Latest posts of: Sithara007

It was quite disappointing to see Italy losing against Kuwait yesterday. Italy had a great start in ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off, winning the first two matches. But yesterday they suffered a massive defeat, and as a result their NRR also went down. In case Kuwait wins against Bermuda today by a large margin, then they will finish at the top of Group A ahead of Italy. I wanted Italy to win, since the squad is dominated by natives. On the other hand, the Kuwait squad is 100% foreigner and mainly comprised of Indian and Pakistani citizens.

Extremely important match between Nepal and Netherlands has started at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. This is the last match of the first series in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. Both the teams are essentially fighting for the second position, as Namibia made it to the top after winning 3 out of 4 matches. There are a total of 24 series, and the next one involves United Arab Emirates, Canada and Scotland (to start by end of this month). Each team need to participate in 12 series.

Well.. Australia won the match by 27 runs. At least we got an outcome, despite multiple rain interruptions (which happens quite frequently in New Zealand). Even Trent Boult's presence could not do much for New Zealand. They have lost all the three matches in the series and two of them were lost by large margins. Overall, it is disappointing ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. None of the Kiwi bowlers could stand on their own against Aussie batsmen such as Travis Head, Matthew Short and Glenn Maxwell. And despite losing regular wickets, Australia managed to maintain a healthy run rate.

Nice to see Anderson getting to his 697th test wicket. He needs another three, and I hope that he will be able to close the gap by today morning itself. BTW, it looks very likely that England may get a sizable lead in the first innings. At this point, India is trailing by 134 runs, with Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel at crease. However, the 8th wicket partnership has so far added some 42 runs, although Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir were bowling exceptionally in tandem. If India can reduce the lead to 50-60 runs, then the match will once again be evenly poised.

Quote from: Mahdirakib on February 23, 2024, 05:11:02 PM

I thought that England will be all out within the first two sessions as they had lost their first 5 wickets before the first session. But the middle order batsmen have outplayed there in the second and third sessions, and the game is in balanced situation now. We can't tell how much the target could be by seeing the batting of the first innings of one team. Judging from the condition of the pitch, Anderson may create pressure on Indian batters.

Actually it was Mark Wood who troubled the Indian batsman last time. Wood relies on raw pace, and that sort of bowing is more suitable than swing-seam bowling in the dead tracks of India. James Anderson on the other hand got only one wicket in the 3rd test and conceded a total of 139 runs in both the innings. And the only wicket that he got was that of tail-ender Kuldeep Yadav. However this time, the England selectors replaced Mark Wood with Ollie Robinson. That means that they will have two bowlers who are dependent on swing/seam bowling.

Well.. it looks as if Multan Sultans may suffer their first ever defeat in this season of the Pakistan Super League. They need 36 runs from 20 balls, and they have only 5 wickets remaining. Usama Mir has smashed two sixes from the first two balls he faced, but the target is still quite far away. Arif Yaqoob is getting a lot of punishment in his last over, but Zalmi has one over each from Luke Wood, Naveen-ul-Haq and Salman Irshad remaining. First two are OK. But asking Irshad to bowl at this stage can be quite risky.

Anyone following the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off? Right now Italy and Bahrain are topping Group A and Group B respectively and both these teams have one match remaining at the group phase. Top 3 teams from each group will proceed to Super6, and top 4 from this grouping will qualify for the 2023–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League. Out of the 12 teams in this competition, two will qualify for the Qualifier Play-off. The system is a bit complicated and stretches for many years.

