India vs England

On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore.Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar.

Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. However, a ballsy volley of sixes from England's lower order hauled them back from the brink, and with two runs needed from the final delivery of the match, Graeme Swann drilled Munaf Patel to cover to salvage a share of the spoils. 

The breathless finale was entirely in keeping with a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit. From the first over of the match, in which Virender Sehwag might have been dismissed three times in five balls, through the sumptuous strokeplay of first Tendulkar and later Strauss, and on through a pair of batting collapses - one apiece for the lower order of both teams - there was scarcely a moment in which normal service was permitted. Tim Bresnan, with 5 for 48 in ten unrelentingly composed overs, was the unsung star of a day that deserves to be remembered as the finest World Cup contest sincethat semi-final in 1999.

For the first 39 overs of the match, and again for the last seven, the Bangalore crowd was as raucous as a monsoon wedding, as Tendulkar ignited India's first home fixture of the World Cup with his 47th ODI century, before Zaheer Khan hauled them back from the brink of ignominy with 3 for 11 in his final three-over spell. But in between whiles, the game belonged to England, as India shipped their last seven wickets in 25 balls to let their opponents regain a toe-hold in the contest, before turning the stage over to Strauss and his magnum opus. 

A positive start was a pre-requisite as England embarked on their second daunting chase in as many matches, and just as Strauss had soothed his team's anxieties with 88 from 83 balls after their flirtation with humiliation against the Dutch, he was once again in the thick of things right from the start of the innings. Zaheer, who was as poor with the new ball as he was devastating with the old, bowled both sides of the wicket to gift two boundaries in six balls, and Strauss was up and running. He barely dipped below a run a ball at any subsequent stage of his innings.

He required some moments of luck, particularly on 17 when TV replays suggested he had nicked a drive against Zaheer that the Indian fielders were unable to hear against the din of the crowd, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and a common-sense approach to the three key partnerships that propelled England's challenge. By the end of the batting Powerplay, England were 19 runs to the good, on 77 for 1 compared to India's 10-over total of 58 for 1, and with a stream of easy singles to offset the intermittent boundary balls, they never looked like blinking until the summit was within sight.

At the top of the order, Kevin Pietersen's stay was short, sharp and effective. He pounded four fours in eight Zaheer deliveries to rush along to 31 from 22 balls, before dumping Munaf on his backside with a brutally struck drive, only for the ball he had parried from in front of his face to plop into his left hand as he glanced up to regain his bearings. Trott proved an able ally in a 43-run stand for the second wicket before Chawla hurried one through to strike his back pad, whereupon Bell arrived to embark on what should have been the game's decisive stand - a 170-run partnership that spanned 27 overs.

Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in his first two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection, but his hairiest moment came on 17, when Yuvraj Singh referred an appeal for lbw that Hawkeye suggested met all the criteria for an overturned decision. However, umpire Billy Bowden, applying the letter of the law even if it meant contravening the evidence on a billion TV screens, reprieved Bell on the grounds that he had advanced more than 2.5 metres down the pitch, and that the technology's prediction could not be deemed conclusive.

The despondency of the crowd was reflected in India's subsequent bowling, as Strauss motored through to his sixth ODI century, from 99 balls, and on towards his third in excess of 150. Liberated by the match situation, he launched Yuvraj for one of the biggest sixes of his career, straight down the ground, to bring up the hundred partnership, and Bell did likewise to Chawla to rush through to his fifty from 45 balls.

It was England's decision to take the batting Powerplay, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, that triggered the devastating late reversal of momentum. India's last chance appeared to have gone begging when Bell, on 68, was dropped by Virat Kohli at slip off Chawla, but Kohli made amends 10 balls later, when Bell miscued a tired slog off Zaheer to extra cover. With the crowd alive to the contest once again, Zaheer then put himself on a hat-trick with an unplayable late-swinging yorker that crushed Strauss's toe in front of leg stump.

With the pressure proving smothering and Chawla's variations now illegible to the new batsmen, Paul Collingwood missed a wipe across the line to be bowled for 1 from five balls, before Prior gave up all hope of threading the gaps and took a huge top-edged heave at Harbhajan to be caught for 4 from 8. Michael Yardy chipped and chivvied before dinking an attempted boundary shot straight to Sehwag at short backward square, but it was Swann's flat six off Chawla, with 29 needed from two overs, that reawakened England's challenge. Three balls later, Bresnan also put Chawla into the stands, and though he was bowled having a mow in the same over, Ajmal Shahzad sent his first ball, from Patel, in the same direction, to set up the grandstand finish.

If England felt that they'd let a golden opportunity go, then at least it could be said that they proved themselves equal to one of the best performances of a legendary career. Even by Tendulkar's matchless standards, his was a vintage performance, and a masterful example of how to pace an innings. He was a casual bystander in the day's opening exchanges, while Sehwag ran amok, before picking up his tempo throughout a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir, without ever needing to take risks to make his mark. The high point of his innings came when he belted consecutive sixes at the start of Swann's second spell, a calculated show of class that undermined England's trump bowler, and left Strauss floundering for alternatives as his tactics were picked apart.

In all Tendulkar stroked 10 fours and five sixes in what was, somewhat curiously, his first one-day hundred against England for nine years. By the time he was dismissed with 11 overs of the innings remaining, caught off a leading edge at cover (to give James Anderson his first one-day wicket in India for 53 overs dating back to 2006, on a day in which he conceded the most expensive analysis in England's World Cup history), India's total stood at an imposing 236 for 3, and it was a measure both of Tendulkar's brilliance and of England's dogged refusal to give in, that Yuvraj and MS Dhoni were unable to cut loose to quite the extent they might have expected.

