concern for West Indies since he’s been their strike bowler in every match bowling at a speed of 145+ along with another speedster Oshane Thomas. On the other hand, Rubel Hossain’s exclusion from the XI has been a huge surprise in this tournament since he’s been one of the strike bowlers for Bangladesh and still doesn’t find a place in the XI.

Both teams have an equal situation whether in terms of their batting, their bowling, the role of the captains, or their position on the points table. Hence, it will be difficult to say who has the upper hand in general. But, i presume West Indies having 5 regular seamers all bowling at speeds of 140+ will be a test for Bangladeshi batsmen and thereby giving the Windies the upper hand in tomorrow’s encounter.

Probable XIs –

WI – Gayle, Lewis, Hope, Pooran, Hetmeyer, Russell, Holder, Brathwaite, Allen, Thomas, Gabriel.

BAN – Tamim, Sarkar, Shakib, Mushfiqur, Liton, Mahmudullah, Saifuddin, Mosaddek, Mortaza, Mustafizur, Mehidy Hasan.

Possible Replacements –

1. Sheldon Cottrell’s injury would open one spot into the XI. I feel Fabian Allen would be an ideal choice into the team since he can give you overs of spin rather than going to Gayle or going with all 6 seamers (which would happen if they went with Roach). Also, he is a handy bat down the order and should be all set to make his debut in World Cup.

2. Liton Das has been in consistent form for Bangladesh but always in the top order. He’s one of the reliable batsmen for Bangladesh and can hold the innings together as well as score at a faster rate depending on the situation. Hence, Mohammad Mithun who has been in a poor form should make way for one of Liton Das or Sabbir Rahman, my choice being Liton.

I. Sri Lanka vs Australia

Key features –

1. Aaron Finch played a perfect Captain’s knock for Australia and scored a 153(132). On the other hand, Dimuth Karunaratne also played a Captain’s knock for Sri Lanka and scored a fighting 97(108). Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that the captains led from the front for both the teams! Finch now is the leading run scorer in the World Cup 2019.

2. Mitchell Starc once again proving his death over skills picking up wickets yet again to be the top wicket taker in World Cup 2019. His spell was 4/55(10). He was supported well by Kane Richardson in those middle overs who bowled a spell of 3/47(9).

3. Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell again proving to be the middle order saviours and helped to take Australia to a 334 in 50 overs by scoring 73(59) and 46(25)* respectively.

4. Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne broke their record of 79/0 by scoring 87/0 in the first 10 overs (Powerplay 1). This is currently the highest powerplay1 score in World Cup 2019.

5. Isuru Udana played a huge part in Australia’s collapse towards the end of the innings restricting them to a total lower than 350 which was expected by the way they were going. He took 2 wickets and had 2 direct run-outs to his name, all coming in the final 10 overs of the innings.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. With another win, Australia now has 4 out of 5 and seems to be one of the top favourites to qualify for the playoffs, which will be dangerous for the other three teams who do since they’d be aiming for their 6th title!

2. Sri Lankan batting is highly dependent on the start given by Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne and the batting after that is failing to score and build the innings through the foundation given to them. Hence, inclusion of Avishka Fernando seems a must for the management now.

3. Mitchell Starc is again proving to be an unplayable bowler and has already taken 13 wickets in 5 matches.

4. Aaron Finch, David Warner and Steve Smith are all in the TOP 5 run getters of the World Cup 2019 till now and this top order is surely a terror for every opposition.

5. Australia is now positioned 1st on the points table with 8 points and Sri Lanka is placed 5th with 4 points.

6. Australia take on Bangladesh next and Sri Lanka face the hosts, England, next.

II. South Africa vs Afghanistan

Key features –

1. Imran Tahir and Chris Morris made sure that Afghanistan do not even touch a 150 and bundled them up for a 125 with spells of 4/29(7) and 3/13(6.1) respectively.

2. South Africa finally fetch their first victory and Afghanistan are still going point-less in this World Cup after playing 4 matches.

3. Rashid Khan gave a quick cameo with the bat towards the end with a 35(25) making sure the team atleast crosses the 100-run mark.

4. Quinton De Kock made sure South Africa recovers the Net Run Rate they’ve lost against all the teams and even in a target of 126 ended up scoring a 68(72). Hashim Amla on the other hand ended up playing a test match knock of a score of 41(83).

