Afghanistan players are in very good form now. They won 3 out of 6 matches. They have defeated teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England. I don't think Netherlands will be a tough opponent for Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan players are more confident now. Moreover, the Netherlands team is not very experienced. It will not be easy for Netherlands batsmen to stay at the crease against Afghanistan's bowling lineup. But Afghanistan's weakness is the erratic performance of their batsmen. Afghanistan cannot collect big unless the top order players perform well.
Like I mentioned previously, Netherlands won 2 out of 3 matches where they batted first. They won against South Africa and Bangladesh and they lost to Sri Lanka in a very close match. So if Afghanistan wins toss today and elects to bat first, then there is not much of a chance for a Dutch win. But if Netherlands wins the toss, then definitely it is going to get interesting. And in almost all the occasions, the Dutch top and middle order failed, while it was the lower order (especially Edwards, Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe) who rescued them. |
|
|
|
He won't do it. He'll want to wait for the verdict first and this will take at least a year. Then, if he gets 30 years or more, there's a chance he'll do it.
For a young guy, getting out at his 60s or 70s is like a death sentence, especially that he's a weak looking guy. If he got into a prison camp he might survive, but in a normal federal prison he won't make it with all those street thugs around. He'll end up as someone's girlfriend.
Should we care about him? It wasn't a mistake that he made. It was years of stealing before he got caught. He knew what he was doing.
I'd be more willing to release Ross than SBF and Ross is in for life.
LOL.. do you really think that this guy will spend more than a few weeks behind bars? He made hundreds of millions of USD worth of donations to various political causes (the vast majority of which went to the Democrat Party), and his parents are very rich and influential. He may get sentenced to a lengthy jail term, but I don't think that he will serve more than 1% of that time in a proper prison. Ross Ulbricht's case was different. He was from the other extreme of the political prism and he went against the system. You can't compare Sam Bankman Fraud to Ross Ulbricht. |
|
|
|
Afghanistan already have done a good job in world cup as they have won 3 games. There only mistake is that they lost to weakest side of this tournament i.e Bangladesh. For Afghanistan it's like winning the World Cup. NZ already know that rest of there games are very crucial to qualify for semis. Pakistan have not secured any win so far against strong teams so there chances are less for semis.
Afghanistan is already a full member and therefore they should strive to enter the semi-finals. For a team like Netherlands (being an associate member) it will be great news just to defeat 2-3 full members. But that is not the case with Afghanistan. If they can't enter the semi-final stage this time as well, then questions will be raised about their test status (similar to the ones that are being raised for full members who failed to qualify this time - West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe). Defeating Netherlands today should move them close to a semi-final slot, but two more tough matches await them in group phase. |
|
|
|
It is too far till World Cup 2036 and a nearest World Cup is in 2026 that is really wanted by Cristiano Ronaldo. He will surely appear in Euro 2024 with Portugal and if he continues to play, he will still have chance to be chosen in Portuguese squad for World Cup 2026 but it's hard for him to get a position in their main squad next three years.
With World Cup 2036 and with his time spends in Saudi Professional League, I think PIF and Saudi Arabian government will try to sign a contract with Cristiano as an ambassador for them in their propaganda for World Cup 2036. With his huge fans and followers on social media, he can make good impacts for Saudi Arabia like he did for Saudi Professional League.
2034, not 2036. One of the reasons why Al Nassr contracted Cristiano Ronaldo for such a massive amount is that they believed he would be useful for them during the bidding process to host the FIFA World Cup. But in the end, it turned out that there was no bidding. Apart from Saudi Arabia, no other country was interested in hosting the tournament, because of financial concerns. Now the Saudis are expecting Ronaldo to stay in Saudi Arabia till 2034 (at least part-time) and take part in the opening ceremony and other formalities. |
|
|
|
Afghanistan vs Netherlands match this match is very important for afghanistan because if afghanistan wins today it will make their way to semi final much easier. World Cup 2023 Afghanistan team is performing well so expect them to win today's match very easily. A good performance against the mighty Pakistan led to a win against Afghanistan. If he can play well against Netherlands today by maintaining his consistency then today's match is more likely for them to win. If Afghanistan wins the toss today, Afghanistan can win the match even if they give 300 runs or 270 runs to Netherlands if they choose to bat. Afghanistan's batting and bowling is very good.
Toss is going to be very important. Netherlands won two times against tough opposition by batting first. While fielding first, their performance have been quite poor. Conceded a total of 389 against Australia and then went on to lose that match by 309 runs. The only occasion when they lost while batting first has been against Sri Lanka. But even that one was a close match. Netherlands made 262, and Sri Lanka won with just 1.4 overs to spare. On the other hand, they were able to defend totals of 245 and 229, against South Africa and Bangladesh respectively. |
|
|
|
This match was quite challenging and exciting between both teams MS-Women and HB-Women. In this match, MS-Women was batted first in the pitch by winning toss from HB-Women team. I was really appreciated struggle of M.Lanning (C) because she scored she scored 75 runs from 50 balls with nine 4s and two 6s. But other batsman did not give any support to their team. MS-Women lost this match by 6 wickets and 4 balls were left to play. Congratulations HB-Women won this match by great performance.
