*Official* Group A Discussion - Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, India

[Xuhaib]

Haha, mate I seriously hope your team isn't depending on those guys to pull you through, because in most conditions they are pretty average batsmen, if I were a Pakistani fan, I would be hoping and expecting experienced guys like Younis and Yousuf to lead the way on Saffie pitches.

If its a flat bouncy track watch out for Imran Nazir though he will give you a chance agreed on Akmal he only plays if the ball bounces below knee height Akmal jr could be the surprise package.

 

[Bouncer]

^^ Akmal jr scored 3 hundreds in AUS so i dont think he would be much troubled in SA and in SA wickets conditions are better than AUS specially in ODI's with good even bounce..I think Nazir will enjoy the true bounce of the wickets as he is pretty good at cut shot and not bad player of pull shot, he just needs to realize to not to attempt those strokes (specially pull) on every short ball.

I liked the idea of using Afridi @ 4, if he carries on with the maturity that he has shown in last few T20 inning, this can be Pakistan's Master Stroke.

 

[Naumaan]

^^ Akmal jr scored 3 hundreds in AUS so i dont think he would be much troubled in SA and in SA wickets conditions are better than AUS specially in ODI's with good even bounce..I think Nazir will enjoy the true bounce of the wickets as he is pretty good at cut shot and not bad player of pull shot, he just needs to realize to not to attempt those strokes (specially pull) on every short ball.

I liked the idea of using Afridi @ 4, if he carries on with the maturity that he has shown in last few T20 inning, this can be Pakistan's Master Stroke.

i also do think that if pakistan has to win matches, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmel, Umer Akmel, Afridi & Rana will have to score runs

 

[ret]

I guess Gambhir is coming back to the squad .... a line up like the one below would make sense for the first two grp games

- Tendulkar
- Gambhir
- Dravid
- UV
- Dhoni
- Raina
- Bhajji
- Praveen
- Mishra
- Ishant
- Nehra

YP hasn't done much at #7 so it won't be a bad idea to play 5 bowlers, esp with the top 5 batsmen like that in the side!

 

[ret]

Pakistan wont be struggling with bounce, cuz Imran Nazir, Umer & Kamran Akmal are good players of flat & bouncy tracks
for Pakistan will be through, Aus will be the other side

good players to get 20-30 odd runs?!

 

[Arjun]

The Indians are off to South Africa now. The batting is in good form right now, and the trick is to get the most out of the top six, so that they don't depend on the seventh batsman. Gautam Gambhir is fully fit, so that's good news.

Dhoni says that the fielding standards have gone down, which is a rather disturbing revelation. We don't have any sluggish fielders, except Dravid and Nehra, at worst. They don't have all the areas covered- each fielder is brilliant in some areas but have been found wanting in some other aspects. Sometimes, the way the fielding resources are used can also have an impact, and the way India's fielding resources are used is often questionable. They can help a lot by cutting out the singles, to less than 50% of runs conceded.

He also goes on to say that the change seamer has it a lot harder than the opening bowlers, as he's always bowling at (often) set batsmen and in the final overs. He's a target for a whole lot of big hits. Ishant has had to adapt a little to it, so he 'hopes for the best'. The real problem is that he's the top bowler in the team, and we don't know if he can be 'sacrificed' here. Either way, he needs to get back to bowling at 140k regularly.

I guess Gambhir is coming back to the squad .... a line up like the one below would make sense for the first two grp games...YP hasn't done much at #7 so it won't be a bad idea to play 5 bowlers, esp with the top 5 batsmen like that in the side!

That's not a bad idea now. The bowling appears to be a weakness, and the part-time bowling in the middle-overs, is a big weakness. They need five proper bowlers throughout the series to maintain the pressure, so that wickets keep falling and there's not much left to fire in the final overs.

 

[honestbharani]

I guess Gambhir is coming back to the squad .... a line up like the one below would make sense for the first two grp games

- Tendulkar
- Gambhir
- Dravid
- UV
- Dhoni
- Raina
- Bhajji
- Praveen
- Mishra
- Ishant
- Nehra

YP hasn't done much at #7 so it won't be a bad idea to play 5 bowlers, esp with the top 5 batsmen like that in the side!

You are right about YP but I would play Nayyar there.. His bowling might be useful there and he is a good batsman, a bit like Robin Singh.. suited to #7... Mishra would be gr8 in the side but with Bhajji doing well, he will have to wait for his chance, unfortunately.

 

[Faisal1985]

My money is on Nazir and Umer Akmal in the batting department....good players of bouncy tracks...

BTW.....Gul and Asif duo would be great to watch..........last time saw them really get going was in the legendary Oval Test.....lol

I will be honest to myself this time....Pakistan and WI, are the 2 iffy ones for me.....but recently the Indians had trouble against the "short stuff" as well......

