Semi Finals and Finals

[PakPowered]

How good would an India/Pakistan final be? Up for it tbh.

It would be very good and i believe it will be close.
In contrast an Au-Pak final would be one sided, just like '99 WC

 

[JASON]

Good luck to any Team that has to play Australia in the Final....Whe was the last time Australia lost in a final ......

 

[Vic_89]

Good luck to any Team that has to play Australia in the Final....Whe was the last time Australia lost in a final ......

96 WC...CB series final

 

[PakPowered]

agree with you i have afeeling the winner of the tournamnet will be from the
IND VS AUS semi

but you never know its pakistan wht u r talking about

Well Pakistan haven't suffered a defeat in this tour yet (match against India being a tie) and i cannot imagine Pakistan ending a tour without a defeat.

Whoever wins the hard fought India-Aus semis is more likely to win the tour.

 

[pup11]

I can't understand why are you guys are underestimating the Black caps, yeah i know they are semi-final specialists but this is a different format and the definitely can beat Pakistan on any given day.
But i agree whoever wins the Indo-Aussie tie would probably go on to win this tournament.

 

[PakPowered]

I can't understand why are you guys are underestimating the Black caps, yeah i know they are semi-final specialists but this is a different format and the definitely can beat Pakistan on any given day.
But i agree whoever wins the Indo-Aussie tie would probably go on to win this tournament.

They can certainly beat Pak , but i think Pak is much more stronger than Kiwis.However if Pakistan comes up with a similar performance (as the one displayed in last match against bang), then Kiwis will win the semis with ease.

 

[honestbharani]

fear the worst for India, really...

Haven't seen them manage to keep up the intensity for a number of matches in a row, thisIndian side...

 

[SJS]

fear the worst for India, really...

Same here.

I am afraid their luck will run out big time. If it holds against Australia (the big big big test) anything can happen.

They have issues with Sreesanth. He is not only inconsistent he maybe affected by his relative lack of success compared to RP. The guy is very fragile tempramentally and I dont see a senior who can calm him down.

Another issue is Harbhajan. He started brainlessly with flatish deliveries in his first over and kept going for runs. Hasn't he been watching this tournament and whats been happening when spinners come on. Cant he learn from what Vettori is doing. I hope he will slow down on the pace he puts on his stock delivery.

My third issue is Dhoni. Someone has written somewhere here about Dhoni's consistency in this tournament. I am amazed that once a hero we are so blind. The guy has been batting in what can be called 'test match mode' in this format. He has easily the worst strike rate of all major batsmen in the entire tournament. He has played more deliveries than most and has what, two sixes. I am not saying sixes are the only way to go but its an indicator to whats happened to him.

There isnt a single innings of fire and thats been the case from the beginning of this English sunner. In the last couple of innings he has stopped trying those fancy "Dhoni specials" which dont go anywhere but are all strength and work and yet he isnt able to make the ball say 'ouch, I am hit". There is something wrong with him as faras batting goes and I wish we had a batting coach to talk to him.

I think that maybe, just maybe, Dhoni realises that he is having a problem hence his reluctance to go higher himself. But India needs him to fire on all cylinders. I hope it all falls together for him against Australia. That will be the boost we need.

Who will they drop with Yuvraj coming back for the semi final ?

 

[Laurrz]

Australiasia to beat Subcontinent

Australia vs NZ Final

 

[honestbharani]

Same here.

I am afraid their luck will run out big time. If it holds against Australia (the big big big test) anything can happen.

They have issues with Sreesanth. He is not only inconsistent he maybe affected by his relative lack of success compared to RP. The guy is very fragile tempramentally and I dont see a senior who can calm him down.

Another issue is Harbhajan. He started brainlessly with flatish deliveries in his first over and kept going for runs. Hasn't he been watching this tournament and whats been happening when spinners come on. Cant he learn from what Vettori is doing. I hope he will slow down on the pace he puts on his stock delivery.

My third issue is Dhoni. Someone has written somewhere here about Dhoni's consistency in this tournament. I am amazed that once a hero we are so blind. The guy has been batting in what can be called 'test match mode' in this format. He has easily the worst strike rate of all major batsmen in the entire tournament. He has played more deliveries than most and has what, two sixes. I am not saying sixes are the only way to go but its an indicator to whats happened to him.

There isnt a single innings of fire and thats been the case from the beginning of this English sunner. In the last couple of innings he has stopped trying those fancy "Dhoni specials" which dont go anywhere but are all strength and work and yet he isnt able to make the ball say 'ouch, I am hit". There is something wrong with him as faras batting goes and I wish we had a batting coach to talk to him.

