[kavensri]

Now with 'King' gone, this is a serious test for the Indian middle order. We should aim for 250 instead of 270 from now on. If we get 270, then it's a bonus!
I am still furious on how Rahul played today and then threw his wicket. I don't think he is serious about his place in the team. He seems to have got too much backing from the people who matters and hence he need not fight for his place in the team!

[NPV]

The Dhoni debate will be back after he scored 28 in 53 balls
I thought 240-250 was the target they had in mind, now even that looks doubtful.

Afghanistan has tied an ODI against India and also beaten West Indies once so will it be another great day for them in ODI cricket ?

Edit:
India end on 224 and Afghanistan need 225 for what will be a great win!

New Zealand 22/2 Vs West Indies, so will it be a day of double upsets ?

[vinit]

The major upset of world cup 2019 is on the cards. Just wait and watch.

[kavensri]

except for kohli, no other Indian batsman are eager to pay singles. look at how Rahul and Dhoni were playing today. just paying out dot balls thinking that they can play big shots later. but those big shots never came. especially Dhoni, even after playing so many overs, he should have realised that the pitch is not conducive to play big shots. he should have looked for singles.
we may still end up winning this game with our bowlers, but i don't think we played smart cricket while batting.

[NPV]

Just when we thought it will be a batting feast for I Dian batsmen, it's now an unexpected real test for the Indian bowling to see if they can defend 224 runs, what a turn of events!

[NPV]

What a win for India in the end - Afghanistan were in with a chance till the last over when Nabi got out! Afghanistan was just 2/3 big hits away from winning and making history.

This was too close for comfort and exposed our batting on slower pitches where batsmen need to apply themselves.

*People were bursting crackers like it was an India-Pak game, reminded me of low scoring India-Pak games of the past that went to the last over/last ball

[vinit]

What a match it turned out to be in the end. 220 -
250 score matches are always exciting as they give equal chance to both the sides. Still in this world cup except Bangladesh, no team has chased above 250. That's the real battle between bat and ball. That's the real Cricket.

[PPS]

What a low scoring thriller! Indian Team really tested by the minnows today. It was a good outing for the team as everyone was tested.

If we would have lost, everyone would have blamed Dhoni, but i guess thats his role in the team at no.5 - if team is in a spot of bother, play out dot balls ! Some other teams on this pitch would have tried for 300 & perished for less than 200.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by PPS

What a low scoring thriller! Indian Team really tested by the minnows today. It was a good outing for the team as everyone was tested.

If we would have lost, everyone would have blamed Dhoni, but i guess thats his role in the team at no.5 - if team is in a spot of bother, play out dot balls ! Some other teams on this pitch would have tried for 300 & perished for less than 200.

Ironically Nabi's innings was so Dhoniesque! He was so calm, collected and clear headed in his approach. In the end he was only a six and four away from taking his side to victory. Remember Dhoni's innings in Adelaide where he needed something similar in the last over and got over the line easily?

[vibbs]

Anyone seen New Zealand vs West Indies yesterday?
Brathwaite brought the windies into the game from nowhere and let it go. For all his brilliance, I think it should have been a cakewalk after the 48th over mayhem. They needed only 8 off the remaining 2!!
And new Zealand manage to get the man himself!
Phew stuff of dreams!

[Eddy]

NZ vs WI was no doubt the match of the WC so far. But Ian Bishop should also get an award for best commentary in the last 5 overs or so. He was BRILLIANT ! His balance of objectivity, neutrality and passion for WI was perfect.

Sanjay Manjrekar should take note.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I honestly think that RSAs cricket has gone to the dogs because of the quota system, overhauling the domestic cricketing tournament, lack of financial security and the Kolpak deals. There was recently a tweet about a Kolpak 11 that could potentially beat the current team.

It is over-simplification to pin the cause of SA's poor performance on quota, Kolpak. Now Faf blames IPL. Fixing those won't solve. Some of the symptoms observed in this WC:

* Amla has been the backbone of SA batting he has done the bulk of scoring in last decade. He was on par with Kohli in scoring centuries. In this WC, he is out of form. Imagine if Kane Williamson had flopped for NZ, they would have been in the bottom half of the points table.

* Faf's case is like K L Rahul. Started as a solid test player. Later he acquired IPL skills and is now lost in ODIs. His captaincy is unimaginative, lacks enthusiasm, plan.

* David Miller was a hard-hitting batsman on the lines of Maxwell, Pandya. But now he is overweight and can't even get a game in his IPL team.

* de Kock is over-rated wicketkeeper and at best a T20 opener. He has lost his ODI batting skills.

* SA fielding is the worst among all teams in this WC. They are dropping catches, misfielding and not hitting the stumps for runouts. This coming from the country of Johnty Rhodes, is very very poor effort.

* ABD is no-doubt talented but confused about his role in the team (either SA or RCB). He can't choose a batting number for himself. No doubt he can't decide to retire or to play. If play whether for SA or T20 leagues.

* Steyn is past his prime but his teams (SA & RCB) are egging him on to continue and his body fails him.

People were selected based on reputation than form. In this WC, SA all-rounders & bowlers have scored more runs their batsman. Fixing quota, kolpak or IPL won't solve the problem.

There was recently a tweet about a Kolpak 11 that could potentially beat the current team.

That 11 is at best 2nd rung county players and might even struggle to beat Scotland.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Brathwaite brought the windies into the game from nowhere and let it go. For all his brilliance, I think it should have been a cakewalk after the 48th over mayhem.

What a match it was! But in the end, Brathwaite did risk it just one too many times, he could have taken a single off the last ball of the 49th over to retain strike in the last over and then got the remaining 4 runs. Instead he tried to finish off with another 6 and paid the price.
Of course it's easy to say this now, but I think they would have had a better chance at winning and may even have gotten more closer to the target by playing that last over.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by msdivy

It is over-simplification to pin the cause of SA's poor performance on quota, Kolpak. Now Faf blames IPL. Fixing those won't solve. Some of the symptoms observed in this WC:
.

Like you've pointed out correctly, these are symptoms. A big underlying cause of these symptoms definitely is Kolpak. Another contributor could be absence of a domestic T20 league that nurtures talent.

On the symptoms front, I disagree with your assessment of QDK having lost his ODI batting skills. He is a good player, going through slightly indifferent form - and that could be because of insecurity of a frail batting lineup.

Faf blaming the IPL was lame - and I am sure Rabada is livid with the accusation that he took IPL more seriously than the WC.

[kavensri]

Though this is not specific to SA team, cricket in general is on decline in some of the major cricketing nations. It started with WI way back in 2000s, continued with Australia, NZ, SL and SA. From what I know, cricket used to be #1 sports in Australia and now I don’t think it features even in top 3. Same in NZ and SA I guess. Even though ENG team is playing well, their domestic cricket is not that competitive any more. SL could be an exception where cricket could still be #1 sport but still they are on decline due to domestic cricket which is in shambles.
But the good thing is, cricket is getting hugely popular in BAN and AFG.