After a triple-header, teams still are uncertain on their chances
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00:00Hello everyone. Welcome to Straight Back with Gulf News. What a day at the T20 World Cup.
00:13A triple header actually. A triple header which involved all six teams from Group 2
00:20and we had some interesting results. Bangladesh barely made it by three runs against Zimbabwe
00:26again who proved to be punching above their belts really. Pakistan were very dominant
00:33in Perth and that was followed by India's game which was an interesting affair in the
00:38sense that India initially were in the dumps before the Suri Kumar innings came and the
00:46hit back and the David Miller thing. To take you through that, let's go head over to Satish.
00:53Satish is our Sports Editor of Gulf News. Satish, what did you make of India's match
00:58today?
00:59I was quite disappointed with the way the Indian batting took over. They started quite
01:08well. Not trying to do anything fancy in the first couple of overs excepting that odd six
01:14of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. But after that, I don't know what happened. I think maybe
01:20they thought this guy Ingiri can be the bowler whom they can go after. And then they went
01:28after him as if he is a spinner. Actually, the Indian batting should have adopted a bit
01:36more cautious approach which would have helped them. And see, with almost half the team gone,
01:42India still got 133 which is a good score. Maybe another 20 runs. If you look at after
01:49so many drop chances, so many easy bowlings, so many run-out misses, South Africa still
01:56could manage to win only by 3 balls to spare or 2 balls to spare. So in that sense, if
02:02the Indian batting had applied a little bit better and got another 15-20 runs, maybe India
02:09could have won. But nevertheless, I think it's a game where they were tested quite well
02:15by the South African fast bowlers. And I am quite impressed with the way Surya Kumar
02:20Yadav counter-attacked the South African bowlers. So in that sense, now we have almost 4 batters
02:29who are good. And later in the evening, Surya Kumar could always take the Indian team ahead.
02:36So that confidence…
02:37Satish, let me just stop there and ask you, you were with Surya Kumar. Did you at any
02:42time feel that Surya Kumar lacked the support like Miller and Markram played off each other?
02:50Absolutely, Shyam. Dinesh Karthik was showing a semblance of support but still he was using
02:56up too many deliveries. He was not the same Dinesh Karthik whom we were thinking of, you
03:01know, like the great finisher. Yes, the conditions were different. But still, the way he played
03:06again, the shot of Parnell in his final spell, the first ball from outside the option, he
03:12tried to vacuum over the mid-wicket. I think the Indian batters lacked a bit of cautiousness
03:21or they threw caution to wind and went after the South African bowlers. And this is not
03:26the wicket to do that.
03:29And did you think that the Indians were bounced out or because most of them fell to short
03:36balls today?
03:37Shyam, they were not bounced out. What happened is, they took the bait. Obviously, on a bouncy
03:44wicket, when you look at the previous game, when Pakistan bowlers bowled, they were bowling
03:49the same back of length and short balls. Because it had that little spongy bounce which stopped
03:58the ball and came up. And if you hit the deck harder, it could even come faster. So,
04:03the wicket was doing well. And even like, a novice would know that they are going to
04:11pepper you with short balls. Indian team coming anywhere outside India will be peppered with
04:16short balls. The only thing is, instead of the batters going after the bowling, when
04:21the bowlers were bowling short balls, they could have waited, maybe rotated the strike
04:25instead of going for big shots, rotated the strike and made them bowl to India's strength.
04:31That's exactly what happened in the first two overs. Five dot balls, one six. Five dot balls,
04:36one six. Because the bowler bowled in the area where Rohit Sharma and Rahul wanted the bowlers
04:42to bowl. So, that should have been the approach. But here, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Rahul, everybody
04:49went after the bowling.
04:50Pandya.
04:51Pandya to Samek Chauhan, I would say, he was unlucky. Because he was one of the first 1B
04:56batsmen who tried to keep the ball down. But unfortunately, he couldn't keep it too low
05:00because it was a pretty good catch by Rabada.
05:06Okay. We know that India's fielding was atrocious. So many run-out chances missed. And to top it all,
05:13a drop chance by Kohli. Did you at any point feel that the drop by Kohli was the turning point?
05:19Because South Africa were 40-3 at that point. And the next 4 overs, Miller and Makram added 45.
05:28Absolutely, Shyam. Catches, wins, matches. Not just that. Even before, Suryakumar Yadav missed
05:33a run-out. I think there was another run-out chance earlier in the game.
05:37Rohit missed two.
05:39Sorry, Shyam?
05:40Rohit missed two.
05:41Three run-out chances totally missed, I think, if I remember right. But again, if you look at Shyam,
05:47I think the Indian team management really need to look at the fielding aspect of the game. Because
05:53if you look at, ever since the new management came in, and there have been so many drop catches and
05:59so many… The fielding standards have dropped very badly. I think they need to look at who's
06:04the fielding coach and they need to really reassess the fielding coach position because
06:10it's gone pretty worse. If you look at Asia Cup, they were dropping so many catches.
