Nepal certainly has the potential. But the problem is a lot of players are not from Nepal in the team. That is a big reason why they are also not going to be very interested in improving. They are of course going to take it as a part-time job. And even if they do take it as a full-time job, they are going to be in it for the money.
Of course, beating a team like Scotland is a great result for them. But another problem is that Nepal is not very consistent in their performance. They will have to show consistent performance if they want to actually get noticed. If they cannot perform consistently against these types of opponents, they are not going to be able to beat top level teams. LOL... this is definitely not true. Nepal team is 100% comprised of Nepali citizens. Unlike the case with United Arab Emirates and Oman, they don't want to import first class players from India and Pakistan and create a "national" team that doesn't contain any nationals. But this strategy hasn't worked well for them. Over the years, they have lost in major ICC tournaments to teams that are primarily comprised of foreigners. And as a result of this, their fund allocation from the ICC has been reduced to almost nothing. BTW, some shit is going on with the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. During the last match between Scotland and Nepal, the Scottish players refused to shake hands with Sandeep Lamichhane, who is currently undergoing legal proceedings for rape charges. Lamichhane claims that he was trapped and the charges are false. But the court is yet to announce its verdict and he is out on bail as of now. |
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Both the openers have started rather slowly for India (KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma). But they are looking confident and India looks set to take the first innings lead. And it would be interesting to see how Todd Murphy performs in this match. He was completely unknown during the first test and the Indian batsmen got troubled by his spin. But this time, the batsmen have a fair idea of his bowling tactics. He is yet to bowl in this match, although the debutant Matthew Kuhnemann has been in action since yesterday.
BTW, can someone tell me why KL Rahul is still in the team, despite his pathetic test batting average of 34.30?
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By the way, People who are watching this PSL outside Pakistan, can you tell on which channels you are viewing PSL?
Here in India, matches are being broadcasted SONY SPORTS (TV) and Sony Liv (OTT). A lot of people are taking about Ihsanullah of the Multan Sultans. So far he has taken 10 wickets from just 3 PSL matches, at an average of 7.30. He had figures of 4-1-12-5 against the Quetta Gladiators (picked up the wickets of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Jason Roy and Iftikhar Ahmed). BTW, this is not his first season with the PSL. He bowled one over during last season against the Karachi Kings, but then he got injured. During the match against Zalmi, his top speed was measured at 150 kmph. He has the potential to work on his pace and take the speed to >155 kmph, which will make the lives of opposition batsmen quite difficult. PCB need to groom this player and make sure that he stays away from injuries. |
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To be clear it is a 20 over match. Maybe I'm not sure whether Ireland would've won the match if the target was above 160 runs, but to reach 137 runs West Indies have got one ball left. Based on this I'm sure West Indies would've experienced more pressure if the score were above 160 runs. During the 19th over Gajnabi scored two boundaries that helped them for an easy 6 runs required in the last over. Anyhow good performance from Hayley Mathews that brought the win for West Indies Women team.
Yesterday it was a close match. But sill, Ireland has lost all their matches till now. It would be so disappointing for them, because they have a very good domestic setup back home for the women. Ireland is one of the test nations now, and receives higher allocation of funds from the ICC. So therefore, fans naturally have higher expectations from the Irish cricketers. They need to win matches regularly, to justify their test status. And it has been 4 years since they got elevated to being a full member of the ICC. Time has come now for them to win matches regularly against the big teams. |
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Well, regarding the Netherlands, I think I would take it out of that bunch you're talking about, because the Netherlands had a very tough match against Argentina, that match was very exciting and we saw Messi really upset, that for me was one of the most exciting matches I've seen from Qatar, they were too good, emotions were on the surface, I think Belgium was disappointing, because they have very good players and I saw very boring football, like Denmark, which I expected a lot but nothing happened, however It's not that they are bad teams, let's remember that these teams left Sweden and Italy out, and Portugal was saved. Netherlands and Danmark are some of those "dying" teams. They are a shadow of their former self. And regarding Belgium, it is difficult to believe that this team was at the top of the FIFA rankings a few years back. Among the European teams, England, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have maintained their standards, while others like Netherlands and Belgium have gone down the drain. The advantage with teams like England is that they have some of the best club competitions in the world and that ensures a steady supply of quality young players. |
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Is not Trump running for President as "revenge" because the "humiliation" he suffered last time?
