|
Post by sikander on Feb 27, 2015 22:36:02 GMT -8
What a game!!!! Real beauty of one day. As I said before Kane Williamson is one of the finest batsman today And most underrate.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Feb 27, 2015 23:11:16 GMT -8
Man what a game. Thrilled we won but that was way too close for comfort. Nz should have won easily but Mitchell starc was incredible.
|
|
|
Post by karan on Feb 28, 2015 5:54:12 GMT -8
Good game in the end. Not surprised Australia got so close, you can never write them off. Wish they won though since I'm supporting them, along with India. Australia should drop Watson and play Bailey (or someone) in his place instead.
On another note, NZ's stadiums are very scenic.
|
|
|
Post by karan on Mar 3, 2015 0:00:40 GMT -8
These slogfests are becoming slightly boring. Would like to see a better balance between bat and ball.
|
|
|
Post by gangsta on Mar 3, 2015 6:44:21 GMT -8
Yep, what a bunch of idiots making these rule changes. I don't know what is next - no fielders outside the circle for the entire match? And we get to see 2000 runs scored in a day? And the administrators calling it a huge success because this is what the crowds want to see? Who exactly are these "crowds"? This is such a mockery of the sport. A World Cup in England in early summer conditions may be our only savior from this mess, but I don't have too many hopes for that either.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 6, 2015 14:31:43 GMT -8
Good win for India against WI, though I was kinda supporting WI because I don't want them to risk being knocked out of the tournament.
It looks certain now that India and NZ will top their respective groups barring something very strange happening.
Quarter finals are going to interesting, though i think having quarters is silly, should be semi final directly, cause this makes group stage feel somewhat redundant that so many teams from each group go through to knock out stage.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 9, 2015 6:45:48 GMT -8
Bangladesh knock out England. I am so very happy for BD. They have one of the most passionate cricket fans and don't get a lot of celebrate. So this is amazing. Its sad that it will be BD vs India most likely for the QFs, because I really want to support BD but cannot do that over India
And England pretty much had it coming.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 9, 2015 6:52:53 GMT -8
Also, Ireland's next two games might decide the fate of Group B now.
Assuming that Ireland lose to India, then Group B will be spicy.
West Indies should win their match against UAE, and there is a good chance it will be by a big margin. So that will leave Pak, WI and Ireland with 6 points each. And the last round robin game Ireland vs Pakistan will decide the fate of all 3 teams.
|
|
|
Post by karan on Mar 9, 2015 20:24:00 GMT -8
Shows what a mess England are when they lose to Bangladesh of all teams. Though I might be underrating the Bangladesh team - let's see how they do against New Zealand.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 9, 2015 22:02:37 GMT -8
I feel really bad for England, I still dont' think they are that bad (I mean they did beat India twice just a little before the world cup started). I think losing badly to NZ and Aus just damaged them mentally too much. And they played well against Sri Lanka, but SL just happened to play better, not much you can do about that. If they had a different schedule, I think they would have done better in the world cup though.
However, having said that Bangladesh is definitely no minnow and were always going to be dangerous especially in a do or die situation. And this (along with having both NZ and Aus in one group)is exactly why IMO Group A has been by far the toughest.
And India are extremely lucky that they didn't have any of Aus, England or NZ in their group, which are all three teams they've done terribly against recently. Though I'm not sad exactly as after NZ & South Africa (though unfortunately this is probably going to be the semi final), India is probably the third team I would support.
Regarding Group B, definitely interesting situation, though I'm unsure what I want to happen. I would feel bad for West Indies going out, but then given how badly they've played they probably deserve it. And Ireland probably deserve to go through to QFs. Other than India, teams in group b have been all over the place, no one else has been consistent, like I couldn't believe SA lost to Pakistan. I mean losing to India itself was a shock, but then Pakistan had been playing even worse.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 10, 2015 4:42:13 GMT -8
England lost for two simple reasons - they dont respect ODIs because they are just cannot crack it and Bangladesh wanted the win a lot more than England did. You could just sense it before the match and on the field. And the icing on the cake of horrors was Peter Moores comment "We thought 275 was chaseable. We will have to look at the data". England need a rethink of their methods and strategies. Their autocratic management style and orthodox ideologies dont bode well with the modern game at all - the Pietersen sags is the prime example of it -- Anyways looks like all 4 Asian teams will make it to the QFs and atleast one will make it to the semis
|
|
|
Post by karan on Mar 10, 2015 5:33:51 GMT -8
India have stepped it up since then so wouldn't make much of England beating India in the tri-series. They would most likely beat England convincingly if they faced them in the world cup.
