ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 SWOT analysis of Team India vs Pakistan

With Sachin Tendulkar planning to quit after this World Cup, the bar is set much higher for the Indian players. Team India stands as one of the favorites alongside a formidable Sri Lanka, a strong South Africa, T20 Champions England and the reigning ODI champions Australia.

The players selected by BCCI are: MS Dhoni (Captain), V Sehwag (Vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla. 
Cricket experts say that bowlers win you test matches while batsmen win you ODI?s. If this is indeed true then India stands a bright chance for they have a splendid batting line up.

Sachin ,Sehwag ,Gambhir take up the first three slots while ,Dhoni and Pathan will be at six and seven respectively. Num 4 and 5 slots will be a tossup between Kohli,Yuvraj and Raina. The bowling side has 3 spinners and 4 seamers. The bowling department may not look that strong with Nehra and Munaf there but considering Patel?s recent form he also becomes a force to reckon with. The spin attack led by Bhajji looks good and also the part timers have proved their worth.

Strengths:

Balanced Team: The team is a perfect combination of both experienced as well youth. Though the bowling department looks a little weak, presence of Zaheer and Harbhajan should exude confidence to others in the team. After a long time Indian tail has started wagging which was evident in the last Series as well as the warm up match against Australia.

Home Conditions: Since the World Cup is being played in the subcontinent, the Indian cricket team can expect the maximum crowd support. The Indian stadiums will be expecting a crowd of about 50,000.

Weakness: 
Consistency: Off late team India has not being able to perform consistently. A lot of the games show that individual performers have saved the game. If the team India aims to win the WC then they have to perform collectively and every player have to play to their fullest.

Brittle Middle Order: Yuvaraj and Raina are not in good form and have been picked mainly based on their past performance. It is an altogether a different issue that both of them are game changers but their current forms are the weak links.

Absence of a genuine Allrounder: For the past 4 years selectors have been trying to groom one genuine allrounder , but with little sucesss. The fifth bowler slot is absent which makes the team to rely on bowlers like Yuvaraj and company. 
Opportunities:

Spinning Subcontinent Pitches: The pitches in the subcontinent are very favorable for spinners and India has opted for 3 spinners. Its part-timers are also spinners. Both Ashwin and Chawla have a chance to shine in their 1st WC and aid Bhajji in the sub-continent conditions. With spinners, India would be restricting the opposition at the same time will be an attacking team.

Virat Kohli: The young star has been in brilliant touch and was India's highest run-getter in 2010 so this is the big chance for him to stand out and fix his place in the team's middle order.

Sachin Swansong: The only accolade missing in Tendulkar's illustrious career. The entire country wants it for him and also the entire team wants to win the cup for him. This should act as an extra motivation for everyone in the team.

Threats: 
Injuries: A lot of Indian players have just come back after injuries. Though fully fit their fitness would still be suspect and they would be short of match practice. 
No back-up keeper: So who keeps if MSD is declared unfit right before a match?

Team Pakistan: 
Pakistan team doesn't seem to be playing under any pressure. The reasons are obvious, earning a malign reputation by spot fixing scandals and infighting, the Pakistan cricket fraternity is on a recovery mode. With Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amer suspended, the first choice bowling attack of Pakistan is gone. With the captaincy issue getting resolved recently, the team morale won't be that high. But still a sub-continent team in sub-continent cannot be ignored.

THE SQUAD 
Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umer Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Umer Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad.

Young Players 
Out of the 15 chosen, 8 are those who have never been part of an event of this importance. Clearly the Pakistan selectors did not have an option and leaving out Imran Nazir reaffirms the fact that they wanted to start afresh. If we start taking the replacements for the suspended tainted trio, Ahmed Shehzad is in for Butt and Shehzad has definitely proved himself.

He has a distinction of playing at the highest level and then going back to represent Pakistan in the Under 19 World cup. He only has one gear and that is to clear the in-field any how, he is not afraid to take on the fastest of the bowlers and even on bouncy wickets he has played some magnificent shots on the rise. He won't get that pace in sub-continent and moreover his 7 match experience might not be enough.

Umar Akmal, a prodigy in the making, probably a complete batsmen Pakistan have produced after the era of Saeed Anwar. Though Younis Khan is probably the best Pakistan has got at the moment. This would be the make or break tournament for Umar and to utilize his complete ability he must be slotted at No.3 nothing below that.

Wahab Riaz, is the replacement for Mohhammed Asif and to be fair on him he is a decent catch from the bowling factory. He has not exactly filled in the shoes of Asif but his approach ahs been commendable and as with Umar it would be make or break trip that he would be making to India.

