The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup is at its most interesting stage yet. The matches have produced one clutch finish - the Ireland-Zimbabwe tie became the precursor to the knockout of the #4 ranked team in the world.
Pakistan finished their World Cup campaign losing both their Group D matches resulting in their exit from the tournament. The knock-out prompted the 2nd highest run aggregator in the world to retire from international cricket and it is unknown to what extent the team’s loss was a root cause for Bob Woolmer’s death, the biggest tragedy to hit international cricket this year.
As the tournament moves into its second week, there are several test playing teams on the bubble. By itself this isn’t an unexpected outcome. There are 10 test playing countries as per the ICC and only 8 places in the Super 8. The interesting part is that the non test playing member of group D appears to be on the verge of moving on.
The other group with three test playing teams was never really thought of as the group of death. A bunch of teenagers from Bangladesh showed up and changed all that. They’ve already overrun their “mighty” neighbor in their group opener. Tomorrow they take on ex-World Champions - Sri Lanka. A Bangla win tomorrow will make Friday’s India-Sri Lanka match the second knock-out match of the tournament.
Who will the India fan root for tomorrow?
A tense Second Week awaits.
Comments (2)
If you are talking about specific matches, the Zimbabwe Ireland game, which ended in a last-ball tie, was the closest game.
Thanks for the clarification. Edited to reflect the facts.
The Lankans are taking on the Banglas strong… but their excellent fielding will keep Bangladesh in there.