|
|
|
Post by gangsta on Mar 10, 2015 8:15:18 GMT -8
Wonder what the ICC will do about this though. Something like post-2007 WC when India crashed out early and it affected viewership for that WC, and since then, everything has been done to make sure something like that does not happen again. From having India play every match at home in the last world cup to clubbing the two hosts Aus and NZ together into one group (whoever came with this nonsensical solution I wonder) to finally making sure India played every decent team in Australian conditions and what not. Wonder what the ICC will come up with for England now.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 11, 2015 21:59:44 GMT -8
India have stepped it up since then so wouldn't make much of England beating India in the tri-series. They would most likely beat England convincingly if they faced them in the world cup. I totally disagree, I think momentum is everything. I think it depends when they would have faced England. Luckily for India, their first game was against Pakistan, a side they've always beaten in world cups and Pakistan just seem to choke when they play India in WC. That victory just gave them a lift and they've done brilliantly since, which is definitely creditable,however I don't think they would have been playing so well after if they had lost their first game. If for the sake of argument say India's first two games of the world cup were against Aus or England or New Zealand, all they very recently just got thrashed by, you really think India would have won, I think they would have lost pretty much for sure. That's why I feel India is very lucky to not have any of these teams in their group. And same reason why I think England just lost all their momentum after heavy first couple of defeats. Even South Africa, which I thought would give a good fight this world cup hasn't really done well at all, I guess their 'choking tag' is still in place as well(though will see what happens in knockouts), I blame them for their loss to India more than I praise India frankly. Oh and don't even forget, that all the wickets seem to be prepared pretty much exactly how they would be in India/ subucontininent in general..big on runs, hardly any green... I don't think that's a coincidence, I think unfortunately this influence is always going to be there because in the end money matters and they know that Indian audience makes the most of that. I am kinda with gangsta on this, I definitely feel like they always make it somewhat easy for India as much as possible. (though not saying there is any outright rigging going on) On a side note, Sri Lanka have come back brilliantly as well, I think they could be very dangerous in knockouts. Sangakarra getting 4 centuries in a row is just amazing.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 12, 2015 6:07:29 GMT -8
LOL. This is so typical
Somehow whenever India starts stringing together some wins, a whole bunch of factors come into play - they are lucky, they won the toss, the pitches are doctored, the hawkeye is photoshop-ed (LOL), etc. Have even heard people complain about how the tickets being sold should have 50% reservation for local people because Indians buy too many tickets and fill the stadium bringing undue advantage to India.
Somehow, it just cannot be talent and temperament ofcourse or the experience of performing well in big tournaments or that India has been in Australia longer than most teams.
The same happened in the Champions Trophy in England. And in the ODI series win against England in England.
But whatever
|
|
|
Post by karan on Mar 12, 2015 6:35:41 GMT -8
^ Or that the matches are fixed, according to a lot of Pakistani fans.
I think it's evident India weren't trying that hard in the tri-series and trying to save energy for the world-cup (as Dhoni said).
|
|
|
Post by gangsta on Mar 12, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -8
You talk as though if the same had been said when India were not winning, it would have been ok.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 12, 2015 9:17:03 GMT -8
^Huh ?
|
|
|
Post by gangsta on Mar 12, 2015 9:53:10 GMT -8
^ I was just reacting to how odd it was for you to dismiss everything the way you did. To go from what was said to drag it to, what was it, photoshopping hawkeye or something like that was quite Darren Lehmann-ishly dismissive. If you want to play Lehmann and say I don't care as long as India wins, that is ok with me and it ends there. But you cannot have it both ways - pretend to genuinely be interested in other takes while at the same time be outrightly dismissive of the same. What you replied to was hardly as fluffy as you want to make it sound.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 12, 2015 10:41:37 GMT -8
I don't know what you understood lol - there was nothing fluffy about my reaction. The theories of "photoshop-ing" hawkeye were actually very popular in the 2011 world cup when Sachin successfully reviewed against Ajmal, so I was totally not exaggerating about it. My Pakistani friends genuinely believed that hawkeye was tweaked on the fly within a space of 30 seconds to make it look like it was not out when it was actually out. Because, you know, its India and we do that kind of thing to win trophies. I was overall simply making a point that when it comes to Indian victories, somehow it always has nothing to do with talent and skill, and everything to do with everything else
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 12, 2015 20:22:47 GMT -8
What a knock by Mahmudullah. Last one was absolutely special. This one is simply brilliant - BD have been absolutely top in this match against a top-class bowling lineup in initially helpful conditions. Watch out India (or South Africa?)
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 13, 2015 13:35:04 GMT -8
LOL. This is so typical
Somehow whenever India starts stringing together some wins, a whole bunch of factors come into play - they are lucky, they won the toss, the pitches are doctored, the hawkeye is photoshop-ed (LOL), etc. Have even heard people complain about how the tickets being sold should have 50% reservation for local people because Indians buy too many tickets and fill the stadium bringing undue advantage to India.
