Here is the link to news item in Dawn. It says that final will be played on a Batting pitch.
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*Originally posted by Changez_like: *
In one of the news articles, the "wicket keeper" of The Wanderers, where the final is to be played, said that he is planning to make a "batting" wicket. If it is going to be a batting wicket, then chances for India winning the cup become higher.
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Not really, India has more talent but Australia has better depth in batting. I think both batting lineups will come into the advantage, and since concerning the Aussie bowler are stronger than the Indian bowlers, Aussie have a better chance of winning.
But since Damien Martyn is not likely to play, I think the chances of winning for both teams are 50-50.
I will be looking forward to see the thrashing or humuliation of Gili and Sachin.
We all know Aussie do their homework and I am sure they must have some plan to remove sachin and others lets see what sort of plan india has for Gili, Ponting and Bevan.
Best of luck to both the teams :k:
I didn’t know india’s gap of reaching WC final was 20 years…hmmm
India in the finals of the ICC World Cup 2003 after a gap of 20 years.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by teaser: *
I will be looking forward to see the thrashing or humuliation of Gili and Sachin.
[/QUOTE]
Bahut acche mian - Ek teer do nishane :) Koi nahin lets all hope for a great enounter and I hope India does better than they did in the league matches.
Well some team wait 20 yrs for 2nd Final.Someteams wait 17 years for first
final 
and some never go to final.Its all part of game,
I think India and Aus have an equal chance of winning. India is playing its best Cricket and Aus have looked to be in great form for a long time now. If India win the WC, I think they would deserve it. Because when they were thrashed badly in the first game against Aus, they stood back up on their feet and never looked back, unlike the Pakistani team, which lost to Aus, and never was able to regain its confidence for the rest of the tournament. Best of luck to both teams :k:
5 Classic India vs Aus matches…
I saw all of them so I remember them.All of them were classis…
http://www.wisden.com/misc/free/page.asp?colid=44121499
**
Five of the best
World Cup, 1987-88, Chennai **
Finishes don’t get much more nail-biting. India, desperate to get off to a good start as hosts and defending champions, put the Aussies in on a typically gentle turner. They didn’t bank on the batting heroics of Geoff Marsh, but after India got off to a flying start, Marsh’s century – and an outstanding gesture of sportsmanship from Kapil Dev that gave Australia two extra runs - seemed an irrelevance … until Craig McDermott came back. He ripped through the middle order, setting up a tense last over in which the last man Maninder Singh had to scrape six runs any which way he could. Steve Waugh with ice in his veins, had other ideas.
http://www.wisden.com/almanack/scorecard.asp?return=9158&matchid=453
**
World Cup, 1991-92, Brisbane**
A three-over rain interruption during India’s reply meant they had to chase a revised target of 236 runs from 47 overs - which, thanks to the farcical rain-rules used for the tournament, was only one run less than the Australian total. Nevertheless, the Indian lower order, encouraged by Mohammad Azharuddin’s fine 93 and Sanjay Manjrekar’s cameo 47 off 42 balls, gave it their all and ended up needing 13 runs from the final over. It was Tom Moody v Kiran More and More struck first blood with two fours from the first two balls. But Moody got his revenge the next delivery, eventually leaving Javagal Srinath to hit the four runs needed off the last ball …
http://www.wisden.com/almanack/scorecard.asp?return=9207&matchid=725
**
World Cup, 1995-96, Mumbai**
Even though he would still cut the mustard in this World Cup, Australia don’t need Mark Waugh anymore - much to the relief of India. He averaged just under 40 against them, and their World Cup clash in 1995-96 was his finest hour. After a rollicking 100-run opening stand with Mark Taylor, Waugh went on to 126 before being run out: a lower-order collapse meant he accounted for almost half Australia’s total. After a bad start, India made good ground with Sachin Tendulkar leading the way gloriously. But as Waugh found out, when you outfox Tendulkar with a legside wide, you know it’s your day.
