Good call as it turned out but Pakistan had six out with only half the runs on the board and then needed ten an over from the last four or five with the number nine batsman in. Umar Gul smooshed 32 off seventeen balls, overs 16 and 17 were disastrous for South Africa, and once again the talk is about choking…
My heart has just returned to normal rhythm. I will say, very bad death bowling by S Africa. Australia v WIndies is next.
Heavily disguised as Australia versus India, and Australia are taking India to the fucking cleaners, excuse my Hindi. Required run rate down below three and a half an over, and all ten wickets in hand. :eek:
South Africa have done Pakistan a favour and scored the 122 against India that were required to put Pakistan through at India’s expense. Seems to me that the way these group games were scheduled left open the possibility of result manipulation (given that India basically knew exactly what they needed going in to the match for them to get through), so it’s to SA’s credit that they went in and didn’t just roll over.
I really think Pakistan can win this tournament. Australia look pretty decent too though.
South Africa choked yet again.
Semis: Sri Lanka v Pakistan. Sri Lanka has to be favorites here, Pakistans batting looks too thin.
Australia v WIndies: Australia, but I really like the look of the WIndies in thus tourney.
New Zealand’s two tied matches with Sri Lanka and the West Indies only to lose in the super over tie breaks now mean that New Zealand have been in four of the five Twenty20 internationalties, and only won one of them. You’d think with all that practice they’d be a bit better than that.
I think Pakistan will do just enough to beat Sri Lanka and the West Indies will beat Australia.
Very amusing final over in WI innings of the Australia-Windies game. Bailey chucked on a spinner for the 20th over (Xavier Doherty) against Chris Gayle and Keiron Pollard. Predictably, Gayle and Pollard go after him. 6 balls later, he’s gone for 25, 24 of which were some of the hugest 6s you’ve ever seen and a 5th ball that was caught on the boundary.
WI made 200+. Australia were 2-1 at the end of the 1st over. They’re going to need a bloody miracle from here.
Windies win by 74 runs. This is what is known as a thrashing.
SL v Windies in the final. Going to be fun - if Gayle and Pollard go off, then you would think that the Windies will win. If SL can get them both cheaply, then it will be game on.
In the final, West Indies start dreadfully, and only two of them make any sort of a score at all - but they drag themselves to 137, not least because Malinga, from destroying England a few days ago, turns back into a help-yourself pie-chucker and gets taken for better than two runs a ball. Still doesn’t look like enough though.
…And then Sri Lanka lose a torrent of wickets and go from 48-1 to 69-7. They need 13 an over from the last five with three wickets left. :eek:
And the West Indies have taken it! I can’t help but feel pleased. They were such a force in cricket, and maybe this win will act as a boost to the sport in the Caribbeans. Or maybe it’ll just extend the popularity of Oppa gangnam style.
Cricket is the richer for this. West Indies are back!!!
In other news SA are no longer crickets greatest chokers. But, regrettably they have lost this position not by winning a title, but by being surpassed by the Lankans who have now lost 4 consecutive World finals.