T20 World Cup: Live Matches Discussion

First topic message reminder :

Hi all,

I've set up our very own 606v2 T20 World Cup SuperBru tipping competition for anyone who is interested.

http://www.superbru.com/worldt20/player_home.asp

First game is Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe on Tuesday, September 18 at 19:30 (local time) in Hambantota.

The full list of fixtures is here:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/world-twenty20-2012/content/series/531597.html?template=fixtures

The pool code for 606v2: playsacs

Everyone is welcome.
Enjoy the matches and best of luck to your team.

Who do you think will win?

Afridi on and strikes in his first over to end a 50 run opening partnership.

Williamson runout, New Zealand in trouble at 54-2.

Its Dan Vetori in at 4. What is Taylor up to?

73/2 after 11 overs, uphill task now for NZ.

Pakistan have done very well to keep Brendon McCullum quiet so far and Ajmal is just coming into the attack.

McCullum starting to fire...

I have to say this is poor stuff from the New Zealand captain, running away from a challenge. Vetori and now Oram who's batting has lost some of its edge in recent times.

Now McCullum is gone and I think that is the game done.

Its Taylor at last, but too late for me.

57 required from 24 balls, 6 wickets remaining. Doable.

47 of 18 for NZ to win.

19 needed off the last over, 3 wickets left and Ajmal to bowl it.

NZ didn't get any momentum going and have lost by 13 runs.

Now time for the Champions against the Pretenders. Come on England!

I have a 100% prediction record so far. Worried about this one a little.

Bresnan in for Patel - suggests they think seam is the way to go. India rotate in all the unused players.

NZ did well to keep Pak honest and scared until the start of last over.
Their stars Taylor, McCullum, Vettori, Franklin.......with the exposure to tough, tight situations in IPL.......kept going and going at the Pakistanis

Good game of cricket and the better team won in the end

KP_fan wrote:NZ did well to keep Pak honest and scared until the start of last over.

That is one interpretation. I would say NZ made rather a pathetic attempt at chasig a gettable target. They were almost comatose againstthe spinners and seemed to have little interest in winning the match, but more concerned about avoiding a heavy defeat.

Hafeez bowling 23 balls for 9 runs was typical of the lack of intent by NZ.

Call me a ridiculous modernist but I quite like a format which doesn't do everything in its power to prevent an upset.

Would of course be better if it were 16 teams in 4 groups of 4, with the top 2 sides going through to quarter finals (and of course then the match to top the group would count for something) but it's true the associates needed to be put back in their place after daring to complain about the move to limit the next 50 over tournament (it obviously can't be called a world cup) to just the full members (no qualifying allowed, not done on ranking either). So a tournament initially planned to have 16 teams was reduced to 12 teams after the qualifyiing process had already started. That in itself would have been an interesting CAS case...

India resting Zaheer and Shewag is very strange - Shewag because he's not exactly been in sparkling form of late, and Zaheer because you would think he needs overs under his belt. Interesting that they've gone with 5 bowlers.

England also. Will be interesting if India get a big score whether they stick to their gameplan against Afghanistan.

Yeah resting Sehwag and Zaheer is strange.....i have a theory about it.....that in the guise of giving everyone a game .......he is prpearing his prefrred team for the next round

Tiwari not getting a game is predictable and lends weight the theory...he ain't in the scheme of things at all

Pathan...with his exaggerated bat lift was always a suspect case against a 90mph+ bowler firing it in

Good start from India. England a bit loose.

Pitch looks true enough so far, will be interesting to see if it takes spin.

No Sehwag, no Zaheer. Interesting indeed. Harbhajan getting a game, which version of him has turned up? the lower order batting all-rounder or the world class spinner. I hope it is the latter, but I suspect we are never going to see that again.

Kohli really is a pleasure to watch.

England not letting India run away with it. But better from India particularly from Gambhir, he's still there after 7 overs, and Kohli is batting well.

Kohli looks in wonderful touch.

Not much in it for Swann, looks a good pitch. India will be looking at 180+. England need a couple of wickets.

Only 14 dot balls in the PP. Very good from Gambhir in particular.

Yuvraj and Dhoni will have to bat above Raina in my view. Dhoni particularly needs a few balls to settle down before launching himself.

Swann gives me the impression slower bowlers are difficult to get off.......ball coming slowly off the pitch and turning a bit

Think they should play a few more shots, England's bowling lineup is too good to give far too many at the end.

Bit of turn for Swann there, but pace and bounce fairly consistent. May get slower as the game drags on.

England's fielding has generally been pretty good, good energy and a couple of extra runs saved with good pace and getting the right fielders in the right places.

KP_fan wrote:Swann gives me the impression slower bowlers are difficult to get off.......ball coming slowly off the pitch and turning a bit

Which makes it even more of a shame England opted to pick the bresnan

80-1 after 10. Good going from India, but England haven't lost control as yet. A couple of quick wickets, they will be right back in charge.

Kieswetter misses a stumping, Gambhir survives!.

But they have Kohli, he just proved that after all he too is human!.

Would you believe it? Rohit Sharma!!. 3rd wicket round the corner!.

Of course as I said that first Dernbach (I think) lets an unnecessary 2 at 3rd man and then Kieswetter misses a (admitedly very tough) stumping.

Big wicket though, Kohli holes out to Swann who's bowled very well so far.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

KP_fan wrote:Swann gives me the impression slower bowlers are difficult to get off.......ball coming slowly off the pitch and turning a bit

Which makes it even more of a shame England opted to pick the bresnan

Swann looked like getting a wicket in every over.........had a stumping missed and gets Kohli.
there are stereotypes about Indian batsmen...that they play spin well...

when the pitch is like this one.....ball is stopping if bolwed slower...gripping and turning slowly........a second spinner would have been better than Bresnan

Swann's getting just a little bit of help from the pitch, but without Ashwin there is not a lot for India to take heart from that. Harbhajan doesn't toss it up, Chawla bowls it all over the shop and Yuvraj is not a big turner of the ball anyways.

Yuvraj will be very hard to get.....Raina and Rohit will be useful.
160 would be difficult to chase

Would have had Dhoni in next - he likes to play himself in a bit before going for the bowling, so giving him 9 overs would have been perfect. Of course Sharma will now smash the ball to all parts.

England have almost certainly got the Bresnan over Patel call wrong.

I think Yuvraj could actually be a handful on this pitch if he gets it right. Having said that it's hardly a minefield, it's fairly evenly paced if a bit on the slow side.

Who'll come in next? Think it has to be Yuvraj, or else, dare I say Harbhajan?

More rubbish from England in the field. I really shouldn't have said anything.

England a touch loose in the field now.

India 106-2 after 14.

Eng has gone with preconceived ideas in usage of short ball........regeradless of the pitch conditions.

India looking to maximize..i.e 170ish
Eng trying to minimize to 155ish
160 is par

Swann far more economical than all the faster bowlers so far.

Last 5 overs then. 60 runs would get India 175.

India now really will have to go for it.

it's not coming on the bat