[PPS]

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

It's almost as if Shreyas has forgotten he is allowed to duck bouncers once in a while!

Iyer has definitely worked on the short pitched ball. Just that now he's a bit too eager to impose himself on the short delivery.

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

The name is Ajay Jadeja.

Jadeja has been appointed Mentor only for this WC. He's garnered this much attention only because he's an Indian! Afghanistan are a rapidly improving side & I don't think Jadeja alone should be credited. Afghanistan have been consistently playing good cricket for some time. They came close to winning against Pakistan in a series, just that they were not able to close out games due to lack of experience in crunch situations.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Even GG will never get into coaching or managerial role per say till we have Kohli playing.

Its best Gambhir is kept away from Coaching, considering what we've seen in IPL! He is not even an astute commentator.

[Thalla]

Originally Posted by harry10

SA batting has been challenged only once by Netherlands bowlers and they lost that one. I don't see India losing to them because our bowling is Strongest in the tournament so far. Ya, if it's a bad day then it's a different thing. We should play Ash against SA. He can manage De kock and other lefties. SA blasts pace like anything and their weakness is against spin.

I don't see any team having a perfect World Cup. When you're playing 10+ games, you're very likely to have a bad day and it is better to have that bad day in the group stage rather than in the knockouts.

[Revvatron]

And just like that Maxwell scores a hundred. As much fun it is to see him hitting out of box shots for fun and the power hitting, have to feel sorry for the bowlers. Short dimensions and road like wicket, they are just bowling machines at this point. And these kind of wickets don't receive average ratings somehow.

[am1m]

Somewhere in Australia, Mick Lewis will be happy that cricket fans will finally start forgetting his name.

[dust-n-bones]

I feel for fans who wish to see their stars on the field.

You purchase exorbitantly priced tickets which always seem to be in short supply even if stadiums are never full, wade through traffic to park 3 kms away or be prepared to fend for yourself at midnight with non-existent public transport, are willing to brazen it out in the heat of the afternoon, the overflowing toilets at night, and then the ultimate prize: these snooze-fests.

Even so, there was decent occupancy for the Oz/Dutch game which had zero relevance to the tournament or India's prospects in it. They at least witnessed a game that broke the record for the most one sided world cup contest ever. Salaam to the spirit of the Indian cricket fan.

[rx100]

What? Angelo Mathews is back to the Sri Lankan team. Good to see him back.

England are in trouble at the moment with 70/3. But they do have power hitters till no 7. Let’s see how it unfolds.

But currently both England and Pak are almost out of semi race unless some miracles happens.

[ValarMorghulis]

Make that 85/5
Poor Eng and Pak teams have been a surprise this WC. Only a couple of months ago, Pak seemed invincible during the first match of the Asia cup. Eng were haughty with confidence due to their at-will stroke making ability...

Seem like sand castles now :|

[harry10]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Make that 85/5
Poor Eng and Pak teams have been a surprise this WC. Only a couple of months ago, Pak seemed invincible during the first match of the Asia cup. Eng were haughty with confidence due to their at-will stroke making ability...

Seem like sand castles now :|

Can't blame England.

They thought it's a T20 world cup so all main batters batted till 20 overs only

Stokes catch drop and lucky LBW escape has awaken him. He usually strikes big in this scenario. Lesse.

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by rx100

What? Angelo Mathews is back to the Sri Lankan team. Good to see him back.

I thought he retired long back ago. But seriously, when was the last time a defending champion performed this bad, maybe Sri lanka in 1999.

[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

I thought he retired long back ago. But seriously, when was the last time a defending champion performed this bad, maybe Sri lanka in 1999.

Sri Lanka had a poor World Cup in 1999. But probably not this bad. Stats for comparison - Srilanka 1999 World Cup and England 2023 Worldcup after a similar number of matches.



In Srilanka's defense, they lost against a South African team at the peak of their powers, had a very close game against England, and had to face a Saurav Ganguly masterclass. England just imploded.

[Emvi]

If overconfidence killed England in the first few matches, it's the lack of confidence that is burying them now. Tough days lie ahead for the Defending Champs. Honestly speaking, I'm not complaining.

[antz.bin]

Defending champions all but dead and buried. The unbeaten table toppers have a great opportunity to collect another 2 points AND improve their NRR (just in case) while burying them for good on the coming Sunday in Lucknow.

The way they are going, I won't be surprised if England finishes dead last on the table. They narrowly escaped going last at the end of their previous match (their NRR was 0.002 better than AFG). If Netherlands have another good outing against one of the other teams, England will have the dubious honour of finishing last in their title defence. I doubt if that has ever happened in the history of the World Cup.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

If Netherlands have another good outing against one of the other teams, England will have the dubious honour of finishing last in their title defence. I doubt if that has ever happened in the history of the World Cup.

Netherlands could well have another good outing against England themselves.

Ireland too had beaten England during the last WC (2011) in Indian conditions.

No wonder Butler was on record emphasizing time and again that they aren't "Defending" anything.

[RoadTiger]

England seems to have lost the plot totally. Their approach seems to be go for shots irrespective of match situation, conditions, bowling quality. Nothing matters - if there is a ball to be hit, hit it. If it there not to be hit - then too, show intent.

Best examplified by Mark Wood at no. 11 jumping out of his crease to hit a six off a spinner with 100 balls left to play in the innings.

I just hope they dont wake up for the Ind-Eng clash.

[Vinod_nair]

CWC 2023 trivia:
Rishabh Pant seems to be making enough money from advertising during CWC.