Oct

27

India vs Australia Series 2009 Fixtures

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If you are looking for Hero Honda Cup Full Schedule and want to know that where and when each ODI will be played between India and Australia then just click on the schedule mentioned below. You can see the date, location and timings of each match of India vs Australia series 2009

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Oct

26

Top cricketers

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List of top cricketers in my point of view… Numbers do NOT indicate ranks.. I am not going back to the old era, staying with the 90s and 2000s

GREATEST CRICKETERS:( nos. do not indicate ranking but when you ask yourself the question, the order in which you remember the names are the below. That is how I made this list )

01) Sachin Tendulkar
02) Brian Lara
03) Shane Warne
04) Muttiah Muralitharan
05) Wasim Akram
06) Glenn McGrath
07) Ricky Ponting
08) Jacques Kallis
09) Curtly Ambrose
10) Waqar Younis
11) Adam Gilchrist
12) Courtney Walsh
13) Steve Waugh
14) Inzamam-ul-Haq
15) Rahul Dravid
16) Sourav Ganguly
17) Mohammad Yousuf
18) Allan Donald
19) Andy Flower
20) Shaun Pollock
21) Matthew Hayden
22) Aravinda de Silva
23) Anil Kumble
24) Sanath Jayasuriya
25) Michael Bevan
26)Arjuna Ranatunga
27)Hansie Cronje
28)Saqlain Mushtaq
29)Mark Taylor
30)Gary Kirsten
31)Kevin Pieterson

Few other impact players who miss out on making it to the greatest list

01) Chaminda Vaas
02) Chris Cairns
03) Alec Stewart
04) Mohammed Azharuddin
05) Saeed Anwar
06) Stephen Fleming
07) Nathan Astle
08) Jonty Rhodes
09) Imran Khan
10) Marvan Atapattu
11) Mark Waugh
12)Nick Knight
13)Navjot Sidhu
14)Nasser Hussain
15)Michael Vaughan

GREATEST CRICKETERS (individually):

Read more on Top cricketers…

Oct

15

match fixing

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Why did each of the IPL teams lose their 1st match ??
What do the empty stands indicate ??
Do the less famous sides have to lose out ??
Who is watching them play ??

Ray Jennings had made a comment that IPL teams will find it tough in the tournament.. True..

The other domestic sides that compete in the tournament are well established sides who play cricket right throughout the year.. Take Victoria Bushrangers or NSW blues for example.. Pura cup which is Sheffield Shield cup now is a tough 4 day competition that 6 teams compete in.. Then there is an ODI tournament that they take part in.. KFC big bash is just an addition to that.. So, these teams play the 4day competition, the one-day and T20..

IPL teams on the other hand meet a week or two before the tournament begins and stay together for 1.5 months in playing a minimum of 14 matches and maximum of 16 matches in the tournament.. So it is seriously difficult for them to compete against the other domestic teams.. But what makes the tournament alive is that it is a T20 competition and reputation counts for little..

So, we can argue that the IPL teams took a little bit of time to group and come together as a unit  than blame the quality of cricket or the lack of it..

The tournament matches of non-IPL teams were played against empty stands.. The question that was asked immediately was, what if the IPL teams do not go into the league stage ? Will there be viewership on tv sets India, forget the stadiums ?

If the IPL teams were to be left behind, there wouldn’t have been any advertisers for the tournament.. With poor viewership, it would have been a tough ask for the organizers to call the CL T20 to be a success..

There was a question asked in the IPL-2 not only by the cricket fans but also by the ICC as to whether the matches are stage managed, to say that ‘we had to wait till the last day to decide the semifinalists’ and stuffs that would speak of the success and quality of the tournament and how the teams are so evenly matched..

Do we have to ask that question here too that deliberate efforts are made to push IPL teams through?

Ah, common..
The Deccan match went to the wires, a thrilling last ball finish..
The Bangalore match was punctuated by one classy knock from Duminy, whose individual brilliance enabled SA to win against AUS in Australia..
The Delhi match can be attributed to the slow low nature of the pitch..
Thats it, we have the answers.. No FIXING !!!

