I want to change your prediction a little bit I want to see Mumbai Indians instead of LSG. Yes and CSK can clinch the trophy for the fifth time with a win against Mumbai Indians in the final match. This is entirely my own opinion. This time we have four quality teams in the playoffs. However, out of these four teams, perhaps Chennai Super Kings are the ones with the least star power. Dhoni is well past his prime, and the team is actually quite dependent on younger players such as Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ravindra Jadeja is the only veteran player who is performing well at this point. Their overseas signings have flopped in this season, including Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. Toss will play a crucial role. If they bat first, then Conway-Gaikwad combination can get them to a good start. But their bowling lineup is quite inexperienced, and may not be able to contain players such as Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill. |
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I absolutely agree that associate Nations should not think about test cricket as a format of improving. They should be thinking about improving in the shorter formats of cricket. You know, the T20 format is actually a lot more popular than the other formats of cricket. So I think they should only be thinking about getting better in the T20 format.
ICC and the old guard are doing precisely the opposite and as far as i understand this stance is not going to change anytime soon. Existing boards are already taking a hit just by hosting test matches but the romanticization of red-ball cricket runs way too deep and it's the worst scenario for associates. Not sure whether I can agree with that. There used to be a competition called "ICC Intercontinental Cup", where the leading associates used to play 4-day cricket. It was first established in 2004, when ICC was still under Jagmohan Dalmiya. Up to 14 associate nations used to take part in this tournament, before it was scrapped back in 2017 by the Srinivasan/Pawar mafia. For the last 6 years, there have been no attempt from the ICC to get associate nations to play the longer version of the game. They do use this excuse to reduce the funding to these teams. |
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Betting odds can be determined for various reasons. However, depending on the gambler's support, the odds can vary greatly. There is no change in the betting odds in the matches where the chances of winning the two teams are almost equal or there is a slight difference. We know Gujarat Titans is a good team in this tournament but Chennai Super Kings have chances to win the match. Also as @Sithara007 said Chennai Super Kings is an experienced team. I think this is also an important factor in changing betting odds. Again there are some matches where the opponents are weaker but they are placed above the odds. Some times betting odds are often based on the probability of winning the match rather than having good player.
Well.. this presents an opportunity for us. Let's take the example of this match. Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings are being provided with similar odds (1.90-1.95). But we know that Gujarat is favored to win this match, given their good team balance and recent momentum. In this case, anyone with a brain would place a bet for GT. 1.90-1.95 is just too attractive if you want to make a bet on Gujarat Titans winning the match. My only concern is regarding the home advantage that CSK will get, since the match is scheduled to be hosted at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk. |
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I am 90% sure that the next POTUS elections will be between Trump and Biden. In the United States, they have a two party system and it is not going to change for the next 100 years or so. The only chance of having a candidate other that these two will occur if there is some upset during the primary elections. But so far, opinion polls indicate that both Biden and Trump are having more than 60% support from within their own respective political parties. Both Ron DeSantis (GOP) and Robert Kennedy Jr. (Dems) are polling far below the two main candidates in various opinion polls.
Yes, from what I saw the other day that's how it is. Unless things change a lot, the next presidential election will be between Trump and Biden. There is also speculation that DeSantis might join Trump as vice-president, so, if Republicans win, since Trump would be term-limited to only one term, the natural candidate in the next presidential election would be DeSantis. I heard this on Valuetainment. I am not sure whether it is a viable scenario. There is a lot of bad blood between Trump and DeSantis at the moment. Trump has criticized all those who are planning to participate in the GOP primaries, including DeSantis. And Trump is not someone who will tolerate an independent voice such as DeSantis in his administration. He wants someone who is subordinate and DeSantis is unsuitable for that role. Anyway, Trump doesn't need DeSantis. The latter is not polling good numbers, and unless that change sometime soon Trump is not going to take him seriously. |
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~ The presidentiables I think will change somehow there are new candidates that might come out to take it away from Trump and Biden though.
RFK Jr seems to be showing more interest.
