[Fx14]

Originally Posted by freakmuzik

Post that, reaching the point of needing 5 from 15, I feel it was fine for him to look for a milestone and I'm sure the team would have extended its support as well.

Hmmm. Stranger things have happened in the past, on home ground against a quality bowling attack when only the tail-end is left to come next - 1999 Chennai Test against our arch rivals, from 254/6 when Tendulkar got out to 258 all out and losing the match by 12 runs.

High pressure match in the World Cup, against some of the best bowlers - better safe than sorry - personal milestones should not result in the team suffering.

[Thalla]

With the win in today's match against New Zealand, team India have put one foot in the semifinals. Great to see Shami today got a chance to play and he showed how good he is.

[freakmuzik]

Originally Posted by Fx14

Hmmm. Stranger things have happened in the past, on home ground against a quality bowling attack when only the tail-end is left to come next - 1999 Chennai Test against our arch rivals, from 254/6 when Tendulkar got out to 258 all out and losing the match by 12 runs.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Would you have been making the same statement if two more wickets fell in the same over?

This is World cup not a bilateral series. I have nothing but respect for Kohli, but this was something I never expected of him.

Ofcourse, things could have gone wrong. I think it's just two perspectives and I still, personally, find today's decision to be a good one. Just got reminded of one tiny incident which I guess is from a T20 world cup semi final against SA. Kohli was on a match-winning knock and India needed one run to win in 7 balls. Dhoni doesn't take it and waits for the over to end to let Virat take it. So even that could be viewed in two ways. I feel such gestures in sports, that risk, is a very beautiful one, when the whole team points in that direction whole heartedly. The debate about what's ultimately right may never come to a conclusion. I find both approaches justified by their own means.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by freakmuzik

Ofcourse, things could have gone wrong. I think it's just two perspectives and I still, personally, find today's decision to be a good one. Just got reminded of one tiny incident which I guess is from a T20 world cup semi final against SA. Kohli was on a match-winning knock and India needed one run to win in 7 balls. Dhoni doesn't take it and waits for the over to end to let Virat take it. So even that could be viewed in two ways. I feel such gestures in sports, that risk, is a very beautiful one, when the whole team points in that direction whole heartedly. The debate about what's ultimately right may never come to a conclusion. I find both approaches justified by their own means.

1 run to win off 5 balls even if kohli would have got out the next ball, very different

That said what is done is done, next match will be tough with england, they will be hurting after the loss to SA.

[kovilkalai]

I watched the India Australia match in Chennai. It was a good experience. I expected it to be hot and humid, but there was a nice sea breeze that kept things manageable. The food and drink situation was good but not great. It was nice that they weren't charging for water.

While most of the high profile matches haven't been competitive, I don't think it is because of the pitches. The same pitch seems to give one team a lot of help in the bowling and batting department which makes no sense. I think the teams are simply screwing up.

Take today's India NZ match or the India Australia match for example. It was clear that our opponents had chances. There were 3 ducks in the top order when we were batting against Australia. It so happens that we got it together better than the other guys.

One last point... We absolutely need to ban vuvuzelas in cricket matches. It is annoying to watch on TV. I am sure it will be doubly annoying in person

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by kovilkalai

One last point... We absolutely need to ban vuvuzelas in cricket matches. It is annoying to watch on TV. I am sure it will be doubly annoying in person

Agree 100% !! I was watching the IND vs NZ match highlights, and the cacophony of the background noise was deafening! With good sized crowds at the games, we have enough and more folks to cheer on the teams, without having to have other avenues to induce deafness.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

Wow never expected to see fog stopping a game especially in our country. How does fog work by the way, like does it clear by time or gets worse?

Think it was more of a passing cloud at that altitude. If fog settles in, it doesn't clear out until sunshine the next day morning. I wonder if the schedule for this venue needs to be changed from Day Night to Day matches to avoid such interruptions.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by kovilkalai

One last point... We absolutely need to ban vuvuzelas in cricket matches. It is annoying to watch on TV. I am sure it will be doubly annoying in person

Agree! Even on TV when watching the match, these peepee noise these contraptions create and the number of people who use this makes me watch match on mute!

[ghodlur]

I am glad that India won the match whatever be the circumstances. Shami made use of the opportunity to the fullest extent. I am missing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar for his swing deliveries. Surya Kumar couldnt utlitize the opportunity given but then the team management is not going to give him another chance I guess.

I am not going to write anything reg Kohli coz last time I wrote there was an uproar. People could see in this match too what I meant earlier. But alls well that ends well.