Quote from: ZAINmalik75 on February 23, 2024, 01:00:54 PM

As far as I know Netherlands is much more danger side according to statistics when it come to T20 format while compared to them they are quite weak and off colour in ODI format, while at a same time thier opponent arrange his team in such rythm to deliver best and make his record more balance at every format. Anyway I was expecting Netherlands to win this important match as we have seen they does many time in past but unfortunately today results were not divert in thier favour. I think credit for this victory goes to Netherlands quality bowler who put such quality batter in trouble and didn't allow them to even chased down such small target and thus won this important match

Out of the three teams, Namibia is looking like the strongest one. They have won 3 out of the 4 matches so far. On the other hand, Nepal and Netherlands have won only one match each. The Dutch are looking like the weakest team in the competition, and it is quite surprising considering the fact that the Dutch performed really well during the 2023 ODI World Cup, winning matches against South Africa and Bangladesh. Perhaps the dependence on overseas players is a big disadvantage for Netherlands. On the other hand, Nepal and Namibia squads are 100% native.

Quote from: libert19 on February 23, 2024, 12:32:17 PM

Yes, Siraj was expensive early on but you look on overall economy, no? Inning haven't finished yet and his ER is already coming on par with other bowlers. Also, both wickets he took were important (Foakes and Hartley), although I don't think those were peachy deliveries — the ball Hartley got out on looked beauty at first but in slow motion replay, it rather looked liked Hartley didn't judge ball proper.

The wicket of Foakes was important. I agree. But what about Hartley? We are talking about a lower order batsman. Anyway, England has reasons to be happy. Crossing the 300 mark itself is a big achievement, and they still have 3 wickets remaining. If they can get past 350, then the Indian dressing room will be quiet. And don't forget the fact that England won the first test. So far in this series, the team batting first have won everytime. Things will be a bit more clear by end of the day's play tomorrow.

Quote from: NotATether on February 23, 2024, 06:46:46 AM

It's almost like those people who are betting on those 1.90 odds are asking the bookies to just keep their money. Roll Eyes

If I were a sportsbook operator, of course I would want a lotta people wagering on Trump's election.

I disagree.

The odds should be closer to 1.60-1.70. Because it is almost confirmed that Trump will be the presidential nominee from GOP. And he is far ahead of Biden in all the opinion polls (in part due to the situation at the southern border). So if a lot of people bet in favor of Trump, it is actually going to be risky for the sportsbooks. I am tracking the POTUS opinion polls in RCP, and there are very few which are putting Biden ahead. And given the fact that Trump won the 2016 elections despite losing the battle for popular vote, this is very significant.

Quote from: criptoevangelista on February 23, 2024, 12:00:13 PM

Certainly, imagine if you were a young player, having an idol there encouraging you and passing on all your experience is a big difference, it completely changes the atmosphere of the entire team. Cristiano Ronaldo might even play a little to give the youngsters more peace of mind, calling him up at 41 years old I'm sure is the best thing to do

Ronaldo couldn't do much in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. But recently he has been really good for Al Nassr in the Saudi Professional League. Personally I believe that he deserves a slot in the Portuguese squad for 2026. Because he is in decent form, and Portugal doesn't have anyone who is capable of effectively replacing him. The situation is much different from what we have with Argentina and Messi. But again, Ronaldo alone won't be able to do much unless he gets good support from the younger players.

Quote from: Bitcoinsummoner on February 23, 2024, 12:11:44 PM

2nd T20 between Australia vs New Zealand. Australia won by 72 runs. Glenn Maxwell has broken the record for most sixes (126) in T20Is for AUS, going past Aaron Finch's 125.

Batting Most Sixes Career

Today it was a very meek surrender from the Kiwis. Usually we don't expect this, as they play at their best whenever they are against the Aussies. But today they could only get to 102, and lost the match by 72 runs. Australia sent a high-quality squad to New Zealand and for the Kiwis it was not very easy to handle some of the best T20 bowlers in the world such as Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa. Lockie Ferguson put up a lot of hard work in the first innings, but all of that went to waste.

Italy managed another win today at the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off. During the first match (vs Bermuda), it was the turn of Marcus Campopiano to hit a century for Italy and today it was the 40-year old Wayne Madsen who hit the century. There were sizable contributions from Grant Stewart and Rakibul Hasan as well, as Italy put up 284/7. And in return, fast bowler Stefano di Bartolomeo nabbed three top-order wickets, and that effectively ended the Saudi Arabian resistance. Further blows from Gareth Berg and Jaspreet Singh effectively ended the match in favor of Italy.