5. Rahmat Shah, who’s supposed to be the pillar of the Afghanistan’s middle order again fails to score big and yet again continues his string of low scores.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. South Africa finally wins their first game after 5 matches which they’ve played, still opening the tournament for them. Though it’s pretty late for them to finally play like this, they now have 3 points and still have 4 matches to go so they might have an outside chance to qualify, technically. But, we are all certain Afghanistan and South Africa are logically out considering the way Australia, New Zealand, India, England and West Indies are playing.

2. Afghanistan are surely missing the services of Mohammad Shahzad even though Noor-Ali Zadran and Hazratullah Zazai did give a good start. Also, resting the in-form and consistent Najibullah Zadran who always saves their middle order from collapsing was a huge surprise. And, Mohammad Nabi doesn’t really seem to show why he is considered to be a class all rounder and has just been failing continuously.

3. South Africa is now positioned 7th on the points table with 3 points, finally going up the ladder of the points table. And on the other hand, Afghanistan are still placed 10th on the points table with 0 points after 4 matches for them.

4. South Africa play their next against New Zealand. And Afghanistan play their next against England. I don’t think it would be wrong to say that the result of both their next matches would declare them officially eliminated from the tournament unless some miracle happens.

5. South Africa were the dominant side throughout the 63 overs which were played in the whole match and never really seemed like going in Afghanistan’s favour in any phase of the game.

6. Kagiso Rabada has not been at his best in this World Cup after an excellent IPL, taking just 5 wickets in the 4 completed matches for them. And, with Lungi Ngidi injured and Dale Steyn ruled out, their bowling department looks pretty weak considering the fact that they came with a strong one. This was one of the major reasons for South Africa’s failure in this tournament.

Up Next –

It’s the biggest rivalry of cricket! The match whole world waits for! The match which has the highest buzz throughout the world and the game which has always had the fiercest rivalry in the history of cricket!

It’s INDIA vs PAKISTAN!

And remember, it’s FATHER’S DAY tomorrow as well! I guess now we know why this particular fixture is happening tomorrow 😉!

With Shikhar Dhawan injured and Rishabh Pant’s availability for the game isn’t certain, the spot of No.4 is back on cards with KL Rahul who was fit for that spot having to go back to his originally decided spot of an opener, with the No.4 option available to Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav and Haardik Pandya.

Pakistan go with 3 Left-Arm Seamers which has always been a threat to the Indian top order batsmen especially the two most important players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. It will be their test tomorrow to play them well and score big cause if they don’t, it will be the middle order test again with the fact that the No.4 spot isn’t a certainty and whosoever plays in that spot will have a huge task up ahead his sleeves and hence might have to deal with the pressure situation.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have both been in a good touch out there with the bat in the two matches they’ve played yet, but Shikhar Dhawan’s absence will be a huge concern for the Indian management ahead of this crucial encounter.

Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar were given a longer run in the nets, probably ensuring a spot for both of them in the Playing XI against Pakistan.

Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Imam Ul-Haq have all been consistent players for Pakistan and Fakhar Zaman would like to recall his Champions trophy finale knock and try to redo it in the encounter tomorrow. And hence, they won’t let India win so easily unless Bumrah, Bhuvi and Chahal show them the class Indian bowling attack has.

Not difficult to say that India are the favourites and have the upper hand in tomorrow’s encounter. They are ranked 2nd on the ICC ODI Rankings, just below England, have been undefeated in this tournament and have won ALL 6 previous encounters against Pakistan in World Cup Cricket.

Probable XIs –

PAK – Imam, Zaman, Babar, Hafeez, Shoaib, Sarfaraz, Asif, Hasan, Wahab, Shaheen, Amir

IND – Rohit, Rahul, Kohli, Shankar, Dhoni, Pandya, Jadhav, Jadeja, Chahal, Bhuvi, Bumrah

Possible Replacements –

1. None for Pakistan unless they’d want to bring back of their regular leggies in the form of Imad Wasim or Shadab Khan in place of Asif Ali or one of the seamers. It seems a bit unlikely though knowing that the Indian top order is vulnerable to left-arm seamers and they have 3 of them.

2. Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja are highly expected to come into the XI in place of Shikhar Dhawan and Kuldeep Yadav respectively. Vijay Shankar was given a longer practice session with the bat in the nets and might have a higher selection chances than Dinesh Karthik for the encounter tomorrow.