Brisbane Heat women are leading the points table in Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) at the moment. They have 4 consecutive wins now, but started the season poorly with a massive loss to the Adelaide Strikers Women. Brisbane Heat was bowled out for just 89 in that match, while chasing a target of 149. But then they won against Stars, Sixers, Scorchers and Renegades. Their next match is against Hobart Hurricanes Women tomorrow. Second on the points table is Adelaide Strikers Women with 3 wins from 5 matches. There are 3 other teams with 6 points each. |
|
|
|
Madushanka was expensive but he was the only bowler who took 5 main Indian wickets. All other bowlers were not able to create any impact on the Indian batting lineup. Srilanka has good bowlers but most of them are not playing due to injuries. Chameera was bowling well when he started but with the drop catch, he again injured his right shoulder, he even took a wicket and had 2 maiden overs. Injuries are the main reason why the Srilankan team has been struggling in the World Cup.
Dilshan Madushanka was able to take wickets because there was a lot of variation in his bowling. 4 out of his 5 wickets came from slower balls. He was a bit expensive though. Conceded 80 runs from 10 overs. As I have mentioned in some of my previous posts, the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga and poor form from Matheesha Pathirana have been the reasons for below par performance by Sri Lanka so far in this tournament. Other spinners such as Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha and Dunith Wellalage were unable to take wickets regularly. |
|
|
|
After their allocation amount went 3x, they did raise the pay amount for all the contract players and i guess for domestic players too, it's just they forgot to credit the salary into player's account
LOL.. this is epic. So I guess the funds just vanished in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis. Another issue is with the constant devaluation of the local currency. The Pakistani Rupee has lost almost 30% of it's value against the US Dollar during the last 12 months. Contract amount is specified in PKR and therefore the players lose out when PCB delays their payments. There is a similar situation for the Afghanistan players as well, since the ICC has put fund allocation on hold. But at least in their case, they received some amount from the ACC and it was distributed to the players. |
|
|
|
I shared my thoughts about them before. I think that Croatia can still join Euro 2024 even though the result they got against Wales. First of all the remaining matches of Croatia aren't challenging for them at all. Both of Latvia and Armenia are teams with no hope in the group now. A solid team like Croatia shouldn't have much problem on dealing with them. When it comes to Wales their remaining matches are against Armenia away and Turkey home.
Some time before Wales lost to Armenia by a really bad score. Maybe Armenia don't have any target to achieve left now but maybe even they can make them lose points. Even if they lose to Wales I don't think Turkey would lose despite guaranteeing their qualification.
Both of them have 10 points from 6 matches. Croatia is ahead as far as goal difference is concerned. And the advantage with Croatia is that their next matches are against weak teams (Armenia and Latvia), while Wales need to face Turkey on 21st November (and before that they have a match against Armenia). IMO, Croatia's chances of qualifying for Euro 2024 are much higher when compared to Wales. But I am impressed with the performance from Wales so far. Even without Gareth Bale, they have put up a good show. |
|
|
|
I see!! The bad economic situation in most countries is making them to avoid spending on luxury like hosting the world cup. But there are other financial benefits of host the world cup that many nations can take advantage of. Nations don't also need spend lavishly to host the World Cup and some countries have the infrastructure that could be used to host the World Cup. The world cup is an important competition that should not be monitized. The football games is just as an aspect of the competition there are other areas like tourism and other social activities. And these societies don't encourage tourism because of the complexities of these nations. If only oil-rich gulf nations will end up becoming the only available host of the World Cup, then there is a big problem. The United States is hosting FIFA World Cup in 2026. And in 2030, it is the turn of Morocco, Portugal and Spain. So it is not like only the oil-rich countries are hosting the event. I was talking about the general trend that I observed during the last decade or so. For the 2034 edition, Saudi Arabia was the only bidder. Australia was interested earlier, but they pulled out as a result of poor financial conditions back home. And we don't have any idea on who will be hosting the tournament in 2038. The bidding may happen only by 2030. |
|
|
|
|
The two semi-finals for ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier will be played at 10:45am India time (around 2 hours from now). Please remember that in case of this tournament, the semi-finals are more important when compared to the final match. Because semi-final win will guarantee a slot in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The two semi-finals will take place at the same time. Nepal will take on United Arab Emirates, and in the second match Oman will be playing against Bahrain. A win will guarantee entry to the world cup and additional funding from the ICC.
|
|
|
|
Yes you are right my brother. The teams which you have mentioned have now a tough competition to qualify for the semifinal. Australia and Afghanistan have 3 3 matches left and Pakistan and New Zealand now 2 2 matches left.
Exactly now this is really hard to predict at this about qualifying. But I think Australia and New Zealand will confirm their spots for Semifinal.