I think that maybe, just maybe, Dhoni realises that he is having a problem hence his reluctance to go higher himself. But India needs him to fire on all cylinders. I hope it all falls together for him against Australia. That will be the boost we need.

Who will they drop with Yuvraj coming back for the semi final ?

most probably Karthik... which is a shame because no one really knows why he was dropped (he had a better strike rate than even Dhoni, for God's sakes and scored almost as much as him in that game)... He was dropped to bring in Sharma and then he came back because Yuvi was injured and straightaway he is sent in at 3 even though Uthappa (an opener, no less) and Dhoni were in good form and he gets a first baller which could have happened to anyone and now he is gonna be dropped... Strange are the ways of Indian cricket.


And you are spot on about Dhoni but honestly it has just become too tiring for me to say the same thing about him in every Indian thread. He is not the batsman he once was/promised to be and the sooner we all realize that, the better... Although the last game, the signs were somewhat better than they previously were.

 

[SJS]

And you are spot on about Dhoni but honestly it has just become too tiring for me to say the same thing about him in every Indian thread. .

You are right but you know what, it is even more tiring to see how the hero-worshipping fans keep writing about how him as if he is doing a fantastic job , as a batsman, in England and now in the world cup.

I think Dhoni has the potential of being a remarkable batsman but what I find frustrating is how we are so blind when it comes to those we put on a pedestal.

There was a time when people wouldn't heara word against Tendulkar, now Sachin cant seem to do anything right for them. Ganguly was once devil incarnate, now he has a pedestal of his own from which you just cant shake him. I wish people would be more objective about our stars and then we would be able to appreciate them much better inspite of their failings and of course the cricket deabte would be so much more enjoyable.

And as I wrote earlier he seems to be batting better for the last couple of innings and I do hope it will all come together in the semi finals and then we will have a game.

I am surprised he isn't sending himself higher in the order in this format. We are sick and tired of public and media raving about the injustice done by Dravid and company by not sending him higher up. Well here is a format which is so suitable for that and he is the one who decided the batting order. Whats happening.

I would love to see him at four, not lower, in the semi finals.

 

[SJS]

Australiasia to beat Subcontinent

Australia vs NZ Final

Any odds you are offering on both India and Pakistan losing the semis ?

 

[Laurrz]

^not really lol.. i am probably tipping Pakistan vs Australia but i am hoping for Australia vs NZ

well tomorrow is the first time Aussies will have played at Durban.... so i havent seen any of the matches there but from what ive seen (scorecards) they are good for bowlers .. swing?

good for Lee, Bracken i suppose.. but the indian bowlers wont be easy either

 

[SJS]

^not really lol.. i am probably tipping Pakistan vs Australia but i am hoping for Australia vs NZ

well tomorrow is the first time Aussies will have played at Durban.... so i havent seen any of the matches there but from what ive seen (scorecards) they are good for bowlers .. swing?

good for Lee, Bracken i suppose.. but the indian bowlers wont be easy either

I would put my money on NZL and AUS though I will be rooting for India and Pakistan

 

[anoop4real]

Well Pakistan haven't suffered a defeat in this tour yet (match against India being a tie) and i cannot imagine Pakistan ending a tour without a defeat.

Whoever wins the hard fought India-Aus semis is more likely to win the tour.

Sure I also agree with that.

 

[honestbharani]

You are right but you know what, it is even more tiring to see how the hero-worshipping fans keep writing about how him as if he is doing a fantastic job , as a batsman, in England and now in the world cup.

I think Dhoni has the potential of being a remarkable batsman but what I find frustrating is how we are so blind when it comes to those we put on a pedestal.

There was a time when people wouldn't heara word against Tendulkar, now Sachin cant seem to do anything right for them. Ganguly was once devil incarnate, now he has a pedestal of his own from which you just cant shake him. I wish people would be more objective about our stars and then we would be able to appreciate them much better inspite of their failings and of course the cricket deabte would be so much more enjoyable.

And as I wrote earlier he seems to be batting better for the last couple of innings and I do hope it will all come together in the semi finals and then we will have a game.

I am surprised he isn't sending himself higher in the order in this format. We are sick and tired of public and media raving about the injustice done by Dravid and company by not sending him higher up. Well here is a format which is so suitable for that and he is the one who decided the batting order. Whats happening.

I would love to see him at four, not lower, in the semi finals.

Well, yeah, I too hope that he has his long over due series of good games now, does Dhoni. That is about the only way India can even be competitve against Australia, IMO...