For Pak as usual it will be an unpredictable series... too many questions are unanswered about this team right....Umer Akmal? Asif's come back......? Nazir back in ODI and possibly openning with Akmal....? Whether Mo Yo will be part of Pak's middle order....? Is Misbah still a go ahead for the playing 11? Is Afridi going to get anything out of these pitches for his bowling? How many catches Akmal will let go this time around?

Like i said...too many questions..........i hope they don't lose to WI? lol

 

[TT Boy]

Dhoni says that the fielding standards have gone down, which is a rather disturbing revelation. We don't have any sluggish fielders, except Dravid and Nehra, at worst.

You forget to add, RP Singh, Sachin, Ishant Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Bhaji.

 

[four_or_six]

This could be a weird group, with Aus/Pak/Ind each winning one against each other and then it coming down to run rate.

 

[Cruxdude]

Looking forward to September 26th. Indian and Pakistani students are getting together to watch the match on big screen in my univ. Going to be great fun.

 

[iHammad]

This is the more exciting group than B. Hope to see Pak and Aus qualify. Hopefully we can beat India and Aus to make semis!!

 

[Turbinator]

Chak de India!

 

[Johnners]

Some key Australian players starting to hit form (or ar in good form), so I'm quietly confident we can be 3-0 after the group stage. 2-1 more likely though I guess, especially if we fall back into "can't buy a run from decent spin bowling" mode in the middle overs.

 

[morgieb]

Dominating in England, pretty happy about this series, especially given that Pakistan & India aren't that good outside the subcontinent, and the West Indies are playing like a 164223239934227th XI.

Will be disappointed if we don't make the semis at least.

 

[Naumaan]

Dominating in England, pretty happy about this series, especially given that Pakistan & India aren't that good outside the subcontinent, and the West Indies are playing like a 164223239934227th XI.

Will be disappointed if we don't make the semis at least.

This time be ready for another exit before semi's Sir

 

[ret]

This is how CT could go

Ind up beat from its win in SL will turn up over confident in their first game against Pakistan, who would go on to surprise the Indians. Then Indians will have the tough task of not only beating Aus but also WI by a high NRR .... Australia will go through, along with Pak

Grp B - SA and SL


Semis:

Aus vs SL - SL with the help of 3M manage to restrict the OZ .... Jayasuriya plays a blinder to upset OZ

Pak vs SA - SA choke, so Pak goes through


Final: Pak vs SL




PS if Pak reaches the final then we will have 30 pages of spamming by Pak fans telling us how Pak is unpredictable, this is Pak so anything can happen, how good their side is and so on

 

[Naumaan]

This is how CT could go

Ind up beat from its win in SL will turn up over confident in their first game against Pakistan, who would go on to surprise the Indians. Then Indians will have the tough task of not only beating Aus but also WI by a high NRR .... Australia will go through, along with Pak

Grp B - SA and SL


Semis:

Aus vs SL - SL with the help of 3M manage to restrict the OZ .... Jayasuriya plays a blinder to upset OZ

Pak vs SA - SA choke, so Pak goes through


Final: Pak vs SL




PS if Pak reaches the final then we will have 30 pages of spamming by Pak fans telling us how Pak is unpredictable, this is Pak so anything can happen, how good their side is and so on

whom u r refering to by the way?????????

 

[ret]

whom u r refering to by the way?????????

general comment .... why?

 

[Arjun]

You forget to add, RP Singh, Sachin, Ishant Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Bhaji.

That's almost the whole team. They're not that bad!

There's nothing wrong with Tendulkar- he's just panned each time he drops a catch, because he's old. Harbhajan is also a very good fielder, even if he isn't of the quality of a Ponting or a Symonds. The rest- they're not bad fielders, and are quite good in some aspects, but have weaknesses. RP Singh can ride the boundaries well and cut off a few fours, and has a decent throwing arm, though his reflexes may be a problem. Yusuf Pathan is an excellent fielder in catching positions, though stopping some balls rolling low is a problem- reflexes are good, but agility isn't. Ishant and Praveen can save runs, but their throwing is wayward.

They've had bad days on the field. Sometimes, the team has collectively underperformed. However, that doesn't make them bad fielders, as we've seen them do quite well in some other matches, even collectively. None of them are as bad as Dravid and Nehra, both total liabilities capable of contributing absolutely nothing. Sometimes, they can't grip a slimy, muddy ball. Some high catches at night are difficult. Some fielders stand out of position and struggle. Throwing is a problem, as it's only a matter of luck if an Indian direct hit connects, bat in or out. All of these things can be worked on, and there is scope for improvement for the players. The field placings, however, need a reshuffle. Sometimes, they're absolutely dumb.