Key features of BAN vs ENG.

1. Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow back to their opening form and built a partnership of 128 in 19 overs, giving an amazing start to the English batting.

2. Buttler promoted up the order paid off and scored a 64(44).

3. Shakib Al Hasan continuing his outstanding form and scored a 121(119).

4. Plunkett and Woakes ending the game with amazing cameos of 27(9)* and 18(8)* respectively to come off with a positive momentum in the 2nd innings.

Post-match analysis –

1. As expected, England were the dominant side throughout the 98.5 overs.

2. England has broken Australia’s record and now have 7 consecutive 300+ ODI scores.

3. Shakib Al Hasan seems to be the lone player of Bangladesh and is in terrific form. Mushfiqur Rahim tends to support and build a partnership for the 3rd wicket stand every game but haven’t been able to capitalize on it to a win in the last two matches.

4. Bangladesh play their next against Sri Lanka. England play their next against the Windies.

5. England now has 2 wins in 3 matches and is positioned 2nd on the table. Bangladesh just has 1 win in 3 matches and is positioned 8th.

Key features of NZ vs AFG –

1. Noor Ali Zadrab and Hazratullah Zazai gave a good start in the powerplay overs against an in-form duo bowling attack of Henry and Boult.

2. Jimmy Neesham finally found form with the ball and got his maiden fifer and ended his spell with 5/31(10). His partner-in-crime for Afghanistan’s collapse was Lockie Ferguson who ended with a spell of 4/37(9.1).

3. Kane Williamson playing the perfect Captain’s knock when Guptill got out on the first ball of the 2nd innings. He carried the bat till the end and scored a 79(99)* and led the team to victory.

4. Aftab Alam played his first game in World Cup 2019 and was the lone wicket taker for Afghanistan and had a final spell of 3/45(8.1)

5. Hashmatullah Shahidi was the lone fighter in the middle order for Afghanistan to take the score to a 172. He scored a valuable 59(99).

Post-match analysis –

1. New Zealand always had the upper hand over Afghanistan and dominated the whole game.

2. New Zealand won comfortably against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan which has cruised their Net Run Rate on the points table. Remember, they are also undefeated as of now though they play all the important teams afterwards.

3. New Zealand is now the first team with 3 wins in 3 matches and is positioned 1st on the points table. On the other hand, Afghanistan is following South Africa’s footsteps and have lost all their 3 matches till now positioned last on the table.

4. New Zealand play their next against India. Whereas, Afghanistan play their next against South Africa, ensuring atleast one of the teams will surely open their account after that.

5. Afghanistan need to learn to deal with pressure situations and support each other and build partnerships since they’ve a strong bowling attack which could defend a total of even a 250. Hence, their batsmen need to take charge for once instead of one or two batsmen performing in a game. Then, they could be a good team to play against.

Up Next –

India vs Australia.

Probably one of the most awaited matches of this tournament and coming on the perfect day, a Sunday!

Australia have won both their matches which they’ve played. Whereas, India has just played one and they won that as well. So both teams seek to continue their winning momentum and look to remain undefeated for the time being.

Both teams have a quality bowling attack who can dismantle the batting of the opposition. But also has an equally strong batting attack who could go for the bowlers in these batting-friendly wickets.

Indian top-order on one end isn’t looking in a good shape and Australian bowling attack looks very strong. On the other hand, Warner and Smith’s comeback has made the team even stronger but the Kul-Cha combination is always a threat to the players and took a total of 5 wickets against SA as well in pace-friendly wickets.

Key battles –

Starc, Cummins, Zampa and Coulter-Nile vs Rohit, Dhawan, Virat, Rahul and MSD

Bumrah, Bhuvi, Kuldeep and Chahal vs Warner, Finch, Smith, Khawaja and Maxwell.

Stoinis vs Pandya

Possible replacements –

Jadeja/Shami in place of Kuldeep/Jadhav

Shaun Marsh in place of Usman Khawaja

The first match to be abandoned in this World Cup.

Does anyone remember 1992 World Cup?

Pakistan lost their first match, won their second and the third got washed out. They went on to win the World Cup.

Though repeating this history is as difficult as South Africa not choking in important matches, but well, it’s always possible.

So, on one hand, Pakistan might not be happy with the result knowing they had the upper hand. On the other, Sri Lanka will be pleased with the one point.

It seems even the clouds don’t want Sri Lanka to play complete matches.

First Match against NZ – 135 All out, clouds never had to play a role.

Second Match against AFG – 41 overs a side match after a rain interruption. DLS played a part.

Third Match against PAK – Washed Out. Abandoned.

So, Pakistan play their next against Australia and Sri Lanka play their next against Bangladesh.

Up Next Tomorrow –

Once again, it’s a Saturday and a double header for us!

Match 1 – England vs Bangladesh.

