Gulf News
  • 2 days ago
Tonight's Super-12 match saw India and New Zealand clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium with both teams seeking their first win to keep their tournament hopes alive. New Zealand ended up winning the match by eight wickets.

Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/1.1635672054359

See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Transcript
00:00Hello and welcome once again to Golf News Straight Back.
00:03We're in the thick of the Super 12s action of the T20 World Cup now
00:07and joining me to discuss today's matches are Mr Cricket UE, Anis Sajjan and Golf News expert Gautam.
00:24Anis, commiserations, give us your thoughts on the two matches today please.
00:28Hello Imran, hello Mr Gautam. Yes, India was expected that they would bounce back after a
00:34week-long break but I'm afraid they have been bounced out by New Zealand in this must-win
00:40match to an extent that it was a much bad defeat than what we lost to Pakistan. Okay,
00:46India lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets but here India were pathetic with the bat. They managed
00:51to score 110 and when New Zealand came on to bat they had a lot more intent. They made sure that
00:56they finish the match quite soon so that they can take the net 100 ahead because in the eventuality
01:03of a three match, three teams falling on the same points that net 100 will help them and that is
01:07what is going to probably hurt India more but nonetheless India were poor and the better team
01:12on the day deserved to win. Okay, let's start with the first match of today was Afghanistan
01:19against Namibia. It was the first T20 meeting between the two teams and it was Afghanistan
01:25who won by 62 runs. I mean, it was always going to be hard for Namibia. They're not a serious
01:32cricket team, are they? Let's be honest, they've only got five cricket pitches in the whole country.
01:37I've read that stat just today. Half of their players are part-time players. What are they
01:42doing in the World Cup to be honest? I mean, they're going to be hammered every single game,
01:45aren't they? Anis, what do you think? To be very honest, like you mentioned, they have only five
01:50pitches. They do not have the experience. They've come through so much. It's a credit to them.
01:55Thanks to David Wiese and a couple of players but like you expected, Afghanistan to walk through
02:00them and get their net run rate further high. So, that's what other teams whether it is New Zealand,
02:04India will be hoping that when they play teams like Namibia or Scotland, you up your net run rate
02:11as much as possible and Afghanistan has done that. Gautam, can you ever see Namibia being a serious
02:17cricket team? I mean, in cricket, the idea is clearly to involve as many teams as possible
02:26and try and get them into the mainstream. I mean, when Afghanistan and Ireland started,
02:31I mean, who would have thought that they would finally make, you know, they will be full
02:36test playing nations one day. But what happens is even if you make them full test playing nations,
02:41when there is always that, you know, that gulf in standard, I mean, when Afghanistan play a
02:46test match, possibly you may see them, you know, losing in two and a half days. But if they play
02:5120-20, they can really give you a hard time. So, if you don't keep the doors open, then it will be
02:59as it is, you know, the space is not much. So, you will have those 8 to 10 countries playing cricket,
03:04you know, over and over again. So, that's what ICC does is in the shortest format,
03:09they keep that window open, they increase the number of teams just to accommodate them. You
03:14know, this super 12 is just to accommodate them. And sometimes, when they come up with some
03:20extraordinary performances, it becomes really a heartwarming story. So, that's about it.
03:25That's a good point. There was some surprising news today from the Afghanistan camp when the
03:30former captain Asghar Afghan announced that he was going to retire after today's game from all
03:36formats of the game as well. So, we were treated to a few of his trademark big shots for the last
03:41time before he was out for 31 runs. But are you surprised to see him retire? I mean, he's only
03:4733 years old. He's played 75 T20 games. He's had over 100 one-day internationals. He's played six
03:55test matches. And I mean, with the experience that he's got, and with the young team that
03:59they've got, I mean, surely that's the kind of player that you want to stick around. I mean,
04:03it just seems like a very strange decision for him to leave. What do you think, Anis?
04:08I'm surprised myself. As you said, he's just 33 years old. But that's how sometimes players
04:14take decisions. We wouldn't know the inside part what has actually happened. But good to
04:19bow out on a high. He's scored some useful runs and Afghanistan won. That's what matters.
04:23We wouldn't know, as I said again, the reason for him to retire so early.
04:28We'll have to probably wait and find out after some developments happen.
04:33Got him surprised to see such a good, talented player leave so soon?
04:38Yes. The thing is, as Anis said, that we don't know what the inside story is. His thinking could
04:44be, you know, there had been a bit of a political shift in the country. So his thinking could be
04:51that, you know, let me leave it at the hands of younger players. Well, that could also be it.
