Story ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies [ICC06]

[The Mongrel]

Graceful Dravid punishes Australia

Highs and lows: Two contrasting performances as Indian batsman Rahul Dravid was welcomed back into the side with a glorious 110*, while Simon Katich all but ruled himself out of selection for the finals of the World Cup with a painstakingly slow 4 from 26 deliveries. Dravid led the Indians to a nailbiting 2 run win, to qualify second in the Super 8 stage, the final wicket to fall Daniel Cullen, bowled Gagandeep Singh after a fighting 25 runs stand with Shaun Tait for the tenth wicket.

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[The Mongrel]

Taufeeq and Shabbir crush Kiwi hopes

A tall-feat from Tau-feeq: New Zealand's World Cup hopes go down in flames as Taufeeq Umar cuts on his way to a career high 152* as Pakistan crushed the Kiwis by 106 runs. Umar demolished the Black Cap bowlers, Tama Canning the worst hit with figures of 1-70 from his ten. The Kiwis could never get a partnership going as they chased 279, and now head home no matter the result of the final game.

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[The Mongrel]

vs.

West Indies v England
Super 8 - Match 24
12 May 2007
Umpires: BF Bowden (NZ) and DB Hair (Aus)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies ready to mount semi finals threat

Flashback: Andrew Strauss pulls West Indian Dwayne Bravo as those behind the stumps look on in a 2006 Champions Trophy match. Strauss' form has been patchy this World Cup, with three scores of over forty, and now is his last opportunity to convert a big score.​

Line Ups

West Indies
CH Gayle
S Ganga
*BC Lara
S Chanderpaul
RR Sarwan
RO Hinds
?CD Baugh
DJJ Bravo
DR Smith
RO Nurse
KCB Jeremy

Changes: Ryan Nurse returns to the side at the expense of chinaman Dave Mohammed.

England
ME Trescothick
AJ Strauss
KP Pietersen
*MP Vaughan
A Flintoff
EC Joyce
?MJ Prior
AF Giles
SJ Harmison
RJ Sidebottom
MJ Hoggard

Changes: Matthew Hoggard finds his way back into the side at the expense of Ashes hero Simon Jones.

Centrebet: WI $1.50, Tie $51, Eng $3.00

The Verdict: The West Indies require a victory to enable them to play off in the semi finals of the World Cup they are hosting, and come up against England who are on the way home after this match. The Windies are at full strength, with a top order that could cause some serious damage. England bring in Hoggard who was dismal against Australia, and will be hoping he can cause the Windies trouble with his swing. The West Indies should be too good, but with both teams as unpredictable as they are, it would be anybody's guess. Prediction: West Indies Impact Player: Andrew Strauss.

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[The Mongrel]

Surprise packet Ganga books West Indian spot in semi finals

Caribbean Celebration: West Indians Dwayne Bravo, Brian Lara and Dwayne Smith celebrate as left armer Ryan Hinds takes the wicket of Matthew Hoggard to send the West Indies into the semi finals of their home World Cup. There were great scenes around the Kensington Oval as the West Indies celebrated a historic victory which gives them a 1/4 chance of winning OD cricket's biggest prize at home. Earlier, Sherwin Ganga broke his bad form with a breathtaking 90, which was enough to see his side take a 31 run win.

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[The Mongrel]

FINAL Super 8 Standings

 

[The Mongrel]

Revised Finals Schedule​

Semi Final #1
Sri Lanka (1) v Australia (4): 15 May 2007 @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Umpire: SA (Stephen) Bucknor (WI)

Umpire: Aleem Dar (Pak)

TV Umpire: Asad Rauf (Pak)

4th Umpire: BD (Billy) Doctrove (WI)

Match Referee: RS (Ranjan) Madagulle (Ind)

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[The Mongrel]

Semi Final #2
India (2) v West Indies (3): 17 May 2007 @ Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia

Umpire: RE (Rudi) Koertzen (RSA)

Umpire: SJA (Simon) Taufel (Aus)

TV Umpire: BF (Brent) Bowden

4th Umpire: MR Benson (Eng)

Match Referee: BC (Christopher) Broad (Eng)

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[The Mongrel]

Final
Semi Final 1 Winner v Semi Final 2 Winner: 20 May 2007 @ Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Umpire: RE (Rudi) Koertzen (RSA)

Umpire: SA (Stephen) Bucknor (WI)

TV Umpire: SJA (Simon) Taufel (Aus)

4th Umpire: Aleem Dar (Pak)

Match Referee: RS (Ranjan) Madagulle (Ind)

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So there we are, the Super 8 stages are completed and the semi-final lineups have been decided.

