How can Pakistan qualify for the Super8?

clip_image002The 8th team that will qualify for the Super8 will be either Pakistan or Netherlands. In case, Netherlands wins the match against Pakistan or the match ends in a Tie or No Result, Netherlands will qualify for the Super8.

However, in case Pakistan wins the match, there will be a three way tie between England, Pakistan and Netherlands. In such a situation, Netherlands can not improvise on its current net run rate of +0.05. Thus, England in a way would have already qualified for the Supr8.

The decision on which team out of Pakistan and Netherlands qualifies for the Super8 will depend on the net run rate of both the teams after the match.

Group B standings:

Have a look at the Group B standings for more clarity:

Group B

P

W

L

T

NR

PTS

NRR
B2 – England 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.175
Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.050
B1 – Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.400

Net Run Rate

A team’s net run rate is calculated by deducting from the average runs per over scored by that team, the average runs per over scored against that team during the group matches.

If a team gets all out in less than its full quota of overs, the full quota of overs to which the batting team would have been entitled are used for calculating of the net run rate of both the teams and not the number of overs in which the team was dismissed.

Permutations for Pakistan

Now, let us try to see how Pakistan can beat Netherlands such that it ends up with a better net run rate than Netherlands, so as to qualify for the Super8.

Scenario 1: Pakistan bats first

Suppose Pakistan makes 180 runs in the allotted 20 overs. In that case, Pakistan should restrict Netherlands by 155. In short, what ever Pakistan scores, the margin of victory shall be more than 24 runs.

Scenario 2: Pakistan bowls first

Suppose Netherlands makes 180 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Pakistan would now need to make 181 runs in less than 17.2 overs.

In case Netherlands makes 150 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Pakistan would now need to make 151 runs in less than 17.0 overs.

Quick calculation:

If Y is the number of runs made by Netherlands in the first innings then Pakistan should make Y+1 runs in less than (2540 + 20Y) / (174+Y) overs

IND, IRE, WI, SL, NZ, SA and ENG reach Super 8: AUS out of the contest!

This seems like action packed thriller, so much happening at such a fast pace! India, Ireland, West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa have played only one match each but results of other matches have helped them secure their place in the Super8. No one would have predicted this, only eight matches have been played and seven teams have reached the Super8 stage. 🙂

The battle remains between Pakistan and Netherlands for the last spot…

Group standings

Before getting into the details, let us have a look at the group standings after the end of Australia vs. Sri Lanka match on June 8.

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Group A:

Bangladesh having lost both its game is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- India and Ireland have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Group B:

In case Pakistan beats Netherlands in the final match of the group, there will be a 3 way tie… but in no case Netherlands, even after losing to Pakistan, can improve their net rate. This means that England is safely into the Super 8.

The comparison of the NRR between Pakistan and Netherland will decide which team out of them qualifies for the Super8

In case, Netherlands beat Pakistan in the final match of the group, Netherlands will qualify to the Super8 along with England.

In case the match ends in a tie or as ‘No Result’, Ireland will end up topping the group with 3 points and will qualify for the Super8 along with England.

What ever the result of the match between Pakistan and Netherlands may be, England has definitely qualified for the Super8.

Group C:

Australia having lost both its games is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- West Indies and Sri Lanka have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Group D:

Scotland having lost both its game is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- New Zealand and South Africa have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Preview: India Vs Bangladesh

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Match Details

Group A | Match No 4

Date: June 6, 2009

Time: 10:30 PM IST

TV Coverage: On Star Cricket in India

Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Playing Conditions

Weather: High: 27°C, Low: 17°C, Partly Cloudy

Teams Form

In chronological order from left to right

India: WLWLL

Last two T20 Internationals that India played were against New Zealand and they lost both the matches. After a big win in the warm up match against Pakistan, India is looking good for this match.

Bangladesh: LLLLL

They scored 206 against Netherlands in the warm up match and Australia piled 219 against them in another match. Their batting looks good in patches but bowling is the weak link.

Team News

India

There is still uncertainty over fitness of Sehwag and Zaheer to be in the playing XI for today’s match.

Rohit Sharma has impressed everyone with his knock in the warm up matches replacing unfit Sehwag.

Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan shall be the key player to watch out for from the Bangladesh side. He gave a fighting performance against Australia in the warm up match.

Possible Eleven

India

  1. Gautam Gambhir
  2. Rohit Sharma
  3. Suresh Raina
  4. Yuvraj Singh
  5. MS Dhoni (capt./wk)
  6. Yusuf Pathan
  7. Ravindra Jadeja / R P Singh
  8. Harbhajan Singh
  9. Irfan Pathan
  10. Praveen Kumar
  11. Ishant Sharma

Bangladesh

  1. Tamim Iqbal
  2. Junaid Siddique
  3. Mohammad Ashraful (capt.)
  4. Shakib Al Hasan
  5. Mahmudullah
  6. Raqibul Hasan
  7. Mushfiqur Rahim
  8. Mashrafe Mortaza
  9. Rubel Hossain
  10. Shahadat Hossain / Naeem Islam
  11. Syed Rasel / Abdur Razzak

Can India Retain the World Cup?

clip-imageThis time when the Indian team starts its campaign in the World T20 Cup, there are two major differences more than any other.

