WORLD CUP CRICKET : QUIZTION OF THE DAY - 12

WORLD CUP CRICKET QUIZ :

March 24th 2007 : Quiztion of the Day - 12:

Yes, I am disappointed too like anyone of the millions of Indian cricket fans because India lost. But I am even more disappointed as a lover of the game that India did not put up any fight and the match petered out into a tame one-sided affair even before half of the allotted overs were bowled during the Indian innings. I am disappointed because I may not get another chance to watch the Batting Triumvirate of Indian Cricket, SachinTendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, destroying the bowling attacks of the world in a World Cup match. I am also disappointed that I will miss a chance to watch some really interesting encounters that might have taken place had India moved on to Super 8s stage.

I know India still have a chance of making it to the Super 8s if Bermuda beats Bangladesh in the last Group match of the tournament on March 25th. If that happens, I will be saddened more deeply for the fact, that even the loss of a human life due to a murder did not stop the unscrupulous, greedy and corrupt external forces that ruined the sanctity of the game making their actions count more than the action on the field. On pure cricketing merit Bermuda, undoubtedly the weakest team among the 2007 World Cup squads does not have a chance to defeat Bangladesh under any circumstances. But if a miracle rather than a match-fixing can produce a result that moves India to Super 8s, I will be delighted as much as any Indian cricket fan otherwise the highest run-getter in World Cup history, Sachin Tendulkar's third ball duck may very well become his last innings of World Cup.

I am a passionate follower and spirited lover of the game and will never cease to keep following the game. I will track or watch all the forthcoming matches of this World Cup irrespective of who wins the cricket’s most coveted trophy. For me the game of cricket is a pure joy. I enjoy it and passionate about it, my passion is for the game and not for a team. So may be I am not depressed for India’s loss. To begin with as per the current form, preparations, Physical and mental strengths, I thought either South Africa or Australia will win the title. I also had a feeling after the CB series finals and Chappell-Hadlee Trophy both England and New Zealand will be better contenders for reaching the last four than either India or Pakistan. When West Indies beat Pakistan in the first match of the tournament and England was easily defeated by New Zealand, I was guessing that the four semi finalists would be Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies. But with the kind of form and tremendous discipline that Sri Lanka has shown today and in its two previous matches, I predict Sri Lanka will reach the semi finals upsetting the plans of any of the four main contenders Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies. Most probably the team that might miss a semi final spot would be West Indies.

I hope my predictions do not come true as miserably as the ones that eminent astrologers and numerologists predicted on numerous web sites and on Live television shows. That way cricket remains according to its age old tradition and reputation of being a “Game of Glorious Uncertainties”. I still love watching favorites performing to their best of abilities and walk away with the title as West Indies did in 1979 and I still enjoy underdogs and rank outsiders upsetting the main contenders like India did in 1983. I can deal with disappointments as much as I can deal with excitements. I enjoy cricket no matter what.

Enough of bragging about my love for the game, lets get to the Quiztion of the Day.

If you had followed the game that took place at Kingston between Ireland and West Indies while India was getting humiliated at Port of Spain, you would have noticed a strange occurrence. After Ireland made 183/8 in 48 overs in a game a interrupted by rain Shivnarine Chaderpaul with a classy unbeaten knock of 102 made sure that West Indies reached the target of 190 losing just two wickets. That target score is correct, it’s not a typo. In a rain interrupted match where the complicated and sometimes difficult to understand Duckworth/Lewis method that comes in to the play, adjusted the target for West Indies to 190 runs in 48 overs for a win.

One of the explanations for this is that the team batting first would be at a disadvantage if the rain interrupts and shortens their innings. This in turn prevents them pacing the innings accordingly whereas the team batting second will know how many runs they have to score right from the beginning of the innings and can plan their batting accordingly.

Here is a simple example. Consider in a match the team batting first starts off their innings thinking that they would have to bat their full quota of 50 overs and scores 110 runs in first 25 overs for the loss of couple of wickets. If the rain interrupts the match at that point for 2-3 hours and when play resumes the match might be restricted to 28 overs a side. So the team batting first would have just 3 overs to slog even though they have plenty of wickets on hand. The team batting first then adds 30 runs more in those overs. Now a target of 139 runs in 28 overs would be relatively an easy one to chase. The D/L method takes this scenario into account and makes an upward adjustment. How it is revised is beyond my comprehension.

Today’s ‘Quiztion of the Day’ relates to this always complicated and sometimes annoying Duckworth/Lewis method. Here it is:

The Match between Ireland and Pakistan is not the first match that had an upward revision of target for the chasing team in a World Cup match. Provide the details of the first match in World Cup that had an upward revision of target for the chasing team.

Remember to email your answers for each quiz individually to vijay@dreamcricket.com with the subject line as "Quiztion of the Day - X", (X being the Question number) through out the the tournament duration. Results will be first posted on http://www.dreamcricket.com website within a week of the World Cup Final.

Cheer up.... After all its only a game....