ICC World Cup semi-finals history: India – Part 2
Batting first, the Sri Lankans scored an impressive 251 runs in the allotted 50-overs. In response India collapsed to 120 runs for eight wickets with Sachin Tendulkar scoring a valiant 65 runs while his team fell around him. Seeing their side in trouble
and on the verge of a semi-final exit, the home crowd began rioting.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391,
1996 is something all of India will wish to forget.
Nine years later India finally had a chance to try and set things right. Absent from the semi-finals for an eternity by their standards, the penultimate stage of the World Cup was where India was performing again. Playing in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, the Indians were
one of the pre-season favourites with a formidable batting line-up. India finished second in Pool A, losing only one match and that too against defending champions Australia. The Men in Blue then repeated their second place finish in the ‘super sixes’ again
losing out the top place to the Australians, with some hoping that this would not become a trend.
The Indian side then faced surprise package http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 in the semi-final at the Kingsmead stadium in Durban. India showcased their awe inspiring batting ability putting up 270 runs on the board for the loss of only four wickets. Sourav Ganguly’s five sixes helped
him to a fine inning’s score of 111 runs, as his side put one foot into their second World Cup final.
They had the other foot soon after, when the Kenyan’s were bowled all out for a 178 runs. India was set to face fellow Pool A winners Australia. Having lost to them earlier on in the tournament, the Indian’s looked to win where it matters the most.
Sadly for the Men in Blue, the Australians were too strong and India’s batting line-up could not conjure up a match winning performance, as they lost their first final in the tournament.
The scene is now set for India’s fifth World Cup semi-final. Having lost two semi-finals and won two, history will imply that India have a fifty-fifty chance of winning the match at Mohali against Pakistan. What that statistic does not take into consideration
is the fact that bitter rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 has never beaten any Indian team in the World Cup…ever!
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the quarter-finals
restored some faith in the Indian side’s ability to win the big matches.
History suggests that the match can go either way and India has won the previous two semi-finals they have played in and will look to continue that run against a team they will hate to lose against. Whatever happens on Wednesday, it will end up in the pages
of history, as India will look to be the ones remembered as the victors in one of the most intriguing semi-finals to have graced the game for some time.
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