It may also have something to do with the multiple investigations he is under, in his mind, if he manages to become president again, he could try to use this power to get rid of the possible legal problems he could encounter after he finishes his second term, since I doubt he would get indicted as sitting president.
That is just speculation, of course. It is quite weird. He lost the elections in 2020 and then created all sort of drama about it. Now even if decided to run for 2024, and wins the GOP nomination, a lot of voters will remember what he did in 2020 and that will have an impact on their voting patterns. Trump is extremely selfish. After he lost in 2020 POTUS election, he refused to campaign for the Republican candidate for the Georgia senate runoffs. And even during the recent midterms, he pushed a lot of unelectable candidates, which eventually gave Democrats the control of senate. My take is - Trump is able to attract sizable number of votes (and at the same time lose almost an equal number of votes), but in the long term he is detrimental to the long term prospects of the Republican Party. He only cares about himself and will go against the party if he doesn't get what he need. This guy has transformed the GOP from a center-right political party to one at the fringe of the political spectrum. |
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Marnus Labuschagne, Smith and Warner are the most experienced players in the Australian team at the moment. And they are very experienced in Test format too. Also Warner and Smith are very familiar with this Indian pitch. Australia's supporters had the highest expectations from these three players. But they cannot play well. If these three players could have helped the team, Australia would have been able to collect more than 300 easily. However, 263 runs is not a big collection on such a pitch. And I would say that India's batsmen will not face any big problem to collect 263 runs. Rohit, Rahul and Kohli are all in good form now.
David Warner have been out of form for the last many years, and therefore I would not take his name along with Smith and Labuschagne. But so far the performance from the last two have been disappointing. Border-Gavaskar trophy is one of the most popular test series, because it has a reputation of being competitive. But the first match was completely one-sided and dominated by the Indian team. If the second test also gets dominated by India, then eventually the global fans will lose interest in this series. |
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I think that's the reason of Thier bad performance, but anyway thank GOD finally they score some decent runs , at first match I was really bored because they play like kids with pro  . But I think after that defeat they take it seriously and the result is here, they scored 263 in 78 overs, with two half centuries of Usman Khawaja and p.handscomb . Hope they will entertain us by making some good delevries. I know indian will get the small target easily but in order to put some fun in match we need some wickets . Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith were supposed to bear most of the burden for Australia, but today it was Khawaja and Handscomb who shined with the bat. I still believe that with a bit more preparation (especially in regards to warmup matches), Australian batsmen could have performed much better. Today the improvement was visible when compared to the first match, but still the gap between two teams in terms of quality is not getting any smaller. Tomorrow is such a crucial day. Australia needs to restrict India to a total of less than 300. |
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Scotland needed to win this match. But Nepal really showed great skill, Nepali batsmen managed to reach the target in Scotland very well. But if Scotland's batsmen could score 300 plus runs then they would have some chance.
Nepal wanted a win and they got it. Scotland is already at the top of the points table and none of the other teams can overtake them, even if they lose the remaining two matches. On the other hand, Nepal only has 22 points from 26 matches, and they are currently at the 6th place in the points table (out of a total of 7 teams). Since the ICC funding is based on performance, they need to win a majority of the remaining matches to keep their funding at the same level. Else there will be another reduction to the funding that they receive from the ICC (already the allocation was reduced by 80% in 2015). |
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Peshawar Zalmi need another 114 runs to win, and now the required run rate has gone to almost 13 per over. They still have the wickets. Rovman Powell is batting with Saim Ayub, and then they have Bhanuka Rajapaksa and James Neesham to come. Zalmi lost the momentum after Mohammad Haris got out and now the required rate has become too steep for them to chase. On top of that, Multan bowlers are really bowling in a tight line and length for the last 5 overs (Zalmi only scored 31 runs and lost 2 wickets during the last 5 overs).
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Are you kidding? Trump is easily 20 years younger than Biden. One of them can't even construct a sentence without getting any help from the others and the other one can do QA's for hours.
Biden is practically a dead man walking (he can't even walk properly when you think about it now) while Trump can still do MMA fighting.
LOL.. Trump is the same guy who took Hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID 19 without any expert medical advice. It looks as if he is healthier than Biden, but then in terms of age he is slightly behind Biden. Americans need a fresh face who can control the inflation and put the American economy back in track. In terms of mental capacity, I would rate both of them at the same level. One is suffering from dementia while the other is mentally unstable. I would prefer someone fresh from both the camps, although it is not solely due to the age of these two. |
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Today Multan Sultans batted amazingly in Pakistan Super League. I first thought Multan Sultans will score 145 runs today but Multan Sultans scored 210 runs in 20 overs. After watching the game I am really surprised. I think Multan Sultan will win today's match very easily. It will win. Because Multan Sultan team has strong bowling along with batsmen. Now I am waiting to see which team will win.