Weakness 
On the other hand there is Mohammed Hafeez, Pakistan selectors does seem to have a blind faith on this player. With an average of 22 in 62 ODIs, how he has made it to the squad is a question, only reason one can think of is, he is not swashbuckling as Shehzad so they assumed he would be the calmer and wiser partner.

Mohammed Amer could have been the potent weapon for Pakistan instead they had to content themselves with the old potent weapons, Shohib Akhtar. as an old war veteran, it is not his pace or form which has made him survive this long, it's probably his never say die attitude and this never "say die attitude" unfortunately looks good .

Being hit for an economy of more than 8 and again coming back to bowl the full quota of overs to end up with run rate of 7 does not fit the bill for never say die attitude. That plainly is poor bowling but Pakistan selectors as I mentioned earlier tend to assume a lot of things.

Putting Kamran Akmal in the slot is just because of the poor form he is in, he tried his hands as an opener then at number 3 with no effect. In recent times, he has been very successful in the sub-continent primarily against India and his being in form would be of prime importance. He is more like Suresh Raina of Pakistan, unpredictable yet assuring figure.

Inspirational Misbah Ul Haq is a player of calibre but his big match playing credential is doubted.

Abdul Razzak is more of confusion; unpredictability has hovered all around his cricketing career. Not as strong a bowler he used to be but he is the variation guy of the team. He can pack a punch and on a given day could be more barbaric than Yusuf Pathan, but its all about him clicking or not. Not exactly a worry but can't put him in chances section as well.

Chances 
Chances have to be read as Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi. Gul is the strike bowler, best exponent of death bowling and Shahid Afridi along with Saeed Ajmal, is the best spinning duo in the world cup. With one having the knack of picking up wickets and other is choking down the batsmen.

Younis Khan just cannot afford to have a bad day on the field as he would be the spine of Pakistani batting attack.

Semi-final could be the maximum they could reach but again unpredictability is what Pakistan cricket lives with.

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup is the tenth Cricket World Cup and is being played in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. It is Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup. All matches in the World Cup will be accorded One Day International status, with all matches being played over 50 overs. Fourteen national cricket teams will compete in the tournament, including ten full members and four associate members.The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match played on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.The opening ceremony was held on 17 February 2011 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, two days before the start of the tournament, with the final on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The World Cup was also supposed to be co-hosted by Pakistan, but in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to strip Pakistan of its hosting rights.The headquarters of the organising committee were originally situated in Lahore, but have now been shifted to Mumbai. Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final. Eight of Pakistan's matches (including the semi-final) were awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh.

The biggest upset of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has been the defeat of England by Ireland. Ireland's Kevin O'Brien made 100 in just 50 balls (and a total of 113 off 63 balls), the fastest World Cup Century and Ireland made the highest successful run chase in World Cup history beating Sri Lanka's 313 against Zimbabwe at New Plymouth in New Zealand in 1992.

Cricket History

The game of cricket has always been loved by the entire country. Whenever a tournament starts, the cricket enthusiasts forget their daily work and sticks to his/her television set. The majority of cricket lovers have a thorough knowledge of the cricket history. Cricket history can take you to the 16th century era or even back to give you an insight into the origin of game. The history of cricket throws light on every aspect of the cricket, be it county cricket, local cricket or international cricket. Cricket history also informs about the initial rules and regulations formed, for playing the game.

Cricket history informs you about the origin of bat, which is one of the prime things in the game. The bat used in the present tournaments was invented in 18th century; while the earlier form of bat resembled a hockey stick. In the earlier times, stone pieces were used as balls. They are now made up of cork and are covered with hand-stitched leather quarters. Cricket history has always been a source of information for the cricket lovers. This information can also be used as reference material, when a cricket enthusiast needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of the game.

Cricket history depicts the true spirit of the game. This history familiarizes you with the tradition and culture of cricket. Cricket history always raised the curiosity of the cricket enthusiasts. It is because cricket history sharpens their knowledge about the game and makes a core base for them. In fact, cricket history helps the enthusiasts to delve deep into the game and understand the facts. The game of cricket has earned a wide acclaim and its popularity chart is increasing with the passage of time.

The Cricket History is a complete encyclopedia of various sides of the game. Cricket was first played by adults in the beginning of 17th century, in some parts of Sussex and Kent. In the same century, the cricket spread to North America via English colonies. In 18th century, the cricket moved to West Indies and India. Similarly, it spread to New Zealand and South Africa in 19th century. This part of the cricket history informs about the increasing popularity of the game in various parts of the world.