The omens for England had not been exactly positive going into the start of this match. Eleven defeats in their last 12 away matches against India underlined their status of underdogs, as did the two team's respective performances in their opening fixtures of the tournament - England's laboured victory over the Netherlands compared distinctly unfavourably to India's crunching win against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and when Stuart Broad, their best and most aggressive seamer, was ruled out with a stomach complaint before the start of the match, a vast swathe of England's gameplan went down with him. Nevertheless, they thought on their feet and showed precisely the pluck that was in stasis throughout their one-day campaign in Australia. Two of the best teams in the world were on show in Bangalore, and what a show they produced.

Pakistan vs Srilanka

Anyone out there who still thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? With tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277, before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced bits of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist with a flurry of boundaries, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over. Umar Gul, however, held his nerve to steer Pakistan home and end a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket in Colombo

Pakistan's innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs, fabulous end-over bowling from Muttiah Muralitharan, who gave only five runs from two batting Powerplay overs, and finally a Misbah blitz, with 32 runs flowing from the final three overs, which eventually made the difference. 

The chase too nearly had it all: two inspired moments bursting with imagination and skill from Shoaib and Afridi, two failed stumpings, a dropped catch and a late surge from Silva, who woke up too late after a painstaking start.

In the 21st over, Shoaib produced a crafty offcutter, slightly slower and darting in from outside off, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene and leave Sri Lanka stuttering at 95 for 3. In the next, Afridi, who had earlier removed Tillakaratne Dilshan with a skidding delivery, ripped a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Thilan Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease and left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping. Akmal later missed two leg-side stumping chances to let off Kumar Sangakkara, on 22 and 33, off Abdur Rehman. The first one kicked more than Akmal anticipated and he had no excuse for the second. Rehman, himself, dropped a sitter to reprieve Silva. However, the twin blows had left Sangakkara with too much to do, especially with Silva struggling to get started, and he fell by holing out to long-on. Silva then stirred from his slumber to reduce the equation from 88 from 47 balls to 46 from 24. He slog swept Rehman for two fours and pulled Gul and Shoaib for more boundaries before he was stumped. Kulasekara took over the baton, whipping a 14-ball 24 but the task proved beyond him. 

It was the batting that set up the game for Pakistan, as the Premadasa has always been cruel to the team batting second. Pakistan's innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan's bogeyman Rangana Herath. It wasn't quite a crisis but it definitely needed calm heads. Luckily for Pakistan, you can't find better men than Misbah and Younis to handle these moments. What followed was a perfect advertisement for the much-abused middle overs in an ODI.

Two of the oldest members of the side ran beautifully, worked the angles intelligently, pinged the gaps frequently with the nudge-drive-and-sweep routine, and breathed life into an innings that could have, perhaps otherwise, succumbed to adrenalin rushes. If Misbah pressed back to play Murali, Younis leaned forward to tackle him; if Misbah backed to leg to create room, Younis shuffled to off to work to the leg; if Misbah tapped wide of midwicket for the quick single, Younis nudged just wide of backward point; if Misbah deployed the reverse-sweep, Younis stayed conventional. They always ran well. The runs kept ticking over, the opposition grew increasingly restless, and Pakistan secured ownership of the innings.

What further spiced up this partnership was the knowledge that the powerful lower order was waiting in the dressing room. When Younis fell in the 41st over, with Pakistan on 213 for 4, it even seemed like good news for Pakistan - Afridi and co to follow, unleash violence and 300 would be a formality. Or so it seemed. Here is where Sri Lanka sparkled. Here is when that man Murali and Kulasekara stepped in to do damage control.

While Pakistan's handling of middle overs was a treat to watch, Sri Lanka's skill in the end overs was awe-inspiring. Murali ripped his offbreaks, altering the trajectory, pace, and the extent of turn. Kulasekara punctuated his yorkers with slower cutters to keep Pakistan in check. Murali gave only two runs in the 44th over, the first of the batting Powerplay, and only three in the 46th, which included the wicket of Umar Akmal. Kulasekera gave away just five in the 47th, keeping Afridi quiet with a series of yorkers.

Misbah responded to Murali's magic by growing more innovative. He shuffled to the off and whipped Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews for boundaries as Pakistan collected 32 runs in the last three overs to post a match-winning total. Misbah and Younis' presence in the middle overs had raised a few murmurs before this World Cup but there would be only voices of appreciation after tonight.

Bangladesh vs Ireland

Bangladesh's bowlers held their nerve to atone for the failures of their batsman, as the pluck of the Irish proved insufficient to overcome the most fervent atmosphere of the World Cup so far. In a gripping, low-scoring encounter at Mirpur, Bangladesh flirted with disaster as they squandered a flying start from Tamim Iqbal to crash to 205 all out, and when Ireland reached 93 for 3 at the halfway mark of their reply, they were well on course for a hugely deserved victory. However, six wickets for the Bangladeshi spin quartet set the stage for a flying finish from Shafiul Islam, who claimed 4 for 21 in eight hostile and reverse-swinging overs, to seal a wildly acclaimed victory by 27 runs with five overs to spare.

The result was tough on the Irish who, like the Netherlands earlier in the week, gave the match their all and deserved a Test-playing scalp as their reward. But the belief and unity of the Bangladeshis had to be seen to be believed, as they dusted themselves down after a chastising performance with the bat, and set about defending their meagre total with skill, tenacity and some sublime commitment in the field. Mohammad Ashraful, whose mercurial batting once again let him down when the heat was on, proved a revelation with the ball, as his spin-bowling all-sorts picked up two vital wickets inside the first 19 overs, and whose subsequent celebrations imbued both his team-mates - and perhaps more crucially, a rammed and expectant Mirpur crowd - with belief.

