Well, it's all looking so good for India again. World Cup holders and now they seem to be the team to beat in the Champions Trophy. I enjoyed being in Cardiff to watch their opening triumph against South Africa and, unless Pakistan beat them in what would normally be called a 'dead rubber', I should be seeing them in semi-final action at the same venue next Thursday.
Shikhar Dhawan collected another century today, Rohit Sharma another fifty and Ravi Jadeja more plaudits for his bowling as the West Indies crumbled. Half-centuries from opener Johnson Charles, in for banned cheat Ramdin, and Darren Sammy were nowhere near enough to set Dhoni's men a testing target at The Oval. It was all over with more than ten overs remaining. England's easy victory over Australia at the weekend sets them up for the clash with Sri Lanka who came close to denying New Zealand in that memorable match in Wales a few days ago. In my mind, it's all set for an India v England final but of course this is one-day cricket and anything could happen. A Malinga blitz can change a game in minutes so Cook, Trott, Buttler and co need to practise digging out yorkers.
Pakistan have been very disappointing. Dark horses for the tournament, their batsmen - other than skipper Misbah-ul-Haq - simply haven't turned up. Ryan McLaren's 4-19 finished them off yesterday after Hashim Amla looked back to his fluid best. Misbah's men were so bad that even Lonwano Tsotsobe conceded only 23 from his nine overs! South Africa now meet West Indies to decide who advances to the semis. The former badly missed Dale Steyn in the India match and if he fails to recover for the final group fixture, the supporting cast of seamers will need to be at their best. However, the Windies are so unpredictable and if Chris Gayle finally comes good, no bowler can contain him.
The Aussie-NZ contest could be an interesting one. The green-and-yellows looked a shadow of their former selves against England. The big hitters at the top flopped and the experienced England line-up stood up well to the young Aussie quicks. The Black Caps only just scraped the two points in the Cardiff nailbiter so it's difficult to assess their chances. If the side which gave England a bloody nose a few weeks ago turn up at Edgbaston, they could spring a surprise and send their neighbours home early. Martin Guptill and Shane Watson are potential matchwinners but wickets for Daniel Vettori would make a nice story. His comeback from injury looked premature the other day, while his team-mates were in competitive mode. It's Michael Clarke's current back injury making more of the headlines at the moment and his middle-order stability and leadership which the Aussies miss most. Pup's absence must give New Zealand real confidence of winning the game and proceeding to another tournament semi-final.