04:56But having said that, I mean, the current captain of the team is virtually his age,
05:00Mohammad Nabi. So we don't know that. But yes, I mean, this guy was certainly one of the,
05:06you know, when they were just coming up, since then, we knew about this guy. And because of
05:12the peculiarity of his name, Asghar Afghan. So he kind of, yeah, he was a kind of very talismanic
05:17figure, who whenever they took on a big opposition, he had something to do either with the bat or
05:22with the ball. So it's quite a loss for them, honestly, I mean, because they don't have that
05:28surfeit of a talent, really. So it was quite a bit of a, you know, shock.
05:33It was a surprise. Okay, Afghanistan move on to four points, and the net run rate is looking
05:38really good. They after they thrashed Scotland the other day, and they're in a decent position
05:44now to make the semifinals. I don't think too many people would have given them much
05:48opportunity to do that. But anyway, they're doing pretty well. The next game was India
05:53against New Zealand. And it was always going to be one of the standout fixtures of the tournament.
05:59But defeat in their opening matches made it absolutely huge for both teams tonight. They
06:04both needed to get a win to get the tournaments back on track. New Zealand hadn't played for
06:08five days, I think, and India hadn't played for seven days before their last matches.
06:14And in the end, New Zealand ran out pretty comfortable winners by eight wickets.
06:20How disappointing a performance was that from Kohli's men today, Anish?
06:25Very disappointing. Let's be very honest, we were all thinking that this break of one week
06:29probably would give Virat Kohli and his boys to reflect on the mistakes and go back to the
06:33drawing board. And we always keep saying about New Zealand as the bogey team. But let us accept
06:38the fact that I heard a very good comment by Mark Nicholas, who mentioned why does New Zealand get
06:44across India, he mentioned that they are the boys who are never under the radar. They are the boys
06:50who are not the glamour boys. They come up with less expectations, but they deliver about their
06:55weight. And I'm afraid today India were under a lot of pressure. In spite of playing so much of
07:01IPL cricket, getting used to the conditions, they were the team which looked under pressure from
07:05the first tour. Rather, you can say India were lucky, a couple of catches were dropped,
07:11and some balls going here and there, but they did not capitalise, there was no intent. Whereas on
07:16the other side, New Zealand were much more up to about their weight, as I said, they bowled well,
07:24they fielded well. And most importantly, they held their nerves whenever it mattered. And in this
07:30case, I believe they have given the knockout punch to India, India will be asking for too much to get
07:35through into the next four. Oh, you don't think they're going to make it now? I'll be very honest,
07:41you see now too many things need to go in their favour. First and foremost, Afghanistan needs to
07:45beat New Zealand. If New Zealand beat Afghanistan, which is their last game of the tournament,
07:50that ends the story. Unless there's an upset where Scotland defeats New Zealand, or Namibia
07:55defeats New Zealand. And most importantly, India needs to first defeat Afghanistan,
08:00which is not an easy team to get through. If India defeats Afghanistan and Afghanistan goes on to
08:06lose to New Zealand, that's the end of the story. But if India loses to Afghanistan, India is out.
08:10So we are asking for too much from Team India. At the moment, they need to take one match at
08:15a time. First thing, they play on the same day when New Zealand plays Scotland. So if India
08:21get past Afghanistan, and probably there is an upset by Scotland against New Zealand,
08:28then there's a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, I believe it's asking for too much because India's
08:32net run rate, I'm afraid is very poor, is minus 1.9, whereas New Zealand is 0.70. And Afghanistan
08:39is 3-something. So the net run rate is also hurting. So too many things have to go in India's
08:45favour. And you cannot expect this to happen unless the gods are in your favour.
08:52Gautam, Rohit Sharma was dropped on his very first ball, but he didn't make any
08:58opportunity of his second lifeline. He was out for, I think, 14 runs. And in the first six overs,
09:03India had made a pretty slow start. The power play went all New Zealand's way. Did that increase
09:10the pressure on the Indian batsman? Yes, of course. I mean, I would like to put this question to
09:17our Anish Bhai, that you know, you come back after seven days. And what we see is the first
09:22thing that you've done is you've tinkered with the opening pair. I mean, if you were getting,
09:29if you're doing a conventional thinking of a left-right combination, you could have got
09:32Rohit and Ishan Kishan in. So what was the thinking behind this? Because when did we last
09:40see Rohit bat at number three in white ball cricket? When did we last see Virat bat at number
09:45four in white ball cricket? I mean, what was the thinking? I mean, they wanted to, this is just to
09:50tackle their spinners. What do you think, Anish? Well, I'm glad you asked me this question, Gautam.
