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There was a time when Pakistan was known for its bowlers, especially spinners like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal. Why are they not able to produce such legends now? Just check the bowling stats of Pakistan spinners in the test match against Srilanka they were not at all effective and consistent. Yasir Shah took 5 wickets in the first and 4 in the second test match. In contrast, the Srilankan spin line was spot on both test matches.
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Pathetic loss by Pakistan! In my opinion there are only two skilled and reliable players in Pakistani side, the first one is Babar Azam and the second is Shaheen Afridi. If by any chance these two do not perform then the whole team will collapse. There are a few players who would suddenly perform above expectations but, most of them are not good enough to play for the national team.
The situation with Pakistan at the moment reminds me of those days when India was fully dependent on the performance of Sachin Tendulkar. I am not sure which Indian bowler at that time was so much important. If anyone remembers then do share your opinion.
I was expecting the Pakistani side to draw the match and not lose it. They are now so not able to play spin balling. In the first innings they lost our to spin and in the second inning the same result. This is so far for me the most pathetic performance by Pakistan. If they continue like the way they did today I think think their future as test playing country would be questioned.
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England vs South Africa
Now I'm enjoying the first T20 match of England vs South Africa England lost 2 valuable wickets for 43 runs in 5 overs. Jason Roy managed to collect only 8 runs off 15 balls. I expected better batting from an experienced player like Roy. However, if England set a target of less than 170, we might see South Africa win the first match. South African batsmen are playing well now.
Completely one sided match was this one. England were very aggressive from the start. They batted well and score was too big for the South African team, the reason behind it too many catch drops of Bairstow. Once South Africa was known as one of the best fielding side but after watching yesterday's match I felt they are the worst for now. Bowlers become helpless when fielders do not support them. I hope they work on their fielding for the next match. |
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Babar Azam needs to play till the end today. In the first innings he just scored 16 runs and in this innings he has scored 26. If Pakistan ants to draw this match then he needs to be in the pitch till the end of day 5. Srilanka still in a very good position. All they need to do is to give more opportunities to Mendis and Jayasuriya.
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Migration haven't affected the cricket in West Indies. As of now the cricket board served to be a big problem. Out of pressure most of the senior players announced retirement from cricket. Further the young team have been formed, and slowly they've shown progress. West Indies players involvement is a big success for them, and this has helped them to improve their cricket as well as on financial side.
WICB is a very incompetent cricket board. At the same time, some of the senior players have been behaving as if they are not answerable to anyone. It is OK if they want to prioritize T20 franchise leagues over national team duty. But when they play for the national team (in case of West Indies I am not sure whether it can be termed as "national team"), these players bring all sort of negative influence with them. And the ICC, as usual has remained as the silent spectator. They have refused to get involved in this mess. I do not think ICC has the jurisdiction of controlling players. Such issue has to be handled by the respective board through disciplinary actions. ICC is a global administrator for cricket and does not have the right to interfere in a countries cricket board issues. Above all the recent Westindies side is far better and competitive with all the new players. They are giving a tough competition to the Indian team as all matches won by India were very close one. I am sure in the next IPL a few new players from this WI side might get selected by a franchise. |
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Despite Sri Lanka scoring big in the first Test, they were beaten in the end. Because in the end Pakistan performed very well. The second Test is also heading in the same direction but Sri Lanka will be relatively ahead here. Sri Lanka have already given a lead of 361 runs and they are still collecting good runs. Hope this match(2nd Test) will go under Sri Lanka.
