ICCCT2006: Group B

[aditya123]

Pleased to see Pakistan win y`day mainly bcause I was disapointed at seeing Shoaib and Asif leave the tournament .
Asif is one of my favourite cricketers and never imagined thathe could do something like that.
Great spirit dislayed by th Pakistan side who always play well with their backs to the wall.
Sri Lanka will be a handful on these slow pitches .
It would b better if they get knocked out in Rd 1 .

And Last but not the least, the huge crowd y`day was great to see and Pakistan had some good support.
They are very popular in India . Especially Shoaib is a huge hit here , so is Afridi but Shoaib`s absence would have been a bit of a dampener.

The crowd y`day was far bigger than any crowds in the last ICC Champions Trophy 2004 matches featuring even England (except for the final, maybe).

 

[kodos]

Well you will expect crowds to be much larger than in the qualifying games and the 2004 tournament. The ground looked pretty much packed but you will expect that between two rival asian nations. Also during the 2004 tournament it was played in autumn and late summer where the weather was cold which contributed to the low crowds.

Fantastic win by Pakistan, defeating the tournament favourites and beating all odds after the Akhtar and Asif debacle. Razzaq was amazing at the end, but really it was the Pakistan spin bowlers who did well to get them back into the game and eventually allowed the batsman to complete the victory. Good aggresive opening partnership between Hafeez and farhat and perhaps now we may finally see settled openers.

 

[nightprowler10]

Good aggresive opening partnership between Hafeez and farhat and perhaps now we may finally see settled openers.

Bup bup bup....don't you dare jinx them.

I always felt the answer to Pakistan's opening problem was to stick with just one specialist opening pair, instead of trying Afridi, Akmal, and Malik in that spot.

 

[aussie_ben91]

Bup bup bup....don't you dare jinx them.

I always felt the answer to Pakistan's opening problem was to stick with just one specialist opening pair, instead of trying Afridi, Akmal, and Malik in that spot.

Akmal made a few centuries opening didn't he?

 

[nightprowler10]

Akmal made a few centuries opening didn't he?

And hasn't done squat since. He's always been more useful down the order.

 

[irottev]

Sweet! We won the toss! Should be a nice little advantage if this wicket plays like the others have.

But we have to make use of it!!! That will be important!

Knocking Sri Lanka out now would be fantastic! This is going to be a great game.

Sri Lanka have their place to play for! We have the semi's to play for.

Come on boys, you have to be on your A game tonight!!!!!

OH MY GOD! Shane Bond is playing tonight! AWESOME!

And Styris also. Great news.



-> Pretty slow start by us. 2 wickets down. Not too big of a disaster but we need to up the Ani. Losing another wicket would be a disaster though.

Vincent was unlucky. The ball to him kept very low. Fleming was done by good bowling.

I can't help but think this glue could only have made the pitch worse. It seems to be breaking up so by the time SL bat it should be pretty bad. I don't think the glue was necessary but we will see the whole match and see if it works.

Astle is the key. He is the man who can bat an innings. Marshall hasn't scored much runs for NZ lately, so he could be an x factor.

SL have bowled very well apart from the first 4 odd overs where they had too many extras.

Ok, we ain;t going too good, but so long as we stick out there we could muscle out 200 or around abouts. Should be a enough runs to at least make a game of it. I hope the pitch doesn't improve. If Astle and Vincent score that slowly it shows that it is tough.

Did McCullum hit that? My reaction from real time and the replay was he didn't. But I may be wrong. Aleem Dar is a terrible umpire so it wouldn't surprise me. Silly shot none the less!

We still have batsmen who could score fifties etc. Probably not in this glue pot! I think this was probably a good toss to lose for Sri Lanka. I totally do NOT agree with any of these chemicals being sprayed onto the pitch.

-->>WOW Gutsy stuff from Vettori and Patel. Great innings, just missed a 50 partnership and Vettori's 50.

I have to say, that Oram dismissal was a disgrace. I don't think he suits playing a long innings, just a 30 run slog at the end type thing.

I have a really really sad feeling that the wicket has dried up after being all wet and sticky from the glue and batting will be easier. Plus the top being broken a little.

