This post reeks of bitterness. There's so much wrong with it, I don't know where to start.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
- Thread starter The Taurean
- Start date
Speaking as a fan of Pak cricket, I've seen Hafeez on pretty much his every international appearance. He looked promising as a youngster when he was drafted in to the England tour way back in 2003. But he never has put in a consistent run. You have to remember, he's 31, not some freshfaced teen. Yet he still hasnt sorted out his technique on the moving ball, and while he bowled well in the knockout ties, in the group stage, we were almost playing with a nine-man batting line-up with him and Shehzad opening...
Sour grapes. Pakistan had the opportunity to win the game, it was their to be won, but I dont think Pakistan threw it away, more like they did not have the balls to win it. It was an Arsenal-eque type performance in many ways from Pakistan
I hope this win doesn't take too much out of us 
On such a flat deck, despite it doing a bit for the spinners, India could have made 300+ and if Pakistan played with their heads, they would have chased it down.
In terms of the fielding, you only have to look at the 4 lives of Tendulkar. Take one, and India would have been defending 220-230.
You guys took your catches and showed bottle with the bat. Well done, you deserved to go through simply because Pakistan didnt do either. Pakistan's bowling showed itself to be the best in World Cricket, but yet again, it was let down by a comically inept fielding display, and the batting line-up betrayed the natural talent it possessed...
Hence my closing remark. I should have prefaced it with "In this match", my apologies...
Dont know about us not having the balls. We humiliated Australia and WI on the way to this match.
It was poor shot selection on a friendly wicket, when there was little pressure on us that cost us the match. India bowled tight and fielded well, but essentially, Kamran and Hafeez, along with Younis and Misbah cost us the match with the nature of their batting performances...
Whenever India and United play on the same day only one team wins, so I hope it's United this Saturday.
To be perfectly honest SL has a better team than us. The bowling is way superior while our batting is better, the middle order is constantly under performing. Once the openers get out there's this domino effect on the batting order. I'd say SL are pretty much favorites to win it from now on.
To be perfectly honest SL has a better team than us. The bowling is way superior while our batting is better, the middle order is constantly under performing. Once the openers get out there's this domino effect on the batting order. I'd say SL are pretty much favorites to win it from now on.
On the day when it really mattered your players couldn't perform. Stop with the we gifted the game and all that bitternol.
When was this 'little pressure' part exactly? Were you watching an Indo-Pak world cup semi or some other game?
Listen, you're not accounting for the pitch AT ALL. For all the talk of Pakistan being in command when chasing, it's only because of the pitch being easier to bat with early on. That's why we belted the Pakistan attack so much early on and then it got harder. Same with Pakistan. It was the nature of the pitch. So your being 100 for 2 or whatever it was did not mean you were in control. If anything we played on the tough pitch better than you post the respective good starts, which counted.
Definately agree with Umar and Shehzad on potential. Its just a case of them realising it, and on that score, I'm dubious to say the least. Both seem to be chasing the money and not on improving themselves as players... The IPL has a lot to answer for.
We all know about Aamer, a sorry waste of talent. Asif is by far the biggest blow to Pak in that affair though, we'll never get a bowler of his ilk for another 20-30 years. He was a once in a generation Pakistani bowler, in the mould of Sarfraz.
I've made my feelings known about Hafeez, and even so, realistically, he'll only be available for one more WC tops.
Batting, bowling, fielding, intelligence and mental strength is all a package. Pakistan simply failed in some of these categories today and lost.
Funny seeing some comments made by this rotherham lad, what a bitter guy. Must be sickening too see your team losing like this. "Gifting the match" 
Pressure in the sense of the game, we all know the tension of Indo-Pak encounters, that is a given, but such a tension is only at its maximum for the first batting session. Once the second session is under way, both teams have been out in the middle long enough to know what will happen, lights or no lights, and then the pressure of the runchase is apparent.
Of course the pitch slowed up under lights and over the course of the day, but even so, we were chasing 261. If it was 275+ then you'd have a point about the pitch having an impact, but despite the relative slowness of it for Mohali the score of 260 was just about par, possibly even under it. If we weren't so rash in our shot selection and played with our heads, we would have cakewalked to a victory.
Even so, you took your chances, and you got through. I wont decry your place in the final, it is deserved, simply because we didnt take ours.
Shehzad and Umar aren't even 20 yet bro and have proved they have it in them to be successful. I'm not sure why you are getting IPL involved - they have not been involved in that competition.
Thats pretty much what I am saying. Dont really know where this bitter rubbish is coming from, I've said it three times now that India deserved to go through and we didnt...
Because you said you 'gifted us the game', which is a pretty strange statement to make. So much for 'bitter rubbish'.
Umar looked shit hot in his first year in International Cricket, then he mellowed down, thinking he's already made it. His poor displays in England showed him up also, while the spot-fixing saga didn't leave a good impression on him either - especially when he suddenly turned it on in the last innings of the Third Test, conveniently the morning after the Spot-Fixing arrests. His displays in this World Cup though seem a step in the right direction in terms of his approach and application. I am more confident in him realising his potential than some others involved in the set-up.
Shehzad though... I'm not convinced personally. He loves the medium pacers on flat wickets, but give him spin or a bouncey greentop and he goes to pieces. Its not hard for him and Umar to work on their flaws and become better, but I just dont have faith in them actually giving a damn enough to do it.
IPL in the sense that they (young players) love the frankly ridiculous rockstar lifestyle and are always chasing the money. IPL simply took the money in the game to ridiculous proportions. For instance, the first thing Umar said after the Australia match was "Did I get Man of the Match?" considering that he played a part in getting his team to a top-placed finish, and the financial aspect of a MOM, it showed where his priorities lied. Its that sort of thing, in addition to the DLF Maximum bollocks which pisses me off no end about the IPL...
Are you telling me you outbowled us today? Seriously?? We had our chance to make the runs in good time. We didnt, you won. End of.
No I'm not. How did you jump to that conclusion?
However we played better than you in most departments. And wont the game, rather than it being gifted. End of.
So we batted better than you, fielded better than you and held our nerves at crucial stages better than you guys, but yeah you still "gifted" us the match
thats basically the entire batting line up!! face it, pakistan's batsmen did not have the bottle. i dont support either team so have no axe to grind.
Gifted in the sense that we could and should have played much better. If we only matched yourselves in the field we'd have won, not even taking into account the batting...
Rotheram Red, Gifted the game isnt fair mate, Pakistan bowled really well but were well let down by Gul who had an off day, which worked to India's advantage because Pakistan's batting is really susceptible, I agree quite a few of them gifted their wickets to India, but credit where it is due, the pressure that India maintained on Pakistan with tight bowling led to that. It wasnt attacking wicket taking bowling, but it was very disciplined and the fact that Pakistan's fielding didnt help their cause. India worked hard for the win and duly deserve credit for the same.
Pakistan breezing through the tournament primarily on the back of their bowling and their batting never being actually tested worked against them today, simple. In a high pressure game, they didnt deliver partly due to not having proper gametime and partly due to the Indian bowling and the pressure that it induced upon them.
Pakistan breezing through the tournament primarily on the back of their bowling and their batting never being actually tested worked against them today, simple. In a high pressure game, they didnt deliver partly due to not having proper gametime and partly due to the Indian bowling and the pressure that it induced upon them.
Umar, Razzaq and Afridi are just as important cogs in our line-up. We needed the openers and upper middle order to provide us the platform for the run-chase. They failed because of stupid brainfarts. You could argue Younis and Misbah bottled it, but if Kamran and Hafeez didnt play those stupid shots when the rest of their innings was trouble-free, both Y and M would have played the exact same innings and got us home.
Fine lines between victory and defeat, and all that...
I hope I hadn't gone to sleep when the Pakistan innings began. Brilliant from India. Their batting gets a second chance to redeem themselves against Sri Lanka.
I'm not disagreeing with the vast majority of your post mate. I know the limits of this team, form included. But 260 on that wicket was not out of reach for this current line-up, bad form or no bad form. The bowling was tight, yes. But it wasn't threatening in any way shape or form, it wasn't like McGrath in 99 or even England in the Summer. All we needed to do was milk the bowling for 1s and 2s like Gambhir and Tendulkar did. Their lines were good and they fielded well, but gaps were available for the necessary accumulation, which we didnt exploit.
Hence me saying it was more a case of us losing it than India winning the tie. They took advantage of our mistakes and deserved to go through. Us making those mistakes means by default that we didnt deserve to go through. I have no issues with the result, the better performing team on the day won. All I am saying is that those mistakes we made were of a schoolboy nature, and if we hadnt had done those mistakes, we'd have won pretty comfortably.
That had to be the biggest game in Pakistan's World Cup history since probably Australia 1999 in the final. I mean 'biggest' in the financial sense of course. A LOT of bills will be paid by Pakistan players tonight and tomorrow. I knew who'd win this game before a ball was bowled, no need to hope and no need to pray or clasp my hands.
Are you sure mate? Even after what happened in the Summer? I doubt it myself...