By now the lead has increased to 430 runs. There is hardly any chance for Pakistan now. Pakistani spinners have once again performed below par and allowed the lower order Sri Lankan batsmen to pile up runs. In all probability, Sri Lanka will make the declaration by lunch. The pitch looks quite flat, and it is not going to be easy for spinners from either side. But chasing such a big target can be overwhelming for the Pakistani players. I want to see their approach. Either they may go after the target, or they may play defensively, aiming for a draw. Pakistan is in a very bad situation in this test match. At this point winning this test match is impossible for them. All they can now do is to try to draw this test match. Srilanka's performance has been very impressive in the match. It is a win win situation for them and in my opinion after lunch they should declare their innings, so that they will have a lot of time to bowl out Pakistan. |
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Pakistan situation is not looking good. As expected their batters were not able to effectively utilizes the pitch or they might have forgotten how to play spin. As usual Pakistan still is the most unpredictable team in cricket for the time being. They are so dependent on their star batter & captain Babar Azam. Just check their recent records in every format of cricket, if Azam performs in a particular match the team will win it.
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I think BCCI will remain like this for many more years because the craze of IPL is growing not only in India but abroad too. If BCCI is able to launch WIPL and if it is a success like IPL then BCCI will be unstoppable. They are already controlling ICC and all other boards do know that therefore they are unable to unite on one point. IPL is the biggest success story for BCCI and it will remain like that for many years to come.
Yes, even after the start of different T20 cricketing leagues no league is able to be popular as IPL. The game got started at the right time, and the plan of franchise making is really good. As said even if some event like World IPL happens, if isn't a surprise. Already IPL teams have turned themselves a brand and CSK one of the franchise have bought a team in South Africa league and the name too is supposed to be CSK Johannesburg. Now the cricket is more of money game - too many tournament and long tournament have stolen the thrill and charm of the game. However BCCi have to make a lots of improvement to bring back the players and thrill back Every sports now days is a money game any sports does not have money involved in it then no one will be interested. Cricket and in particular T20 format has recently achieved so much money and popularity globally and one of the key players is BCCI because it conducts IPL. After adding two new teams to IPL I think the fan base of IPL has increased and that is why the revenue from media rights rose so much. |
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If it was not for Axar Patel then I think India would have lost this match. The last ball of the West Indies innings the batters did not run for a single, they should have, if they had then the end result of this match would have been different. Overall a very close and entertaining match it was. Kyle Mayers contribution as a batter and bowler did help the WI team.
I am sure India would not have won this match without Axar Patel's superb innings. India was able to win because of the extraordinary innings of 64 runs off 35 balls. India batted very slowly at the start of their innings. At the same time, they lost 3 wickets before collecting 100 runs. Iyer and Samson played well. After a long time, I saw Sanju Samson play well in an international match. If he can maintain his consistency, he can become a regular player in the Indian national team. I am also not happy with the performance of Shubam Gill. Given this incredible opportunity he tends to get out as an ameature player. The first match he got run out because of his laid back attitude and yesterday's match he was caught because of his poor choice of shot. He is no doubt a good batter but in the last two matches he has consistently showed that Indian cannot rely on him as an opening batter. |
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The pitch condition looks like it is a batting pitch, and the bowlers are not getting much chance. Still Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets. If you want to win on such a pitch, I think you should collect around 450-500. Karan was able to perform well in the last match against the Pakistani batsmen. Sri Lanka will not be able to win if their collection is not big. But Sri Lanka can now stay at the crease and try to draw the match. Then Sri Lanka will have to survive at least two sessions at the crease today
I do not think Srilanka can set a target of 400+ runs. They have lost 6 wickets and there isn't much batting left after this pair gets out. At the moment the pitch looks suitable for batters but as the days pass by the pitch will break and will become suitable for spinners. Batting would not be that easy for any side. Pakistan bowling attack is not looking that good. Hopefully day 2 they might be able to get a couple of wickets quickly. |
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If it was not for Axar Patel then I think India would have lost this match. The last ball of the West Indies innings the batters did not run for a single, they should have, if they had then the end result of this match would have been different. Overall a very close and entertaining match it was. Kyle Mayers contribution as a batter and bowler did help the WI team.
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India VS Westindies
The second test match will be played today and I hope India does not repeat its previous performance. India had a very laid-back attitude in the last match. Indian fielding was not up to the mark and neither was their balling. I hope new ballers should be tested today and I hope they deliver what they are supposed to do.
