SWOT-ing the Cup

With the momentum of Cricket World Cup reaching its zenith, we now have 8 teams that have reached the quarterfinals of this edition of the cup after month long hard work in group stages.

There are no surprises in the teams that have made it to the next round. Bangladesh's dream came to a crushing halt as they suffered heavy defeat to second string South African team. The Associates had a good world cup too with teams like Netherlands and Zimbabwe managing to give scare to few established teams. But the best team from the lot was Ireland who managed to do a giant killing act as they twice successfully chased a total of 300 plus.

At this stage, let us also look back at few individuals who have shone brighter than some other stars in this world cup.

Virender Sehwag - He started off the campaign with vintage knock of 175 against Bangladesh. He achieved a rare feat for a batsman to score boundary of the first ball in each of the group games he played in.

Kevin O'Brien - He scored the fastest century of the world cup against England in just 50 balls and also set up his team's first win of the tournament. Without this big Irish lad, Group B would'nt have been as interesting as it turned out to be.

Ross Taylor - On his birthday, Ross Taylor smashed a swashbuckling century against Pakistan. Infact he was also team's stand-in captain that day and he led by example. He along with Jacob Oram added more than 100 runs in last 5 overs.

Umar Gul - Apart from Afridi. he has been Pakistan's main bowler in this tournament. He picks up wicket whenever his team needs them and has shown his class in reverse swing department.

Robin Peterson - This little south paw from South Africa has proved to be a gem in the squad. with names like Steyn, Amla, Kallis being the talking points he has quietly won 2 games for his team single handedly with his mighty hitting and plucky bowling.

Now a look at teams that have made it to Quarter Finals and a SWOT analysis to see who has better chances of progressing to the semis and then may be to finals.

PAKISTAN

Strengths: Like many world cups in the past, even this year they are very strong in bowling. Especially the conditions of sub continent suit their bowlers well and Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi have shown it by picking wickets at regular intervals. Abdur Razzaq also picked up few against Australia to get back into some rythm for the knock out stages.

Weaknesses: It is said that Catches win Matches. But for Kamran Akmal, it is the most difficult thing for him to do. Usually spends more energy chirping behind the stumps, would do Pakistan a lot of good if he can focus on his wicket keeping job.

Opportunities: Pakistan have'nt yet posted a huge total in the tournament. They should try to bat first and put a huge total in exceess of 300 to give confidence to their batsmen going into semis.

Threats: Pakistan are susceptible to over confidence, stealth and in-fighting. So far they have manged to stay clear of any such controversies but with them you never know - it just crops up in end hour. From the match perspective, if Gayle, Pollard and co. get going they can make any target look easy.

WEST INDIES

Strengths: West Indies have an explosive batting line up. If Gayle clicks into his best form he can make all grounds looks smaller. Darren Bravo is a talented youngster in mould of Brian Lara and is good on accumulating runs.

Weaknesses: The short comings in batting are exposed brutally if they lose quick wickets. Besides Sarwan, they dont have players with composure who can steady the ship when needed.

Opportunities: Since most of them will already have written them off, they can actually relax and apply their strategies and make Pakistan work harder to get their runs.

Threats: Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi. They have to play these two bowlers wisely and hope their batsmen have a day off.

OVERALL: Pakistan hold a slight edge over West Indies to win the 1st Quarter Final match to be played on 23rd March 2011 at Mirpur, Bangladesh.

AUSTRALIA

Strengths: The team is well balanced and usually late bloomers in the tournament. They are the World Champions and will need no extra motivation to retain that status. Brett Lee's performance has been impressive and they also have a better track record in world cup's against India.

Weaknesses: Form of Ricky Ponting will be worrying the Aussies. Also they have come to India with pace quartet on spinner friendly tracks. If Lee and Tait dont make early in roads they will struggle to contain and pick wickets.

Opportunities: None.

Threats: The whole of Ahmedabad will be screaming for India. So you can be assured of zero crowd support for Australia. Plus they have already lost to India during WC prep match.