Idk, does he have a chance? He has pretty good outcome odds currently, around 17.00, but I can't imagine he gets elected unless Biden and Trump disappear somehow. I'm not living in the US myself, so I have no idea how popular is Kennedy there for real, but from Youtube videos and some movies I have an impression that people don't the whole family much, and him in particular. Am I wrong? He is polling somewhere between 15% to 20% at this point, and he is miles behind where Bernie Sanders was at this stage back in 2016. He is an anti-establishment candidate. Such a candidate has an outside chance of winning the GOP nomination (similar to what happened back in 2016), but within the Democrat party his chances are near zero. He can try running as an independent, but that will harm the GOP more than it would harm the Democrats. That said, he is making a lot of noise in the social media (especially in Twitter). |
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Zimbabwe S vs Pakistan SToday is the 4th unofficial ODI match between these two teams. First two matches won by the Zimbabwe team and the 3rd match won by the Pakistan and now the 4th match will be played. And if we take a look back so we will see that Zimbabwe team is more strong as compare to the Pakistan team. At this time series is at 2-1. And I hope the Zimbabwe will again win this match. Let's see.  Surprised to see Zimbabwe leading the series by 2-1. But the Zimbabwe Select squad contains several players who are regular members of the senior side, such as Blessing Muzarabani, Wessly Madhevere, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza and Tendai Chatara. On the other hand, Pakistan A side is consisted mostly of inexperienced players. This series has showed the hollowness of talent pool in Zimbabwe. They have won two matches, but still no young player has emerged with a noticeable performance so far. |
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It seems to me that we will be able to see when stocks run out, since in any case they are there for the next couple of years, it is difficult to talk about this topic. But the problem of sharing resources will of course economically kill the whole world in general.
Last winter was relatively mild, and therefore the demand for natural gas was low. It needs to be seen how the demand will go up from October this year, but as of now the prices are comparable to those in 2021-22. On top of that, countries such as Germany have restarted coal-fired powerplants, thereby reducing the dependence on natural gas. Only visible impact has been on the automobile and heavy engineering industries within Europe, but then it was just a matter of time for them. Heavy engineering was never viable in Europe, since the labor costs are much higher compared to those in China. Shortage of natural gas just accelerated the impending death of this sector. |
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1. Well, what else is left but to repeat the memorized mantra 2. Yes, let's say. But as you yourself pointed out, they are testing NEW weapons, and not squealing - "give shells, and tanks, there is nothing to fight with," to which, in response, they find ancient rubbish in warehouses, hastily launch them to at least move and send "the second army of the world ", which is allegedly 80% equipped / re-equipped with "unparalleled weapons" ))) Here, tell us about 2000 Armata tanks in the RF Armed Forces, and other fabulous Terminators and elusive Daggers? Let's laugh at the whole forum! 3. Propaganda? Well, let me wet your face again in your own lies, prove that Russia is not a pariah country, not an aggressor country generally recognized by the whole world, its leader is an international criminal for whom an international court issued a warrant? I am waiting for evidence that I have propaganda from my ears ... well, or that you are a primitive liar, once again While ridiculing the Russian military capabilities, you are conveniently ignoring the fact that NATO weapons have proved to be ineffective in most cases. Every now and then, a lot of hue and cry is raised when NATO provides some new weapon (HIMARS, Leopards 2, Storm Shadow.etc). But the effectiveness lasts for a few days, before the Russians learn how to counter these weapons. Russia is still gaining territory, while Ukraine is losing theirs. And this is despite Ukraine having a numerical advantage over the Russian Armed forces. |
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Yes online casinos were making waves before the Corona virus but it can never comepare to what is happening in the industry. I Know that for year to come the industry will be on it highest peak where everyone will be using online only instead of using analog method of playing games. We thank God for the new technology which make things easier than ever. I don't buy this argument that online casinos can replace the physical casinos. I have been to both, and the experience with them is completely different. Both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage with online casinos is that they can disappear suddenly without any warning. And when that happens, all of your deposits and winnings are gone. In case of physical casinos, at least you can follow up at their office. But for these online casinos, there is no such option. The website registration will be in some remote Caribbean island and even the address provided will be fake. Once they vanish, there is hardly any chance that you will be able to trace them. |
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~~~~
There is some truth to the "this team is on a downtrend (due to age)" quote as Croatia was the 22nd oldest team out of 32 at the World Cup. I haven't checked whether some changes have already been made, but their average age is relatively high and new players will indeed have to be integrated soon. Not every player is as crazy as Modric and can keep that level even at the age of 37.
