Sadly, India lost their world cup defence and had to ‘give it back’ after a shocking and dismal performance against erstwhile champions, Australia.

Maybe it was fatigue, nerves or whatever, our tall-order batsmen lost it and India failed to achieve the score set by the Kangaroos or even getting close to it!

Well, what is done is done and now New Zealand meets Australia in their first ever Cricket world cup final matches. New Zealand already brought South Africa to tears after winning a match most people thought they wouldn’t!

Here are 5 reasons why New Zealand might just clinch their first-ever world cup victory in their first-ever final match:

• Australian Middle-Order Isn’t That Strong

If Australians Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and David Warner’s wickets are clinched in the early overs, the Aussie middle order containing Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson and Michael Clarke might choke to pressure since they have performed below par in this World Cup in comparison to their actual strike rates and their capabilities. If New Zealand can keep up their pace attack like they did against SA, their match win is imminent.

Australia

• Melbourne Cricket Ground Factor

Yes, it might be the home ground to the Aussies and a mecca of cricket for them, but the NZ players have played a lot of matches on this ground in the erstwhile tri-series. Australia played their opening match against England at this ground and had won the match, but England was a much weaker team in comparison to NZ.

Melbourne Ground

• Corey Anderson–The All-Rounder!

This fiery bowler is himself capable of knocking down the Aussie army. His 3 wickets for 72 runs are what broke South Africa’s attack in the Semi-finals. He may be costlier on the runs side, but he takes crucial wickets, especially when his attack is complemented by Daniel Vettori and Trent Boult’s spells. He can score big runs with the bat too to compensate for lost runs. AB de Villers broke his record of the fastest hundred in ODIs. Corey’s personal best was 100 runs in just 36 balls!

Corey Anderson

• Grant Elliot – The Superman!

This man decimated South Africa in the Semi Finals and is sure to repeat the process for Australia as well! His 84 not out against SA in just 73 balls is what won New Zealand that nail-biting match which most experts had thought NZ will lose. He is like the Dhoni of New Zealand – 100% dependable!

Grant Elliott

• Unbeaten Record

Yes, you guessed it right! NZ is still unbeaten in this world cup! Like a Spartan against the 4^_time World cup champions! This team has not lost any match, but Australia lost a few during their sojourn towards the finals. 

If NZ wins this final, they are going to create history for themselves – beating champions Australia, at their home ground in their first ever World Cup Finals! Imagine the headlines that would be, if this actually happens!

The Aussies have tasted world cup success 4 times and it would be exciting to see what New Zealand, the first-time final finishers bring in to the game that promises to be a nail-biter owing to New Zealand’s thrilling display of sportsmanship this season right from the tri-series against Australia and India and this World Cup.

We feel the Aussies might choke just like India or the South Africans at the last moment and might accidentally gift a befitting victory to the New Zealanders.

Unbeaten

The final match between Australia and New Zealand will be telecast live from the MCG on March 29, 9 am onwards IST.

The post 5 Reasons Why New Zealand Might Just Win Their First-Ever Cricket World Cup appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Wondering what we are talking about?

Well, it is about these Indian TV channels and production houses which are actually doing something smart for a change and that is such a welcome sign!

There used to be a time when all movies producers and TV producers used to stay away from releasing their films and shows while the cricket world cup was on. The simple reason is that no one wanted to take such a huge risk in this cricket crazy country and burn their money knowing well in advance that for two months of global sporting event, the audience is going to be glued to only matches and nothing else.

Then what happened this time?

For starters, none of the big movies are getting released during the World Cup 2015 and especially after India’s mind-blowing initial two matches, movie studios must be thanking their stars for not taking such a gamble. For TV, it is a different matter altogether.

This time the world cup matches are in the morning and they end well before the prime time kicks in. Hence a proper segregation of male and female viewers happens. The target audience will have access to the remote when the channels want them to have control! Secondly, more than a month is left before the IPL season kicks in and families switch off from daily soaps to domestic high voltage cricket!

Shikkan on Zindagi

That’s why next week is going to be super happening. Zee’s new channel &TV is getting launched on 2^nd March with as many as 7 new shows while a new show on Colors, Swaragini makes it entry at 9:30 P.M. Not only that, on 3^rd March, channel Zindagi will see the launch of a new show, Shikkan. In a matter of two days, 9 shows will mark their entry in your living rooms, giving you enough choices!

Swaragini on Colors TV

In a way it is good for audience to select the shows they want to see and if few of them do strike a chord with the fans, then channels can at least hope that those shows will be watched even during the IPL so that the revenues will not be affected. It is smart programming and smart entertainment to give the audience enough time to get used to a show and also for the TV producers to tweak their shows as per the audience likings and tastes.

For now, all eyes are set on Monday. Let’s see what’s in store for us. Don’t know if we’ll have any shows that can keep us hooked on despite IPL mania, but then you never know!