England is coming off a humiliating loss against Pakistan which was one of the biggest upsets in this Tournament till now. On the other hand, Bangladesh is coming off with a loss against New Zealand but victorious against South Africa. Hence, this will be a battle worth watching and one cannot count Bangladesh out in tomorrow’s contest. Though, one has to accept the fact that England are still the favourites for the match and would seek Pakistan’s revenge against Bangladesh tomorrow.

Key battles –

Archer, Woakes, Stokes and Wood vs Shakib, Tamim, Sarkar and Mushfiqur.

Mustafizur, Shakib, Saifuddin and Mortaza vs Roy, Bairstow, Root and Morgan.

Match 2 – New Zealand vs Afghanistan.

New Zealand players aren’t a good team against Spin and Afghanistan team is known for their spin attack with Nabi, Rashid and Mujeeb. Afghanistan scored a 207 against the Australian bowling attack and would again look for a good total against the Kiwi bowling attack. Obviously, New Zealand are still the favourites for this battle tomorrow.

Key point – Mohammad Shahzad has been ruled out of the World cup with an injury. He’s a huge loss to Afghanistan since Ikram Ali Khil is more of a defensive player and Shahzad’s aggresive start will be missed.

Key battles –

Nabi, Rashid, Mujeeb and Naib vs Guptill, Williamson, Taylor and Munro.

Boult, Ferguson, Henry and Santner vs Rahmat, Nabi, Zazai and Najibullah.

Key features –

1. Steve Smith and Nathan Coulter Nile scored 73(103) and 92(60) respectively to take Australia to a fighting total of 288.

2. The dream powerplay start to West Indies taking Finch, Warner, Khawaja and Maxwell within those first 10 overs. Australia’s powerplay score was 48/4.

3. The day of Wicket Keepers with Pooran scoring 40(36), Alex Carey scoring 45(55) and Shai Hope scoring a slow but a worthy 68(105).

4. Middle order saviors for both teams, whether it was Smith, Stoinis, Carey and Coulter-Nile or Pooran, Hope, Hetmeyer and Holder.

5. Mitchell Starc once again doing wonders with the ball in the opening overs as well as the death overs and ends his spell with figures of 5/46(10).

Post-Match Analysis –

1. West Indies had a great powerplay with the terrifying bowling spell in those 10 overs but still couldn’t restrict them to a lower total and let Smith and Coulter-Nile take the score to a 288, which means Windies need to improve their old ball bowling.

2. If Windies continue such powerplay starts like they did against both Pakistan and Australia taking 3 and 4 wickets respectively in the first 10 overs itself, they might be a terror for all the other 7 teams whom they play later on in this World Cup.

3. Australia showed their strong top order against Afghanistan and their fighting middle order today against the Windies, which shows they are still amazing contenders for the World Cup and will pose a threat to other teams, and will play for their 6th title!

4. Steve Smith and David Warner, both have returned with a bang and have shown all the teams that even though they’re ranked 5th in the ICC ODI Rankings, one shouldn’t count them out so easily and they’re still one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs.

5. Australia and New Zealand are the only teams having two wins in two matches they’ve played which is a dream start for every team. Hence, they’d be a strong contention to qualify in the Top 4 unless the other teams decide to trouble them in their next 7 matches.

6. Usman Khawaja’s form is a concern with scores of 15(20) against Afghanistan and 13(19) against West Indies. Shaun Marsh is a likely replacement for them in the next match, which is against India.

7. Australia play their next against India who’s also one of the favourites to win the Cup. On the other hand, West Indies play South Africa who haven’t gotten to a winning start even after playing 3 matches, the most by a team in this World Cup as of now.

Up Next tomorrow –

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka.

The two Asian subcontinent teams take on each other tomorrow. Both teams have a win and have a loss in the two matches they’ve played. Pakistan, on one hand is coming off with a victory against the hosts, England. Whereas, Sri Lanka, is coming off with a victory against Afghanistan. Both teams will be looking to continue their winning momentum, but Pakistan look like they’ve the upper hand and seems to be the favorites for tomorrow.

Key battles –

Lakmal, Malinga and Pradeep vs Imam, Fakhar, Babar and Hafeez.

Amir, Wahab and Shadab vs Kusal Perera, Karunaratne, Thirimanne and Matthews.

Key features of IND vs SA –

1. Early wickets for Bumrah caused pressure on SA resulting in a low total of 227.

2. Chahal’s magical spell of 4/51(10) lead to a collapse but unfortunately couldn’t get any support from the bowlers bowling from the other hand which resulted in small partnerships in the middle order by Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris and Rabada taking the total to 227 when they could’ve restricted them to a lesser total.

3. Rohit was the highest scorer of the match with a 122(144)*. He also became the Third centurion of World Cup 2019.

4. Dhoni giving the stand which Rohit was looking for making it easier for them to chase the target no matter what the required run rate was.

