ICC Cricket World Cup - May/July 2019

[Velocity]

While I also want to re-emphasize here that the momentum which India lost against England by taking the game lightly (due to confirmed qualification almost) came into the play here somehow. NZ knew that if they we get their top 3 out, the lower middle order is not aggressive anymore. Even if the match would have resumed yesterday It would be a very hard task for Indian batting to chase down the total due to pitch behavior and conditions.

You really can't get over than England-India match can you? India's middle and lower order did show aggression, which we saw through Jaddu's innings. Dhoni and Jaddu fought to the very end, but it was in vain eventually. I don't think India lost due to taking the match lightly, it was due to the phenomenal bowling from NZ in the opening 10 overs which killed our chances. Really don't understand how the "lightness" India supposedly took from the England game has to do with this game. That seems pretty irrelevant.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Aussies to smash England tomorrow ... and then win the cup (my predictions NEVER come true)

 

[Alexei.]

A lot of fans saying that Kohli hasn't performed for India on big occasions (CT17, CWC15, CWC19). I mean there is a thing called "Good bowling" Most of the teams prepare for Kohli especially like today, Boult did.

 

[abhi_jacko]

While I also want to re-emphasize here that the momentum which India lost against England by taking the game lightly (due to confirmed qualification almost) came into the play here somehow.

You my friend seem to be obsessed with the India-England fixture

 

[Ohm]

See told ya!

That thought also struck to my mind, so I was kinda prepared for today. I've a feeling we're new SA. Since 2014 T20 world cup we've had really good ICC tournaments except that we've failed to win any one of them. Runners-up in 2014 T20WC and 17's CT. Then semi-finalists in 16's T20WC, 15's and this world cup. All these campaigns we were first or second favorites. No disrespect to our team but clearly we've choked if we look back at every match that made it a matter of just few inches. It's so frustrating to live with these facts.

 

[Velocity]

Still stunned by the result. Failure to chase yet again in a tournament knock out game. We might end up with the chokers tag if this goes on. Steamroll through the group stages and just lose it completely during the knockouts

Don't think India are chokers. I think it goes down losing the plot in knockout matches. Australia in 2015 was one tough and fearsome opponent in that WC, and in 2017 Pakistan simply were on fire which came with their unpredictability factor. But if you do see South Africa, they had come sooo close in 1999 and 2015 and they fumbled and lacked that killer blow when the pressure really came on them. Today, I think it all came down to the NZ's opening spell leaving India 4 down at the end of 10 overs. A fight was made out of the match still, but the early damage done had came to haunt us once again.

 

[Aoun13]

Congratulations to the Kiwis and an excellent effort by Jadeja and Dhoni. It was an excellent game to watch, where both teams fought very hard.
As far as I remember from that U19 final in 2006 vs Pakistan till now, most of these Indian top order batsmen are very unlucky in writing a fairy-tale ending.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

That thought also struck to my mind, so I was kinda prepared for today. I've a feeling we're new SA. Since 2014 T20 world cup we've had really good ICC tournaments except that we've failed to win any one of then. Runner-ups in 2014 T20WC and 17's CT. Then semi-finalists in 16's T20WC, 15's and this world cup. All these campaigns we were first or second favorites. No disrespect to our team but clearly we've choked if we look back at every match that has kept it a matter of just few inches. Jeez it's so frustrating to live with these facts.

Yes exactly my thoughts are we the new chokers?
Yeah the fear of law of averages or whateverthey call it was gonna caught up with us big time and happened repeatedly in the knockouts its a kinda curse now lol (happened in the almost bilateral series as well after CT17) but having said that we need test the middle order more from now on.

The likes of Kohli should take an enroute of what Ganguly did back in 2000s. Give younger players a chance to bat up the order (the likes of Gill,Pant,Iyer etc.) and test them for a longer time.Kohli is already a legend in ODI cricket and don't think he needs anything to prove now so its fair now to groom younger players for situation.

Also was hoping for Dravid to join as head coach but since he joined the NCA recently that won't happen for atleast a year and am personally I was laughing at our situation in the office while checking the scores almost if I knew the script.

 

[Bevab]

I’d like to see someone like Tom Moody coach the side. He was extremely interested the last time around and deserves a better opportunity after his work in IPL. Another left field option is Stephen Fleming of course, with Dhoni being a part of the backroom staff.