The game of cricket has got a rich history that unfolds interesting facts about the game. Rules and regulations have been an important part of the game. Cricket history has got all the details about the earlier formation of rules. In 1727, the "articles of agreement" was formed to determine the code of practice. The rules were further amended in 1774 after the innovation of middle stumps, lbw and other factors. Cricket history does not end here; rather it has a whole lot of information about the nitty-gritty of cricket.

Cricket and only cricket has become the need of cricket lovers. You get to see a good bowler or a batsman or an all-rounder in every part of the country. The talent of cricket is shinning in the light of the increasing fame of the game. This makes it necessary for the cricket enthusiasts to have a thorough knowledge of cricket history. It is because this information will help them to enhance their knowledge.

Trade in Nepal

Nepal is a small landlocked country, stretched in an area of 1; 47,181 sq km. Nepal is also known as Himalayas with the highest pick of the world¾the Mount Everest. It is located between the two giant nations, China in the north and India in the south, east, and west. Geographically, it is situated between 26° 22' north to 30° 27’ north latitude and 80° 4' east to 88° 12’ east longitude. Nepal is 885 km in length from east to west and 193 km (Non-uniform) in width from north to south. It has a population of 2,27,36,934 with an annual growth rate of 2.24 percent.

International trade has often played a crucial role in the historical experience of the developing world including Nepal. Throughout the developing world, export of primary products has traditionally accounted for a sizable proportion of national income. In some small countries, up to 25 percent or more of national income is derived from the overseas sales of agricultural and other primary products such as coffee, grain, sugar, palm oil, etc.  This is a serious problem because the markets and prices for these products are often unstable. Dependency on primary product export carries with it a degree of risk and uncertainty. This is an important issue because prices of primary products have been gradually falling during a decade of two.

In addition, for most developing countries, import demands have increasingly exceeded their capacity to generate sufficient revenues from sales of export. This has led to chronic deficits on their balance of payment (BOP) position. Such deficits in current accounts (an excess of import payments over exports receipts for goods and services) are more than compensated by a surplus on capital account (a receipt of foreign private and public lending and investment in excess of repayment of principal and interest on former loans and investment). In recent years, the debt burden of repaying earlier international loans and investments has become increasingly acute and severe deficit on current and capital accounts have therefore led to a rapid depletion of their international monetary reserves, currency instability, and a slowdown in economic growth in most of the developing countries including Nepal.

Nepal has been pursuing its trade and foreign exchange policies in tandem with the global liberalization process and pushing its best to integrate it with the changing world economic order. In this light, on 7 December 1995, Nepal entered into an agreement to enforce SAPTA and declared duty exemption on imports of 14 various items from SAARC countries. With globalization, the world today is becoming more and more integrated. Globalization gives nations the opportunity to increase their productive efficiency and attain their comparative advantage. This reward has been attractive to many nations and consequently membership in WTO is ever increasing. In this regard, Nepal has also pursued membership in WTO for many years. Finally, it became the member of WTO on 11 September 2003. Nepal subsequently notified WTO that the process of ratification and acceptance of the Protocol of Accession had completed in Parliament. On 23 April 2004, Nepal became the 147th member of the rule based international organization. Membership in WTO entails both general and negotiated commitments, whose aim is for transparency and stability of international trade. International trade has played a significant role in economic development of Nepal. Despite various strategies adopted by the government to promote international trade, Nepal has been facing increased trade deficit due to lack of import substituting industries and exportable goods. Most of Nepalese major exportable goods are primary products, herbal, handicraft, garments, carpets, etc. Among these products, Pashmina is one of the new exportable products.

