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[Jai]

Fantastic match, watched every ball and cheered for every ball on the Chat. It's a shame that not too many regulars joined in. In fact today was one of those rare days when there was no Mod on the chat. We did discuss about it and the unanimous decision was to ban all the mods. Only thing we need now is the power to implement the ban.

On the match, Rohit Sharma appeared to me as a fantastic find. While MSD was struggling to make runs, getting top edges, this guy looked so comfortable out there. Whenever he stepped out to hit, it was a clean hit. Towards the end, his inexperience showed a bit when he repeatedly tried to move to the leg to make room and was missing them all, thus playing dot balls. But on a not-so-easy pitch, he batted so well. It's even more praiseworthy because he has hardly played any cricket in the past month or so. It's a pity that the selectors have dropped him. There is no doubt that he'll be back sooner than later, but this kind of idiotic decision can demoralize a youngstar.

Twenty20 is primarily a batsman's game and so is ODIs with PPs etc. and we don't have too many experienced fast bowlers, but the way RPS has been bowling, I am truly impressed. Hope they don't dump him if he goes through a lean patch. He would have been my MOM today. MSD did much better as a captain, but his back probelm could be an issue. Nothing happened in this match, but I have noticed this and someone else also supported me on the chat, I've seen MSD clutching on to his lower back while batting of late. I've seen this too many times, so may be he's carrying some sort of injury there. Today after KKD took that catch, MSD gave up his pads and gloves and KKD kept for the rest of the match. The commentators were wondering whether it's because he was planning to bowl !!! His captaincy was far impressive and that's also because he didn't have to worry about Jogiji today. I still think he should finish Jogiji's quota of overs at a stretch if he's bowling like this. Don't keep two bowlers of similar pace for death (the other being IKP). I still believe on this pitch, AA would have done better than Jogiji.

I am hopeful against the Aussies. Punter is not there, We need the two openers early. The others haven't got too many hits out there. Stuart Clark seems to be their best bowler in the tournament. Do some hoemwork, which it seems the team is doing. Have some plan B and plan C. The bowlers could have a rough day like they had against the Poms. Let's see...good luck guys. 

[LosingNow]

Thanks Jai.. appreciate the report very much.. I was itching to watch the game, but the friggin meeting dragged on & on ..anyway, I was following the game on my mobile through Cricketcast
--
I just saw this
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FLrkS_mBDaE&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/FLrkS_mBDaE&rel=0</a>

Mahendra Singh Dhoni impresses me .. "If you believe you can do it and you are determined to do it.. most of the time you will do it". 
--
Also, my special hats off to Robin Singh (I know Ruchir gave him a lot of grief).. looks like his efforts are paying off. You see one can polish only a diamond in the rough not a piece of coal. Poor chap, did not have the raw material during England series and IMO, did not deserve the criticism, if any.

Chalo...let's hope we kick some serious Aussie butt on Saturday!!

[keep-it-cool]

Agree with Jai .. RPS should have been MoM .. I think the run out tilted it Sharma's way.

When Sree bowled those 5 wides and gave 13 runs in the first over, I was like .. not again. And then RPS comes and picks up 2 wickets in the next over!!!

[keep-it-cool]

And, I think those 2-3 early wickets made SA confused as to how to approach the game ... go for 126 or 154 .. and that played right into India's hands.

[Jai]

I think SA missed Kallis today. I like Kallis so much that he'd in my team in any form of cricket. I wonder why they dropped him. I'll say a bad mistake on their part.

[justforkix]

Watching KKD's catch and Rohit's run-out ..... Only one word .....SPEECHLESS ...or make it two words

After KKD's catch when the live feed came back after the commercial break, suddenly KKD was seen behind the stumps and Dhoni standing at mid-off. No one had any clue what happened during the break - folks thought Dhoni was going to bowl medium-pace

I just saw the SA wickets.. looks like KKD affected 2 stumpings.. where was MSD fielding at that time .. and did he explain as to why gave up the gloves?

he injured his back when he dived full length to try and stop a SS wide off the first ball of the SA innings .. incidentally that went for five wides

He seemed to have trouble with his back even while batting. Maybe this incident just worsened it.