First, the team looks stronger and better prepared for the shortest form of cricket.

Second, the expectations from the fans are way more than expected.

Given the balance and experience of the side, fans have all the rights to demand nothing less but retain the cup.

Pick any playing 11 out of the 15 member squad and you will have around 8 batsmen and 9 bowlers, courtesy – a big bunch of the all-rounders… A world class seam attack, superb spin attack, very successful part time spinners, a great opening pair, a solid middle order and a super cool minded captain!

If the trophy was to be given based on the cumulative talent of the players on papers, India would have already won it. J No doubt, they start the tournament as the favorites. With a very narrow margin loss to New Zealand and a huge win over Pakistan in the warm-up matches, India has announced that they are in England to win the title.

The line-up

Opening

Be it Shewag and Gambhir OR Rohit and Gambhir (in case Sehwag is not fit) both the pairs have the potential to make the opposite team’s captain run out of ideas. Gambhir got back his form in the match against Pakistan and Rohit looked good filling in Sehwag’s place in his absence during the warm-up matches.

Middle Order

Raina, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Yusuf

All of them are so good in hitting the ball outside the stadium and rotating the strike at almost every ball other than that. The middle order of the team is like a big fort wall and any team playing against India will have to work really hard on their strategy to stop them.

Batting Depth

Jadeja, Irfan, Zaheer and Harbhajan

Jadeja got some good practice in the warm-up match against New Zealand and has placed his candidature well to be in the playing eleven, but then who will sit out to give him space? Not at least in first few matches.

Spin Attack

Harbhajan and Ojha

Both are in good form and have the potential not to allow opposition take middle overs easily.

Pace Attack

Zaheer, Ishant, RP Singh, Praveen and Irfan

Ishant looked good on English pitches during the warm-up matches… good to see him getting over the IPL non-performance in a quick time. The only question that remains is who amongst these five will sit out from the playing eleven?

Part-time Bowlers

Yuvraj, Jadeja, Rohit, Raina, Sehwag and Yusuf

Plenty of options for Dhoni… he can comfortably use them to complete at least one bowler’s quota of 4 overs.

The overall balance of the side displays an immense talent and energy required to defend the title. But, the format of the tournament is such that a single ‘off’ day can put the team out of the contest.

Overall, it should be exciting to see how team India plays and progresses during the tournament to defend its title.

‘Catch the Spirit’ – WT20 India vs Pakistan warm-up match

clip_image002The International Cricket Council (ICC) has designated the World T20 2009 warm-up match between India and Pakistan as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ match. The match is scheduled to be played at the Oval on June 3 from 10:00 PM IST.

‘Catch the Spirit’ highlights the respect with which the game is played around the world and is one of the themes of the ICC’s ongoing centenary year of 2009.

As per ICC media release, the funds raised by this match will go to support the families of the victims of the attack on the Sri Lankan team and match officials in Lahore in March.

Though, complete details are still not available but the funds will be raised primarily through requests for contributions from spectators inside the ground, appeal for donations from the spectators outside the ground via television broadcasts and internet coverage of the match and contributions from other parties having direct or indirect interest in cricket.
This stands out as a testimony of a great spirit that sport events can show to support a noble cause. I wish all the success to the organizers and hope spectators and cricket stakeholders across the globe contributes wholeheartedly during the match.

The match will be broadcasted live in India on TV on Star Cricket.

The Indian Squad for WT 20

india-cricket-teamThe young Indian team with an average age of 24.6 years looks pretty balanced and much stronger than the team that won the last title.

The suspense around Zaheer’s fitness and availability still continues. In case he is not able to join the squad, he could be replaced with Ashish Nehra who did well at this IPL or perhaps Munaf Patel. If Nehra is included in the squad, it will be his first international match after 2005.

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Though Sehwag and Gambhir seemed a little out of touch during the IPL, but they need just one match to get back into the demolishing form again and promise a solid fort at the top of the order. Part time bowlers have proved that they are more than a utility option and with any combination from the playing eleven, Dhoni will have a choice of 9 players whom he can ask to bowl.

No doubt, the defending champions will start their campaign being the tournament’s favorite!

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Women’s Tournament [Schedule]

clip_image002The second edition of ICC World Twenty20 will feature two parallel tournaments – the women’s tournament featuring 8 teams and the men’s tournament featuring 12 teams.