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BCCI power lies in Indian cricket fans, that's what gives them edge when crunching numbers. Indian fans are hungry for cricket related content or any content in general and willing to pay fair amount of bucks. In contrast just look at recent SL vs Pak test series, it didn't generated big money and result it's streaming in youtube for free. We can't think this scenario with any Indian series even dead rubber matches.
Yeah BCCI had virtually no money at that time, they were dirt poor and didn't even had money to give any prize money to their 1983 WC winning team. There is a story that Late Lata Mangeshkar had to do concert, so that BCCI collect enough money for prize money.
1991-92 was the key point when economy liberalisation happened. Although BCCI wasn't big player in early 2000 too. Board was generating okay money but not big ones. Turning point was IPL, it changed literally everything. Having said that BCCI still have lot to learn in terms innovation, including tech related stuff (On field data of players).
Supporting 100% sounds more like -Black and White- kind of argument to me. I like to see all BCCI drama in grey or any cricket board in general.
BCCI is no doubt the king at the moment and it become the king as 1.3 billion people in India are crazy for cricket. BCCI is doing what England and Australia used to do in 90s when bcci was just like any small board. Due to IPL everything is under bcci control, the icc and rest of boards. I think BCCI will remain like this for many more years because the craze of IPL is growing not only in India but abroad too. If BCCI is able to launch WIPL and if it is a success like IPL then BCCI will be unstoppable. They are already controlling ICC and all other boards do know that therefore they are unable to unite on one point. IPL is the biggest success story for BCCI and it will remain like that for many years to come. |
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Srilanka has already lost 4 wickets and has scored 214 runs. Chandimal is still on the pitch and is again looking strong against Pakistan, he has already scored 49 runs and I think he is aiming for his century in this match. If he continues, then Srilanka can achieve more than 300 runs. Pakistan is missing Shaheen Afridi if he would have played then the wickets would be more.
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I still remember the competition between Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar till to date. In my opinion Shaheen Afridi is a great bowler in modern day cricket for Pakistan and as a batter it will be Babar Azam. They still need another good bowler and couple of good all rounder to balance the team. Abdullah Shafique's performance in the last test match looks quite promising. Now he needs to repeat it in the next test match to make a name for himself.
Yeah.. I remember Pakistani team touring India sometime in late 1990s. It was Shoiab Akhtar's first tour of India and he wrecked havoc. Indian batsmen (including Ganguly, Tendulkar, Sachin and Laxman) were complaining that he was so fast that they can't even see the ball. And India didn't had bowlers with that much pace. Javagal Srinath used to hit 90mph once in a while, but the other bowlers such as Debashish Mohanty, Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra used to bowl in low 70s, or early 80s. LOL.. back then test cricket was entertaining. Yes, Shoaib Akhtar was the fastest and perhaps the one who set this trend but then Brett Lee, Mitchell Starc, and Shaun Tait also were considered the fastest and more consistent fast bowlers as compared to Shoaib Akhtar. However, among all the bowlers, the Shoaib Akhtar action was the most furious and devastating. No one could be compared to him in this department. He had brilliant follow through action and great build up for a fast bowler. I still remember watching him half mile to start his run-up. Another bowler who etech havoc was in test cricket was South African bowler Alan Donald. We cannot ignor him when were are discussing about fast bowler. Many bowlers treid to copy his follow through but no one was able to succed. |
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Happy Birthday Hhampuz!! I hope you have a great day and a wonderful year ahead. |
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India's two openers Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan are batting superbly. India did not lose any wicket even in 12 overs. And they managed to collect 87 runs. Shikhar Dhawan scored 33 runs off 36 balls and Shubman Gill scored 50 runs off 36 balls. If West Indies fails to take 2/3 of India's wickets before 20 overs then India will set a target of more than 350 in this match.