[broadbat]

                                   A Star is Born

The boy stood on the burning deck
  Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck
  Shone round him o'er the dead.
Thus went the lines of a famous poem Casabianca by Felicia Hemans. Rohit Sharma all nineteen years of him would have felt just like that boy (Casabianca) when he arrived at the wicket. The innings was in tatters and the prospect of an early flight home loomed. Unlike in the poem however, he stood till the end, but never perished. Showing that youth belonged on the field and not the bench he played an innings of great maturity that belied his inexperience at the big game level. The last ball six may not achieve the legendry status of Miandad’s but it was a good indicator on why he is so far the only centurion in domestic 20/20.
Dhoni proved yet again that while he may fail for n number of other reasons, it will never be because he can not soak up the pressure. Marshaling his team first with the bat and then in the field, the latter half of the SA innings from front of the wicket, he truly looked the part.
Kartick’s ‘leap of faith’ made up for all the catches he had dropped in his career and nifty glove work behind the wicket may give Dhoni the option of taking a break now and then.
As if he had not done enough with the bat, Rohit Sharma’s dive and throw kept Kemp running all the way to the pavilion. Tote another for youth.
RP Singh is developing into a wicket taking bowler and if there is a little juice in the track, he is proving more than a handful.
Harbajan’s doosra’s had the SA innings in a tailspin that not only spun them out of the game but the T20 WC as well.
In the post match talk Dhoni mentioned that ‘If the belief to win is there then you will win more often than not’. It is with this belief that Team India waits for the ‘Roos at their ‘home ground’ of Kingsmead, Durban.
And oh by the way did anyone notice? Yuvraj did not play today. We are saving him for the Aussie’s.

[LosingNow]

Kic/JFK :
I bloody missed the game.. but could you please describe more in detail about Rohit Sharma's innings. TEchnique, temperament, shots..whatever..  and also I hear he is a live wire on the field.

I am so pissed that I could not watch this match.. if possible describe the young brigade's efforts with a few anecdotes.

If this does not send the wake-up call to the maharathis and/or selectors .. I dont know what will. It is amazing Sharma did not play a single match in England and Uthappa played a couple. Shows how much our "hero worship" culture has hurt us

Hey !!! Hang on LN...Should you not be happy that the "Maharathis" actually stepped away for this tournament. Why the animosity?

And youthful exuberance mixed with mature, experienced seniors makes a heady cocktail... till atleast one is confident that the team is in safe hands

Ravi:
Do you seriously think that the presence of experienced seniors helped the juniors.. how? IMO, all they did was block opportunities for the y'sters to play ...and even did not deliver the wins that their experience was supposed to bring.
My point is simple.. when these 3 (and the selectors) know (in the bottom of their heart) that they are not going to last long.. and team India needs serious injection of youth.. why are they not retiring or telling the selectors (given the influence they have) to not to select them or to rotate them.
That is my disappointment. I am still fuming at the think-tank for not playing RS at all in England (it will be 2011 when the next time he will have a chance to go to England !!) and giving RU just couple of chances. That was pathetic and tragic!!

[justforkix]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is not 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

Note: edited post.

[keep-it-cool]

I blame the selectors here rather than the big 3 .. why would they step aside ... yeah, they can opt to take some breaks, but I dont expect them to ask the selectors to drop them. Steve Waugh did not want to go. Damien Martyn did not want to go. Hayden does not want to go. Thorpe did not want to go. And they are entitled to want to keep playing.

It is the selectors who have to take a call. They are the ones who have the primary responsibility to ensure a smooth transition. And, here I think, this selection committee has kept taking retrogade steps time and again. Mr Dilip Vengsarkar, take a bow.

[keep-it-cool]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

[broadbat]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

[Jai]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

Make that 4. 

[justforkix]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

Sorry, I meant to say if Dhoni is not 100% w.r.t. his back (edited my original post).....

If Dhoni is not fit to be WK, then KKD is WK, so who sits out

[LosingNow]

                                  A Star is Born

The boy stood on the burning deck
  Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck
  Shone round him o'er the dead.
Thus went the lines of a famous poem Casabianca by Felicia Hemans. Rohit Sharma all nineteen years of him would have felt just like that boy (Casabianca) when he arrived at the wicket. The innings was in tatters and the prospect of an early flight home loomed. Unlike in the poem however, he stood till the end, but never perished. Showing that youth belonged on the field and not the bench he played an innings of great maturity that belied his inexperience at the big game level. The last ball six may not achieve the legendry status of Miandad’s but it was a good indicator on why he is so far the only centurion in domestic 20/20.
Dhoni proved yet again that while he may fail for n number of other reasons, it will never be because he can not soak up the pressure. Marshaling his team first with the bat and then in the field, the latter half of the SA innings from front of the wicket, he truly looked the part.
Kartick’s ‘leap of faith’ made up for all the catches he had dropped in his career and nifty glove work behind the wicket may give Dhoni the option of taking a break now and then.
As if he had not done enough with the bat, Rohit Sharma’s dive and throw kept Kemp running all the way to the pavilion. Tote another for youth.
RP Singh is developing into a wicket taking bowler and if there is a little juice in the track, he is proving more than a handful.
Harbajan’s doosra’s had the SA innings in a tailspin that not only spun them out of the game but the T20 WC as well.
In the post match talk Dhoni mentioned that ‘If the belief to win is there then you will win more often than not’. It is with this belief that Team India waits for the ‘Roos at their ‘home ground’ of Kingsmead, Durban.
And oh by the way did anyone notice? Yuvraj did not play today. We are saving him for the Aussie’s.