The Dilemma of Economic Development of Nepal

Naturally, Nepal is one of the beautiful countries in the world but economically it is considered to be among the bottommost countries of the world economy.
Only the capital city of Kathmandu cannot represent the true picture of Nepal. Nepal stands at the top in Asia as far as inequalities are concerned. The innumerable patches on the clothes of the majority of the population of Karnali Zone of western Nepal and the traffi c jams in Kathmandu valley are just examples of the inequality.
According to the population census, poverty in the rural areas of Nepal is increasing much more than in the urban areas. Besides, the scale of poverty is increasing in far-western and mid-western regions of Nepal. There is reproduction of poverty, rather than poverty alleviation, in Nepal. The economic gap between the developed districts like Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Birgunj measured against the undeveloped districts like Jumla, Baitadi and Bardiya is as stark as the inequality between Europe and Africa. Poverty has multidimensional effects to worsen development. Vicious cycle of poverty has affected every sphere of the nation and the social structures are not much accommodating for development due to their traditional feudal structures. Too much politics and high attachment of economic agenda with politics have been afflictions to the nation. The majority of the poor are from remote areas. For them, development has little meaning.
Millions of young people are working abroad as cheap, unskilled labourers. There is very low opportunity for jobs for the people inside the country. The small children and the general people walking for hours to reach schools, health posts and to fetch water is a normal phenomenon in the mountains of Nepal.
The productivity of most of the plain land of the south is diminishing and the agriculture sector is incapable to feed the fast-growing population. The centuries-old western development replica can be revisited in Nepal. The real development procedures in Nepal have not been yet started due to continued instability.
After the introduction and restoration of democracy in 1951, 1990 and during the 30 years party-less system, Nepal has never been profi cient to exhibit incredible enhancement in its economy as well as national development, the whole system is not functioning properly and it appears that the system is digging its own grave.
South East Asian countries that were in similar position as Nepal during the 1960, have brought great revolutions in their economy. Even the South Asian nations other than Nepal are in good positions in relation to growth and development due to their concrete policies and correct strategy.
There were some hopeful moments some decades ago in Nepal. Unfortunately, it could not be sustained. For example, I felt pleased and surprised after witnessing queues at shops of Nepalese woollen carpets across the streets of Frankfurt during my visit there around the nineties. In the same period, in a western newspaper, a photograph of Queen Elizabeth wearing Nepalese pashmina shawl was published. Export of Nepalese pashmina and garment in the USA and the western countries was at satisfactory levels by that time. And export of many Nepalese products to India including edible oil, ghee, black pipe, yarn, etc. had given good impetus to Nepalese export industries. After the beginning of this decade, export of these entire products was shrunken in a dramatic manner. The condition has not improved. There were many domestic factors responsible for the export breakdown of Nepal. The external factors were much more dominant compared to domestic factors. Export of low quality woollen carpet produced in the name of Nepalese carpet both in Nepal and India, export of sub-standard pashmina shawl branding as product of Nepal, but imported from China and locally made, quota restriction on garment import by the USA and quota and non-tariff barriers imposed by India on major Nepalese production were key elements for the crumple of exports of Nepal. The tiny and primary industrial and export base of Nepal could not bear these heavy shocks and the whole economy became ailing after that intolerable fright.

 

A Dark Nepal

Nepal is a country, haunted by a lot of problems. Among them political, economic and social are the most important one to be solved. Within this a problem with new dimension has borne which is none other then the problem of load shedding.
Previously, it was seasonal. In dry season one or two hours in a week Nepal was dark. But in this year it started from 2 hours, climbed the 6 hours hill and eventually 8 hours mountain. If this continues then the day is not far when there will be 12 hrs load shedding. Doesn’t seem a big deal to us but seems as a joke to the people of other countries because it is a fact that Nepal is the 2nd richest country in the context of water resources. We had learned in our school level that 83 thousand megabyte is the electricity generation capacity of our water resources. It is stated that million of cubic meter of water is crossing the boarder of country through the different rivers from east to west having a high potential to generate electricity. At present situation, however, we feel shame to say this. Actually who is accountable for this? Politicians?  Planners? Bureaucrat? Who? Can manpower of the country get its answer? What can we do from our side to overcome this problem? Remaining is just continuation of migration to foreign country as of our elders. Is there no space for patriotism?
The impact of load shedding is immeasurable in various sectors like industry, business and others. Further, our teacher taught us much- a poor country like Nepal has to work two times more in a day and four times more in a night in comparison to the developed country.  In contrary to this, every section of life in our country are compelled to sleep.   But, how it is? Few years back our grand parents saying about diyalo and Kerosene lamps was like a story to us but became daily life nowadays. As we are facing the same problem our grand parents had to. We are passing a lot of time talking on load shedding schedules, and fuel to cook. In fact it could not be a problem for a country like ours.  Students, the next hands of a country, are notable to pay their keen attention to their study. Need less to mention the loss is tremendous in the industrial and business sector too. Ultimately it is a loss of country. It is unrecoverable. He who cannot foresee even a few years problem in planning are condemned much from suffer especially student like me. It could be same for all other section of life.
 For students like us load shedding has been proved to be as a troublesome part in our day to day life. Today every where I hear people talking about the problem of load shedding, why not it is the hot news of Nepal as the schedule keep on changing. There is a one bright day in a week and rest are dark, hey don’t take me the either way I mean that only one day there is no load shedding. If this race of increasing hours exceeds its limit I think what Nepal would get profit for also would be bunged completely. But viewing today’s context I do not think the hour limit shall decrease. This also has been a topic of discussion in my classes there I hear my teachers saying that it’s better that there would be no light and we would also experience the life of villagers of Nepal.
As every thing has its good part I think load shading’s got it too. The people engaged in the business of candles, kerosene lamps, emergency light are turning well of day by day. However its disadvantages out numbers it advantages.      



