And the World Cup comes ‘alive’: Sami Chaudhry column, Until four days ago, this World Cup was probably the most boring event in history, but when Afghanistan and the Netherlands took courage, now not only the alarm bells have sounded for every favorite, but also the ODI World Cup has lost its meaning. Stepping up to get it.
Until expectations are dashed and fears turn into reality, contests are not thrilling. It has been a very exciting week for world cricket as two unbeaten seals brought down the big towers in quick succession.
No one expected defending champions England to be crushed by an Afghan side that had never sprung a surprise in international events. But Rashid Khan had said before the match that he would win and bring some happiness to his compatriots who were affected by the earthquake.
English bowling has so far been unable to settle down and the ‘baseball’ approach in Asian conditions also seems unable to replicate. And then Jonathan Trott, the head of the Afghan think tank, also breathed a spirit into his team that left his compatriots speechless.
This historic victory of Afghanistan not only launched a global event but also gave hope to other underdogs of its kind that if discipline is maintained, emotions do not rise and courage is with you, then no peak is insurmountable.
This victory of Afghanistan seemed to have created a warning for the bookmakers that the tournament will not go on like this and there will be more surprises going forward.
When the Netherlands were playing the World Cup qualifiers, they were without many of their most important players as they were tied up in county cricket contracts and none of the organizers were willing to release their key players at the crucial stage of the County Championship.
But despite this, they beat Scotland, beat favorites Ireland and thrashed the West Indies to reach the world stage. Captain Scott Edwards was so clear in his approach that even before the World Cup, he was saying, ‘Don’t call us associates, we are here to play competitive cricket.’
When the Netherlands were playing the World Cup qualifiers, they were without many of their most important players as they were tied up in county cricket contracts and none of the organizers were willing to release their key players at the crucial stage of the County Championship.
In the match against Pakistan too, the discipline of the Dutch bowling was perfect and thanks to the skillful captaincy of Edwards, Pakistan looked on their knees in the beginning.
But then inexperience came to the fore and the counter-aggression of Pakistan’s middle order made the chances of an upset possible.
But even in this defeat, it was clear that if the Dutch batting could one day keep up with its bowling, some big team would surely fall on its face.
And besides the ODI format, upsets in T20s were nothing new for Dutch cricket. Finally, in the last T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s access to the semi-finals was due to the Netherlands.
In the first two hours of the match in Dharamsala, the South African bowling dominated the game and the Dutch batting was once again suffering its usual course. But then captain Scott Edwards stood at the crease and the South African bowling forgot all its lessons.
Before every World Cup, past winners and cricket legends predict their four favorite semi-finalists. At the outset, South Africa were hardly part of any predictions, but Temba Bavuma’s side looked clearly headed for the semi-finals after the Sri Lankan bowling made an unprecedented display and the Australian batting triple dance.
But after the Dutch batting, the Proteas were also to be overshadowed by the Dutch bowling, which is so amazing in its variation and discipline that it can claim competition from any of the best bowling attacks on its day, and is the backbone of any strong batting line-up. can
South Africa’s batting prowess has so far been thanks to its top-order and Edwards’ bowling attack initially blocked that top-order’s path. When the top three wickets fell, even the middle order had no answer to Dutch bowling and fielding discipline.
Until four days ago, this World Cup was probably the most boring event in history, but when Afghanistan and the Netherlands took courage, now not only the alarm bells have sounded for every favorite, but also the ODI World Cup has lost its meaning. Stepping up to get it.