I was eagerly waiting for your report. Thanks

[broadbat]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

Sorry, I meant to say if Dhoni is not 100% w.r.t. his back (edited my original post).....

If Dhoni is not fit to be WK, then KKD is WK, so who sits out

RU will then become a victim of circumstances.

[keep-it-cool]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

Sorry, I meant to say if Dhoni is not 100% w.r.t. his back (edited my original post).....

If Dhoni is not fit to be WK, then KKD is WK, so who sits out

Or, RU keeps and everyone else plays ...would depend on how much practice he has had of late.

If not, I get the feeling that Jogi will go. VS + YS + RS will try to make up 4 overs.. I dont think they will do much worse than Jogi.

[Jai]

If Yuvi is fit and Dhoni is 100% w.r.t. his back, who sits out

KKD, who else?

That would be correct unless they want to use VS and YS for 10 overs at the expense of Jogi.

Sorry, I meant to say if Dhoni is not 100% w.r.t. his back (edited my original post).....

If Dhoni is not fit to be WK, then KKD is WK, so who sits out

MSD. No injured players please. MSD will be a liability in the field anyway, I mean as a fielder.

[LosingNow]

They will play the game at Durban.. do you think the curator will leave the grass. If so, who does it help .. India or Aus?

[LosingNow]

Oh man.. can you imagine.. if it is an Ind vs Pak final !!!!!

The world will come to a standstill.

[broadbat]

Oh man.. can you imagine.. if it is an Ind vs Pak final !!!!!

The world will come to a standstill.

Esp if there is a bowl out!

[keep-it-cool]

They will play the game at Durban.. do you think the curator will leave the grass. If so, who does it help .. India or Aus?

India. I think India's only chance is in the wicket being favourable for swing bowlers. Else, the Aussies have a much better chance.

[broadbat]

They will play the game at Durban.. do you think the curator will leave the grass. If so, who does it help .. India or Aus?

We have our nose in front here because we are used to the conditions while the Aussie batsmen may just 'search ' for the ball if it moves around. No Ponting and their middle order has had very little batting. Their bowlers however are the best we would have ever faced so far.

[keep-it-cool]

BB, I dont think the Aussie bowling will pose too many problems - especially if the batsmen take some time. Which, in a Durban night match you can .. since you now know that you dont need 200 to win. After Mcgrath, I dont think the Aussie bowling has too much penetration.

The worry is how will our batsmen cope if they have to chase out there ... to me, most teams would be better off chasing a score unless conditions dramatically change for the second knock. However, India once again seem to have developed a mental block against chasing for some reason. So, win the toss and bat first is the best way to go for the time being, I guess.

[broadbat]

BB, I dont think the Aussie bowling will pose too many problems - especially if the batsmen take some time. Which, in a Durban night match you can .. since you now know that you dont need 200 to win. After Mcgrath, I dont think the Aussie bowling has too much penetration.

The worry is how will our batsmen cope if they have to chase out there ... to me, most teams would be better off chasing a score unless conditions dramatically change for the second knock. However, India once again seem to have developed a mental block against chasing for some reason. So, win the toss and bat first is the best way to go for the time being, I guess.

Kic chasing under lights at Kingsmead is always a tricky affair. A score of around 160-70 should be safe. Even after that good start against England were it not for Yuvraj we would not have reached 200. So i guess the team winning the toss will always bat at Durban. In the event Aussies bat first, then we must not let them get more than 140.

[keep-it-cool]

BB, I dont think the Aussie bowling will pose too many problems - especially if the batsmen take some time. Which, in a Durban night match you can .. since you now know that you dont need 200 to win. After Mcgrath, I dont think the Aussie bowling has too much penetration.

