World Cup Semi Final 1 Tuesday 9 July; India v New Zealand @ Old Trafford.

[Crankitup]

All the pitches for the finals are fresh. Not played on in lead up games.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Is the final played at Lords?

No semi at the Oval ,so semi in London .


Lots of matches in Manchester .

 

[RohitSharma]

GIF of the day

Man seriously all of his world cup failures are forgiven with that run out. Guptil won kiwis the semis

 

[Demons09]

If I’m right about a certain person on ignore , surely he’s past the 100,000 posts mark.

 

[Ishikawa]

Absolutely gripping game! Not a lot beats the sudden death pressure cooker of a low scoring ODI.

Henry copped some stick after Brathwaite got hold of him early in the tournament, but has bounced back well as his quality over a decent stretch suggests. Matchwinner with those early wickets but also came back so well at the death to tighten the screws.

Boult wasn't as outwardly brilliant as he can be but knocking over Kohli early and then coming back to keep his head at a very stressful moment when it looked Jadeja & Dhoni had turned the tide was immense. Will back him again to break the vital Roy/Bairstow or Finch/Warner partnership early on Sunday too!

Santner continues his terrific form, bowling so tight at the moment.

It was like Jadeja was batting on a different wicket in a different game to everyone else. Amazing clarity of hitting and genuinely felt he would have got them home regardless of how tightly the Kiwis were turning the screws in the end there.

I think New Zealand can certainly win come Sunday. Early wickets are so vital to setting the tone as to the remainder of the innings playsout - even moreso at the pointy end as we obviously now are. And with Boult & Henry they are arguably the best at exploiting this (though I think Australia have made a very astute move bringing Behrendorff in to support Starc in really hunting hard in those first 5 overs). On the flipside, while Guptill has basically been a walking wicket this tournament, having Williamson and Taylor in the middle order has seemed to insulate the damage up the other end. Good a chance as any now.

 

[Hamingja]

Fell asleep after Hardik got out. India ended up getting a lot closer than you would have thought at that stage. If only Dhoni came in at 4/5?

 

[Doss]

The commentary in the final ten overs became so sickeningly Dhoni-centric, which is not Dhoni's fault but nonetheless, that as a spectator it did make his eventual demise just that bit more enjoyable. Ganguly in particular I think it was - you'd have barely known that Jadeja was playing a superior innings at the other end, or that New Zealand were bowling mostly very well.

That really was a great game of cricket and I am rapt for the Kiwis.

 

[peternorth]

The commentary in the final ten overs became so sickeningly Dhoni-centric, which is not Dhoni's fault but nonetheless, that as a spectator it did make his eventual demise just that bit more enjoyable. Ganguly in particular I think it was - you'd have barely known that Jadeja was playing a superior innings at the other end, or that New Zealand were bowling mostly very well.

That really was a great game of cricket and I am rapt for the Kiwis.

Well said Doss. Well said.

 

[outabounds]

The commentary in the final ten overs became so sickeningly Dhoni-centric, which is not Dhoni's fault but nonetheless, that as a spectator it did make his eventual demise just that bit more enjoyable. Ganguly in particular I think it was - you'd have barely known that Jadeja was playing a superior innings at the other end, or that New Zealand were bowling mostly very well.

That really was a great game of cricket and I am rapt for the Kiwis.

Spot on, even when Dhoni got out whoever the fool was commentating said "He knew he could win it " WTF - it was a joke. Dhoni had to push and was leaving balls with 3 overs to go.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

Man seriously all of his world cup failures are forgiven with that run out. Guptil won kiwis the semis

The reaction of Guptill post match said it all. When his team needed him most he delivered

 

[Andrew Mc]

Especially when we aren't batting on them.

Nope. Would be more than happy with that sort of pitch at Birmingham tonight, but I suspect we're in for a 320+ game.

 

[glenferry23]

Such a ridiculously good game that was. Amazing and tense viewing.

New Zealand’s new ball bowling was outstanding. Despite having some all time greats in India’s top order, they’re still human. Rahul’s shot was poor but Kohli and Rohit were undone by quality bowling.

I still feel India erred by not putting Dhoni in and 4 or 5. His experience and calmness in those situations would have been much better.

Full credit to Jadeja, couldn’t even get into the XI earlier in the tournament. But then has produced an outstanding all round game. With the ball, in the field, and then his batting, he was next level. Genuinely felt for him, I thought he was going to get India home.

Really admire both these teams and their leaders. Williamson a very likeable character. King Kohli is all class, speaks so well and very gracious in defeat. Much respect for his tournament and the stand he took to back up Smith in the group stage.

That run out by Guptil will live long in the memory. An all time moment for an all time classic semi final, what a game this was. Glorious viewing.

 

[charcoalchicken]

Amazing from nz, very entertaining match

 

[Andrew Mc]

Spot on, even when Dhoni got out whoever the fool was commentating said "He knew he could win it " WTF - it was a joke. Dhoni had to push and was leaving balls with 3 overs to go.

Agreed. Although he stayed out there, he put massive pressure on Jadeja (who should have been man of the match in a canter). The game was done when Jadeja got out. The runout was nice, but the game was decided the over before.

 

[samFFC]

 

[Macpotata]

Spot on, even when Dhoni got out whoever the fool was commentating said "He knew he could win it " WTF - it was a joke. Dhoni had to push and was leaving balls with 3 overs to go.

Good post.

And IMO India should have started going for it with 4 overs to go. Left it too late.

 

[Macpotata]

chasing 250 odd against a good team isn't easy. If you can make around that total and you're a decent side, you're a great chance to win.

 

[Smoooothy]

also, special shout out to the host broadcasters for having ian smith on for the final stint. made it far more enjoyable

 

[smasha]

The reaction of Guptill post match said it all. When his team needed him most he delivered

He is our Maxwell,both loaded with natural talent but down on form with the bat.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Virat Kohli's 2019 World Cup semi final was almost identical to his 2015 World Cup semi. He's let his team down 2 World Cups in a row by being too adventurous too early.

 

[Gough]

Tait is a guy whose name you mention to a tragic and their eyes will glaze over as they wonder what might have been.

 

[ozzz]

 

[Moonwatcher]

View attachment 707124

Ross Taylor/ Henry has changed a lot.

 

[weetert]

Man seriously all of his world cup failures are forgiven with that run out. Guptil won kiwis the semis

One of the reasons they should stick with Maxwell

 

[kickazz]

Spot on, even when Dhoni got out whoever the fool was commentating said "He knew he could win it " WTF - it was a joke. Dhoni had to push and was leaving balls with 3 overs to go.

And what's with the bullshit stat showing that if he is not out at the end, they almost always win, and saying that makes him the "finisher"?

It conveniently ignores run chases that are out of reach, or times when Dhoni's efforts aren't enough but he loses his wicket as things become more desperate.

It's a useless misleading stat.