Exciting cricket as World Cup reaches final round

The world's greatest cricketing extravaganza - the ICC World Cup, has reached an interesting and exciting stage with the eight quarter finalists being identified. The 42-match preliminary round ends today with the last two games in Adelaide and Napier today.

The invincible form shown by the co-hosts New Zealand has been amazing and there is no doubt that their home supporters are in the seventh heaven. There is every reason for Kiwis to feel proud as their national team has won all their six first round matches, including that crunch game against fellow co-hosts Australia.

One wonders whether even the die-hard Kiwi supporters had thought that their team would bring the high-riding defending champions down to earth. But New Zealand demolished Australia's roller-coaster run in the preliminary round itself. New Zealand's dramatic one-wicket in Auckland two weeks ago has compelled Australia to reassess their strength before the knock out stage.

Despite losing to New Zealand in the 'curtain raiser' of the 12-nation tournament exactly a month ago, Sri Lanka has shaped well in their next five matches. True that they suffered another defeat at the hands of Australians but Angelo Mathew's men were not disgraced as they put up a gallant performance in chasing that huge Australian total in last Sunday's game in Sydney.

Although the Lankan bowlers lacked direction and allowed Australian batsmen to make a commanding 376 for 9 in 50 overs, their batsmen did well to make a fighting 312. Had the Lankan bowlers maintained better line and length, they would have even humbled Aussies, considering the manner in which Lankans batted.

In fact, Sri Lanka's batting has been outstanding in the tournament with lavish contributions from former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sri Lanka has put on totals in the excess of 310 runs in their last four games - 332 for 1 (v. Bangladesh), 312 for 1 (v. England), 312 (v. Australia) and 363 for 9 (v. Scotland).

Sanga has often led his willow to do the talking. He is in cracking form, re-writing record books in world cricket. Four days after he became the first batsman to score three centuries in successive World Cup matches, he also established another world record by becoming the first batsman in the ODI history to score four centuries in successive games.

Playing in his last tournament before retiring from ODIs after the ongoing World Cup, Sanga has been in devastating form in Sri Lanka's last four games with a century in each game - 105 n.o. v. Bangladesh, 117 n.o. v. England, 104 v. Australia and 124 v. Scotland. In Sri Lanka's first two games of the tournament, Sanga made only 39 v. New Zealand 7 v. Afghanistan but he quickly regained his brilliant best to become a lavish contributor towards his team's huge totals.

Currently, Sanga has the highest World Cup aggregate in the current tournament with a rich harvest of 496 runs at an average of 124.00. His team mate Tillakaratne Dilshan is placed third in the high-scoring batsmen's list with an aggregate of 395 averaging 79.00, behind South African A.B. de Valliers (417 averaging 83.40).

Besides Sanga, none of the other batsmen in the current World Cup has scored more than two centuries. That feat too has been achieved only by three other batsmen - Sri Lanka's Dilshan, Bangladesh's Mohammed Mahmadullah and India's Shikhar Dhawan. What is unique in the 2015 World Cup is that all batsmen who have scored two centuries or more are from the Indian sub-continent. Although the tournament is being played in New Zealand and Australia, the Asian batsmen have shaped well in those unfamiliar wickets.

It is heartening to see Bangladesh team going great guns, making it exactly a half of the teams in the quarter finals from South Asia. Bangladesh has joined heavyweights India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in making to the World Cup's super eight. What is more unique in Bangladesh's performance was their entry to the 'quarters' by eliminating England from the final round.

Four days after edging out England by 15 runs at the Adelaide Oval, the team from Dhaka gave unbeaten New Zealand an acid test in Hamilton on Friday. The Kiwis were stretched to the very end and before they pulled off a hard-fought three-wicket win over Bangladesh with only seven balls to spare.

From Sri Lanka's point of view, it is nice to see middle order batsman Dinesh Chandimal, winner of Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year title, showing some aggressive form after some time, that too against Australia. Chandimal, who has been off colour during the last T20 World Cup, regained his old touch to make a quick fire 52 off 24 balls before he was forced to retire.

Sri Lanka team is badly hit by injuries and one hopes those will not be too costly in the knock out stage. Sri Lanka team has played down concerns about skipper Angelo Mathew's Achilles pain.

One hopes that spinner Rangana Herath too would be fit for the crucial quarter final game in three days' time. Mathews is the sixth Sri Lankan player to fall under an injury cloud in the tournament after pacemen Dhammika Prasad, all-rounder Jeevan Mendis, opener Dimuth Karunaratne, Chandimal and Herath.

Sri Lanka will now figure in Wednesday's first quarter final match to be played in Sydney with South Africa being their likely opponents. We earnestly hope that Mathews and his brigade would be able to advance another step towards the World Cup.