There will be many higher-profile fixtures than this in the coming weeks, but few could prove as pivotal to the fortunes of two teams who exceeded expectations four years ago in reaching the Super Eights in the Caribbean. Ireland's hopes of playing in the 2015 tournament hinge on their ability to produce this sort of performance in each of their next five matches, to convince the ICC that they deserve their place at the top table. But more immediately, Bangladesh's victory gives them a real chance of pushing for a quarter-final place that their form in home internationals suggests could be attainable.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Bangladesh started the match with the same aplomb with which they finished, bringing their fans to their feet in a thrilling first four overs, in which Tamim's blistering volley of strokeplay lifted the score to an imposing 41 for 0. However, Ireland are a more resourceful side than meets the eye, and the early decision to reduce the pace on the ball slowly but surely changed the tide of the contest. Trent Johnston and John Mooney drew the sting of the innings with their unrelenting line and length, but it was left to the teenaged spinner George Dockrell to inflict the telling blows. 

Dockrell twirled straight through his ten overs, claiming 2 for 23 with a performance brimful of guile. His agonisingly slow pace through the air left all the batsmen groping in their defences, scared of taking on the long straight boundary for fear of being beaten in flight, and his two dismissals were carbon-copies of one another - a crease-bound Mushfiqur Rahim paddle-swept to Andrew White at short backward leg to end a doughty innings of 36, before Ashraful followed suit for 1 in the very next over.

Ireland's commitment in the field was unstinting. Ed Joyce and White pulled off a direct-hit run-out apiece, the first to remove Junaid Siddique for 3 - a dismissal which undermined Bangladesh's early momentum following the loss of the opener Imrul Kayes to an expert leg-side stumping from Niall O'Brien - and the latter to extract Raqibul Hasan for 38, at precisely the moment he looked set to guide the tail to a comfortable 200-plus total. But the one telling shortcoming was the performance of their quickest bowler, Boyd Rankin. His nine overs went for 62 - the most expensive analysis of the day - including a poor final over that went for 11.

Pace off the ball was the secret on this deck, at least until such time as the Irish tail was exposed to Shafiul's old-ball wiles. He was given just the one over with the new ball in Ireland's innings, before Shakib turned to the spin pairing of Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam. The tactic paid dividends in the sixth over of the innings, when Paul Stirling yorked himself while advancing to Razzak, and was stumped by Mushfiqur as the ball dribbled off the pads and past his off stump.

With the pressure intense in spite of the small target, Ireland's captain, Will Porterfield, set himself to make the most of every scoring opportunity. He had launched the innings in confident style with a second-ball drive off Shafiul through point, and he added a second four when Naeem dropped short at the end of his third over. But Shakib, Bangladesh's captain and senior spinner, struck with his first delivery, as Porterfield attempted a flick off the back foot, and instead popped a simple catch to Raqibul at short midwicket.

O'Brien, however, was the right man to enter the fray. He was the hero of a tense run-chase in Jamaica four years ago, when Ireland stunned Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, and two fours in the same Shakib over were the perfect tonic for his team's frayed nerves. In partnership with the England veteran, Joyce, he picked off the singles and gnawed away at the target, before Joyce, on 16, attempted to drive against the spin, and popped a simple chance to Ashraful.

Ashraful celebrated as if the match was already won, which it self-evidently was not at 75 for 3 in the 19th over. However, the belief in the Bangladesh team was picked up on by the crowd, and the roof was raised six overs later, when White, on 10, played a lazy pushed drive from deep in the crease to be bowled through the gate.

It was a dismissal that increased the Irish jitters ten-fold, but it was nothing compared to the dismissal of O'Brien three overs later. With a rock-solid 38 from 52 balls to his name, he was tempted to put too much bat through a lofted clip into the leg side, and Tamim at deep square leg hurtled in to snaffle a brilliant low catch inches from the turf. At 110 for 5, Bangladesh were right back in the contest and O'Brien's self-recriminations were revealing. With an asking-rate of four an over, there was simply no need for such risks.

His brother Kevin, however, chose his big shots more judiciously - at least at first. An up-and-under six over long-on was the first and only maximum of the match, and he added two more kitchen-sink clumps in Ashraful's ninth and final over, which went for 14. But at 151 for 5 in the 37th over, when all that was required was a cool head and an exchange of singles, O'Brien was suckered by Shafiul's short ball, and launched a pull straight to the substitute, Suhrawadi Shuvo, at square leg.

From that moment on, Ireland's hopes began to evaporate. Naeem nailed Mooney for an eight-ball duck, as he tried a flat-footed cut but edged into his stumps, and three balls later, the obdurate Andre Botha played all round a full-length delivery that crashed into his leg stump. With Shafiul on a roll, surfing the crowd's delirium and zipping the ball at pace from a full length, the tail were unable to resist. Bangladesh's World Cup campaign is up and running. Ireland's, despite their best endeavours, must start all over again against England next week.

SMART STATS:

• Bangladesh's 27-run win was their first over Ireland in World Cups and their fifth in seven matches against Ireland. Ireland had beaten Bangladesh by 74 runs in their previous meeting in World Cups.
• This was only the eighth win for Bangladesh in ODIs in Mirpur after batting first. They have lost on 13 occasions after batting first.
• Shafiul Islam's 4 for 21 is the best bowling performance in World Cups by a Bangladesh bowler surpassing Abdur Razzak's 3 for 25 against South Africa in 2007.
• The fifty of the Bangladesh innings came up in just 5.4 overs which is the fastest time to a fifty for any team in this World Cup so far.