Post-match analysis –

1. Dhawan and Kohli’s form a huge concern in this round robin format of the tournament.

2. India start off their campaign with a victory and South Africa register their third consecutive loss in the World Cup for the first time in history, and are almost certain not to qualify for the playoffs.

3. MSD and Rahul are playing really well in the middle order and can be an asset when the top order fails against top teams later on like Australia next on Sunday.

4. South Africa needs some miracles by their newcomer Beuran Hendricks and everyone in the team currently as well in the future matches to get into winning ways and open their account on the points table. They play the ever-so-terrifying Windies next.

Key features of BAN vs NZ –

1. Shakib once again the highest and consistent scorer for Bangladesh scoring a 64(68) and Saifuddin with a good cameo at the end of 29(22).

2. Matt Henry once again proved his worth with the ball with a spell of 4/47(9.2) and Boult proving his death over ability again by picking up a couple of important wickets not giving Bangladesh a chance to score big in the death overs.

3. Ross Taylor once again proved to be the pillar of the middle order of New Zealand and scored 82(91).

4. Small contributions by Neesham, Grandhomme and Santner helped the Kiwis reach the target easily.

Post Match Analysis –

1. Tamim’s form a huge concern for Bangladesh and Liton Das has been terrific in his last recent matches and hence could be tried out in place of him after this loss.

2. New Zealand becomes the first team to register two wins in the World Cup 2019 and looks a strong team to play against with their continuously increasing morale and confidence.

3. New Zealand might even be the first team to register 3 consecutive wins in this World Cup knowing they take on Afghanistan next, and be in a commanding position on the Points Table. On the other hand, Bangladesh has to take on the hosts who were defeated by Pakistan and hence would like to come strong against Bangladesh and have the upper hand throughout the 100 overs.

4. Bangladesh gave a target of 245 and took 8 wickets of a strong New Zealand batting lineup, and has already defeated South Africa earlier. So, it’s certain that Bangladesh cannot be counted out of the tournament and will be a strong team to play against.

Up Next –

Australia vs West Indies.

Both teams come off with a comfortable win against Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Both teams have a strong and a balanced side making both of them equally capable of winning tomorrow’s game.

Battles worth watching –

Starc and Cummins vs Gayle and Hope

Thomas, Holder and Russell vs Finch, Warner and Smith

Remember that Gayle and Russell got injured in the previous game against Pakistan and them missing out means Australia having the upper hand. If they’re fit, it will be a strong contest to watch out!

Key features –

1. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne gave an amazing start even in the overcast conditions which could’ve helped the seamers and scored 133 runs out of the 201 runs which they put up on the board.

2. The middle order collapse by Mohammad Nabi who bowled a spell of 4/30(9) was the reason for Sri Lanka to post a lower total than what would’ve been expected after the start provided which gave Afghanistan the edge in the D/L score, but couldn’t capitalize on it.

3. Kusal Perera’s knock of 78(81) was a crucial one in this rain interrupted match and saved his wicket even during the collapse of the middle order.

4. The post rain conditions suited the Sri Lankan team which played with 5 specialist seamers all proving their worth and picking up wickets at regular intervals building pressure continuously on the Afghan batsmen.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. As predicted, it was a tough contest between both teams having equal chances of winning and Afghanistan played the Sri Lankan bowling attack really well even though they lost Shahzad, Rahmat and Zazai within the powerplay overs, but Sri Lanka emerged victorious.

2. Afghanistan’s middle order is getting stronger with Nabi, Naib and Najibullah all in decent form, but couldn’t win today unfortunately.

3. Sri Lankan team could’ve posted a huge total but gave away wickets to Nabi without playing according to the pitch like what Kusal did, but managed to win fortunately.

4. Sri Lanka play their next against Pakistan who just defeated the hosts and both come with a win and a loss each, and on the other hand, Afghanistan play against New Zealand who won their first match by 10 wickets against SL and hence both of them not being the favourites in their next match.

5. Nuwan Pradeep was the perfect call by SL since he has great records on this pitch and was perfect for the conditions after the rain. He proved to be worth it as well with a spell of 4/28(8).

6. Thisara Perera and Angelo Matthews are capable of huge scores and they haven’t been playing any good in the last two matches and hence need to strengthen their batting for the upcoming matches if they want any wins and do any upsets.

Up Next tomorrow –

A double header –

First, India take on the Proteas. And second, the Underdogs take on the Kiwis…

India will be playing their first match of this World cup whereas South Africa is still looking for a win after two consecutive losses against England and Bangladesh. Both teams would wanna start their winning ways and hence would be a tough contest.

The Indian top order hasn’t performed well against Left-Handed seamers and Beauran Hendricks has been brought in replacing Dale Steyn who’s injured, which will be a task for Rohit, Shikhar and Virat up the order in the Overcast conditions. On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is excellent with the ball in such weather conditions and swings the ball both ways in England wickets and hence could cause problem for the top order of South Africa. Hence, it will be a contest worth watching.

