[peterjim13]

Thanks for bringing up an avenue to discuss this. Being an avid cricket fan, it has been quite sometime since I've followed or watched a cricketing event on TV and obviously World Cups you never miss.

Despite Star and Star networks terrible gamification of the India Pakistan rivalry (quite annoying) it was indeed a great game to see.

Evidently I found the Pak bowling attack to be well structured and well disciplined. They looked a much more confident and composed side. Evidently their batting lines depth had to be put to test - I am sure beyond 3 wickets they would struggle.

But the text book would be the Indian side. Bhuvi, Shami & Jadeja showed a complete lack of temperament or aggression with the bowl. Never did they seem to be a side defending a low total. Sure Kohli went short of an alternative without Pandya, but the openers in green looked well planned.

Quite saddened by the fact that experience bowlers like Shami, Bhuvi failed to notice Rizwans strong areas on the on side. He was quick there, which was evident and not very strong on the offside. We even gave him a sweet full toss on to the leg on their last over.

I still remember reading somewhere about the damage IPL did to Indian bowlers by over exposing them, and them being targets bowling aside international pace bowlers. And with the amount of politics seeping in to the game - which reduced our understanding of Pakistani bowling / batting as well.

Its cricket and we need to play more games with such a strong bowling side. Great game by the way, and I still feel that we are strong enough to come back and learn from the mistakes. We have one week off.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Rahul Dravid applies for job of India head coach on deadline day.



Rahul Dravid is the frontrunner to take over as India's head coach after T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Link

It's a formality.
Dravid and paras as bowling coach was already decided. Both excellent choices in my opinion.

Originally Posted by shipnil

I was just watching a Fox sports video on this match on Youtube. Brett Lee, Brad Haddin were having the comments from Matthew Hayden who is batting coach for Pakistan. He raised one interesting point. Per him, Indian batsmen were playing IPL for about a month now and they were facing bowlers bowling in 130s. When they came to this match suddenly they were facing bowlers who were touching 150. That also unsettled our batsmen.

Not true. Likes of Nortje, Ferguson were bowling 150+. Even our own new guy from Kashmir was clocking 150+. There were many bowlers bowling 140+ including our Bumrah and Shami. So, it isn't our guys were taken aback by pace. They just got good balls and got out.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Also not to forget all our players are jaded, they were playing IPL just last week. Too much cricket, what is more scary is what is to follow for Indian team.

They are just packed, let's hypothetically say India and NZ make it to final of the WC, so they will paly the final on 14th Nov, and on 17th Nov they are supposed to be playing a T20I in India in Jaipur. Doesn't end there just follow Indian team Schedule, it's packed to the brim.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/team/in...edule-fixtures

Maybe it is time to make three separate teams, with a player playing maximum of two formats and some being format specific. Burnout is real, just not the workload, it's the bubbles that make it even tougher.

Yes.
Fatigue is apparent. Also the non stop bubble life takes a toll on mental health. For NZ series it's already confirmed likes of Kohli and Rohit and few others are gonna skip that series and some regular NZ guys will also be missing. So, it's more like India A vs NZ A.

[itsbaman]

Originally Posted by rAijin_

Although we all are disappointed since the winning streak has ended now ( no more Mauka - Mauka ), let's also appreciate the game played by Pakistan team. It's just a game

I am glad that these absurd mauka-mauka ads will stop now. The first ad was good. But after that, it just became a tool to mock Pakistan every time. Being proud on a streak is different than mocking a nation for not being able to beat us. If Australia had done it, we would have called it bullying.

[harry10]

Easy win for SA.
Simmons played one of the worst knocks of World cup.
Before tournament started Pooran proudly said they don't believe in singles and only hitting sixes. Well, they couldn't do both and now on verge of being the first team to be eliminated soon.

Sadly Ferguson is ruled out of World cup cos of calf tear. Was looking forward to see him bowl today. Plus Pak batting second again gives them huge advantage. NZ need minimum 170 to make a match.

