[ABHI_1512]

Knock out matches bring the best out of the players- be it the cricket or the football world cup. India in 83, Pakistan in 92, Sri Lanka in 96 and Australia in 99 wouldn't be the world cup winners if not for the winner takes it all format !! The 2003 Indian world cup team played brilliantly throughout the tournament but lost the all important final to Australia. A tournament like world cup rewards consistency and big match temperament equally and that is what makes the world cup different.

League matches with every team is the best format according to me instead of the super eight and super six. The teams can regroup from a setback and still win the world cup. I hope this Indian team wins the cup, everyone is chipping in and it's great to see the camaraderie between the players and coaches alike. One more thing, I hope the pitches remain true for both the teams and not only for the one batting first !!

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Perhaps it would have been better for this year's tournament to have two groups of 5 teams each, with teams in one group playing each other twice, and the top 2 from each group reaching the semis. This would have kept the number of matches almost the same (commercial interests), but would have avoided the feeling we Indian fans have now, "We beat (almost) everyone already. What if we now have a bad day in Semi or Final?"

But then this is exactly what happened in 2015, where we beat all teams in the Group stage (won 6 out of 6 matches), won the QF too before losing in SF to the Aussies (who only won 4 out of their 6 group matches).

Also, in 2003 we lost (twice) to only one team in the entire tournament while beating all others across the Group stage, Super Sixes and knock-outs. Somehow the law of averages did not catch up with the winners then who were unbeaten. Let's hope that we enjoy a similar unbeaten run this time.

[PPS]

I don't think Team India was so dominant even in the 2011 WC forget 2003 ! Hope they go all the way & win the coveted trophy.

Originally Posted by AtheK

New Zealand higher NRR gives them a good chance though, they just need to defeat SL, who have looked very off color.

Apparently there's some rain forecast for this game. Things could get interesting. Teams like Pakistan become their most dangerous when everybody writes them off. Australia after their first 2 games are showing why you never ever write them off in marque tournaments!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

My only fear is the law of averages catching up and would hate to see a repeat of either 2003 or 2015 happen.

I should have mentioned 2019 also since we lost in the semifinal.

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

I didn't see law of averages catching up with Australia when they were at their peak in 2003 and 2007 editions. Why should India be any different?

Well, Australia were a mentally tough, big tournament and big game team and despite some loss(es) in the early stages, they would peak at the right time and then would just take that momentum into the knockouts. That was precisely what gave Australia a slight edge in big tournaments (but seems like it is on the wane now). Prior to this edition of the World Cup, we haven’t seen that dominating character from India consistently, but I think we now have the team that can do it; hope I’m not jinxing it by saying this

Needless to say, the bowling has become a force to reckon with and that changes the way the way the team now plays.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by NPV

Needless to say, the bowling has become a force to reckon with and that changes the way the way the team now plays.

Bumrah-Shami-Siraj are bringing back memories of peak McGrath-Lee-Gillespie. Plus two quality spinners playing on helpful pitches. The bowling attack is the real difference maker between this Indian side and the rest of the competition.

Good thing that we are playing proper wicket taking bowlers and not ‘all rounders’ like Shardul Thakur. Or people like Vijay Shankar or Stuart Binny or Kedar Jadhav. An absolute champion called R Ashwin warming the benches, unable to find a place in the playing 11, and on merit. In any other country’s team, he would have been among the first picks.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Perhaps it would have been better for this year's tournament to have two groups of 5 teams each

I would have 2 strong associate teams and play a round robin than 4 associate teams and play group stage cricket.

It doesn't matter for a team like India. But it does matter teams like Afghanistan and Netherlands.

Besides there will be discussions on whose is the easy group-tough group.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by narayans80

I would have 2 strong associate teams and play a round robin than 4 associate teams and play group stage cricket.

