Road to the Semi - Finals (ICC Cricket World Cup 2011) Part-2
New Zealand vs. South Africa
The South Africans performed excellently advancing to the top position in group ‘B’ with 10 points, of which they won five, lost one, and had a run rate of +2.026. New Zealand was placed at the bottom of group ‘A’ with eight points; they won four matches and lost two with a net run rate of +1.135.
The South Africans were met with another catastrophe, when they were crushed at the hands of the underdogs, New Zealanders by 49 runs on 25th March at Mirpur, establishing them as ‘Chokers’ once and for all.
Despite having a well balanced team and a definite edge in all departments of the game as compared to the Kiwis’, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 was pulverized. It was a low scoring match that ended on a surprise note, sending the Proteas home and bringing New Zealand one step closer to clinching the prized cup.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 contributing 43 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir claimed two wickets each as Robin Peterson came out with one wicket.
The South African team was cruising well and the match at one point seemed to tilt in their favour even after losing the third wicket at 108 runs, they soon scrambled to 172 runs before ultimately being bowled out in 43.2 overs. Jacques Kallis top scored with 47 runs.
Jacob Oram destroyed their batting by grabbing four wickets, Nathan McCullum had three wickets as the other two bowlers claimed a wicket each.
The Black Caps won the match by 49 runs.
Sri Lanka vs. England
Sri Lanka earned second place in Pool ‘A’ with nine points, they won four matches, lost one, and the one against Australia ended without any results.They had a net run rate of +2.582. England managed to make it to the no.3 spot in Pool ‘B’ with seven points and a net run rate of +0.072; they won three matches, lost two and tied the one against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
After a feeble performance in the pool, England crept to the quarter final stage with the hopes of an improved game against Sri Lanka. The match was played at Colombo on 26th March, with England managing 229 runs in 50 overs for the loss of six wickets; Jonathan Trott was the main scorer with 86 runs and Eoin Morgan scored 50 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 took two wickets and the other four bowlers each claimed a wicket.
Sri Lankan openers demolished the English bowling attack, leaving no opportunity for the other batsmen to play. The openers posted 231 runs in 39.3 overs thrashing unbeaten centuries; Upul Tharanga scored 102 runs, while Tillakaratne Dilshan shared a partnership of 108 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 won the match by 10 wickets.
Amongst the four teams, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 is the only one to have won five matches; they were under rated at the start of the tournament but gradually emerged as a powerful unit, especially after their qualification into the semi-finals.
Indians were a clear favourite from the beginning, and despite some difficult encounters in their pool matches, successfully overtook former World Cup Champions http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the quarter-finals.
The Kiwis’, on the other hand, were voted the tournament’s dark horse with the least likely chance of making it to the quarter-finals. However, they surprised the cricketing world by beating the powerful Proteas, confirming their place in the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka was also among the favourites and made it comfortably to the semi-final by striking out a tired English side in the quarter-finals.
The first semi-final will be played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on 29th http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 at Colombo, whereas the second will be played between arch rivals, India and Pakistan on 30th March at Mohali.
The team that is successful in controlling their nerves and enters the field with a positive body language, is sure to win the two matches from here onward and will be the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 champion.
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