1st semi-final: Sri Lanka v Australia - May 15
2nd semi-final: India v West Indies - May 17

These have already been completed, written up and posted in other places, but I'll do what I did after the group stages and let this sit for a bit so there isn't a huge amount of reading to do.

The semi-final match reports are more substantial than the ones for the other games.

 

[The Mongrel]

Sri Lanka v Australia, World Cup semi-final
Muralitharan the key on spinner's deck
The Preview by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Jamaica
May 14, 2007


The controversy surrounding this Kingston pitch has been well documented throughout the World Cup, with Sabina Park regularly associated with a bit in it for the fast bowlers early, before flattening out into a batsman's paridise. This has been far from the case in this World Cup, with the pitches that curator Patrick Gordon has produced being criticized for spinning too much and not providing enough ability for the batsmen to get themselves in.

In a World Cup which has seen very few scores of any note, Gordon has refused to produce a deck that is a complete road, such has been tradition at Sabina Park in the past, a 365* by Sir Garfield Sobers proof of this. The curator has promised a pitch which will not break up and turn as much as it will offer bounce and movement for the pace bowlers. However, from looking at the pitch, we see a bare pitch devoid of any grass. A betting man would say it will turn.

This brings in a selection quandary for Australia, with the final bowling spot seemingly the only one up for grabs, with fast bowlers Shaun Tait and Brett Dorey going against off spinner Daniel Cullen. From looking at the pitch, the spinner would be the best option, but Cullen's form has been less than brilliant, with eight wickets at 28.3, and going at over six and over. They can not, however, allow Sri Lanka to build too big of an advantage in the spin department, with Singakutti Indrasiri's brilliant form, and Muttiah Muralitharan's undeniable class. Michael Clarke is not enough of an option on this pitch to back up the five seamers, if they were to go with Tait or Dorey.

Muttiah Muralitharan has always remained a thorn in the sides of Australian batsmen

Muralitharan's form against Australia has been fairly good throughout his career, with he and fellow bowler Chaminda Vaas having combined for 84 wickets between them in ODIs against Australia. On the other hand, the most wickets for an Australian bowler against Sri Lanka is Nathan Bracken, with 17 albeit at a brilliant average of 15.52. Bracken's swing has had success against the Sri Lankan top order, in his seven matches against them he has dismissed Atapattu, Jayasuriya, Jayawardene and Sangakkara twice. Muralitharan's main scalp against Australia has been Ricky Ponting on three occasions, with Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist being dismissed by the offspinning sensation twice each.

Muralitharan will hope to continue his good record against Ponting, who averages an impressive 47.81 in his matches against the men in blue, with his runs only surpassed by retired great Aravinda de Silva. Of the current Sri Lankans, the best performed is Kumar Sangakkara, averaging a daunting 46.29 in his appearances against the Australians. Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu will also have to worry about the Australian middle and lower order who have been in particularly awesome form in the cup so far, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh being the most dominant with 1005 runs at 111.67 per innings between them.

Sri Lanka's bowlers have not had much luck against the Australian captain, who averages well in excess of 40 against them.

When asked about how he was to combat this, Atapattu expressed his opinion that this was a most concerning area for the Sri Lankans to combat. "We realise that players like (Michael) Hussey and (Shaun) Marsh are in very good form and have caused teams huge problems at the end of innings so far," Atapattu said outside a nets session earlier today. "But we have faced these guys once already, so we already have some idea how to bowl to them." In that contest, Shane Watson was the star with 61*, Shaun Marsh made a convincing 21 and Mike Hussey made a solid but unspectacular 26*.

We musn't understate the performance of Sri Lanka during the World Cup however, as they finished top of the Super 8 table and fully deserve the tag as favourites for this contest. Their match against Australia in Guyana saw Australia only win from the very last ball, thanks to a boundary from Shane Watson, and really could have gone either way. However, the fact remains that Australia are an extremely tough team to beat in finals, and also hold the wood over Sri Lanka with 42 wins in 63 outings. If the Aussies can get off to a good enough start, they definately have the power to pound the Sri Lankans into the dirt, but experienced campaigners such as Vaas, Muralitharan, Sangakkara and Jayasuriya are all match winners, and will help in providing what should be a most enthralling encounter.