I'm a self confessed conspiracy theorist in most things. But since the Justice Quyyum report and Rashid Latif's own website I have kept a very (VERY) close eye on each and every result and the players involved.
Pakistan seem to work in an adhoc fixing fasion which makes my job pretty hard. But match fix they do. Often. The spot fixing sideshow is a meaningless drop in the ocean to an established artform the Pakistanis have devised. As a nation ICC can't touch them, individually maybe, but as a whole. No chance.
I dunno, Gul, Misbah and Younis dont seem the type to fix, and they were probably the least performing of the team today.
Who do you have your suspicions on?
EDIT - Dont doubt that we have fixed in the past, that is a given, but today just doesnt look like it. The 1996 QF against India did though, eg. Wasim pulling out, and our batsmen providing catching practice to the likes of Srinath and Prasad...
Who do you have your suspicions on?
EDIT - Dont doubt that we have fixed in the past, that is a given, but today just doesnt look like it. The 1996 QF against India did though, eg. Wasim pulling out, and our batsmen providing catching practice to the likes of Srinath and Prasad...
Losing brings on suspicions, probably?
The game was lost in the field. You can't let the second best player in his generation to be dropped four times...and still expect to win. That said, if what Samm says is right, Pakistan were spastics today. But that's pressure for you. Gul, their best bowler bottled it. But he was one of many. India on the hand were tidier and didn't give an extra away till the 37th over. Speaks volumes.
Never say never with any Pakistani rotherham. Bearded 5 times a day praying types (Inzi, Yousuf, even Saeed Anwar) have been implicated. So why not Misbah, Gul and Younis?
For a simple example, Umar Akmal is I would say our best fielder in the team. And Younis is right up there with him in a close second place. Yet they couldn't hold a simple catch each. Nerves? Maybe with any other team. With Pakistanis, hmmm.
For a simple example, Umar Akmal is I would say our best fielder in the team. And Younis is right up there with him in a close second place. Yet they couldn't hold a simple catch each. Nerves? Maybe with any other team. With Pakistanis, hmmm.
It does. But after a tidy and IMHO p*ss-easy 43 for the opening pair you began sensing Akmal and Hafeez for no reason whatsoever started taking the aerial route. Why would you do that when you've been driving along the ground so well? A world class change in bowling from the Indians? Nerves? No, and no.
Pakistanis didn't need any extras, 37th over or 50th over, they were cruising with the run of the mill bowling.
Edit: Saying that I am not having a go at the Indian team. Congratulations to them and I hope Tendulkar murders the Sri Lankan bowling on his way to his 100th 100 and lifting the trophy.
I suppose anything's possible with Pakistan. I didn't watch the game, so I can only go by reports and clips...but nerves and pressure are the most likely reasons why things panned out the way they did. I think the middle order got stuck in a rut avoiding a collapse.
Anyway, the final....I can't see Sri Lanka winning. India in Bombay will win comfortably with Sachin winning the man of the match. Some things are just meant to be.
Focusing on the final, I'd love to be able to say to my kids that I was 20 when I saw Tendulkar walk out on the pitch as a skinny spotted 16 year old and I was 38 when I saw him win the world cup. A legend in my lifetime.
The only concern I have is Sri Lanka won't be fixing their match and have the batsmen to take India's bowling to the cleaners. If Mumbai is a spinning track I would seriously drop Nehra and Patel for Ashwin and possibly Pathan. As well as the two seamers did against Pakistan, play this game with a cool head and colder heart.
The only concern I have is Sri Lanka won't be fixing their match and have the batsmen to take India's bowling to the cleaners. If Mumbai is a spinning track I would seriously drop Nehra and Patel for Ashwin and possibly Pathan. As well as the two seamers did against Pakistan, play this game with a cool head and colder heart.
SL definitely favorites for me. I also they'll have tons in their tank and have a great bowling line up.
But there's something wrong with that bit in bold. You were four years older than him when he was 16 and he somehow caught up with you now with both of you being 38?
This match fixing nonsense is really bitter btw.
Gavaskar called this before the game too and I thought he was out of turn. Guess he was right.
Gavaskar called this before the game too and I thought he was out of turn. Guess he was right.
That's an easy get out clause every time Pakistan lose.
Jai Hind.
Why would they match fix in one of the most anticipated and watched cricket match in decades? And why would they do it in the semi finals of all stage? If they win the thing, don't they get millions anyway.. no point in it really.
Misbah's was just strange, saying that.. but he has done that in the past.
Misbah's was just strange, saying that.. but he has done that in the past.