http://www.wisden.com/almanack/scorecard.asp?return=9271&matchid=1065
**
Wills International Cup, 1998-99, Dhaka**
This quarter-final clash ended up a fairly comfortable victory for India, thanks to a breathtaking performance from you know who. This was the definitive allround Tendulkar masterclass. He bludgeoned a majestic 141 from 128 balls, including 13 fours and three sixes. And despite a typically dashing innings from Mark Waugh, Australia never looked like reaching their target of 308. But just to make sure they didn’t, Sachin picked up four important wickets, including Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan. Top man.
http://www.wisden.com/almanack/scorecard.asp?return=9337&matchid=1360
**
ICC KnockOut Trophy, 2000-01, Nairobi**
It’s not often that old meanie Glenn McGrath has a bad day at the office, but in this encounter the Indians sent him - and the Australian team - home in a real strop. Sachin Tendulkar started things off when he smashed McGrath for three sixes in consecutive overs and 18-year-old Yuvraj Singh, in his first innings for India, gave a hint of what was to come with a classy 84 from 80 balls. McGrath finished with 0 for 61 from nine overs, while the other young Indian hero of the hour, Zaheer Khan, grabbed two for 40, including the crucial wicket of Steve Waugh.
http://www.wisden.com/almanack/scorecard.asp?return=9388&matchid=1633
THE PATH TO THE FINAL
India’s campaign
Pool A
Holland, Paarl, Won by 68 runs
India flirted with humiliation; Srinath snuffed out the romance.
Australia, Centurion, lost by nine wickets
Obliterated with 27 overs to spare, but at least Gillespie is injured now.
Zimbabwe, Harare, Won by 83 runs
Sehwag and Ganguly swap places, Tendulkar top scores again.
Namibia, Pietermaritzburg, won by 181 runs
Sachin top scores … again - four in a row - Ganguly makes some runs.
England, Durban, won by 82 runs
India win the toss, Nehra wins them the match under lights.
Pakistan, Centurion, won by six wickets
Sachin wins the battle with Shoaib, India win the war with time to spare.
Super Sixes
Kenya, Durban, won by six wickets
India wobble under the lights but Ganguly soothes the nerves.
Sri Lanka, Johannesburg, won by 183 runs
A rout from the moment Jayasuriya lets Tendulkar and Sehwag off the leash
New Zealand, Centurion, won by seven wickets
Payback for the thrashing in NZ, but if McCullum had caught Dravid …
Semi-final
Kenya, Durban, won by 91 runs
A potential banana-skin avoided at the toss.
http://www.wisden.com/misc/free/page2.asp?colid=44121502
:k: Go India go !!! :k:
Australia’s campaign
Pool A
Pakistan, Johannesburg. Won by 82 runs
Warne flew home, Wasim flew high, but Symonds came of age, right on cue.
India, Centurion. Won by 9 wickets
No jitters this time, and India were caught flush in the headlights.
Holland, Potchefstroom. Won by 75 runs (D/L)
A helicopter dried the outfield, and Australia secured their full points quota.
Zimbabwe, Bulawayo. Won by 7 wickets
A smotheringly efficient performance, despite Blignaut’s battering.
Namibia, Potchefstroom. Won by 256 runs
Seven wickets in seven overs for McGrath, in the messiest slaughter of all.
England, Port Elizabeth. Won by 2 wickets
At last, a challenge. And Australia rose to it like a Frenchman to an insult.
Super Sixes
Sri Lanka, Centurion. Won by 96 runs
Australia progressed to the semis with barely a blink of acknowledgement.
New Zealand, Port Elizabeth. Won by 96 runs
Bond did his damnedest, but Bichel and Bevan turned the tide … again.
Kenya, Durban. Won by 5 wickets
Signs of weakness, or foot off the pedal? Aasif Karim will claim the former.
Semi-final
Sri Lanka, Port Elizabeth. Won by 48 runs (D/L)
Another revelation from Symonds, another capitulation from Sri Lanka.
http://www.wisden.com/misc/free/page2.asp?colid=44121503
Dont Go Australi Dont go !!!
A ‘Kaif’ for cricket
Here is something about my favourite Kaif..
use Url to see picture of his family.
http://clients.rediff.com/philipseyefi/26philips.htm
A ‘Kaif’ for cricket
What’s in a name? Try directing that question to Mohammed Tarif and Qaiser Jehan of Kydganj, Allahabad.
