The "Forecast" ...

I first had the title of this post as "World Cup Predictions!" but having worked in a supply chain company for quite a while, I changed it to The "Forecast". I know that was unnecessary information and hence let me jump straightaway into the cricket field.

The World cup action starts tonight my time and I just can't wait for one simple reason - this is gonna be one heck of a tournament. Did you ask why? Because all the top eight teams have very good teams and each one of them is capable of going all the way. This makes it practically impossible to put your money on any one in particular and this uncertainty is what makes this World Cup, in my opinion, the most exciting tournament in the history of cricket.

Now, let's come to the point - The Forecast !! My semi-finalists of this edition of world cup are -

1. India
2. West Indies
3. Sri Lanka
4. New Zealand

Why these and why not others? Let me try to justify what is otherwise just my gut feel :-)

1. India - is my top team for the world cup. Why? Because I am an Indian :-) (Wasn't that a good enough justification?). Jokes apart, I feel they have one of the best batting line-ups and a very under-rated, yet effective, bowling attack. Tendulkar, Dravid, Zaheer, Munaf & Yuvraj will be the men to watch.
2. West Indies - is my team number 2. Though a little inconsistent, if they get their act together, they will surely be playing the finals. In Lara, Gayle, Chanderpaul, Sarwan & Samuels they have an excellent top order and their part time bowlers - Gayle, Samuels & Sarwan can work wonders for them.
3. Sri Lanka - is going to come out strong as well. They have an excellent bowling attack and a decent batting line-up to back them up. Jayasurya, Sangakarra, Vaas & Murali will be the key men for them.
4. New Zealand - Need I explain? Their recent performances against Australia have made cricket lovers all over the world take this team seriously. They bat very deep and in Shane Bond they have the fastest bowler. The trio is Oram, McMilan & McCullum is too dangerous to ignore.
5. Australia - is my team number 5 and I won't be surprised if they displace one of my top four teams for a berth in the semis. In absence of Lee & Warne and with the fitness of Symonds in doubt, their bowling looks a little depleted but their batting is as strong as ever. In Ponting & Gilchrist they have batsmen who could take the game away from opposition single-handedly (remember the last world cup final ... phew!). And not-so-fit Symonds & hayden can still clear the ropes more comfortably than most of the other batsmen in the world :)
6. Pakistan - is a team that would have definitely been in my top four, had Akhtar, Asif & Razzak been on the plane to the Carrebeans. The bowling department looks very weak. The batting can make up for it though. A lot will depend on how well Yusuf & Inzy contribute to the scheme of things.
7. South Africa - is the number one team. Not for me but as per the ICC rankings. I will try not to justify my ranking of this team .. I will just say that I somehow don't belive in this team. The warm-up matches proved that my gut feel was not all that bad :)
8. England - I will not be surprised if England actually prove me right and finish at the bottom of the super eight table. They surprised everyone by beating Australia recently, but it will be tough to repeat the same in the world cup.
9. Bangladesh - They have some exciting young cricketers and this team could spring a few surprises. The chances are very slim though.

Well .. that was pretty long for a first post. Need to retain some energy to come back and post again. But before I park my pen (shutdown my laptop), I would like to give out the finalists. I would love India and West Indies playing the finals. India because I am an Indian (did you forget that already?) and West Indies because they are the hosts and it will add up to the climax !!