Analysis 2010

ICC T20 World Cup 2010

This post is similar to my last year's post on second edition of ICC T20 World cup.

Analyze this

Like in last year's post I have analyzed what chinks hinder a team to not go on and win the tournament. I am writing this post just before the start of Super 8s. We have had a look at teams' form while teams have had a look at weather and ground conditions.

According to Lardbrokes, at the time of writing, Australia are still favourites with odds at 3. In fact they have improved their odds since tournament beginning. India and SA hold the next 2 positions with odds at 4 and 5 respectively. Also look at my last post

Australian Team is favourite

Let us see why a team can lose.

Why can Pakistan lose?

• The dreaded I word - Inconsistency. One their day they are world beaters and another day they are worse than a club cricket team.
• Nothing remains permanent in Pakistan cricket - They have a new captain who has a history of being on the wrong side of cricket administration and a new team which is low on experience.
• Batting looks weak as compared to other teams.

They can take heart from the fact that their batting fought hard against Australian bowling.

Why can NZ lose?

• The dreaded D word - They are perennial Dark Horses. They raise the expectations of their fans by giving a good fight but never go on and win a big tournament.
• They are a formidable unit but they struggled against lackadaisical SL.

Why can SA lose?

• The dreaded C word - They are not called Chokers for nothing. They inspire hope, excitement and confidence till they lose at the final frontier.
• They were unable to put up a decent fight against India team who were missing key players. Their batsmen struggled against part-time spinners.
• They were unable to put up a decent total against a inexperienced bowling attack of Afghanistan.

Why can England lose?

• The dreaded F word - They are a formidable unit but at the same time fickle in nature. They played well against WI only going on to lose due to DL system but against Ireland their batting failed miserably. And this time DL system helped them to post a win.
• Their country is the home of cricket but till now they beli all expectations of their fans in major competitions.

 Watch out for my next post for rest of the analysis.

Passing thoughts

1. All three pre-tournament favourites of World cup are out of the competition. SA was on track till they lost semis but other 2, India and Australia, went out without troubling anyone.

Excerpt from my earlier post Why India is serious contender for the ICC T20 World Cup?
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The betting sites have also given best odds to India closely followed by SA and Australia. At the time of posting this articles the Ladbrokes' odds for India were 5/2 while for SA and Australia were 7/2 and 11/2 respectively.
Did anyone say odds in a T20 match change very quickly?
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2. Media was hounding Dhoni for his alleged rift with Sehwag when there wasn't even a shred of evidence supporting the rumour. In fact they are still hounding him because on the same issue.

But media is saying nothing about Dhoni and Kirsten. They are giving different reasons for their poor show in World Cup; Kirsten says fatigue was a big factor for India's pathetic performance while Dhoni thinks it is not the case. I think media has missed a trick or two here. How callous?

3. Two teams who qualified from group of death are still in the fray for World Cup while the team who was placed in the easiest group, read India, are out.

4. Would SA ever be able to shrug of Chokers tag?
Excerpt from my earlier post Analyze this
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They are not called Chokers for nothing. They inspire hope, excitement and confidence till they lose at the final frontier.
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5. Pakistan team is finally getting up from the right side of the bed. Pakistan fans would be hoping for an encore.

6. English and Australian teams can finally concentrate on real thing (read Ashes), now that the distractions (read T20 World Cup) is finally over for them.

Analyze this

Cricket is analysed on many fronts. In fact it is studied, examined, scrutinized and dissected from many angles before nothing notable is left. To a ardent fan the game is more than a religion and your man is no exception. ICC T20 World Cup has also been analyzed from many angles.

1. Who will win the Cup?
2. What 4 teams will reach semis?
3. What happened to Australia?
4. Is T20 a fun game?
5. What is the future of test matches?
6. etc.

Has anyone analyzed why a team would not win if at all they would not win? I think the title of this post should have been 'Analyze that'...

At the time of writing this post we are through with the first day's play of Super 8s. SA beat England while NZ beat Ireland.

Why India can lose?

• The dreaded F word - Yes, fatigue more mental than physical as they have been away from home and the country for so long. Zaheer has just recovered, Sehwag is out and captain is no longer cool (losing his temper too frequently).
• Bowling at death - Even after being 8 down Ireland could steal few runs.
• Not been tested in the tournament so far - Even Pakistan gave them a win on the platter in a warm up

Why SA can lose?

• The dreaded C word - They are not called Chokers for nothing. They inspire hope, excitement and confidence till they lose at the final frontier.
• Loosing their way while batting - They made 128 while batting against a depleted NZ side and today they huffed and puffed toward a small target of 113 against England.

Why NZ can lose?

• The dreaded D word - They are perennial Dark Horses. They raise the expectations of their fans by giving a good fight but ...
• Their best players are of the team are battling injuries

Why Pakistan can lose?

• The dreaded I word - Inconsistency. One their day they are world beaters and another day they are worse than a club cricket team
• 'It is a fun game'. Or so their captain thinks
• Nothing remains permanent in Pakistan cricket - Captains change, coaches change, administration change, players change and on top of everything their strategies towards the game change.

Why WI can lose?

• Have you seen them winning anything in this decade?

Why England can lose?

• Well they are the hosts, aren't they. If they can give opening day match to Netherlands on a platter, they should not have reached Super 8s. I am sure English fans could give many more reasons.

What ever may be the root cause of future potential defeats, a team that performs on the day and hold their nerve will win the match. It is T20 cricket - if Australia can go out so can everybody else...