Group-E (India, England, West Indies, South Africa)
It was a tough group and close games were expected. But it was not the case. South Africa out bowled England, out batted West Indies and out played India to enter the semifinals as the Winners from this group. South Africa bowled out England for 111, Scored 183/7 against West Indies and atlast defended a moderate 130 against a down and out India. AB Devilliers, Kallis, Gibbs and Smith in patches were the stars with the bat, while the 19 year old Wayne Parnell was the star with the ball ably supported by Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe. They were brilliant in the field as usual. West Indies pace bowlers blew away the match fancied Indians with Bouncers. Dwayne Bravo with an unbeaten 66 of 36 balls and 4 wickets was the star, but Fiedel Edwards set the tone with Aggressive pace bowling. The Windies also beat England in a rain-shortened chase. Chasing 80 in 9 overs Windies top order lost their heads, collasping to 45-5 with 22 balls remaining. But the Guyanese pair of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul put on 37 off 18 balls with just 4 boundaries to see them through to semi-finals. England, the hosts had the consolation of beating defending champions India. Taking a leaf out of the Windies book the Englishmen also bowled hostile bouncers at Indian batsmen to come out on top by 3 runs. India failed to win a single game and already Indian fans are demanding for Skipper MS Dhoni's head. They even failed to overhaul South Africa's dismal 130 in an attempt to get a consolation win.
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.787 | ||
| West Indies | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.063 | ||
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.414 | ||
| India | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.466 |
Group-F (Ireland, Pakistan, Srilanka, New Zealand)
New Zealand began convincingly with a 83 run win over Ireland and Pakistan started with a loss against Srilanka. But in the end the table turned. Srilanka, with tremendous middle over bowling strength won all their three matches comprehensively. Yes, their batting and opening bowling looked not so great, but Muralitharan, Mendia and Malinga is a combination any team would dream of in a T20 match. Mendis and Malinga took wickets while Murali tied the batsmen down. Tillakaratne Dilshan tops the run charts for the tournament ably supported by Mahela Jayawardane. Pakistan, after the loss against Srilanka, some how found the desire to win. Abdul Razzaq returned to the side after two playing in the unofficial Indian Cricket League for 2 years. But it was the brilliant bowling of Shahid Afridi and Umer Gul that helped Pakistan. Gul's 3-0-6-5 against New Zealand was a fantastic T20 spell (Best T20 bowling figures and the first ever 5 wicket haul). Pakistan beat New Zealand and Ireland with comfort. The Kiwis had their chance of making it to the Semis ahead of Srilanka based on Net Run Rate, but they failed miserably in a chase of 158. Ireland showed some fight against Srilanka where they lost by 9 runs, but were beaten comprehensively by New Zealand and Pakistan.
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.267 | ||
| Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +1.185 | ||
| New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.232 | ||
| Ireland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.183 |
Semifinal Line-up
South Africa vs Pakistan
Srilanka vs West Indies
Given the form shown by the teams it should be a final between South Africa and Srilanka. But the other two mercurial sides can sprang in a surprise anywhere along the line. So, adios from me until the finals.
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