Australia vs New Zealand

Shaun Tait. Brett Lee. Mitchell Johnson. The hostile fast men from Australia made an imperious statement in Nagpur. They breathed fire and New Zealand didn't have the heart, and at least today, the skills, to extinguish them. Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori revived New Zealand from a disastrous 73 for 6, but a below-par 206 was not enough to avoid a crushing defeat. A flamboyant Brad Haddin and an imperious Shane Watson hit entertaining half-centuries to charge Australia home.


It was a shambolic effort from the New Zealand top order. Some of the deliveries didn't deserve wickets but New Zealand were in the mood for self-destruction. They handled the best bowler on view, Lee, with caution and gave him just one wicket but imploded against Tait and Johnson. Both bowlers bowled enough tight deliveries to lure the batsmen into mistakes with deliveries that had some teasing width. It remains to be seen how they will fare against a better batting line-up. Will today's wicket-taking deliveries be smashed for boundaries or will the batsmen continue to err on perceived pressure-releasing balls? Today, though, their efforts were enough to blow away New Zealand's top order.

Brendon McCullum, who unfurled couple of fierce upper cuts against Tait, threw his bat at a full delivery well outside off, but edged it to third man. Jesse Ryder, who laced a few classy pulls against Johnson, stabbed a delivery that held its line outside off, to the wicketkeeper. James Franklin, looking out of place at No. 5, chased a wide delivery from Johnson to give Brad Haddin another catch. Scott Styris edged a wide and short delivery from Tait to Haddin and Ross Taylor played all around a full delivery from Tait to lose his off stump.

Everything that one expected from this Australian pace attack was visible today. It was expected they would either blow away the opposition or leak runs on flat tracks. Eleven fours came in the first 12 overs but the wickets too kept tumbling. Lee strangled the batsmen with his nagging line and length, Tait slung them in full and fast, Johnson went round-arm to catapult pacy deliveries and Watson was accurate enough to let the vagaries of the up-and-down track to do its bit.

The pitch played its part in the dismissal of Martin Guptill, which proved to be a turning point of the innings as well. Guptill had just begun to get going after taking 19 deliveries to get off the mark, when he was late to get on the front foot to a delivery from Watson that shot through low under the bat to bowl him. When Guptill fell in the ninth over, New Zealand were 40 for 2 but it was the beginning of the end. By the 17th over, after the fall of Taylor, they were tottering at 73 for 6.

In many ways, Taylor's dismissal captured New Zealand's iffy batting effort. It was a full delivery on the off stump line and instead of driving it in the 'V', Taylor, who averages just 28.86 since March 2009, played a messy across-the-line waft to lose his stumps.

Luckily, for New Zealand, they found in Nathan McCullum, someone in good form - this is his third fifty in four innings - and in the mood to play risk-free cricket, to save them the blushes. He played the situation well, using his dab-nudge routine to collect the singles and putting away the occasional long hops from the spinners as boundaries. The fifty came with a steer to point but for the main part, he nurdled the ball to the leg side - 33 runs came in that region - to keep the score moving. He came in at 73 for 6 and by the time he fell in the 42nd over, trapped lbw by a skidding delivery from Johnson, he had pushed New Zealand to 175 for 8. Nathan McCullum was well supported by Vettori, who bided his time before playing the big shots in the end overs to push the score past 200. Vettori fell in the 45th over, edging an attempted pull off Lee and he will be left musing yet another debacle from his top order.

In contrast, the Australian openers oozed intent in the chase. Haddin punctuated his violent hits with some sweetly-timed drives to waltz through to a half-century while Watson heaved, slugged, muscled, thumped and carved his way to a merry fifty. The best shot of the day came from Haddin when he unfurled a gorgeous drive against Nathan McCullum. Haddin leaned forward to an off break to caress it through extra cover, a shot out of the Damien Martyn school of batting. The openers' brutal effort was the perfect icing on the cake after the stirring show from the fast bowlers.

South Africa vs West Indies

AB de Villiers showed his pedigree with his second World Cup hundred, his 10th in all one-day internationals, and the fastest by a South African in a World Cup as South Africa chased down 223 at a canter at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the result sealed in the 43rd over for the loss of only three wickets.

De Villiers, who was named ODI Player of the Year for 2010, barely put a foot wrong in his knock, ticking along at better than a-run-a-ball from the start and sounding an ominous warning for South Africa's opponents in this tournament. He shared in a decisive 119-run stand for the third wicket with Graeme Smith and shut down the game by adding a further 84 in JP Duminy's company. 

South Africa's batsmen built upon the good work of their bowlers as Imran Tahir had a debut to remember, picking up four wickets and striking at crucial moments to peg West Indies back on a pitch that displayed none of the demons that led to the abandonment of the last international game at this ground in December 2009.

A new-look South African bowling unit kept a lid on a combustible West Indies, the spinners bowling a combined 29 overs for just 138 runs as West Indies imploded to be all out for 222 when, at one stage, 270 had seemed more likely. After the spinners had kept South Africa in control for much of the game, Dale Steyn returned at the death to ensure there would be no late fightback.

South Africa were in dire need of a counterpunch when de Villiers entered at the end of the fifth over with West Indies' new-ball bowlers in the midst of an inspired opening spell. Hashim Amla, whose 1,322 runs in the year leading up to this World Cup has made him one of the vital cogs in South Africa's one-day line-up, and Jacques Kallis both fell to sharp catches behind the wicket as Kemar Roach bowled with real pace and, continuing the trend already being set by other teams in this competition, left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn shared the new ball with success.

