The greatest event of the cricket world, the world cup has got underway in the beautiful islands of the Carribean. This is the first time this event is being staged at these islands, and hence the entire cricketing world is excited to experience the carnival of cricket this spring. Before the tournament got underway, there were plenty of concerns about the logistics and preperation for the mega event. Several issues have cropped up indicating the underpreparedness of the authorities hosting the event. But the cheerful nature and the spirit of the Carribean folk is overcoming all these issues and we are all looking forward to an exciting tournament.
There was a hue and cry about the fitness levels of the players involved, as almost all the major teams had to battle with injuries to some of their key players and we are missing some of the great performers on this stage. I personally miss Brett Lee and Shoib Akhter. Lee was very unlucky to have missed this mega event while Akhter didnt deserve to be here at all. No matter how much we loathe him for his attitude towards the game, but we all love to watch the pindi express bowl those zipping deliveries.
World cup is the Holy Grail for all thoese who play cricket, and all the teams had been planning for it since the past 2 years. But just before the tournament began, there was a major upheavel in the cricketing world. Austrailia who were having a great form, recently lost all their last 4 matches, ending up in losing their top standing in the rankings. As a team they were marred by injuries and lost their strike bowler Brett Lee, who was a natural match winner for them. Pakistan cricket was embroidelled in the drug scandal - due to the 2 mavericks Shoaib and Asif and then lost their major player, Abdul Razzaq who was crucial to their plans for this tournament. But there were plenty of positives also coming out. New Zealand for instance proved their mettle by chasing down totals more than 300 twice and proved that they are a force to reckon in this tournament. India has struck great form as a team and are going great guns aiming for that trophy, while England and Sri Lanka have also reached the prime of their confidence.
In my opinions this tournament is slightly open with a few favourites. Austrailia is no doubt the first favourite to win the title yet again. As a team they havent been at their prime over the last few weeks, but one cant write off this great team of world class performers. South Africa and New Zealand come in next, these teams have the gut-feeling in them which make them a strong force to reckon with. If the Aussies are vary of any one then I am sure its the Proteas and the Black caps. Both the teams are in their prime form at the moment. From the Asian teams only India has a chance of laying their hands on that cup. The team looks well balanced now, with the Big-3 combining for one last time to have a shot at the elusive trophy. The whole team is confident with their performances and looks rightly balanced except Sehwag who is not performing at all. Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Kartik have brought a new dimension to the batting line up. Zaheer khan has hit great form and shall spearhead the attack with Sreesanth and the veteran Kumble will be a great asset under the spin conditions what all commentators are predicting for this tournament. From the other teams, Sri Lanka has the strength to make it to the last 4. Pakistan is as usual the most unpredictable, but with their major strike bowlers missing, very little could be expected from them. England - its the same question .. could be or could not be.
This is probably the last world cup for some of the biggest names of the cricketing history. Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Lara, Ponting, McGrath, Gilchrist, Flemming, Pullock, Inzamam, Jayasuriya all of them would love to sign of in style and must be eagerly clenching their fists to get on to the final 22-yards. So bring them on and let the action begin!
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