If a drop catch by Younis Khan in the CT2009 semi finals can be debated for fixing, a catch where the reaction time wouldn’t be more than half a second, then these matches can surely be..

Fixing or no fixing, the tournament isn’t a success yet.. The general public need to know the teams, the players, how they qualified and develop loyalties.. May be by the second edition, which may or may not be held in India, the viewers would have learnt about the teams and the tournament would have a larger reach..

Read more on match fixing…

Oct

9

Groups for 2011 World Cup

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The groups for the 2011 World Cup have been decided. While the format has not been formally disclosed by the ICC, they have indicated that it will be a quarter-final format i.e. top 4 in each group play in the QFs. The tournament is going to be shortened to 49 matches (from 51) and to around 5 weeks (from 6 weeks).

I personally am not a fan of the QF format, but what the hell can I do about it. I think the Champions Trophy is a better deal than the World Cup. My own ideal format for the World Cup is as follows: have 14 teams, of which 4 teams get byes into a Super-8 round (previous champs, most recent CT champs, most recent T20 champs, #1 ODI team, etc). The 10 remaining teams are divided into two groups of 5 each, and play each other. Top two in each group join the other 4 in the Super-8. In the Super-8, everyone plays each other and top 4 go to the semis. It will be 51 matches (same as 2007), but with at least two matches a day, it can comfortably be completed in 5 weeks or less.

Anyways, I’m not the ICC chief so I can’t decide the format. So, without further ado, I present the 2011 World Cup groups:

Group A – Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya.

Group B – India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands.

Read more at: http://www.cricinfo.com/wc2011/content/current/story/428712.html

Read more on Groups for 2011 World Cup…

Oct

8

Afridi to turn out for Dolphins in SA domestic T20

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After finalising a deal with Nashua Dolphins for next year, swashbuckling all-rounder Shahid Afridi is all set to become the first Pakistani to play in South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 tournament.

Afridi said the Nashua Dolphins had approached him to play for them in the country’s pro T20 cricket league.

The all-rounder stated that he would represent the Dolphins for two to three weeks in February after the conclusion of Pakistan’s tour to Australia.

”They will officially announce my signing tomorrow,” Afridi said yesterday.

”But I am excited at the prospect of being the first Pakistani to play in their domestic T20 league which is of high standards,” he added.

Read more on Afridi to turn out for Dolphins in SA domestic T20…

Oct

6

Champions Trophy: New Zealand set-up a final date with Australia

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New Zealand set-up a final clash with defending champions Australia after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling semi-final at the New Wanderers Stadium here Saturday.

New Zealand, who won the title in 2000 when it was known as the ICC Knock Tournament, achieved the target of 234 runs in 47.5 overs by losing just five wickets. Grant Elliot was the top scorer with an unbeaten 75, while skipper and Man of the Match Daniel Vettori scored 41.

Pakistan bastmen failed to covert the good starts they got after captain Younis Khan opted to bat first. Umar Akmal (55) and Mohammad Yousuf (45) played crucial knocks as they put a competitive total on board.

New Zealand made a cautious start but were found struggling at 71 for three by the 17th over. Ross Taylor started the repair act with his patient 38 and Vettori and Elliot played solid innings and with their 104-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

The game looked evenly poised till the 42nd over when New Zealand needed 59 runs from 48 deliveries. But Vettori’s decision to opt for the Power Play in the 42nd over paid rich dividends as 55 runs came off in five overs, paving way for New Zealand’s second final appearance in the tournament.

Fast bowler Umar Gul and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal were erratic in the dying stages of the game and both Elliot and Vettori came out with some big shots to end Pakistan’s hopes.

Earlier in the day, paceman Ian Butler and spinner Vettori shared seven wickets as New Zealand restricted Pakistan to 233 for nine.

