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Which team would India ideally want to play in semi-finals?

H

happydavy

Local Club Captain
Joined
Jun 2, 2018
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2,256
Australia - Big No
England - No (flat wicket and we are gone)
NZ - I would be seriously worried about Locky Ferguson short balls barrage, don't think Indian middle order can manage that

IMO India would ideally like to play Pakistan. Without a doubt, pressure will be on India as champions trophy memories will be there. Also it would be humiliating to get ousted by Pakistan in the WC, as neighbors will get the bragging rights. Inspite of all those psychological challenges, I still feel relatively India will have a better chance to win in semis against Pakistan compared to other 3 countries. What do other PPers think?
 
England are useless on anything that isn't a flat wicket. England will get beat even on flat decks vs india if they lose the toss. England have never faced shami and bumrah in the odi series played in England.

n.z are mediocre. I think india will destroy them with ease. So lockie can bowl bouncers lol. what about shami an bumrah? Vs n.z india just need to be careful about overcast conditions as that's where they excel.

pakistan is unpredictable but is a tougher team to beat than the other 2 barring australia.
 
Bangladesh will be the easiest. Less external pressure. India's weakness is batting. BD weakness is bowling. Gets evened out.
 
Preferable is Bangladesh. The easiest route to final but facing Bangladesh in sf will be an insult to the quality that world cup has and this needs to be seen as anomaly (if it indeed it occurs).

Australia is a big no.

Pakistan too is a big no. Right now team India relies too much on bowling. And with Babar and Harris playing so brilliantly, I would like to face them in final than sf.

So that leaves us to England. That team has some mental issues. And it will be easier to crack them down psychologically and destroy their hopes even for 2023 world cup.
 
Doesn't mean BD is no better than Pak. In an one on one encounter BD is slightly ahead due to their experience.
 
India's whipping boys - Bangladesh. But for that to happen, NZ has to defeat England. I don't see that is happening.
 
Pakistan isn't a great side right now but it is a risky side in knockouts.

All of our WC wins against Pak came with us batting first except in 2003.

And it took an iconic knock from certain someone to bail us out.

WC knockouts with Pak batting first is a very risky game.

Only bigger risk is a game against Aus.

---

My choice would be England or Bangladesh.

They can knock us out but we typically play better than them in knockouts.

I don't fancy NZ as much as these guys cos they aren't our bunnies unlike Pakistan.
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
Pakistan isn't a great side right now but it is a risky side in knockouts.

All of our WC wins against Pak came with us batting first except in 2003.

And it took an iconic knock from certain someone to bail us out.

WC knockouts with Pak batting first is a very risky game.

Only bigger risk is a game against Aus.

---

My choice would be England or Bangladesh.

They can knock us out but we typically play better than them in knockouts.

I don't fancy NZ as much as these guys cos they aren't our bunnies unlike Pakistan.
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I would love to see india face n.z. I think india is by far the best or top 2 side in the world. I know anything can happen In a KO. india should beat n.z comfortably though. better bowling. better openers and decent middle order if the openers set the platform up.
 
From weakest to strongest: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England.

India will probably be at #1 and Australia and NZ won't be at #4 so India won't face them anyway.
 
Sachin136 said:
From weakest to strongest: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England.

India will probably be at #1 and Australia and NZ won't be at #4 so India won't face them anyway.
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Agree with that. Even though England imploded under pressure they can course correct. They are blessed with high quality batsmen. Bairstow, Root, Butler, Stokes, Morgan. Just that their gung-ho approach is what letting them down. If they shut the shop down and play conventionally they can still threaten teams in a conventional way. Infact they should have done that from the first match instead of aiming for 400 totals.
 
Versus pakistan unbeaten against them. Pakistan would also like another bite at india so the feeling is mutual
 
Itachi said:
Preferable is Bangladesh. The easiest route to final but facing Bangladesh in sf will be an insult to the quality that world cup has and this needs to be seen as anomaly (if it indeed it occurs).
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Jeez. I guess you must be cursing at your tv screen every time Shakib Al Hasan picture pops up for highest rated fantasy player.
 
BDfanforever said:
Jeez. I guess you must be cursing at your tv screen every time Shakib Al Hasan picture pops up for highest rated fantasy player.
Click to expand...

