Virat Kohli questions favourable conditions for home-team

[MP2011]

Conditions were same for both the teams yet India only managed to hit 1 six vs england's 13. Total 60 runs lesser in boundaries compared to england.
They played cowardly cricket in last 6-7 overs instead of talking about that kohli is taking about ground dimensions here.

True. Why doesn't he talk about his pathetic selections for once?

 

[jnaveen1980]

On such a big ground 59 meter boundaries on one side was a deliberate ploy. You can argue same for both sides. But it favors a batting oriented England side more. Boundaries should be reasonably equal on all sides.

 

[Leeon1994]

Yeah like when India hosts matches its any different lmao.

 

[Smbhayi]

If Kohli wanted to throw the match away he and Rohit would have thrown their wickets before India reached 50. At the 35th over mark, India had pretty much the same score as England had at that point. The match wasn't lost till then. Hardik was playing fine. The bottling was by Kedar and MSD. Anyhow, when the no. 1 and no. 2 teams are competing in an important match such things like pitch and boundary are not small matters. They can create meaningful difference in outcomes. Mishits going for 6s when they could have been out if the boundaries had been usual length. This is not a ruse.

..

Pandya - Dhoni Partnership: 41 off 34 balls.. Pandya 23 off 21 balls, and Dhoni 16 off 13 balls.. Match lost there, Pandya can't able to hit out after they've long off and long on..

 

[JibranAnsari]

good question , flat pitches and small boundaries are the making of this so called great 11 of england.

 

[Raja111]

some people say that both teams got the same boundary size and the pitch!
but the short boundary benefits a team full of sloggers than a team like India! and also it takes the spinners completely out of the game!
So a smart move by ECB!

 

[RamLakhan]

Even Pandya bowled alright in the match! So a third seamer is a must sometimes! I always said we should not blindly play both Kuldeep/Chahal in all matches! We should surprise the opposition sometimes! Also we are still playing 5 bowlers and not picking an additional batsman, it is still an attacking move! Shankar cannot solve this problem, we want actual pacer! (Pandya is decent in this regard! Definitely a good 4th seamer & reasonably better 3rd seamer! People are harsh on him!)

 

[barah_admi]

Repeating myself for the last time but England themselves weren't able to hit sixes off Bumrah and Shami.


Wristies on a non turning pitch were exposed to the short boundary.

Shami was hit for 3 sixes.........

 

[Vidwan Nath]

First Kohli should show some guts to select some one else for Dhoni. He has become a ******* of Dhoni.

 

[DHONI183]

A very odd comment from Kohli. Doesn´t reflect well on his personality. I´ve no reason to say that the pitch did not almost equally suit the Indian style of play.

 

[Braveheart]

Regardless of the tittle tattle, India were in control of this game after Shami took two quick wickets and England were pegged back to a below Par score considering the conditions.
That was a very chaseable total and the 'Kings of the chase' failed miserably.

 

[shockbound]

Kedar didnt bowl single over..

Chalal + K Yadav were enough to hand them a flyer.

 

[aqeelPK]

I hope ICC comes up with an answer like "Your personal opinion doesn't matter".

 

[ak619]

Shami was hit for 3 sixes.........

Because he was bowling rubbish full tosses in the death.

Every time he bowled a full toss he was smacked out of the park.

Everytime he banged the ball into the pitch, he troubled the batsman. That's exactly how he got Buttler out.

So frankly, one thing which almost everyone is ignoring is that Indian bowlers failed to assess the conditions and bowled poorly.

Not for nothing that 300+ has never been chased down in a WC.

Everyone blaming the Indian batsmen for failing to do what's so far been impossible and in all that the bowlers are getting away scot-free.

 

[Cricket lover 27]

Because he was bowling rubbish full tosses in the death.

Every time he bowled a full toss he was smacked out of the park.

Everytime he banged the ball into the pitch, he troubled the batsman. That's exactly how he got Buttler out.

So frankly, one thing which almost everyone is ignoring is that Indian bowlers failed to assess the conditions and bowled poorly.

Not for nothing that 300+ has never been chased down in a WC.

Everyone blaming the Indian batsmen for failing to do what's so far been impossible and in all that the bowlers are getting away scot-free.

Bangladesh just recently chased down 322 vs West Indies with overs to spare so 300+ have been chased in a World Cup. 340+ has never before been chased in a World Cup.

 

[nextover666666]

With all due respect kohli during this World Cup all of India matches had pitch and conditions that were favourable for Indian team

 

[Leeon1994]

With all due respect kohli during this World Cup all of India matches had pitch and conditions that were favourable for Indian team

Yes in bowler friendly conditions the Indian batting line up collapses just like Pakistan's.

