Mar 24 - Australia v India (Quarter-Final 2)

[Kabooka]

However we do have an edge in bowling.

Agreed, and its not a slight edge either. Pakistan's bowling is easily twice as destructive an India's current bowling. But then India's batting is twice as powerful than Pakistan's batting , so depending on the kind of track laid out & the fire in the belly of the team playing we could have ourselves a brilliant day of cricket.

 

[Gurjot95]

Today Matches-
South Africa Vs New Zealand at Mirpur
Australia Vs West Indies at Airport

 

[jkartik]

Australia Vs West Indies at Airport

HAHAHAHA !!!! Classic!!!

 

[sami ullah khan]

^It will be a triple threat if South Africa make short of Kiwis resulting in them joining the airport clash.

 

[icyman]

A great match-worthy of a knockout. Australia played well- Ponting accepted defeat gracefully. Well, I did pity him -the look on his face when thw riting was on the wall was simply unforgettable. Unfortunate for Australia- harsh reality. The good thing is they fought hard, fought to play like Champions that they are.

India did everything right yesterday. The win should give them a lot of confidence going into the Semi-Finals. The bowlers did well, the batsmen marvellous as usual. Take one match at a time- don't think too much about the Final.

Well,whatever the result, we have A new Champions awaits us this time round.

And I have to give it to Ponting-he rose to the occassion when it mattered the most to his team. True leader, Ricky you shall be sorely missed,

 

[Varun]

Brilliant win.
Yuvraj, once again delivering the goods (what a form he has been in, after being berated heavily before the world cup. Sachin and Gambhir chipped in with essential runs, not to mention Raina who finished it up with Yuvi brilliantly.

Australia, though, put up a good effort, but they lacked the charisma which they had in the last world cups. Ponting went on to score a wonderful knock, yet you can't call it a 'beast'. Their bowling was slightly lacklustre too.

With Ponting accepting the loss gracefully, I don't think they would have much qualms. I hope their media doesn't greet them with too derogatory remarks like our media does.

 

[Owzat]

20-30 runs short? I never feel a batting side has made as many runs as possible when they have 4-6 wickets in hand when their innings closes.

Can't help feeling one self-imposed handicap/weakness is the aussies obsession with trying to find ANY other spinner than Hauritz. Krejza took 0/45 off nine, poor fare indeed. Never rated Smith, would he get in the side purely on his batting? I somehow doubt it, and his spin was never going to be enough of a threat.

Krejza

ODIs : 7 wkts @ 47.29
WC 2011 : 5 wkts @ 55.60

Smith

ODIs : 293 runs @ 26.64 & 18 wkts @ 31.11
WC 2011 : 53 runs @ 26.50 & 1 wkt @ 121.00

Cameron White didn't even bowl, perhaps a reason I'm unaware of, but if that was the aussie strength of spin in the World Cup then they can't complain about their relatively early exit (not as if they were likely not to get to the QF) When your quality of spin makes Yardy look reasonable then it is in deep trouble.

 

[sifter132]

20-30 runs short? I never feel a batting side has made as many runs as possible when they have 4-6 wickets in hand when their innings closes.

Australia were 2/140ish at 30 overs. Old rule was to double the score at 30, and that was before the batting PP, so it makes sense that 260 is 20 runs short of the 280 the start might have given them. The 20 runs would have come if only of Clarke/M.Hussey/White could have stayed in for a while. But each wasted 5-10 balls getting in.

That said...I kinda agree with you. While Ponting seemed to be swinging hard at Ashwin, Dave Hussey was playing a bit within himself in those last couple of overs, yes I saw the big 6, but he also nudged a handful of deliveries where he should have tried harder for boundaries. If it had been a super over for example, I think he'd be going a lot harder. And they really should be running for everything in the last over - yet on the last ball they settled for 2 very early.

Can't help feeling one self-imposed handicap/weakness is the aussies obsession with trying to find ANY other spinner than Hauritz. Krejza took 0/45 off nine, poor fare indeed. Never rated Smith, would he get in the side purely on his batting? I somehow doubt it, and his spin was never going to be enough of a threat.