Teams (likely)

Australia 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Phil Jaques, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Shane Watson, 6 Shaun Marsh, 7 Michael Hussey, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Daniel Cullen.

Sri Lanka 1 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 2 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 3 Mahela Jayawardene, 4 Sanath Jayasuriya, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Michael Vandort, 8 Jayawardene Boteju, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Singakutti Indrasiri, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo

? Cricinfo

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[The Mongrel]

Sri Lanka v Australia, World Cup semi-final, Kingston
Jaques and Watson send Aussies into World Cup final
The Bulletin by Charlie Austin
May 15, 2007

Australia 191 for 2 (Jaques 86*) beat Sri Lanka 187 (Watson 5-36) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Australia proved their class in a clinical display as they trounced a hapless Sri Lankan outfit to move into the World Cup final in the 1st semi-final at Kingston. Sri Lanka, electing to bat on a pitch that was to see some prodigious turn and some seam movement, paid the price for a woeful batting display which saw them capitulate for just 187 in 46 overs.

Shane Watson, the Man of the Match, prospered in the seaming conditions as he destroyed the Sri Lankan lower order, finishing with 5-35 from nine overs. Off spinner Daniel Cullen, picked ahead of fast bowlers Brett Dorey and Shaun Tait, was impressive as he captured two wickets and conceded 47 runs from his ten overs - while the pace battery of Nathan Bracken, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee all produced impressive displays of control.

Shane Watson was in supreme form as he claimed his first ODI five wicket haul to help send the Aussies into the World Cup final. Here he celebrates the wicket of Marvan Atapattu.

The pitch was not a minefield, despite the conjecture circulating in the media over how it had previously played, and Sri Lanka will be bitterly disappointed in how some of their key batsmen gifted their wickets to the hard working Australian attack, including captain Marvan Atapattu (guiding one straight to first slip), Jayasuriya (chopping on) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (mistimed pull shot).

Atapattu had no hesitation in batting first, on pitch which possessed a light sprinkling of grass and some small cracks at either end, Australian captain Ricky Ponting showed his frustration at losing the chance to bat first on a belter. After a lively display early from Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken, Jason Gillespie's introduction in the eleventh over produced the breakthrough, his second ball rearing up at Sangakkara off a good length and rocketing off his glove to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.

Mahela Jayawardene continued his stint at three, producing a rewarding stand of 53 with captain Marvan Atapattu, with the latter looking the best of the Sri Lankan batsman as he moved to 44 from 69 before attempting a half-hearted dab at a good length ball from Watson, which Michael Clarke collected easily at first slip. Sanath Jayasuriya was not his destructive self, though he put on a good stand of 49 with Jayawardene and Sri Lanka looked to be cruising at 2-136.

The good position was to be short lived, as Jayawardene got a ball on a good length from Gillespie which caught the edge of a crack and cut back in enough to hit the stumps according to umpire Steve Bucknor, and the vice-captain was on his way for 48. Whatever authority Jayasuriya had tried to assert over the young off spinner Cullen went unrewarded, as a quicker arm ball from the South Australian forced Jayasuriya back, the ball catching the inside edge and moving onto Jayasuriya's stumps.

A solid position became a poor one at 5-150 after 39 overs, as Thilan Samaraweera played down the wrong line to Cullen, who spun the ball back in sharply to take leg stump, a sight that would excite Muttiah Muralitharan. Thoughts of a comeback came as Dilshan and Michael Vandort produced a handy partnership of 26 for the sixth wicket, but the man labeled in his last tour of Australia as 'Van-'dot'' was to fall attempting an ambitious cover drive off Shane Watson, only to see his middle stumps dislodged after an inside edge.

From then on, Australia dug their heels into the Sri Lankan lower order, taking the next four wickets for just eleven runs. Watson's yorker was too good for Jayawardene Boteju, while Brett Lee had Chaminda Vaas playing a dreadful hook shot which traveled to mid on and Phil Jaques took the easiest of catches. Watson wrapped up his maiden ODI five wicket haul, with a well aimed bouncer to Dilshan producing a mistimed pull shot, and good length ball to Muralitharan which trapped Muralitharan's back leg plumb in front of middle stump.