INDIA

Strengths: Batting is India's main strength. And likes of Sehwag, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh have lived up to the expectations.

Weaknesses: India's bowling is not as good as the Aussie counterparts. In Zaheer they have an intelligent bowler but he relies heavily on help from others around him. Harbhajan has been instrumental in stopping the flow of runs but he has been shy of wickets.

Opportunities: India have'nt taken full advantage of death over power play yet. So Dhoni and Pathan have to take up the responsibility to ensure that we don't lose wickets and score at good rate in these overs.

Threats: Shane Watson and Brett Lee - two Oz players who are most liked by few Indians in India because of their IPL presence.

OVERALL: It is time to turn the tables on Australia. Their period of dominance is coming to end. India have home advantage, Sachin's 100th century and inclusion of R Ashwin stabilizing the bowling woes. Only 1 winner - INDIA!!!

NEW ZEALAND

Strengths: They are good fielding side and with that they manage to save 25-30 runs per game. Tim Southee has done well enough to pick up wickets with new ball.

Weaknesses: Batting has been patchy and far too dependent on Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor. They dont play spin too well and can be beaten easily if not their day.

Opportunities: They are dark horses in this tournament hence cannot be taken lightly.

Threats: Injuries to Vettori, Hamish Bennet have already reduced their chances. With respect to the match, their biggest threat will be in all departments - facing Dale Steyn and Morkel or trying to contain Amla or DeVilliers.

SOUTH AFRICA

Strengths: By far the best team in the tournament. They have enough resources to bail them out from any match situation.

Weaknesses: The only weakness could be if they are asked to play on a pitch that turns square onto the batsmen.

Opportunities: They were the only team that was experimental in the group stages and all their players got a decent chance to prove themselves. Most of them are playing at top of their form and have equal opportunities to excel further in the tournament

Threats: 'Chokers' tag which is applicable to this team can come back to haunt them in most unimaginable way. If they are puy under pressure, they can crumble like they did against England.

OVERALL: South Africa are the favorites to progress from this game because they have jelled better as a team.

SRI LANKA

Strengths: Sri Lanka have batsmen who can adapt well to the sub continent conditions. Their quarter final will be played at home so they will have crowd support as well. The form of captain Sangakkara has been pleasing to watch.

Weaknesses: The lower middle order has not performed that well. If opposition can get rid of Dilshan, J'wardene and Sanga then Lankans can be put to sword.

Opportunities: Malinga and Murali have not picked as many wickets as they would have liked. But nonetheless, they have been important to control the match in middle overs.

Threats: Graemme Swann will be an equal threat if Sri Lanka play to their strengths - Spin. Complacency can bring downfall of the best of the teams and Sri Lanka cannot be spared from this.

ENGLAND

Strengths: 6 games, 6 thrillers. They will take a lot of confidence from those matches. But even a lame beggar knows they have been riding on their luck so far in this tournament. Strauss and Trott have been amongst runs and they will need to score again if they want to challenge the Lankans on their home soil.

Weaknesses: England have been poor in fielding. They have dropped catches and misfielded under pressure. Their bowling in power play overs has'nt been great - generally have bowled length and got punished.

Opportunities: They are the T20 champions, they have won Ashes recently. Winning the World Cup when no body expects from them will be a huge lift for the England team.

Threats: They have had a long tour of Australia, then all close games in World Cup. In between this they lost few players to injuries. Not sure if they have enough steam left in their tank to fight another day in the tournament.

OVERALL: There will be a few tired minds and legs in England camp after the game at Colombo. But they can leave the shores with their heads held high for they will have provided 7th thriller of their WC campaign, but just falling short to Sri Lanka.

Just to re-iterate the dates of the World Cup -
23rd March 2011 => Pakistan v West Indies
24th March 2011 => Australia v India (also my birthday, so will be a special match on special day ;)
25th March 2011 => New Zealand v South Africa
26th March 2011 => Sri Lanka v England

Book your calendar and enjoy these games!