Average age can be quite misleading. Because you can have half a dozen 18 and 19 year old players in the bench and that will give an impression that the team is very young. There is no doubt that Croatia during Qatar 2022 had one of the most aged squads for any team. But to their advantage, they have a number of promising younger players emerging, who can replace these senior players. The situation with Croatia is different from what we have with Spain or Portugal, where the younger players are struggling to perform consistently. |
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I can see more players being interested in playing for the national team since the funding has literally tripled. I am sure that is going to bring some more players to play for the national team seriously. But I do wonder how much that is going to help because cricket seems to be transitioning towards T20 league and franchise cricket. The only time people are actually interested in international cricket is when big ICC tournaments are going on. It is going to be a really hard environment for the associate teams and the smaller teams to actually improve in cricket.
Ireland has a small base to source their players. The combined population (Republic of Ireland + Northern Ireland) is only around 7 million and popularity of cricket is not that high. Ireland can be compared to New Zealand (population of around 5 million), but then the latter has a cricketing history of more than a hundred years and a well established domestic system. Ireland on the other hand has just 4 first class teams (and out of them Munster Reds don't play 4-day cricket), and the quality of domestic matches are not up to the mark. And unlike the case with New Zealand, Ireland can't bank on imports from South Africa. |
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I don't understand at all that the most favorite team in IPL this year is Gujarat Titans while various betting and casinos have put Chennai Super Kings ahead. In this case, it is not clear what the experts have put forward, but if Mohammad Shami, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma perform well in today's match, then 80% of the match will go in favor of Gujarat Titans. Betting odds can also depend on the number of people who are betting. If more people bet in favor of CSK, then they will get more favorable odds. And you need to remember that Gujarat Titans are a relatively new team, while Chennai Super Kings is one of the founding franchises of the IPL. CSK has an established fan community, while GT is in the process of building one. Anyway, IMO GT's odds should be somewhere around 1-4-1.5, while that for CSK should be somewhere around 3.0. In terms of team balance, CSK is noway near GT. Both the batsmen (Gill, Pandya, Miller.etc) and the bowlers (Shami, Rashid & Noor) are in top form for GT at this moment. |
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I can clearly see that the presidential election will be Trump vs Biden, and it will be close.
The US is fundamentally divided in basically two groups, with about half of the population hating the other.
At the end of the day, it won't matter too much who wins, but people will end up hating each other more.
I am 90% sure that the next POTUS elections will be between Trump and Biden. In the United States, they have a two party system and it is not going to change for the next 100 years or so. The only chance of having a candidate other that these two will occur if there is some upset during the primary elections. But so far, opinion polls indicate that both Biden and Trump are having more than 60% support from within their own respective political parties. Both Ron DeSantis (GOP) and Robert Kennedy Jr. (Dems) are polling far below the two main candidates in various opinion polls. |
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Did anyone see the match between Finland vs Sweden(Nordic t20 cup)?
What is the point in watching these matches? I checked the squads for both the teams and none of them had any citizens. Entire squad was comprised of recent immigrants from India or Pakistan. Among the nations that participate in this tournament, Danmark used to have a primarily native squad until the 1990s. But the current squad is almost unrecognizable. In two decades, they went from 90% native to 10% native. Several of the European teams are going in the same direction, including Netherlands and Scotland. |
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When was this time.
Now FIFA has their own rules. They care more about money and not about the rules. There is a documenty about FIFA that there is so much money involved in all that
In the end, money matters. Similar to any other sports body, FIFA also makes sure that they get the maximum amount of revenues from each edition. But I will not blame them for becoming overly greedy. They have somehow managed to find the optimal balance between profit making and keeping the fans happy. Expansion from 32 participants to 48 was mainly done to give more representation to African and Asian teams and not for money. If they want to make money, then they can easily conduct the world cup every 2 years instead of 4, but they haven't done that. |
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GT Vs CSK high voltage Qualifier1 Match
Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans are going to face each other in today's Qualifier 1 high voltage match, the chances of both teams to win are 50-50 but Gujarat Titans are ahead in statistics. Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans have faced each other three times before, with Gujarat Titans winning each time. Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have faced each other once in this year's IPL There too, Gujarat Titans defeated Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets. However, whether MA Chidambaram Stadium can bring any advantage to Chennai Super Kings in today's match will be understood only by watching the game. But like others I will also favor Gujarat Titans in today's match. Who will you support Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Hardik Pandya?