09:55You're absolutely right that when did we last see Rohit coming at number three? I mean, if you had
10:00to get Ishan Kishan, you're right, you wanted to have a left and right combination. Could have
10:04probably put Rahul at number three. The only reason I see Rahul coming up because he was the one
10:09who scored more runs in the IPL. In fact, he was the orange cap holder. But Virat Kohli is the
10:14backbone of your team and he needs to hold the anchor. And mind you, against Pakistan, India,
10:19we're off to a much poorer start. But that is the time when Virat Kohli has analysed and assessed
10:24the wicket. And today's wicket, I'm telling you, was much more difficult. But I'm afraid
10:30the pressure of losing wickets and not getting runs put them so much on the back foot that
10:34Virat Kohli had to go for that ugly slog, which you hardly see Virat Kohli playing. He's one of
10:40those guys who plays the singles and doubles and the other guys plays around him. And today,
10:44that pressure of him batting at number four and wickets have fallen ahead of him, made him play
10:49that false shot. And you have to blame the batsmen. They did not have the intent. They played
10:54under pressure and played false shots, which led to New Zealand bowling totally on a different
10:59wicket, whereas India's bowling looked like on a belter of a wicket. Just on top of this,
11:07Imran, if you may just allow me. Yeah, sure. I mean, it seemed that is why it was a kind of
11:14brain freeze. For 71 balls, 70 balls, you don't get boundaries. And look at the names who are
11:20coming in. I mean, these are the guys who, during IPL, they create absolute mayhem.
11:27They win matches from improbable situations. So, what do you make of that?
11:34It's fear. Nothing else, Gautam. I mean, there's nothing else. When you lose your first game and
11:38when you know that there is a team which is playing against you, has always beaten you,
11:42so there is always that fear. So, there was not that bravery. Like in IPL, we say that, yes,
11:46it gets the best out of you, but that's what you need to show it in an international match.
11:51And I'm afraid all the batsmen, you can't even point one player who played with that freedom
11:56or intent. And I'm afraid the moment you lose Virat Kohli, I've always kept repeating that,
12:00Virat Kohli is the backbone of your team, no matter you talk about the Rohit Sharma's, the Rahul's,
12:06the Pan's, the Pandya's. If you lose Virat Kohli early, even though he came at number four today,
12:12it opens that big hole. It rather creates a big hole and which we could see that in spite of
12:18playing 24 balls, Pandya could score only 24, Pan's batting for 18 balls, scored 18.
12:24That's not Team India. So, playing an international game is a totally different kettle of fish.
12:29Playing an IPL is totally different.
12:32You know, I read an interesting tweet from Michael Vaughan. He was saying that India are playing
12:362010 cricket. He says the game has moved on. What do you guys make of that statement? Is he right?
12:44Gautam, you can go and answer this question.
12:46Yeah, see, I mean, I wouldn't make much of Michael Vaughan's tweets because he has been on a
12:52kickback mode, at least for the last two years. I mean, it was well after Vaughan's generation.
13:00What happened was in 2015 World Cup in Australia, England were out in the first round. So that's
13:06when, you know, they collectively sat down together and it was largely, largely due to
13:12Ewan Morgan. Andrew Strauss was then the director of cricket of ECB. So that's where they decided
13:18that we were going to change the way we play the limited overs cricket. And then, you know,
13:23these guys from 2015 onwards, they also started coming to play in the IPL, be it Josh Partler,
13:29be it Jason Roy, be it Morgan. Morgan was always a bit of a journeyman. Morgan,
13:35even before IPL, I think Morgan has come and played for Alice's team in T10.
13:40So he didn't have much of an inhibition. He came and he was trying to experiment,
13:45you know, in this form of flank bank cricket. So that's the result, which you are seeing now.
13:50I mean, it's not because if he says that India were playing 2010 variety of cricket,
13:58what goes on in the IPL? See, IPL is at the end of the day, a league which kind of changed the
14:03landscape of the way the game is played. That's not right. I mean, it was a very,
14:08it was a pathetic batting performance. Let's put it that way. Absolutely.
14:12So you mentioned the Indian Premier League, a lot of the players play,
14:19the New Zealand players play in the Indian Premier League. We know that the season's just
14:24concluded recently. So those players would have been used to the conditions. Do you think maybe
14:28that would have helped them today? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, see, there's another thing. I mean,
14:35there is hardly any element of mystery or surprise left. That you know, X doesn't know what Y is
14:41going to do. That is no longer left. So that's a big plus for the overseas players.
14:47And Anish, I think we've got to give, I guess, a bit of credit where it's due.
