Don’t know if two teams which r unbeaten through out the tournament have played each other in the finals ever? But I think it will be India vs NZ final and India wins because final is in Aust. if it was in NZ , I would have said NZ
While this is undoubtedly a good NZ side, I wouldn’t go as far as to say they are the best ever - yet.
Certainly they are the best ODI Kiwi side I have seen. However, when Hadlee was at his peak, the NZ were very good and they also had a number of other top players over the years- Turner, the Crowes, Greatbatch- there is a long list.
I’d like to see this side take the winning form outside NZ over an extended period.And not just in the limited overs format. Guptill managed a great score but otherwise his Test and even ODI stats are mediocre, so I don’t know what to make of that.
Unfortunately Penfeather, there have been a number of players who have wasted opportunities due to lifestyle choices.
Man to man on current form
Warner > Dhawan
Rohit > Finch
Kohli > Smith
Rahane > Watson
Clarke = Raina
Dhoni > Haddin
Maxwell > Jadeja
Ashwin > Faulkner
Starc > Shami
Johnson = Yadav
Hazlewood > Mohit
5-4 India for me.
I think you have a few things wrong there - at least on stats. Watson averages 10 more than Rahane, Faulkner and Ashwin have much the same bowling average however Faulkner averages 44 with the bat as opposed to 18 for Ashwin. Clarke is better than Raina.
That aside, I have the utmost respect for Kohli.
The bookmakers markets are interesting. They have SA favourites over NZ, and Australia very short odds against India.
Bookies aren’t wrong that often, and a lot of the price would be influenced by bets placed before the tournament started. However, NZ and India would have to be the value if you are having a punt.
Watson < Rahane is the call which is most likely to be wrong among all in my comparison I guess
Ashwin could be in world xi based on this wc’s performances. Plus its a Sydney pitch where he will be useful. Faulkner is a dangerous player I agree.
Raina is in form and is a better odi clutch player than Clarke IMO.
I dont do betting at all. It is too risky. I play safe n invest in stocks after studying fundamentals technicals macros triggers etc where downside is potentially zero over longer term over a diversified port folio.
The stats I used could be out of date as well.
I also don’t bet on sport where humans are involved. I thought the markets were a little astray though.
I don’t bet on Sport either, I’m already way too emotionally invested in the outcomes of the games I follow.
Maybe I read too much on zerohedge, but my impression is that the financial markets are rigged to an extent that crooked bookmakers can only dream of.
There is method to madness which a tiny tiny minority of retail investors like Warren Buffet, Rakesh JhunJhunwala ($10 to $1.8 billion in 30 yrs) seem to be understood.
There is in-depth study that goes in, w/o which us small retail investors get killed. For ex. when one invests in a Banking/NBFC stock one needs to understand RoE, RoA, NPA, restructured assets P/B, credit growth, CASA ratio, CAR, NIM, NII, Dividend yield, Equity dilution(QIP, Rights Issue etc), peer valuation, interest rate cycle etc.
Its great that all 3 of us dont bet. I started investing in stocks 10 months back and my networth has grown 65-70% due to bull run we are having (I am not complaining of course:))
Got carried away a bit. Back to cricket - Milne ruled out of World Cup due to injury . Blow for NZ?
I think the Kiwis will win it.
I want them to. Slap in the face of the Big Three if they do.
It’s happened before to Australia - back in 2001 for the British and Irish Lions Rugby, the first Test in Brisbane, an awful lot of BIL supporters got tickets and all dressed in red, proceeded to shoutdown the home support. The BIL captain even advised the team to warm up inside after he’d been outside for the coin toss, wanting his team to use the adrenaline of the unexpected support to boost the team at kick off. They scored a famous victory. By the Third Test, Australia’s marketing team were handing out free gold scarves to their supporters to try and make the stadium look more like a home ground.
Given a little time to get organised, I assume the Aussies will pull something out of the bag to try and cut into the noise and colour from the Indian support. The atmosphere in Sydney is guaranteed to be brilliant, I would say. Probably the best of the tournament since these teams can’t meet in the final - I’ve got a ticket to one of the Rugby World Cup Semi Finals later this year and I’d probably trade it for a ticket in Sydney this week.
All on at Eden Park this afternoon; they’re showing it free on Prime. There won’t be much work done this afternoon.
I wouldn’t put too much faith in bookmakers - their odds mostly reflect how many people have been backing each side, so a heavily-supported team will get shorter odds than one with fewer fans. Given that size of the NZ population and the fact that sports betting is illegal in India…
Really, the way this tournament has been going, any one of these teams could win - or lose - a blowout against any one of the others.
I think I’d favour Australia over India, though, simply because I can see Starc and Johnson knocking India over for a small score and I can’t see the Indian bowlers doing the same to Australia, though I can see Kohli & co making a lot of runs if things go the other way.
SA vs NZ is a coin-toss. Both of them have quality pace bowling attacks; both have explosive batting line-ups that can sometimes be brittle. Maybe a hair to NZ for the home advantage. One thing I would bet on - it might be low-scoring but those runs are going to be scored fast.
(That said, with my record NZ will now post about 270 and SA will drag themselves over the line with 2 wickets and 3 balls left)
It’s raining in Auckland, but should clear in time for the match. Plenty of swing for the bowlers perhaps?
Go the Kiwis.
Aussies to strangle India.
Not sure I care who wins that final.
Nice!
India will relish the support at Sydney. Australians support cricket in a good way given the relatively small population, must be said.
On the 1st semi-finals, SA seems to have weathered the early storm. headed towards 250+ i think
De Villiers and du Plessis really starting to accelerate now. 330 odd on the cards I reckon.
De Villiers riding his luck
I’m not sure whether I should be happy about the rain or not?
happy!
" At any rate if the interruption is long enough to not allow South Africa bat any further, the target for New Zealand is likely to be 264 in 38 overs"