Key Features –

1. Joe Root once again showing his class with the bat by scoring his second century within 4 matches in the World Cup 2019. Also got two wickets with the ball giving him the perfect tag of the Man of The Match Award in this domination by England.

2. Nicholas Pooran was the lone fighter for West Indies and scored a 63(78).

3. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer demolishing the batting order of West Indies picking up 3 wickets each in their spells.

4. Woakes being promoted up the order to show his all round ability which he did prove really well with a bowling spell of 5-2-16-1 and a score of 40(54).

5. Shimron Hetmeyer and Nicholas Pooran put up a partnership of 89 runs for the 4th wicket to stabilize the innings to an extent.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. West Indies becomes the first team in the history of World Cup and maybe even ODI cricket to play with 6 regular seamers who bowl at a speed of 140Kmph+. The whole match saw a total of 11 regular seamers who bowled, probably a new world record in terms of World Cup cricket.

2. Even though the Windies had an amazing seam attack, the English batsmen proved their class and showed as to why are they the favourites in this tournament by chasing down a target of 213 in just 33 overs losing only 2 wickets, even without Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan’s presence.

3. Shai Hope wasn’t able to get the ball to connect to his bat which made it obvious that he wouldn’t be able to score big. Gayle got a quick start but couldn’t capitalize on it. Russell too had the same problem after scoring two sixes of Rashid. Basically, the batting has to be brought back into proper order if West Indies look to go through to the playoffs and want to win their future fixtures.

4. Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan’s injuries might be a concern and if it’s serious then that would be a huge loss to England in their next fixtures. On the other hand, Joe Root is in a dream form and already has two centuries in just 4 matches for him in this World Cup. Jofra Archer on the other hand has already picked up 9 wickets with 3 3-wicket hauls in the 4 matches he’s played in this World Cup.

5. England is now positioned 2nd on the points table and West Indies after an amazing start against Pakistan is still just placed on the 6th position.

6. England take on Afghanistan next. On the other hand, West Indies take on Bangladesh next.

Up Next –

A DOUBLE HEADER!

I. Sri Lanka vs Australia

A no brainer to say that Australia has the upper hand in this battle and will go inside as the favourites, that is IF the match happens since it’s been a rainy season for Sri Lanka as such. Sri Lanka hasn’t played a complete 50 over match even once in this World Cup 2019 and playing against Australia with not a huge morale will be a problem for the Sri Lankan team.

Nuwan Pradeep’s injury is a concern and he isn’t sure of playing tomorrow even though they’ve got a long break. Lasith Malinga had travelled back home for a family reason and his availability is also not a surety. On the other hand, Maxwell’s lack of form is a concern for Australia, but their batting attack with Warner, Finch, Smith, Khawaja, Carey and Marsh is a huge boost for them. Stoinis is supposed to be fit and should be available for the encounter tomorrow unless Australia don’t want to risk his fitness against a weaker team like Sri Lanka, when they already have a strong XI to field anyway.

Probable XIs –

SL – Kusal Perera, Karunaratne, Avishka, Thirimanne, De Silva, Matthews, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis/Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay/Lasith Malinga.

AUS – Warner, Finch, Smith, S Marsh, Khawaja, Maxwell, Carey, Cummins, Richardson, Starc, Coulter-Nile

Possible Replacements –

1. Australia is likely to field the same XI which won against Pakistan.

2. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep’s availabilities aren’t confirmed yet and Jeffrey Vandersay might be all set to make a debut in this World Cup, along with one of Milinda Siriwardana or Jeevan Mendis replacing the other.

II. South Africa vs Afghanistan

Both teams who haven’t gotten off to a win as of yet in this World Cup face each other in a must-win game for both teams. Again a no brainer to say that South Africa has the upper hand over Afghanistan and are the favourites for the encounter tomorrow. South Africa is also coming off with 3 losses just like Afghanistan. Though the Proteas had a washed out match against the Windies to fetch a point, Afghanistan are still looking to open their account.

Hashim Amla hasn’t been in a good form since the start and so has Rahmat Shah after that 43 against Australia in the first match. On one hand, we have Rassie Van Der Dussen who has been a difficult batsman to get out. And on the other, we have Najibullah Zadran who also has been a terror for the opposition bowlers.