Butler had a career-best haul of four for 44, while left-arm spinner Vettori ended with three for 43.

Teenager Umar Akmal hit a solid 55 as Pakistan looked set for a big total. But Vettori and Butler struck in quick succession to reduce them to 198 for nine.

Another teenager Mohammad Aamer (19 not out) and Saeed Ajmal (14 not out) then showed some great fighting spirits adding 35 off 34 deliveries for the last wicket as Pakistan made 233.

Read more on Champions Trophy: New Zealand set-up a final date with Australia…

Oct

5

Australian teams in Champions League -CL T20

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Lets travel DOWN UNDER to meet the teams qualifying for the Champions league T20 -

New South Wales Blues and Victoria Bushrangers..

Aussie domestic set up is pretty much familiar with most cricket fans.. For starters, though, Aussie domestic cups are simple.. 6 teams, 3 competitions..

New South Wales – based in Sydney
Victoria – MCG, Melbourne
South Australia- Adelaide
Queensland- Gabba, Brisbane
Tasmania – Hobart
Western Australia – WACA,Perth

Pura cup which is now Sheffield Shield cup 4 day matches, Ford Ranger cup – limited overs and KFC big bash T20.. 

In KFC big bash, each team plays against the other once.. The 2nd and 3rd placed teams play in a semi final, and the winner plays the team which had topped the points table in the round robin stage..

2009 KFC Big Bash T20 Points table

Read more on Australian teams in Champions League -CL T20…

Oct

2

ICC awards

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As part of the ICC’s celebration of the game’s heroes and role models, it stages the annual LG ICC Awards ceremony to recognize the major individual and team achievements in world cricket.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and in 2009 the Awards took place in Johannesburg. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

The LG ICC Awards in 2009 included eight individual prizes, including the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year. The winners of seven of these individual awards were voted upon by a 25-person panel from around the world, made up of renowned former players, respected members of the media, and an elite umpire and elite match referee. Meanwhile, the nominations for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year Award were voted on by a separate 16-person voting academy featuring former players and other experts on the women’s game.

The other three awards were the ICC Test Team of the Year, the ICC ODI Team of the Year and the Spirit of Cricket Award.

Based on the 12 months between August 2008 and August 2009, the LG ICC Awards 2009 – presented in association with FICA – took into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

Lists of nominees- Individual Awards

Cricketer of the Year
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
Andrew Strauss (Eng)

Test Player of the Year
Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
Thilan Samaraweera (SL)
Andrew Strauss (Eng)

ODI Player of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
Virender Sehwag (Ind)
Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

Emerging Player
Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus)
Graham Onions (Eng)
Jesse Ryder (NZ)
Peter Siddle (Aus)

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year
Rizwan Cheema (Can)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)
William Porterfield (Ire)
Edgar Schiferli (Ned)

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year
Shahid Afridi (Pak) for scoring 51 off 34 balls and taking 2-16 against South Africa during the ICC WT20 semi-final in Nottingham on 18 June
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) for scoring 96 not out off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semi-final of the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 19 June
Chris Gayle (WI) – for hitting 88 off 50 balls against Australia during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 6 June
Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 13 June

Women’s Cricketer of the Year
Charlotte Edwards (Eng)
Shelley Nitschke (Aus)
Claire Taylor (Eng)

Umpire of the Year
Aleem Dar
Tony Hill
Asad Rauf
Simon Taufel

Spirit of Cricket
Australia
England
New Zealand
Sri Lanka
 
This list was arrived at after a long list of nominees was announced earlier.. Surprisingly, South Africans were missing from the short list of nominees.. CSA chairman Gerald Majola was surprised and shocked at the absence of South Africans from the final list especially after having a great year in both the test and the ODI formats and being No.1 in the ICC rankings too..

On October 1, in Johannesburg, the awards were given away..

