Semi Finals and Final Discussion

[pasag]

Meh would be unfortunate if that happened IMO. Sri Lanka have played well, but its incredibly obvious to me that they are a poor batting side, an ordinary fielding side and an extraordinary bowling side. They have superstars with the ball that are currently making up for their deficiencies in all other departments.

SL's batting is just as good as any of the other sides still left in the tournament with Dilshan at the helm. Not brilliant, but servicable nonetheless.

 

[pasag]

Dont think they choked as such, cause they played well, but just failed to raise their game when it mattered most.

ie they choked.

 

[Burgey]

ie they choked.

That would be pretty close to a sports dictionary definition....

 

[Naumaan]

There was one thing none noticed
PAKISTAN never had a win over South Africa in world cups
&
South Africa never made it into the finals
so one thing had to change & it was Pakistan beating South Africa

 

[shivfan]

Dont think they choked as such, cause they played well, but just failed to raise their game when it mattered most. I would say that they got a number of their strategies wrong as well, Im not sure why they didnt have one of Morkel, Van Der Merwe or Boucher bat up the order.

Whether you like Pakistan or you hate them, they were smart in having someone like Afridi bat 3 to play the pinch hitter role early, not to mention Akmal having the lincense to do whatever he wants because they still have the more sensible and reliable players like Younis, Malik and Misbah to come in the middle order. SA missed a trick with Smith, Kallis, Gibbs, ABD and Duminy all coming in one after the other, especially with the 2 most aggressive out of them failing to fire today.

Exactly....

Paksitan had the better strategy for 20/20 cricket. In the six matches that South Africa played in the 20/20 world champs, they only passed 150 twice. That's just not good enough....

SOuth Africa were bailed out by their bowlers several times. Just this once, Afridi took on the Saffer bowlers and won. And once again, the Saffer batsmen were not able to reach 150.

 

[shivfan]

It's just a question of priorities. If you think T20 is a comparable game to Test cricket, that's your loss son. As Tendulkar said the other day, T20 is like dessert. Yes dessert is nice, but you need to main course. You can't just eat dessert. And Test cricket is the main course.

Anyhow as I say, congratulations to Pakistan on a great result. Good luck in the final.

Test cricket and 20/20 cricket are two different events. NEither is more important than the other. You take them both seriously, IMHO....

If you only take Test cricket seriously, then you will never reach the last four of a limited-overs competition. As things stand, unfortunately, England are not in the top four of either Tests, ODIs, or 20/20s.

 

[Smith]

Can rest easily as any of the winners are worthy ones. Would support Pakistan and WI, and if they meet, Pakistan.

 

[pasag]

1. SL
2. Pak
3. WI

My preference.

 

[Naumaan]

My preference is
1. Pakistan
2. Pakistan
3. Pakistan
lol, although i'm happy that we reached final, it's already more than enough, if we manage another victory, it'll be awsome. But if we somehow don't win it, it's not a big deal. Honestly we already 've achieved more than what we were capable of

 

[shivfan]

My preference is
1. Pakistan
2. Pakistan
3. Pakistan
lol, although i'm happy that we reached final, it's already more than enough, if we manage another victory, it'll be awsome. But if we somehow don't win it, it's not a big deal. Honestly we already 've achieved more than what we were capable of

That's how I feel about the Windies....

I'm just happy they reached the semis. If they lose to Sri Lanka, no disgrace. I feel that the WI have already achieved more than what other fans expected of them.

 

[Naumaan]

That's how I feel about the Windies....

I'm just happy they reached the semis. If they lose to Sri Lanka, no disgrace. I feel that the WI have already achieved more than what other fans expected of them.

yeah true!!!!!
Out of 4 semi finalists, 2 were expected to reach, 2 performed beyond themselves to reach this far
Pakistan had some luck, had some easy games
on the other hand westindies had a tough group but they won the matches which mattered most (same as Pakistan)

 

[Shri]

That's how I feel about the Windies....

I'm just happy they reached the semis. If they lose to Sri Lanka, no disgrace. I feel that the WI have already achieved more than what other fans expected of them.

My respect for Gayle would increase 1000 fold if he walks the talk and lifts the WC at Lords after what he said in that interview.

 

[G.I.Joe]

1. SL
2. Pak
3. WI

My preferance.

Same here.

 

[shivfan]

My respect for Gayle would increase 1000 fold if he walks the talk and lifts the WC at Lords after what he said in that interview.

Hasn't he done that already? Under him, the WIndies have beaten Australia, India and England. This is in spite of the bookies giving the odds to each of their three opponents. I know, because I made money out of all three matches!

There's no shame in losing to Sri Lanka, which is an outstanding team, IMHO....

 

[Scaly piscine]

Duckworth Lewis is the only reason WI beat England. I hope Sri Lanka make it because at least they deserve it.

 

[shivfan]

Duckworth Lewis is the only reason WI beat England. I hope Sri Lanka make it because at least they deserve it.

Well, the Windies passed 160 in three of their four matches preceding the England game, so I didn't see that target as beyond their reach....

Still, Colly won the toss and elected to bat, despite weather forecasts that predicted that rain was about to fall!

So, I think the Windies deserved to win that one.

 

[Kensashi]

Meh would be unfortunate if that happened IMO. Sri Lanka have played well, but its incredibly obvious to me that they are a poor batting side, an ordinary fielding side and an extraordinary bowling side. They have superstars with the ball that are currently making up for their deficiencies in all other departments.

Agree with the batting but i'd say their fielding is pretty decent.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah because England have certainly outplayed the West Indies throughout the tournament and the West Indies would've played identically if it wasn't a shorterned match?

 

[Scaly piscine]

Well, the Windies passed 160 in three of their four matches preceding the England game, so I didn't see that target as beyond their reach....

Still, Colly won the toss and elected to bat, despite weather forecasts that predicted that rain was about to fall!

So, I think the Windies deserved to win that one.

No to deserve to win you have to play better than your opponent.

 

[shivfan]

No to deserve to win you have to play better than your opponent.

Posting a mere 160 is not 'outplaying your opponent', especially when your opponent has passed that score in three of the four previous games....