[deathwalkr]

Amidst all what happened yesterday (i tuned in late), could someone please explain what was Ruturaj Gaikwad doing scoring 19runs off 42 balls?

Loved the way Samson started increasing his run rate as the match progressed and what a win it would have been!

Keshav Maharaj with an economy of 2.88 was just brilliant.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by Eddy

There is place for both Samson and Pant in every white ball game that India plays.

And Prithwi Shaw too, if he sorts out whatever issues there are keeping him from being selected even in the B/C India teams.

There is a place for Samson in place of top 3 - agree. Probably in place of KL Rahul.

Disagree about Shaw. He is nowhere near the desired level now. Weaknesses are glaring and being exploited by international bowlers. His IPL runs are also meagre now against good bowling attacks. In short, he's having a Hick / Ramprakash / Vikram Rathod moment. Needs to sort out his game and come back. Others have done that in the past - Jimmy Amarnath many times, Ganguly post 92.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Amidst all what happened yesterday (i tuned in late), could someone please explain what was Ruturaj Gaikwad doing scoring 19runs off 42 balls?

Auditioning for the KL Rahul role?

[PPS]

My WT20 playing XI based on the squad selected: Rohit,KL,Virat,SKY,Hardik,Karthik,Axar,Harshal,Ash win,Shami,Arshdeep.

Bhuvi just doesn't inspire any confidence, infact Chahar is a better powerplay bowler currently + a handy batsman. Both don't have any pace, something which Shami provides but the only worry is that he hasn't played any game for months now! Axar's inclusion has strengthened our bowling but weakened our batting, though in the last T20 inspite of playing 6 specialist bowlers everyone was whacked for 220 odd! Ashwin is a much better defensive bowler than Chahal. The flight,guile & fuller length can get you hammered in this format. Arshdeep I guess should be the designated death bowler since he has the ability to bowl yorkers. Hopefully Harshal will get back to form. Batting selects itself. Will be interesting to see how SKY goes, considering he hasn't played in Australia.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

From having a fearsome bowling attack, we've gone to struggling to find a proper bowling combination.
What a mess.

I don't remember our white ball bowling setup being fearsome! Certainly our pace bowling in Tests has been good.

EDIT: just read that the Indian team for the T20I World Cup just departed for Australia. Right on the day we're playing a ODI series with South Africa. Amazing scheduling.

Originally Posted by saket77

So, the money minting BCCI has reached to a stage where we have more than one national team, playing at different venues with different oppositions?

Has happened previously when 1 team was in SL while the other was in England during the WTC final.

Originally Posted by Eddy

There is place for both Samson and Pant in every white ball game that India plays.

Its not possible for modern day players to play all 3 formats + IPL. I feel Pant will only be a part of ODI & Test format after WT20 since he's been a mixed bag in T20s so far.

[antz.bin]

Recently concluded ODI series has given me good vibes. It was refreshing to watch the *sidelined* group show their mettle against the full strength SA team. Without the weight of expectations, the stigma of unfulfilled reputation, the anxiety of the hanging sword, I truly feel the team did their absolute best. Less politics, more fun is better for everyone.

Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Siraj, Kuldeep; They all did a fabulous job. Shikhar Dhawan did not get a big score himself but he has marshalled his troops well to end up on the victorious side. The only one who could have been offered a chance was Prithvi Shaw, but then whom would you drop from this setup?

India would be served well if this is basically the team they keep for their ODI assignments in the future as well. The only addition we could see here is Rishabh Pant who is no good in T20 anyways, but do we even need him in this team? We already have Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.

No need to trouble the senior-most people in the team like Rohit, Virat, Bumrah, KL Rahul for the least priority international format of them all. They can concentrate their energies on doing Tests and T20s better. Someone like a Hardik or SKY can specialise themselves for the shortest format. The 50 overs team can keep acting as a feeder to the Test and T20 teams based on the individual performances and their relevance to the other formats.

[VWAllstar]

The above posts sums up the general feeling towards separate teams for formats and players specializing in one format of the game.