Yes.. the way they batted was amazing. This is the first 200 plus total in this season (In the second match, Zalmi got really close with a total of 199). Rilee Rossouw seems to be in exceptional form, and he is back from an excellent season with Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 tournament. And then the captain (Mohammad Rizwan) scored valuable 66 runs. BTW, Peshawar Zalmi has started really well. After 6.3 overs, they are 69/1, with Mohammad Haris and Saim Ayub looking in great form. Ihsanullah meanwhile picked the wicket of Babar Azam. Zalmi won their first match and this one is their second. Multan lost their first one, but then they had a win against Quetta Gladiators. At this point, both the teams have almost equal chances (win probability for Multan Sultans is given at 74% in ESPN-Cricinfo). |
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~
However, compared to the first Test, the Australians have been able to adapt themselves to the wicket pitch to some extent.
If not for the innings of Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb Australia would be in the same situation as none of the other players were able to build any partnerships that could frustrate the Indian bowlers. Surprised with the Australian line up with one fast bowler in Pat Cummins and three spinners in their squad which i am seeing for the first time, curious to see how that will help them tackle the Indian batting line up  . Today was the first day and four more days of play are remaining. Australia is experimenting with a combination of one pacer and three spinners. Spin worked somewhat well for Australia last time, when Todd Murphy was able to trouble the Indian batsmen. This time they have Matthew Kuhnemann on his debut in addition to Todd Murphy (who is playing his second test). Can these two inexperienced spinners trouble the Indian batsmen? Indians are considered as the best against spin. If this strategy is successful, it will be a big boost for Australia. |
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At the top Khwaja and Handscomb were a big tick for Australia and 263 is not a bad score so they should be happy and proud of this performance. India on the other hand must be feeling a little disappointed as they failed to wrap up Aussie's tail cheaply but it happens sometimes.
Now Indian top order needs to bat sensibly and must do the heavy lifting. Don't expect your tail to bail out every time, they can also have an off day at work. Handscomb was preferred ahead of the other batsmen for selection, because he is a right-handed batsmen. But he justified his place in the XI. Improvement was there from Australia compared to the first test match, but still they have an uphill task with them at hand. Usman Khawaja also did his part in the fightback. The contribution from Pat Cummins was also very valuable. Now the Indian batsmen are against three of the Australian spinners. Todd Murphy is in good form, but I don't have the same opinion about Nathan Lyon. And then we have Matthew Kuhnemann making his debut. |
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That could be true as most of the Presidents nowadays are already at their golden age, I’m not just talking for US but definitely all over the world. That is why in the case of Biden, most of the democratic voters are expecting that he should not seek again for another long term. But Biden I think is determined to run again, regardless of his old age (the oldest president in the history I guess) but I just hope his physical and mental health will not be triggered by the time the Presidential campaign starts.
If Biden is running against Trump, then age won't be one of the campaign topics. Because there is hardly any difference in age between these two. But that will be an issue in case Biden is running against DeSantis, or Kamala is running against Trump. I have already posted my opinion. I am against discriminating people by age. If someone is competent enough to become the POTUS, then he should have the opportunity to do so. Age, color, race, religion.etc should not matter in this case. As long as Biden is medically fit, I don't have an issue. |
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As mentioned by many of the posters, this season of the Bangladesh Premier League was dominated by the foreign players. In the batting department the best performers were Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Johnson Charles, while bowling was dominated by Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Azmatullah Omarzai. And also, this time the tournament was plagued by a lot of controversies, including those related to umpiring. The BCB has taken this league for granted. They need to revamp the competition, before it gets too late.
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On one hand I agree that it kills the spirit, but on the other, it allows to compete against best. The medal would worth zero, if for example most of the countries are banned, and you get a gold medal in ice hockey playing against Arab and African countries. Even though gold medal is always a gold medal.
Other example - dont remember the name, but it was woman that participated for 3 countries and won gold medals in gymnastics. First for Soviet Union, second for Uzbekistan, third for Germany (she was force to moved there to get proper medicine for her child).
