Stunner from the World Cup – avoid scores if possible
Watch South Africa vs India highlights – the Group B game from the 2011 World Cup played on March 12
Scoreline: India 296 all out – Sachin Tendulkar 111 (101), Sehwag 73 (66), Gambhir 69 (75) | Dale Steyn 9.4-50-5
South Africa win in 49.4 – AB 52 (39), Kallis 69 (88), Amla 61 (72), Peterson 18 (7) | Harbhajan 9-53-3
Extras: The Lance talking about soft hands (Video – SA Bat 1 – from 08:12 onwards)
Funny guy in the crowd moment: Video – Ind Bat 5 – from 01:53 onwards
In terms of keeping the tournament open, a good win by SA. The last thing that’s required is a team as strong as SA being ridiculed out of contention by fans as being suspect against pressure. Not entirely convincing though, because it required an AB special to bail them out of the rut they’d gotten into.
For India, a return to its dark ages where Sachin seemed the only one playing. Actually, that’s a big exaggeration. Despite the couple of dropped catches, this was probably India’s best performance so far bowling and fielding-wise. Also Harbhajan kind of had a semi-return (partially because of South Africa initially allowing Yuvraj and Yusuf to perform the run curtailing role, which then allowed him to attack). But what I mean by the dark ages thing is during the early to late 90s, Sachin was the only one who mattered mostly because he was so superior to his teammates (this gulf being a little narrower with possibly Azhar). So during those years, once he got out, his teammates seemed so caught up in the aura of his batting, they seemed dazed at times. The similarity now is the unbelievable hype in India about this being Sachin’s World Cup. He’s worked that out and is able to handle it. But so far, the others around him, don’t seem to have. Everytime he’s taken apart the bowling, they either seem selfcontent or try to imitate him. On the bright side, if India do make it to the later stages, it’s better the team gets a fix on this now, rather than later.
Interesting team selection for SA when Tahir returns. Botha bowled well today and Peterson was decent (considering the circumstances) apart from his early wickets vs Eng.
Steyn had recently made a comment about how fast bowlers having mass was a disadvantage as it hindered having a late spell and being fully into the spell. No better example of what he meant, than today.
Yet another good wicketkeeping day for MS – an aspect often forgotten/taken for granted. Personally speaking, didn’t really mind the Nehra final over thing, as he’s done that role well over the last year, while defending. Kind of like an exercise going into the later stages. India will go further, right?
Interesting game…epic batting fail tho by India because it was something like 279 in like the 40th over and I was like omg this is gonna end up being 400 but then everything went SA’s way. Admin you have already covered the state of mind of the batsmen with which I totally agree. I’m a Pakistani supporter so more often than not I get to see what Indian supporters witnessed today. This does send a message to other teams tho that India is beatable and there are certain worthy opponents such as Australia, WI (I know but given there current form you never know), Pak (you never know, period), SL, SA (of course), England too I guess. Overall great game.
Pakistan team at least has really talented cricketers who just lose because at times they are carefree, at times they feel that they are not taken care of properly and at times because of ‘extraneous’ reasons. At least they have flair on a given day they can be heavy on any side. Barring Australia I guess no other team can boast of bench strength and raw talent as the Pakistan team.
But bro, Indian players are relatively much less talented but hype around them is unimaginable! The word ‘Discipline’ is not in their dictionary. It is a real pain to follow this team just because of their indifferent and inconsistent form. Yaa only consistency is in their excuses ‘well, we can’t learn to face short balls overnight!!!’ ‘well, we can’t improve our fielding overnight’. Well I guess a decade or two should be good enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pakistan at least can produce some refreshing players and refreshing performances every now and then. For India I guess Ishant was the only refreshing talent that has been witnessed in the last decade and he also has faded off now!!
Pakistan at least is consistent in their inconsistency, these Indian cricketers are consistent only in commercials!!!!!
Pakistan batsmen hardly squander a spirited start, even from a mediocre start they are able to give it a big push at death but India, well I have witnessed numerous times squandering an excellent start round about 40 overs stage. Middle order in such situations might feel that there is no scope of coming on the front page so why bother the scorers!!!!!!!!
I really would assume that it would be far less painful to be a Pakistan supporter than being an Indian supporter!!!!!
Among the sub continent teams SL actually is the most consistent especially in conducive conditions like these, they really know how to play with their spinners!!!!! Discipline, hard work duing the actual game and staying away from the ‘extraneous’ factors separate them from India and Pakistan.