[NPV]

So there's something definitely different with this Pak team - they always had abundant talent but now they seem so composed and are playing with a plan.

Strategic thinking has gone in and I think this could be because of new coaches Hayden and Vernon Philander. Just hours before Pak squad was announced, coaches Waqar and Misbah resigned and Hayden, Philander replaced them. Turned out to be a masterstroke

[NPV]

New Zealand managed just 134, I have a feeling this can go very much like the India game. Another 10 wicket win for Pak ? Even if not that dramatic, I think they do have a great chance if only they play off Boult and Southee. Haven't seen Santner being very effective recently.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by NPV

So there's something definitely different with this Pak team - they always had abundant talent but now they seem so composed and are playing with a plan.

Strategic thinking has gone in and I think this could be because of new coaches Hayden and Vernon Philander. Just hours before Pak squad was announced, coaches Waqar and Misbah resigned and Hayden, Philander replaced them. Turned out to be a masterstroke

I still think their real test will come when they bat first. Haven't seen any team yet successfully defending a score. With the amount of dew that we are seeing, it's practically impossible to defend any total.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Oxy

I still think their real test will come when they bat first. Haven't seen any team yet successfully defending a score. With the amount of dew that we are seeing, it's practically impossible to defend any total.

True, I think so far it seems like 170+ is what a team batting first must aim for (Bangladesh chased down 171 to beat Sri Lanka though!), otherwise the team winning the toss and fielding first has a huge advantage. Chasing has been quite easy as we've seen, of course if the team chasing loses quick wickets at the beginning, they may just open the doors for a self-inflicted collapse.

[NPV]

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first - that decision has backfired on them! They managed just 124 which England chased down in 14.1 overs.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by NPV

So there's something definitely different with this Pak team - they always had abundant talent but now they seem so composed and are playing with a plan. Strategic thinking has gone in and I think this could be because of new coaches Hayden and Vernon Philander. Just hours before Pak squad was announced, coaches Waqar and Misbah resigned and Hayden, Philander replaced them. Turned out to be a masterstroke

I believe Hayden & Philander are just consultants, specifically for this tournament & not on a long term basis. On the evidence of 2 games, looks like PAK is the team to beat in this T20WC. They have batting as well as bowling depth with good variety.

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by PPS

On the evidence of 2 games, looks like PAK is the team to beat in this T20WC. They have batting as well as bowling depth with good variety.

You are right. Pakistan were brilliant in the first two matches. But you never know with Pakistan. Just when you think they are playing terrific, they are never too far away from playing terrible cricket!

[VWAllstar]

I think and fear that Pakistan has come well prepared and motivated to win the world cup this time.

Apart from the cricket on the field, their ex cricketers are playing all wrong shots with their statements.

Waqar & Akhtar have lost it.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

I think Waqar & Akhtar have lost it.

True, some of the former Pak players are saying crazy things. However, the current players themselves (Babar, Imad, Rizwan, etc) seem to be a lot humbler and grounded, their mouths are not going overboard like the erstwhile lot.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by NPV

True, some of the former Pak players are saying crazy things. However, the current players themselves (Babar, Imad, Rizwan, etc) seem to be a lot humbler and grounded, their mouths are not going overboard like the erstwhile lot.

I like Rizwan. He seems to be a reasonable player with no nonsense cricketing attitude. Generally Pakistani's cannot be trusted, just like their cricket their behaviour too is unpredictable. Hope these players stay away from the controversies their senior players are creating. Our very own Bhajji Pa is also trying to give back to every tom dick and harry commenting on Ind- Pak, which is unnecessary.

So much noise outside the field with one victory. They need to remember the balance is still heavily on our side. If the cricketing ties werent ceased since past decade then we would have gone pass the overall deficit of 70-87 as well.

[NPV]

There are reports that Hardik was seen bowling for 20+ minutes at the nets, so I'm guessing he may not be dropped after all!

Are we probably going to see the (stubborn) team management stick to almost the same combination that lost to Pak in the opening game ?