ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 : Fever Starts

[chisty_chowdhury]

Pakistan World Cup cricket team practises at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur, Dhaka on Saturday.

 

[chisty_chowdhury]

Cricket fans sign on the world's largest cricket bat on Saturday at Dhaka Cantonment's Zia Colony area.

 

[chisty_chowdhury]

A Cricket fan sign on the world's largest cricket bat on Saturday at Dhaka Cantonment's Zia Colony area.

 

[chisty_chowdhury]

Pakistan's cricket squad skipper Shahid Afridi speaks at the official pre-World Cup press meet held at Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday.

 

[SpArK]

ICC World Cup Warm-up Matches, India v Australia at Bangalore, Feb 13, 2011

India 26/1 (6.0 ov)

Australia

India won the toss and elected to bat

 

[SpArK]

India 51/1 (10.0 ov)

Australia

India won the toss and elected to bat

 

[Mani2020]

Thats AUS for you .indians should be thankful that pathan was dropped twice once when india was 142/8 .had pathan been caught ,it would have been miserable for india .Also as it was warm-up match ponting was relaxing with his bowling options .

 

[ajtr]

Was there ever in the history of cricket world cup a host country has won the cup???

 

[twoplustwoisfour]

Was there ever in the history of cricket world cup a host country has won the cup???

Sri Lanka won when they were co-hosts

 

[ajtr]

Sri Lanka won when they were co-hosts

When did srilanka host the world cup..its their 1st time as host i think?

 

[F86 Saber]

XI Reasons why Pakistan will win the World Cup

From the hungriest captain to a date with fate, here are XI reasons for Pakistan fans to believe


They have the hungriest captain

Beware the carefree man who suddenly decides to become preoccupied. For most of his career, Shahid Afridi has played with such daredevil abandon that Pakistan supporters often wondered whose side he was on. Now he cuts a determined leonine figure, hungrily eyeing prey as he prowls open grasslands. You can see the single-mindedness written all over his face. In the twilight of his career, he can see the greatest of prizes on the horizon, and all he has to do is outrun the competition. He is going to drain every ounce to get it done.

Stars are lined up for an Asian team that is not the host

We often think of Australia as the dominant force of recent World Cup history, but Asian teams haven't been far behind. In fact, there has been an Asian team in each World Cup final since 1992, which augurs well for an Asian team making it to the last two in 2011 as well. Add to this the well known World Cup adage that the host side never wins, and you can see that Pakistan - the only Asian team that happens not to be the host - is comfortably placed to come out on top.

Honesty of effort is guaranteed

Thankfully, the spot-fixers have now been tarred and feathered. This landmark development will surely motivate the remaining cricketers to play to the best of their potential. Cleared of distractions that have been diluting their efforts, a more linear relationship between Pakistan's talent and output can be expected to emerge. Everybody better watch out.

Their momentum is surging

By November last year, Pakistan had the poorest ODI record of any team in 2010, worse even than Zimbabwe. Yet they started to pick themselves up bit by bit, and now enter the World Cup with a win-loss ratio that places them ahead of West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe. Extrapolated over the next few weeks, this steady trajectory is headed straight to the top of the heap.

They know how to hold their nerve

Knockout matches in the World Cup can easily become a high-stakes quicksand heading into the final overs, when panic can unravel the best talent and preparation. Pakistanis are famous for squandering and surrendering, but they also know how to handle themselves in a close finish. Of the eighteen matches in ODI history decided by 1 wicket with 1 ball or less to spare, Pakistan has been the winner in six, more often than any other team. Pakistani supporters will be loath to agree, but statistics show that tense endings can bring the best out of Pakistan.

They fire best when cornered

We all know the "cornered tigers" story - Imran Khan's stirring exhortation that transformed his scattered 1992 side into champions. There's a good reason it has become folklore - it's utterly true. Squeeze them into a corner and push them against the wall, and Pakistan will explode with the force of a nuclear warhead. Circumstances have lately been pushing and squeezing Pakistan badly - a forfeited Test, doping scandals, an inexplicably dead coach, the stigma of insecurity, and a terrorist attack. The spot-fixing catastrophe may well prove to be the final trigger.

The 2011 format favours a mercurial outfit

After the disaster of the 2007 World Cup, when crowd-pullers India and Pakistan made preliminary exits, the ICC came up with a new formula for 2011, in which wins against unranked teams guarantee a quarter-final spot. After that, it's a rapid-fire shootout and three wins gets you the cup. This creates a truly open field in which Pakistan's unpredictability is a potential advantage.

Their talent is deceptive and disarming

Pakistani players are recognized for world-class talent, but they often apply it haphazardly, getting out to senseless shots and suicidal run outs, and undermining clever bowling by needless wides, no-balls, dropped catches, and erratic ground fielding. The overall effect is to appear attractive but not threatening, like a beautiful cat striking a languid pose. Sharp claws lurk beneath the surface, but you just don't see them and it can trick you into dropping your guard.

