Group B: India, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies

aditya123

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Group B looks the tougher of the two groups and all the teams barring SA are unpredictable. I would put my money on West Indies and Pakistan to go through from this group. The West Indies for me are the strongest side on paper from this group which would come as a surprise to many. The Indian side is one in transition but the X-factor for India could well be their unrated bowling attack. After a long time they have a genuine quick in Umesh Yadav who will be a handful in these conditions. If Bhuvaneshwar Kumar`s swing bowling potential in Indian conditions are anything to go by, he should enjoy the conditions in England as well. Ishant Sharma has shown signs of improvement in recent times and this will be his first real test as the senior pro in a global tournament. The batting is full of dashers but lacks the calmness of a Pujara, India have missed a trick or two by not including Pujara in the squad. He could have played the role that Amla does for SA. Pakistan have the bowling but their batting could crumble any moment and thus their Achilles heels.

So all I can say is, bring it on! Its been a while since I saw some proper cricket.
 

blueblood

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Proper cricket would be proper if the curators leave some grass on the pitch. There is decent pace and bounce, but the overhead conditions are bright, and IMO the batsmen will not face much of a difficulty playing about the seamers!!
Though it has been mentioned before that the curators have been going for more of flat tracks in the past, so it suggests that we'll see some big runs in the tournament ( unless any team plays like Australia the other day they did) .

Personally, I'd like to see some close low scoring encounters, what I actually expect whenever cricket is being played in the UK.
 

crazyrahul

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IND vs SAF going good so far...

West Indies v Pakistan tomorrow, supporting WI :rolleyes

My line-up

C Gayle
J Charles
M Samuels
Darren Bravo
K Pollard
D Sammy
Dwayne Bravo (c)
D Ramdin
S Narine
R Rampaul
K Roach

12th man - R Sarwan (if not Samuels)
 

cricket_icon

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Apr 13, 2011
IND vs SAF going good so far...

West Indies v Pakistan tomorrow, supporting WI :rolleyes

My line-up

C Gayle
J Charles
M Samuels
Darren Bravo
K Pollard
D Sammy
Dwayne Bravo (c)
D Ramdin
S Narine
R Rampaul
K Roach

12th man - R Sarwan (if not Samuels)

decent squad selection. I just think Pak have too much all round strength to overwhelm the Windies.

And what an opening match! The ceremony and the starting weather was all a bit naff but but once the game got underway we had a terrific few hours of cricket and the Saffers were well on their way to a win right up to the point that Miller lost his wicket.

India showed some great improvements in the fielding and Dhawan's innings was just magnificent.
 

SaiSrini

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Rohit Sharma with that innings keeps his place in the XI for sometime now. Hope he continues performing and justifies his selection. Too early to say if pushing him to open is the tonic, but it has worked so far.

Worrying that Ishant gets clobbered very easily when there is no help for him from the wicket or the conditions. Seems like he is totally clueless when there is no help. In such a case, probably Vinay Kumar might be a better option as he can atleast bowl restrictively when conditions don't help. Also if you get wickets like this, bowlers who are slower through the air might be more effective. Dhoni needs to re-think about Ishant. Yadav is necessary for his pace, and Bhuvi is good enough to keep his spot.
 

sami ullah khan

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^It all depends upon on how early they can get rid of Gayle. If he stays in too long, we could be in for a very interesting match.
 

sifter132

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It gets worse for South Africa...Morne Morkel out of the tournament, Chris Morris comes in. What's wrong with Vernon Philander?? I think there is definitely a place in ODIs these days for an old fashioned, bowl 10 overs at the start, type of bowler. Someone who is a new ball specialist, not a death bowler. Philander could definitely be that guy, allowing Steyn to bowl in short bursts and not feel so much pressure on him alone to take wickets.

...OK...I read Philander hasn't been playing any cricket, so an understandable decision. But my point remains, I think he could have been in the frame.
 
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Satan666

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South Africa looked out of sorts against the Indians, the chief reason being the absence of Steyn, thanks to the IPL, Morkel is injured out, thanks to the IPL!