Earlier, Sri Lanka made just one change from the side that defeated South Africa five days ago, with Muttiah Muralitharan returning from injury to replace Nuwan Kulasekara, and judging by Daniel Cullen's efforts, Murali had every right to be excited by the pitch. Australia made wholesale changes from the side that lost to India, with Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken all returning, and Gilchrist moving back to the top of the order. Gilchrist's return was short lived, however, as Australia lost their first wicket for 13 when Chaminda Vaas got one to come back into the left hander off the seam, trapping him leg before wicket for six.

Phil Jaques plays a glorious shot to the boundary off Thilan Samaraweera on his way to an unbeaten 86 from 95 deliveries.

But it wasn't enough as Ricky Ponting and Phil Jaques asserted their authority against the Sri Lankan opening pair. Ponting blasted his second delivery through cover for a boundary to get off the mark, and then hit Jayawardene Boteju for three fours off the next over to move to 19 in just nine deliveries. Marvan Atapattu showed a complete reluctance to risk his spinners in the first PowerPlay, as Ponting continued to dominate, the next over glancing Vaas for four and then after that Boteju copped a sweetly timed pull shot which raced to the fine leg boundary.

It wasn?t until the 13th over that Singakutti Indrasiri was introduced, his first ball a no ball, though it turned sharply from wide outside off stump to the left-handed Jaques. Muralitharan came into the attack the next over and, despite extracting some big turn, was hit for nine off his first over, Jaques looking particularly efficient with his footwork as he danced down the pitch and hit the off spinner over mid off.

The two spinners were able to attract good movement, but the consistency was not evident as Ponting and Jaques continued on their way to 1-118. Just after sweeping Muralitharan for four, Ricky Ponting became the second victim in the Australian innings as he gave himself some room, resulting in a thick inside edge into the gloves of Sangakkara. Shane Watson came in at number four following his five wicket haul, and impressed almost immediately as he hit part timer Thilan Samaraweera to the mid wicket fence to move into double figures.

The two Australian young guns showed their impressive footwork to the spinners as they coasted toward the target, Jaques upping the anti as he raced from 37 from 57 deliveries to 60 in 70 as he played all his cards on the big stage. Even Muralitharan attempted to curb the footwork of Jaques and Watson, by bowling outside leg stump to the left handed Jaques and around the wicket to right handed Watson. Jaques met this with an arrogant reverse sweep to the third man boundary.

Muralitharan was to bowl the final delivery of the match, to which Jaques leant back and hit against the spin over the midwicket fence, as Australia coasted home by eight wickets with 18 overs to spare, the left handed opener announcing his arrival on the world stage with an impressive 86 not out from 95 deliveries.

Australia are now set to face the winner of the India/West Indies in two days time, before the World Cup final on May 20.

Charlie Austin is Cricinfo's Sri Lankan correspondent

? Cricinfo

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[The Mongrel]

 

[The Mongrel]

Wicket commentary

World Cup - 1st semi-final: Sri Lanka v Australia at Kingston, May 15, 2007

Scorecard - Commentary - Wickets - Partnerships - Wagon wheels - Player v player - Over comparison - Over graphs - Career averages - Match home - Bulletin - Article index (2) - Photo index (15)

Filtered commentary - All wickets
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10.2 Gillespie to Sangakkara, OUT, And the bowling change works! Great start for Gillespie, and a huge breakthrough for Australia! Gillespie continues from over the wicket and pitches the ball just short of a length, ball rears up and catches Sangakkara by surprise, the ball takes his glove and pops up and Gilchrist takes the simplest catch. That is a most excellent delivery, and Gillespie finds the movement Lee and Bracken didn't.

KC Sangakkara c ?Gilchrist b Gillespie 13 (41m 26b 1x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

21.6 Watson to Atapattu, OUT, Gone! Captain departs! Average delivery with a hint of swing away from the right handed, Atapattu moves onto the back foot and attempts the late cut, but it isn't as short as he thinks it is and he only succeeds in guiding it straight to Michael Clarke who takes a smart catch away from his body at first slip. He didn't have to play at that ball, and certainly not that shot, but he's out anyway in a very soft manner.

