Preview to the Semi Finals of the Champions Trophy

Austalia vs New Zealand and West Indies vs South Africa

The Group Stage of the Champions Trophy is over, and we have witnessed a very interesting competition so far. It has been a mixture of one-sided games, nail-biters, disappointments and successes. This has been mainly due to the unpredictable and non-traditional Indian pitches that have been laid out. Some have had uneven bounce, a couple had good pace (that bowlers like Ntini utilized to the maximum) and the last pitch was really good for batting, though India didn't make it seem to be.

Biggest disappointment - No Asian side in the Semis

What went wrong for the three Asian sides? So many thought that Sri Lanka were one of the hot favorites for the title, but like i said in a previous post, I thought that there was just too much praise on them. They had won 11 games before their first loss to Pakistan, but they were all against relatively weaker teams, and I knew that the real test would come when they meet a stronger nation. Plus, even though some critics said that they had a very balanced side, I would disagree on that too, because they had 4 fast bowlers which I thought was too much and unnecessary. Dilhara Fernando was a big disappointment and didn't bowl well at all during the tournament and they should have had an extra batsman in the line-up against South Africa instead. Rather, I would like to see an all rounder instead, and someone who is really established unlike Mahroof who still needs to prove that he can be a consistent and good allrounder.

The Indian fans will be deeply disappointed. The Indian batsmen haven't shown any good performances, and neither has the bowling. Serious changes have to be made to their overall line-up, and I think that bringing back Zaheer Khan and Kumble into the squad that will be playin South Africa soon is a good step. I feel for Ashish Nehra and Ganguly too, who I think should be given another chance as well.

As for Pakistan, probably they would have done better if Inzamam, Akthar and Asif were there, but nonetheless theor batsmen mainly haven't played well in the last two games esp. They succumbed to the bouncy pitches, and in the end they lived up to their status as one of the most unpredictable teams in the world. They are a good outfit, and on their day they can achieve the impossible, but "that day" has to become a consistency if they want to win the World Cup and so on.

Greatest Success - Unpredictable matches

After the West Indies fell for just 80 in the preliminary stage match against Sri Lanka, who would have thought they would go through to the semis? There have been a few shockers, the main one being India not going through. The unpredictable pitches have helped, and the teams that utilized them the best have gone through. The semis are going to be very interesting and hard fought without a doubt, even though we won't be seeing any Asian team in action.

Critics may say that it will be a final between Australia and South Africa, but the West Indies and New Zealand have taught us all a lesson - don't make any predictions. I would say that a West Indies vs New Zealand final would be more interesting. Anyway, let's hope that we get two amazing semi-finals to watch.

Players to watch out for:

Australia

Damien Martyn has been in good form, and he has kicked this form at the perfect time, because their was alot of criticism building up on him saying that he hasn't been performing. He is a classy batsman, and watching his performance along with the rest of the strong Australian line-up will be worth buying a ticket for.

Glen McGrath bowled beautifully against India with the new ball, and the greatest challenge the Kiwi top order batsmen will have is to see him off first. If they fail, then we it will be very tough for the Kiwis to go through to the next round.

Shane Watson get's my award for the best upcoming cricketer. He seems to be a very good allrounder, and his performances in the next game (or two) will be crucial for him to cement his place in the one-day line up.

South Africa

Ntini and Pollock have been simply amazing, and if they continue in this form, then we might see South Africa clinch the title for a second time.

Mark Boucher has shown that he is a very dependable and important batsman, and his stunning catch to get rid of Malik will stick in the mind for ages to come. If their top order fails again, don't go away, because Boucher will definitely not go away that fast.

New Zealand

Stephen Fleming - great captain, great batsman. He is in good form, and the fate of the Kiwis lies heavily on his shoulders.

Vettori has shown in this tournament that he is a very capable batsman. We are yet to see him trouble batsmen with the ball though, but he still has another chance to show it to us. Or maybe even two.

West Indies

The top order has shown us over the years that they can tear apart any attack. Watch out for Chris Gayle, Bravo Chanderpaul, Morton, Brian Lara and last but not least - Sarwan. All are in good form, and if all click - don't move your eyes away from the game!

And don't forget Taylor. There has been alot of praise for him. He is yet to become as lethal as Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall etc. But there is one thing he has that the rest don't - a one day hat-trick.

The tournament has been entertaining so far. It's going to be a very interesting finale.