Mohammad Shahzad being ruled out was a huge shock to him as well as per what he said in an interview, let apart the loss to the team. On the other hand, Dale Steyn being ruled out was a huge loss to the Proteas. Hence, both teams haven’t really had any good thing since the start of this World Cup and will be looking to get onto a winning momentum IF the match is not abandoned.

Probable XIs –

SA – Quinton, Amla, Markram, Faf, Dussen, Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris, Rabada, Tahir, Hendricks

AFG – Zazai, Noor Ali, Najibullah, Rahmat, Khil, Shahidi, Nabi, Naib, Rashid, Aftab, Hamid

Possible Replacements –

NONE for both teams unless there are any team balance or injury concerns later on.

SL vs AUS is all set to happen with no chances of rain in London. Whereas, SA vs AFG is on the verge of being washed out with high chances of rain in Cardiff!

4th match to be abandoned in 7 matches. A new World Record! Instead of teams breaking records, it’s the RAIN which breaks records!

So, guess who tops the points table now??

RAINS! 4 WINS! more than any team participating in the world cup!

It was the most awaited fixture since both teams are undefeated as of yet. This just changes equations on the points table! Another 1 point to both the teams and both are still on a winning streak and guess what? It’s likely that both of them continue to be undefeated till the end of the group stage since both these teams don’t face each other now.

New Zealand is still on the 1st position on the points table with 3 wins and 1 N/R in their 4 matches. On the other hand, India is on the 3rd position on the Points table with 2 wins and 1 N/R in their 3 matches.

New Zealand take on South Africa next and India take on Pakistan in their next fixture.

Up Next –

West Indies vs England

It’s going to be a battle between the in-form batting attack vs the in-form bowling attack.

England are coming off victorious against Bangladesh and West Indies have had a long break after the fixture against Australia since they had a match washed off against South Africa in the middle.

There are chances of rain tomorrow too which does not seem a surprise seeing how this World Cup has been going in the past one week.

England are ranked 1 in the ICC ODI Rankings and are also the hosts, hence are the favourites for tomorrow’s clash if it at all happens.

Probable XIs –

England – Roy, Bairstow, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Moeen, Plunkett, Archer, Wood, Curran

West Indies – Gayle, Lewis, Pooran, Hope, Hetmeyer, Russell, Holder, Brathwaite, Cottrell, Thomas, Roach/Bravo.

Possible replacements –

1. Moeen is a handy bat down the order and against a quality bowling attack in those overcast conditions, they might be looking for a depth in their batting. Hence, making Adil Rashid going to the bench who hasn’t been doing anything worthwhile with the ball. They’d go with a combination of reliable Batting till 10, 4 regular seamers with the 5th bowler quota to be bowled by Moeen and Stokes. Also, Woakes although has been good with the bat whenever he got a chance, he has been leaking way too many runs and not been too effective, hence giving a chance for the management to think about replacing him with Tom Curran who is also an excellent batsman and can be effective in the powerplay overs as well as in the death overs. Though two changes from a winning combination is highly unlikely to happen, but playing against a quality team in an important tournament might be taken into consideration by the team management.

2. Andre Russell had a slight injury and wasn’t included in the XI that started against South Africa in the washed out fixture earlier this week. According to reports, he is now fit and would play a key role in the fixture against England with both bat and ball. This would mean that Darren Bravo who had replaced him in the previous game would have to sit out. But, there’s also a possibility of Kemar Roach having to sit out with Darren playing at No.5 to strengthen their depth in the batting since they play a quality team like England. This is upto the team management whether to go with an extra batsman in the form of Bravo or an extra bowler in the form of Roach. Bravo would mean a combination of Reliable Batting till 9 with exactly 5 bowlers who’d have to bowl 10 overs each unless Gayle is handed the ball which is unlikely to happen. On the other hand, if Roach is included, they’ll go with 6 bowling options and reliable batting till 8.

Key features –

1. David Warner once again showing what a class batsman is he with a well deserved 107(111).

2. Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali showing what they can do with the bat when their team needs them the most in the lower order.

3. Aaron Finch playing a Captain’s knock by scoring 82(84).

4. A perfect opening partnership between Finch and Warner of 146 in 22 overs.

5. The first Five-wicket for Mohammad Amir in ODIs who ended up with a spell of 10-2-30-5.

6. Imam Ul-Haq with a good half century as an opener scoring a 53(75) and was supported by Hafeez, Sarfaraz and Riaz who scored in the 40s.