Happy Viewing!

The post Indian TV Channels Got Smarter This Year! Good Luck To These Gamblers! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Team India is up against the Proteas this weekend.

After a thumping victory against Pakistan, Team India’s spirits are definitely high up on cloud number 9 but it’s time to settle down and reflect upon their performance in the match.

Rectifications in Order

• India’s bowling needs to be fixed ASAP! The number of wide balls against Pakistan was evident that our bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav keep losing their focus and eventually gifting valuable runs to the opposition. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is still not in form due to his ankle injury.
• In the batting department, Kohli and Dhawan need to set their head straight and practice on better co-ordination, while running between the wickets. A stupid run out will cost us dearer against a stronger team than Pakistan, the mighty South Africans!

The South African too side has various tricks up its sleeve. India would be a fool to underestimate them or to consider them easy to beat, like they beat a weaker Pakistani team with over 70 runs to spare.

The SA side has 5 such mighty juggernauts that our Indian warriors need to surpass at all costs in order to maintain their dominance in this world cup and keep their bid alive to retain their world championship.

These 5 Juggernauts Are:

Gary Kirsten:

He recently retired as chief coach of the SA team. Indian fans will remember him better as India’s erstwhile coach from 2008 to 2011. He knows every player’s strong points and weaknesses. HE led India to win the World Cup in 2011!  He is keenly watching India’s practice sessions. India must put up a good fight to show the South Africans that they do have what it takes to surpass the ‘Proteas magic’.

Gary Kirsten

David Miller and Hashim Amla:

These two batsmen are the most dependable players in the SA side. Their wickets need to be taken at the earliest possible opportunity to curtail SA’s scorecard.

David Miller & Hashim Amla

Dale Steyn:

He can blow your head off with his pace attack… literally! Indian batsmen need to practice really hard in order to dupe Steyn’s attack and score easy boundaries with yorkers that he so effortlessly bowls.

Dale Styen

AB de Villiers:

His name is enough! This batsman makes his earning by hitting the ball out of the stadium mercilessly. Getting him out is an uphill task but needs to be performed since he single-handedly can ruin India’s chances of winning. As we said, his name is enough!

AB de Villiers.

JP Duminy:

The all-rounder that makes India sweat! He can overturn any pressure situation and score big runs. With the ball too, he can do serious damage to our batsmen, especially our susceptible middle order which is infamous of collapsing one after the other.

JP Duminy

These are 5 tall peaks team India needs to scale in order to fly our flag high! Recently, Mike Hussey, Australian cricketer and a top quality batsman have been attending SA training sessions. India needs to beware of this tactic since Hussey is a local and knows the features of Australian pitches at the tips of his fingers.

It would be another cracking match between the two teams this Sunday, 22^nd February. India will face a mighty task beating Kirsten and current SA coach Russell Domingo’s trained team.

The post World Cup 2015: The Five South African Juggernauts India Needs To Surpass In Order To Win Their Upcoming Match! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Ek baar phir se Pak ko baja dala!!!

What say Indian Cricket Fans?

Well, it seems like India is living up to the “Won’t give it back” tag-line for their bid in this World cup to retain their title as the reigning champions. They beat Pakistan with a thumping victory with 50+ runs to spare in their highly anticipated epic clash. India still holds bragging rights of beating Pakistan 6-0 in World Cup history.

However, yesterday’s match between India and Pakistan, sworn arch-rivals, proves one thing for sure India has a few chinks in the armour which it definitely needs to sort out in order to progress further till the final match! Pakistan’s batting order lost the match for them; however, their bowling was at par.

India Pakistan Match WC 2015

Match Overview

• If you had closely watched and analysed yesterday’s match with an unbiased opinion you would have noticed one thing that Pakistan didn’t play very badly in the beginning, their middle order batsmen fell like a set of dominoes once the top order succumbed to Shami and Yadav’s bowling attack.

• Dhawan and Kohli’s hard-hitting knocks gave India the win. India’s luck, previous edge against Pakistan of the 5-0 wins in World Cups and brilliant match awareness pitted the match in their favour that’s all.

• Pakistan’s side isn’t as formidable as their previous World Cup squads, but if they can better yesterday’s performance, they can go far!

If we take a jab at the match from an analytical angle, we can surely point out what went right and wrong for both teams… neither of them was perfect.

India’s Misses

• Shikhar Dhawan could have had a century, but Kohli’s miscalculation, stupidity and aggressiveness claimed yet another victim. No wonder everyone calls him a hot-head!

• Kohli did get into a spat with a few Pakistan players on-field during Pakistan’s batting; he should avoid being fined for replying back to their sledging. Remember Kohli we don’t reply to snide remarks, we stay smug, try being like your diva girlfriend, Anushka for once!

