I think the 'chokers' tag may have changed places. South Africa looked distinctly un-chokish in their last game against India, while West Indies lost from a seemingly winning position to England, who seem to have a penchant for games with interesting endings. England scored a rather mediocre 243 all out in 48.4 overs. Russell, Bishoo and Roach were responsible for dismantling the island nation's line-up. West Indies started off very well, scoring fifty runs in under five overs, but after Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith and his namesake Bravo were dismissed, the side from the Caribbean slowed down. Wickets did not fall continuously till the end. The final four blows were taken for just three runs. West Indies had messed up a chase where a win would have seemed default in the beginning of their innings.
Ireland chased down the what would be in normal circumstances intimidating target of 307 set by the Netherlands with a mere 14 balls to spare. Ryan ten Doeschate's century coupled with Peter Borren's 84 set up the score for Ireland to chase, but Ireland's spirit was amazing. They went at over six runs an over and Paul Stirling scored the second century of the game. He bagged the Man of the Match award, and the Oranje exited the World Cup without having won a single game, which is a shame considering they have some world-class players in their ranks.
Sri Lanka registered a big 112-run win yesterday. Sangakkara sparkled his way to a century, whick frankly is nothing new. They scored a decent 265 runs, and you really can't expect a team like New Zealand to chase that down too easily. Wickets fell like ninepins, four of them and slowing of run-rate thanks to the evergreen Muralitharan. The Kiwis were bowled out for a not-very-respectable 153 in 35 overs. The Man of the Match went to Sangakkara, but I feel it should have gone to Murali.
There are only two league games left, incidentally one of which I will be watching live. Then comes the knockouts, the true test.
Ireland chased down the what would be in normal circumstances intimidating target of 307 set by the Netherlands with a mere 14 balls to spare. Ryan ten Doeschate's century coupled with Peter Borren's 84 set up the score for Ireland to chase, but Ireland's spirit was amazing. They went at over six runs an over and Paul Stirling scored the second century of the game. He bagged the Man of the Match award, and the Oranje exited the World Cup without having won a single game, which is a shame considering they have some world-class players in their ranks.
Sri Lanka registered a big 112-run win yesterday. Sangakkara sparkled his way to a century, whick frankly is nothing new. They scored a decent 265 runs, and you really can't expect a team like New Zealand to chase that down too easily. Wickets fell like ninepins, four of them and slowing of run-rate thanks to the evergreen Muralitharan. The Kiwis were bowled out for a not-very-respectable 153 in 35 overs. The Man of the Match went to Sangakkara, but I feel it should have gone to Murali.
There are only two league games left, incidentally one of which I will be watching live. Then comes the knockouts, the true test.
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