And about hero-worshipping, I will tell you something very interesting (and unfortunate ): I have a couple of cousins, one of whom stays at our house, since he is from another town and my other cousin lives just a couple of streets away... We often end up watching the matches together, esp. India's matches, and you just won't believe some of the stuff they will say... Everytime Sachin plays a bad shot, it is NOT a bad shot and if it was, it was only because he is under more pressure than any other player... Rahul Dravid suddenly became a villain since January this year because he apparently FAILED to stand up for Sachin against Chappell. From then on, every time Dravid made a mistake, they went "this is what happens with such jerks as captain". And they kept saying he should resign if he had any self-respect, given how bad a captain he was... Nevermind the fact that Ganguly had at times been even more defensive as a captain than Dravid, it was just Dravid-dissing all the way. And when he does resign, they went "What a coward!!! If he can't handle it, why did he become captain in the first place?". Remind them that Sachin ran away in the same way, and pat comes the usual reply... "Don't compare anyone to Sachin." See an ad with SAchin and they have to go "Sachin is the best looking cricketer in the world.' Remind them that Dravid had gotten almost 75% of the votes in a MTV poll just recently and also in the late 90s... "It was all fixed."..

And these are men who work for esteemed companies. One works for the biggest media group in India and the other works for one of the biggest banking firms in the whole world. It is amazing that they even thought that Sachin was not at fault in that stupid Ferrari thing, where I thought Sachin's behaviour was almost shameful.... No wonder we continue to be a mediocre side....

 

[SJS]

In India cricket and logic dont exist in the same space.

 

[Bahnz]

I'm hoping for a New Zealand India final, but realistically it'll probably be Oz v Pakistan. Just wondering whether New Zealand will consider pushing Craig McMillan up the order a bit. He's been one of the outstanding batsman of the tournament, scoring lots of runs at a very very high strike rate. It'd be nice for us if he came in for once, not having to perform another rescue job.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

most probably Karthik... which is a shame because no one really knows why he was dropped (he had a better strike rate than even Dhoni, for God's sakes and scored almost as much as him in that game)... He was dropped to bring in Sharma and then he came back because Yuvi was injured and straightaway he is sent in at 3 even though Uthappa (an opener, no less) and Dhoni were in good form and he gets a first baller which could have happened to anyone and now he is gonna be dropped... Strange are the ways of Indian cricket.

Karthik has been struggling in all forms of limited over cricket for a while now. He's a weak link in the batting lineup, and I don't consider it harsh at all that Sharma and Yuvraj muscle him out of the team. Regarding having a higher SR than Dhoni, it's inconsequential, because Dhoni is a vastly superior player and will always play ahead of Karthik. You can only compare him to the players he's competing for places with.

 

[honestbharani]

Karthik has been struggling in all forms of limited over cricket for a while now. He's a weak link in the batting lineup, and I don't consider it harsh at all that Sharma and Yuvraj muscle him out of the team. Regarding having a higher SR than Dhoni, it's inconsequential, because Dhoni is a vastly superior player and will always play ahead of Karthik. You can only compare him to the players he's competing for places with.

I never said it was wrong to have dropped him... But when the guy does get a chance to play in the side after one of the regulars is injured, you just don't send him up at 3 to face the music while you and the other batters who have actually got a bit of form behind you sit in the dugout cooling your heels.... And then use that as an excuse to take him out of the side again... I thought it was a bit unfair on Karthik. You never know, he might have done a decent job coming in at 6... He is one guy who has really been affected by being pushed everywhere possible in the batting order.


Let me see, he plays the first game as a #7 and does well. Next game, they say he will play at 3 as a recognition of his form... India get a good start, then Yuvraj and Dhoni and everyone comes ahead of him and he has to come in in the last couple of overs and played 2 balls, scored a run and off the other he was wrongly given out lbw. The next game, he is sent in at 3 when the ball does a bit and the openers HAVEN'T given us a start and he plays a bad shot and gets out. Same in the 4th game... In the 5th game, he hardly gets a knock, again batting at the end and remaining not out without getting to face too many balls. Then he is dropped, brought in for the Twenty20 tourney, gets out to a really good ball from Asif after looking promising in the first game, doesn't do better or worse than some of the other batters in the next game and is dropped for the 3rd and then brought in for the 4th again and AGAIN, India have a bad start under tough conditions against good pacers and bingo, he is sent in at 3 again.

If you ever thought he was good enough to bat 3 in those conditions against that bowlling, then why do you ever drop him? And if you think he is not good enough to play and so drop him then why do you bat him at the toughest positions? As I said, India are wasting a really good talent here... People talk about lack of a settled position affecting the best of players and we have seen it even with the likes of Lara and Sachin, no wonder it is affecting a youngster trying to make his way like DK... Someone has to seriously tell the Indian team management that this is NOT the way to treat a budding player.