MS Atapattu c Clarke b Watson 44 (90m 69b 7x4 0x6) SR: 63.75

35.4 Gillespie to Jayawardene, OUT, ooh what a ball, Gillespie again lands the ball on a good length and gets the ball to move back in, ball hits Jayawardene right in front of off stump, and Bucknor waits and raises the finger of death! That was some ball, most right handers wouldn't hit that, replays show the ball hits the edge of a crack and Hawkeye says that was destroying middle stump half way up.

DMPD Jayawardene lbw b Gillespie 48 (98m 84b 6x4 0x6) SR: 57.13

37.5 Cullen to Jayasuriya, OUT, oh ho! Perfect delivery after setting him up for the rest of the over! Jayasuriya has been trying to dominate Cullen for a few overs now, and Cullen has tossed a few up and then tossed in the arm ball here, Jayasuriya moves back and across, ball gets to him quicker than he expects and he chops it straight into the base of middle stump. Cullen is overjoyed with that one, and didn't he deserve it!? It takes a lot of guts for a kid his age to keep tossing it up to a player like Jayasuriya.

ST Jayasuriya b Cullen 28 (54m 47b 5x4 0x6) SR: 59.57

38.5 Cullen to Samaraweera, OUT, oh dear! What looked like wickets in hand now has them at 5-150 after 39 overs. Cullen tosses this one up on off stump, Samaraweera pushes forward but can't get to the pitch of the ball, boy hasn't Cullen given this a rip as it catapults into leg stump. Samaraweera departs as Cullen is swamped by his team mates, who must now get the feeling they can roll this mob for less than 200.

TT Samaraweera b Cullen 0 (12m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

43.3 Watson to Vandort, OUT, Another! Just as the two seemed to be building a decent stand, Shane Watson has struck! Watson pitches this up and Vandort attempts a ludicrous looking cover drive which he hammers straight into his middle stump, Shane Watson attempts to upstage Brett Lee in terms of celebrations and nearly succeeds, must be something with blonde people. Vandort will feel rather daft after that dismissal, but Watson did move it back in a fraction to him and it was enough.

MG Vandort b Watson 16 (18m 17b 3x4 0x6) 94.12

43.5 Watson to Boteju, OUT, Uh oh, Watson has another! This man is batting at eight, but he still manages to make Vandort's shot look Bradman-esque as he attempts a cut shot to a yorker from the blonde bombshell. A good ball there, but Boteju played a ridiculous shot and one that would make the non-striker Dilshan cringe as he begins to run out of partners.

HWHD Boteju b Watson 1 (1m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

44.2 Lee to Vaas, OUT, That was quick! Lee fires in a bouncer at 149.2 km/h and it is far too good for Chaminda Vaas who swings and top edges it all the way to the waiting hands of Phil Jaques at mid on. Super delivery from Lee to follow up the yorker he bowled Dilshan the first ball of his spell, and the last of the tailenders who can hold the bat disappears for a golden duck.

WPUJC Vaas c Jaques b Lee 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

45.4 Watson to Dilshan, OUT, Well it was bound to happen now he had no one left to bat with, and Watson benefits from a well directed bouncer. Very short but climbs on Dilshan who attempts to pull from chin-height and only succeeds in hitting it straight up in the air, Ponting runs in from square leg and takes a simple catch inside the square and that ends a handy knock from Dilshan.

TM Dilshan c Ponting b Watson 28 (34m 28b 4x4 0x6) SR: 100.00

45.6 Watson to Muralitharan, OUT, And that ends that, Watson pitches this up, Muralitharan does his trademark 'front-foot-to-square-leg' routine and is caught straight in front of middle, he trudges off looking sheepishly as he always does when he plays shots like them, and Watson leads Australia off the ground and shows the ball to the crowd after a well deserved five wicket haul.

M Muralitharan lbw b Watson 0 (1m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

4.2 Vaas to Gilchrist, OUT, Vaas picks up an early wicket! After swinging the last couple away, Vaas keeps this one straight on about a fourth stump line and gets the ball to move back into the Australian opener a touch, ball hits him below the knee roll and it is given by the man who has hair you could surf on, Aleem Dar, a much needed breakthrough for Sri Lanka.