South Africa were 20 for 2 with that dismissal but, defying West Indies' attempts to keep the pressure on, de Villiers appeared totally in control from the start of his innings. Threading the gap between cover and point on multiple occasions, he sprinted into the 20s at better than a-run-a-ball and South Africa were soon trundling along at well above the asking rate. 

West Indies desperately needed another breakthrough and the talismanic Dwayne Bravo might have been just the man to provide it but in his third over a painful knee injury put an end to his contribution to his team's defence. Attempting to change direction mid-follow through and cut off a drive from Smith, Bravo swivelled awkwardly and immediately fell to the ground, clutching his knee. The physiotherapist was called for and Bravo was helped from the field and taken to hospital for scans. The extent of the damage will not be known until the results of those tests are in.

South Africa marched confidently on in his absence, de Villiers bringing up a 54-ball fifty with a massive blow over wide long-on in the 22nd over and Smith providing steady support until he missed a straight one from Kieron Pollard and had his middle stump flattened five runs short of a half-century of his own. His departure sparked wild celebrations, and at 139 for 3 in the 29th over there was still a chance the chase could get tricky. There was barely a hint of nerves from Duminy and de Villiers, however, and after a short break for rain they eased South Africa home with minimum fuss, de Villiers reaching his ton from just 97 balls.

The chase might have been rather more challenging had West Indies' batsmen been able to make more of the solid platform laid by Darren Bravo and Dwayne Smith, who helped their team weather the early departure of Chris Gayle with a 111-run partnership. Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed some fight with a 58-run stand of their own but there was precious little support from the rest of the line-up.

The thoroughness of South Africa's gameplans and their willingness to utilise unorthodox tactics was in evidence first in their decision to include no less than three frontline spinners in Johan Botha, Tahir and Robin Peterson and then when, for the first time in his career, Botha opened the bowling and soon snared Gayle with an edge to slip.

Bravo set the early tone with a couple of deftly glanced boundaries off Steyn and brought up a 55-ball 50 in the 16th over, his third in ODIs, and celebrating the milestone with a remarkable one-handed smite over long-on off Tahir. The century stand was brought up off 117 deliveries in the 20th over, and with West Indies starting to seize the initiative Smith turned to Botha.

Again the offspinner provided the breakthrough, slipping one past an uncertain flick to pin Bravo in front of middle and dismiss him for 73 despite a slightly desperate referral from the batsman. Tahir then took centre stage, holding a a simple caught-and-bowled chance off Smith for his first international wicket and removing Ramnaresh Sarwan before he had time to settle

Just as the elder Bravo and Chanderpaul were starting to flow a brainless piece of running put paid to their fightback. A reverse-sweep from Chanderpaul went straight to the man at short third man but inexplicably a run was called for and Bravo was easily run out for 40, the score 178 for 5 in the 38th over.

West Indies unravelled with alarming speed thereafter, their innings sliding swiftly into mediocrity after Chanderpaul, who had upped the tempo with a couple of thumping strikes, chipped Tahir straight to Peterson at long-off. Kieron Pollard's arrival at the crease caused an immediate ripple of excitement among a decent crowd of spectators, but Steyn returned to dismiss him for a golden duck with a skidding inswinger that struck the pad in front of middle and leg. Tahir had his fourth wicket when a wild swipe from wicketkeeper Devon Thomas ended up in JP Duminy's hands, running back from extra cover, and the tail proved no match for Steyn's pace and accuracy as the innings was wrapped up soon afterwards.

The Passion of Cricket In Pakistan.

For a country that has been the center of the war against terror, where internal rift has literally killed all hopes and taken away smiles from the faces of people, where bribery, corruption, fighting has demoralized everyone, Cricket was the only source of hope, smiles and cherish for the people. That too was taken away by the attack on the Srilankan players in February 2009 and until now the nation has been deprived of International Cricket for almost two years.

It is amazing to see that the love for the game has not died away and people still love the game. Many had feared that Cricket will die away slowly and gradually because people are not able to see their heroes and other international players on the grounds and their is no international Cricket in Pakistan but that's not true.

Even though Pakistan was stripped off the World Cup rights and the matches are being played in India, Srilanka and Bangladesh yet the excitement is all here to be seen. You turn on the television and you see every channel, literally every channel though be it sports, home or news channel have their analyst for every match giving their comments and opinions, You see the songs sung by different singers especially for the World Cup, You see all the promotional adds, Sign In to facebook you will find people sharing different videos, songs, status messages on the World Cup, You walk on the streets or play grounds you see people playing Cricket as if they are playing in the World Cup themselves, in many shopping malls and even in the Universities TV screens have been placed for the live cricket matches to be seen, you walk pass a group of people on the roads and they are talking about the match taking place. Everyone, young or old praying for Pakistan to win the World Cup and perform well. It's just so motivating to see all this.

Being a Pakistani I do also have hopes from my team and I pray that they win the World Cup, but regardless of that, one thing I'm sure of is that Cricket has already won in Pakistan, hope that Cricket returns to Pakistan as soon as possible.

Pakistan vs Kenya

Kenya again appeared totally out of their depth and posed no challenge to Pakistan at Hambantota, Collins Obuya's death-or-glory 47 being the only highlight for them as Shahid Afridi helped himself to 5 for 16 in a massive 205-run win, Pakistan's biggest win in World Cups and the eighth largest overall.