Quote from: jasonjm on February 23, 2024, 11:45:33 AM

On the first day of the 4th test between India and England, ENG scored 302/7 at the end of day one. ENG started positively, but debutant Akash Deep ended the party by picking up 2 wickets in one over. Root stabilized the inning with Bairstow, but the latter could not convert his start into a massive inning. Overall, today was a Root show all along with some cameos. Akash Deep picked up 3 wickets. Day 2's first session will be of utmost importance for England to score over 400 in the first innings. At the moment, India is ahead after day 1.

Joe Root is still there and we can expect England to reach at least 350 in the first innings, if there are no miracles from the Indian bowlers. Personally I believe that the Indian selectors did a blunder here, by allowing two seamers in the playing XI. Also, if there need to be two seamers, then I would have rather gone for Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, rather than going for the useless Mohammed Siraj. Siraj picked up two wickets, but he was very expensive early on. And now Indians need to deal with the 8th wicket partnership between Joe Root and Ollie Robinson. They have already added 62 runs till now. These are very valuable contributions.

4th test will start tomorrow and if India wins this one, then they wins the series. Already they are up by 2-1. BTW, it will be interesting to see whether James Anderson can get to the magical 700 wicket mark in this test match. At this point he has 696, and needs four more. Another player to watch will be Sarfaraz Khan. He will be playing his second test and right now his test batting average stands at 130.00. Also, it will be interesting to see whether Mukesh Kumar or Akash Deep will be included in the playing XI. I would actually prefer them ahead of Mohammed Siraj.

I don't know this.. Is it even possible for Michelle Obama to take part in the Democrat primaries now? I guess some of the primary contests have been completed already. And I haven't seen her in any of the opinion polls for Democrat presidential nomination. I know that Biden is in poor health, but I don't think that his health will deteriorate much further in the next 6-7 months. Michelle Obama can be a good candidate in 2028, and not in 2024. And this time, Trump is so far ahead in polls that she has very little chance of winning anyway.

So much focus on the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, and everyone is ignoring ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off. We had three matches completed so far, with Italy winning against Bermuda in the first match. Marcus Campopiano (a recent addition to the Italian squad) top-scored for Italy, and scored 101, while Anthony Mosca scored 95. Nicholas Maiolo and Wayne Madsen also made decent contributions. And while bowling, Stefano di Bartolomeo dealt the initial blows, and remainder was cleaned up by Rakibul Hasan and Fida Hussain.

Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans are off to a great start in Pakistan Super League. Both the teams have so far won all of the matches they have played so far. Today Islamabad United put up a pathetic display batting first, as they got to only 138/9 in 20 overs. They suffered a middle order collapse when Colin Munro, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan and Agha Salman got out in quick succession. All credit to Quetta bowlers, especially Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim. BTW, Abrar had a horrible match against Qalandars a few days back.

The Kiwis are off to a flier. They are 75/1 after 7 overs, with Finn Allen and Devon Conway smashing the Aussie bowlers all around the park. Scoring rate slightly dipped once Allen got out to Starc, but they are in due course to reach at least 200-220. BTW, Maxi got a taste of his own medicine. Went for 20 runs from his sole over so far. Pat Cummins went for 15 in his first over. I have always said this - Australia vs New Zealand matches are as exciting as India vs Pakistan matches. There is so much bad blood between these two teams.

Once again, disappointing performance from Nepal. All out for just 168, against a Namibian squad that lacked David Wiese and Ben Shikongo. Their U19 star Jack Brassell continues to impress and picked up the crucial wicket of Dev Khanal. Apart from that, most of the damage was done by Bernard Scholtz and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, who picked up 4 wickets apiece. Aasif Sheikh was the sole Nepali batsman who offered some resistance. Overall, disappointing performance from the home team and if there is no miracle they are going to lose this match.