The groupings and schedule of the women’s tournament is given below:

Group A Group B
Australia India
New Zealand England
West Indies Sri Lanka
South Africa Pakistan

Warm-up matches

JUNE 2009
08 MON NZ vs ENG
4:30 PM IST		 RSA vs SL
4:30 PM IST
08 MON AUS vs IND
8:30 PM IST		 WI vs PAK
8:30 PM IST
09 TUE RSA vs PAK
4:30 PM IST		 NZ vs IND
4:30 PM IST
09 TUE WI vs SL
8:30 PM IST		 ENG vs AUS
8:30 PM IST

Group Stage

JUNE 2009 GROUP A GROUP B
11 THU WI vs RSA
4:30 PM IST		 IND vs ENG
8:30 PM IST
12 FRI AUS vs NZ
4:30 PM IST		 PAK vs SL
8:30 PM IST
13 SAT WI vs NZ
4:30 PM IST		 IND vs PAK
8:30 PM IST
14 SUN AUS vs WI
4:30 PM IST		 ENG vs SL
8:30 PM IST
15 MON NZ vs RSA
4:30 PM IST		 IND vs SL
8:30 PM IST
16 TUE AUS vs RSA
4:30 PM IST		 ENG vs PAK
8:30 PM IST
18 THU

Women’s S/F – A1 v B2
5:30 PM IST
19 FRI

Women’s S/F – B1 v A2
5:30 PM IST
21 SUN

Women’s Final
3:00 PM IST

This is a welcome decision by ICC to hold Women’s T20 World Cup along with Men’s T20 World Cup as this will surely bring extra media attention and a definite boost to women’s cricket, the otherwise ignored aspect of international cricket.

With so many matches happening every day during the World Cup, it sure is going to be absolute delight for the cricket fans!

Virgin-IHL Contest – Results for Day 5

virgin-indian-hatke-leagueDear all CricTalks readers, first we apologize for being late to publish results for Day 5 contest.

First let me thank you all for amazing response you have given. And now let me announce winners for Day 5 contest.

Winners are…

  1. Gautam Gupta
  2. Ritika Agarwal

Complete results can be seen here.

With this post, here we reach end of Virgin-IHL contest. Keep reading CricTalks for further news and analysis.

Those who missed these contests and also those win prizes can all participate in another contest running on Devils Workshop now.

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Men’s Tournament [Schedule]

clip_image002[6]The second season of ICC World Twenty20 will start from June 5, 2009 in England. This time the ICC World Twenty20 will also feature a parallel competition between 8 women’s teams, along with the men’s tournament in which 12 teams are participating.

The groupings and schedule of the men’s tournament is given below:

Groups

GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D
India – A1 Pakistan – B1 Australia – C1 New Zealand – D1
Bangladesh – A2 England – B2 Sri Lanka – C2 South Africa – D2
Ireland Netherlands West Indies Scotland

Group Stage

JUNE 2009 GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D
05 FRI ENG vs NED
10 PM IST
06 SAT IND vs BAN
10:30 PM IST		 AUS vs WI
6:30 PM IST		 NZ vs SCO
2:30 PM IST
07 SUN ENG vs PAK
10:00 PM IST		 RSA vs SCO
6:00 PM IST
08 MON IRE vs BAN
6:00 PM IST		 AUS vs SL
10:00 PM IST
09 TUE PAK vs NED
6:00 PM IST		 NZ vs RSA
10:00 PM IST
10 WED IND vs IRE
10:00 PM IST		 SL vs WI
6:00 PM IST

Super 8’s – Groups

GROUP E GROUP F
A1 B1
B2 A2
C1 C2
D2 D1

The teams will retain their initial seeding for the Super 8’s, irrespective of whether they finish first or second in their group. In case they are knocked out by team 3 of their group, then team 3 will replace the seeding of the team that they knock out.

If India qualifies for Super 8’s, even if it comes second, India will still be A1. If for example, Ireland qualifies instead of India, Ireland will become A1.

Super 8s GROUP E (A1, B2, C1, D2) GROUP F (B1, A2, C2, D1)
11 THU B2 vs  D2
10:00 PM IST		 D1 vs  A2
6:00 PM IST
12 FRI India (A1) vs  Australia (C1)
10:00 PM IST		 B1 vs  C2
6:00 PM IST
13 SAT C1 vs  D2
6:00 PM IST		 D1 vs  B1
10:00 PM IST
14 SUN India (A1) vs  England (B2)
10:00 PM IST		 A2 vs  C2
6:00 PM IST
15 MON B2 vs  C1
10:00 PM IST		 B1 vs  A2
6:00 PM IST
16 TUE India (A1) vs South Africa (D2)

10:00 PM IST

 D1 vs  C2
6:00 PM IST
18 THU

Semifinal – E1 v F2
10:00 PM IST
19 FRI

Semifinal F1 v E2

10:00 PM IST 2030 hrs BST
21 SUN

Final

7:30 PM IST

India will play a warm-up match against New Zealand at 10 PM on 1 June.

For those of you who are interested in watching a T20 match between India and Pakistan, which otherwise will not happen in the Group matches or Super 8’s, then watch out for a warm-up game on 3 June at 10 PM when both the teams play against each other.

All the matches (including the warm-up matches) will be broadcasted live in India on ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket.