Pakistan exploited Australian batting weaknesses clinically, can India do it? Rediff points - Draw the first blood If India bats first they have repeat a Veeru/Sach/GG against SouthAfrica. I am not sure what they can do against Lee bowling like that. Johnson Tait are all lethal bowlers. Batting first I would give full marks to India if they manage to bat out the 50 overs, and put a big total.I feel a little sorry for Sach and Veeru because the team routinely throws off great attacking starts and bowls harmlessly. Australia bats first, makes 270 and India will be automatically out. - Have a plan, stick to it Dont let Shane Watson into the game. He has a long innings, and the game is over. Someone among Zak, Nehra, Aswin has to remove his stumps early. - The Aussies hate spin The rest of the Aussie batting is struggling and spinners will do it for us. Drop Yusuf, go with 5 bowlers and take all the 3 spinners available. Ask Munaf to bowl wicket taking deliveries. - Hard work never killed anybody - Dont fear the Aussie pace battery: Easier said that done. If Veeru Sachin gets out early there is no way back. Anyway unless India puts in an extraordinary batting performance they will not chase down a big total, or even post a big enough total. The only way u can defeat Ozs is to bowl them out. - Dont bat like 11 Afridis. Cool head during powerplays.
Re: We have to play like Pakistan to beat Australia
by LG on Mar 22, 2011 01:59 AM
Aussies do not have too many bad days....and you can think of them having two bad days one after other is just next to impossible. Aussies lost to Pakistan because their batsmen collectively on that day. Had they score above 220 runs, it would have been a different story.
UV has played well only against minnow..that include WI also...which is a worry.
Ashish Nehra is not in the best of form right from the South African tour. The thing to be known was whether the gap before world cup does any change. But with the first two matches he played, the thing became more clear that he isnt still in the best of his rhythm. So if Dhoni has to entertain any thoughts of playing three seamers he should play Sreesanth. If in the next stages of the tournament, Dhoni include him u would not see a confident Sree. Dhoni should have played him against Windies and see whether his poor performance against Bangladesh was just one poor day on the office. Or if Dhoni have already written him off keeping in mind his personal differences with him, by showing his poor performance against bangla as a reason he doesnt deserve to be the captain of India.
Re: big mistake from Dhoni
by French Cuisine on Mar 22, 2011 01:17 AM
Only Dhoni can explain why SreeSanth was never given ample chance. He wanted a 2 seamer 2 spinner combination. Actually 4 frontline bowlers (3 of them absolutely lethal) and 2 part-time bowlers is enough. Unfortunately for us nobody except Zak can be termed as real wicket taking bowler. And even with Zak taking wickets others do poorly. Except NewZealand perhaps no other team has such an exceptionally weak bowling attack. Even Windies have 3 good pacers and pretty good spinners - nobody in this WC has really beaten them into a pulp like India was doing to SAfrica. We really have a terrible bowling attack!
everybody says afridi is a m@d man but the way he has led pak that too when they were in a v bad state speaks voulne sbat his leaderhsip qualities.Afridi might be a maverick but he deserves all the credit for Pak's unexpected brillaint performance in this WC
Re: Afridi Gr8 maverick captain
by French Cuisine on Mar 22, 2011 12:07 AM
Afridi is completely mad and not suitable to lead any professional international team. But what are you going to do with a bunch of match fixers and loose performers? You need Afridi then. For Pakistan Afridi is the only person, he will kick your ass. You have to keep shouting at these guys to get something out of them otherwise they will turn in ridiculous Katmaal wicketkeeping performances. I remember in the SriLanka game the Pak players were dropping catches that even a small kid wouldn't. You need someone completely mad to lead this bunch. Their main strength is their bowling and Afridi has done a great job harnessing it. Dhoni on the other hand is a cool guy but lacks in many departments like astute judgement of his resources available and producing a good combination of bowlers and batsmen. Kudos to Afridi.
Re: Afridi Gr8 maverick captain
by French Cuisine on Mar 22, 2011 12:38 AM
I think Dhoni did something really stupid by not developing a settled pace attack over the period of 6 rather uncompetitive group matches. In the 1992 WC initially Wasim was not clicking but he later peaked. The team needed an opening seamer along with Zak to take wickets. The author of the above article describes correctly how Dhoni mistimed his use of Nehra in the SAfrica game. Sreesanth was never given a chance after bowling a few expensive overs. It is difficult to have faith in such bowlers or even believe that Indian pacers can do so badly - even Boyd Rankin from Ireland performed better than them. Dhoni somehow thought that Chawla would be his trumcard, but Chawla-Bhajji-Aswin all need an initial bowler to make some impression before they can close out a batting. You cannot get 2 wickets down by first 15 overs Shane Watson will beat you into a pulp - specially that line and length idiot Munaf. Watson will crash him like a ant. There was a need for someone like Umar Gul to get Watson out early. Even if Australia makes around 270 batting first they will win. Indian batsmen dont have the technique to play short rising deliveries that Aussies will use aplenty.
Something I want to metion here as a Pakistani, why are you critical of your team, the negativity is pathetic, here is an indian team with possibly the greatest ever inform batting line up in history of cricket, it has made it to the quarters and yet, all I hear, correct this, correct that, this is missing, that is missing, relax and let them play for a change. The negtivity runs over the psyche of players and they play under termendous pressure even when it is not there.
Re: problems with Indian thinking
by Imran on Mar 21, 2011 11:19 PM
no player is under pressure bczo now they have IPL to make their millions they no longer depend on indian cap
Re: Dhoni should only come before harbajan
by French Cuisine on Mar 21, 2011 11:15 PM
Theoretically you are right. Yusuf does what Dhoni does, that is to swing his bat mindlessly. Only he does it better and with more magic. But what has Yusuf done in this WorldCup? Nothing with the bat. His major contribution has been with the ball as an economic off-spinner. Aswin can do it much better. Why not simply drop out Yusuf and play Aswin instead? In 6 WC matches his performance with the bat is enough, Aswin should be in. The presence of Pathan should have stabilized the lower middle order, instead we are watching routine collapses. Yusuf is going to bail out Dhoni in every tough run chase? There are no less than 5 performing batsmen in the team - Sach, Veeru, GG, Kohli, Yuvi - and the use of Yusuf is very little if they cannot do it. Basically he wants Yusuf to do the impossible. It is clear that Yusuf must be dropped. Dhoni, time now to include that 5th bowler in squad who can give balance and turn it for us, enable us to defend big totals, take crucial wickets and realize our dreams. This is your last chance!
I think we need not put Pak players in the same level as their politicians and army, they have or most PAkistanis have no say on their govt. this bleed by a thousand cuts has nothing to do with the PAk team, they played their heart out against Aus and won, and we by refusing them IPL thinking that we are bleeding our enemies in army and their politicians, is stupidity, we actually are pushing them away from us with no clear cut objective. Anyhow given their country's state, and mere isolation, have'nt played at home for last 3 years, they are rebuked by elite Indians, all but them are making a killing in IPL and losing their 3 premier match winners on spot fixing allegations and still performing and trying to do their best, I won't wish them luck, but I wish them well, they love cricket and we should appreciate that.
Re: Unusual article
by French Cuisine on Mar 21, 2011 10:38 PM
The author is right - if Aussies are to be beaten you have to use the Pakistani way. Problem is we donot have the same kind of bowlers as Paksitan. It is highly unusual that India has no world class seamer at the current squad, Pakistan has at least 4 (Soaib, Gul, Razzaq and the new guy), and this is still their second string bowling attack. I am sure if you manage to get rid of this string of bowlers, the third string will also be superior to the bunch of Asish Nehra, clumsy Munaf and the likes. It is a bit humiliating!
Re: Re: Unusual article
by Yaqoot Mir on Mar 21, 2011 11:07 PM
FYI the 'new guy' is Wahab Riaz and let me sharpen your memory about him, he comes from Rashid Latifs Cricket academy in Karachi, bowls at an averge 143 Km/hr and was part of pakistans under 19 team that beat India in the Semi and went on to be crowned Champs 4 years ago.
Re: Re: Unusual article
by Arvind Aravindanatham on Mar 21, 2011 10:44 PM
WTF is the MRF Pace Academy doing??? Their was hope of a genuine fast bowler in Ishant Sharma, but after making debut and getting lot of hype something happens, and we see their speed gets lower, Irfan Pathan who used to bowl 135-141 Km/hr at age of 19, his pace reduced to 122-128 km/hr. Instead of improving the bowlers go downhill, with an only exception Zaheer Khan, but he is'nt an express fast bowler.
Re: Re: Re: Unusual article
by French Cuisine on Mar 21, 2011 10:56 PM
Yusuf is definitely a very good player but to my mind the person who actually belongs in his position is his brother Irfan Pathan. Irfan has lost all his form and bowling ability, his domestic form terrible, and the selectors were not interested.
Re: Re: Re: Unusual article
by Yaqoot Mir on Mar 21, 2011 10:57 PM
MRF academy and WTF is run by Australians you really think they are there to help you dont you? notice the difference the difference between Pakistan and India something stands out like a sore thumb....Indian academies are run by foreigners and are for BOWLERS only YET NOT A NOTE WORTH TALENT has come through despite intense focus on producing pakistan like raw ability in bowling and most of all producing a Pakistan like killer instinct. Batting has minimal academys and local coaches and look what they do. Pakistan learned this from day one.....DONT ALLOW THESE FORIEGNERS INTO ACADEMYS we have to learn our own way which is gut feel and raw talent, intricuding half ass science and correcting postures is another code word for hold me down only. Let the boys do what they do best and later on when express speed is available make only slight corrections..by the way, Pakistan has 2 more express speedsters waiting in the wings.....Junaid Siddique regularly bowls at 145 K and reverses like a mean SOB, yet another product of our own Bowling mystero the unsung hero AQIB JAVID yes not WASIM AKRAM or IMRAN KHAN but Aqib Javaid.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Unusual article
by French Cuisine on Mar 21, 2011 11:33 PM
Thanks for your information. India never produced fast bowlers like Waqar or Soaib, but India always had a few good swing bowlers like Kapil, Binny, Javagal, Zak etc. Maybe you need to be patient with the academy. If they r really putting in good effort it will bear fruits in time. I anyday prefer skillful bowlers like Jimmy Anderson, Zak or Akram - rather than raw pacers like Soaib and Tait. I also dont think Indian current generation is as bad as it is looking now - Nehra was not bad at all. He has just lost it and Dhoni does not know when to use him. SreeSanth is a spoilt kid and Munaf is an idiot. They could perform much better, but it is our luck that inspite of strong batting performances we are losing matches. It is unfortunate!