“We simply wanted the name of the youngest of our three sons to end with an ‘F’ so that it matched with the names of his elder brothers, Asif and Saif. So we ended up with Kaif,” says Qaiser.
End of story. Beginning of story.
As the same Kaif carves out a niche on the cricket field, his mother adds: “Little did we realise that his ‘kaif’ (which stands for ‘junoon’ or passion) would one day have him soaring beyond our dreams. We had never thought that it would fit so well with his passion for the game.”
For Kaif’s father, Mohammad Tarif, though, it all fits.
Perched on a wooden deewan beside his wife in their humble tenement in Kydganj, an obscure by-lane in Allahabad, Tarif says matter-of-factly, “I had always nurtured dreams of my sons making their mark in cricket.”
For Tarif, who represented Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy for 17 years, that dream was realised when Asif and Saif made it to the state Ranji Trophy squad. But it is Kaif – born in 1981, the same year Tarif made his last Ranji appearance – who has managed to overtake his father and elder siblings on the emerald turf.
Kaif’s must be a rare case where the career of every male member of the family has been made and guided by cricket. “Not just me, each of my three sons owe their jobs to cricket,” admits Tarif, who is a Chief Inspector of Tickets in the Allahabad division of the newly carved out North Central Railway.
Frequent travellers on the Allahabad-New Delhi Prayagraj Express could not have missed Tarif, a fair-complexioned, well-built 56-year-old man performing ticket-checking duty until a few months back. And, of course, if you were interested in cricket, he would have, perhaps, updated you with the very latest.
While Asif has followed his father into the Railways, Saif and, now, Kaif are on the rolls of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), “all thanks to the sports quota”.
“As a little kid, Kaif was a reluctant starter, but I would insist on giving him some practice with a tennis-ball on the brick-paved lane outside this house. Soon he developed interest and got others of his age-group to join him,” recalls Tarif.
But it was the Asif and Saif who felt that their little brother had it in him to scale greater heights.
“Soon my elder sons and I started taking Kaif to the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium, where we pushed him into a coaching camp for children under-12, and it was here that he began to display his talent,” says Tarif.
"The following year, after he finished his Class VIII and proved his mettle at the coaching camp, Kaif was moved to the Green Park stadium Sports Hostel in Kanpur, where he stayed till he got his first call-up for India in March 2000, against South Africa, in a Test match at Bangalore.
For Kaif, a member of India’s under-15 side and later captain of the team that won the under-19 cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999, the selection was a natural progression.
Though he was dropped for a year after that match, there was no looking back since he got drafted back into the side for a three-Test series in Sri Lanka in July-August 2001.
“Now he has played four Tests and 46 one-dayers without a break and I pray it continues,” hopes Tarif. Strangely, the parents have not watched a single one of Kaif’s international matches. “We will go see him only after he earns a permanent spot in the side. So far we regard him as only ‘temporary’,” quips the salwar-suit clad father, in his typical sarkari lingo.
“What gave me an inkling that this boy had a natural flair for cricket was when he once pointed out where I had gone wrong and why I had got bowled early in a match,” says Tarif. “While initially I chose to take his observation lightly, on second thoughts later in the evening I realised that he was absolutely right.”
Kaif’s father made it a point to thereafter pay more heed to the little son’s advice and observations. “I must confess today that I could never prove him wrong,” he says, adding, “and you know what, now when I try to find fault with his batting, I am unable to do so.”
Absolutely media-shy, Kaif’s parents were virtually in the hiding when this scribe knocked at their doors. Literally swarmed by media persons after their lad took India to victory against New Zealand, both Qaiser Jahan and Tarif had slipped out to a relative’s place to avoid interviews.
It was only after much chase and with the intervention of Kaif’s brother, Saif , who was contacted in New Delhi, that the simple and unassuming couple, opened up.
Every minute the phone rings and while the young callers ask for ‘Kaif bhaiya’, the older fans shower their congratulatory messages. “Sure enough, it is a pleasure to hear praises and sweet words. But for how long is it humanly possible to go on answering such calls,” they ask, frankly.