I wish all the best to all sub continent teams. I hope a sub continent team wins the World Cup!! I would really love that! to be fair I have given up hope on my own team!!!
i know how you feel… if i was indian i’d be so pissed off aswell i mean tournament favourites and also the No.1 team in the world with the best batting side and still not threatening other teams at all!
all the hard work, coming this far and with all hopes, yet close calls against other teams and suddenly not looking like their gonna come out No.1…. i suddenly dont see any power in the indian team… batting is solid everyone expects almost every indian batsmen to perform well if not extraordinary like tendulkar or sehwag but games like this are gonna cost you guys matches cos you got best batting in the world and yet they can play like this and wash away… i mean 1 excellent and 2 good performances with the bat are more than enough to win you matches…… you’re bowling has no power at the moment and that can be also a downfall… and you’re right about pakistan, we’ve got a lot of talent and power in the team bowling and batting… if pak batsmen performed like india and scored that much they probably would’ve won… (if they didnt have one of those days where they want to throw full tosses every ball and drop catches)
but of course no body has given up hope yet…. not pakistani fans… cos that performance pak had against NZ was exactly one of those days lol probably and hopefully wont happen again….. and of course you shouldnt give up hope either india is still the top favourites…. and since its sachin’s last world cup i wish his wishes may come true….. its always a pleasure seeing that guy no matter where he is and what he’s doing…..
Easy buddy, u seem to b very happy over India’s loss n start giving ur worthless as Mr. Cricket, Welll I’m not surprised n as far as saying Indians r not talented. LOL.. I can’t help but laugh at ur ignorance. N yes we do hype because we can, if u have the balls do create ur own hype but u cannot cause all u r good at is match fixing n ball eating. Eat it.
if i was happy i wouldnt post such a long comment…. i hate ignorant ***** like you i bet if i was indian and posted the same comment you would join me in pointing out what can be india’s downfall…. are you so ignorant that you cant judge a comment like this can only come out of someone concerned about the team…. why didnt i just say “haha india got ****ed thats what they get for being all hype, proud and full of themselves” i’m guessing you really want to hear this comment rather than what i had posted just cos i’m a pakistani…
and you dont wanna go to the argument of talent cos i will win on that one mate, trust me i’ve got all the proof and history… i’m sure i know more about indian and pakistan cricket more than you do… so dont even go there and save your and my time cos i will really have to make effort to prove and knock some sense into an ignorant indian fan. grow up you sound like a 14 year old pakistan hater.
if we create our own hype and be all proud it’ll make us ignorant and immature like you, we love cricket, we respect all teams… we dont show off our skills and talent though we do show off our stupidity (e.g chewing the ball) and other controversies which were all done in arrogance and lack of knowledge… three players were banned for match fixing but thats enough to ruin the team’s image though people fail to see the talent, some get jealous and ignore, try to bring forward the negatives…. so the indian team doesnt have any negatives do they?? i can blame them for losing and match fixing… e.g, after 3 top batsmen were out people bet there are gonna be sixes now so indian batsmen collapsed on purpose so they can make profit on lost bets…. so like this anyone can blame… but pakistan win matches they’re match fixers (you cant win a match by fixing it its impossible)… pakistan lose matches they’re match fixers…. india loses matches too! are they match fixers?….. btw those three players have appealed so they have something to prove their innocence.
people like you wanna make me stamp a big L on their faces when they lose something they were so proud of….
we admire our players, talk about them, love cricket, respect other teams and we dont show off though i can guarantee you we have a lot to show off but to prove it i’m gonna have to gather info, stats and history to slap it on your face but wont be bothered cos its not worth my time…
Can someone tell that idiot Ravi Shastri not to comment during the end stage of any Indian match. He is such a bad omen and always talks negative. If India is batting he always says “if a wicket falls it will be good” and if India is bowling he says “one good over can change the match”. I have seen this so many times and the same happened today as well. I HATE RAVI SHASTRI. Ofcourse this does not justify the fact that India should have played better. One more sachin century goes in vain
Ravi is cool man. What kind of commentary are you looking for? A biased one I’m assuming. From a neutral perspective he says exactly what is going on. If an English commentator said that same thing then it would be okay with you but since Mr. Shastri is Indian you automatically expect him to say nothing bad/negative about a game in which India is involved.
