India fav's for the World cup....English Media!!

[WeptWindies]

English media tout India as World Cup favourites
Press Trust of India
London, September 26

India's nail-biting 10-run victory over South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy has drawn flattering praise from the English media which said the Asian giants have emerged as one of the strong favourites for the World Cup in South Africa next year.

"Over the past year, in innumerable one-day clashes, England and India have extolled each other as ever-improving sides. English defeats have been routinely explained away. India? Got to be World Cup favourites. We're doing well to compete," The Guardian wrote on Thursday.

After scoring 261 for nine, India managed to restrict South Africa, who are rated second only to World Champions Ausralia, to 251 for five to sneak into the final on Sunday.

"That comforting perception was tested to the utmost in the Champions Trophy semi-final last night as India collided with South Africa under the same Premadasa lights where they had terrorised England on Monday.

In the ultimate analysis, "somehow, the South Africans fell 10 runs short. The World Cup is on their own patch; this defeat may leave deep scars. India's reputation may yet prove deserved," it said.

The daily was all praise for Yuvraj Singh for his two exceptional catches - reaching high at backward point, to dismiss Graeme Smith and his plunging catch to account for Jonty Rhodes which was better still. Stymied by the part-time slows of Virender Sehwag on a dying pitch, South Africa found acceleration beyond them.

The Independent, another daily, noted that South Africa was sent packing by wiles of Sehwag.

[luckyeddie]

Once again, it shows how much the English press know about anything.

If you want to know the odds, ask a bookie (or marc).

According to bet365.com, the odds have not changed very much over the last couple of months - Australia have shortened to a little under 2/1, South Africa have gone out to 3/1, Pakistan 11/2, India 13/2, Sri Lanka 8/1, England and New Zealand 12/1, West Indies 25/1, Zimbabwe 100/1, the rest nowhere.

[WeptWindies]

I think its fair to crown the Afrikans as the chokers of the world!

On talent and ability they may be considered as the fav's for the next WC, BUT coping with presssure is something they will never learn.I simply don't expect them to win the next WC!

[Neil Pickup]

Typical English Press:

"GM Food causes Autism in Children - Immigrants to Blame"

Don't believe a word of it. Ever.

And the Guardian and Independent tend not to have sports sections that are on the ball (sorry)...

[full_length]

hey try and read the article in guardian.co.uk before criticising them. I think that this article in the Indian newspaper was very strange. Don't have time to elaborate now (sorry!!) but I think the tone in the original article was not the way it's projected here. Ofcourse that was IMO..

[aussie_beater]

The original article in Guardian had a more sarcastic tone....these Indian newspapers are total "spin-mills".They have some correspondents abroad who get their content by reading local newspapers and that's all they do.Then they give it a spin that fits the readership back home and paint it in those colours.Its not just for sport, but for almost everything else as well.

[luckyeddie]

Creative journalism?

You wouldn't find that in the Sun.

(actually, you would be lucky to find any journalism in the Sun, creative or otherwise).

I buy the Guardian occasionally because the paper's just the right size to line my rabbit's hutch with, so it's not all bad.

[marc71178]

It appears to me that this writer shares my opinion