The worry is how will our batsmen cope if they have to chase out there ... to me, most teams would be better off chasing a score unless conditions dramatically change for the second knock. However, India once again seem to have developed a mental block against chasing for some reason. So, win the toss and bat first is the best way to go for the time being, I guess.

Kic chasing under lights at Kingsmead is always a tricky affair. A score of around 160-70 should be safe. Even after that good start against England were it not for Yuvraj we would not have reached 200. So i guess the team winning the toss will always bat at Durban. In the event Aussies bat first, then we must not let them get more than 140.

Agreed .. but even the match against England was played in Durban on a different pitch .. and batting second under lights they managed to get to 200! England were ahead of India at the end of the 18th over and scored more than India in the 20th over ... just that one freak over made the difference.

If we are gonna play on that pitch, then the bowlers would struggle ... and chasing down any target less than 180 would be comfortable for the Aussies against our bowling.

I hope we play on yesterday's pitch.

[justforkix]

What it gets rained out?

[feverpitch]

The important message while batting should be that India should try conserve wickets in the first 4-5 overs; play copybook shots up to 10 overs and then start looking for cross-batted heaves. There should be a strategy to eliminate dot balls while batting and another to tackle no-ball free-hits. Try hitting the first 2 balls of an over for a boundary/over-boundary. That eases pressure, and creates doubts in the minds of fielders and bowlers. Look out for change of pace.

While bowling, we should use Pathan upfront. With 4 overs only to bowl, he is able to touch 130, which is a good speed to get his banana swing deliveries going in the opening overs, but once that is gone, makes it easy meat for Aussie or other batsmen. Never have two bowlers with similar pace operating in tandem. Make the bowlers practice discipline with change of length and pace -- that seems to be the key. Bring Sree on later when he can use his pace and the lack of shine to control the ball better. Use Bhajji in the death if necessary. Bowlers should think of a strategy to bowl at free hits. Later in the innings, they should try bowling low full tosses more, but on the off stump.

[broadbat]

BB, I dont think the Aussie bowling will pose too many problems - especially if the batsmen take some time. Which, in a Durban night match you can .. since you now know that you dont need 200 to win. After Mcgrath, I dont think the Aussie bowling has too much penetration.

The worry is how will our batsmen cope if they have to chase out there ... to me, most teams would be better off chasing a score unless conditions dramatically change for the second knock. However, India once again seem to have developed a mental block against chasing for some reason. So, win the toss and bat first is the best way to go for the time being, I guess.

Kic chasing under lights at Kingsmead is always a tricky affair. A score of around 160-70 should be safe. Even after that good start against England were it not for Yuvraj we would not have reached 200. So i guess the team winning the toss will always bat at Durban. In the event Aussies bat first, then we must not let them get more than 140.

Agreed .. but even the match against England was played in Durban on a different pitch .. and batting second under lights they managed to get to 200! England were ahead of India at the end of the 18th over and scored more than India in the 20th over ... just that one freak over made the difference.

If we are gonna play on that pitch, then the bowlers would struggle ... and chasing down any target less than 180 would be comfortable for the Aussies against our bowling.

I hope we play on yesterday's pitch.

Any time a team is defending a large total, the bowlers tend to go off the boil. Hence it is not unusual for chasing teams to get close, but England were always well behind in the asking rate. So I will not use that as a factor. In the first game against Pak, we had a very small total to defend but still managed to avoid losing. At Durban it seems batting first after winning the toss seems to be the way to go.

[feverpitch]

Its important to remember that Aussies can be beaten, but only if you win the psychological battle upfront. They try to bully you from the first ball, which is why their opening batsmen try hitting risky cross batted shots at the beginning of an innings and in the first ball of each over... to create a psychological ascendancy at the very beginning. Our bowlers should try using this as an entry and get the openers quickly by bowling them yorkers. Get your asses out from the morning and practice bowling yorkers with control upfront. Their batsmen know they are playing risky shots but they consider it to be a calculated risk since for them winning the psychological battle is more important.

Of course the only way to beat Aus or SA is by taking wickets at regular intervals. Which means specific plans for each player. Even specific field settings if necessary, just to unsettle them. Rememmber when Ponting is not around they become more ruthless.

But do not forget that its better to kill them in the semis than in a final!

[broadbat]

Here is an imp stat. Australia beat England,Bangladesh and SL by 8,9 and 10 wickets respectively. That means very little or no exposure for their middle order. Even in the two games they lost the batsmen failed. So at the moment they look very soft in the middle.

