Netherlands / Ryan ten doeschate / 13 March 2011 /

Our man on the ground at the Cricket World Cup is targeting another upset when his Netherlands side faces Bangladesh on Monday morning

I have just finished watching the South Africa-India match and along with a few other nailbiters this is what the World Cup is all about.

There is so little to choose between the top teams, particularly in Group B and I'm sure that the knock out phase holds plenty more excitement in store.

The atmosphere at the India matches is unexplainable. Opening the bowling against Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag last week is a cricket memory I will never forget. The noise in the stadium was incredible and while the support is anything but hostile it still makes the job at hand even tougher.

It was quite comforting to see Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have a tough time against the said pair last night.

Batting has dominated the competition so far and I think that Tendulkar and Sehwag have been the stand out players so far. Their individual contributions are amplified when viewed as a partnership and I think that they hold the key to India challenging for the main prize. It's no surprise that the leading run scorers are the openng batsmen of the various teams.

I am still thoroughly enjoying being a part of the competition. We are currently in Bangladesh and the attention we receive wherever we go is of superstar status. The people are as passionate about their cricket as the Indian public and Mondays match at Chittagong will be another stern test for us.

This atmosphere has highlighted the disappointment of probably not playing in the next World Cup. Opinion seems to be divided but the Associates will certainly be fighting to retain our participation in the next tournament. The gap between the Associates and Test Nations definitely feels smaller than in 2007 and this is surely a sign of progress. Unfortunately there have been a few drubbings but it's not only the Associates who have been on the receiving end.

I'm still feeling in good form but I must admit that my innings against England seems a long time ago. My subsequent performances with the bat have been disappointing
but I'm certainly not downhearted. I feel far more comfortable at this level than I did 4 years ago and am slowly coming to terms with how to bat in the middle phases
here. This experience is obviously invaluable for my upcoming IPL stint and while i have a better idea of whats required I still need to touch up on the execution of these skills.

We have a final session this afternoon before we tackle The Tigers on Monday. This is a match we've marked as a potential win and we're hoping to catch Bangladesh on the backfoot after their immense high from beating England on Friday night.

This group is extremely tough. While we are mathematically out of the competition we could make this a successful tour by finishing with two good performances.

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