No it wasn't the war once again but Pakistan must have felt like being in one yesterday. Playing against the Black Caps at the new stadium in Pallekele, the men in Green were left shell shocked at the carnage they faced at the hands of Ross Taylor and company. The Kiwi innings seemed headed for a middling total until the 44th over when Nathan McCullum ignited proceedings by smashing two sixes in the stands. After his dismissal, birthday boy Ross Taylor who had been given two lives on 0 and 8 by butter fingers Kamran, plundered and smashed the Paki attack to all parts. New Zealand fired all the artillery they had and Pakistan had no answer serving up full tosses and wides. The sequence in the last 6 overs read 14,7,28,30,15,20 , an astonishing 114 runs. So terror-stricken were Pakistan, that when they came to bat, they just prodded around and before time were reeling at 23/4. A slight recovery only delayed the inevitable and NZ were worthy winners.

Today India gave another shoddy performance although they beat the Netherlands by a comfortable margin, topped the table and ensured qualification to the next round. A below par score of 189, was shown no respect initially and India raced off the blocks on the Sachin-Sehwag twin engine. A clatter of wickets in the middle saw India in a tricky position at 99/4. A better team would have made India sweat but the experience of Yuvi and Dhoni came in handy. However on the bowling and fielding front, India's performance remained iffy as usual such that it looked like they were out there with complacent expressions and the result being a foregone conclusion. Such attitudes won't take them far and India as I know will pull their socks up when the big boys come calling. The Proteas are next in Nagpur which would make for a fascinating tussle between the best batting team in the tourno and arguably the best bowling attack.

Might I add, a win might put us into a quarterfinals against our western neighbors. Can't wait for that moment.