7. Mitchell Starc ended the match beautifully with two important wickets of Wahab and Amir. And the perfect finish to the battle was provided by Maxwell with his runout.

Post-match Analysis –

1. Pakistan dropped several catches of Finch and Warner which allowed them to take their team to a huge total of 307. And hence, they need to work on their fielding.

2. Pakistan defeated England and gave a tough fight to Australia towards the end with Wahab and Hasan getting into the show and hence would pose a threat to the teams they play against later on.

3. Australia also has 3 wins in 4 matches now and would be one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs.

4. The batting order of Australia is showing a LHB-RHB combination. When Warner gets out, it’s Khawaja who comes in. Whereas, if Finch gets out, it’s Smith who comes in. And that’s what they do for the first 3-4 wickets since now they have Shaun Marsh in the middle as well. Hence, the other teams should plan their bowling strategies accordingly.

5. Australia and Pakistan both went with 4 specialist bowlers and having part-time bowlers bowling the full quota of 10 overs which was always a threat to both teams since they would leak runs. And that’s what happened, Maxwell as well as Hafeez bowled majority of the 5th bowler’s spell and went for plenty. Hence, both teams need to work on their team balance.

6. Australia is now positioned 2nd on the points table with 3 wins out of 4 and play their next against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Pakistan is positioned 8th on the points table with 1 win and 1 N/R in their 4, and play their next match against India.

Up Next –

New Zealand vs India

Shikhar Dhawan is not available and so is Pant since he would join the team before the match against Pakistan. And hence, one slot in the Playing XI is open for both Karthik and Vijay Shankar and that depends on the Indian team management as to whom to select into the XI.

Both teams have been undefeated in this tournament and it might even remain so since there’s a high chance of the match being Abandoned due to rain. But, this match would be a key battle and India would ought to seek revenge against them to what happened in the Warm-Up match before the World Cup.

New Zealand has defeated Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to have their winning streak and finally take on a much stronger team. Whereas India is coming off victorious against tough teams like South Africa and Australia. Hence, India are the favourites and should have the upper hand today, even though one of the main openers would be missing for India.

Probable XIs –

India – Rohit, Rahul, Virat, Pandya, Dhoni, Karthik, Jadeja, Bhuvi, Shami, Bumrah, Chahal.

New Zealand – Guptill, Munro, Williamson, Latham, Ross, Neesham, Santher, Southee, Boult, Henry, Ferguson.

Possible Replacements which I feel should happen even though both teams are on a winning streak and wouldn’t want to tweak their teams –

1. A forced change with Karthik coming into the side in place of Shikhar and Rahul gets to open, with either of Karthik and Pandya to come at No.4 depending on the situation. Other than that, Kuldeep and Jadhav should make way for Shami and Jadeja respectively looking at the overcast conditions for the extra seamer and the fact that Jadeja was the lone fighter with both bat and ball in the warm-up fixture against them..

2. Southee is completely fit and is available for selection and Kane would be tempted to get him into the XI in place of Grandhomme and have the best seam attack with Boult, Southee, Henry, Neesham and Lockie.

3rd washed out match. The most in a World Cup history!

SL gets another free point, with Bangladesh not being too satisfied with the same, knowing they were in a better form and had the upper hand today.

Lasith Malinga leaves tonight to attend a funeral of his Mother-in-law and might miss the next game against a team like Australia.

Sri Lanka moves to the 5th position with 4 points – 1 win, 1 loss and 2 N/R in their 4 matches.

Bangladesh moves to the 7th position with 3 points – 1 win, 2 losses and 1 N/R in their 4 matches.

Bangladesh play their next against West Indies and Sri Lanka play their next against Australia.

Up next –

Australia vs Pakistan

Australia ought to seek revenge of India’s loss against Pakistan and come back onto the winning momentum. On the other hand, Pakistan won a game followed by a Washed out game and hence would like to continue their winning momentum and have the upper hand.

But, Australia are the favourites for tomorrow’s game and it’s going to be a battle of seamers since both teams have an exceptional seam attack.

Point to remember – Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out for tomorrow’s game and Mitchell Marsh has been announced as his replacement.

Probable XIs –

AUS – Warner, Finch, S Marsh, Smith, M Marsh, Maxwell, Carey, Cummins, Starc, Lyon and Richardson.