• Dhoni was seemingly angry with Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami for bowling senseless Wide balls; he simply can’t remain ‘captain cool’ all the time. Both these bowlers need to hit the right line and length rather than trying too hard and gloating after getting a wicket.

• India’s fielding was a little sloppy, there was a dropped catch and Dhawan almost dropped Shehzad’s wicket but was lucky enough to cup the ball in his hands after a second attempt. Remember guys, the ball isn’t a ball of fire!

India’s Hits

• Do we need to say anything about the senseless speculation that we Indians do?
• Most people were doubting Dhawan’s form due to his recent performance and most of us didn’t want him in the final XI, but he as cool as he looks; he silenced all speculation and mistrust with an impeccable 73 out of 76 balls. Dho dala!

• India’s bowling bettered during the last half of the game and our bowlers slurped the Pakistani batsmen like we slurp a single noodle strand for fun! 4 Pakistan wickets fell faster than our Mufflerman Kejriwal can lift his finger to organize a dharna!

• Virat Kolhi’s rambunxious, eye-popping, unrelenting, undaunting and every other ‘–ting’ kind of super batting performance helped India put up a respectable score on the board. He was declared ‘Man of the Match’ too.

Pakistan’s Misses

• Dear Pakistan, it was a 50-over game and not a Twenty20 match, you lost wickets like you were playing the latter match! Kids in my street hold better at their positions than you do!

• Having a freakishly tall bowler like Mohammed Ifran did scare our batsmen but we didn’t succumb to his height! He needs to bowl better to match our stalwarts like Kohli, Raina, Dhawan and Dhoni!

• Shahid Afridi, bro, grow up! Your dismissals are like a horror movie script now – extremely predictable! You have been getting out the same way since eternity… even we can use chopsticks now after years of practice, why can’t you stop getting dismissed in the most embarrassing way over?

Pakistan’s Hits

• Sohail Khan’s brilliant 5 Wickets are the only thing that shook India. India, learn something from him. A player can be as dangerous when returns to ODIs after a long time.

• Misbah-Ul-Haq – His name his enough to show how intrinsic he is to the Pakistan side. Without him and Afridi the entire team was grappling for runs like a person trying to swat flies!

• Wahab Riaz can be devastating for the opponent if backed by a good partner. All other teams need to watch out for him! He is a Kohli from the other side of the border!

Tweet Centre

A few tweets posted on twitter to limber you up:

*30 years later* Emotional Akmal’s son: “Papa is glove se catch chhora karte the” #INDvPAK –  cricBC @cricBC

Jackie Shroff time. Any moment the Pakistan army will be wiped off. – Trendulkar @Trendulkar

All in all, yesterday’s match was an exciting one to witness amidst all the hits and misses! India and Pakistan need to learn from their mistakes and better their plus points.

If India wants to bring back its ‘dulhan’ home, they need to keep this form alive!

Bowling needs to be better, much better than this!

The post World Cup 2015: Mad Hits And Stupid Misses Of The Recently Concluded India VS Pakistan appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Shahid Afridi has been slapped with a hefty fine along with seven other players who are all a part of the Pakistani Cricket Team in Australia for the World Cup.

The fine has been issued following breach of the World Cup Curfew timings imposed by the Pakistan Team Management.

Why was the fine issued?

The team management’s head, Naveed Cheema pointed out that all the defaulting players arrived more than 45 minutes late to the team hotel in Sydney even after strict instructions against all curfew restrictions. These restrictions were imposed on all players in order to keep their fitness and pragmatism in check.

The management also issued a strict warning to the defaulters that any repeat offence will simply de-bar them from playing any match in the tournament. The team’s first match is scheduled to take place on 15^th Feb. against sworn arch rivals, India.

Pak Team

How much was the fine worth?

Eight of the Pakistan players, including former captain ShahidAfridi and ace opener Ahmed Shehzad have been fined exactly 300 Australian dollars (US $230) each since these players went out for dinner with friends but came back late, way after the imposed restriction timings allowed.

Pakistan is part of the Group B fixture of the World Cup, which has officially started in Australia and New Zealand. All players have apologized to the management and have promised not to repeat any such offence that can result in a lost match of the world cup.

Fined for curfew breach

History of Offences

Pakistani players have had a dismal history of having off-the-field disciplinary problems. Earlier in 2010, three key players of the team, namely, Mohammad Aamer, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were caught red-handed in a spot-fixing scandal which was planned to throw unnecessary no-balls during the Lord’s Test against England. This offence led to them being banned for about five years by the International Cricket Council.

Pakistan cricket players

Pakistan needs to keep merry-making aside for a while if they plan to go ahead in this world cup; especially beating India in their opening match, which will earn them crucial points in the group stages. Slight mistakes due to poor form and not putting their head into the game will result in a dismal loss and possible elimination from the World Cup.

