Another washout and an epic weekend of cricket that is in front of us
I thought I would be able to write after every game. Kind of hard after an entire day of work. I watch highlights and glance through reactions on social media throughout the day. I must add that I am constantly in touch with live commentary on my phone apps.
Washouts may create some interesting permutations and combinations in the closing stages . I would have loved to see the game between India and NZ . I was predicting NZ win. Who knows we may see these two teams fighting it out semis or the final.
Friday saw England taking WI.
WI started well. Not the most fluent of starts but a pretty decent one. Gayle has not quite stormed in yet. Hope is struggling. WI promised to breach 250 at one point. England bowled smartly. Hetmyer started well and looked to make a huge impact. Pooran did make significant impact though. Dre Russ also did not shine. Root did create magic with his bowling. He batted even better. This was a complete masterclass from Root. No wonder he is considered one of the best. Him Virat and Williamson are easily the best 3 across all 3 formats. WI has shown a lot of promise but yet to deliver.
England are running red hot and it will take some special effort to stop them.
Australia vs SL
Finch is growing in stature as captain and rightly so. He batted well. Actually really well. That allows David Warner to play the way he is playing. Warner like Gayle has not been in sparkling form but has spent crucial time and has compiled some runs. I think Australia can afford that for now or may be they have given that role to Warner. He may be in top gear sooner than later. Aussies are peaking at the right moment. Now let us talk about SL. I did not see them in Top 6 right from the beginning. Their start was really promising and was threatening by the time they completed first half of their batting innings.
I don’t really see SL springing in any surprises in this tournament.
SA vs Afghanistan
SA have been lacklustre and were eager to score their first win. No anxious moments for them. They had to grind their way to get to 130. Amla is not in top form and I guess that does not matter now. QDK did the job. Sometimes it is couple of games that set the tone for a team. I think they never really recovered fully from first two defeats and then ran in to ABD puzzle. They are unlikely to feature in top 4 sides . They are still capable enough to not to feature in bottom 4 sides as well. Afghanistan will learn a lot from this tournament and in their day can spoil someone’s party.
Sunday June16 Old Trafford Manchester
Just another game of cricket. Right?
Ohh... wait this is India vs Pakistan. This is a big one. What happens tomorrow in Manchester is going to unfold in few hours. For now it has turned an average cricket fan in to a weather specialist . Some people have suddenly started to realize that there is a proper alternative in this field as a career option. Social media is abuzz with memes jokes .. some crude and unfunny ones.. pretty distasteful.
There is some good old humorous banter too... some typical negative ugly and angry reactions too. Whatever all of this amounts to. People are praying for match to happen. If not full 50 overs may be a 35 or even a 20 over game.
With Dhawan not available to play. India will have a new opening pair... well not entirely new but newer in this tournament. Definitely a new#4. That tweaks the balance of their side a little bit. I would take Kartik for Dhawan and play him at 4. Bring Shankar in for Kuldeep assuming that this can be a stop start affair with a shortened game. There is a school of thought that would endorse to rope Shami in which is a fair call but I would not have him in place of Bhuvneshvar especially if it is rain curtailed game. Vijay Shankar boosts the batting. Overcast conditions and opposition does not permit to have 2 spinners so Jadeja can not come in.
Pakistan will look to get significant contributions from Fakhar Zaman , BabarAzam. I think they will pay Shadab and he may do really well in these conditions. Amir and Hasan Ali are going to be absolutely vital. If Pakistan step up their fielding that will lift their overall game.
This will be a big game.
Imagine Virat getting dropped or Bumrah getting a wicket on no ball. These instances occurred not too far ago in similar surroundings.
I have a feeling if this game gets 30+ overs each innings , India has a strong chance of winning it. Less than 30 overs will make it a very even and tight contest. Not that it would not even if it is full 50 over game. Curtailed game shifts the balance a little bit away from India. With all said and written, this is India Pakistan match. More than billion people will be watching Manchester skies and 22 men fielding and hitting a kookaburra ball . A new chapter will be added to the history of this amazing unparalleled cricketing rivalry.
