ICC Champions Trophy 2017

[Aalay]

Watched the game today after quite some time. The funny thing is all fast bowlers are in with a chance to play Sunday. Before the tournament begin, I thought our preferred fast bowling order would be (1) Bhuvi, (2) Bumrah, (3) Shami, and (4) Umesh. Umesh was last in my list since he leaks too many runs in ODI's. However, the amazing home season has clearly helped him to bowl at his best again plus the pitches in England will always give his bowling that extra zip. He was always quick but the swing and if he gets some bounce in English conditions will make him very difficult to play against. Bhuvi was my preffered bowler because he will always bowl well with the new ball in England conditions but his death bowling has been very good in the last 2 years. Bumrah was second because he is an absolute superstar when it comes to death bowling which is one area where we have lacked in past. Shami has been our best bowling before he got injured and he still bowls very well. So as other people have pointed out so far, it will be a big headache for the team management to choose the bowlers. Even though Ashwin hasn't played much recently, I still feel him and Jadeja will be in the line-up alongside with Hardik Pandya. Even though Hardik's bowling is not good enough, the all-round game that he brings is definitely enough to keep him in the final 11. I won't be surprised if he even opens the bowling on Sunday.

The only question in the batting department was who is going to open. I think that is pretty clear now with Rahane failing twice, it will be Dhawn and Rohit opening again. However, due to Yuvraj being down with fever, the number 4 spot might go to Karthik if Yuvraj fails to recover in time that is.

 

[SaiSrini]

Umesh has been a revelation in the two warmups so far. He must have made it very tough to drop him. Its also next to impossible dropping Bumrah because death bowling is something which is very important in ODI's too. With all our bowlers equally strong enough, will India risk playing 4 seamers + 2 spinners and rely on Jadeja and Ashwin to hold more batting responsibilities? Seeing that batting is weaker than our bowling, might as well try.

Pandya has also created a problem with that innings of 80 off 54 balls. A hitter like that is crucial. Where do you slot him? It would be ridiculous if Yuvraj walks back right into the XI for the Pakistan game. I know it's not his mistake to miss the warm-ups due to viral fever, but having seen the performances so far, it would be ridiculous to play someone who hasn't had a hit so far after coming to this country. I will play Karthik or Pandya above Yuvraj but I feel Kohli will go ahead and play Yuvi.

 

[Satan666]

First time in cricketing history Pakistan will enter as the underdogs in an international match against India and also a first that India enters with a cloud of intimidation tactics by the coach Anil Kumble. Not all is well in the Indian camp though, reports are surfacing of rifts between coach Kumble and the players, Kholi the captain representing the players has held discussions with the COA and special advisory council (Ganguly directly) with their concerns about Kumble.

Live cricket scores, commentary, match coverage | Cricket news, statistics | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Till Valhalla]

First time in cricketing history Pakistan will enter as the underdogs in an international match against India and also a first that India enters with a cloud of intimidation tactics by the coach Anil Kumble. Not all is well in the Indian camp though, reports are surfacing of rifts between coach Kumble and the players, Kholi the captain representing the players has held discussions with the COA and special advisory council (Ganguly directly) with their concerns about Kumble.

Live cricket scores, commentary, match coverage | Cricket news, statistics | ESPN Cricinfo

Dang I was going to take you serious then read your first statement about Pakistan being first time underdogs against India then you lost all your credibility.

 

[Satan666]

Dang I was going to take you serious then read your first statement about Pakistan being first time underdogs against India then you lost all your credibility.

I shouldve been a bit more clearer, speaking specifically for an international cup, world cup/icc champs trophy.

 

[Till Valhalla]

I shouldve been a bit more clearer, speaking specifically for an international cup, world cup/icc champs trophy.

2007 world T 20?

 

[Satan666]

2007 world T 20?

I wont know never really got into T20 mode.

 

[asprin]

I will play Karthik or Pandya above Yuvraj but I feel Kohli will go ahead and play Yuvi.

I would prefer Pandya over Karthik but as you said, Yuvraj will, in all probability, walk right back into the playing X1. I also feel that Pandya is going to play as well since his fielding and batting antics will come handy in ODIs.

 

[aditya123]

India have a few really tough decisions to make. Do they allow Yuvraj to walk right into the side on Sunday without playing a single warmup game? Do they opt for a better death bowler as opposed to bowlers who are better overall bowlers? To begin the tournament, I would pick Shami and Yadav ahead of Bumhrah because that would mean that we pose a constant wicket taking threat right through the innings and might give us a change to cause enough damage to make the slog overs insignificant. I would pick the side who are best suited to get the opposition 5 or 6 down for 200 and not worry about the death overs bowling for now. We have 10 overs of death bowling and 40 overs of regular stuff. The game will be won and lost in the middle overs and not the slog. Sides that take the most wickets in the middle overs are best suited to win big tournaments. As harsh as it may sound, I would bench Bumrah for the first game and go with Bhuvi, Shami and Umesh. Shami has bowled well in the slog in the past and Bhuvi has shown enough pedigree there as well. This is a risk that is worth taking.

