SHOWDOWN - SEMI-FINALS

Finally, we get to the knockout stage of this World Cup. And a brief one too, with the finals scheduled for the 28th. The permutations and combinations have begun. Australia and Sri Lanka are the hot favourites to reach the finals, but no one can rule out the chances of the Black Caps or the Proteas. Both New Zealand and South Africa have lost by big margins to their semi-final opponents earlier in the tournament. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the past won't count, as the better team on the day will prevail.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka square it off at Sabina Park on Tuesday. Sri Lanka's bowling attack has performed well so far in the tournament and it remains to be seen if Lasith Malinga will play the crucial match after missing out in the last few games. Both teams received a drubbing at the hands of the Aussies in the Super Eight, and will be hoping to avenge the same by beating the Australians in the finals.

For New Zealand, Shane Bond will be the key. Bond has looked a bit jaded and missed out on the game against Australia. However, one doesn't know whether he was unfit or skipper Fleming was pulling a fast one in order to give some rest to his bowler apart from not wanting to play him against Australia. Sri Lanka would know, they too 'rested' Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan against the Aussies. Malinga didn't play that match as well. So, one things for sure, both these teams know who they facing in the finals.

It will be interesting to see how the Sri Lankans play the Kiwi spinners. Fleming must play his best bowlers and Bond, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel and Daniel Vettori fit in automatically. Scott Styris and Craig Mcmillan will also bowl, and so the toss-up will be between James Franklin and Mark Gillespie if the Kiwis play one more bowler. Franklin would bring a bit of variety into the attack, if he is consistent with his line that is.

The difference between winning and losing in this match could boil down to how the Kiwis handle Murali. Scott Styris needs to take charge in the middle and keep the Sri Lankan spinners at bay. This will be in all probability the more exciting of the two semi-finals.

Talking about exciting matches, the semi at St Lucia will be if the South Africans are up to the task. The Australian top-order has the likes of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, and it will take some effort to dislodge them from the crease. Even if they are, the Aussies have the Michaels - Clarke and Hussey, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson to rely on.

South Africa will need Pollock to fire early on and perhaps should give Andre Nel the new ball. The South African middle-order will need to support their openers, and Justin Kemp has been a mere observer in the games he has played in. Perhaps the South Africans could ask him to do some pinch-hitting or play Loots Bosman. Maybe they could also bring in Makhaya Ntini which will give Smith an additional bowling option which may be needed if the Aussies get a good start as they have been accustomed to.

Predictions:
New Zealand v/s Sri Lanka
Tuesday, April 24
AKG: Sri Lanka
MJV: New Zealand

Match starts at 2000 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

Australia v/s South Africa
Wednesday, April 25
AKG: South Africa
MJV: Australia

Match starts at 1900 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 20

Key players won't be rested today. That's because if either England or South Africa lose today's match, they are out of the tournament. Predictions -

England v/s South Africa
AKG: England
MJV: South Africa
Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on DD-1, SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 17

The Aussies are through to the semis, and the Kiwis can join them if they manage to hold off another nation from the Southern Hemisphere - South Africa. New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming should play both his spinners unless the wicket is one that overtly favours the quicker bowlers. After all, spin has been the Achilles Heel for the Proteas, both in terms of facing it as well as employing it to their advantage. But today Graeme Smith will be expecting his experienced batsmen in the middle-order to play sensibly against Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel. Maybe, he should be smart enough to use his better batsmen of spin -Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher - when the spin duo comes on to bowl and leave Gibbs and Kallis for the big hitting towards the end.

The Kiwis will be looking to Shane Bond to pick up the early wickets before they can bring on the slower bowlers to squeeze the South African batsmen into making mistakes. However, Fleming will still be worried about the form of his batsmen. Though the South African new-ball attack of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini has not done much damage of late, they still have the potential to wreck the Kiwi batting. Our predictions follow:

New Zealand v/s South Africa
AKG: New Zealand. They have looked far better this tournament than the Graeme Smith's side.
MJV: South Africa. If not for their ability, than more for having a "showdown" with Ashok. However, they still do not seem good enough to be World champions.

Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 13

Hosts West Indies take on the recently dethroned World No. 1 team South Africa in a crucial encounter today. The Windies desperately need a win to stay alive in the tournament, while another loss for South Africa after the defeat to Bangladesh will add to the excitement in the scramble for semi-final berths. However, South Africa face a stern test against the West Indies. When it comes to big tournaments such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, the Proteas have come a cropper against the men from the Caribbean. Lara and Co. will be hoping to once again squeeze out a win against the 'chokers.' Below are our predictions for today -

South Africa v/s West Indies
AKG: South Africa. They will definitely bounce back from the Bangladesh loss. The Windies better watch out.
MJV: West Indies. The time is ripe for the hosts to revive their chances of winning a World Cup. A victory would surely electrify the atmosphere in the islands.

Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 10

Here's our predictions for today.
Bangladesh v/s South Africa
AKG: South Africa
MJV: Bangladesh

Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi). Do check DD-1 as well.

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 8

The Irish will be hoping that they can do more than just scare South Africa today. Ireland had nearly upset the Proteas in the warm-ups and had them reeling after putting them in on a track that favoured the bowlers. However, South Africa managed to sail through in the end.

Ireland v/s South Africa
Predictions:
AKG: South Africa
MJV: South Africa, though I would want to see at least one upset in the Super Eights. At least, it will make for interesting cricket. Bangladesh showed promise yesterday, but were disappointing to say the least. Many fans would be cursing the fact that India is not playing.
Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on SET MAX and SAB TV.

SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCHDAY 2

South Africa face Sri Lanka today, while the West Indies will start their run-chase against Australia if the weather permits. South Africa will be very wary of the Sri Lankan spinners. On the other side, the southpaw-dominated Lankan top order will be hoping to tackle Pollock and Co. the way Australia did. However, for that someone will need to fire.

From now on we shall try to bring you a further analysis than just predictions, time permitting that is. Mathew feels teams are perhaps reading a bit too much into Australia’s recent unsuccessful total defences and the way Hayden is going, it may not be a good idea to put them in first on good tracks.

Here’s our prediction for today.
South Africa v/s Sri Lanka
AKG: South Africa
MJV: Sri Lanka
Match starts 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).

Showdown - Matchday Twelve

Supporters of the Indian team may be mourning the looming exit (since Bangladesh still need to beat Bermuda) of the Indian cricket team, but today a cracker of a match is on offer. The world's top two sides - South Africa and Australia (in order of rankings)- square-off at the Warner Park Stadium, St.Kitts and Nevis.

The other match of the day features England and Kenya. Kenya will be hoping to defeat England to qualify for the next round and rid criticism that its 2003 performance was largely due to the the unwillingness of the Kiwis to travel to Nairobi.

Our predictions for today.

South Africa v/s Australia
AKG and MJV: South Africa.
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX and DD-1.

England v/s Kenya
AKG: England
MJV: Kenya
Match starts at 1900 IST on SAB TV.

Hopefully, if India exits the tournament, we should at least get to watch some more action in between the ads. I guess the only team that has done worse than the Indian cricket team is the production team for this World Cup. Hope to view something better, as this team in all probability can't be knocked out till the tournament ends.

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Cricket World Cup Record Six Sixes in Over Herschelle Gibbs

Showdown Match Day 4

South Africa Vs Netherlands : Mathew thinks that South Africa will have it easy, while Ashok acknowledges that but thinks the Dutch will acquaint themselves well in this match

New Zealand Vs England : Both Mathew and Ashok think that the Kiwi’s have it in them to put it past the English, despite Vaughan and Pieterson back in their roster.

P.S. Both Mathew and Ashok did not predict the third possibility, a tie, in the match between the Irish and the Zimbabweans. Kudos to the Irish for a heroic performance, while Zimbabwe is doing down…..