From a different perspective, I see where you coming from…I hate Ramiz Raja in the same sense too because of the pessimism but in case of Pakistan, pessimism is a must lol. I guess that could go for all desi teams including SL.
commentators have to be neutral
Dude, that “idiot” Ravi Shastri is all that’s good about Indian commentators — and represents India very well. That same “idiot” had suggested that India should have taken the batting powerplay right after the 15th over — that would’ve been brilliant. Keep on hating him.. probably best for you to just mute your tv when Ravi comes to commentate — that way Indian batsmen will probably never get dismissed.
“One more Sachin century goes in vain” – that’s what’s wrong with Indian cricket. Who the f#$% cares? I adore Sachin and am in awe of the legacy he has created. But no one player should be above the country. Indian batsmen need to learn to play for India — not for themselves. Absolute embarassment for the tail to get out going for big shots and to leave Dhoni stranded with 8 balls to spare. Ok… back to blood boiling.. I’m so glad that the next game is a week away.. I’m gonna need at least that much time to cool down.
The 2 blondes chicks in the crowd were hot..The bollywood actress in the white hat was even hotter..the guy who got hit on the head of a sachin 6 was funny.and oh yeah..the cricket wasn’t too bad either..!
I know exactly who you speak of lol.
A couple of Batsmen in the Indian middle order (without taking the names of those two, because they have huge fan following and also everyone in any case would understand who those two are) have an air of ‘Greatness’ about them. That is self illusion of the greatest order!!!! One of them is more intent on depicting that he is so ‘COOL CALM COLLECTED AND COMPOSED’ that it might be taking away something from his game during the last year or so. (Oh yaa he is so intent on showing that he is ‘COOL’ that he forgot to appeal for a Straus Caught behind!!!!!!!! for an example)
Both those guys have ‘ATTITUDE’ but probably in the right sense of the term the right attitude is missing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I feel that even the IPL money has not been enough!!!!!!!!!!! PERIOD
Also, during some bilateral series, I sometimes feel as if the opposition is losing to India to kind of ‘Pay Back’ for the IPL contracts. As that ‘Pay Back’ won’t come into picture during the World Cup or such tournaments as an Indian fan its hard to admit that the odds of making it past the Semi Finals are very very low.
Haven’t watched a single ball of this game, neither I want to…..!! In a year or two I won’t be as emotional about Indian Cricket any more. These cricketers are ‘professionals’!!!!!!!!!!
The question mark at the end of Admin’s comment is very amusing!!!!!!!!! Poor format of the world cup changes the answer to that question!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t think that they deserve it though!!!!!!
Great to see that you’ve given up on Indian cricket. Might as well give up on commenting on it as well. I follow most major sports and I can probably give you examples of similar letdowns that my teams have gone through in those sports. Then, you add in some wonderful stipulations to take away from the success the team has had.
Also, what briliant format of the World Cup are you proposing in which India wouldn’t be through to the next round (as of today)?
India are yet to beat a test playing nation since 2003 in World cups (as of today). Even when they are billed as number 1 team the only teams they have beaten in this world cup so far are the associates and can’t be stopped from going into the next round. For a second don’t think like a fan is it a wonderful format!!
England has lost to Ireland and Bangladesh and berely beat netherlands and can still Qualify for Quarterfinals. Do you really like this format of the world cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for your advise, don’t want to take it though!!!
I see your point. Not to be too picky.. but your first statement is incorrect since India beat Bangladesh in their first match in this WC. So, India is currently 1-1-1 against test playing nations — with West Indies left. Had they shown some semblance of grit, they would have been 3-0-0.. or I guess had England done the same, we might have been 1-2-0 :/
As far as your comment on England, that was my point for asking what format you’d prefer? No team has really shone this WC – they have all shown flashes of brilliance and flashes of idiotic play. If nothing else, I think the team that I’m impressed by the most is Ireland. I think most teams can learn something from the way they play cricket – lots of heart and playing solely for the country/team.
I would be as pleased as any other Indian fan if India does go on and win the world. I don’t enjoy taking anything away from any performance. But sometimes doubts do creep in. And the stipulations made might be improbable but even you would admit are not impossible.
Coming back to the format of the world cup. if somebody still feels it is a wonderful format please look at the other pool.
I might be wrong, I often am wrong. lets look at the facts……
I request anybody proposing that this world cup is anything other than poor to please show me a situation where from the other pool any team other than Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand can qualify for Quarters. How may upsets would it take. I already explained the situation of this pool.