Four of Pakistan's batsmen cashed in to raise half-centuries and set up a total of 317 for 7 after a brief wobble against the new ball and Kenya made little effort to mount a serious challenge in their pursuit, rather looking to a lay a solid platform in the hope of batting out their full quota of overs. That ultimately proved a futile effort, too, although their innings did at least last until the 34th over - longer than their entire match against New Zealand three days ago. 

Kenya's slide began in earnest when Afridi brought himself on and, in his third over, tempted Steve Tikolo down the pitch only for the ball to rush straight on to rattle the stumps. Kenya were 73 for 3 in the 23rd over when Tikolo was dismissed, without any real hope of chasing more than 300 but at least looking steady enough to last the full 50 after the top order had showed at least a little grit. There was no such offering from the middle, however, as the remaining seven wickets fell for just 39 runs in just over ten overs.

Afridi was the chief wrecking ball, quickly ending a bustling innings from Tanmay Mishra and making short work of Rakep Patel, Jimmy Kamande and Thomas Odoyo as he unfurled a mixed bag of legbreaks, sliders and quicker ones as the ball began to bite and spit off the surface. Amid the carnage, Obuya opened up to smite through enormous sixes but was caught on the boundary attempting a fourth to give Afridi the best figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup, beating Wasim Akram's 5 for 28 against Namibia in Kimberley at the 2003 tournament. Once he went, the end was mercifully quick in coming. 

Ultimately they flattered to deceive, but against expectations Kenya had actually bossed the opening exchanges of the match, Thomas Odoyo and Elijah Otieno showing admirable control with the new ball. Otieno provided the first breakthrough when Hafeez tried to force a length delivery into the leg side but hit it uppishly and Seren Waters, at straight midwicket, leapt to his left and managed to cling onto a juggled catch mere inches from the turf. In the very next over Shehzad, who had scratched around for 17 balls that yielded just a single run, chipped a leading edge to give Jimmy Kamande a simple catch at mid-off and Pakistan were in some serious strife.

The pressure soon began to lift, however, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan quickly settling and Nehemiah Odhiambo suffering a shambolic start to his spell as 16 runs came from a first over that included three no-balls. Kamran proved the more fluent of the two early in his innings but Younis provided sensible support and, as the spinners came on, plenty of ones and twos were taken to keep the score ticking over.

Kamran eased past 50, from 62 balls, and looked set for plenty more before he charged down the wicket to left-arm spinner Shem Ngoche and was easily stumped. Kenya were buzzing once more with the breakthrough, but despite giving a far a far better account of themselves than they had against New Zealand at Chennai they lacked the necessary firepower to land the killer blow.

Misbah-ul-Haq opened his World Cup account with a massive six off Tikolo and rushed into the 20s at better than a-run-a-ball to complement the more circumspect Younis, who showed the value of steady accumulation before he was dismissed lbw for exactly 50 despite an optimistic review.

Misbah and Umar Akmal were barely troubled as they set about compiling a 118 runs for the fifth wicket, their partnership exploding into life as the Batting Powerplay was called for in the 44th over immediately after Misbah had reached fifty on his World Cup debut. Umar thrashed 20 off a weary Otieno's seventh over and soon sprinted to the fourth fifty of the innings as the score passed 250 in the 46th over. With Pakistan now swinging from the hip at just about everything, Kenya picked up regular wickets but threatened to unravel completely in the face of an all-out assault.

Odoyo removed Umar and Afridi from consecutive deliveries to find himself on a hat-trick in the 49th over but speared the next ball acres down the leg side and repeated the blunder later in the same over as battle fatigue set in. Extras, with 46, very nearly became the fifth half-century maker of the innings as Kenya had the ignominious honour of equalling the record for most wides in a one-day international, and there was a visible sense of relief as they finally completed their stint in the field.

Their efforts with the bat quickly put their failures with the ball in the shade, however, and Kenya will need a complete overhaul if they are to challenge anyone in this tournament. At the other end of the spectrum, Pakistan will be pleased with a generally slick and professional performance that has set their campaign off on an overwhelmingly positive note.

SMART STATS:




There were four fifty-plus scores in Pakistan's innings, which is the joint highest for the number of fifty-plus scores in a team innings in World Cups.


Pakistan's 317 is their highest score in ODIs against Kenya, surpassing their previous best of 286 in Sharjah in 2003. It is also their fourth-highest total in World Cups.


Kenya conceded 44 extras, which is the fifth-highest on the list of most extras conceded by a team in a World Cup match.


Misbah-ul-Haq scored his fourth half-century in 11 innings since August 2009. In the same period, he has scored 428 runs at an average of 47.55, which is much higher than his career average of 40.48.


Pakistan scored 112 runs in the last ten overs of their innings, including 70 runs in the batting powerplay. South Africa hold the record for most runs in the last ten overs in ODIs since 2000, with 146 runs against Pakistan at Centurion in 2007.


The 205-run win is Pakistan's largest margin of victory in World Cup matches and also Kenya's worst defeat in World Cups.


The 112 is Kenya's third-lowest score in World Cup matches. Their lowest is the 69 against New Zealand in the opening match of the 2011 World Cup.

England vs Netherlands

Ryan ten Doeschate produced a scintillating 119 from 110 balls, and followed up with the brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 47 in ten overs, to give England one of the biggest frights of their international lives. However, his very best efforts were not quite enough to propel the Netherlands to an incredible victory in their World Cup opener at Nagpur.