14:52Sodhi's spell was really good. He got 2-4-17 in his four overs. And it seemed like the Indian
14:57batsman just couldn't play him. How good was he today? Both Sodhi as well as Santner were
15:04spectacular. I remember in 2016, both had given nightmares to India in Nagpur pitch.
15:09And again, I would talk about Santner in the 2019 World Cup. He was the one who bowled on
15:15the wicket of Manchester as if he was bowling on a minefield. Like Indian players still have not
15:20found a way to go after him. And I'm afraid he doesn't get a chance in the Chennai Super Kings
15:26team. He did not play a single game. So that shows the calibre and the standard. So that's
15:31what I was trying to say, Imran. These boys are not the flamboyant or the glamour boys.
15:36They are the ones who come and do their job clinically and without making any big noise,
15:42like the Pandyas and the Rohit Sharmas. They do their job clinically and that's why they are
15:48successful. I'm not taking away what the other guys do in the IPL. But what matters is what you
15:53do on the international forum. You might score tons of runs in IPL. You might get tons of wickets
16:00in the IPL. But if you don't score in an international tournament or you don't play
16:05when it matters, that's where the temperament of a player is tested. And today, I'm afraid,
16:09India's temperament of all the players were exposed very poorly by New Zealand once again.
16:15I mean, India needed an early breakthrough and they did get one. Bumrah got the wicket of
16:20Guptil. But then Williamson came in and he steadied the ship. And Daryl Mitchell, he more
16:26or less won the game himself. He was unlikely to get his half century result in 49. New Zealand
16:31won. I mean, what this result does do is really leaves India's World Cup in a bit of a mess now.
16:37They face Afghanistan in the next game. And, you know, from the way that they've played the last
16:42two games, Afghanistan will probably really fancy their chances now, won't they? Anish,
16:46what do you think? Oh, yes. They have quality spinners and India will be under more pressure
16:53than Afghanistan. The only advantage, I only hope that for a change Virat Kohli can win that toss.
16:59I'm not trying to give an excuse because I have written a piece about tosses that most of the
17:03teams have won the tosses and won the match. But if India has a glimmer of hope, probably they win
17:10the toss, bowl the opposition out because India's 88% of the wins have come batting second,
17:16be it a normal international or probably a T20. So if India wins that toss, they know what target
17:24they need to chase in how many overs. That's the only hope. But you rightly mentioned Afghanistan
17:28is not a team that you can just have a walk in the park. You'll have to play out of your
17:31skin as you found Pakistan had a tough time till Asif hit that four sixes. So to first,
17:37as I said, India needs to take game after game. First, ensure that they beat Afghanistan. The
17:41net run rate can be taken care of in the game against Namibia and Scotland. Ensure that you
17:46win against Afghanistan and take that first two points. You can think about the net run rate
17:51because the next two games is against Namibia and Scotland. And then hope that Afghanistan
17:56beat New Zealand. And it's just to tie on to that point, a very important point that you made
18:01there. This is a serious question, guys. I mean, everyone's seen a cricket match being impacted by
18:06rain. So we have the duck with Lewis method, the character two to three. Do you think that there
18:12should be a due calculator? Because honestly, it seems unfair that you're going into a World Cup
18:18match and you may face a huge disadvantage just because of the toss of a coin. Gautam, what do
18:24you think? See, you've got an interesting point there. But, you know, it's worth, you know,
18:32throwing this idea to the ICC. But what happens is, you know, due is such a kind of subjective
18:38thing. I mean, in Dubai, you get due one day, which made possibly, let's say, it made some x,
18:46say, yesterday, England's chase so, so easy. But the previous day, it was told that there was
18:52hardly any due. So that is also on a given. Yeah, hardly any due. Then again, you know,
18:57in the Pakistan-New Zealand match in Sharjah, there was apparently no due. I mean, that's what I
19:02learned by reading. Yes. So because it's so subjective, and it's related to, you know,
19:08the humidity part or whatever, you can't possibly pin and take it as a kind of
19:14occupational hazard. You know, like the wickets are different, you'll have to treat it like that.
19:19But yes, the toss makes a lot of difference in that case, as you rightly pointed out.
19:24It's made a huge difference so far. Clearly, I think so far, if you win the toss,
19:29that's half the game won. Anyway, guys, commiserations yet again. That's all from
19:34us for tonight. I'd like to thank my guests for coming on to the show. There's just one game
19:38tomorrow, England against Sri Lanka. So we'll be back on tomorrow night to see how they got on.
19:43In the meantime, you can head to gulfnews.com for all the latest news, reviews, comments,
19:48analysis, videos, and a ton more. Thanks, guys, and good night.