I am no body to propose any format. I am a sports lover and want all games to be meaningful in a World Cup which I have been deprived of!!!!!!! I might be wrong but I feel this is really Poor Format!!!!! Thanks for your sincere reply to my earlier comment!!!!!!
My point there was more to see if you could come up with a format in which India would not make it to the next round (as of now) – which is what I (wrongly?) thought you were implying. The format is iffy.. I think the one for the next WC might be better.. but at the cost of the associate nations. Personally, I have no issues with having the associates in (like this year) — even if it means having totally one sided matches in the first round and pretty much almost all test nations making it to the next round.
The associate nations need exposure for their cricket teams at a global stage and taking that chance away from them is unfair in my opinion.
As far as your question on Pool A, I think all it takes is one upset. If Zimbabwe somehow beat Pakistan (kinda convincingly) — and in no way am I wishing this — and assume Pakistan also lose to Australia (not an upset since the Aussies should be favorites in that one).. there you go, Zimbabwe is in. Now – will it happen? Probably/hopefully not.
I understand your sentiments but don’t agree about every game in the WC being meaningful.. can’t even say that about the soccer world cup and that’s a sport for which over 200 countries try to qualify and 32 make it.. still there are 1-2 teams each tourney that are just a warmup match for the others.
I will agree that I really don’t like the length of the WC — takes forever to finish and teams don’t play for a week.. like now both SA and Australia will have 3 games in 7 days (ideal combination).. while India has a 8 day gap before its last game.
breaks can destroy the flow and rhythm i think every team needs to play a match every 2nd day so only 1 day breaks in between…. this way players can stay in form
brilliantly put!! just great!! well I take my words back!!!!! Thanks!!! enjoyed your comment!!!
Thanks.. hopefully, i don’t have to eat my words and India comes out with a strong performance against West Indies. Good to see Pakistan already through to the next round.. possible that all 4 subcontinent teams make it to the next state – that would be awesome.
GUD game on both sides.
SA is the best in every condition in the world… but i think indian performance was much better with the bowl and fielding… but batting??? wtf???? dude the top three has done all the hard work, you have so many wickets remaining and around 10 overs… no need to have a panic attack and start hitting every ball, just chillax…. india has failed again at the death….
does anybody know who is the guy in every india match who paints his whole body/face in indian flag and “tendulkar 10″ (also a world cup on his head in this match) i think he’s awesome! doesn’t even look human! does he have a special name or something???
Dude, I was thinking the same about that guy — have seen him at all India games for quite a while. First, I used to think that there were different guys at different venues
Absolutely amazing.. no idea on the name though!
he is a tendulkar fan who goes to every match that sachin plays in. sudhir. that’s his name. his tickets are taken care of by sachin.
sudhir huh?? lol thanx.. he looks awesome….. ****in legend!!!!
woops forgot to censor
I agree that top 3 batsmen of India did all the hardwork. I appreciate what MS Dhoni says about Nehra. He defended Nehra. Not all captains do that. I think Nehra is a great bowler. Due to his injuries, he may have lost his rhythm. But I am sure his bowling will get better if he will be given more chances. I think the middle order batsmen of India lack discipline. I think that is the major reason for India’s failure in this match.
First game of world cup bangladesh score 280 against india ; than ireland gave them a tough time and also netherlands. if india needs to win the world cup ; they need to make sure to score more than 350 at least. So pressure mounts on others.
Simply south africa took the game till last minute ; this game should have been lasted till 45th over. Poor harbhajan gave soo many bad words to south africans ; and he got over confident when he got ab devillers.
Good point — I think Indian team (at least the batsmen) have no confidence in the team’s bowling abilities. They believe that they need to score 330+ runs against any big side to win. Even with mediocre bowler’s, that’s not really true – they are so many intangibles that happen in a game that a chasing team really needs to be firing on all cylinders to chase 330-340. Had we scored 310-315 today, we’d be fine.
I think that’s the reason they took the powerplay when they did — they had scored 258 runs in 38 overs (run rate 6.8). What is the need for taking a powerplay then – we have Sachin at the crease – who’s probably dead tired (having run a lot and batted the entire innings) and Gambhir who’s not adept at hitting big against the pace bowlers. Next they send in Pathan – also not great at hitting the likes of Steyn and Morkel… I believe Dhoni needs to captain more on his own.. was probably forced into taking the power play early. His after-match comments were spot on:
“We don’t (read shouldn’t) play for the crowd, they want us to hit sixes all the time. But once wickets start falling, the batsmen need to play till the end and curb their slogging.”
well said.