PAK – Zaman, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, Shoaib, Sarfaraz, Shadab, Wahab, Hasan, Shaheen and Amir

Possible Replacements which should take place are as follows –

Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson and Nathan Lyon in place of Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa respectively…

Even though 4 changes in a go doesn’t seem likely for a team like Australia but these changes are all likely to be done at some point even if not together.

And, Shaheen Afridi in place of Asif Ali, since Pakistan would want 5 regular bowlers rather than opting for Hafeez/Shoaib as their 5th bowling option against a strong team like Australia.

Hopefully tomorrow’s match doesn’t get washed out!

2nd match of the tournament getting washed out due to rain.

SA finally opens their account and gets 1 point to their name on the points table due to a No Result.

Windies, again started with 2 wickets in the first 7 overs and were looking unstoppable once again, but have to be satisfied with the 1 point which they share.

West Indies climb up the Points Table and is now positioned 5th with 1 win, 1 loss and 1 N/R in their 3 matches.

South Africa also climbs up the points table by 1 position and now is positioned at 9th on the table with 1 N/R and 3 losses in their 4 matches.

Up Next –

Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka

Both Asian subcontinent teams with one win each in their 3 matches respectively face each other in tomorrow’s encounter to record their 2nd win.

Shakib Al Hasan on one hand is playing in tremendous form with both bat and ball, and Kusal Perera on the other is playing an aggressive and a perfect opening batsman’s knock.

Bangladesh, in their current form seem to have the upper hand and are the favourites for tomorrow’s battle.

Key Battles –

Fizz, Mortaza and Saifuddin vs Kusal Perera, Karunaratne and Thirimanne.

Malinga, Pradeep, Udana and Lakmal vs Tamim, Shakib, Rahim and Sarkar.

Key features –

1. Shikhar Dhawan scored a 117(109), Virat Kohli scored a 82(77) and Rohit Sharma scored a 57(70). The Indian top order back in proper action against a great bowling attack!

2. Steve Smith scored a 69(70) and David Warner scored a slow but a valuable 56(84). So, both are back into form after all controversies in the last couple of years and playing consistently well!

3. Yuzvendra Chahal the lone spinner to take a wicket on this pitch even though 5 different spinners bowled in the game.

4. Alex Carey had an excellent knock with the bat and scored a fighting 55(35), showing the depth in the Australian batting attack as well as keeping the tag of “fighters”.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. India register another comfortable victory and will take on New Zealand next, who is also undefeated in this Tournament as of now.

2. India broke the record of the highest runs scored against Australia in a World Cup match and recorded a score of 352/5.

3. The Indian Top-Order has finally found form and the middle order has found stability with Rahul, Dhoni and Pandya all in great form since the IPL.

4. Australia will come back strong in their next match which is against Pakistan.

5. Winning the toss was crucial for Virat as it was a batting-friendly wicket in the first innings as stated by both captains during the toss.

6. India was the dominant side throughout the 100 overs and never let the game slip away from them.

7. India is now positioned 2nd on the points table with 2 wins in 2 matches. And, Australia is positioned 4th with 2 wins in 3 matches.

Up Next –

South Africa vs West Indies.

On one hand, we have the Proteas who have played 3 matches and haven’t won a single game. On the other, we have the Windies who have come to this World Cup with a motive and their bowling attack is as terrifying as they had during the 1975 and 1979 World Cups.

Even though South Africa is ranked 3rd in the ICC ODI Rankings and West Indies is ranked 8th, the current World Cup standings and performances make Windies the favourites for tomorrow’s encounter, even though it would be an equal contest if the South African batsmen play the Windies’ bowlers well.

Lungi Ngidi’s injury and Dale Steyn being ruled out due to the same is a huge loss for the team and they now have to rely more on All Rounders like Morris, Pretorius, Phehlukwayo and Duminy to do well with both the bat and the ball. On the other hand, the inclusion of a Left Arm seamer, Beuran Hendricks might be a twist in the fate of South Africa in this World Cup.

Windies probably has one of the most terrifying bowling attacks with the likes of Roach and Gabriel on the bench and Russell, Holder, Cottrell and Thomas in the Playing XI, who all bowl at a speed of 140+.

Key Battles –

Rabada, Tahir and Morris vs Gayle, Hope, Lewis and Pooran

Cottrell, Thomas, Holder and Russell vs De Kock, Amla, Faf and Van Der Dussen.