 

[ak619]

Bangladesh just recently chased down 322 vs West Indies with overs to spare so 300+ have been chased in a World Cup. 340+ has never before been chased in a World Cup.

And it's the only match in this WC.

Even India managed to reach 300 yesterday. Against India, chasing 335 even Australia managed to get past 300.

But winning becomes almost impossible.

 

[rhony]

You're insinuating that England qualifying for the semis is a sure thing. It isn't. Their next game is basically a do or die and NZ is a good side. Could go either way

I'm not. If Eng wins, then Ind and Eng will play SF. If Eng loses, Ind and NZ will play the SF. Both are 2nd SF because AUS will top the group if they beat SA and will either play NZ or Pak in the first SF.

 

[rhony]

With all due respect kohli during this World Cup all of India matches had pitch and conditions that were favourable for Indian team

So you are saying India is not an FTB. That's actually a compliment.

 

[rhony]

Because he was bowling rubbish full tosses in the death.

Every time he bowled a full toss he was smacked out of the park.

Everytime he banged the ball into the pitch, he troubled the batsman. That's exactly how he got Buttler out.

So frankly, one thing which almost everyone is ignoring is that Indian bowlers failed to assess the conditions and bowled poorly.

Not for nothing that 300+ has never been chased down in a WC.

Everyone blaming the Indian batsmen for failing to do what's so far been impossible and in all that the bowlers are getting away scot-free.

15 overs in either innings screwed India. When England batted, it's 10 to 20 and 40 to 45. When India batted it's first 10 and last 5.

At one point it seemed Eng would go to 400. India was always behind the curve.

 

[ak619]

15 overs in either innings screwed India. When England batted, it's 10 to 20 and 40 to 45. When India batted it's first 10 and last 5.

At one point it seemed Eng would go to 400. India was always behind the curve.

Exactly.

We didn't lose the game in the last 5-6 overs of the match.

1. England scoring 150 runs in the first 20 overs
2. Shami giving away 44 runs in 3 overs at the death
3. Top order being 28/1 after the first 10 overs of India's batting.

All of those things were far far bigger screw-ups than not being able to score 70 runs in the last 5 overs on a wicket that was slowing down with every passing over.

 

[barah_admi]

Because he was bowling rubbish full tosses in the death.

Every time he bowled a full toss he was smacked out of the park.

Everytime he banged the ball into the pitch, he troubled the batsman. That's exactly how he got Buttler out.

So frankly, one thing which almost everyone is ignoring is that Indian bowlers failed to assess the conditions and bowled poorly.

Not for nothing that 300+ has never been chased down in a WC.

Everyone blaming the Indian batsmen for failing to do what's so far been impossible and in all that the bowlers are getting away scot-free.

I was replying to a guy claimed shami and bumrah idnt get hit for sixes and that only the spinners did, hence the small boundary coming into play.

I agree the bowlers were trash too.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Exactly.

We didn't lose the game in the last 5-6 overs of the match.

1. England scoring 150 runs in the first 20 overs
2. Shami giving away 44 runs in 3 overs at the death
3. Top order being 28/1 after the first 10 overs of India's batting.

All of those things were far far bigger screw-ups than not being able to score 70 runs in the last 5 overs on a wicket that was slowing down with every passing over.

All those things are hindsight scenarios. Pretty sure someone like Ben stokes, Josh Butler would not have batted like that , in such a scenario. Did you watch how alex carey went after bowling even in a hopeless scenario against India?

 

[ak619]

All those things are hindsight scenarios. Pretty sure someone like Ben stokes, Josh Butler would not have batted like that , in such a scenario. Did you watch how alex carey went after bowling even in a hopeless scenario against India?

Do you think as of today, Hardik is as good as Stokes? Do you think Dhoni/Pant is as good as Buttler is right now? Do you think Shami is as good with the bat as Woakes? Is Kuldeep a better batsman than Adil Rashid?

We all know that the answers to those questions are "no". So why are we expecting Hardik, Dhoni and Kedar to pull off what Buttler, Stokes, etc can?

But is Rohit better than Roy? Yes.

Is Kohli better than Root? Yes.

Was Dhawan better than Bairstow? Yes

So should our top 3 outperform England's top 3? Yes. It should.


We have made our strategy the way it is. And our expectations should be according to the way the formula has been made.

We picked the best 4 bowlers despite all 4 being #11 bats because it gives us the best chance to keep the opposition at a par or under-par score. When they fail to do that, it naturally puts pressure on a batting line-up that's light on resources.

Every good team in the WC has batting at least till no 8. Australia has batting till 8 and England has batting till 10. India, on the other hand has batting till 7.