Cricketer of the Year-     Mitchell Johnson
Test Player of the Year-  Gautam Gambhir

ODI Player of the Year-  Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Emerging Player-             Peter Siddle

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year -            William Potterfield

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year – Tilakaratne Dilshan

Women’s Cricketer of the Year – Claire Taylor

Umpire of the Year -                     Aleem Daar

Spirit of Cricket-                           New Zealand

ICC ODI and Test team captain – MS Dhoni

Johnson - Impressive performances against SA in both home and away series.. Played a hand with both bat and ball, integral part of the Aussie team which is rebuilding after the loss of its stalwarts..

Gambhir- Scored more than 1000 runs, dream run for him. 5 centuries including a double century against the visiting Australia..

Dhoni- Retained his ODI player award, highly consistent.. Averages above 50 and his average increases by 7 when India chase more than 275.. (remarkable to note that in the same period of consideration Sachin’s average dips by 7 when India chase high totals)

Dishan- Has a shot named after him, Dilscoop which he used effectively in the T20s.. Scored 96 of 57 balls in the T20 WC semi final against Windies.. Afiridi’s performance was more effective and it lifted the entire team against the Proteas.. Gayle’s 88 against Aussies deserved an award too..

Siddle- Emerging player of the year award, he had to fill in the gap left by McGrath and an injured Lee. Truly a better choice from the nominees..Never easy to make your debut in the absence of Lee and having to lead the bowling attack and perform so superbly..

Claire Taylor- England woman’s team captain, only in the woman’s cricket have they won a major ICC tournament.. This year they won the 50 over championship and the 20-20 championship in which Taylor played a great role with the bat..

Aleem Daar- First time I have seen Simon Taufel being pipped for the award.. Aleem Daar, Asad Rauf, Taufel have been the better umpires..

William Potterfield- First seen in Ireland’s T20 campaign, made it to the super 8s.. They have also won 9 of the 11 ODIs they played..

Spirit of Cricket- Switched hands from Sri Lanka to New Zealand this year, Vettori was pretty startled as to what this award was for..

Panel:Clive Lloyd, Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar,  Stephen Fleming and Bob Taylor
ICC ODI Team of the year-
Virender Sehwag (Ind),
Chris Gayle (WI),
Kevin Pietersen (Eng),
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL),
Yuvraj Singh (Ind),
Martin Guptill (NZ),
MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK),
Andrew Flintoff (Eng),
Nuwan Kulasekara (SL),
Ajantha Mendis (SL),
Umar Gul (Pak),
12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

The team has one batsman too many.. The line up cannot be determined.. Martin Guptill may be a misfit and the balance is missing..

World Test Team of the Year:
Gautam Gambhir (India),
Andrew Strauss (England),
AB de Villiers (South Africa),
Sachin Tendulkar (India),
Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka),
Michael Clarke (Australia),
MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk),
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh),
Mitchell Johnson (Australia),
Stuart Broad (England),
Dale Steyn (South Africa),
Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)
This team is very strong.. No.10 can bat too.. But lacks the 5th bowler..

Read more on ICC awards…

Oct

1

India out of CT, not mathematically

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After rains washed away the match between India and Australia, the chances of India making it to the semi finals was even more bleak.. India now have just 1 point from their 2 matches now and just have a game against West Indies..

India lost their opening match to Pakistan by 54 runs.. Throughout the match, India just did not look like taking wickets; the scorecard may not give that view (302 for 9).. Yousuf and Malik added 206 runs in their partnership and India never seemed to attack or look to take wickets.. MSD later in the post match presentation came up with an interesting quote that he had never seen that many runs scored of the cut and that he felt he was 2-3 bowlers short.. Not so difficult to fathom the reason though,the absence of Yuvraj has hurt the team a lot.. Yuvraj has been an integral part of the team for almost a decade now and off late India have depended a lot on his heroics in both ODI and T20s. The ease with which he tackles the bowlers and the elegant drives and hoicks over mid wicket are a treat to watch any day and in a span of 5 overs he has the potential to take the game away from the opposition which not many posses in the world cricket now leave alone India.. Its also his bowling that has developed lately, much of the success owed to MSD who used him more often and at trying situations than his counterparts earlier..

