[Eddy]

I still think that this was the best 11 Pakistan could have put on the field, and 9 out of those 11 would have taken inspiration from the Champions Trophy win - hence my opinion. Of course, teams across eras cannot be compared.

Also, I've seen some former Pakistan players criticizing Sarfaraz for opting to bowl after winning the toss. That is plain hindsight speaking. The conditions were ideal for bowling - just that we batted well and they bowled too many loose balls.

Also, I am not sure of Sarfaraz's role in the team. He is not good enough to bat 5, and is no great shakes as a skipper either. There are murmurs that he may be replaced as captain by, hold your breadth, Imad Wasim.

Pakistan is being Pakistan.... Yaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnn (pun intended)

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I still think that this was the best 11 Pakistan could have put on the field, and 9 out of those 11 would have taken inspiration from the Champions Trophy win - hence my opinion. Of course, teams across eras cannot be compared.

Also, I've seen some former Pakistan players criticizing Sarfaraz for opting to bowl after winning the toss. That is plain hindsight speaking. The conditions were ideal for bowling - just that we batted well and they bowled too many loose balls.

Also, I am not sure of Sarfaraz's role in the team. He is not good enough to bat 5, and is no great shakes as a skipper either. There are murmurs that he may be replaced as captain by, hold your breadth, Imad Wasim.

Pakistan is being Pakistan.... Yaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnn (pun intended)

Yes, winning the toss and fielding was the right thing to do. Conditions were overcast (toss time) and with rain around teams always prefer chasing. But they bowled too short and allowed the Indian openers to get away without taking risks. Their spinners too were quite unimpressive.

Agree with you about Sarfaraz. But Pakistan have always had such captains. They have had this musical chairs kind of situation around captaincy for ages now.

[NPV]

Looks like an upset on the cards today - Bangladesh chasing 322 are just 60+ runs away from a win against West Indies, required rate less than 5 an over

[deehunk]

West Indies batting has been a big disappointment, their bowling does not have variety and field placement has been horrible. I did not understand why an injured Russell was limping on the field.

[NPV]

What a win for Bangladesh chasing West Indies' 321 and got it done with almost 9 overs to spare. West Indies has just one game plan to bowl short and intimidate the batting and how that backfired today. They also need to look at the fitness of their players, so many of them can't even sprint or bend down to pick the ball up!

[jayguar]

More than the batting, its their short bowling that has let them down for West Indies today. They lose with 51 balls remaining having scored 321 in their 50 overs. Kudos to Bangladesh for finishing the match with ease.

[hemanth.anand]

Windies seems to have lost the plot completely. All they are looking to do is intimidate. Whether it is how they walk around during batting/fielding or how they bowl short deliveries. It is a good ploy until you use your head while playing. Rash overconfident shots during batting and spraying short balls during bowling is getting them nowhere. Bangladesh have shown yesterday that opposition teams work them out easily and quickly as they have are way too predictable. What could've been a team in the final are doubtful of even making it to the last four.

[srishiva]

WI could have gone with a younger team. The IPL heroes are zeroes here. I see them enjoying and all but dont have the hunger for winning. Really poor performance.
Its kind of become like the tennis top 3. There is a wide gap between the top 4 and the others. Would have helped to have groups and lesser matches than the current format.

[ghodlur]

What an emphatic win for Bangladesh. West Indies were looking pathetic when it came to bowling or fielding. They were outclassed in all depts when Bangladesh came out to bat.

The body language of many WI team members were totally disgusting. Chris Gayle was playing as he was strolling in a park. Andre Russel inspite of being injured taken in the playing XI and then recalled during fielding when he had walked off the field. WI players looked totally stiff allowing two runs to be taken when there should have been only one.

Every passing match, WI is making me regret of predicting they would be in semi final lineup.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The body language of many WI team members were totally disgusting. Chris Gayle was playing as he was strolling in a park. Andre Russel inspite of being injured taken in the playing XI and then recalled during fielding when he had walked off the field. WI players looked totally stiff allowing two runs to be taken when there should have been only one.

I agree with you. The attitude of some of the WI players were really disgusting. The only player who was putting his heart and soul was Cottrell. Rest all were just going through the motions. And I personally feel that their captain is most uninspiring compared to rest of the captains, may be barring Afghan captain?
WI may have some big hitters when it comes to batting, but their fielding and some extent their bowling looks shambolic to say the least. I don’t think they are going to make it to semis.

[aditya.86]

As per the current points table looks like the semi finalists have already been decided. From the bottom 6, only Bangladesh looks a little promising compared to the other teams.

New Zealand still has to play Australia and England which might not be an easy pass for them like the other matches.

But you never know what can happen in the game of cricket.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I've seen some former Pakistan players criticizing Sarfaraz for opting to bowl after winning the toss. That is plain hindsight speaking. The conditions were ideal for bowling - just that we batted well and they bowled too many loose balls.

Agreed. The Pakistan bowlers could have bowled a lot fuller, surprised they didn't, not that there was much swing on offer. Shoaib Akhtar has lambasted Sarfraz by calling him 'brainless', after the WI loss he had a problem with his big stomach.

Originally Posted by NPV

Looks like an upset on the cards today - Bangladesh chasing 322 are just 60+ runs away from a win against West Indies

WI beating Bangladesh would have been an upset! Bangladesh have got the better of them in recent times.

Originally Posted by deehunk

I did not understand why an injured Russell was limping on the field.

Basically, Russell has a knee injury which he has been carrying in every game. He should not be allowed a substitute. It was good job by the umpires by forcing him to field!

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by PPS

Basically, Russell has a knee injury which he has been carrying in every game. He should not be allowed a substitute. It was good job by the umpires by forcing him to field!

How did Jadeja replace Shikar and Bhuvi in previous games? They too could have fielded, my question was why did WI coach allow Russell to limp on the field? He could have been called back like Bhuvi or Shikar from the field.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by deehunk

How did Jadeja replace Shikar and Bhuvi in previous games? They two could have fielded, my question was why did WI coach allow Russell to limp on the field? He could have been called back like Bhuvi or Shikar from the field.

Shikhar fractured his thumb while batting. Bhuvi hurt his hamstring when he slipped on the footmarks. These 2 injuries happened during the course of the game.
Russell was sitting behind the hoardings as he was injured, he may have gone off after bowling his spell. The umpires noticed this & forced him to field while sending off the substitute. Don't think the coach was involved in this. Russell was obviously not happy when he was forced to field by the umpires.
All through the IPL , Russell had issues with his knees & wrist. So, its not some injury which he got during that game.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by deehunk

How did Jadeja replace Shikar and Bhuvi in previous games? They too could have fielded, my question was why did WI coach allow Russell to limp on the field? He could have been called back like Bhuvi or Shikar from the field.

Originally Posted by PPS

Shikhar fractured his thumb while batting. Bhuvi hurt his hamstring when he slipped on the footmarks. These 2 injuries happened during the course of the game.

Correct me if my understanding of the rule is wrong. If a player carries an existing injury into a game (like DreRuss), then he cannot be substituted. But if a player gets injured during the course of the game (like Shikhar or Bhuvi), then that player can be substituted.