I must say, the pitch preparations for this tournament have been shocking. I don't care what excuses they have but a cricket pitch should not need glue. Absurd.

Now it is down to our 2 spinners to do what the 2 Sri Lankan ones did. I have faith they can do it. Bond and Mills with Oram as back up, sounds like a strong attack. Is 165 going to be enough for them though.

I hope to hear good news in the morning. I won't be holding my breath. Sri Lanka must be strong favourites, despite this bowling 5 being one of the strongest in the tournament.

The commentators were pretty poor I felt. Especially the Indian and Sri Lankan ones.

I think it is more of a 200 wicket, but not a heck of a lot more. The Indian dude seemed to think he could call it up in the commentary box that it was a batsmans paradise. Haha.

I think we are lucky to get out with 165. Last time we bowled SA out for a little over 100, but the SL batting line up is MUCH stronger.

If Jaysuria goes out early playing a big shot and we can get Tharanga we still have to get Jaywardene and Sangakara. Those 4 are the strongest top 4 around.

Shaneo is going to have to be on the button and Mills has to re-do what he did last match. Oram has to come in and be tight also until the spinner can come on. They will hopefully hold the key. I don't see the Sri Lankan's play so many stupid shots to them though. They might have to earn them a little more.

 

[nightprowler10]

:laugh
You must be the only one watching this match. Seriously, Cricket Chat seems so dead lately.

Anyway, I was hoping to see some Bond magic, what happened?

 

[ZexyZahid]

On planetcricket I think he is. But Sri Lanka is looking for a seven wicket victory, while it could have been easily a nine wicket victory.

 

[surendar]

In NZ team, Astle alone in the top order provided ressistance!!!

Also i heard that something was used in special to prepare the pitch that favoured the bowlers.... well i am not sure becos at the end of that news only i switched on the TV.... so any one have any idea about that news ?

 

[viral1991]

They sprayed some chemical to stop the pitch from crumbling! It has worked well!

Sri Lanka have played excellently, proving that they are really contenders for this trophy!

 

[surendar]

They sprayed some chemical to stop the pitch from crumbling! It has worked well!

Sri Lanka have played excellently, proving that they are really contenders for this trophy!

Thanx for the info... Great 7 wicket victory for Lankans

 

[aussie1st]

Murali finally did something this tournamen, it was always a matter of time for them. What more Jayasuriya still hasn't made a huge contribution.

 

[surendar]

The commentators were pretty poor

Agreed!!! Also the crowd who turned up was very poor...... Infact the stands that has free entry was not even half filled!!!

I remember one of commentators commenting " this is disappointed in a country like India where cricket is considered to be the religion but crowd for this game is poor "!!!

 

[irottev]

Sri Lanka batted well. At the start they were aggressive.

Bond was a little rusty back from time off. He started to look better in the later overs. He should be good for Pakistan.

Patel bowled well, good to see! I think it's good we have an attacking spinner.

The pitch did get better. The colour of it seemed to have changed dramatically. I think the glue needed a day before playing on it, I think it was a little bit funny for the start of our innings and we never really recovered. Vincent and Astle don't start that slowly so just for those first 15 overs it must have been tough. The rest of the wickets we lost batting were to shocking shots and some poor execution on bad balls. A few edges on wide ones off the spinners and Oram's is a little embarrising. I think it shows how much pressure you put on with a slow start.

It was a good pitch under that glue. I just rekon while it was still wet or on the surface or whatever it was a bit difficult.

We had a few chances we didn't take. An edge off patel and a few almost catches in the outfield.



The crowds have definatly been dissapointing. The whole tournament really lacks any kind of power to me. It isn't really taking off. I can't say it has been a antastic tournbament so far, yet all the teams are close to equal potential. The World Cup will be better I am sure.

Things might improve. If they want to continue the glueing they need to do it the day before so it can be under the sun perhaps.

Sri Lanka outplayed us today, bowled better, batted better and fielded better.

Now bring on Pakistan! They are a weaker side then SL and I think we have a good shot and should be favourites.

 

[jazz]

They are a weaker side then SL and I think we have a good shot and should be favourites.

not really i think pakistan will be favorites

firstly our batting does not look solid

secondly we are playing on pitches that are pakistan are used to

thirdly pakistan beat sri lanka