[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by am1m

As suspected, the 'complimentary' tickets are the culprit:


So basically, VIPs first, if they don't want the tickets, THEN we'll 'allow' fans to buy them!

Also, looks like BCCI wants to allocate state complimentary tickets to BCCI complementary tickets

Dont understand the pomp and gaietey for the Pak game. Its all ok since its a game. But players do represent their countries and we shouldn't see anything special for particular team. Does BCCI not agree with govt ? (with related people across)

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by RMN

Even as a huge fan of the sport who follows it closely, I barely came across any promotional content for the tournament.

Conversely, people complain when there's the typical Bollywood at the IPL opening ceremony. BCCI is just milking money given Ind vs Pak is THE match in cricket, even more so in the subcontinent.

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Dont understand the pomp and gaietey for the Pak game. Its all ok since its a game. But players do represent their countries and we shouldn't see anything special for particular team.

I agree; this is hugely disrespectful to the other nations. Again, this may be due to the social media backlash + commercial exploitation.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Water bottle for Rs100 (displayed price at stall was Rs20)

Did BCCI/Jay Shah mention water will be complimentary at all stadiums?

Originally Posted by rx100

What a shocking performance by Australia. Too many dropped catches and midfields. Very uncharacteristic given their reputation.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Australia are now just a couple of defeats away from getting knocked out.

There are seven games to go; they've lost just two. Don't write them off or be bullish of any team yet. Funny things can and have happened in tournaments.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Did BCCI/Jay Shah mention water will be complimentary at all stadiums?

I am not sure about the announcements as I do not follow cricket or related updates much. I do not expect complimentary water bottles either.

The issue is that the stalls inside the stadium displayed a price that was 5 times lesser than the sale price (the displayed price is what they were allowed to sale at). This is a consistent experience at all events these days. This is nothing less than a scam where the excess money is being pocketed openly without fear of the system.

I do not shy away from drinking "smart water" with an MRP of Rs50 at local restaurants because they are selling it at MRP.

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Smith could not deliver in a crunch situation today against SA whereas Kohli could guide the team to a win from a similar situation (rather worse) just few days ago. Just saying, we are only at the start of the WC

Neither Smith or Kohli are the players they were once who could grab the game by scruff of neck. And it is natural for every player. For similar target(Aus vs SA) present version of Kohli would struggle too. Our situation was neither similar nor worse than AUS, we had plenty of batting left with RRR well under control. It was innings which needed just one good partnership. If not for the dolly drop by marsh everyone would be bashing Kohli. Only player who seems entirely different is Root which is really surprising since he never showed that kind of intent before. Maybe it is just temporary.

[ABHI_1512]

There was this news that I came across from the month of July and I could not really believe in the news back then. It seemed too bizarre to be true.

https://www.freepressjournal.in/spor...h-in-ahmedabad

But then, looks like the news was right after all and the hospitals have now joined in to rake in the moolah. A match between two teams of a World Cup is being projected with such fanfare while the rhetoric is often the very opposite of it. Proves that at the end of the day, it’s the money that counts and nothing else.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cri...056-2023-10-12

Every effort will now be made to make the match a spectacle. God bless the players and I hope Gill plays only if fully fit. No point rushing him early but then one never knows.

As far as talk about Virat Kohli goes, he is amongst the all time greats according to me. Virat to me is the greatest player for India while chasing and this I maintain from his early years. I don’t like his antics on the field one bit but he is the batsman of the highest order and there’s no denying that. As a role model he might not fit the bill but he is a batsman worth emulating for sure.


P.S- Just don’t like the fencings (barbed wire and nets) in front of the spectators in the stadiums. There are better ways to control the crowd than putting fencing’s in today’s age. After all, the spectators are paying money to watch the matches !!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I am not sure about the announcements as I do not follow cricket or related updates much. I do not expect complimentary water bottles either.

Sorry, my bad. I meant to type "Didn't BCCI/Jay Shah mention water will be complimentary at all stadiums?"

Before the commencement of the ODI World Cup in India on Thursday, Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), declared that the cricket apex body in India would offer free bottled and packaged drinking water to all the spectators present at the stadium.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...1.cms?from=mdr

[Eddy]

There was mineral water available in the Delhi stadium free of cost (dispenser & disposable glasses). In fact, purchasing a water bottle was not an option at all.

[harry10]

Good to see Kotla ( I won't call it Arun jaitley stadium ever) had a good makeover. I had the option to watch the match in stadium but I prefer watching at home. Indian team looks in great rhythm at the moment. Would have played Shami over Thakur if pace was needed. Same for Pakistan game. Thakur provides nothing useful and Shami is a game changer with the ball. Siraj looks awfully mediocre if ball isn't moving. He needs to learn from Bumrah how to bowl on flat wickets.

SA looks damn dangerous. Dare say most dangerous they have looked in years. Aussies are in a pickle. Their batting doesn't work, replaced Green and Carey and replacements didn't worked out. Worst fielding I have ever seen any Aussie side do in a match. Bowling barring Hazelwood lacks any punch. Zampa as lone spinner can't do much and Maxwell is out bowling him. As per experts you need 6 wins out of 9 with a good NRR to make the semis. This means Aussies need 6 out of 7 wins. Out of these 3 very tough games against NZ, Pakistan and England. SL, Afghanistan and Bangladesh aren't walk overs either. Probably we won't see Australia making the semis this time.

[On4Wheels]

Can Australia repeat 1999 this time? They have lost two matches back to back in this world cup and need to win at least six to reach the semi-final. In 1999, they had a similar situation, after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand in league matches; they were the least expected team to win the cup before the super six because they needed to win all the matches in super six to reach to the semi-final. India also had a similar situation as we lost to Zimbabwe and South Africa in league matches. In the very first super six matches, they made us cry, defeating India by a big margin, losing all the top wickets in the 6.2 overs for just 17 runs. The fifth wicket partnership between Jadeja and Robin Singh saved us from big humiliation. Then, they made Lance Klusener cry in the semi-final. Alan Donald's run out was the turning point when South Africa needed just one run.

Courtesy: skysports
Finally, defeating Pakistan in just 20 overs by restricting them to 132 runs, Australia lifted the cup. In the next two world cups, they did not have any opposition. Rather, the world cup was reduced to just a ceremony of handing over the trophy to Australia (Am I exaggerating?).

As a team, Australia is different now compared to Steve Waugh's / Ricky Ponting's Teams. But we cannot rule out them. Perhaps, I may be just ruminating my childhood world cup cricket memories. What do you think?

[deathwalkr]

So it looks as if the attendees for today's match get to witness some gala programs

Hope we have a good match today.

[vibbs]

Pakistan look poised to get a big score. Pitch seems an absolute belter. Not sure if it was a good idea to get Shardul Thakur in.

[vibbs]

Past the edit time. Good spell of bowling there by our guys. I hope now we can wrap them in under 200 runs.

[Shreyans_Jain]

They are falling like ninepins here, after that decent start. 5 wickets in 5 overs already. Typical panicked batting.

[SoumenD]

Bumrah makes such a huge difference to our bowling attack. Pakistan looked well poised for 270-280 when Babar & Rizwan were together but I guess they were aiming at 300+ and eventually lost their way. Hope our batsmen keep their calm and seal this one without much drama

Is there even a single pakistani supporter on the ground? 90-100k people cheering for one team. Pakistan panicked no doubt

[ValarMorghulis]

Pakistan’s recent teams seem over awed by the moment and the occasion failing to rise to the challenge. That said, I’m not complaining. I’m all for defeating Pakistan mercilessly & brutally so much so that it dents their confidence