[Joeboy]

Kudos to NZ for making India sweat to win this match even though they were without Kane, Southee and Conway was out without scoring. Credit should be given to Mitchell and Rachin for playing a waiting game and not panicking after they lost 2 wickets. India did well to pull up things in the last 10 overs. NZ when in full strength would be a difficult team to beat even though they don't have big names except Kane in their side. Had Kohli been dismissed cheaply India would have struggled to win this match. So far so good for India but I feel India will remain unbeaten and will win this WC.

[Emvi]

Although India played really well as a team and beat New Zealand rather comfortably, Kohli's 95 has garnered more attention and continues to be the topic of discussion. To be honest, I'm quite neutral on it. I was a little disappointed that he missed the ton, but more happy that India won with two overs to spare and more importantly, Indian middle order was put to test. The match situation will certainly help India as the tournament progresses. On this note, now I wish to present different what-if perspectives / scenarios.

- If Kohli had managed to deposit the ball he got, over the boundary ropes, he would have completed his century, and India would have won with 2 more balls to spare. This would have improved India's NRR, albeit slightly. Still, people would have criticized him for playing for his milestone, just because he denied taking a single the previous ball, and so did Jadeja on the last ball of the previous over.

- If Kohli had got those last 5 runs, running them, people would still have criticized him for slowing down near his century.

- If Kohli had got out defending, again that would have prompted people to criticize him for his 'timid' approach when batting in the nineties.

- "After Kohli got out, if Matt Henry or Lockie Ferguson had bowled out the Indian lower order à la Lasith Malinga, all hell would have broken loose, and rightly so.

All in all, what matters in a sport is the end result, not what-ifs. As long as a team is winning and personal milestones are not hindering the team's prospects, I don't think we should delve too much on this. Such things happen in a sport, and will continue to happen as well. Earlier it was Gavaskar, then Tendulkar, now Kohli, tomorrow it might be Gill. We, as fans have all the right in the world to compliment, criticize and on occasions even crucify the players' / team's performance, but it would bode well if done judiciously. We all have opinions, well, this is just mine.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Surya Kumar couldnt utlitize the opportunity given but then the team management is not going to give him another chance I guess.

The run out was definitely not his fault. Whenever required, he will be considered for a spot at no 6. All depends on Hardik's fitness, who might now be played selectively against big teams and knock out games only. We can afford to rest Hardik against SL & Netherlands.

[PaddleShifter]

The last two matches were made more interesting as beyond India’s win, we were also anticipating whether the secondary objective (century by Kohli) will be achieved or not.

If India needed 5 runs from 5 balls and Kohli started playing for century, that would have been unprofessional. Getting 5 runs in 15 balls with 5 or more wickets in hand is not difficult (usually) but needing 5 runs to finish the century as well as the match is more interesting.

I hope we get to see more of such action. A player that can reliably score 90+ deserves to play a few balls for himself as well as long as the win is not being compromised (we were comfortably placed in both matches).

Eventually, Kohli will score more centuries than Tendulkar for sure. Its just more delightful to see records getting broken during World Cups.

[ValarMorghulis]

See the point is Kohli will be blamed no matter what:
1. Against NZ, India won, but blamed for trying to get to his century (irrespective of the fact that he was the one who shepherded India to win)
2. Against BNG, he was blamed for slow NRR (which he made irrelevant this match)
3. If he gets his centuries, he is blamed for playing for them
4. If he doesn't get centuries, people cry hoarse that he is not performing well (even if he scores 80s or 90s)
5. If he gets out, he is blamed for everything under the sun

We don't have a player 1/1000th of his capacity in the country to replace him, but all of us turn Sunil Gavaskar in blaming him.

I mean what else do you expect from the man? Take a hattrick, make a century in 35 balls and effect 2-3 runouts too? (I'm sure he'll still be blamed then for not taking all the wickets and not making the fastest century!)

[dailydriver]

Not a fan of Virat Kohli's antics on the field, but must admit that he really anchored the innings in the last two matches and that but for his rooted presence on the pitch, the points table could have been vastly different.

Would have been happy to see him add a ton to his kit yesterday. Sadly, his last shot misfired and he ended up five runs short. Like a lot of others, I too feel that he should have gone for singles and attempted that aerial shot only two-three balls later.

But being far removed from the pressure of the situation and speaking from the benefit of hindsight, we must realise that the King knows best!

Seeing our team play, I am just apprehensive whether they will peak a bit early and lose steam by the time the knockouts happen.