I really doubt whether the chances are 50-50. IMO, Gujarat Titans will be the favorites to win today's match. Chennai Super Kings have some inexperienced youngsters in their bowling lineup, including Tushar Desphande and Matheesha Pathirana. Obviously they are boosted by the return of Deepak Chahar, but the CSK bowling lineup is noway near that of GT. Gujarat has probably the best bowling attack in this season's IPL. Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan are among the top wicket takers, while Mohit Sharma and Noor Ahmad have also bowled exceptionally well. |
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This is one reason why new teams are not joining this game. The irony is that no board is asking ICC how this distribution model is made less Pakistan. This is question every board must ask ICC that how new finance model has been made. Rather all are busy making fun of PCB for raising this question. This will not benefit cricket in the long run as money is circling big 3.
PCB's concerns are valid. ICC need to share the exact formula that was used for revenue distribution. Other cricket boards such as SLCB and WICB just want to impress the pig-4, for the sake of scraps that are thrown towards them. At least PCB has the courage to make their voice heard. But they alone can't do much. They have one vote out of 17 member board and unless they can convince the smaller boards to side with them, pig-4 will do whatever they want to do. The ICC revenue distribution model for 2024-27 is just a refurbished version of the pig-3 model proposed by N Srinivasan and Sharad Pawar back in 2015. |
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Well of course they will have to perform really well to win the IPL. Nobody thinks that CSK will be able to win the IPL without actually performing well and being consistent. All I want to say is that there is going to be a good fight between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat for the title. I actually thought MS Dhoni is going to retire after this IPL season. But maybe I was wrong. And of course, he can play as long as he wants. I don't think anyone is going to have any problems if he can play well . I agree that Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans are the two teams who look like the favorites to lift the trophy. And among these two, GT remains as my favorites. Their bowling is so strong that Hardik Pandya was not required to bowl for the last 3 matches in a row. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Shami are among top wicket takers in this season. I would like Josh Little to be included in the XI as well, but it looks unlikely. Anyway, after today's match, the losing team will get one more chance to qualify for the finals. |
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Mumbai Indians are the luckiest team this season. Because Mumbai Indians have passed the toughest match because if they lost this match they would have been eliminated so they fought against Sunrise Hyderabad despite facing many challenges. If I had to say, Green definitely deserves a mention as he scored a century and remained undefeated till the end of the match when he entered the field as an opening batsman. Rohit Sharma in particular worked hard for the team and their performance ensured Mumbai Indians' victory. Mumbai Indians are likely to win the trophy this season but will need to perform better while Gujarat Titans are at the top of the table.
Bowling remains a concern for Mumbai. They have a bunch of very inexperienced bowlers, who are quite volatile. Yesterday, Akash Madhwal was exceptional but others like Kumar Kartikeya failed. Jason Behrendorff did well so far in the few opportunities he got, while Piyush Chawla also did a decent job. BTW, I don't understand why they select Chris Jordan everytime. Their batting looks formidable with players like Green, Rohit, Kishan and SKY, but unless they fill the gaps in their bowling, winning the trophy may not be a realistic target. |
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Cricket is certainly not as big as football. So the ICC cannot take the same steps as FIFA to allocate the money. If they just give the money based on performance of course the smaller teams are not going to survive. They just cannot charge the team which has been playing cricket for a long time and the team which has just started on the same pedestal.
I think there should be a bare minimum amount that has to be given to a country. I think the problem is going to be fixed if they just stop giving so much money to the teams which are made out of foreign players and give them to the teams with native players.
None of the other sports do have this lop sided revenue distribution model. In cricket, the top 12 teams receive 89% of all the revenue and the remaining 100 plus countries receive 11%. And then the new formula favors teams that don't have any native players in their squad, such as the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. ICC's revenue distribution model ensures that poor teams remain poor, and the rich ones get even more richer. And another drawback is that there is no promotion-relegation system among the top-12. |
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