LIVE update: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Khan – ICC World Cup 2011
Excitement is building up, as the ICC World Cup 2011 heads into the next stage with the minnows showcasing their potential and raw energy in the competition.
The initial matches of the World Cup suggest that even high scores of 300 and above are not easy to defend. In Pool B of this tournament, England failed to defend their score of 327 and conceded victory to minnows Ireland who were able to surpass the target
set by the English batsmen.
India’s efforts to defend their score of 338 in the game against England went in vain. Considering these trends, where Ireland was able to reach the 327 runs, a target of 338 barely sounds challenging. This kind of progression from Ireland’s side should
ring alarm bells for India.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan whole-heartedly praised Ireland’s scintillating victory over England, saying that their performance may be the cause of more upsets in group B. He specifically applauded Kevin O’Brien’s batting, admitting that the Irish
batsman played some of the best cricket shots he has seen in his entire career.
According to Imran Khan, India has limited options in the bowling front, which makes it a vulnerable team and this could harm the team’s prospect in the impending World Cup matches. This could be easily judged from India’s performance in the first two matches
against England and Bangladesh.
"India's bowling has been exposed against Bangladesh and I think their biggest problem now is to find a potent bowling combination to carry them through to the final," said Imran.
Finding the right set of bowlers has always been a dilemma for India. Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 is India’s biggest strength but the “fearless cricketer” should be able to make the most of his bowlers and should use them boldly.
The match between Ireland and England shows that there is a need to play at least five consistent bowlers. The pitch condition in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, does not work in favour of bowlers, especially those who lack swiftness and variation in their
attack.
Ireland’s batting squad is dictated by left-handers like Niall O’Brien, Porterfield and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ed-Joyce-c1417. In the match against England, when Porterfield drew his stumps down on a score of 0 and spilled cold water on Irish hopes for victory, O’Brien and his partner
Mooney hauled Ireland back on the tracks of triumph through their astonishing performance.
Former Pakistan captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 also issued a statement regarding Ireland’s victory saying that now it has become extremely hard to predict the winner of the World Cup tournament. He too, seconded Imran Khan on the need for teams to have potent bowling
attack.
The seasoned player said that teams that consist of part-time bowlers will suffer in the upcoming matches of the tournament. He picked http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the strongest teams because they possess much depth in their attacks. Wasim Akram
advised Pakistan to play an extra bowler when confronting tougher teams.
In the last world cup of 2007, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751, in its debut, had made two upsets when they overcame Pakistan by 3 wickets and Bangladesh by 74 runs. A similar performance could be expected from them in the upcoming matches of the tournament.
Yesterday, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 bowlers effectively defended a measly target of 184 showing that a strong bowling line-up is the key to success. Especially, considering the batting-friendly pitches of this tournament. For its upcoming match against Ireland, India should
get the hint that this year bowling is the discerning element that sieves out the victors.
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