Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
man of the tournament again is ricky ponting
pehlay bata daitay tu hum kuch chaiey paani ka bandobast kar laitay
bata kay aya karaiN 
Well Done Australia :k:
See you in the next ODI 
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
champion jackets.. goes to australian players
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
congrats australia! you were lucky younis dropped Eliott's catch or Afridi and Yousuf would be rocking that white blazers of yours!
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
2million dollars !!!!!!!!!!?!?!??!?! :|:|:|
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
and theres the trophyyyy!!!
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
ok guys, verdict?
Aus is still the team to beat. Seasonal "no 1 teams" may pop up every now and then for couple of days but looks like Aus is almost towards the end of their rebuild and is ready to rule for next 5-6 years !
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
^ I will say that for sure after the upcoming India-Australia series :)
Australia are still winning but they are no longer as invincible or unbeatable as they unquestionably were from 1999 to 2007
Twice they were made to work hard for their runs by Pakistan and New Zealand respectively despite chasing a modest 200+/- Whereas previous sides (from 1999-2007 i.e the golden years when their dominance was unquestioned) might have chased down such low totals - no matter what the pitch, conditions or bowling attack - inside 40 overs, they were stretched to the last ball by Pakistan and even in the final NZ made them earn every run.
I think these three teams - South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan - can beat Australia on their day in ODIs atleast. India's batting is still good but their bowling esp. the seam attack looks pretty ordinary to me which puts added pressure on their batsmen. They simply cannot be expected to score nearly 300 all the time.
Kamran Akmal is doing a good job as an opener in ODIs but Pakistan need to find a second decent opener. Imran Nazir is way too impulsive and impatient and hence fails time and again playing reckless shots (cf. Afridi). Our bowling is ok and Asif should have played instead of Rana in the SF. But we need to find an answer to this recurring problem of our batters failing under pressue.
As for tests, the return of Lee w'd surely strengthen Aussie bowling but the rest of their pace/seam attack is decent rather than outstanding. Plus Australia lacks a quality spinner, Hauritz is not world-class. England recently beat them in Ashes 2-1.
At the highest level it is not just about talent and ability. It is partly psychological and about being able to handle pressure. While the present Aussies are not as formidable as their predecessors, they still have that priceless self-belief and confidence that they can win against anyone. That last point (rather than sheer ability and talent) separates them from the rest of the teams and often gets them over the finishing line
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
after a long time i dont begrudge the australians their win. they didnt come in talking about being number 1 and whatnot, and left showing pretenders to the throne a thing or two.
Re: Champions Trophy Final: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion - Oct 5, 2009
Thanks Australia :)