They have a seasoned brain trust

Imagine a Pakistan team meeting, and it immediately inspires confidence. Captain Afridi is at the head of the table, vice-captain Misbah is next to him, and Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Akhtar occupy the other senior spots. When tactics are discussed, wisdom and experience flows. There are over a thousand ODIs between them, and invaluable know-how from numerous high-stakes encounters, including a successful World Twenty20 title fight. If and when it hits the fan, these are the guys you want in charge.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

It's one of Friedrich Nietzsche's most memorable quotes, and it applies unambiguously to Pakistan, a team that has been through hardships of all kinds. Any one of these blows could have proved lethal, but it didn't. Not only has the Pakistan team lived to tell the tale, it has managed to accumulate the skills for handling adversity that no other team possesses.

They have a date with fate

Pakistan is a team that has been slapped, beaten, shamed, and kicked about. Murphy's Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will, and for Pakistan this has proven to be a resounding truth. So much has gone wrong for them, in fact, that they are finally due for some much-needed relief. No season lasts forever, it is darkest before the dawn, and nature loves a balance. In short, several pieces of time-honoured wisdom point to Pakistan finally catching a break.

Saad Shafqat is a writer based in Karachi

World Cup 2011: XI Reasons why Pakistan will win the World Cup | Cricket Features | ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[twoplustwoisfour]

When did srilanka host the world cup..its their 1st time as host i think?

A few matches in 1996 were played in Sri Lanka

 

[Ammyy]

ICC WC 2011: The most competitive one of all time

ICC Cricket World Cup is less than a week away and it’s a tough time for those who love to bet as there is no clear favorite for the World Cup as the teams like India, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka are looking good to clinch the title. All these teams have performed well in the recent past or the conditions are suitable for them. So there is no doubt that this is going to be the most competitive ODI Cricket World Cup.

Well, few experts have already mentioned in the media that India looks the best team to win the 2011 WC. The team has done well in last couple of years and is motivated enough to win this time for the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. After failing to qualify in the Super 8s stage of the World Cup 2007, Indian team has reached at 2nd position from 5th under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Team has won every ODI Series played in India since last 3 years and have won ODI series overseas as well in Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The team has performed well in all the departments of the game. The fielding of the team is weaker than the teams like South Africa, Australia and England but it is perhaps the best Indian fielding side ever with Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli being in the team. Indian team played a superb ODI series in South Africa which they lost 2-3 but they performed brilliantly. One setback for the team is that Praveen Kumar has been ruled out of the tourney so the team will miss his swing bowling but Sreesanth has replaced him and people are hoping that he doesn’t talk much on the field and allows ball to talk on the field. The team will rely on its master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who probably will be playing his last World Cup and willing to win one this time around. Zaheer Khan, Sehwag and Yuvraj will be few of the vital players whil hard hitting batting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan will be a trump card. I guess the Indian team has the best part time bowlers.

Australian team has been losing the test series but when it comes to the shorter format of the game they are the No.1 team. They lost Ashes 1-3 but straight after that they beat England in a 7 match ODI series by 6-1 that too without few key players like captain Rickey Ponting and Mike Hussey. The 2 biggest positives for Australia were Brett Lee’s excellent comeback in International Cricket and Micheal Clarke’s coming back to form. Shane Watson continued his good form and David Hussey played couple of match winning knocks. The sad news for the Aussies is that Mike Hussey has been ruled out of the WC because of a hamstring injury. The other week point for them is the spin department. Nathan Hauritz will not be there in the WC because of an injury and Jason Krejza has replaced him who was surprisingly selected over Xavier Doherty. It will be important to see how Aussies’ pace attack works in sub-continent’s conditions. The pace department looks too good in Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait. Australia have featured in 4 WC Finals in a row and winning 3 out of them, that too in a row So there should be some amount of pressure to defend the title.

South Africa is known as chokers but you never know when the things can change around. The team won the ODI Series vs India in South Africa. The team’s tope order looks very good in Hashim Amla, captain Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and A.B.DeVilliers. They also have a very lethal bowling attack in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Johan Botha is also a good spin bowler who can frustrate the batsman by bowling some tidy spells and can get the wickets. And no need to say about their fielding as they are the best fielding side in the world. This WC is going to be Graeme Smith’s last as an ODI captain and he must be looking forward to end his ODI captaincy on a high.

Sri Lanka is also playing on their home soil and that will surely help them in a big way. The team has dropped their One Day specialist Sanath Jayasurya and that shows their confidence in the new generation players. The batting order looks good in TM Dilshan who will have the responsibility of doing some fire work, Upul Tharanga, Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Thilan Samarveera provides good solidity to the batting line up. Angelo Mathews can play some big shots down the order in batting powerplay. Bowling attack will be led by fast and furious Lasith Malinga and World’s leading wicket taker Muthiah Muralitharan. This team can be extremely dangerous in the home condition.

So there are at least 4 teams who are in the race of wining the WC, though there is no doubt that teams like West Indies, England, Dark Horse New Zealand and Bangladesh can surprise any of those big teams and can spoil the party.

 

[Whiplash]

Oh my god the aussies are raping us!
For the love of god who the frak sets such a retarded field?

 

[ajtr]

A few matches in 1996 were played in Sri Lanka

So that means either of srilanka and bangladesh has chanches of winning this worldcup and pakistan can be wild card to win the cup.