[keep-it-cool]

BB, I dont think the Aussie bowling will pose too many problems - especially if the batsmen take some time. Which, in a Durban night match you can .. since you now know that you dont need 200 to win. After Mcgrath, I dont think the Aussie bowling has too much penetration.

The worry is how will our batsmen cope if they have to chase out there ... to me, most teams would be better off chasing a score unless conditions dramatically change for the second knock. However, India once again seem to have developed a mental block against chasing for some reason. So, win the toss and bat first is the best way to go for the time being, I guess.

Kic chasing under lights at Kingsmead is always a tricky affair. A score of around 160-70 should be safe. Even after that good start against England were it not for Yuvraj we would not have reached 200. So i guess the team winning the toss will always bat at Durban. In the event Aussies bat first, then we must not let them get more than 140.

Agreed .. but even the match against England was played in Durban on a different pitch .. and batting second under lights they managed to get to 200! England were ahead of India at the end of the 18th over and scored more than India in the 20th over ... just that one freak over made the difference.

If we are gonna play on that pitch, then the bowlers would struggle ... and chasing down any target less than 180 would be comfortable for the Aussies against our bowling.

I hope we play on yesterday's pitch.

Any time a team is defending a large total, the bowlers tend to go off the boil. Hence it is not unusual for chasing teams to get close, but England were always well behind in the asking rate. So I will not use that as a factor. In the first game against Pak, we had a very small total to defend but still managed to avoid losing. At Durban it seems batting first after winning the toss seems to be the way to go.

The Pakistan match, again, was played on the same pitch as yesterday. England was a different pitch. I think it makes a difference. Although I agree that bowlers may go off the boil a little, I dont think this had too much bearing on the England match .. after all, India had to win and more importantly also had to ensure a good run rate. Our bowling is weak if there is no assistance off the pitch ... and one needs to cover for that.

[keep-it-cool]

The amazing aspect of this tournament is that 3 semi-finalists were decided on the last day of qualifications.

In fact, even in the last over of qualification, either one of two teams could have grabbed that last slot.

[justforkix]

While Rohit's direct hit is to be appreciated, it is sad that our fielding standards are so low that it is being described as brilliant and what not by the media

It was a normal pick up and throw. A player at this level should be expected to hit that 9 out of 10 times.

[keep-it-cool]

While Rohit's direct hit is to be appreciated, it is sad that our standards fallen so low that it is being described as brilliant and what not by the media It was a normal pick up and throw. A player at this level should be expected to hit that 9 out of 10 times.

LOL .. Baby steps will get us there.

Atleast he hit the stumps to start with ... unlike RPS who misses each time he collects the ball from the keeper and tries to throw it at the bowlers end stumps from 3 feet away. He's done that at least 3-4 times that i recall.

[dhruvdeepak]

Watching KKD's catch and Rohit's run-out ..... Only one word .....SPEECHLESS ...or make it two words

After KKD's catch when the live feed came back after the commercial break, suddenly KKD was seen behind the stumps and Dhoni standing at mid-off. No one had any clue what happened during the break - folks thought Dhoni was going to bowl medium-pace

I just saw the SA wickets.. looks like KKD affected 2 stumpings.. where was MSD fielding at that time .. and did he explain as to why gave up the gloves?

he injured his back when he dived full length to try and stop a SS wide off the first ball of the SA innings .. incidentally that went for five wides

actually, i saw MSD bending over in pain during his batting, after hitting a ball to the boundary. he seems to have sprained his back during his innings. he fielded at mid off most of the night, only for a few overs was he at the boundary. i thought he led brilliantly. it is also nice when things go to plan.

[Libran]

Agree with Jai .. RPS should have been MoM .. I think the run out tilted it Sharma's way.

When Sree bowled those 5 wides and gave 13 runs in the first over, I was like .. not again. And then RPS comes and picks up 2 wickets in the next over!!!

SS is an AA in the making with a dash of antics added for unwanted flavor. he is a GONER !!!! if he does not understand that the SA tour is behind and every series is a fresh beginning

[keep-it-cool]

Anyway, the hunt is over ... went down right till the last over. But, unlike what we thought at the beginning, India was home long before that.

[keep-it-cool]

We are looking at another Aus v/s SA semifinal in a WC!!!

And, maybe a first Indo-Pak WC semifinal!!!!!

STOP JINXING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I jinxed it ... SA got knocked out!!

[gouravk]

Very happy that a team like South Africa is knocked out. It is one of my least favorite teams in world cricket.