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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
I'd go on step further. Moin hasn't done anything too special with bat, and his keeping is mediocre even in the best of times. What I'd suggest is to have Taufeeq keep wickets and Pakistan add a quality bowler in their team - Rao, may be. We need to figure out how to get Indians restricted/bowled out.
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as much as i agree with Moin's below par performance, i would not keep him out .. for two reasons. 1) he is out of form but he is a player who can perform underpressure and a regular keeper is always a bonus.. 2) Letting Taufeeq keep and open will be a very demanding task in such a crunch game.
Again the team didnt perform to its potential. Changing players might help in the short run but our players need to be consistent in the long run.
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Exactly. Shabbir was awesme in last match, patahtic on this one. Sami was awesome in second match, below average in third and now okay in this one. Consistency is the key!!
I don't blame the bowlers considering the pitch and the "wall". What a professional Dravid is...hats of to him.
We chased 335 in 45 overs in Lahore. I don't think 292 was a safe total.
Indian batting didn't do well in ODI3 and almost collapsed today in ODI4. It is high time Pakistan batting failed. Even though Indian bowling is weaker than Pakistan bowling still I hope they can find some edge atleast this once to restrict Pakistan under 200 and then let the Indian batsmen score the required runs to win (or if Indians bat first, even better)
I am not too sure if ringing in a lot of changes is a good idea for the last one-dayer. Of course, i completely agree with Faisal about kicking their posteriors (2 meri taraf se bhi ) but that should be it, really as far as kicking goes to knock some sense and discipline in them.
Afridi out, taufeeq in. Ab sab Allah Mian se zor zor se dua karein.
I think it's too late for both India and Pakistan to start chopping and changing. I'd like to see Ganguly or VVS replaced by Badani, but chances are Badani would fail in the pressure cooker. So might as well keep these dudes and hope they learnt some lessons!
It will be a classic end to a very closely fought series. Whatever the result of the series one thing is for sure, both these teams are very evenly matched. I dont think even after the result on wednesday you can say decisively that one team is better than the other.
Bummer at it being another day/night match - I've always thought of this as being a really unfair way of playing the game - especially when it's the decider. Did you see the problems the players (both Indians and Pakistanis) were having with the machal when the floodlights came on? :s
I don't think it's gonna be that close a match though - I just get the feeling that Pakistan is gonna get thrashed :(
Ehsan bhai, whatever the result of this series will be, everyone knows that Indian team is stronger and experienced than Pakistani team. Keeping in mind that there're three of their main bowlers not playing in the ODI (Nehra left after second game). While Pakistan is playing with full stregnth on its own soil. Still our much hyped bowling attack is unable to bowl out the Indian side (with an exception of Peshawar game). Today after they had key batsmen out, our world class bowling attack was unable to get any further wicket for atleast last 20 overs. We used everyone, from Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir to Razzler, Malik and Afridi. But both the batsmen were not even worried at any point. Because the RRR was set in first 15 overs already, despite of the early fall of three wickets.
The fact is that we have talent but most of our players are still inexperience for this class. They have courage and spirit, but lacking experience and consistancy big time. But even with relatively younger and inexperience team, we still have the series tied thus far. Its a big achievement, and it shows that with hard work our team will Inshallah become the Number team in a year or two.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
I think Inzimam will be VERY happy to lose the toss in the next match. I suspect Pakistan will be chasing in the 5th ODI. They better be ready for that.
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I hope we are chasing. After the 20th over our bowlers lost all bite once the ball became wet from the dew. if we can't bowl in those conditions then we have no chance of bowling India out unless we knock over their top six in the first 15 overs.
As for the team Pakistan should field it's hard to say. Everyone is screaming about our bowlers giving away extras but what is the solution? We could play 3 medium pacers instead but they will get murdered by India's batsmen...and we lose the wicket-taking prowess of Sami, Shabbir and Shoaib.
Shahid Afridi might need to be replaced by Taufeeq or Yaasir, but to bring them cold into a final is asking a lot. Personally I'd be tempted to drop both Younis Khan and Afridi and play Imran Nazir and Taufeeq in their place. Younis is a nothing player who ALWAYS fails to carry us to the end of an innings despite coming in at no 5. we need to match fire with fire and play aggressive batsmen IMO. Imran and Taufeeq to open with Yaasir at no 3 and Yoyo at no 5. That team has the hitting power to seriously frighten the Indian bowling line up. The current one doesn't.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by smooth_guy: *
Ehsan bhai, whatever the result of this series will be, everyone knows that Indian team is stronger and experienced than Pakistani team. Keeping in mind that there're three of their main bowlers not playing in the ODI (Nehra left after second game). While Pakistan is playing with full stregnth on its own soil. Still our much hyped bowling attack is unable to bowl out the Indian side (with an exception of Peshawar game). Today after they had key batsmen out, our world class bowling attack was unable to get any further wicket for atleast last 20 overs. We used everyone, from Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir to Razzler, Malik and Afridi. But both the batsmen were not even worried at any point. Because the RRR was set in first 15 overs already, despite of the early fall of three wickets.
The fact is that we have talent but most of our players are still inexperience for this class. They have courage and spirit, but lacking experience and consistancy big time. But even with relatively younger and inexperience team, we still have the series tied thus far. Its a big achievement, and it shows that with hard work our team will Inshallah become the Number team in a year or two.
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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by smooth_guy: *
Ehsan bhai, whatever the result of this series will be, everyone knows that Indian team is stronger and experienced than Pakistani team. Keeping in mind that there're three of their main bowlers not playing in the ODI (Nehra left after second game).
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Well Nehra isn't really an established bowler yet though he did ok this series. Still his replacement Pathan has done equally well. Agarkar and Harbajhan are no big threats to us, India's main miss is Kumble IMO.
So apart from Kumble I don't think the missing players are a big factor really.
the problem with our bowlers is that they give too many extras, not only that because of the 15 overs restriction any bat-to-ball in Akhtar's over is almost 80% surely a four.
Secondly, as mentioned already, the extras, expecially the no-balls are a pain in the neck.
In the bowling department Afridi is lucky to have played the last 2 one-dayers on the basis of his innings in the 2nd. Secondly, Younis Khan is too mediocre a batsman to be automatically be sure of his place in the side. (he's like the Mark Ramprakash of Pakistan to me: always scoring 20s or 30s).
some solutions:
perhaps it would be a suggestion to bowl Akhtar as a first-change bowler when the fielding restrictions are almost lifted, and open with Shabbir and Sami. Secondly, -as Geoff Boycott would say- all bowlers should be made to put their bowling mark 10 cm further back...if they all do this, the no-ball problem will be automatically be solved.
in the batting, Afridid shud go and Imran or Taufiq shud be brought in. I'd give Younis khan one more chance because of lack of alternatives
) but that should be it, really as far as kicking goes to knock some sense and discipline in them.