Finals (QF's, SF's and Finals)

I agree with what you said Sam. It's expected that the WI will lose to Pak although you can never really predict how PAK will play because they can be very suprising sometimes. However, they have performed great so far in this world cup so based on that they should win. The India/Australia match should be VERY intense. Those aussies dont give up easily they would definitely be determined to retain the trophey. On the other hand India is playing at home and thus, they would be under even more pressure to win. I can't make any predictions for that game but it shoudl definitely be a great one to watch

Sam, these are the 2 most unpredictable team in Cricket - In all fairness, not much seperate the batting.  Pakistan have a whole line up of un-top quality batsman, Umar Akmal is definitely the best of the lot.  Hafeez is no different from Devon Smith.  West Indies have Gayle, Sarwan, Chanderpaul (he is returning for this game), no one in this current Pakistani line up is as good as them.  Stats isn't everything but Hafeez, Akmal, Afridi has under achieved with the bat.  I won't include the young Shafiq (can't remember the youth name haha) because he just started.  Razzaq is pretty good too but Pakistan is wasting him to late, he won't get to do much damage down there so i'm not worried.

Crap, I forgot all about, Younus haha.

Congratulations to Pakistan on a dominating victory!!! This was a loud and clear message and a slap in the face of everyone who thought they will not do well in this tournament!

Great win, I'm delighted to say the least, 2 steps away from the World Cup, God willing that will be achieved too. well done Pakistan, well done Afridi and his men!

I feel bad for the westindies and the westindian fans though, Spinny's assessment of the two sides was fair enough, if you compare man to man then PAK have got a better bowling but batting wise these two teams were pretty equal, unfortunately though, WI just don't have that mind set these days of winning and that sometimes can make all the difference.

As I always say though, there is always something to look forward to, the WC will be won by just 1 team and it doesn't mean it is the end of the world for the remaining 13, WI have got a good bunch of young players I think what is required is groom them properly, perhaps make them more passionate about the game, and I'm sure the results will come... They have two BIG BIG home series coming up against PAK and IND, that will be just the right time to start off.  

Edited by sam_ahmed - 23 March 2011 at 4:59pm

It wasn't close SW , but I did get the result right!      I've seen lame batting on many occasions (remember , I'm English!)  , but that performance yesterday was shameful !  Afridi simply left an inviting gap at midwicket and asked the West Indian batsmen to hit across the line to score there.  All of them , bar Chanderpaul and Sarwan fell for it , none more so than Bravo and Sammy - simply terrible batting.    The pitch didn't turn that much and there was little bounce - all the Pakistani spinners did was bowl straight and that was enough for the lamentable West Indians.
              Still , all you can do is beat what's in front of you and the Pakistanis did that comprehensively - well done to them and a mouth watering prospect of an Indian/Pakistani semifinal is a real possibility now !

Oh!! Wat an anti-climax in the end? Yes did consider Pakistan to be the favourite going into the game, but din't expect such a lopsided contest. The Pakistani biys were on demolition mode and the Windies seemed to have pressed the wrong button 'Self-destruction'. In the end they had no answers to the guile of Pakistan's spin.

All the spinners were terrific but I enjoyed watching Ajmal the most. Those doosra's is such a potent weapon I'm sure there are not many batsmen in the world who could read em well. I've always thought that he was a must in the team. Rehman has had a good tournament so far. But for me Ajmal is your big match-winner, and must play no matter what. Afridi was his usual self, intimidating. Phew, What a tournament he's having? Like Rameez Raja says they peaking as a unit at the right time.

Okay So its QF #2 India vs Australia.
The Tale of Two greats, End of the Road for One.

Sachin Tendulkar v Ricky Ponting. As they could probably be going through the last leg of their career this could very much be the last time we see one of these legends in action at a WC .

Both have many times been in the midst of raging debates between fans, the media , cricket experts, former players . Though Sachin does have his nose slightly in front( I'm just being nice    ) when it comes to personal landmarks, Ponting clearly enjoys a better success rate and team accomplishments . In fact Sachin's never tasted success against australia at a WC. So will this be the time when it finally happens. Or will Ricky yet again continue to rule the roost over here. Come tonight we shall find out.

Either way its going to be the culmination of the WC career for one of these heroes. And with that their last fight at the Biggest stage of em all.

So like always lets enjoy this glorified rivalry at the WC stage for one last time.

Good call by Ponting. Wins the toss and bats and rightly drops Smith for David Hussey!!

I would not call it a challenging total - I think they are good 30 runs short.

ah and as I speak, poor captain Dhoni goes, what a pathetic tournament he has had... AUS clear favts now... I do not expect much from Raina, Yusuf should have played this.

India win!!! champions innings from Yuvraj... It's India vs Pakistan at Mohali come 30th of March... IT DOESN"T GET BIGGER THAN THIS!!!!

Originally posted by sam_ahmed India win!!! champions innings from Yuvraj... It's India vs Pakistan at Mohali come 30th of March... IT DOESN"T GET BIGGER THAN THIS!!!!

Agreed! I know who I'll be backing for that one! Probably the best game in the tournament so far

Australia lost to India what a match i must say ............ India batted very well at the end.... This is for all the Indian fans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0tELT5NVWY

We need such motivation when we play r semis against Pakistan .....
The link is of an ad of 1996 world cup .....we need to repeat history again

Rather comfortable for the Indians in the end - fine partnership between Yuvraj and Reina that settled it.  Congratulations to the selectors in picking Reina over Pathan - he looked rock solid from the start.  Australia can have no complaints , they haven't set this world cup alight and they were clearly second best yesterday.
                Zaheer Khan was tremendous yet again , the reverse swing in that second spell did for Michael Hussey - that was top class bowling.  Tendulkar and Ponting showed why they've been the best batsmen of this generation but Ponting's dismissal will give him nightmares for years!    Zuhair was dead right , they were 30 runs short and India never let the runrate get much above 6 per over - they were very cool in the chase.
                 So Wednesday sees Pakistan take on India in what should be a fantastic match.  I just hope the pitch is a fair one and the toss isn't crucial. One thing's for sure , I won't be betting on the outcome !

Yep , Riaz looked very ordinary in the quarter final , poor control meant there was little pressure on the batsmen.  Good job there were good 'uns bowling when he wasn't !