The fall of Mighty Aussies

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 for Australia started with a loss to India in their practice match and ended with a loss to India in the quarter finals. The only difference being the journey between these two encounters. The Aussies started the tournament with a 29 match winning streak in the world cup including four world cup titles in their kitty.

They were not the favourites this time and experts were not hesitant in claiming that the current Aussies team is similar to the Australian team of 1999, which lifted the cup despite being not among the favourites.

The Aussies started the campaign with convincing victory over minnows Zimbabwe by 91 runs. They posted a modest total of 262 and were decent in bowling and fielding department. However it was evident from the clash that the Aussies were not having the same firepower.

The win followed up with another against neighbour Kiwis, first dismissing them for a modest score of 206 and then chasing it successfully with a healthy run rate with just 3 wickets down.

They were preparing hard for the next battle with the Lankan’s in their home ground, Colombo.

In a rain threaten match, the Lankan’s got off to a shaky start and were in the business of rebuilding their innings when the rain completely halted the game.

Kenya was the next team they faced, who almost jolted the Aussies unbeaten World Cup run.

Thanks to the two Michaels who came to the rescue, one with the bat and another with ball. Beating Canada seemed a cakewalk. But one thing of concern was the inconsistent middle order and the form of Ricky Ponting, also concerns were raised on Ponting’s captaincy.

This stretched their winning streak to 34 matches in world cup and it required a special effort from the Pakistani bowlers to end this era of Australian dominance in the World Cup. The Pakistani never let the Aussies’ to settle down, picking up wickets at regular intervals and ultimately defeating them. The loss to Pakistan was the beginning of the fall of the Mighty They next faced the favourites for the cup, the Men in Blue to seal a spot in the semis. Indians bowled superbly to restrict the Aussies to a modest total and chased it down comfortably and cured the Yellow Fever for at least not to return in the near future. The only positive thing for the Aussies’ was Ponting’s return to form and the loss made them to learn from their mistakes.

Tags: Aussies, Australia, Cricket, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Ricky Ponting, World Cup