Krejza

ODIs : 7 wkts @ 47.29
WC 2011 : 5 wkts @ 55.60

Smith

ODIs : 293 runs @ 26.64 & 18 wkts @ 31.11
WC 2011 : 53 runs @ 26.50 & 1 wkt @ 121.00

Well we were going back to Hauritz...and then the potential replacements, Doherty and O'Keefe were injured too. It had to be Krejza. It really was a weakness for Aus. Krejza just doesn't have 'it' for me. He turns it, flights it, has the raw skills, but there's something missing and he can't bowl consistently enough. I'm a Hauritz fan and while I can see the case for Doherty I think Hauritz should still be #1. And it would be nice for Shane Warne to give Clarke some pointers on field sets and tactics for spinners as I don't think Ponting uses spinners particularly well. That could be one change that might help.

Now onto Smith. Smith wouldn't make the team for his batting, but he doesn't need to. Having 2 all-rounders in the top 6 (Watson and Haddin) means that Australia could play ANYBODY at #7 and it doesn't really matter. Yes the #7 needs to bat a bit, but they'll only be the 6th bowler. So why not give the kid Smith a go? He can bat a bit and he's very good in the field as a bonus. That's the reasoning, the unfortunate fact is that Ricky Ponting seems to rate Dave Hussey's bowling higher than Smith's and Hussey's certainly a more accomplished batsman. So one wonders why Smith was in the XI for so long then finally gets dropped for the big match. Seems weird.

I've got no problem playing Smith going forward though, that #7 spot is a great pressureless way to grow as an international player and he's got plenty of potential.

Cameron White didn't even bowl, perhaps a reason I'm unaware of, but if that was the aussie strength of spin in the World Cup then they can't complain about their relatively early exit (not as if they were likely not to get to the QF) When your quality of spin makes Yardy look reasonable then it is in deep trouble.

The last I saw Cameron White bowl he was trying to bowl medium pace for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Champions League of 2010 and it was awful. I think he's: a) completely lost his action and confidence as a bowler, and b) decided to concentrate on his batting. The last time he bowled a ball internationally was against Scotland in an ODI in 2009.

 

[jacobfelix]

The bowlers did well, the batsmen marvellous as usual.

I dont think it was marvellous ....In the space of 44 runs we lost Kohli,Gambhir,Dhoni ...... Just think what if Raina too had fallen when the score was between 190-200

 

[Annihilator]

The best thing i heard on during the match last night
Commentator: There is nothing wrong with your bowling Mr.Tait its just that there is the master at the other end who is perfectly using your angle and speed to his advantage.

 

[Gurjot95]

Imagine if there was Yusuf instead of Raina. He would have just gone for six but gets caught out, leaving India in deep trouble

Good decision by Dhoni and boundary on short ball by Raina was really charming.

 

[jacobfelix]

Imagine if Yusuf was there and had suddenly blasted a 20 ball 50.....I would have gone to bed half hour earlier...
This Yuvraj and Raina curtailed half hour of sleep in my life....

 

[Rehan_24]

It was kinda expected after their low score. I personally felt that 260 were not enough runs on the board considering Indian batting line-up and Aussies weak bowling attack. Yes considering the pitch, the Aussies bowling line-up was weak.

Plus, Watson, Hussey, Clarke, White they were not in their best of forms in the entire world cup. When your five key players are not in form. How they can win such an important game?

I feel sad for Ponting, but anyhow, it happens

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Most Importantly, India vs Pakistan for a berth in the WC finals ..........

By the looks of it its gonna be a National holiday in both India & Pakistan for the first semi final.

I hope it does

 

[Prithvi]

By the looks of it its gonna be a National holiday in both India & Pakistan for the first semi final.

I'd give you whatevea you want, if this happens! We've got flingen C programming lab exam on that day .

 

[khalek]

How come Aussies thought 260 would be enough against India? You need at least 360 if you're batting first against India.