 

[Jalen]

Found a stat saying Kohli scored 7 in the 2011 WC Semi Final against PAK, 1 against us in the 2015 Semi Final and now 1 today. Average of 3.67
Thoughts?

 

[SaiSrini]

Couldn’t bear the pain at all. Might as well have had us lose by 70-80 runs.

Normally I don’t let emotions out these days (I used to when I was 17, now I’m 16 years older). But when Dhoni got run out, that heart crunching pain just opened me up. Maybe it was because it was Dhoni, but that moment was unbearable.

I’m not going to blame it on silly things. Well played NZ for getting to the finals. As for India, let’s wait to see what the next few weeks have in store. For me, a semifinal entry was not enough considering the quality we have. And if we win in 2023, we’ll be called ‘home bullies’.

I need time to get out of this. Maybe a detox from cricket altogether.

 

[Bevab]

Yes exactly my thoughts are we the new chokers?
Yeah the fear of law of averages or whateverthey call it was gonna caught up with us big time and happened repeatedly in the knockouts its a kinda curse now lol (happened in the almost bilateral series as well after CT17) but having said that we need test the middle order more from now on.

The likes of Kohli should take an enroute of what Ganguly did back in 2000s. Give younger players a chance to bat up the order (the likes of Gill,Pant,Iyer etc.) and test them for a longer time.Kohli is already a legend in ODI cricket and don't think he needs anything to prove now so its fair now to groom younger players for situation.

Also was hoping for Dravid to join as head coach but since he joined the NCA recently that won't happen for atleast a year and am personally I was laughing at our situation in the office while checking the scores almost if I knew the script.

Would prefer to have Dravid around the grassroots and junior levels of cricket for now as having a legend and passionate coach like him there would be a lot better in giving us positive results.

What India needs to do is build a proper ODI side that plays to it’s strengths. It’s clear that this team has struggled with Dhoni’s position and role for a while and has failed to find a number four that could relieve the pressure on the top order every game.

• If we are going to play with the current tactic of starting slowly, building an innings with the top three with risk-free, positive cricket saving wickets for the death and then slogging, we need to fill our team with players who can slog without taking their time to settle in at numbers 5-7. The number four becomes really important because he might be needed to play a solid, accumulating role in case of two early wickets or be one amongst the sloggers if we’ve already established a platform.
• Players like Roscoe and pre-2019 Morgan are the ideal candidates for such a role, as they can both build an innings or slog quickly if needed to. The dream would be a player like AbD who can always adapt to any situation with ease but expecting a player of his class so soon doesn’t seem feasible. I can see Pant becoming someone like him though if he’s developed properly as a top order bat instead of being shoehorned in as the ‘finisher’
• If we are to play like England and be aggressive for every ball, our bowlers need to become better with the bat and we would also need players who care less for their individual records and are willing to accelerate at will. Whilst it is entirely possible seeing how Rohit had no problems playing a more aggressive role after Dhawan got ruled out and seeing aggressive players like Shaw and Gill already show their skills, it is unlikely that we adopt this model unless Bayliss himself becomes our coach.
• If we end up as a side that relies predominantly on our bowling to win us games with only a few solid batsmen like NZ or Pakistan, we might need to shore up the batting with more accumulators who aren’t prone to collapses. I don’t really see this happening though given the wealth of batting talent that is waiting for a chance.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Found a stat saying Kohli scored 7 in the 2011 WC Semi Final against PAK, 1 against us in the 2015 Semi Final and now 1 today. Average of 3.67
Thoughts?

Still remains the best ODI batsman of all-time

 

[Bevab]

Found a stat saying Kohli scored 7 in the 2011 WC Semi Final against PAK, 1 against us in the 2015 Semi Final and now 1 today. Average of 3.67
Thoughts?

• Kohli was also part of a valuable and crucial partnership with Gambhir during the 2011 WC finals that arrested a potential collapse.
• Kohli also made a 50 during the semis in the 2013 Champions Trophy and was the highest run scorer during the final.
• He nearly scored a century versus Bangladesh during the semis of 2017 Champions Trophy.
• To cite an example from another format, Kohli scored a magnificient 89 in the semis of 2016 T20 World Cup.

In short, Kohli most definitely does not have an issue with choking during the knockout stages. Expecting to score nearly every game and blaming him for the occasional game where he inevitably fails seems like cherrypicking to me.

 

[Jalen]

Still remains the best ODI batsman of all-time