Virender Sehwag is another dashing opening bat whom India have missed in T20 world cup and now in the CT.. Viru may not be as elegant as Yuvi but certainly instills fear in the bowlers.. His mere presence at the crease makes the bowlers panic.. He is shrewd and a good bowler in the turning tracks..

The bowling attack lacks depth and is off color at the moment now.. Ashish Nehra who made a comeback after a great performance in the domestic circuit and in the IPL-2 held in South Africa.. He, after returning to the team, has performed well in the West Indies and in CT too he was the one who looked attacking and also the only bowler who looked like taking wickets..

Ishanth is very poor, hopelessly bad.. The riches from the IPL may have driven him crazy or may be the KKR effect that he simply doesn’t look the same bowler who tormented the Aussie great Ponting.. He is way below par and just runs in and drops the ball from his hands.. Pace has dropped, nothing in his bowling now would keep the batsmen on their toes.. Rather, yesterday, the Aussies saw him as a scoring opportunity and got out of the blocks after he was introduced in the 9th over..

RP and Bhajji are in an another world.. No clue as to why they perform well in one tournament and do not perform in the tournament only to come back and perform brilliantly in the IPL..

MSD is true, he is 2-3 bowlers short and is also missing Yuvraj badly..

If Australia beat Pakistan on Wednesday, they’ll obviously go through as toppers in their group, while Pakistan will take the second slot. It’ll get more complicated, though, if Australia lose to Pakistan and India beat West Indies. Then, the margins of the wins will decide which team joins Pakistan in the last four.

The vital question is the margins of victories. Currently, the difference between the net run-rates of Australia and India appear vast: +1.00 for Australia, -1.08 for India. The good thing from India’s point of view, though, is that those numbers have come about on the basis of one match only – the stats from no-result matches are excluded in the calculation of net run rates.

AUS won by 50runs; IND lost by 54 runs..

So, SIMPLE !!!

IND win by 54 runs and AUS lose by 50 runs.. Or IND win by a margin greater than 54 runs and the Aussies lose by a margin greater than 50 runs will ensure that India are through undeserving.. That is to say, if we win by 20 runs, Aus need to lose by 85 runs and more..

Yes, with a bowling attack that is as paltry as India’s and a batting that once again is heavily dependent on Sachin’s innings and also on Rahul to be the wall anchoring the entire innings.. Its not that they perform once and thats enough, they have to perform in every match for India to do well..

The only positive may be that, India’s game is a D/N.. So, the earlier match would be completed by the time the 2nd team comes out to bat..

‘If we don’t do well, we can pack our bags and leave’ – MSD

Read more on India out of CT, not mathematically…

Sep

30

What Drama!

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I have fallen in love with that phrase here in Manchester.

And Drama was exactly what this Champions Trophy has been.

Moreso today than on any other day.

Before Pakistan took the field against Australia this morning, a number of things would have been going through their mind.

Do we want to play New Zealand, our favorite bunnies, in the semi finals?

Do we want to play our semi final against England at Centurion to give our batsmen a better chance?

Do we want India to qualify to the semi finals?

Do we want to make sure Australia is out of the Champions Trophy?

There were plenty of options for the Pakistanis to explore.

But all was dependent on which Pakistan turned out today.

I’m still not sure which one did.

They started their innings very well with a decent opening stand; even after Afridi’s departure Akmal kept going.

Once he left though the innings kind of fell apart; they never lost wickets, the batsmen were out there in the middle but batting was quite tough.

Or did Pakistan make it tough for themselves wanting to play New Zealand and ensuring India’s exit?

The playing it safe, not going for aerial shots, keeping the scoring rate low, all looked a bit intentional, didn’t it?

Pakistan set the Aussies a modest total and Australia’s start seemed like the match would be over at the half way mark.

Mohammad Asif, returning to the international fold after over a year and a half was made to look like a medium pacer by Watson and Paine.

