*Official* Group A Discussion - Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, India

[Cruxdude]

Looking forward to September 26th. Indian and Pakistani students are getting together to watch the match on big screen in my univ. Going to be great fun.

[iHammad]

This is the more exciting group than B. Hope to see Pak and Aus qualify. Hopefully we can beat India and Aus to make semis!!

[Turbinator]

Chak de India!

[Johnners]

Some key Australian players starting to hit form (or ar in good form), so I'm quietly confident we can be 3-0 after the group stage. 2-1 more likely though I guess, especially if we fall back into "can't buy a run from decent spin bowling" mode in the middle overs.

[morgieb]

Dominating in England, pretty happy about this series, especially given that Pakistan & India aren't that good outside the subcontinent, and the West Indies are playing like a 164223239934227th XI.

Will be disappointed if we don't make the semis at least.

[Naumaan]

Originally Posted by morgieb

Dominating in England, pretty happy about this series, especially given that Pakistan & India aren't that good outside the subcontinent, and the West Indies are playing like a 164223239934227th XI.

Will be disappointed if we don't make the semis at least.

This time be ready for another exit before semi's Sir

[ret]

This is how CT could go

Ind up beat from its win in SL will turn up over confident in their first game against Pakistan, who would go on to surprise the Indians. Then Indians will have the tough task of not only beating Aus but also WI by a high NRR .... Australia will go through, along with Pak

Grp B - SA and SL


Semis:

Aus vs SL - SL with the help of 3M manage to restrict the OZ .... Jayasuriya plays a blinder to upset OZ

Pak vs SA - SA choke, so Pak goes through


Final: Pak vs SL




PS if Pak reaches the final then we will have 30 pages of spamming by Pak fans telling us how Pak is unpredictable, this is Pak so anything can happen, how good their side is and so on

[Naumaan]

Originally Posted by ret

This is how CT could go

Ind up beat from its win in SL will turn up over confident in their first game against Pakistan, who would go on to surprise the Indians. Then Indians will have the tough task of not only beating Aus but also WI by a high NRR .... Australia will go through, along with Pak

Grp B - SA and SL


Semis:

Aus vs SL - SL with the help of 3M manage to restrict the OZ .... Jayasuriya plays a blinder to upset OZ

Pak vs SA - SA choke, so Pak goes through


Final: Pak vs SL




PS if Pak reaches the final then we will have 30 pages of spamming by Pak fans telling us how Pak is unpredictable, this is Pak so anything can happen, how good their side is and so on

whom u r refering to by the way?????????

[ret]

Originally Posted by Naumaan

whom u r refering to by the way?????????

general comment .... why?

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by TT Boy

You forget to add, RP Singh, Sachin, Ishant Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Bhaji.

That's almost the whole team. They're not that bad!

There's nothing wrong with Tendulkar- he's just panned each time he drops a catch, because he's old. Harbhajan is also a very good fielder, even if he isn't of the quality of a Ponting or a Symonds. The rest- they're not bad fielders, and are quite good in some aspects, but have weaknesses. RP Singh can ride the boundaries well and cut off a few fours, and has a decent throwing arm, though his reflexes may be a problem. Yusuf Pathan is an excellent fielder in catching positions, though stopping some balls rolling low is a problem- reflexes are good, but agility isn't. Ishant and Praveen can save runs, but their throwing is wayward.

They've had bad days on the field. Sometimes, the team has collectively underperformed. However, that doesn't make them bad fielders, as we've seen them do quite well in some other matches, even collectively. None of them are as bad as Dravid and Nehra, both total liabilities capable of contributing absolutely nothing. Sometimes, they can't grip a slimy, muddy ball. Some high catches at night are difficult. Some fielders stand out of position and struggle. Throwing is a problem, as it's only a matter of luck if an Indian direct hit connects, bat in or out. All of these things can be worked on, and there is scope for improvement for the players. The field placings, however, need a reshuffle. Sometimes, they're absolutely dumb.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by honestbharani

You are right about YP but I would play Nayyar there.. His bowling might be useful there and he is a good batsman, a bit like Robin Singh.. suited to #7... Mishra would be gr8 in the side but with Bhajji doing well, he will have to wait for his chance, unfortunately.

Mishra and Bhajji together isn't a bad idea at all. It's worth a try.

[Arjun]

Now Sanjay Manjrekar and Wasim Akram think Dravid's recall is a step backward. Their reasoning is that Raina should learn to face the quicks and handle the pressure of that position. By demoting him, they're restricting him from making a big score and also denting his confidence- by saying he's not good enough.

That's a fair point, but the Indians are missing Sehwag in this tournament. That's one big name gone. In addition, Yuvraj and Dhoni are far more accomplished batsmen. There's no way Raina should bat so high up when these are the players around. While Dravid's recall is a negative step for other reasons, the management and selectors wish to take no chances with batting in the Champions' Trophy.

[Naumaan]

Originally Posted by ret

general comment .... why?

well i don't shout when Pakistan win or lose

[ret]

Originally Posted by Naumaan

well i don't shout when Pakistan win or lose

So?

[Arjun]

The Indians should put in practice what they can follow in the rest of the series. What should they have as the selection and strategy? Here's a list to think about.

1. Play five full bowlers including Praveen, or Nayar as a full bowler.
2. Top five of Gambhir, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni, and the rest may be shuffled according to the scenario.
3. Swap Ishant with one of the current new ball bowlers.
4. Ishant goes for pace, Singh/Kumar/Nehra for movement and Nayar just a steady wicket-to-wicket line.
5. At least three stand in close-in positions for the whole innings, and possibly even a slip for the whole lot, and set fields to cut off singles rather than boundaries.

It's a pity Yusuf Pathan is out of form. That just makes things a whole lot harder now.