My side would be

DK/Sharma
Dhawan
Kohli
Jadhav
Yuvraj/DK
Pandya
Dhoni
Jadeja
Bhuvi
Shami
Umesh

Pandya, Jadhav and UV to share the 5th bowler`s responsibility. Dhoni batting lower down gives the batting lineup that feeling of depth. If someone does badly or the pitches are batting friendly, Ashwin and Bumrah get a look in.

 

[Aoun13]

First time in cricketing history Pakistan will enter as the underdogs in an international match against India and also a first that India enters with a cloud of intimidation tactics by the coach Anil Kumble. Not all is well in the Indian camp though, reports are surfacing of rifts between coach Kumble and the players, Kholi the captain representing the players has held discussions with the COA and special advisory council (Ganguly directly) with their concerns about Kumble.

Live cricket scores, commentary, match coverage | Cricket news, statistics | ESPN Cricinfo

Not really, we are playing as underdogs against India for quite some time now, first real example comes to my mind is of 2011 Worldcup, same was the case in 2015 Worldcup. One can say that in 2011 we came to semis on the basis of very strong performances but we were the true underdogs of that tournament specially after that spot-fixing saga.

 

[toecrusher71]

If india are to win the trophy they should be looking to play 5 genuine bowlers.Pandya did bat well but you go with your strength.If top 6 can't do it then pandya??
dhawan
rohit
kohli
kartik/yuvi
dhoni
jadhav
jadeja
ash
bhuvi
umesh
bumrah
Shami as backup for yadav

 

[SaiSrini]

India have a few really tough decisions to make. Do they allow Yuvraj to walk right into the side on Sunday without playing a single warmup game? Do they opt for a better death bowler as opposed to bowlers who are better overall bowlers? To begin the tournament, I would pick Shami and Yadav ahead of Bumhrah because that would mean that we pose a constant wicket taking threat right through the innings and might give us a change to cause enough damage to make the slog overs insignificant. I would pick the side who are best suited to get the opposition 5 or 6 down for 200 and not worry about the death overs bowling for now. We have 10 overs of death bowling and 40 overs of regular stuff. The game will be won and lost in the middle overs and not the slog. Sides that take the most wickets in the middle overs are best suited to win big tournaments. As harsh as it may sound, I would bench Bumrah for the first game and go with Bhuvi, Shami and Umesh. Shami has bowled well in the slog in the past and Bhuvi has shown enough pedigree there as well. This is a risk that is worth taking.

My side would be

DK/Sharma
Dhawan
Kohli
Jadhav
Yuvraj/DK
Pandya
Dhoni
Jadeja
Bhuvi
Shami
Umesh

Pandya, Jadhav and UV to share the 5th bowler`s responsibility. Dhoni batting lower down gives the batting lineup that feeling of depth. If someone does badly or the pitches are batting friendly, Ashwin and Bumrah get a look in.

I too think Bumrah unfortunately has to be benched for the first game, considering the kind of form Umesh Yadav is in. And as you say, if our bowlers can bowl really well in the 40 overs of the innings, they can make the death overs unimportant. And Shami is also a more than decent "death" bowler. Also from the warmups, Edgbaston looks a very batting friendly pitch (Pakistan successfully chased Bangladesh's 341; NZ successfully chased Sri Lanka's 356; Australia were 57/1 when rain forced a no-result). In that case, I would play both Ashwin and Jadeja

With Ashwin providing a lower order stability option (and a possible floating option in case wickets fall quickly) and Pandya and Jadeja providing the lower order hitting option, we can go with 5 specialist batsmen (including Dhoni) and have a XI like this:

Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli, Dhoni, Jadhav, Pandya, Jadeja, Ashwin, Bhuvi, Shami, Umesh

This gives us 4 seamers, two spinners and one part timer (Jadhav). And it also means we can bat till No. 8.

 

[Aoun13]

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You can join at Classic Fantasy
I have created a Planet Cricket League so you can join that too using League Code: 861843-8117

 

[asprin]

Love today's Google Doodle. Quite fun actually.

 

[Velocity]

I think that the first ten overs will be crucial for India batting wise. It will be tough considering they have to face Amir, who can swing the ball both ways and trouble the openers. Therefore, I think for this match it is fair to play Karthik as further batting protection. Otherwise I find the Indian top order crumbling. Both Rohit and Dhawan have struggled aganist Amir. I feel he is the one that can impose a big threat over the batsman. Unfortunately Bumrah will have to miss out due to he is not very effective with the new ball and Shami, Yadav and Bhuvi sounds like a good bowling trio. Shami is more of a wicket taking bowler than Bumrah in someway and he's not too bad a death bowler either. The key to sucess will be to get the experienced guys out like Hafeez, Malik in paticular and Babar Azam. Otherwise I think Pakistan have a weak batting lineup. Sarfraz Ahmed can do his bit but nothing much more in the batting department.