Australia seemed to be cruising home and into the semi finals, and Pakistan did not seem to mind it.

But then came the twist.

Mohammad Asif showed why Pakistan and the world had missed him.

Saeed Ajmal showed why he’s the best off spinner around today.

Rana Naveed showed why he was drafted back as soon as he cancelled his ICL contract.

The Pakistanis were suddenly all over the Australians.

And the Aussies had no idea what hit them.

What was happening now? Did Pakistan suddenly realise that they would rather play a semi final at Centurion? Did the BCCI wire some funds to CA? Did Pakistan want to do India a favor?

Wickets fell, Pakistan started to look sharp, Australia started to fall apart, and the gap between runs required and balls left started to decrease.

The Indians’ hearts would have been thumping hard while all this was going down.

It was one of those rare days when a billion Indians were hoping and praying for Pakistan to win; particularly after what their team had done to the West Indies.

Pakistan had all of a sudden raised the hope of all those Indians.

But at the end it was just false hope; Brett Lee and Hauritz remained calm and scraped home off the final delivery of the match.

That sealed Australia’s path to the semi finals and India’s exit from the Champions Trophy.

What a match it was though!

Full of excitement, nervousness, entertainment, and Drama!

It was an awesome fightback from Pakistan; quite a reminder of what Pakistan was like in the 1990s when they used to make comebacks from all sorts of situations to win games.

It was a close win for Australia but Pakistan will not mind it.

Instead they will take a hell of a lot of confidence into the semi finals, where they face their favorite semi final bunny – New Zealand!

Think 1992, think 1999, think 2007.

3 out of the 4 times that Pakistan has reached the final of a major ICC event, they have done so by beating New Zealand in the semi final.

So they would definitely be fancying their chances.

Pakistan looks well settled, the batting is coming together, the bowling has been awesome throughout the Champions Trophy, and the team has a good problem of figuring out their final XI with a number of players in form and vying for the same spot.

Always a healthy problem to have.

As I said before, the Champions Trophy has been great advertisement for ODI cricket, and I feel the business end of the competition will be even better!

Read more on What Drama!…

Sep

30

India Vs West Indies – "India seek divine intervention"

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India will be hoping for some divine intervention when they take on the West Indies in their last Group A match at the Wanderers here on Wednesday, in their bid to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.
India are virtually out of the tournament after their Monday’s must-win match against defending champions Australia was washed out.
Now India can only wait and watch as their progress hinges on several factors.

Even if they beat the West Indies in the day-night encounter, they have to hope that Pakistan beat Australia by a huge margin in the day match at the Centurion.
Nothing went right for India in the tournament and only a miracle can save them from making an early exit in the second consecutive International Cricket Council (ICC) event in the year. If their performance against Pakistan was below par, it was nature’s betrayal which forced them to split points with Australia.
But India have all but to blame themselves for their lacklustre performance in the tournament. Indian bowlers, barring Ashish Nehra, were out of sort in both the matches while the bastmen couldn’t convert the starts they got against Pakistan.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he would be keenly following Wednesday’s Pakistan-Australia clash.
‘We would delay our team selection. It depends on how the match is progressing. If we need to strengthen our batting we would do so. If we need the bowling to get stronger, we would do that,’ Dhoni said.
‘Not only the coach and the support staff, even the seniors need to chip in with their advice. Unfortunately, not everything is in your hands. Lot of things need to happen: Pakistan to win, we to beat West Indies and the net run-rate.
‘We are cheering for Pakistan as they play a day game. We will know where we stand when we go out. Hopefully Pakistan win,’ said Dhoni.
On India’s performance in the ongoing tournament, Dhoni blamed his bowlers for the poor show.
‘We batted in only one game so you can’t say the batting has let us down. But we have bowled twice and we are not bowling that well. Yesterday (against Australia), the bowlers were much better, they were neither too short nor too full. But we have to admit we didn’t bowl that well,’ he said.

Read more on India Vs West Indies – "India seek divine intervention"…

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