Latest Storylines from Cricket World Cup

While it doesn’t carry the same weight worldwide as its football counterpart, the 2015 Cricket World Cup is a spectacle to behold, and after nearly two weeks of matches, things are really starting to heat up in the New Zealand and Australia-hosted tournament.

With a couple of huge matches coming up in the next couple of days, and an incredible match on Thursday, the next few days are set to be some of the more interesting of the tournament before the knockout rounds come March.

Some of the favorites are doing what they do best and pulling away from the pack already, but can these teams keep up the pace or will some upsets find their way into the World Cup?

Here are some of the key storylines heading into the next round of matches.

Afghanistan Comes Back to Stun Scotland

Dianne Manson/Associated Press

Scotland had never won a World Cup match. Afghanistan had never won a World Cup match. So with the two teams scheduled to take on each other Thursday, something had to give.

Despite the relative quality of the teams involved, the match proved to be one of the tournament’s best so far, with both battling back and forth and Afghanistan taking the win by a single wicket.

According to the BBC, former English cricketer Vic Marks was wowed by the twists and turns of the match.

“That was an amazing game of cricket,” Marks said. “Not the highest quality, but as dramatic as I have seen in a long time. Afghanistan, against all the odds, have triumphed. Scotland are disconsolate.”

A 96 from Samiullah Shenwari was the key to the Afghanistan rally, that was finished off by Shapoor Zadran. It is incredibly unlikely either of these teams will advance in the tournament, but they at least provided one of the best matches you will see this year.

Can South Africa Keep Pace with India?

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

In South Africa’s previous match before Friday’s contest against the West Indies, the Proteas struggled, losing by their biggest margin in World Cup history against the powerhouse that is India.

Although currently sitting behind West Indies and Ireland in Pool B, South Africa are expected to finish as runners up to, unsurprisingly, India.

While the Indians will look to stay undefeated with a relatively easy match against United Arab Emirates on Saturday, South Africa will be hoping to keep on the pace by taking down their chief rivals in West Indies.

Not many expect the South Africans to win the whole thing this year, but a deep run in the tournament is the hope, and that starts with a win against West Indies to keep pace with India.

Will New Zealand vs. Australia Live Up to the Hype?

Theo Karanikos/Associated Press

Looking at the fixture schedule for this tournament, February 28 is surely circled as a must-watch day. It will be a day where favorites India are on display against an overmatched UAE side, but more importantly, it is a battle between the two host countries—New Zealand and Australia.

Typically two of the giants of the game, both teams came into this year’s tournament with expectations of winning it all, and Saturday will give us a chance to see them face off.

This is a match that could very well see a repeat in the final—that’s the quality these two teams have. It should be a wonderful exhibition of cricket and a showcase for those unfamiliar with the sport to witness what fun it can be.

Does the Luck of the Irish Continue?

Ross Setford/Associated Press

It wasn’t easy, but Ireland squeaked out a close victory against the UAE Wednesday, claiming the win by just two wickets—the side's second victory in as many matches.

Coming into the tournament, Ireland were ranked 11th in the world, according to the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings, and not expected to do much, but through two matches, the Irish are sitting tied on points at the top of Pool B.

The two victories came against a UAE team they were expected to beat and against West Indies—which, in all honesty, was a complete toss up between the two—but things are set to get much more difficult.

With matches against South Africa and India ahead, it isn’t likely the Irish will be able to really build on their success thus far, but if the team can ride momentum and shock one of the favorites, it could be one of the stories of the World Cup.