The top contenders for the 2015 Cricket World Cup have firmly separated themselves from the pack heading into the latter part of the group stages, while several title hopefuls are in real danger of not qualifying for the quarter-finals at all.
England will need a minor miracle after their nine-wicket loss against Sri Lanka on Sunday, and while Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 20 runs for their first win of the tournament, things aren't looking up for that side, either. Here's what the latest standings look like:
England (309/6) finally put together a solid batting display against Sri Lanka (312/1), but another dreadful performance with the ball led to a nine-wicket loss and a likely exit from the tournament at the end of the group stages.
BBC Sport didn't mince their words when they summarised the match:
Joe Root managed a steady 121, and Ian Bell added 47 more as England put together a solid innings, not allowing Lasith Malinga (63 runs, one wicket) to take over the match despite the loss of some early wickets.
Moeen Ali and Gary Balance both displayed plenty of aggression early and paid the price, but overall, England must have been happy with their performance with the bat.
And then it was their turn to bowl, and they allowed Kumar Sangakkara to do this, per Bleacher Report UK:
Sangakkara went off for 117, Lahiru Thirimanne added a 139 more and Sri Lanka chased down the total with just three batsmen and 16 balls to spare.
Ali took the only wicket for England, that of Tillakaratne Dilshan , and led the team with an economy rating of 5.00. Chris Woakes gave up 72 runs—Stuart Broad fared little better, with 67.
After the match, captain Eoin Morgan put the blame for the loss squarely with the bowlers, per England Cricket, even if the team's fielding was only marginally better:
The team's lack of spinners continues to haunt them, and the Westpac Stadium's slower pitch certainly didn't help their cause.
England have now been on the end of three one-sided losses in the three matches they've played against Test nations during the World Cup. No matter how you slice it, that's bad. Bangladesh leads the squad by one point in the standings with a match in hand and a far superior net run rate.
The Sri Lankans are quickly gaining steam after a slow start to the tournament, and they could shock some people in the knockout stages. Thirimanne sounded like a confident man after his team's big win over England:
Pakistan (235/7) finally got rid of the zero in their win column, beating Zimbabwe (215) by 20 runs thanks to an excellent performance from their bowlers and Misbah -ul-Haq's 73.
Batting first, the team had a very slow start to their innings before Misbah 's knock, and picking up the pace in the middle overs, they ended with a total of 235. Their bowlers were in for a challenge, but taking quick wickets happens to be their speciality.
Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz both took four and kept their economy well under 5.00, using their blistering pace to devastating effects, via this fan:
Zimbabwe put up a valiant effort in the chase, but every time a pair started to get into the groove, a timely wicket broke their momentum.
Pakistan may have finally gotten their first win, but the knockout stages still seem a distant dream. West Indies net run rate is far superior, and while Ireland seem like the team's biggest competitor for fourth place, they've shown their bowling to be far superior to Zimbabwe's.
The dream isn't over yet for the Pakistani team, but things aren't looking up, either.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1DqXof4
via IFTTT March 01, 2015 at 11:03AM
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