Somehow, it just cannot be talent and temperament ofcourse or the experience of performing well in big tournaments or that India has been in Australia longer than most teams.
The same happened in the Champions Trophy in England. And in the ODI series win against England in England.
But whatever c'mon abhi, ive never said any of those things in the past and in fact was very supportive and incredibly happy when India won in 2011. And even this world cup, if there was a third team like i said before it would be India. So I"m definitely not biased against India like say Pakistani or Aussie fans could be. But when a team that was doing downright rubbish suddenly starts winning, it does raise a few questions at least and you do wonder how/why it's happened. And im definitely not saying that india dont deserve any credit, they do for sure, coming back like they have has been amazing regardless of what pitches they are playing on. But why should that mean they didn't also have some luck. Even NZ I accept has had some luck to win two close matches, first again Aus, could have gone either way, and then yesterday against Bangladesh as well especially because of Bangladesh not reviewing that not out given to martin guptill (who knows what might have happened if they had). But you do need some luck in sports sometimes. And if you really think these kinda pitches are not strange for aus/nz, then i dont even know what to say. Of course i dont blame the indian team for this though..its just a fact of the game that BCCI do have a huge influence. But you seem to refuse to accept that India get any preferential treatment. It doesn't have to mean that matches are rigged. Both my parents are supporting India even this world cup over NZ and yet when I raised these same points to them, they did admit at least that the pitches for sure are done to suit subcontinent teams.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 13, 2015 14:10:34 GMT -8
Again, I never said that those things were said in by you or gangsta - but it is a general trend I have noticed. And honestly, you did sound like it was all pure luck and doctoring of conditions which led to India winning the matches. I am not someone to praise the team I support much (because I don't like jinxing them ). But I had to because it did not sound very objective to me. Maybe I misunderstood, in which case, I apologize
And ofcourse the wickets are a bit more docile than what is found in Australia. Its end of the season there and it is actually quite natural. The wickets either get slower or are replaced with drop-in pitched which are usually good for batting. Even then Perth has been a fairly spicy wicket with true bounce and early movement. The ODI rules don't help and greatly benefit teams which can preserve wickets in the first 25-30 overs.
And a team suddenly improving coming into a big tournament, despite being rubbish before it is not uncommon or unheard of at all: - India before the 2003 world cup was blanked out in New Zealand - NZ themselves have usually played crap cricket before raising their game in World Cups (except this time) - South Africa were thrashed 4-1 by Australia in November 2014 but were labelled favorites
And ofcourse there is luck. But credit where credit is due - there are plenty of Logical reasons to explain why India has done better than was expected after the abysmal tri-series and I would be happy to discuss it
And I totally agree that BCCI is influencing the game. But I have to add, it is not necessarily pro-India as it is pro-money, hand-in-hand with the ECB and CA. The reasons why Eng, Aus, NZ were in the same group or why India, Pak are in the same group is purely to milk those rivalries. The same applies to the wickets - currently there is hardly any team that does not have a brittle batting lineup, be it the Aussies or South Africans. So it helps every team, not just the subcontinent teams.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 13, 2015 14:25:21 GMT -8
And talking of subcontinent teams, all 4 Asian teams are in the Quarter Finals (thanks to England). Quite brilliant
I wonder if this could be the breakout tournament for Bangladesh. I think if they beat India, they can really clinch the cup. Their semifinal will probably be in Sydney which is always conducive to spinners and slower bowlers. A matter of a 3 big days
|
|
|
Post by karan on Mar 13, 2015 21:59:50 GMT -8
The best teams rise to the occasion so while they might be doing better than expected, there's nothing surprising in India doing well in the world cup.