Australia may qualify for the semis, and they have weak opponents lined up for all of their 3 remaining matches (England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh). For New Zealand, things are not that difficult as their remaining opponents are Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Pakistan vs New Zealand match is like a knockout. The winner of that match will have a great chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Pakistani has the match against England coming up as well. Afghanistan need to face South Africa and Australia, so I am not much hopeful about them. |
|
|
|
|
As I mentioned, India is still behind Sri Lanka as far as the Net Run Rate is considered. Before this match, they were at +1.405, compared to +2.290 for South Africa. India got a massive boost in their NRR from this match and ended up with +2.102, but still a bit lower than the NRR for South Africa. Anyway, none of this should matter now. India has won all of their 7 matches, while South Africa has only 6 to their name. Both the teams are now assured of a spot in the semi-finals. The exact lineup will be known only after 9th round of group phase matches.
|
|
|
|
|
To their credit, Sri Lanka managed to avoid setting a new record today. A few days ago, Australia had defeated Netherlands by a massive margin of 309 runs. India came close today, and when they had Sri Lanka reeling at 14/6, I thought that they may be able to set the new record. But the Sri Lankan lower order batsmen (Angelo Mathews, along with Maheesh Theekshana and Kasun Rajitha) huffed and puffed to a total of 55, thereby reducing the defeat margin to 302 runs. So by a whisker they managed to avoid setting up the new record. Hard luck for the Netherlands, I need to say.
|
|
|
|
✂✂✂✂
And tomorrow there is two semifinals. One is between Bahrain and Oman. And Second is between Nepal and UAE. So let's see which teams will qualify for Final.
If Nepal fails to qualify for the world cup, then they have only themselves to blame. Oman is out of form since the last few years, and today they lost against them. The top order failed completely, apart from Kushal Bhurtel. And the lower order (Bibek Yadav and Karan KC) put up a valiant fight towards the final overs, but the target was a bit too much for them. Now they have an uphill task to defeat the in-form United Arab Emirates. Remember that Nepal lost the tri-series final to UAE just a few days ago. I am not expecting much in the semi-finals from them. |
|
|
|
lol, I can't believe what I'm witnessing, SL completely destroyed, they might not even make 50 today. They are now struggling at 22/7 after 10 overs. Mohammed Shami has retuned figures of 2-1-1-3, while Mohammed Siraj has figures of 5-2-8-3. The only remaining wicket went to Jasprit Bumrah. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, one of their batsmen have reached double digits. Angelo Mathews is currently batting at 12 runs, and he has Maheesh Theekshana for company. It doesn't look like Sri Lanka will reach 50 today. Only Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka are yet to come. Just now Theekshana managed to hit Siraj for a 4, and that took the Sri Lankan total to 27/7. And then he got out to leave them at 29/8.  |
|
|
|
Lmao. I knew 358 was way too high for the Lankans considering the fact that India has the best bowling attack among all teams in this tournament. For some reason, Siraj performs extremely well against the Lankans.
16/6 is absolutely insane and embarrassing. India will go back to the top of the table in style with a huge NRR boost.
I am not sure whether they will be able to overtake South Africa in NRR. At this point, Proteas have +2.290, while India is at +1.405. Even if India win by 300+ runs, there is a chance that their NRR may stay below that of South Africa. Anyway, India will be having 7 wins from 7 matches, while South Africa lost the match against Netherlands. And next match for both the teams is going to be at Eden Gardens, where they will face each other. If anyone is going to beat India in this world cup, it is going to be South Africa. This match is going to be epic. |
|
|
|
This is just insane. Sri Lanka 14/6 after 10 overs. And this is not the first time. Remember what happened during the Asia Cup final? Perhaps it is time for the ICC to terminate the test status of Sri Lanka team and relegate them as an associate nation. And there is nothing wrong with the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium. This is the same pitch where India made 357. And there is a very good chance that India may break the record created by Australia a few days ago (when they won the match against Netherlands by 309 runs). |
|
|
|
Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli are heading towards centuries. The Sri Lankan team is paying the price for missed catches very well. India managed to collect 185 runs in 29 overs. India now collect more than 6 runs per over. Shubman Gill scored 86 off 88 balls and Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 86 off 86 balls. These two batsmen collected 46 runs in the last 5 overs. And if India continues to bat like this then they will give a target between 360-380 in today's match. Sri Lankan bowlers are not able to do anything. They seem very innocent to me. Despite a brilliant start, Sri Lanka are in such a shambles now due to poor fielding.
Getting bored with this match now. It is completely one sided. Most surprising thing is that despite being a weekday, 27 million people are viewing this match right now in Disney-Hotstar. The peak viewership for the India vs Pakistan clash (on a weekend) was equal to this figure. So many people decided to skip their office/college, to watch this match? Or are they watching it while being in office/college? Anyway, Hotstar guys are not going to complain. They have almost finalized a deal with Reliance to sell their Indian business. This will add some more bargaining power to their side. |
|
|
|
|
Show Posts