If India lose against the WI (which I am praying for) and Pak defeat the Safricans the India versus Pakistan game would decide who goes through to the next stage of the tournament, I hope the games go on like this and Pak anialhate the Indians with their vaunted bowling lineup, one of the best bowling lineups ever in ODI!
 

ballers101

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IND vs SAF going good so far...

West Indies v Pakistan tomorrow, supporting WI :rolleyes

My line-up

C Gayle
J Charles
M Samuels
Darren Bravo
K Pollard
D Sammy
Dwayne Bravo (c)
D Ramdin
S Narine
R Rampaul
K Roach

12th man - R Sarwan (if not Samuels)

Why is it that every time India and Pakistan do anything in cricket either side roots for the opposing team, just makes me laugh. I don't want to assume that's the reason you were rooting for west indies but based on percentages alone my assumption in this case is right most of the time lol
 

SaiSrini

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Why is it that every time India and Pakistan do anything in cricket either side roots for the opposing team, just makes me laugh. I don't want to assume that's the reason you were rooting for west indies but based on percentages alone my assumption in this case is right most of the time lol

The rivalry with Pakistan goes beyond cricket and you should know that. There is some sort of a deep, inner happiness in me when Pakistan loses. I am not saying that thought is right (and probably rightly so). But its ingrained in many people like me from India.
 

Owzat

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It gets worse for South Africa...Morne Morkel out of the tournament, Chris Morris comes in. What's wrong with Vernon Philander?? I think there is definitely a place in ODIs these days for an old fashioned, bowl 10 overs at the start, type of bowler. Someone who is a new ball specialist, not a death bowler. Philander could definitely be that guy, allowing Steyn to bowl in short bursts and not feel so much pressure on him alone to take wickets.

...OK...I read Philander hasn't been playing any cricket, so an understandable decision. But my point remains, I think he could have been in the frame.

Well he has only played 8 ODIs to 16 Tests, so you could question if he is used as much as he might be in ODIs. Might be because his ODI bowling average is 35.43 and 58 of the time he's ended wicketless.

Add that to half his wickets coming against Ireland in his first ODI, and a further couple against Zimbabwe, and maybe that's why he's not used so much.

Even if not bowling at the death, there's no reason a bowler can't open the bowling, bowl 5-7 overs from the off and then 3-5 overs around overs 28-36. Why 28 overs? Well it was a rough estimate, but working on bowling 7 from the off that would be 13-14 overs on the board when he came off and a rest of that long takes you up to around that mark - not that it matters exactly when.

I think the saffers will need something, I've never been convinced by McLaren and Kleinveldt looks fairly ordinary.
 

sami ullah khan

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The rivalry with Pakistan goes beyond cricket and you should know that. There is some sort of a deep, inner happiness in me when Pakistan loses. I am not saying that thought is right (and probably rightly so). But its ingrained in many people like me from India.

I am just as nationalist as you are but I was happy when India got the number one test status. It made me feel good as an Asian.
 
S

Satan666

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The rivalry with Pakistan goes beyond cricket and you should know that. There is some sort of a deep, inner happiness in me when Pakistan loses. I am not saying that thought is right (and probably rightly so). But its ingrained in many people like me from India.

Atleast you have the guts to say it out in the public, it really puzzles me sometimes how the Pakis generally have excellent bowlers and the Indians mostly have good batters, makes me think if someday the two countries become one again what a powerful team they would have, but then I see a post like yours and come to the realization that unity between them will never occur.
 

aditya123

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I am just as nationalist as you are but I was happy when India got the number one test status. It made me feel good as an Asian.

Its not that with everyone. I think defeats to Pakistan are taken in much better spirit these days. I for some reason was rooting for Pakistan against the Windies when they were defending 170.

On another note, I`m loving this tournament. It reminds me so much of the way cricket was in the 90s. Seems very unadulterated. I wish they reverse their decision of scrapping the CT.

ICC could well have the ICC WC, CT, T20 WC and the Test Championships all as a quadrennial event so that very year we might have something to look forward to. Do away with 7 match ODI series and make the T20 WC every 4 years instead of 2 years. It would give more relevance to the calender. Have a CT one year before the 50-over WC as FIFA does with the Confederations cup.
 

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