SHOWDOWN – SEMI-FINALS

Finally, we get to the knockout stage of this World Cup. And a brief one too, with the finals scheduled for the 28th. The permutations and combinations have begun. Australia and Sri Lanka are the hot favourites to reach the finals, but no one can rule out the chances of the Black Caps or the Proteas. Both New Zealand and South Africa have lost by big margins to their semi-final opponents earlier in the tournament. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the past won’t count, as the better team on the day will prevail.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka square it off at Sabina Park on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s bowling attack has performed well so far in the tournament and it remains to be seen if Lasith Malinga will play the crucial match after missing out in the last few games. Both teams received a drubbing at the hands of the Aussies in the Super Eight, and will be hoping to avenge the same by beating the Australians in the finals.

For New Zealand, Shane Bond will be the key. Bond has looked a bit jaded and missed out on the game against Australia. However, one doesn’t know whether he was unfit or skipper Fleming was pulling a fast one in order to give some rest to his bowler apart from not wanting to play him against Australia. Sri Lanka would know, they too ‘rested’ Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan against the Aussies. Malinga didn’t play that match as well. So, one things for sure, both these teams know who they facing in the finals.

It will be interesting to see how the Sri Lankans play the Kiwi spinners. Fleming must play his best bowlers and Bond, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel and Daniel Vettori fit in automatically. Scott Styris and Craig Mcmillan will also bowl, and so the toss-up will be between James Franklin and Mark Gillespie if the Kiwis play one more bowler. Franklin would bring a bit of variety into the attack, if he is consistent with his line that is.

The difference between winning and losing in this match could boil down to how the Kiwis handle Murali. Scott Styris needs to take charge in the middle and keep the Sri Lankan spinners at bay. This will be in all probability the more exciting of the two semi-finals.

Talking about exciting matches, the semi at St Lucia will be if the South Africans are up to the task. The Australian top-order has the likes of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, and it will take some effort to dislodge them from the crease. Even if they are, the Aussies have the Michaels – Clarke and Hussey, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson to rely on.

South Africa will need Pollock to fire early on and perhaps should give Andre Nel the new ball. The South African middle-order will need to support their openers, and Justin Kemp has been a mere observer in the games he has played in. Perhaps the South Africans could ask him to do some pinch-hitting or play Loots Bosman. Maybe they could also bring in Makhaya Ntini which will give Smith an additional bowling option which may be needed if the Aussies get a good start as they have been accustomed to.

Predictions:
New Zealand v/s Sri Lanka
Tuesday, April 24
AKG: Sri Lanka
MJV: New Zealand

Match starts at 2000 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

Australia v/s South Africa
Wednesday, April 25
AKG: South Africa
MJV: Australia

Match starts at 1900 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN – SUPER EIGHT – MATCH DAY 23

Since there’s no more competition for semi-final berths apart from the the final standings, we decided to do the showdowns for the rest of the Super Eight matches early (also yours truly needed a break). The Kangaroos take on the Kiwis today, and it is surely going to be a battle. New Zealand would be hoping that they can avoid playing the Sri Lankans in the semis, for which they need to win the match for starters. Australia, on the other hand, would also know that Muttiah Muralitharan can easily wreck their chances of a treble.

However, both teams would need to focus on this match first. Shane Bond has troubled Australia in the past and Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming will be hoping that the bowler rises to the occassion. Bond though has looked slightly off-pace though his swing and line have generally been on target. Perhaps being pitted against the tearaway bowler Shaun Tait would spur him to bowl that much quicker.

New Zealand have had successes in the recent past against the Aussies but no one has beaten this side in the World Cup for a good 26 matches. This one should be a thriller, especially if the Aussies are given a target to chase. It would be good preparation for them, though handling Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel well by no way means that the champions are ready to face Murali.

Australia v/s New Zealand
Our predictions:
AKG: New Zealand
MJV: Australia

Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN – SUPER EIGHT – MATCH DAY 17

The Aussies are through to the semis, and the Kiwis can join them if they manage to hold off another nation from the Southern Hemisphere – South Africa. New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming should play both his spinners unless the wicket is one that overtly favours the quicker bowlers. After all, spin has been the Achilles Heel for the Proteas, both in terms of facing it as well as employing it to their advantage. But today Graeme Smith will be expecting his experienced batsmen in the middle-order to play sensibly against Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel. Maybe, he should be smart enough to use his better batsmen of spin -Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher – when the spin duo comes on to bowl and leave Gibbs and Kallis for the big hitting towards the end.

The Kiwis will be looking to Shane Bond to pick up the early wickets before they can bring on the slower bowlers to squeeze the South African batsmen into making mistakes. However, Fleming will still be worried about the form of his batsmen. Though the South African new-ball attack of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini has not done much damage of late, they still have the potential to wreck the Kiwi batting. Our predictions follow:

New Zealand v/s South Africa
AKG: New Zealand. They have looked far better this tournament than the Graeme Smith’s side.
MJV: South Africa. If not for their ability, than more for having a “showdown” with Ashok. However, they still do not seem good enough to be World champions.

Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).