So that's what BD set out to achieve when they started their WC campaign?
 
happydavy said:
Australia - Big No
England - No (flat wicket and we are gone)
NZ - I would be seriously worried about Locky Ferguson short balls barrage, don't think Indian middle order can manage that

IMO India would ideally like to play Pakistan. Without a doubt, pressure will be on India as champions trophy memories will be there. Also it would be humiliating to get ousted by Pakistan in the WC, as neighbors will get the bragging rights. Inspite of all those psychological challenges, I still feel relatively India will have a better chance to win in semis against Pakistan compared to other 3 countries. What do other PPers think?
Click to expand...

Lanka, Bdesh, Afghanistan are obvious, they don't deserve mention simply because they have only theoretical chances of qualifying and not practical. My point was among - Eng, Aus, NZ, Pak
 
tyron_woodley said:
I would love to see india face n.z. I think india is by far the best or top 2 side in the world. I know anything can happen In a KO. india should beat n.z comfortably though. better bowling. better openers and decent middle order if the openers set the platform up.
Click to expand...

In my view, India is BY FAR the best team in the world cup.

Look at the quality and all-round ability.

Only issue is that ANY side which can remove the top order cheaply will win against this team. Any side really.

Just breaks my heart to see how much damage has been inflicted due to lack of planning.

Watching them huff and puff against Bangladesh (in Asia Cup final) was both hilarious and sad. Too bad Bangladesh couldn't win that game and it hurt us (unlike the Aane Do series fiasco which ACTUALLY helped us win the CT 2013).

I can't really blame KL Rahul (who should have been groomed better in LOI), Vijay Shankar (who should have been given more chances or dropped), Kedhar Jadhav (who I used to support but feel should have been dropped for his fitness and lack of match practice)....when we wasted so much time on Rayudu and DK only to chuck them out in the end (it was inevitable).

Pant might come in and fail (due to complete inexperience) and you will have some Dhoni fans going "I told you so" to everyone.

---

The thing is NZ has Boult who is kryptonite for our top order.

Plus I never get the vibe that India will always outperform NZ in a KO. Maybe the 2000 CT final is clouding my judgement. Haha.

We can beat them but I prefer England over NZ in a KO.

Bangladesh is even better (no disrespect to them as they are well and truly capable of knocking us out on a flatty).
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
In my view, India is BY FAR the best team in the world cup.

Look at the quality and all-round ability.

Only issue is that ANY side which can remove the top order cheaply will win against this team. Any side really.

Just breaks my heart to see how much damage has been inflicted due to lack of planning.

Watching them huff and puff against Bangladesh (in Asia Cup final) was both hilarious and sad. Too bad Bangladesh couldn't win that game and it hurt us (unlike the Aane Do series fiasco which ACTUALLY helped us win the CT 2013).

I can't really blame KL Rahul (who should have been groomed better in LOI), Vijay Shankar (who should have been given more chances or dropped), Kedhar Jadhav (who I used to support but feel should have been dropped for his fitness and lack of match practice)....when we wasted so much time on Rayudu and DK only to chuck them out in the end (it was inevitable).

Pant might come in and fail (due to complete inexperience) and you will have some Dhoni fans going "I told you so" to everyone.

---

The thing is NZ has Boult who is kryptonite for our top order.

Plus I never get the vibe that India will always outperform NZ in a KO. Maybe the 2000 CT final is clouding my judgement. Haha.

We can beat them but I prefer England over NZ in a KO.

Bangladesh is even better (no disrespect to them as they are well and truly capable of knocking us out on a flatty).
Click to expand...

with dhawan this team is incredibly powerful. without him it is still strong but yes middle order is not trustworthy. Should have given pant more time to adapt. Pant has the x factor though. N.z won't beat india that's for sure.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Bangla has to beat either Pakistan or India.
Click to expand...

Ofcourse they need to beat Pakistan. If India loses to them, we won't be table toppers anymore. This is the only way India can face them in the Semis.

India vs England | India wins
India vs Bangla | India wins
England vs NZ | NZ wins
Bangla vs Pakistan | Bangla wins

But NZ winning is unlikely.
 
BD would be the easiest opponent, no disrespect to them and they have come a long way but still not exactly ko material.
 