AC Gilchrist lbw b Vaas 6 (16m 12b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

22.5 Muralitharan to Ponting, OUT, One big shot too many by Ponting as he gives himself some room to crunch Murali through the off side, Murali plays spoil sport to this and pitches it on middle stumps, Ponting gets an inside edge and after flaying the bat at this and Sangakkara takes a very good catch, disappointing end to a fine innings by the Australian captain as he continues the fine form he's had over his career against Sri Lanka, and Muralitharan picks him up for the fourth time in ODIs.

RT Ponting c ?Sangakkara b Muralitharan 54 (62m 53b 10x4 0x6) SR: 101.80
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[The Mongrel]

South Africa v Pakistan, 2nd semi-final, World Cup 2007
Dravid's exclusion to impact winner-take-all contest
The Preview by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in St Lucia
May 17, 2007


In what can best be described as a chaotic week in Indian cricket, India look set to make a push for the World Cup final minus one of their best batsman. After being excluded from all the games up to the match against Australia, Rahul Dravid was dealt a cruel blow as he succumbed to a thigh strain just two days ago at training. While Australia celebrated their fifth straight World Cup final, India mourned as Dravid's most grave fears were confirmed as he was ruled out of this all important contest against the West Indies.

Rahul Dravid looks on with coach Greg Chappell earlier today following the devastating news of his injury that will keep him out of the semi-final.

On the back of a match winning 110* in the match against the now tournament favourites, Australia, Dravid's exclusion now gives young batsman Gautam Gambhir another opportunity to prove himself with the bat. With a poor average for the tournament, just 20.00, Gambhir has to try and replace the solidity that Dravid added to the middle order. In a side that has found it hard to score big scores all tournament, the West Indies have found an area they have the ability to exploit, particularly with bowlers such as Dwayne Smith and Dave Mohammed in good form with the ball.

After all the conjecture about the pitch in Kingston, the pitch ended up as a good pitch which the Sri Lankans batted hopelessly on. If this pitch at Beausejour Stadium is anything like that of Sabina Park, we can expect one that with play true but will spin. From the looks of it, though, curator Kent Craston has prepared a pitch which will suit the West Indians, a flat deck with a greenish tinge, and one which won't offer much for Harbhajan Singh nor Anil Kumble.

It brings a question for the selectors, do they go with the two spinners who have served them so well this series, 31 wickets between them at an average of under 20, or do they pick the two fringe pace bowlers in Munaf Patel and Sandeep Maniar. With a pitch that won't offer as much turn as Harbhajan would like, the selectors would be tempted to pick Patel and keep Kumble, who is less reliant on extracting turn from a wicket.

Harbhajan Singh may be sacrificed for Munaf Patel on a St Lucia greentop

The West Indies also have selection problems of their own. The batting lineup is set in stone (the top nine in the order have stayed that way for all nine games this tournament), but pace bowlers Kerry Jeremy and Ryan Nurse, and chinaman Dave Mohammed have all been rotated around all tournament, and the state of the pitch may tempt the selectors to pick the first two and exclude Mohammed in the belief that Ryan Hinds and Chris Gayle are spin options enough. In addition, the backup pace bowling attack of Jermaine Lawson, the experienced Corey Collymore and Reon King are also an option to Bennett King and the West Indian selectors, though those selections would be slightly out of left field.

The Indians come into this game as favourites, but they must be slightly worried as when it comes to playing the West Indies, you never quite know what you are coming up against. Indian coach Greg Chappell termed the West Indies as "volatile one day, superb the next," a fact that is both encouraging and worrying. Their lineup can be completely on one day, as evidenced by their extravagant five wicket victory over Australia, but can be just as average on another, New Zealand's seven wicket trouncing of the home side proof of this.

History says that in 87 encounters between the two nations, the West Indies have come out on top with 52 victories, and in their last contest it was India who stole a thrilling one wicket victory over the Windies, thanks to a half century to the aforementioned Gautam Gambhir. The West Indian bowlers have had supreme trouble with Sachin Tendulkar in the past, his average of 53.07 sees him at the top of the pack in Indian/WI one dayers, and Anil Kumble's 38 wickets at 23.13 may help the Indian selectors sway towards him if they decide to play just one spinner.