Shikhar Dhawan wanted to get a century with out any pressure but he didn't do it. I must say he batted responsibly. He is one of the reliable batsmen in team. But the match was at the heart of the excitement towards the end. Especially in West Indies cricket they can get this kind of victory. West Indies need 15 runs in last 6 balls, they finally managed to score 11 runs and lost the match. But Siraj in this case bowling very intelligently in the last delivery where West indies managed to take 1 run. On 97 out, Shikhar Dhawan is unfortunate! Despite playing well, he did not score a century. It was thrilling to watch India win the first ODI in a last-over thriller. While Nicholas Pooran's team was nearly able to chase down 309, Siraj bowled very intelligently in this case. Unfortunately, WI wasn't able to make it to the end. The team fought well until the very last ball. West Indies also suffered from dropped catches and misfielding. The first ODI was a lucky excape for India. At one point I was in the impression that WI will easily win the match. Disappointed with the performance of Shubam Gill. He should have not taken his game casually. He started well but ended up only scoring 64 runs because of his casual running between the wickets. Shikhar Dhavan was unlucky yesterday I guess missing out on his century. |
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I remember that once Pakistan side was known for its spin bowlers but now it is not the case. Pakistan team always had a good spin and fast bowlers but they lacked in consistent batting performances. However, the current team under the leadership of Baber Azam has improved a lot in the batting department.
Any idea of how many more test matches they (pakistan) have to win in order to be in the top 2 of the international test championship?
That is surprising, because Pakistan was dominated by fast bowlers since the time of Imran Khan (90s). They had some quality spinners such as Saqlain, but at no point of time during the last three decades Pakistan relied on these bowlers more than the pacers. Also one of the reasons is that the presence of fast bowlers gave them dominance over the other South Asian nations (especially India and Sri Lanka) until very recently. During the 90s and early 2000s, the Indian batsmen used to struggle against the raw pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram. I still remember the competition between Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar till to date. In my opinion Shaheen Afridi is a great bowler in modern day cricket for Pakistan and as a batter it will be Babar Azam. They still need another good bowler and couple of good all rounder to balance the team. Abdullah Shafique's performance in the last test match looks quite promising. Now he needs to repeat it in the next test match to make a name for himself. |
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Jio TV also streams cricket without a single advertisement. The catch here is that they will stream only matches that are played in India or being played against India. The service is absolutely free if you are Jio prime member. I am not sure how many of you have tried it. They are far better than hotstar when it comes to IPL that is for sure.
Never tried Jio TV, although I have a Jio mobile connection, till now I haven't taken the Jio Prime subscription. Is it worth the money spent? There are other things to watch too apart from sports and most of them are absolutely free. So, it is a mix of everything like news, TV shows, movies and others. They do also stream other sports league matches. At the moment they are also streaming ISL if you love watching football. Yes, there are too many online streaming platforms in India now and it is hard to decide which one to choose. I took Disney+Hotstar for IPL but later found about Jio TV so cancelled the subscription. |
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~snip~.
Yes... Fancode has quality streams. They always have at least 4-5 live matches going on. I normally ignore matches involving "national" teams comprised entirely of foreigners, but domestic matches such as Pondicherry T20 league and Shpageeza Cricket Lague are interesting. And their fee is comparable with other streaming platforms such as Hotstar and Amazin Prime. But the catch is that they don't have anything other than sports. So Fancode maybe preferred only by hardcore sports fans (especially cricket fans). Best part is there is no ads there, watched only last 3-4 overs and it was weird experience to watch Indian fixtures with no ads breaks, kinda refreshing and almost felt like SKY coverage so 600-700rs for a year is not bad deal at all. Tbh i won't mind paying even 5000-6000 inr yearly for ad free + 50 FPS stream for Indian international fixtures +IPL + Ashes but it should be on single platform. Jio TV also streams cricket without a single advertisement. The catch here is that they will stream only matches that are played in India or being played against India. The service is absolutely free if you are Jio prime member. I am not sure how many of you have tried it. They are far better than hotstar when it comes to IPL that is for sure. |
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