 

Kathmandu - The Gateway To Nepal

Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal and often called "The Gateway to Nepal" and "Gateway of Mount Everest". When anybody who has come to Nepal thinks of Kathmandu, the first impression he carries on his mind is the temples of Kathmandu and its rich culture. Pashupatinath, Boudhanath Stupa, Swyambhunath temple (often called Monkey temple), Changunarayan are the world heritage sites of Kathmandu that are in the memories of thousands of tourist who have visited Nepal. Kathmandu is the melting point of Buddhism and Hinduism. The greatest Hindu shrine, Pashupatinath, situated in the eastern part of Kathmandu attracts thousands of tourists every year. Spectacular stupas such as Swyambhunath and Boudhanath would keep any peace lover spellbound and surrender to the symbol of peace and take mesmerizing experience back.
Now I would like to scratch some history behind Kathmandu valley. Nobody would ever believe this beautiful city was once a great lake and Swyambhunath, a floating lotus. A Chinese warrior named Manjushree came to Nepal to see the Swyambhunath. It looked like a lotus floating around the lake. He then drained the water out of Kathmandu by cutting hill in Chobhar with his sword. Kathmandu valley is believed to have got its name from imposing pagoda Kasthamandap in Hanuman Dhoka.
Nepal is a country of great culture and traditions. Believe it or not here are 3 million gods and festivals more than there are days in a year. So, if you are in Kathmandu on any month in a year, you would definitely want to check the festival out there. It's a lot of fun.
Pashupatinath is the greatest tourist destination. Though on the main temple only the Hindus are allowed to enter there are several interesting things in Pashupatinath which will make your visit worthy. Pashupatinath has covered a very big area. Monkeys, dears, beautiful pigeons can be seen around Pashupatinath. Pashupatinath is a temple of God Shiva. You can see lot of devotees with the ashes put around their body and smoking weeds. Pashupatinath is situated on the bank of holy river Bagmati. On the bank of Bagmati River you can see the cremation ceremony. IN Hindu culture, when there is death of any person, then they are burnt and at last the ashes are flown to the Bagmati River which will ultimately reach the Holy River Ganges. This is quite an interesting culture of Hindus which you can witness in Nepal unlike the burial ceremony of other religions and culture.
When you are in Kathmandu you would not want to miss the opportunity to see the sunrise in Nagarkot. The golden color cloud with the sunrise makes you feel like you are in Heaven and the spectacular view of Mount Everest makes your visit million dollar one. I would strongly recommend get yourself to Nagarkot, one of the premier hill stations, where you will find a hotel for any budget and taste. It is not very difficult to get to Nagarkot. You can book a taxi or take the daily tourist bus which departs from Thamel at 7 am everyday in tourist season and on demand out of season. A great view of mountains, one of the Nepal's biggest attractions can be enjoyed on a clear day. From Nagarkot, views can be seen right from Annapurna in the west all the way down to Kanchenjunga in the east. The best time of year to see impressive views of the mountains is from September through to February. When you are returning from Nagarkot I would recommend you to trek down through the hillside Tamang Villages to Changunarayan, the oldest and one of the loveliest temples in the Kathmandu Valley. The entry fee is just 70 rupees.
Thamel, Narayanhiti national museum, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Rani Pokhari, Dharahara are other interesting places which are within a 2km radius so I hope you would you could visit these places without any difficulty. Thamel is the gathering point of Tourists in Nepal where I believe every tourist will go once they go to Kathmandu. Here you can witness as many tourists as native people. You can find some good restaurants and good hotels for your accommodation in Thamel. It is worth visiting in Kathmandu.
Kathmandu Durbar Square is another tourist place where you must definitely go when you are in Nepal. It seems like there was a competition of putting as many temples and big museums in the smallest area possible. I would recommend taking a rickshaw (three wheeler bicycle) and wander around the place. You can stay on the top of one of the temples and just watch the activities on busy city as well.
If you want to go for trekking from Kathmandu you can easily go to any popular trekking sites such as Everest Base Camp Trek, Annapurna Trekking Circuit, and Manaslu Trekking etc. If you want to go to Mount Everest, then you need to take a mountain flight from Kathmandu to Lukla which is about 30-40 minutes. Lukla is one of the world's most dangerous airport and the airport on the highest point.