Both sides will be bursting at the seams to get out in front of a capacity crowd at Beasejour Stadium, a stadium which has been sold out since the West Indies qualified for the semi-final. After the first match between these two sides could have gone either way in the Super 8 stage, the winner will go in with confidence against the professional Australian outfit, both teams having recorded a victory in their matches against the defending champions. However, India's history of choking in the big one is well noted, the last World Cup final the example of this as they fell victim to the brutality of Ricky Ponting, while the Windies have been defeated by Australia in both the DLF Cup final and the Champions Trophy final in just the twelve months.

Teams


India (likely)
1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Dheeraj Jadhav, 3 Sachin Tendulkar, 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Gautam Gambhir, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Joginder Sharma, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Gagandeep Singh, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Sandeep Maniar

West Indies (likely)
1 Chris Gayle, 2 Sherwin Ganga, 3 Brian Lara (capt), 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 6 Ryan Hinds, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Dwayne Smith, 10 Ryan Nurse, 11 Kerry Jeremy

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo

? Cricinfo

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[The Mongrel]

India v West Indies, World Cup semi-final, St Lucia
Awesome Gayle puts Windies up in a thriller
The Bulletin by Charlie Austin
May 17, 2007

West Indies 233-9 (Gayle 100) beat India 232 (Jadhav 107*, Smith 5-44) by one wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A swashbuckling century by West Indian opener Chris Gayle at Beasejour Stadium has booked a spot for the West Indies in the 2007 World Cup final against Australia, as his side took a thrilling one wicket win over India today at Beausejour Stadium. Brian Lara, after electing to field first on a greentop, could be forgiven for feeling somewhat sheepish after the Indian lineup posted a formidable 232, despite the best efforts of seam bowler Dwayne Smith, who captured 5-44.

India did have their moments, opener Dheeraj Jadhav was in brilliant as he carried his bat for 107 from 137 deliveries, while his opening partner Virender Sehwag proved those who labelled him a flat track bully wrong, as he blasted 70 in just 79 deliveries. After such a promising start, the rest of the Indian batting order was embarassing, combining for an insipid 47 runs between them as Dwayne Smith's subtle seam movement and variations proved too much for the Indian middle and lower order to handle.

West Indian captain Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan celebrate and acknowledge the crowd as their side have made it to the World Cup final against Australia on May 20 in Barbados.

After a slowish start, Virender sent India on their way in the third over as he took to Dwayne Bravo, dispatching him to the fence on five occasions in two overs, the best of those a stylish cover drive off a ball that nipped away off a good length, a shot that left Brian Lara scratching his head. Sehwag and Jadhav continued on their way, Sehwag forced the issue as Jadhav took the back seat, and his fifty came up in the eleventh over off Ryan Nurse. Ryan Hinds was welcomed to the attack by a scorching flick over midwicket by Jadhav who was seemingly impossible to dislodge, as the Indians came closer to bringing up their hundred.

Soon after the century was up for the Indians, Lara's decision to bring Dwayne Smith into the attack payed off immediately, his first ball forcing Sehwag on the defence, nipping in and going through bat and bat to clip the top of middle stump. Master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar joined a composed Jadhav at the crease, and set about trying to steady the innings, but at the end of the 33rd over, Ryan Nurse snared his first as Tendulkar fell having flashed at a wide delivery, knicking it to Gayle at first slip for 17.

Jadhav soon passed his fifty, and set about upping the run rate with a four and a six off a Dwayne Bravo over, as he and captain Yuvraj Singh put on 55 for the third wicket. With the score at 2-200 after 42 overs, and the ball not spinning, Dave Mohammad darted in a quicker googly, which Yuvraj spooned to Ryan Nurse at long off.

Dheeraj Jadhav posted his fourth test ton in fine style, glancing Dwayne Smith to the boundary for four and celebrated in equally as glamourous style, but his happiness would be short lived when he saw what was to come. With Yuvraj's departure, his side looked poised to post a more than acceptable score of over 250, but the last minute replacement of injured an Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, came and went for eight as he attempted a late cut off Ryan Hinds, succeeding only in having his castle dismantled.

Dwayne Smith began putting the final nails in the Indian innings in the 46th over as he picked up two wickets. The big hitting Mahendra Dhoni played a loose shot, somewhat representative of his play so far this tournament, and couldn't resist the pull shot off Smith, the skied top edge ending in the gloves of a waiting Carlton Baugh for just five. His replacement at the crease, Joginder Sharma, didn't trouble the scorers as he attempted an extravagent 'hoick' over midwicket from his first ball, the only problem here was he attempted such a rash shot off a yorker.

