Mixed fortunes on day 3 of warm-up matches

World Cup warm-ups - 15 Feb, 2011: A good start, two upsets and good run by two of the favorites

Pakistan started confidently while Sri Lanka continued their domination by winning their second warm-up match comfortably. Australia’s woes with batting continued as South Africans were all over them with a big win. Netherlands and Ireland created pre-tournament upsets signaling their intentions ahead of the big stage by overcoming Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively.

Pakistan make good start against Bangladesh

Pakistan, who usually start badly defeated hosts Bangladesh rather easily at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur in Dhaka. Riding on the centuries of Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq, who continued their good form, Pakistan posted a challenging 285 for 9 in 50 overs. Rubel Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan bowled well for the Tigers claiming 3 wickets each as they tried as many as 9 bowlers. Loss of Tamim on the first ball put Bangladesh on the back foot but Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique fought back aggressively. After their departure, rest of the batting line-up could not handle the cunning medium pace of Abdul Razzaq (3 for 31 off 6) and spin of Hafeez (2/41) and Abdur Rehman (2/29) and were all out for 196 in the 42nd over. An 89 run defeat may not matter for their coach Jamie Siddons, as he had downplayed the importance of the warm-ups, but it certainly will lead to some head scratching. Pakistan, on the other hand, will now feel confident and more at home on these tracks.

Australia overwhelmed again, this time by the Proteas

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore again proved ghastly for the men in yellow as they failed to post a decent score in the second match running. Apart from Ponting and Clarke who scored fifties, others could not handle pace of Steyn (3/21) and spin of Petersen (3/45) and Imran. South Africa chased down the modest target of 217 with more than 5 overs to spare. The ignominy for Australia was compounded by the fact that both the Proteas’ openers, Smith and Amla, retired themselves after scoring fluent fifties letting others to have a go. Duminy in the end also scored some good practice runs. They won by 7 wickets (with two retired outs). Ponting’s bad days, it seems, are not going to end soon and the two losses have increased the depth and number of furrows on his forehead. The defending champions are not looking in good shape at all for their 4th World title in a row.

Sri Lanka romp home easily against the West Indies

At R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka had good practice of chasing big totals as they reached West Indies’ tough total of 281 with 15 balls and 4 wickets to spare. Chris Gayle scored aggressive fifty while promising Darren Bravo too looked good for his fifty. Significant contributions from most of the other batsmen helped West Indies in reaching 281 before they were all out on the last ball. For Sri Lanka, Malinga and Herath took 3 wickets each. Dilshan’s aggressive 62 off 50 balls and composed knocks from Sangakkara (71) and Samaraweera (55) set up a good chase for the host nation. Apart from Benn who took 3 for 40, no bowler could trouble Sri Lankan batsmen. This victory has just reaffirmed the fact that Sri Lankans are the team to beat come the World Cup.

Ireland upset Zimbabwe

The Irish signaled their intent by upsetting the Zimbabweans at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha in Nagpur. Chigumbura’s unbeaten whirlwind hundred (103 0ff 81 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes) lifted Zimbabwe to 244/8 after a struggling start, but could not stop ambitious Ireland from chasing down the total in the last over and winning by 4 wickets. Andre Botha (79) and Kevin O’Brien (62* in 61 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes) kept their team in the hunt despite continued loss of wickets. This win will surely encourage them to go for another big upset in the main round.

The Netherlands beat Kenya by 2 wickets

As opposed to other matches, the match between Netherlands and Kenya went to the wire at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo. The men in orange kept their nerves and won against the semi-finalists of the 2003 tournament by 2 wickets on the penultimate ball of the match. Young Seren Waters’s serene knock of 126 (150 balls, 12 fours) went in vain as Ryan ten Doeschate, the ICC Associate Player of the Year in 2010, led his team to a stunning win. After Waters’s effort, late order assault by Rakep Patel who scored 64 in 59 balls helped Kenya post a competitive 263/5 in 50 overs. Incredible ten Doeschate was the successful bowler with 2 for 47. Veteran Steve Tikolo took 4 for 39 and wrecked havoc in the Dutch middle order but Netherlands showed steely resolve by coming back into the game. After the delightfully named Alexei Kervezee (49 off just 33 balls) had given them a brisk start, ten Doeschate carried the chase on his shoulders till the end. He scored 98 not out (92 balls; 3 fours, 4 sixes) and with the help of late order cameos from numbers 9 and 10 pulled off a remarkable win for his team.