India will play pakistan in the semi final and that is final!
India top group.
Pak in 4th place.
Unless india are chicken and lose to england!
 
for me it is all about how India plan their chase . Normally this bowling unit is expected not to concede more than 275 based on the over all quality. Then it all depends on the method of chasing.Dhawan's absence is a big blow.Rahul is hot and cold, can't rely.
 
Syed1 said:
So that's what BD set out to achieve when they started their WC campaign?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure BD still wanted to be in contention for the semis till the end and seems like we've done pretty well so far.
 
tyron_woodley said:
I would love to see india face n.z. I think india is by far the best or top 2 side in the world. I know anything can happen In a KO. india should beat n.z comfortably though. better bowling. better openers and decent middle order if the openers set the platform up.
Click to expand...

No certainly not NZ. we are top heavy side and we all know what boult can do to our top order.
 
Executioner said:
Pretty sure BD still wanted to be in contention for the semis till the end and seems like we've done pretty well so far.
Click to expand...

I agree. BD has been much more superior team than SA, WI, Srl and Afghanistan till now and gave even NZ run for their money.
 
BDfanforever said:
Jeez. I guess you must be cursing at your tv screen every time Shakib Al Hasan picture pops up for highest rated fantasy player.
Click to expand...

Thats what BD players are best at.... As fantasy player.

Reality is different though.
 
Itachi said:
Preferable is Bangladesh. The easiest route to final but facing Bangladesh in sf will be an insult to the quality that world cup has and this needs to be seen as anomaly (if it indeed it occurs).
Click to expand...

No need to gratuitous insults, Bangladesh are a team that is getting better as the years go by.

Pakistan too is a big no. Right now team India relies too much on bowling. And with Babar and Harris playing so brilliantly, I would like to face them in final than sf.
Click to expand...

Your standards for brilliance are awfully low. The Babar-Harris combo scored a total of 72 runs from 121 balls in their game against Afghanistan. That is an avg of 36 at a S/R of less than 60. Forget brilliant, a very mediocre performance.
 
Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand in that order. India would not mind facing Australia to be honest but England? Big No!
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
In my view, India is BY FAR the best team in the world cup.

Look at the quality and all-round ability.

Only issue is that ANY side which can remove the top order cheaply will win against this team. Any side really.

Just breaks my heart to see how much damage has been inflicted due to lack of planning.

Watching them huff and puff against Bangladesh (in Asia Cup final) was both hilarious and sad. Too bad Bangladesh couldn't win that game and it hurt us (unlike the Aane Do series fiasco which ACTUALLY helped us win the CT 2013).

I can't really blame KL Rahul (who should have been groomed better in LOI), Vijay Shankar (who should have been given more chances or dropped), Kedhar Jadhav (who I used to support but feel should have been dropped for his fitness and lack of match practice)....when we wasted so much time on Rayudu and DK only to chuck them out in the end (it was inevitable).

Pant might come in and fail (due to complete inexperience) and you will have some Dhoni fans going "I told you so" to everyone.

---

The thing is NZ has Boult who is kryptonite for our top order.

Plus I never get the vibe that India will always outperform NZ in a KO. Maybe the 2000 CT final is clouding my judgement. Haha.

We can beat them but I prefer England over NZ in a KO.

Bangladesh is even better (no disrespect to them as they are well and truly capable of knocking us out on a flatty).
Click to expand...

Given that Shaw and Gill only recently destroyed Shaheen Afridi in a tournament final, and Afridi is now doing very well, I can't help but wonder how an Indian middle order in which we had Shaw and Gill instead of Jhadav and Shankar would performed?

Your thoughts?
 
Sachin136 said:
From weakest to strongest: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England.

India will probably be at #1 and Australia and NZ won't be at #4 so India won't face them anyway.
Click to expand...

NZ can be at number 4..if England wins its 2 matches they will be at no.4
 
I believe we would be really scared of NZ and Aus - both Boult and Starc can expose our middle order on a slightly helpful wicket.

Pak or Bangladesh would be ideal
 
Napa said:
No need to gratuitous insults, Bangladesh are a team that is getting better as the years go by.



Your standards for brilliance are awfully low. The Babar-Harris combo scored a total of 72 runs from 121 balls in their game against Afghanistan. That is an avg of 36 at a S/R of less than 60. Forget brilliant, a very mediocre performance.
Click to expand...

