[srishiva]

Dhoni proved yesterday why he is better compared to AB. SA made a mess of an easy situation and you think they can fast bowling better !

[NPV]

South Africa unnecessarily pressed the panic button and lost the match against Pakistan when all they really needed was to apply themselves and play patiently to score the remaining runs with several overs remaining.
Just reinforced my belief that India's group has 3 unpredictable teams who can either play great cricket to beat the daylights out of their opponents or collapse like a pack of cards - Pak, South Africa and Windies (to a smaller extent compared to the other 2).

[suhaas307]

Let's get one thing straight.

India won against the Windies only because the Windies played poor cricket. They were going for glory instead of playing it out (the overs). They would have easily gotten to 250 had someone in the top or middle order clicked. Granted, we bowled quite well, but WI batsmen's shot-selection was poor and that did them in.

Our batsmen were clearly out of sorts on a fast, bouncy track like the WACA. And the WI bowlers coming in at full steam brought back the hay-days of Cricket.

I'd also attribute our win to the WI's complacency and inexperienced captaincy, especially towards the end of the chase. The skipper wasn't using his strike bowler at the right times, and even introduced spin in the attack, allowing Dhoni and Ashwin to settle down.

This is where Pakistan were different. They did what the Windies should have done.

[pratyush6]

Srilanka Vs. Australia today: Time for an upset perhaps?
Srilanka have a decent batting line up with two of the world's best in them, let's see how Aussies match that challenge.

Here's hoping they pull off a shock win.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Dhoni proved yesterday why he is better compared to AB. SA made a mess of an easy situation and you think they can fast bowling better !

I think there is a story being played out. A story of two captains. One who is also the best batsman of the world and captaining what many believe to be the best team. The other who may not be great batsman to watch but has grit and determination to fight it out there, who is captaining a team which although is the reigning champions, still doesn't seem to have much chances of retaining the cup. India's match gainst the Windies and SA's match against the Pak brought that out. Yes Windies batted poorly, but they did bowl pretty well and when his more flamboyant team mates perished, Dhoni fought it out there. SA were in similar situation with Pak but they had a captain who probably is the best batsman. His aproach may seem great when it clicks, but in big games, it also means you are only one ball away from faltering.
I am not a fan of how Dhoni tends to drag everything to the end while chasing, but SA's match was perhaps one ocassion where the Dhoni aproach would have proven more effective than the more visually attractive one that was played out by ABD.

If Ausies loose today will they be playing SA in the quarters?

Anybody fancying a SA vs India final? An ABD vs MSD showdown yet again?

[carwatcher]

As of today the QF Line up looks like:

SL - SA
IND - ENG/BAN
NZ - IRE/WI
AUS - PAK

As I predicted earlier SL looks like making it to the SFs against NZ and if SA beats them we will have a dream NZ-SA SF (instead of dream NZ-SA Final) and on the other hand we have mouth-watering contest in AUS-PAK QF followed by IND-PAK/AUS SF. That cart can only be disturbed if Eng defeats Ind in QF.

So as in 2011 WC SF we have reasonably good chances of repeats of SLvNZ and INDvPAK SF matches.

To Eddy : Even I feel the same but if you notice, Pakistan have a mental block against India and we handled their fast bowlers very well. So we have to face mighty Aussies. Aage kuan peeche khaai.

[Eddy]

I don't want to play Pakistan again in this WC. My gut feel says we'll get thrashed and then all the mauka mauka jokes will be on us.

[mav2000]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I don't want to play Pakistan again in this WC. My gut feel says we'll get thrashed and then all the mauka mauka jokes will be on us.

LOL, but on a more serous note, I have a feeling that if we have to face Pak again, we will win. The thumping loss to India is still fresh in their minds and I am sure it will give them a huge case of the nerves during the match.

On the other hand, India will be coming of 8(?) wins in a row and beating a team in that state of mind takes some doing. Infact I would be more worried about facing Aus than Pak.

[Eddy]

I agree. Australia will be much harder to beat. And I hope we lose to Ireland and Pak does not qualify somehow

Meanwhile, Eng - BD is in an interesting stage. Waiting for the Pommies to choke !

[shashank.nk]

Looks like its going to be a Ind v/s BD QF clash. For all the talk ECB does about how the associates don't match up to the top 8,will be interesting to see the developments in the coming months with their board and team.

[joe1980]

Will it be Bangladesh or England that India will play against int eh QF stage? Is there an absurd chance that we play Sri Lanka in the QF?

[bnzjon]

We play either Eng or Bangladesh in QF.
Jos Buttler is taking the game away from Bangaladesh at this moment.

[Santoshbhat]

England and their world cup woes . Looks like they are going down to Bangladesh! Very very tight match in progress.

I am sure India will prefer BD to England in the QFs . England's seamers have troubled Indian batsmen off late.

[PPS]

Not surprised that England lost!
They are always suspect in high pressure knockout games. But this is a massive day in Bangladesh history.
Now when & where do we play our quarters & semis?

[Chetan_Rao]

Playing Bangladesh in the Q/F could turn out trickier for India. Capable team with no burden of expectations could be a handful, compared to the nervous, bogged down wreck England were. There are no givens in this World Cup.