Group B - The group of death in world cup 2011. We have seen lot of close matches and upsets in this group as Ireland and Bangladesh have beaten England which was considered as one of top team to win world cup after their performance in Ashes and till yesterday there was uncertainity for England to reach to next level of tournament.
After yesterday's win England has gain there chance to reach to the next round. It was one of really good game we have seen in this world cup and England have performed really well in this match. Now they can only get out of this world cup if Bangladesh beat South Africa and India beat West Indies with lower margin.
Lets talk about top 5 teams in this group and their chances for knock out round. First of all South African team which is on number one position in the group with 8 points and NRR as +1.606. They played each and every game fantastically and booked their berth to knock out round. They are the first one to reach to next round with one match left. Apart from England game, they performed really well and consistentaly in this tournament. They have better chance to win the world cup too but it is too early to predict this.
Position number two is occupied by Indian team with 7 points and +0.768 NRR. They lost only one close game against SA, won 3 games against minnows and tied one with England. So far they had very challenging tournament. Though they have faced lot of criticism for bowling, poor fielding and weak captaincy, I can say they still have chance to lift the cup and to do so they have to win four consicutive games. R Ashwin has not been used till the day and fast bowling and fielding is the department they have to improve. They have last chance to get good combination in WI match. Nehra may have to seat on bench while Ashwin and Sreesanth may get chance to fit in playing eleven. If India beat WI then they are clearly going to next round but if in case they loose this game then they have to be dependant on NRR. All permutation and combination are depends on the match between Bangladesh and South Africa.
England have landed on 3rd position after yesterday's match. They have had tough world cup and they are also looking for good bowling combination. Yes, but we can not ignore the fact that even they are defeated by minnows like Ireland and Bangladesh, they won or tied against the big teams like SA, WI and India. So we can not underestimate this team lead by Strauss. James Tredwell performed really well yesterday by picking up 4 wickets and it seems England got the right bowling combination too. Luke Wright is ready to take place of Collingwood.
Fourth position is for yesterday's looser West Indies. They have also performed really well under new captain. Gayle is playing really good and no concern with bowling combination too. All they have to worry is batting. From yesterday's match we can say their middle order need to contribute more to get thier chance higher to win the cup. I am really impressed by the bowling of debutant Bishoo yesterday. They can get out of the world cup if Bangladesh win tomorrow's match and India beat them on Sunday.
Fifth position is for Bangladesh. The co-host have played good tournament and beat England which has put England under threate for some time. They are really good side to compete on their own ground. If they win against South Africa then the match between India and WI will be decider of group B.
Group B has provided many good and competitive games with tie between India and England. This group of death has still kept interest in league matches. Everything now depend on the result of SA vs Bangladesh match on Saturday. Hope we can see good game in next two days.
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