In the cricket world cup, India’s defeat by Bangladesh on Friday was a shameful one. The team spirit, top/middle/bottom order, bowlers and the fielders – everybody performed terrible. And on top of that, Bangladesh really played very well. And as I said earlier, may the best team win – Bangladesh was indeed a superior team on that day. I’m happy for them!
Although I was extremely disappointed by India’s loss in their debut match but today, against Bermuda, was the other extreme. India scored 415 for 5, a record total in World cups. The top order gave a solid start (205 for 2 in 30 overs) and stormed the Bermudan bowlers by scoring 144 runs in the last 12 overs.
Comparing the statistics of two matches India has played so far:
| Against | Toss | Played | Runs | Wickets | Overs | Run rate | Won | Margin |
| Bangladesh | Won | First | 191 | 10 | 50 | 3.86 | No | 5wickets |
| Bermuda | Lost | First | 413 | 5 | 50 | 8.26 | Yes | 257 |
India’s desperation to not only win the second match but win with a huge margin is evident from these statistics. After this win, India is in a better position to get into "Super 8" but they still have to beat Sri Lanka to be sure of that.
Over the weekend, Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer died under mysterious circumstances and their team captain, Inzamam-ul Haq, retired from One Day International cricket after Pakistan’s early ouster from the world cup. My condolences to Bob Woolmer and his family. Irrespective of whether India reaches final or not, I always wait for the match with Pakistan, especially in World cup where India has always won. I’ll have to miss that exciting moment this time.
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