The parents have nothing against miscreants who threw dirt at their house after India was defeated by Australia last month. “We Indians are emotional people. So such outbursts are natural,” says Qaiser Jahan.
“The day Kaif scored 87 against England in the NatWest final, as also when we defeated Pakistan and New Zealand in the World Cup the other day, we were literally carried by people in their arms as everyone danced with joy and burst crackers to enliven another Diwali,” points out Tarif.
While Kaif’s parents remain glued to the newly acquired 29-inch flat screen television, father Tarif avoids watching the match when his dear Kaif arrives on the pitch.
When Kaif is turning tables in favour of India, his parents choose to divert their attention to something else.
“When we were playing England, I turned off the TV soon after Sachin Tendulkar was out. I gave up all hope and decided to go to a place where there was no TV. So both my wife and I went over to a nearby cinema hall to watch ‘Devdaas’, only to be told about India’s victory after enthusiastic rejoicing crowds mobbed the hall and carried us away,” he recalls.
“Ditto the New Zealand match. I was very apprehensive. So I went over to a friend’s place where I knew they would not be watching the match. It was only after my elder son rang me up to say that Kaif had scored 45 that I decided to hastily return home and watch him play the rest of the game,” he adds.
Being a cricketer himself, Tarif is very apprehensive about seeing his son tumble. “He plays well, but what pains me is when I see him failing to fulfil his ultimate objective – to contribute towards the team’s victory. I know how committed he is towards the team and I too would not mind even if he were to score a paltry 20 runs, as long as he can do his bit to bag the World Cup.”
While Kaif’s little sister, Asma, is busy promising all her Class IX friends to fulfil all their demands for autographs when “Kaif bhaiya” returns, mother Qaiser Jahan has been observing roza (fast) ever since the World Cup began last month.
“Well, I do not wish to make any public announcement about this roza, but yes, I am only praying that my Honey (Kaif’s nickname) does his bit to ensure that the World Cup comes back to India; and let me tell you I have a gut feeling that these boys will win the Cup this time.”
Significantly, the Kydganj lad will have more in store when he comes home this time – a brand new house in Allahabad’s up-market Civil Lines. “I want to get this house finished before he comes here next; it will be our gift to him,” adds a visibly excited Tarif.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrret Lee! Brrrrrrrr!
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*Originally posted by aravamudhan: *
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrret Lee! Brrrrrrrr!
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[thumb=B]sachin1.JPG[/thumb]
;)
Sweet heart warming story. Indian dream come true.
This kaif "bhayya" one day will be in the arms of bollywood actresses, if you don't believe me, ask Azhar :)
I sincerely hope kaif get his century and india secure a runner up spot :)
Belive me if kaif gets 100 Indian will not be runners up..
but anyway thanks for wishes.
Poor Lee;) done the same crime , as did shoaib and caddick :p
I think Allah ka banda aka andhaqanoon has taken it upon himself to fill the page of khail khalari with his stupid threads. Go to some indian forum and stop flooding KK. A$$hole
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by lunaticCalm: *
I think Allah ka banda aka andhaqanoon has taken it upon himself to fill the page of khail khalari with his stupid threads. Go to some indian forum and stop flooding KK. A$$hole
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Be nice ;)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by lunaticCalm: *
I think Allah ka banda aka andhaqanoon has taken it upon himself to fill the page of khail khalari with his stupid threads. Go to some indian forum and stop flooding KK.
[/QUOTE]
^^qasam say yaar.
I know a couple of great contributors who've stopped posting here because of flooding like this. I mean we win too. We're happy too but we don't go around flooding up Indian boards with interviews of Pak players' families.
There are a couple of cricket boards online, one of which is the Victor Trumper's cricket board and I used to love reading that site. They used to have excellent discussions there until recently when the all too familiar India-Pak debate started to eat that place too. But the point is that there are a couple of very good posters on that site who used to post here but they left.
Khel Khilari has been abused and is being abused from some of our friends from across the border. I honestly want to know that if they are so adamant on discussing the Indian team, why come to a Pakistani site? I mean take this article. What are we to discuss here?
Perhaps I should open a new thread to whine over this.