And a team suddenly improving coming into a big tournament, despite being rubbish before it is not uncommon or unheard of at all: - India before the 2003 world cup was blanked out in New Zealand - NZ themselves have usually played crap cricket before raising their game in World Cups (except this time) - South Africa were thrashed 4-1 by Australia in November 2014 but were labelled favorites
Also Australia were ordinary in the lead up to the 2007 world cup (losing 2-0 to England in the finals of a tri-series & then 3-0 to NZ) yet convincingly won the world cup.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 14, 2015 12:55:43 GMT -8
Again, I never said that those things were said in by you or gangsta - but it is a general trend I have noticed. And honestly, you did sound like it was all pure luck and doctoring of conditions which led to India winning the matches. I am not someone to praise the team I support much (because I don't like jinxing them ). But I had to because it did not sound very objective to me. Maybe I misunderstood, in which case, I apologize
Well let me clarify then, I don't think India have been lucky to win their individual matches specifically, they were clearly the better team in each match they've won so they've fully deserved it. However, what I think they are 'lucky' in is that they've been in what I feel is the much easier group for a number of reason which i won't repeat, and the fact that the wickets are more subcontinent like then you would expect (though this is something that is benefitting all subcontinent teams not just India). And regardless of whether the intention for this is for money or for India specifically, it doesn't really change the fact that its lucky. I mean how would you have liked it if when the world cup was in India, the conditions were more like Aus/NZ. True, it is not unheard of, and good teams can up their game in world cup.. but that's why I'm not denying that India don't deserve credit, they do, but all I'm really saying is that they have been lucky as well. Also I gotta say, your examples are not really that great and don't compare at all to what happened here. I wouldn't really include NZ in that list because that's always been NZ, it's nothing unusual, we've never been a consistent team in both sense (losing and winning) and always very unpredictable. Plus it's not like NZ won easily in those world cups either, they've always had to fight hard to get to semis. And they certainly didn't have any preferential treatment with respect to pitches etc. South AFrica- well they may have been labelled favourites by some (honestly I dont' know who would have put them as favourites over Aussie though- over here all i heard was that Aus was favourite) but if you actually look at how they've performed, it hasn't been that great so far(losing to both Pakistan and India) therefore this example is not really even accurate. India losing to NZ was in NZ conditions, whereas world cup was not in NZ at the time. India have a history of struggling in NZ more often that not. But Aus still got to the final of the said tri series, so not really that bad. Plus losing to NZ was a huge shock at the time, it's not like they were playing badly, from what I remember those matches were the ones where NZ chased down something like 340-350. NZ was just playing crazy good that series, sometimes playing against AUs does that to us because of the sporting rivalry. Bit premature don't you think, considering Pakistan could still lose to Ireland, though unlikely. Plus, how is this even a surprise, I mean considering there's 8 teams in quarters and there's only really 8 great cricket teams to begin with. So the big three asian teams(India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan) would surely always be expected to at least get to quarters. Only surprise really is Bangladesh. This is why I don't get point of quarter finals in cricket, we don't actually have enough good teams for quarters to be something to be really proud of.
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 14, 2015 15:49:52 GMT -8
This is going to get long, because I once again dont agree with a lot of what you have said lol. So I just wont engage. Lets just agree to disagree on those points Tell that to a team like Bangladesh who have never been to the knockouts My friends from BD are absolutely psyched and extremely proud of this achievement.
|
|
|
Post by riverpanthera on Mar 14, 2015 23:26:26 GMT -8
yeah I guess so haha
Well obviously for Bangladesh it's different cause they've mostly had the 'minnows' tag in the past, and they were never expected to make the quarters ahead of England in Group A. But being in the top 8 is hardly an achievement for the bigger sides, more relief I expect. I think tournament would have been much more interesting and probably had more close games if it were directly semis, cause then the good sides can't afford to just relax and win against the qualifiers, they have to beat the top 8 as well. And being 1 and 2 in your group really means something.
Alternatively we should have at least had 4 groups instead of 2, then I wouldn't mind quarters so much, but after playing so many games to still have quarters feels very silly to me.
Though having said that, quarters will definitely be exciting cause it's knockout and anything can happen, and that's why I'm going to see it live, I got my tickets for the NZ vs probably West Indies now, a week ago cause I figured I'm not gonna get much opportunity in future for watching world cups live so might as well go if I can.
|
|
|
Post by gangsta on Mar 16, 2015 6:05:19 GMT -8
And I totally agree that BCCI is influencing the game. But I have to add, it is not necessarily pro-India as it is pro-money, hand-in-hand with the ECB and CA. The reasons why Eng, Aus, NZ were in the same group or why India, Pak are in the same group is purely to milk those rivalries.
Not pro-money man, this definitely is completely pro-India. When 2 teams host a world cup, the very first thing that should happen (and it almost usually does) is to pencil each in one group. And then the rest of the shenanigans of a draw happen. To have NZ and Aus bundled together in one group is plain ridiculous. If anything, I would say that an India-Australia game played in Australia would rake in more $ than any other. If India and Pakistan hosted a World Cup together, you really think they would both be in the same group? And when they meet, India would travel to Pakistan to play a game? And if this really is "hand-in-hand" with ECB and CA (making it the BIG 3), don't you think NZ would have been the one to travel to Australia and not the other way around? Why is India the only team in the competition to play less number of games in New Zealand than the rest? And both of those games against lowly opposition too. This is ridiculous manipulation of the game - I do agree to an extent that a lot of it seems driven by $$ and hey, India rake in the most money. But this is pure nonsense and takes a lot of joy out of a sport I lovingly grew up with. riverpanthera, I just hope we give you guys a decent fight come Friday. I just don't want us to get bundled out under 20 overs. But I feel like it would be a high scoring game. What do you expect?
|
|
|
Post by abhijacko on Mar 17, 2015 18:39:46 GMT -8
Anywho
Big game starting soon. It is going to be a match up between Sri Lanka's weak bowling v/s South Africa's personal knockout demons.
|
|