My XI for the 3 formats would be:

Tests

R Sharma (c)
S Gill
C Pujara
V Kohli
KL Rahul
R Pant (wk)
H Pandya
R Jadeja / R Ashwin
J Bhumrah
M Shami
M Siraj / A Singh (variety) / Y Chahal (depending on pitch)

Reserves: S Iyer, KS Bharat, K Yadav & A Patel

T20

R Sharma (c)
V Kohli
SKY
S Iyer
S Samson (wk)
H Pandya
DK
R Jadeja
B Kumar
J Bhumrah
A Singh

Reserves: D Chahar, D Hooda, A Patel & R Ashwin

ODIs

S Dhawan (c)
S Gill
I Kishan
S Iyer
S Samson (wk)
D Hooda
D Chahar
A Patel
B Kumar
K Yadav
M Siraj

Reserves: KL Rahul, A Singh, Y Chahal & R Ashwin

Let there be some rest for players like V Kohli, R Sharma, J Bhumrah, H Pandya & R Jadeja. One can argue of resting during IPL, but we know why thats not happening

[PPS]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

My XI for the 3 formats would be:

There is very little chance that Hardik Pandya will ever play Test Cricket considering his workload + fragile body! Selectors will most likely restrict him to white ball cricket. Infact I see him captaining the side in the future. Don't mind split captaincy in white ball cricket as well considering Rohit will be 36 next year. Also some tough decisions need to be taken by selectors especially about Dhawan, though he's averaging some 40 odd in recent times! There is more than enough bench strength but you also need to win big tournaments.

[Fx14]

So Sri Lanka stunned by Namibia in T20 World Cup opener.

The surprise Asia cup winners have started on the wrong side.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Fx14

So Sri Lanka stunned by Namibia in T20 World Cup opener.

The surprise Asia cup winners have started on the wrong side.

It's one thing to win in UAE. It's another ball game to win in Australia. I hope SL at least qualifies after today's drubbing.

[rajeevsulu]

Fielding effort by Namibia was phenomenal! Australia is always a difficult pitch for Asian countries

[VWAllstar]

Posting it here not in the English Movies thread as I believe most of us here would jump onto it sooner.

Keeping few facts aside, it is very well made and reminds you that "stats do not lie" Hansie was a hero, his slog sweeps to Warne were epic!

https://www.netflix.com/in/title/702...vlang=en&clip=

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Fx14

So Sri Lanka stunned by Namibia in T20 World Cup opener.

In T20 format, due to lesser overs minnows atleast have a chance to compete against big teams! In Australia the grounds are bigger + there's no dew so its not as simple as win the toss win the game like in some Asian conditions.

[Eddy]

If SL qualifies as rank 2 from this group, they will be a part of India's group. That'll make an already tough group even tougher.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by Eddy

If SL qualifies as rank 2 from this group, they will be a part of India's group. That'll make an already tough group even tougher.

The group will then resemble a mini Asia cup in Australian conditions, with SA and the other qualifier being the only outsiders.

Suddenly, WI too may want to finish second in their qualifying group to avoid the mini Asia cup. They anyway seem to bring out their best against Australia and England, both being in the other group.

[Nalin1]

If you are keenly watching the T20 WC only to root for our guys to bring the cup home, don't bother watching. The cup is not coming to India

[dailydriver]

In an otherwise lacklustre movie called Shabaash Mithu, there are two airport scenes highlighting the distance women’s cricket in India has traversed over the years.

In the first, the Indian team is unable to board their flight easily and are asked to side mein jaon as they are obstructing other passengers. Mithali Raj is even asked to click a photograph for a fan who poses with a male cricketer.

In the other scene, which is in fact the last one of the movie, the World Cup losing side is given a triumphant welcome by the fans. The Prime Minister himself speaks to the captain on phone and congratulates her for winning a billion hearts.

x x x

Very recently, the Indian Women’s cricket team won the Asia Cup for a record extending seventh time. And like the majority of the nation, this thread too didn’t find it an event worth commenting: forget about celebrating.

With the onset of Women’s IPL, will things change for good?

Hope they do!