06:14So, it's become now a malice in the Indian team that they are dropping the catches.
06:20The fielding standards have dropped. Not one ball could hit the stump. So, what's happening
06:27to the fielding coach is a question that the team management should ask or the board should ask the
06:32fielding coach.
06:35And tell us, how will this India's loss to South Africa will impact the rest of the group?
06:41What happens now is, India is in the second position in Group 2 and followed by Bangladesh.
06:46India and Bangladesh are on four points each. So, India could even be at risk of being out of
06:53the tournament.
06:55I don't think so, Shyam. Because the advantage India has is that they have got two wins,
07:01basically. Especially, they have beaten Pakistan. And now, they have almost run close to South
07:06Africa. So, the run rate is not much of a difference. They have to play Bangladesh
07:10and Zimbabwe. And if they win one of the six points, they will be in.
07:14And if Bangladesh finish one of their matches?
07:20If they lose one of the matches also, that's fine. That's right. If they win one to one,
07:24they will be on six points. And they could end up as the second team because they have
07:28a better run rate, healthier run rate. That's where they could come out of trumps. But if
07:34both the matches are washed out, they still get six points. And then, maybe they might
07:39have to depend on the other results at that point of time. So, right now, the weather
07:43is what is going to play a bigger role. But I get a feeling both India and South Africa
07:50are in a pretty good position because you look at South Africa need to play Pakistan.
07:56So, if they beat Pakistan, they will be in seven points. If they lose, then they could
08:00still be in five. And they might play the last game against, I think, they have played
08:07Bangladesh-Zimbabwe. And they might play Netherlands as the last game, which again,
08:11that could work in their favour. So, both the teams are pretty safe in that sense.
08:17Pakistan were very dominant today when they said they didn't hardly put a foot wrong.
08:22The fast bowlers, they really showed what kind of a world-class fast bowlers they are.
08:27And in fact, Wingidi said that he saw Pakistan fast bowlers and adopted that strategy. So,
08:34they were so good and they understood the wicket so well. They read it well and then
08:39they bowled at the right area. Unfortunately, it was an associate nation called Netherlands who had
08:44to bat in front of it. But it will be a good learning experience for Netherlands because
08:49they wouldn't have faced this kind of a bowling ever because they were too good.
08:54They couldn't score runs. The ball was coming onto the head. They were literally all at sea.
09:01And thankfully, they played on this wicket the first. So, the wicket was slightly better
09:09in that sense. But still, the Pakistan bowlers were a class apart. Only thing is that India's
09:16loss must have dented their chances slightly. But I'm sure… I was coming to that because how will
09:24this impact Pakistan, India's loss to South Africa? Pakistan, even if they win all three
09:31games, that is after this, they have two more games. Even if they win those two, they will be
09:35on six points. Whereas if you look at South Africa, if they win one match also, they will be on seven
09:42points. If India win another match, they will be also in six points. But I think India right now
09:48enjoys a slightly better run rate. But again, as I mentioned, India has to play Zimbabwe and
09:59Bangladesh in their last two games. So, at least, even if they are going to lose,
10:04they will ensure that they up their run rate at that point in time.
10:09And one of the features of Pakistan win… I know we talk so much about the wonderful Pakistan
10:15bowlers. But what really caught my eye today was Rizwan's form. He is running in the form again.
10:22And you could see the difference in the Pakistan's chase.
10:25Absolutely, Shyam. Rizwan and Babar Azam are the two main players for Pakistan. They build on that.
10:32Unfortunately, today, Babar Azam got run out. But that was a good run-out, basically. But still,
10:38I think it's only a matter of time before Babar Azam gets in. He is as good as Kohli or even
10:43better, Shyam. Okay. Now, we know about Babar Azam and Mahmud Rizwan. What did you make of
10:52Fakhar Zaman? Because he can be a wonderful player. Shyam, Pakistan now, with Fakhar Zaman coming in
10:58the top order and Shyam Mazur, who is also in form, I think the batting now looks much better
11:05and more solid at this point of time right now. Because you have Nawaz coming in. You have
11:13Iftikar coming in. These guys are in form. But if they are coming in at No. 6, No. 7,
11:19so the batting runs deep, basically. So, they have got the composition right. But
11:26albeit a little too late. But nevertheless, let's see. Maybe if they beat South Africa with this,
11:31in all probability, they will. Because if you look at the South African batting,
11:37two or three guys, if you get those wickets, then the others are not as good.
11:41So, against Pakistan, you can't go into a game with two or three good batsmen. You need a total
11:48unit. Because any moment, the Pakistan faces or Pakistan bowlers can get you a wicket. So,
11:56it's a pretty good bowling attack. I think that should be a good game to watch.
