India play WI at Perth ~ what statistics point out !!

India play West Indies in the 28th match of World Cup 2015 tomorrow at Perth ~  the  capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia.  The  majority of the metropolitan area of Perth is located on the Swan Coastal Plain, a narrow strip between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp, a low coastal escarpment. Perth was originally founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the administrative centre of the Swan River Colony, and gained city status in 1856. 

India first played [then mighty] West Indies in a ODI in the 2nd WC 1979 at Birmingham and was beaten by 9 wickets.  Everything went right for them from the moment Clive Lloyd won an important toss – and their pacers were bowling with many men close to bat, reducing India to 77 for 5 -  only Vishwanath made 75; the last pair, Venkataraghavan and Bedi, fought bravely but a score of 191 was never going to be enough for West Indies.  In the 1983 tour, India beat West Indies at Berbice, Albion, Guyana by 27 runs.  Gavaskar opened with  Ravi Shastri, who was opening for the first time in an ODI.  Gavaskar made a fine 90 off 117 balls while Kapil Dev made a belligerent 72 off a mere 38 balls – unimaginably fast of that time matching Viv Richards.  Later in the 1983 WC, India started on a winning note beating WI at Birmingham, Old Trafford. Things are far different now !

The last time these sides played each other, West Indies pulled out of the tour of India midway over a payment dispute with their board. That led to a change in leadership and the exit of a couple of players.  After 1983, the teams have played thrice in World Cup - in the last ten ODIs between the teams  India has won  7-3. This has been a different ball game – the leather hunt – 27 matches thus far – already 21 centuries including a double hundred.  Here is the top 5 century makers.  It was a match Bangladesh would ever remember today.  Playing their 5^th WC – they were first pushed to the wall with Kyle Coetzer hitting a fine big century – Bangladesh are yet to have a century in WC.  Tamim Iqbal came within a shot of ending  and got 0ut for 95.   156 Runs scored by Kyle Coetzer, the highest World Cup score by any batsman from a current non-Test nation and the imposing 318 was eclipsed with ease by Bangladesh. 

Player	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR	Team	Opposition
Chris Gayle	215	147	10	16	146.25	West Indies	v Zimbabwe
David Warner	178	133	19	5	133.83	Australia	v Afghanistan
AD de Villiers	162	66	17	8	245.45	South Africa	v West Indies
TM Dilshan	161	146	22	0	110.27	Sri Lanka	v Bangladesh
Hashim Amla	159	128	16	4	124.21	South Africa	v Ireland
KJ Coetzer	156	134	17	4	116.41	Scotland	v Bangladesh

In a tournament where batsmen are making merry, Shane Watson is fading away.  At Chandigarh, during a mid-tour, Watson walked out from a test, following the announcement that he, alongside three other players, had been suspended for supposed disciplinary infractions. Now Watson is finding his way out – dropped.   For England, things are not going well – of the many heads sought, Finn is also there. During the Scotland game, Finn passed 140kph quite often as his spells progressed; but he is no longer effective.   Some blame David Saker, the England bowling coach, for Finn's troubles. Others blame Richard Johnson, the Middlesex bowling coach. Certainly, neither have been able to cure him.

Sachin Tendulkar has called the ICC's decision to reduce the number of teams in the 2019 World Cup "a backward step" in the global expansion of cricket and described the lack of consistent matches available to Associate sides as "unfair". Tendulkar, an ambassador for the World Cup on behalf of the ICC, told an audience at an exclusive dinner in Sydney that the ICC should instead be exploring ways to expand the next World Cup to as many as 25 teams. While calling for an expansion of the World Cup, Tendulkar also spoke about his concerns for the 50-over format and said he had suggested to the ICC about splitting ODIs into two 25-over innings. This was tried out in Australia – not with great success.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

5^th Mar 2o15.