Faced with a massive target of 293, and humiliation on an even greater scale than they suffered at Lord's two years ago, England responded with a determined batting performance under the floodlights, and thanks to composed half-centuries from Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott, they eventually reached safety with six wickets and eight balls to spare. However, the final margin of victory did no justice to the journey they were forced to undertake. Had England stumbled, it would surely have gone down as the greatest upset in World Cup history. 

The final overs were fraught with possibility, as England battled with a run-rate that barely dipped below seven an over, against a pumped-up team of performers who could mainline their adrenalin straight from that opening fixture of the World Twenty20. With 69 needed from the final ten overs, Trott was exquisitely stumped off a leg-side wide by Wesley Barresi, who had earlier launched the Dutch innings with a sparky cameo of 29 from 25 balls, and when the in-form Ian Bell was bowled middle stump by the final ball of ten Doeschate's spell, Nagpur really was living up to its reputation as the City of Orange.

That dismissal left England's fate in the hands of Paul Collingwood, who has barely been able to buy an international run all winter, and Ravi Bopara, whose inclusion at the expense of the second spinner Michael Yardy contributed to their problems in the field, but for which he ultimately atoned with a vital 30 not out from 20 balls, including a soothing six over long-off from the first ball off the 49th over - the first of England's innings.

It was Collingwood who proved the key, however. He was England's captain when they lost in 2009, and ten years earlier he had also been on the receiving end of a NatWest Trophy beating while playing for Durham in Amstelveen. The threat of a triple dose of humiliation compelled him to rediscover his fighting spirit, and he restored faith in both himself and his team with an unbeaten 30 from 23. 

It was all extraordinarily fraught. Whereas previous shocks have revolved around batting collapses in helpful conditions - think Ireland in Jamaica four years ago, or West Indies against Kenya in 1996 - this performance was all about the weight of runs that the derided Dutchmen were able to pile onto England's shoulders. With Associate cricket in the spotlight like never before, following the decision to reduce the 2015 World Cup to 10 teams, and in light of the recent capitulations by Canada and Kenya in Group A, this was a performance that showed the sport's second tier in the best and most timely light imaginable.

ten Doeschate's prowess in limited-overs cricket is hardly a secret - he averaged 54 in the CB40 last season, and weighed in with nine wickets, as Essex advanced to the semi-finals - but England had no answers to his watertight technique and a shot selection that started out composed before exploding in the closing overs with 52 runs coming from his last 26 deliveries. He came to the crease in the 12th over and though he took 12 balls to get off the mark, the value in gauging the pace of the wicket paid off handsomely.

All told, ten Doeschate struck nine fours and three sixes in a 110-ball stay, the first of which came off a gentle full-toss from Kevin Pietersen, whose two overs were dispatched for 19 and highlighted England's folly in omitting Yardy - Bopara's medium-pace was not called upon. Swann, on his return to the team following the birth of his son Wilfred, was the pick of England's bowlers with 2 for 35 in ten tidy overs, while Stuart Broad was menacing if a touch expensive in his first full international since the Adelaide Test in December. But ten Doeschate treated the rest of England's attack with disdain, as he powered through to his fourth and highest century in 28 appearances for the Netherlands.

After calling for the Powerplay in the 43rd over, ten Doeschate lost his fifth-wicket partner Tom de Grooth, the hero of Lord's 2009, who was bowled by a Broad yorker for 28. But undeterred, he picked off consecutive boundaries from Tim Bresnan to move through the nineties, before reaching his first World Cup hundred from 98 balls and in remarkable fashion, as a sharp single to short fine leg turned into five overthrows when Trott's shy ricocheted off the stumps and away to the ropes.

On a night that belonged to the Dutchmen in spite of the final result, the nadir of England's performance was reached in the final six overs of their bowling effort. Only last summer, England's attack was touted as their likeliest route to World Cup glory, given how intricately each member of the attack knew their roles, and how quickly they were able to react to changing circumstances. However, the closing overs were a total shambles that would have disgraced a club side, given the breadth and variety of the errors that were committed.

A foretaste of the chaos came in Swann's seventh over, when ten Doeschate, on 47, launched a drive into no-man's land behind the bowler's arm, where James Anderson and Kevin Pietersen converged from mid-off and mid-on respectively, but stopped dead as the ball plugged harmlessly between them.

Anderson's day then went from bad to worse when he returned to the attack in the 46th over. His attempt at blockhole bowling resulted in two awful waist-high full-tosses, the second of which swung away down the leg side for four. Both were called as no-balls, and Anderson was very fortunate not to be withdrawn from the attack by the umpires. Or not as it happens, because the Dutch captain Peter Borren was delighted he remained. He belted three consecutive boundaries in a listless ninth over, to finish unbeaten on 35 from 24 balls.

England's embarrassment didn't end there. Though Broad showed some fight to end ten Doeschate's stay via a catch in the deep in the 49th over, he was denied the wicket of Borren in the same over when Collingwood at midwicket failed to take his required position inside the fielding circle. A no-ball was signalled, Borren was recalled, and there was still time for one more howler, as Swann shelled a sitter at third man to reprieve Mudassar Bukhari.

Netherlands' final total of 292 for 6 was their highest against a full-member nation, and the second highest by any Associate, beating the 230 they scored against England on this very day 15 years ago, at the 1996 World Cup. The hero that day was the 18-year-old Bas Zuiderent, who was the only Dutchman to miss out this time around, as he made 1 from 10 balls before becoming Swann's second victim. It was scant consolation for England on a day that they could not allow to get any worse.

