[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

So we have a semi-final scheduled against England or New Zealand next week, AT THE SAME PITCH!

Well in all possibilities, I'd put my money on England winning the next match and booking the 3rd position overall. Kohli has been repeatedly saying that his team doesn't really plan accordingly to the opposition team, but he better start doing that in the next match. Coz England might not give him the luxuries that Bangladesh gave us, a dropped sitter of Rohit, and a mellowed mid-overs. In the remote chance that it's NZ, then India will have to plan for kind of a repeat scenario like against Bangladesh, as both these teams are very similar structured - am all-around performing team with one or two key players (Shakib, Morrison).

The good thing - we have a seemingly more confident no.4 position, and a work-in-progress 3 strong pacers + spinner + all-rounder setup.

Definitely the coming in of Pant is a positive.

I think we should finish Shami in two-three stints before 35-40 overs mark. He is incisive, but hemorrhages runs at the death which is too costly.

Bhuvi is a good bat. That's a positive coz it might well be needed (if ex captain marvelous lets him have the strike).

In my mind we need the energy and the street smarts and the mop up bowler and explosive hitting not to mention electric fielding capabilities of Jaddu. He is the missing link. Can DK be given another game with only two to go of do we make the change NOW?

Glad England hammered the spin twins early enough for us to wake up to reality. Two spinners with zero batting is a luxury we no longer have on these pitches against the cream teams.

Cheers, Doc

[hemanth.anand]

IF:
NZ win Vs Eng
Pak win Vs BAN
Ind win Vs SL
SA win Vs Aus

THEN:
Aus Vs NZ and Ind Vs Pak will be the semi-finals.

Beat them hard in that and send them home...Now I seem to understand Dhoni's strategy

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

IF:
NZ win Vs Eng
Pak win Vs BAN
Ind win Vs SL
SA win Vs Aus

THEN:
Aus Vs NZ and Ind Vs Pak will be the semi-finals.

Beat them hard in that and send them home...Now I seem to understand Dhoni's strategy

I did think of this scenario but I don't think Aussies will allow SA to win. They'd not want to lose momentum going into semis.

Someone mentioned same pitch would be used in the semis at Edgbaston. Already 2 matches have taken place on the same pitch. Can they have 3rd on the same? What is the point of having other pitches there then?

[PPS]

Inspite of a few loopholes, Indian Team has managed to qualify for the Semi Finals.

No. 4 spot has finally been booked by Pant it seems. Hopefully that will allow the top 3 to play more freely.

Team Management needs to rest Dhoni for the SL game & include Jadeja in the team. I feel he offers more value to the team than Karthik/Kedar. And we need the 6th bowling option. Most likely 2nd wrist spin option won't be taken in the semis due to shorter boundary on one side. Chahal without his wrist spinning partner at the other end looked a bit flat yesterday.

Expecting a similar pitch for the 2nd semi final, so whoever wins the toss that day wins the match!

[noopster]

Last night's win was, at least to me, thoroughly unconvincing.

The bowling remains great (Bumraah!!) and the top order is in great touch (Rohit!!) but a couple of things ruined it for me:

• The middle order only scoring 60 runs in the last 10 overs
• Shami giving away all those fours towards the end
• Dhoni

I am being accused in personal circles as being a Dhoni-hater but it's nothing personal: just have a thing against people who overstay their welcome. His 'keeping has gone down several notches this year and the recent slow-batting run is the final nail in the coffin. In absolute terms, run-a-ball or slightly better is perfectly acceptable but in context of the last 2 games, especially the England one, this is exposed as a glaring fault that will cost us dear.

Simply put, we do not look like a world-cup winning side this time. We are in the semis and may well reach the finals as well but will we stand the test against mighty Australia the second time?

The way Kohli has been speaking, it's unlikely he will bell the cat and allow one of the other 3 wicketkeepers in the side to replace Dhoni. And this indecision could well cost India the Cup.

[harry10]

Too late to replace Dhoni. Win or lose, we are stuck with him for the world cup. After that if he has any senses left he will retire himself.

Today's match is quite important to the ones playing and the other teams too.

If England wins - Pakistan is officially out. India plays england in semis. Gonna be really tough for India as edgbaston small boundaries are a boon for england.

If NZ wins - Pakistan has great chance of defeating Bangladesh and getting a semi final spot. India plays NZ who will be easier opponents than England.

Also, I dont see Aussies losing to SA so they will in all probability be the table toppers.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by noopster

Last night's win was, at least to me, thoroughly unconvincing.

Quite a few of our wins this World Cup have been unconvincing!

Tentative/irregular team selection seems to be Kohli's legacy; constant chopping and changing will do no good to anyone's confidence. Three full-time pacers and three full-time wicketkeepers. Whaaat!

I think all of India skipped a beat when Bumrah tumbled yesterday.

I think Dhoni should stay on; because the others aren't exactly necessarily better than him. About Rohit: he's been dropped early on in almost every match!

[suresh_gs]

Guys. Let us stop pinpointing faults in our team. It is not Rohit's fault that his catch was dropped. That should have been taken by the fielding team. Even in the 1999 world cup, Australia looked ragged and lost quite a few matches. What about the Steve Waugh catch dropped by Gibbs. Is it waugh's fault that his catch was dropped.
Most important thing is Rohit went on to convert the dropped chance into a big score. If at all there is any grey area, it is the run scoring rate at the death which is less convincing.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by noopster

but a couple of things ruined it for me:

• The middle order only scoring 60 runs in the last 10 overs
• Shami giving away all those fours towards the end
• Dhoni

Just wanted to add one more to the above list
# any idea why Rahul eats up so many dot balls during his innings? some of them may be good and deserve, but most of them are like 'no intent to play the shot' from him!

agree that even Rohit is slow starter many a times, but at least he will make up for those dot balls if he crosses 50. but in case of Rahul, most of his innings (recent ones) are with strike rate well below 100, even after he crosses 50!
these things may look small, but in knock out matches, they may hurt us!

[ebonho]

Please get Jadeja in for DK (no Jadhav ... and I say this as a Puneite ... enough). Chahal over Kuldeep. Bhuvi and Bhumra at the death. Shami done before 40 overs, in 1-2 bursts, alongside Chahal and Pandya / Jadeja.

Let's hammer Sri Lanka and go into the semis with our tails up.

Forget about touching Dhoni. No one in India carries that clout. He is a holy cow, like Sachin was.

Cheers, Doc

[volkman10]

Anand Mahindra thinks 87-year-old fan is Team India's lucky charm, promises to reimburse her future match tickets!








Turns out, she was also there when Kapil Dev and India lifted the 1983Cup !!

[deehunk]

We do not have better openers today to see off the new ball, Rohit's job is to play his natural game. He plays risky shots and always prone to getting caught somewhere on the field. Dhoni is neither taking the risk nor playing his natural game from 3 years. We have atleast 2-3 young wicket keepers waiting to play for India. The day is not far when a selector will get in touch with him.

[Eddy]

MSD intents to keep playing till the T20 World Cup in 2020 to be held in Australia in October 2020. I don't think he will last that long.

[Latheesh]

Ambatti Raydu retires from International Cricket!

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Ambatti Raydu retires from International Cricket!

Poor guy. He never got to wear his 3D glasses also. Pant and now Mayank were sent ahead of him and it might have hurt him.