So again, we have hedged our funds on the top 3. Which is a very good bet because he had the best top 3 in the world until Dhawan got injured.

I think people are only starting to realise just how important Dhawan was to India's formula. It remains to be seen if KL Rahul or Mayank Aggarwal can plug the hole he has left in India's batting.

For some reason, India hasn't been able to find a good enough no 4 batsman. I have no idea why. I can't imagine that people didn't try. We have had 2 captains and 2 or 3 coaches since the search for the number 4 batsman started in late 2015. I don't know what it is but it seems like we simply won't find a solution to this problem until something extraordinary happens. Basically we need another Yuvraj in CT 2000 moment. Maybe Pant is that guy. Maybe he isn't. We'll have to see what happens.

Kedar at #5 is a pretty good option in my opinion. He has a long history of tried and tested FC career and if that can't convince real fans of cricket then I am bemused. Secondly, he has played a few clutch innings in ODIs in different scenarios like chasing 370+ on a belter against England and chasing 250 on a dustbowl against BD in the Asia Cup final. So he definitely has the mindset for finishing games. And he is a backup bowler in case someone gets injured on field. We saw how important that is in the match against Pakistan. Imagine Kohli having to bowl 8 overs of his medium-medium pace bowling because Bhuvi was unavailable.


This team has a pattern of play and they have selected their players accordingly. It's a perfectly practical strategy (with a high success rate) to win a tournament. As long as they can defend their weaknesses.

It's really as simple as that.

 

[austerlitz]

England planned well.Deliberate change in boundary length from prior matches on one side.
Use of reverse sweeps against spinners and targeting the small side.
But when they bowled pitch got slower,and one less spinner and they packed the longer side and bowled in that direction.

Well done.All is fair in love and war.And england is clearly desperate,it is really now or never for them.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Do you think as of today, Hardik is as good as Stokes? Do you think Dhoni/Pant is as good as Buttler is right now? Do you think Shami is as good with the bat as Woakes? Is Kuldeep a better batsman than Adil Rashid?

We all know that the answers to those questions are "no". So why are we expecting Hardik, Dhoni and Kedar to pull off what Buttler, Stokes, etc can?

But is Rohit better than Roy? Yes.

Is Kohli better than Root? Yes.

Was Dhawan better than Bairstow? Yes

So should our top 3 outperform England's top 3? Yes. It should.


We have made our strategy the way it is. And our expectations should be according to the way the formula has been made.

We picked the best 4 bowlers despite all 4 being #11 bats because it gives us the best chance to keep the opposition at a par or under-par score. When they fail to do that, it naturally puts pressure on a batting line-up that's light on resources.

Every good team in the WC has batting at least till no 8. Australia has batting till 8 and England has batting till 10. India, on the other hand has batting till 7.

So again, we have hedged our funds on the top 3. Which is a very good bet because he had the best top 3 in the world until Dhawan got injured.

I think people are only starting to realise just how important Dhawan was to India's formula. It remains to be seen if KL Rahul or Mayank Aggarwal can plug the hole he has left in India's batting.

For some reason, India hasn't been able to find a good enough no 4 batsman. I have no idea why. I can't imagine that people didn't try. We have had 2 captains and 2 or 3 coaches since the search for the number 4 batsman started in late 2015. I don't know what it is but it seems like we simply won't find a solution to this problem until something extraordinary happens. Basically we need another Yuvraj in CT 2000 moment. Maybe Pant is that guy. Maybe he isn't. We'll have to see what happens.

Kedar at #5 is a pretty good option in my opinion. He has a long history of tried and tested FC career and if that can't convince real fans of cricket then I am bemused. Secondly, he has played a few clutch innings in ODIs in different scenarios like chasing 370+ on a belter against England and chasing 250 on a dustbowl against BD in the Asia Cup final. So he definitely has the mindset for finishing games. And he is a backup bowler in case someone gets injured on field. We saw how important that is in the match against Pakistan. Imagine Kohli having to bowl 8 overs of his medium-medium pace bowling because Bhuvi was unavailable.


This team has a pattern of play and they have selected their players accordingly. It's a perfectly practical strategy (with a high success rate) to win a tournament. As long as they can defend their weaknesses.

It's really as simple as that.

Our top 3 brought the total to a manageable rate after 40 overs. That is all they can do. You expect them to go all the way till the end? if these bozos can't lift the bat in anger and hit a four or six what are they playing for? Did you see how Grandhomme, Wahab Riaz, Carey, coulterNile batted. Are they better than stokes? Butler? If you can't raise your game in crunch situations what is the use of so called EXPERIENCE. Why are you even shamelessly playing for India? Your job is to find a way to score runs quickly. How come in IPL he can score 26 runs in one over against Umesh here he can't score against Plunkett, Rashid, Woakes?