Its better to limit the 50 over WC & Champions Trophy to only 6-7 teams. Not sure what the future holds for this format. Coming to Associate Team, its what happens between 2 WCs which is important. How many games are Netherlands going to play against better teams in the next 1yr ?! I doubt many. This is where the ICC should come in & ensure some games are allotted to them.

It doesn't matter for a team like India. But it does matter teams like Afghanistan and Netherlands.

Afghanistan have been given Test status some time back. They are not an Associate nation.

[Fx14]

Angelo Mathew's been timed out in a WC match. Hilarious way to get out without even facing a ball.

[antz.bin]

It seems that Sri Lanka was so cautious after their last batting performance that the new batsman would rather make sure that the helmet is alright instead of starting batting after the loss of a wicket. I am all for being cautious but for heaven's sake, It was Shakib who was bowling!

Yes my friends, for the first time in International cricket, someone has been given out Timed Out. It has happened. And I have now seen everything!

There are 10 ways you could get out while batting. We had seen
Bowled
LBW
Caught
Run Out
Stumped
Hit Wicket

The rare ones being:
Handled the ball - Steve Waugh
Obstructing the field - Inzamam, Ben Stokes

But never Timed out. But it has happened during a World Cup!



Hitting the ball twice - This one still remains elusive. I hope Fakhar Zaman does it in the semi-final vs India (yes you read this first here )

[GTX+]

Originally Posted by Fx14

But then this is exactly what happened in 2015, where we beat all teams in the Group stage (won 6 out of 6 matches), won the QF too before losing in SF to the Aussies (who only won 4 out of their 6 group matches).

May be ICC can pick the very good concept of Qualifier and Eliminator from IPL. The table topers should definitely get 2 chances, especially in cases like India in this world cup. Imagine we winning all matches and losing out in final

[GTX+]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

The rare ones being:
Handled the ball - Steve Waugh

Mohinder Amarnath also handled the ball once and was given out. I think this match was in Australia IIRC.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Hitting the ball twice - This one still remains elusive. I hope Fakhar Zaman does it in the semi-final vs India (yes you read this first here )

The only occurrence of this dismissal in international cricket was when Malta's Fanyan Mughal got out against Romania in the 2023 Men's Continental Cup on 20 August 2023. (Source: Wikipedia)

[ankan.m.blr]

Saw this in FB:
New Zealand and Pakistan are in a same position in the table as that of previous WC in 2019. SA replaced Eng on 2023.

[dust-n-bones]

For those of us who have had enough of the 24*7 bhakti channels dedicated to the Indian cricket team, hop on over to the prairie fire channel on podcasts and youtube.

Here's an example. Around the 23 min mark. Vaughan sets up Van Der Merwe, who belts it clear out of the park.

https://youtu.be/b6y9zaYHxp4?t=1353

[am1m]

BCCI, ICC and the news channels should thank Shakib, he's ensured that an otherwise inconsequential match will be talked about for years now! And every time some unusual dismissal or WC retrospective comes up, this stock footage will be replayed.

Probably happened in the heat of the moment, I'm pretty sure if he had thought about it, he'd have withdrawn the appeal. I mean what if a batsman comes to the crease in time, then starts adjusting his gear, or needs a replacement bat, we've all seen that happen. This is pretty much the same thing.

McCullum once reflected on his 2006 'run-out' of Murali later saying he would "take it back". I suspect this is one of those incidents.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by am1m

I mean what if a batsman comes to the crease in time, then starts adjusting his gear, or needs a replacement bat, we've all seen that happen.

If you saw the fourth/reserve umpire interview, he makes it clear that Angelo Matthews was already past 2 minutes when he came to crease before the helmet incident happened.

Given the match situation that both teams are playing for a spot in 2025 Champions Trophy. It is pretty dumb on Angelo's part to be lax about strolling into the park, given he is a experienced player who has been playing for more than a decade.

Originally Posted by PPS

Afghanistan have been given Test status some time back. They are not an Associate nation.

How often have AFG played in between the World Cups?