I find it ok if a person represents other country. It is about sport after all, not about the flag. Take a look on football teams. All of them are multinational. Take biggest Olympic teams (like USA for example) and dig into athletes roots. A lot of athletes ancestors are foreigners.
Competing against the best may benefit that particular individual. But it will kill the spirit of the games, if the athletes change nationality very frequently, and that too for materialistic benefits. I partially agree with you on football. A number of countries, such as Qatar and United Arab Emirates rely heavily on naturalized players. But I wouldn't say that about the United States. Although most of the players are of migrant origin, they are born and brought up in the US itself. Maybe FIFA should introduce maximum number of naturalized players in the XI, such as 2 or 3. But introducing threshold for players of migrant origin (who are born in that country itself) would be discriminatory. |
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The lower order batsmen are saving the day for the Australians. The 7th wicket partnership between Peter Handscomb and Pat Cummins is now worth 53 runs, and has enabled the Australians to post a 200 plus total. Currently they are at 221/6. Now it is difficult to predict how much they will make in the first innings, because if one more wicket falls, it will be the tail and then the tailend (Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann on his debut match). Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have picked up 4 wickets in between them and so far the spinners have bowled more than two-thirds of the overs from India.
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Goin back on Oscars, did something happened to Fabelmans that they dropped this much in odds?
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I am quite surprised with this post. I checked the odds at Stake.com, and I coudn't find any big change. The current odds for best picture are as follows: Best picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once: 1.38 The Banshees of Inisherin: 4.00 Top Gun: Maverick: 13.00 The Fabelmans: 14.00 Tár: 36.00 All Quiet on the Western Front: 31.00 Women Talking: 81.00 Elvis: 81.00 Avatar: The Way of Water: 81.00 Triangle of Sadness: 101.00 For the previous odds, check these: What happened to The Fabelmans? It started as the favorite to win Oscar for best picture, but now it is being given odds of 15.00. I posted the odds from stake.com a few days ago. But odds have drastically changed since then. Latest odds are as follows (please compare them with my previous post): Best picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once: 1.44 The Banshees of Inisherin: 3.75 Top Gun: Maverick: 13.00 The Fabelmans: 15.00 Tár: 36.00 All Quiet on the Western Front: 36.00 Women Talking: 81.00 Elvis: 101.00 Avatar: The Way of Water: 101.00 Triangle of Sadness: 101.00 The odds for best actor (from Stake.com): Brendan Fraser: 1.61 Colin Farrell: 3.75 Austin Butler: 4.00 Paul Mescal: 26.00 Bill Nighy: 36.00 Thanks to Rikafip for posting the list of nominations. I was glad to see Avatar: The Way of Water getting nominated for the best picture. With box office collection in billions, it at least deserves a few nominations. In terms of odds, Everything Everywhere All at Once is far ahead of all the other films. I checked Stake.com, and the odds are as follows:
Best picture:
Everything Everywhere All at Once: 1.61
The Banshees of Inisherin: 3.25
Top Gun: Maverick: 11.00
The Fabelmans: 12.00
Tár: 36.00
All Quiet on the Western Front: 36.00
Women Talking: 66.00
Elvis: 101.00
Avatar: The Way of Water: 101.00
Triangle of Sadness: 101.00
The odds for best actor (from Stake.com):
Brendan Fraser: 1.61
Colin Farrell: 3.50
Austin Butler: 4.25
Paul Mescal: 26.00
Bill Nighy: 36.00
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Australia's batsmen, as terrible as they were in the first match, I can't rely on their performance. In the first match, they scored only 177 and 91 runs. It was unimaginable to see an experienced team like Australia suffer such a bad batting disaster. My guess is India will win this match too. Because every Indian player is in great form now. They are not relying on any particular player now. This is the reason why they were able to beat Australia easily in the first match. I expect India to win in the second test match as well.
This time the Australians didn't took the tour very seriously. They landed in India only a few days before the first test match and didn't played any warmup matches. On the other hand, the Indians organized several days of preparatory camps. BTW, today Cheteshwar Pujara is playing his 100th test match. His average is a bit lower than the other Indian batsmen (at 44.15), but he has played crucial contributions where it mattered the most. Howveer, since 2020, he has been going through a lean patch in his career. During this period, he has scored only 1,281 runs, at an average of 29.79. Australia has included only one pace bowler (Pat Cummins). Probably Todd Murphy is going to open the bowling along with Cummins. Cameroon Green is also out injured and therefore Australia doesn't have any other pace options. |
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