The new opening pairing of Strauss and Pietersen went some way towards atoning for England's earlier errors with a 105-run stand in 17.4 overs. They started with clear intent as Strauss snaffled three fours in the first over, from Mudassar Bukhari - two clips off the toes and a fortuitous under-edged cut past off stump, en route to 88 from 83 balls, while Pietersen's first shot was a sweetly timed drive to a Berend Westdijk outswinger.

On a slow deck, Pietersen's instinct was to advance onto the front foot at every opportunity, and his timing seemed in fine fettle even though he kept picking out the fielders in a well-drilled Netherlands outfit. Strauss meanwhile hung back in his crease and took advantage of the Dutch inexperience to nudge and pull eight of his first nine boundaries behind square on the leg-side.

However, as the hardness went out of the new ball and Barresi came up to the stumps to restrict Pietersen's footwork, his returns tailed off appreciably. Having scored 29 from his first 31 balls, he made just 10 from his next 30, before Pieter Seelaar added his name to the list of left-arm spinners to have captured one of the more notable scalps in world cricket. A tempting delivery was tossed up outside off stump, and Pietersen failed to get his feet to the pitch as he poked an uppish drive to short cover.

In the end humiliation was avoided, and given the lop-sided format of the World Cup, England have already made a significant stride towards the quarter-finals. But with the in-form Indians looming in Bangalore on Sunday, there is no room for another performance this poor. The world is watching and the likes of Virender Sehwag won't be losing sleep.

Australia vs Zimbabwe

Australia began their World Cup campaign on a winning note, wrapping up an easy 91-run win over a Zimbabwean outfit with no answer to the pace battery of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, who finished as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 19. Zimbabwe had put in a spirited display in the field to keep Australia to 262 for 6 on a good batting wicket, but they never looked like chasing the runs down once a positive opening stand between Charles Coventry and Brendan Taylor had been broken.

With Lee and Tait steaming in with the new ball, Zimbabwe's openers had every reason to be nervous but they quickly shed their early jitters - Coventry's flambuoyant flash over cover point being a particular highlight - and started to settle before Lee switched his length with immediate reward. Digging the ball in, he drew a false stroke from Coventry and an ungainly hook resulted in a top edge that Lee himself charged round to catch. 

Brendan Taylor did his best to overcome the setback but the revival was short-lived and after Tatenda Taibu glided Johnson straight to slip Tait beat Taylor for pace, aiming one full and straight and pin-balling it off bat and pad to disturb his stumps. It was extreme speed that did for Craig Ervine, too, as he took his eyes off a Johnson bumper to wear one on the grille and was pinned on the pad in front of middle and leg by the very next ball. With the Umpire unwilling to send him on his way, a successful referral was asked for and Zimbabwe's chase quickly began to slide towards the mire at 44 for 4 in the 13th over.

Williams didn't look particularly comfortable against Johnson either, but he and Chigumbura did at least manage to survive the onslaught and slowly began to rebuild against Australia's second string. The chase derailed completely when Chigumbura gloved Jason Krejza to Haddin for 14 in the 22nd over and Zimbabwe's last hopes evaporated soon after, Williams wafting Tait to slip as the score sank to 96 for 6. Despite some stubborn resistance from Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, there was no coming back from there. 

It had been a different story for Zimbabwe when they were in the field as some disciplined bowling and inspired fielding ensured Australia's batsmen never really got away from them. As has been the case so often in recent times, Shane Watson provided the bulk of the runs at the top of the order with a well-paced 79, while Michael Clarke guided their charge past 250 with an unbeaten 58.

Watson and Haddin made a strangely subdued start, and despite the admirable professionalism shown by Zimbabwe's attack one might have expected more than 28 runs to have come from the first Powerplay. While Chris Mpofu, the only specialist seamer in the side, maintained a disciplined off-stump line, Ray Price shared the new pill and also lived up to his unapologetically brusque reputation, laying into Watson before he'd even faced a ball.

The batsmen finally decided they had had enough of the wait-and-see tactic and broke loose with 17 off Mpofu's sixth over but Zimbabwe struck back when Utseya came on at the end of the first Powerplay. After an exemplary start to his spell - in which not a run was scored for the first nine deliveries he sent down - had his reward when Haddin stepped back to a flighted delivery and was struck in line with middle and leg. Umpire Asoka de Silva thought there might have been an inside edge, but Zimbabwe asked for a review - this being their first ever look at the UDRS - and had the decision over-turned.

After a quiet start to his innings Watson started to strike the ball with ominous force, lifting Cremer into the stands with a brutal pull, before he was removed by Zimbabwe's second fortuitous referral of the day. Stretching forward to a Cremer legbreak, Watson played with more pad than bat to prompt an emotive appeal. This time it was Umpire Richard Kettleborough who decided there was enough doubt to turn it down, but wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu insisted on a referral and Zimbabwe were rewarded with the result they wanted.

They were given a serious lift in the very next over as Ricky Ponting, in his first full international innings since his return from a finger injury, took on Mpofu's arm with a hard-run second as the ball rolled to midwicket. A pinpoint rocket throw hit the wicket directly to catch him well short to spark wild celebrations from Zimbabwe and with that Australia were 144 for 3. Clarke and Cameron White started their rebuilding effort cautiously and Zimbabwe never let the game get away from them, Mpofu recovering well from a cumbersome start to his spell at the death to rattle White's stumps and reduce Australia to 207 for 4.

David Hussey and Steve Smith came and went in quick succession but gave the innings some oomph while they were at the crease, both clearing the boundary with some powerful strokes. Clarke remained to guide Australia to a total which, while probably not as many as they would have hoped for, still proved far too much for a Zimbabwe line-up with precious little experience of facing express international fast bowling.