 

[jnaveen1980]

England planned well.Deliberate change in boundary length from prior matches on one side.
Use of reverse sweeps against spinners and targeting the small side.
But when they bowled pitch got slower,and one less spinner and they packed the longer side and bowled in that direction.

Well done.All is fair in love and war.And england is clearly desperate,it is really now or never for them.

Hope NZ flukes a win in the next match. That will be my world cup victory lol Don't mind India getting knocked out as long as England doesn't win the cup.

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

Hope NZ flukes a win in the next match. That will be my world cup victory lol Don't mind India getting knocked out as long as England doesn't win the cup.

Why will it be fluke? Any team can beat each other on the day, eng will have more pressure.

 

[happydavy]

Has he forgotten the 2011 and 2015 World Cups?

What about those world cups? In 2011, all 3 Asian teams reached semis (Bdesh as always couldn't), which shows pitches were same all across and perhaps helped Asian teams. It's not that different pitches were created for different teams.

 

[austerlitz]

Hope NZ flukes a win in the next match. That will be my world cup victory lol Don't mind India getting knocked out as long as England doesn't win the cup.

I don't mind england winning the cup as long as aussies dont win.Fed up with aussie wins.

 

[The_Odd_One]

England/ECB have made a decision that they will do anything in their power to win the world cup. This overrated team has been thoroughly exposed. They may go on and win the world cup on these flat pitches but there will always be a question mark on their win. It will be a farce if they lift the trophy.

Before anyone mention 2011, let's not forget that Indian team had Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina, Zaheer, etc, an ATG team capable of beating any other ATG team from any era.

Australia did not need pitches to win world cup. A team which has won all but one world cups in the last 20 years does not rely on conditions to lift trophies.

 

[ak619]

Our top 3 brought the total to a manageable rate after 40 overs. That is all they can do. You expect them to go all the way till the end? if these bozos can't lift the bat in anger and hit a four or six what are they playing for? Did you see how Grandhomme, Wahab Riaz, Carey, coulterNile batted. Are they better than stokes? Butler? If you can't raise your game in crunch situations what is the use of so called EXPERIENCE. Why are you even shamelessly playing for India? Your job is to find a way to score runs quickly. How come in IPL he can score 26 runs in one over against Umesh here he can't score against Plunkett, Rashid, Woakes?

There is no doubt that Dhoni is a more limited player today than he was 4 years ago. But I'm sure this not the first time you have seen him pull off something like this in a tournament.

In the IPL too, he openly expressed after losing the first match that he told his batsmen to focus on the NRR because it was the first or second match of the tournament. Tournament play is different to bilateral play. There is always a bigger picture in play.

Maybe was a 1/20 chance to reach 338 when the scoreline became 70 from 30 after Hardik got out.

Maybe if Dhoni and Kedar started hitting out they could have reached 320. Would have still lost but the margin would have been 18 runs. Or maybe in trying to hit out we would have been all out for 275-280, handing us a 55-65 run loss.

Because hitting was not easy in the second innings and especially with the way the English planned their bowling. Credit where credit is due, they picked the longer side of the field, filled it with fielders and just bowled cutters on a hard length off a pitch that had become much slower. As you must have seen even Hardik found it difficult to hit. He was 36 off 20 balls. His next 13 balls yielded a mere 9 runs. The fact that even he couldn't manage to hit a single 6 in 33 balls should tell you something.

So, damn good bowling and planning by England.


Now that India have lost by 31 runs by "playing safe" the NRR difference between NZ and IND now stands at about 0.35. Which is almost certainly enough for IND to pip NZ should they both end up on 11 points.

Now a 60 run loss margin could have brought that difference in NRR to less than 0.20 or even 0.18 which is dangerously close.

To some fans all this will read as nothing but excuses but to keen CSK fans this pattern of tournament play would be a familiar tale. And as we know, that team has an uncanny ability of finding itself playing a tournament final.

 

[jnaveen1980]

^ here is the thing. India's loss to England would cost India nothing. At best it will affect our position. India is most likely to win one out of the next 2 match. If you want to practice a tight chase here is your opportunity. Go for it. Lose by big margin. no big deal. Give it a go. india was going to qualify anyway or lose anyway worst case. There is absolutely nothing wrong. Who knows. if he had fluked a 24 run over England will panick start making mistake.

 

[Chokli]

Because the wicket was already used for 2 matches. If they played 3rd match on it it would have behaved like slow test match wicket.

I see, makes sense.

Thanks mate.