two top title contenders, India and England, received early shocks from unexpected quarters during the week gone by in the ongoing World Cup. While legendary Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga broke the back of the famed English batting machine with a 4-wicket haul, minnows Afghanistan threatened to upset the Indian applecart on Saturday. Lasith Malinga’s lethal blows at crucial time halted England’s march towards a semi-final berth, Afghanistan too were not far away from causing an upset of the tournament when they were very close to overhauling India’s below par score but for Mohammad Shami’s crippling three consecutive blows that ended the dream run of the Afghanistan team in the last over.
Being in the dumps ever since the World Cup commenced in England at the beginning of this month, Sri Lanka was least expected to cause an upset in the tournament. Nobody had given Sri Lanka the chance to cause a scare in the camp of as favourite a team as England given their poor run so far. But it was their old warhorse, Lasith Malinga who appears to have rekindled their hopes. That should once again open the competition for the top four slots. While it is Lasith Malinga whom Sri Lanka must thank for keeping their hopes alive and revive their fortune, the Indian team must be ever grateful to the recalled Mohammad Shami for his hat-trick over at the death.
Thus it would be seen that during the course of the tournament, while teams have posted huge totals which have been chased successfully, the bowlers have too have played very significant role in containing the opposition within manageable limits or winning games for their teams. Thus far both batsmen and bowlers have had their occasions to celebrate. The Indian team has had a good outing so far with wins against formidable opponents like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan with a wash-out against New Zealand. But Saturday’s hobble against Afghanistan must have given a scare to the Indian camp. That once again proved how unpredictable the game of cricket can be.
It is the performance of the day that ultimately counts. In the coming days India will be facing England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Of these, Bangladesh is the most unpredictable team with a capacity to upset any team with an ability to successfully chase huge totals. Already Afghanistan has issued an early warning. The loss of Shikhar Dhawan, who appeared to be in a great form, due to injury for the rest of the World Cup engagement, appears to have upset Indian calculations and so has the injury to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. But the Indian team appears to be well prepared for such upsets.