Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule: Fixtures, Live Stream and Latest TV Info
The quarter-final line-up for the 2015 Cricket World Cup is beginning to take shape, with a host of the tournament’s most illustrious names booking their place in the last-eight of the competition.
But for a plethora of teams there is still plenty to play for as the pool stages wind down and with Associate nations impressing throughout this competition, there are no gimme games for those big names that are still chasing the points needed to cement their quarter-final spot.
The format seems to have brought the best out of these sides too and as we can see courtesy of Cricket Record, the standard of batting on display at this tournament in particular has been marvellous:
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Here’s a look at the remaining matches in the pool stages at this engrossing World Cup, all the information you need on where to catch the action live and a closer look at some critical upcoming fixtures.
Pool Matches
Mar. 10 Pool B: India v Ireland, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 11 Pool A: Sri Lanka v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 12 Pool B: South Africa v UAE, Wellington (Westpac Stadium) (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 13 Pool A: Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 13 Pool A: England v Afghanistan, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 14 Pool B: India v Zimbabwe, Auckland (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 14 Pool A: Australia v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
Mar. 15 Pool B: West Indies v UAE, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, Mar. 14)
Mar. 15 Pool B: Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
TV Info: Matches live on Sky Sports 2 (UK)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), ESPN Cricket 2015 (U.S.)
India vs. Ireland
Reigning champions India have settled into an exceptional groove in the early stages of this competition and at this juncture they look the most likely team to challenge the might of co-hosts Australia and New Zealand for eventual glory.
As noted by former England captain Michael Vaughan, after five wins from their opening five games, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will feel as though they have a fine chance of making it two World Cup wins in a row:
They’ve already booked their spot in the last-eight, but Ireland are a team still fighting for their berth in the knockout stages. The men in green have won three of their four matches at this tournament so far, but with matches against India and Pakistan to come in their last two group games, their place is far from secure yet.
Ireland are fast proving themselves as a quality outfit, though. Their batting in particular has been very impressive and with the talents of Ed Joyce, William Porterfield and Kevin O’Brien, they have an excellent array of attributes in their line-up.
But India have a classy bowling attack, arguably the finest of any team in the tournament. It’s something Freddie Wilde of ESPN Cricinfo referred to recently as they picked up yet another convincing victory:
Ultimately, Ireland will not have enough to contain this rampant India team. They’ll make things tough and have the talent at their disposal to make or chase a decent score, but the reigning champions are a cut above the Irish in every department and that will show over the course of the contest.
Sri Lanka vs. Scotland
After coming up short in their chase against Australia last time out, Sri Lanka have the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways when they go up against Pool A whipping boys Scotland. And you suspect all eyes will be on Kumar Sangakkara after his magnificent spell of recent form.
The veteran batsman’s century in the loss to the Baggy Greens was his third in succession at this World Cup and as noted by BBC Test Match Special, it’s a feat that’s never previously been achieved before:
"Kumar Sangakkara becomes the first man to score 3 consecutive @cricketworldcup centuries http://t.co/ZEhYb5pe7o pic.twitter.com/FiBWRkrMzO
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 8, 2015"
Sangakkara’s knock gave his team hope, but eventually they were unable to get over the line when chasing down the Aussie’s imposing total. However, the form of their talisman as well as the excellent late hitting from Dinesh Chandimal should give this team plenty of cause to be positive coming into this one.
They should have more than enough to topple the Scots, but the Associate nation have been a little unlucky in this World Cup so far. Scotland suffered a narrow one-wicket loss to Afghanistan earlier in the tournament and against Bangladesh last time out they were unable to defend a total of 318-8.
In that match Kyle Coetzer produced a very special knock for the Scots and he’ll definitely be the prize wicket for this Sri Lanka bowling attack. Here’s a look at where he scored his runs in that immaculate innings courtesy of the ICC Twitter account:
Even if Coetzer repeats his heroics, it’s difficult to see how Scotland can contain this wonderful Sri Lanka batting line-up. With Sangakkara in the form of his life and players like Tillakaratne Dilshan also beginning to find their feet, they’ll secure an emphatic win in this one.
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