There seemed an air of inevitability about the Indian innings as the tailend refused to show resistance and turn the strike over to the centurion Jadhav, Harbhajan the next to go after completely missing an ambitious sweep shot off Ryan Hinds, reducing India 7-229. Anil Kumble showed even less resiliance, mistiming a wild slog at a stock delivery from Hinds, and sending it down the throat of Chris Gayle at deep midwicket, as he departed for no score.

Dwayne Smith wrapped up an impressive five wicket haul as he knocked over the numbers ten and eleven in successive balls. A perfectly bowled yorker was far too good for Gagandeep Singh who failed to dig it out, which Sandeep Maniar exposed his leg stump, a missed leg glance ending the Indian innings at a modest, yet competitive, 232.

Earlier, both sides pulled selection surprises by electing to play two spinners on a green deck, both Harbhajan Singh and Dave Mohammed retained their spots for the respective sides ahead of fast bowling options. From the looks of the Indian innings, the pitch played as one would imagine, offering great assistance to the seam bowlers and creating difficulties for the slower bowlers.

West Indian openers Chris Gayle and Sherwin Ganga walked out to a fired up Indian bowling attack, but this morale faltered as Gayle attacked Gagandeep Singh early with two glorious, yet almost identical, cover drives in the first over. He followed it up with successive boundaries off Maniar's first over, and the Windies sitting pretty at 21-0 after just two overs.

West Indian opener Chris Gayle celebrates his 12th ODI century in a Man of the Match performance as the West Indies booked their spot in the final.

Though the run rate slowed over the next few overs, the West Indies still continued at a good rate, their positive cricket posing some problems for Yuvraj as they raced to 52-0 after just under seven overs. However, after being punished for bowling a wider delivery by Sherwin Ganga, Gagandeep Singh got his revenge as wrapped him on the pads in front of middle stump, and Ganga was given his marching orders by Simon Taufel.

Captain Brian Lara joined an in form Chris Gayle at the crease, Gayle resuming proceedings with a leg glance off Maniar for four. However, soon after getting off the mark with one of his classic square drives to the point boundary, the ever dangerous Lara fell chopping on for six, as Gagandeep Singh celebrated his second wicket in as many overs.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul came to the crease intent on not allowing the West Indian innings to go the way of India, his innings of thirteen in 27 deliveries vital to the run chase as he and Gayle put on 35 for the third wicket. But just after he looked to be getting set for a long innings, Joginder Sharma picked him up with a peach of a delivery which knocked over off stump.

With West Indies needing stability, Gayle toned down his act in an attempt to halt the Indian momentum. Gayle's new partner, Ramnaresh Sarwan, didn't get the message as he missed a one from Gagandeep who claimed his third victim for eleven. Ryan Hinds looked to be positive as he struck three boundaries on his way to sixteen, but he to missed a length delivery from Gagandeep and had the Windies in trouble at 5-156.

Sitting pretty in the seventies, Gayle again upped the anti as he and Carlton Baugh put on what would end up as a match winning stand of 46, Gayle celebrating his twelfth one day internation century in true West Indian style, before departing for an even century by top edging a swipe outside off from Harbhajan Singh to Sandeep Maniar a deep third man.

Baugh and Dwayne Bravo got the West Indians within four runs of victory, before both fell in quick time to leave their side with just two wickets in hand. The first bit of genuine spin all day from Harbhajan ended Bravo's stay at the crease on eighteen, while Baugh failed to control a pull shot off Joginder Sharma, spooning a catch to Jadhav at square leg.

The very next ball the West Indies were reduced to 229-9 as Dave Mohammed knicked Sharma to a newly installed first slip in Tendulkar. The Indian emotion would be shortlived and replaced by joy on behalf of the West Indian side, number eleven Ryan Nurse flicking one off the pads past short fine-leg to win the match for the Windies and book their spot in the final after one of the greatest World Cup matches in history.

Sunday will now see the West Indies host Australia for the coveted World Cup, and Cricinfo will be covering the action, as always, ball-by-ball.

Charlie Austin is Cricinfo's Sri Lankan correspondent

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[The Mongrel]