12:03Yep. That brings us to the last game. In fact, the first game of today, which was the only game
12:10in Brisbane, that was Bangladesh narrowly edging past Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe made heavy weather,
12:18I mean, Bangladesh made heavy weather. I thought Bangladesh had the match suited up. And suddenly,
12:25you see Zimbabwe sneaked up on them. And Zimbabwe seems to be doing much better than what their
12:33talent suggests, isn't it? They seem to have a lot of grit in them.
12:38Shyam, you have three experienced players there. And thankfully, one of them is standing up to be
12:44counted on every single match. If it is Raza, one game. If it is Sean Williams, the other game.
12:49If it is Craig Irvine, the other game. So, they are taking the responsibilities on themselves.
12:56So, I think Sean Williams knocked out the 64 when nobody was able to get the bat to the ball,
13:03when I think Zimbabwe were 4 or 5 down quite early. I think 35 for 4 and 69 for 5,
13:09taking a target of about 151. That's a good position Bangladesh were in. But
13:18Sean Williams is an experienced player. And he showed that with a bit of common sense,
13:22he could reach there. But unfortunately, finally, they couldn't. But if you look at,
13:28before this contest, Zimbabwe were the favourite. Because they had beaten Bangladesh in the series
13:35recently. I think three games they have beaten. Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh at home in Harare.
13:41And they were also going ahead with a big morale-boosting win over Pakistan. Whereas,
13:48Bangladesh were trashed by South Africa in the first game and they just managed to win their
13:54second game. And they were not the favourites to get into the game today. So, in that sense,
13:59I think Bangladesh, it's a big confidence booster to Bangladesh, especially the newcomer Chanto,
14:06who did well. He played quite well against this attack, which tested some quality batsmen like
14:12Pakistan batsmen in the previous game. Actually, Zimbabwe were in the game till
14:18two overs before the finish. And in fact, they were closing to victory at one point.
14:23What actually set them back was the crucial run-out of Sean Williams by Shakib. I think,
14:29if it was not for that, I think Zimbabwe would have been home and dry, actually.
14:36So, actually, towards the end of the chase, it was very much of Zimbabwe's game than Bangladesh.
14:40Actually, I thought Bangladesh was rather lucky to get away with a win.
14:44But actually, if you look at, I was watching the game. After the power play six overs,
14:49literally, Zimbabwe took the foot off the gas. They brought in the spinners. Literally,
14:55they allowed, just the way Sri Lanka did, they allowed Bangladesh to score almost eight to nine
15:01runs every over till the 13th, 14th over. And then, from there on, Bangladesh, after the wicket
15:10of Chanto, I think that's when they ran into a bit of trouble. But when Shakib and Chanto were
15:17batting, literally, the spinners came and they were able to take singles, twos, singles, twos,
15:22and four here, four there. They were beautifully rotating the strike between them. And that's
15:27where they lost the game. Otherwise, Bangladesh wouldn't have scored the 150 runs. Maybe they
15:32would have scored much less than what they were. Anyway, Bangladesh is lucky to have won that.
15:38And I'm sure they would feel a huge sigh of relief because they are currently placed third on the
15:44table. They are third on the table, which means they are in with a chance at the moment.
15:50Because like you said, if some of the matches get drained off and they could be in a prime
15:55position to wrangle the second spot in the semifinal spot in group two. Now, that brings
16:01us to tomorrow's game, which is the only solitary game today after the tripleheader, I mean, three
16:05matches from right from morning till evening. That was the three-game Bomber Day today. And
16:12after Bomber Day, we have a rather tame affair tomorrow. Just one match tomorrow,
16:17that is Group One Australia, who are one of the favorites to win the tournament and who
16:22are defending champions face Ireland. Ireland are tricky customers. They have a plucky game.
16:29How do you think, how do you expect the game to go?
16:32From what I see, I think tomorrow's match has got a 40% chance. That's what I remember when
16:39we wrote the story last time, looking at the chances. Because only the Saturday-Sunday matches
16:45had no rain threat, zero percent rain threat. Tomorrow, again, the rain threat comes back.
16:49And in the next few days, until the third of November, it's going to be very wet days. That's
16:54what I saw last. Unless and otherwise, it has changed now. But if the match, should the match
16:59go through, I think Australia will be the favorite. It's very difficult to beat Australia,
17:04especially this Ireland team. It will be difficult for them to outmaneuver this
17:11Australian team. I totally agree there. Australia are two strongest sides. Ireland could be a
17:19plucky side, but I think Australia is too far a bridge for them to cross. So I would bank on an
17:28easy win for Australia. So that's it from us today. And thank you for joining us. And for all
17:37the latest updates, breaking news and other news, please log on to gulfnews.com and all
17:43our social media channels. Thank you very much. Good night. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
17:58you