Semi Finals and Finals

[haroon510]

honestly i can't stand gavaskar's comments.... full of bs man
go to dressing room drink shampgian and scream

 

[Beleg]

what was gavaskar saying?

 

[sideshowtim]

honestly i can't stand gavaskar's comments.... full of bs man
go to dressing room drink shampgian and scream

Haha. Puts a funny image in your head though.

*Bhaji takes sip of champagne*
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*Calmy takes another sip*
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*Takes another*
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

and so forth.

 

[adharcric]

umm, Sharma is crap though. His line and length is attrocious.

He was crap until the final over against Australia. Since then, he has bowled 4.3 overs for 26 runs - that's excellent for Twenty20 cricket. Tough to see him get a one-day call-up with the Pathan brothers around but he has done the entire team proud after being written off by nearly everyone.

 

[SJS]

I was sitting in the university of bradford student union pub, and for the last half an hour, the only people you could see were Indians and Pakistanis, with every ball, every wicket, every four and every six being met with a defeaning roar.

And when Misbah scooped it up in the air, all the pakistani supporters (including myself) went up in the air, only to be drowned out by the literally earth-shattering screams of the Indians as the fielder held on to the catch.


In summation, it was among the most exicting games of cricket I've had the privilage of watching.

Yeah, when he scooped that I thought thats the four which as good as wins it for Pakistan and then.....

What a match.

 

[Arjun]

umm, Sharma is crap though. His line and length is attrocious.

That line and length was deliberate for the final. Dhoni told him to keep bowling wide of the off-stump, because it would then be tough to hit off this slow pitch, except for the square drive. He's got good slower-balls and yorkers, so as a final-overs bowler, he may be an option. Not to mention, batting is his stronger suit, and since the Indians could carry Dinesh Karthik so long, they can try him out for as long.

 

[adharcric]

My dad called me from work saying "look, I made them win!". That was just before the final wicket and I thought Pakistan had won and he was being an ass and said "what the **** are you talking about?", "what?", "dude, no". Then I saw the catch, shouted out loud, hung up and went ballistic ...

 

[Beleg]

adharcric,

I am sorry but he was definitely crap in this match as well. The fact that he didn't go for many in his first three has mostly to do with the fact that the Pakistanis at that point of time were either flashing at balls outside off half-heartedly or leaving them well alone. His stock ball seems to pitch at sixth stump and then just sit there - any opening batsman worth his salt is going to slaughter him.

Irfan and R. P. Singh were by far the best indians bowlers - due to their variation and repertoire respectively.

 

[neutralguy]

hey raghav,
This **** is for you buddy for being indian and not supporting india.shame on the way you did not support india buddy.
I hope this win will change your mind and atleast try to be neutral about india.

 

[Arjun]

My dad called me from work saying "look, I made them win!". That was just before the final wicket and I thought Pakistan had won and he was being an ass and said "what the **** are you talking about?", "what?", "dude, no". Then I saw the catch, shouted out loud, hung up and went ballistic ...

Is he a lucky mascot for the team? A friend of one of my friends would turn up for an India match at the Hede, and the Indians would ALWAYS lose, so that friend would repeatedly beg and plead not to go to the ground. Even my dad's office colleagues sometimes keep him out of a place where a match is being screened.

Anyway, it's a triple treat for Indian sport. First, an unfancied Indian football team wins a tournament involving reasonably tough Asian teams- and the Indian football team was a joke for so long. Then a crisis-ridden Indian hockey team wins the Asia Cup, steamrolling every team on the way. Maybe good things come in threes, and I thought Karun Chandok's GP2 win and NK's A1 points finished it, small as they are, but the Indian T20 completes the treat.

 

[Beleg]

Arjun,

If he's got good slow balls and yorker then why didn't he use them? And if you think that he can afford to bowl at that line, at his pace, even on a slow pitch, with a good off-side stroke-player on the pitch then I believe you are mistaken.

I have no opinions about his batting.

 

[nightprowler10]

*sigh* A team can only get away with a crappy top order for so long before it costs them big even in such a short format as this. Well done to Misbah for playing the way he did, though he ought to be bitch slapped for playing that shot with 6 to win off 4 balls.

Congratulations to India, well done on coming back and winning this, though I hope I don't sound bitter when I say that Pakistan lost this match rather than India winning it.

BTW, would it be fair to say that Hafeez dropped the World Cup when he dropped Sharma and caused a six?

 

[Arjun]

Tough to see him get a one-day call-up with the Pathan brothers around

Yusuf not getting a match was a disappointment, but hindsight seems a good thing for many. Overall, Yusuf Pathan, as a sixth/seventh batsman seems a good option because he's a hitter, and he's a good fielder as well, but Joginder seems to edge him out because he's a striker for his state/zone team, while Yusuf is a stockie, and sometimes a sixth bowler for his team.

Anyway, with both brothers in, they might just be to the Indian team what Albie and Morne are to South Africa.

 

[SJS]

adharcric,

I am sorry but he was definitely crap in this match as well. The fact that he didn't go for many in his first three has mostly to do with the fact that the Pakistanis at that point of time were either flashing at balls outside off half-heartedly or leaving them well alone. His stock ball seems to pitch at sixth stump and then just sit there - any opening batsman worth his salt is going to slaughter him.
.

I agree. His very first two balls were rank long hops both of which the batsman could have chosen his spot to hit for six. He was lucky that Younis was batting so badly. He swunghis bat hard and couldnt get a singl run of either.

The third was hit for four.

The fourth was short again and Younis could still manage justa single.

The sixth ball was very shortagain, kept just a little low, Malik tried to hit it too hard and hit it into the ground.

NO. He did not bowl well Pakistan just did not make use of his bad bowling in that first over.

 

[maxpower]

Nice for IND to beat Aus and then Pak in final. Well Done and I'd say now some pressure on old players to perform in clutch matches. Also who keeps a final on a weekday ??

 

[silentstriker]

Great win overall. Nothing really can match the high of England Test series win, but hopefully the team can do well in the upcoming Tests. Some new infusion of young talent wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Arjun]

Arjun,

If he's got good slow balls and yorker then why didn't he use them? And if you think that he can afford to bowl at that line, at his pace, even on a slow pitch, with a good off-side stroke-player on the pitch then I believe you are mistaken.

I have no opinions about his batting.

That's a question asked even on a renegade forum that opened up those comments. Maybe he should bowl yorkers throughout his overs, but it's a tough ask. The slower pace may also be an advantage. It's an ugly style he's got, but it works for similar bowlers in other teams. As for the wides, a few would get called. Another match would have a different strategy. He bowled differently in the final over against Australia- just straight, and it's something he can take out of this tournament.

 

[Corli]

Nice for IND to beat Aus and then Pak in final. Well Done and I'd say now some pressure on old players to perform in clutch matches. Also who keeps a final on a weekday ??

It's a public holiday in South Africa today, which is why the final is on a Monday.

 

[SJS]

In a relatively low scoring match with lots of good bowling lets not forget a fabulous innings of solid cricketing strokes

Take a bow : Gautam Gambhir

 

[Arjun]

In a relatively low scoring match with lots of good bowling lets not forget a fabulous innings of solid cricketing strokes

Take a bow : Gautam Gambhir

I second that. His berserk spurts notwithstanding, the running between the wickets has been very relevant. Batsmen don't own the field, but have twenty-two yards to themselves.