Off Stump

So my quarter-final score was Heart 2 - Head 2 :-)......SA being upset was probably the only really unexpected result but you've got to give it to NZ. They have now made more semi-finals than any team barring Australia and that is some feat. On the other hand they've never made it to the final so they would put that down as needing correction. Maybe this time round who knows. What is guaranteed though with the semi-final lineup is two really good games (hopefully!) and a clutch of firsts whatever the outcomes - a) An Ind-SL final would be the first all Asian final plus the first between two host nations, b) An Ind-NZ final would be the first for India as a host and the first for NZ ever, c) Pak-SL would again mean the first all Asian final plus Pak's first WC victory over Ind, and d) Pak-NZ would be NZ's first final and Pak's first victory over Ind in World Cups. No predictions from me this time, I'll stick my neck out for the final. As an aside, the India-P

So the first prediction came through (heart and head) rather more easily than I thought! The Windies were downright pathetic but I guess that shouldn't really have been a surprise. Without Dwayne Bravo and Fidel Edwards they always seem to lack a strong spirit and its a pity those two guys succumbed to injuries. Still with young kids like Barath, Bravo jr, Roach, and Russell maybe all is not lost for them. Tomorrow's game will hopefully be a cracker and if India can sneak it, I will be overjoyed, not least because the opponents wear the baggy green :-) It will be very tough though primarily because more than half the team doesn't look in top gear. The two players India will/are missing the most are Praveen Kumar and (ironically) Dhoni himself. The latter's batting ability seems to have gone completely awol and without him the lower middle order collapses badly. And while Munaf is a steady honest trier, he doesn't have the knack of picking up wickets like Praveen a

So the business end of the tournament is here now and therefore its time for final predictions. Based on the quarter final line-up (Pak vs WI, Ind vs. Aus, SA vs. NZ, SL vs. Eng) I have two sets of predictions - 1) The heart (or what I would like) - Pak vs. Ind in SF1, SA vs. Eng in SF2, with India to beat SA in the final. 2) The head (or what I think is likely) - Pak vs. Aus in SF1, SA vs. SL in SF2, SA to beat Aus in the final. As with most of my predictions, I'm sure I won't get this even 50% right :-)

First there was KKR, and now KTK ? What next, Kanpur Filibusters?

We're just past the halfway stage of the tournament and I have to again echo the sentiment of my last (World Cup related) post. Compared to 2007, the level of play has been much more exciting at least if not qualitatively better. Today's final 6 over burst from NZ was a perfect example. In all likelihood the result won't make any difference (except maybe to standings and thereby who the teams play in the quarters) but nevertheless the quality of hitting was astonishing. Flat pitches, small grounds are all fine but the ball still has to be hit and the consistency with which modern day players manage to do so is mind-boggling at times. The Eng-SA game over the weekend was also much fun with Anderson bowling one of the best spells I've seen in a one-day in recent times. The unpredictability too has been great to watch with performances from all manner of players. If someone had predicted that at the halfway stage Andrew Strauss and Shahid Afridi would be at the top of the

Sportsmen are in a walk of life where they are expected to show high levels of testosterone and be "manly" on a daily basis. Given this, its very liberating to see someone like Steve Davies come out openly about being gay. It takes a lot of guts especially given the amount of sledging that goes on in the modern day game and the kinds of comments that opponents are likely to make. Good on the man!