The post World Cup 2015: Shahid Afridi And Seven More Pakistani Players Fined For World Cup Curfew Breach! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Arch-rivals, India and Pakistan are gearing up for an epic battle in their World Cup tie this Sunday.

Both teams have performed rather sluggishly recently, but veteran Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar is all praises for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men to retain India’s unbeaten record against Pakistan in World Cups.

Many other international cricketers already feel that India is surely going to lose this match because of a less experienced and technically backward team compared to the ones at our previous sojourns against Pakistan.
India has successfully beaten Pakistan in all five of their previous World Cup meetings;namely, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011.

Pakistan Is Hopeful Of Winning This Time

Former Pakistani cricketers believe that this clash is Pakistan’s golden goose and they should cash in this opportunity to change the course of history. By defeating India they can show the world how far theteam has progressed in terms of their training and tactical planning. Getting a victory over an out-of-sorts Indian side is one dream they are dying to fulfill.

Pakistan cricket team WC 2015

Sunil Gavaskar’s Positive Opinion on the Speculation

Gavaskar, on the other hand elucidates that,”’both teams are not in their best form, so it may not be possible for Pakistan to beat India since Pakistan have lost two matches in New Zealand recently and are not at the top of their game.

So, India may be the favourite to win because of their past records”. But, because both the teams enter the tournament with no such great form, it just could be an even-Stevens match!

Sunil Gavaskar

Time For India To Gear Up And Pull Up Their Socks!

If India wants to win this match and continue holding bragging rights of beating Pakistan again in a world cup, they have to bring something beyond impeccable form and tactical strategies; they need to bring in their team spirit and love for their country with full force!

This high-octane clash will test their mettle with maximum stringency. If they want to overturn Misbah UL Haq and Company’s plans to steamroll India in their strides they need to keep their illustrious record in mind.

Team India World Cup 2015

The entire nation’s expectations are riding on them to bring back the world cup and retain supremacy over Pakistan in world cup matches. We just hope Dhoni and the rest of the men in blue turn the tide and come out with flying colours!

The post World Cup 2015: Sunil Gavaskar Is Confident Enough That India Will Remain Unbeaten By Pakistan! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Imagine this!

Dubai without Burj Khalifa.

New York, without the Statue of Liberty.

Paris without its Eiffel Tower.

London without its Underground Metro.

China without its iconic Great Wall.

Agra without the Taj Mahal.

Now, imagine ICC World Cup 2015 Without Sachin Tendulkar.

World Cup without Sachin Tendulkar

Was tough, wasn’t it?

Kind of unimaginable and difficult to digest? Well, ever since Sachin’s retirement from the 50-overs game, Indians will have no other choice but to imagine this World Cup without him! Spectatorship will hit an impasse when the echoing chants of ‘Sachin… Sachin…, Sachin… Sachin…’ will no more do the rounds of India’s matches, especially the nail-biting opening match against Pakistan – an opponent we have always managed to beat in every World Cup. Sachin’s contributions to India’s wins over the two decades need not be enumerated here… his name speaks for itself!

Team India will find it very tough to surpass their golden cricketing history this year in the absence of Sachin, if they wish to retain their cup as current World Champions. Sachin, who retired from the game after an illustrious 24-year career, was like a guiding beacon of light in the Indian side, his words were like advice from God; he is after all the God of cricket! His constant presence and contributions during all of the five contests between India and Pakistan in a World Cup were astounding! Every time Shoaib Akhtar came to bowl to Sachin, the crowd stood silent, lips sealed! A huge uproar within a matter of seconds confirmed what Sachin did; a sixer over Shoaib’s head – a befitting answer to the always angry pacer looking for ways to strike Sachin’s head off achievements and laurels in the World Cup don’t come easy; he laid his life on the line even after battling constant tennis elbow injuries due to usage of a heavier bat.

ICC World Cup 2015

But Sachin is Sachin, he neither squirmed nor complained, he bounced back using the same heavy bat and continued to awe audiences with his master-strokes!

This World Cup will be a dismal one for sure, India’s team is pretty weak compared to tall orders of other cricketing nations competing in the tournament. Sachin will be missed; missed like a person misses oxygen when asphyxiated! Last time India was lucky, playing on home soil, winning with the home crowd’s unflinching support. This time we play down-under; tensions will be high!

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin sir, if you are reading this… please note that we miss you! If you would have been in this current team, we could have easily replicated the success of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Please guide our team to victory this year too. Your invaluable presence in the cricketing paddock will be of immense importance to our team helping them bring back the World Cup home, again. Make them win!For you, as a humbling tribute to the ‘Little Master’ of cricket. A cricketing superhero who will remain unparalleled; for years to come.

ICC world cup starts at Melbourne Cricket Ground

The post ICC World Cup 2015 Without Sachin Tendulkar Is Like Breathing In The Absence Of Oxygen! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.