On the other hand, Bangladesh are coming with a win against South Africa. Whereas, New Zealand also is coming off a comfortable win against Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. Kiwi bowlers were a terror against both the Asian teams, India and Sri Lanka getting them all out for 179 (in the warm-up) and 135 respectively. And again they take on an Asian team tomorrow who posted their highest ODI total of 330 against a strong South African bowling attack. Hence, this will also be a contest worth watching.

A strong double header up ahead tomorrow for all the Cricket fans out there!

Key features of the match –

1. A strong middle order batting showcase by Babar, Hafeez and Sarfaraz made it possible for Pakistan to reach a total of 348 which is the highest in World Cup 2019 till now.

2. Failure of the English opening pair with both Roy and Bairstow falling quick.

3. No early movement in the pitch meant no breakthroughs early on by Woakes, Archer or Wood which was the primary reason for Pakistan to post such a huge total on the board.

4. Excellence in fielding by England in both matches is a reason to restrict their opposition to as many runs as possible, but their Death bowling choked leaking 50+ runs in the last 4 overs when Pakistan were 7 wickets down.

5. None of the in-form batsmen scored big and got out very early on in their knocks, except Root and Buttler who scored a century each

6. Joe Root and Jos Buttler put up a partnership of 130 runs with both of them being the first and second cricketer to score a century in this World Cup 2019 respectively! They made it a competitive fight.

Post-match analysis –

1. The second upset of the tournament after yesterday with Pakistan ending their 12 match losing streak in ODIs that too against the hosts, which means many more upsets yet to come in the further matches.

2. Both teams have played 2 matches each with a win and a loss for both.

3. Pakistan take on Sri Lanka next, with England taking on Bangladesh, making both of them the favourites in their respective matches to win.

4. England become the second team after Australia to register 6 consecutive 300+ team scores in ODIs, and are a threat for every team in this world cup even though they lost today.

Up Next – Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka

Both equally rated teams in this World Cup with Sri Lanka having an experienced side on one end with Afghanistan being the underdogs with a balanced side.

Will be an equal contest, and saying that a team has an upper hand on the other is difficult, and hence will be a good contest to watch.

Both teams started with a loss against tough teams and have scores of 207 and 135 respectively in their previous games of this World Cup.

Key features of the match –

1. Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan built a partnership of 142 runs for the 3rd wicket stand.

2. Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain had a good death batting by scoring 54 runs off the last 4 overs, to finish the game the way it was started by Soumya Sarkar.

3. Lungi Ngidi’s injury a concern for South Africa’s bowling attack.

4. The first Asian team to play a total of 50 overs (before India’s game) and to post the highest total of World Cup 2019 till now.

5. Kagiso Rabada not getting a single wicket in his 10 over spell was one of the primary reasons for Bangladesh to get to a total of 330.

6. The first upset of the World Cup 2019 having Bangladesh defeating South Africa.

7. Every South African batsman started their innings well off but couldn’t build a strong partnership or build their individual innings, after the foundation was laid, as well, except for Faf who put up a 62.

Post-match Analysis –

1. South Africa’s bowling attack a concern for them in this tournament conceding 300+ runs in both their matches ahead of India’s match.

2. Bangladesh coming off with a Tri-Series victory against West Indies and Ireland and posting a 330 against SA and winning it as well is a wake-up call for all the contesting teams to not count them out of the tournament so easily.

3. Bangladesh is here proving a point and have started off really strong and might make more upsets in this tournament further on.

4. South Africa play their 3rd match against India who’s playing their 1st, on 5th, with both resulting into losses as of now for the former. Whereas the latter is fresh after a strong batting display by the middle order in the 2nd warm-up against the same Bangladesh attack which got SA to fail tonight.

5. India having a strong top order against a strong South African bowling attack but not been able to trouble the batsmen in the first two games. Hence, giving India the edge knowing SA’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of their first game.

Bangladesh play their next against New Zealand, both coming with a win on the same day as South Africa taking on India, on 5th June 2019.

Up next tomorrow – England vs Pakistan.

England come off with a convincing win by 104 runs against the Proteas, whereas Pakistan just managed to score a 105 against the Windies suffering a huge loss causing their NRR to be the worst on the points table currently.

Both played against each other in a recently concluded 5 match bilateral ODI series which resulted in 4-0 with 1 coming off as a No Result. Thereby making England the favorites for tomorrow’s fixture.

The forthcoming blogs will all be about the analysis of important cricket matches and tournaments.

It will have match to match analysis and also analysis of various squads and how the tournament is progressing and how it could’ve been different.

If you’re a cricket fan, do give them a read and hope you like it😊😊

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton