 |
| 2011 |
A score games into the tournament, the teams have started coming up with their true potential. It is high time for the teams, who haven’t performed to their calibre, to showcase their best cricketing skills, else they could be out of the competition.
Taking a look at the games played till date, the fact which remains common in almost every match is that the team which has played better as a unit, has turned victorious. In a competition like World Cup, any team which claims for the title has to fare equally well in all the three departments. No team can prove to be challenging banking on a player or two. Every team member has to chip in with some contribution, albeit a few performing better than the others.
Evidences are strong enough in favour of the above theory. In the opening game between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the hosts registered a 98 runs comfortable victory. In this emphatic win, all the Kiwi batsmen went into the double figures, while two of them got over the 50 run mark. When it came to their bowing, five of the seven bowlers picked a couple of wickets each.And how many times do you find a team going past the 300 mark with its top-scorer scoring a mere 51. It was a phenomenal display of team effort by West Indies in their encounter against the Asian giants Pakistan. Barring Gayle, all the other Windies batsmen got off to a start and scored a minimum 23. Later in the game, all the five bowlers used were successful and no bowler went wicketless. At the end , Pakistan was well short by 150 runs chasing a mammoth target of 311.
Talking of the associate nations, they have shown a tremendous growth in their level of skills and temperament, making this mega cricketing event more exciting. However, in their victories as well, they have shown an all-round team effort. In a match where Ireland took on Afghanistan, it went to the very last over where Ireland turned victorious. In their stiff chase of 279, five of the Irish batsmen crossed the thirty-run mark. No credits taken away from the cameo played by Kevin O’ Brien, which ultimately proved decisive. Earlier in the day, except Mooney, every other Ireland bowler had wickets in their kitty.
Not only with bat & ball, but also fielders have played their parts causing to the team’s win. The two run-outs of deadly dangerous AB De Villiers and “killer” Miller changed the whole complexion of the game and turned it into India’s favour.
So, when the tournament is peaking its’ pace, the teams are leaving no stones unturned. Weaknesses need to be worked out within the limited space of time and resources available. If any area is left vulnerable, the opposition is waiting to exploit it to the most and in such circumstances, defeat would be inevitable.