Any worldclass duo
Be it
Morgan bairstow
Warner finch
Would have struglled at this wicket it was typically tyrning sqaure haris hung in there put a price on his wicket but unfortunatly got a good ball.
He is might consistent and this the best we have got.
 
satheesh said:
for me it is all about how India plan their chase . Normally this bowling unit is expected not to concede more than 275 based on the over all quality. Then it all depends on the method of chasing.Dhawan's absence is a big blow.Rahul is hot and cold, can't rely.
Click to expand...

If it's Ind v Pak in the semis, then Pakistan must bat first and put a total on the board. Once you get Rohit and Kohli early, the rest of their batting unit can be put under pressure. Don't think you can count Pandya as a batter when India are chasing on these kind of pitches, we have had in the last week or so. The form of their no 4 is also a concern, and with Shami batting at 8, even 240 might be enough for this batting unit. India have batted first in almost all of the games, and could have been under pressure against the saffers if Rohit had failed, so against Ind chasing isn't the way to go. I really can't see sides having success against this Indian bowling attack while chasing, so better give yourself a chance and bat first.
 
cricket.mad said:
NZ can be at number 4..if England wins its 2 matches they will be at no.4
Click to expand...

Yeah but if England beats India then India will end at #2 which means even if NZ is #4 they won't be facing each other in the SF.

At this point it's almost guaranteed that India won't be facing either Australia or New Zealand in the SF.

So India's SF will be against England/Pakistan/Bangladesh.
 
Chennai_cricket_fan said:
I believe we would be really scared of NZ and Aus - both Boult and Starc can expose our middle order on a slightly helpful wicket.

Pak or Bangladesh would be ideal
Click to expand...
yea and bumrah and shami can't expose their batsmen lol? india is far better than n.z
had dhawan played india would beat Aussies comfortably as well. Now it will be 50 50.
 
Pakistan.

They can’t beat India unless the latter has a complete meltdown like the CT Final. Even India at their 70% best would walk all over Pakistan, such is the gigantic gulf between the two sides.
 
Mamoon said:
Pakistan.

They can’t beat India unless the latter has a complete meltdown like the CT Final. Even India at their 70% best would walk all over Pakistan, such is the gigantic gulf between the two sides.
Click to expand...

Aww now you see Pakistan coming through huh before you were saying were a long way away
 
Pakistan any day. A loss would haunt me for the rest of my life. But a win would heal my wounds of the CT loss. I’m willing to take the risk.
 
Mean&Green said:
Aww now you see Pakistan coming through huh before you were saying were a long way away
Click to expand...

My point is that if India has a choice, they would probably want Pakistan in the semifinal because they are far better than us. I am not talking about whether we will make it to the semifinals or not.
 
Mamoon said:
My point is that if India has a choice, they would probably want Pakistan in the semifinal because they are far better than us. I am not talking about whether we will make it to the semifinals or not.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about abilities then India would want to face Bangladesh instead of us. They'll have a higher chance of winning
 
Ronaldo7 said:
If you're talking about abilities then India would want to face Bangladesh instead of us. They'll have a higher chance of winning
Click to expand...

Yes. In order of preference it would be:

Bangladesh
Pakistan
England
 
Neighbours are scared that Pak is riding some luck and will roll over them.
 
Napa said:
Given that Shaw and Gill only recently destroyed Shaheen Afridi in a tournament final, and Afridi is now doing very well, I can't help but wonder how an Indian middle order in which we had Shaw and Gill instead of Jhadav and Shankar would performed?

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Shubman Gill was misused by both KKR and India.

He may or may not have done well but what's the point in giving him a few ODIs and discarding him?

There was no planning or robust testing.

Had we planned well, we would have STILL gone with an inexperienced middle order but atleast it would be an inform one and we would be satisfied with the fact that we tried out all the options we had..and the rest is destiny.
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
My choice would be England or Bangladesh.

They can knock us out but we typically play better than them in knockouts.

I don't fancy NZ as much as these guys cos they aren't our bunnies unlike Pakistan.
Click to expand...

Haha. Called it!

There is something about NZ when it comes to playing against us.
 
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