Washouts may create some interesting permutations and combinations in the closing stages . I would have loved to see the game between India and NZ . I was predicting NZ win. Who knows we may see these two teams fighting it out semis or the final.
Friday saw England taking WI.
WI started well. Not the most fluent of starts but a pretty decent one. Gayle has not quite stormed in yet. Hope is struggling. WI promised to breach 250 at one point. England bowled smartly. Hetmyer started well and looked to make a huge impact. Pooran did make significant impact though. Dre Russ also did not shine. Root did create magic with his bowling. He batted even better. This was a complete masterclass from Root. No wonder he is considered one of the best. Him Virat and Williamson are easily the best 3 across all 3 formats. WI has shown a lot of promise but yet to deliver.
England are running red hot and it will take some special effort to stop them.
Australia vs SL
Finch is growing in stature as captain and rightly so. He batted well. Actually really well. That allows David Warner to play the way he is playing. Warner like Gayle has not been in sparkling form but has spent crucial time and has compiled some runs. I think Australia can afford that for now or may be they have given that role to Warner. He may be in top gear sooner than later. Aussies are peaking at the right moment. Now let us talk about SL. I did not see them in Top 6 right from the beginning. Their start was really promising and was threatening by the time they completed first half of their batting innings.
I don’t really see SL springing in any surprises in this tournament.
SA vs Afghanistan
SA have been lacklustre and were eager to score their first win. No anxious moments for them. They had to grind their way to get to 130. Amla is not in top form and I guess that does not matter now. QDK did the job. Sometimes it is couple of games that set the tone for a team. I think they never really recovered fully from first two defeats and then ran in to ABD puzzle. They are unlikely to feature in top 4 sides . They are still capable enough to not to feature in bottom 4 sides as well. Afghanistan will learn a lot from this tournament and in their day can spoil someone’s party.
Sunday June16 Old Trafford Manchester
Just another game of cricket. Right?
Ohh... wait this is India vs Pakistan. This is a big one. What happens tomorrow in Manchester is going to unfold in few hours. For now it has turned an average cricket fan in to a weather specialist . Some people have suddenly started to realize that there is a proper alternative in this field as a career option. Social media is abuzz with memes jokes .. some crude and unfunny ones.. pretty distasteful.
There is some good old humorous banter too... some typical negative ugly and angry reactions too. Whatever all of this amounts to. People are praying for match to happen. If not full 50 overs may be a 35 or even a 20 over game.
With Dhawan not available to play. India will have a new opening pair... well not entirely new but newer in this tournament. Definitely a new#4. That tweaks the balance of their side a little bit. I would take Kartik for Dhawan and play him at 4. Bring Shankar in for Kuldeep assuming that this can be a stop start affair with a shortened game. There is a school of thought that would endorse to rope Shami in which is a fair call but I would not have him in place of Bhuvneshvar especially if it is rain curtailed game. Vijay Shankar boosts the batting. Overcast conditions and opposition does not permit to have 2 spinners so Jadeja can not come in.
Pakistan will look to get significant contributions from Fakhar Zaman , BabarAzam. I think they will pay Shadab and he may do really well in these conditions. Amir and Hasan Ali are going to be absolutely vital. If Pakistan step up their fielding that will lift their overall game.
This will be a big game.
Imagine Virat getting dropped or Bumrah getting a wicket on no ball. These instances occurred not too far ago in similar surroundings.
I have a feeling if this game gets 30+ overs each innings , India has a strong chance of winning it. Less than 30 overs will make it a very even and tight contest. Not that it would not even if it is full 50 over game. Curtailed game shifts the balance a little bit away from India. With all said and written, this is India Pakistan match. More than billion people will be watching Manchester skies and 22 men fielding and hitting a kookaburra ball . A new chapter will be added to the history of this amazing unparalleled cricketing rivalry.
When you make up your mind about something, nothing stands in your way.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!!
DeleteYour ability to recall random factoids at just the right time is impressive.
ReplyDeleteThanks !!
Delete