It is a make or break game for both India and New Zealand and with the Black Caps winning the previous semis in Manchester four years ago, there is a fear that the hosts will suffer a similar fate in Mumbai on Wednesday. Former India opener Robin Uthappa analyses the teams’ strengths and weakness and comes out with a clear winner. He also draws similarities between the triumphant Indian teams of 2007 and 2011. What are the similarities?
The 38-year-old has also made a startling revelation on the New Zealand players’ attitude on an off the cricket field. What he said? Watch video…
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Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
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#UAEnews #WorldCup #cricket
The 38-year-old has also made a startling revelation on the New Zealand players’ attitude on an off the cricket field. What he said? Watch video…
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #WorldCup #cricket
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NewsTranscript
00:00England have been a great side over the last four or five years and a force to reckon with.
00:06And clearly for them, baseball was working for a certain period of time,
00:11but that novelty was going to wear off at some point in time.
00:18Hello everyone, this is The Straight Bad with Gulf News,
00:21our weekly news analysis of the Cricket World Cup.
00:24And I'm Shyam and with me is Satish and Ashfaq.
00:29We have two guests actually.
00:31One is our Indian international, that is Robin Uthaba.
00:34And then we also have Sai Prasad, who is a Dubai-based cricket enthusiast.
00:39Welcome to the show, guys.
00:41Thank you very much.
00:45Actually, now as far as the World Cup is concerned,
00:47we are at the business end of the World Cup and three more matches left.
00:50But before we discuss the two semifinals, that is tomorrow and day after,
00:55let's look back a little bit and see how some of the teams fared.
01:00Robin, first up is you.
01:01This is regarding England.
01:03We had discussed how England was a spectacular flop in this World Cup.
01:06But tell us, where do they go from here?
01:09Will they ever be the same force as they were in the last seven years?
01:14Well, to be honest, outside of possibly since 2019 onwards,
01:22I don't know how many World Cup semifinals they have qualified into.
01:28So, for me, England have been a great side over the last four or five years
01:34and a force to reckon with.
01:36And clearly for them, baseball was working for a certain period of time.
01:41But that novelty was going to wear off at some point in time
01:44because it's not something that can be sustainable.
01:47Their record in the World Cups haven't been that great.
01:50If you look at the two World Cups that have gone by,
01:55say last year's T20 World Cup and the one before that in 2019,
01:58which they won, which was essentially a draw,
02:01which was conceded to them based on a more number of boundaries that they've gotten.
02:05Their World Cup record hasn't been one of the greatest.
02:08And this whole concept of baseball was going to be a novelty
02:13that would wear off at some point in time.
02:16And I think it's something that a lot of cricketers saw happening.
02:20Having said that, it's the way they've decided to play.
02:25And they knew that this could happen.
02:27So, I'm certain that they have contingency plans in place.
02:31But having said that, I think that they will go back to playing that way
02:35because it's something that's worked for them.
02:37I think playing in the subcontinent,
02:39that is not necessarily the best way to go about it,
02:42especially when you're not used to the conditions
02:46as they are in other parts of the world.
02:48So, I don't know if baseball is the best method
02:52that would be applicable here in India,
02:55especially in one-day cricket.
02:59Ashfaq is back, our Pakistani expert.
03:02He has missed us for three weeks.
03:04So, he is refreshed.
03:05But his team has been a bit of a disappointment.
03:07They failed to qualify for the final but narrowly.
03:11Ashfaq, Pakistan lost the chance to make the semi-finals.
03:16Where do you think they went wrong?
03:18Do you see any major changes coming up in the near future?
03:22Because you have the T20 World Cup coming up next year.
03:26Shyam, thank you very much.
03:27Shyam, I think they didn't lose narrowly.
03:29They lost five matches out of nine.
03:31So, that's not narrowly this big defeat.
03:34And I think for Pakistan,
03:35I think it's one of the poorest World Cup performance.
03:38And we in Pakistan calling it World Cup of regret and shame for Pakistan
03:45because they had no match against India.
03:50And it was just one-sided match.
03:51And it was total shame for us.
03:53And losing to Afghanistan was another shameful thing for us
03:58because we were not expected to lose to Afghanistan.
04:03And I would say they lacked the spark.
04:08They were not there.
04:10If you remember my first talk,
04:11I told you that it would be a miracle if they make it to the semi-final.
04:15And that's exactly what happened.
04:20Yeah, Sai, another team which impressed here was Afghanistan.
04:24For four wins, I mean, they would be a happy bunch.
04:27What really worked for them?
04:29Yeah, I mean, it's surprising.
04:30I mean, they had an all-round team effort.
04:32And I think, you know, the bowling attack was fantastic.
04:34And something surprised me was how Ibrahim Zardar worked, you know.
04:37He was a top scorer for Afghanistan.
04:39And if not for Glenn Maxwell,
04:41and if that match, if they would have won,
04:43it was a turnaround for them.
04:45You know, that Glenn Maxwell innings.
04:47And actually, what shocked me was,
04:49it showed a lack of experience in bowling, you know.
04:54Basically, what happened was,
04:56if they would have bowled a little away from the wicket,
04:58they were trying to get Maxwell out thinking that he was weak.
05:01So, I think if they can improvise and learn from this experience
05:04and come back again,
05:05I think they will be a force to reckon with in the next World Cup.
05:08Or the Champions Trophy.
05:10Yes, Sai.
05:12Before that, Satheesh.
05:14Netherlands is another team which impressed a bit.
05:17Because they won only two matches.
05:18But they showed plenty of promise.
05:20Especially for one associate, Saeed.
05:22In a tournament full of full members,
05:27they did very well, isn't it?
05:29Which means, when you talk about two wins,
05:31that means they took down two full ICC members.
05:34So, what do you make of their show?
05:38Sam, I think the one good thing right now I see in their favour is,
05:44they have been consistently improving.
05:46If you look at it,
05:46they managed to beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
05:51And that must have given them some confidence.
05:54And which they tried to build on it.
05:58And then exactly the same South African team they beat in their third match.
06:02And after that, once you win,
06:04I think that confidence helps you to perform better.
06:08That inhibition is gone.
06:10Then you can handle your nerves much better than when you don't win a match.
06:15So, all this knowledge will help them to perform better.
06:19And as an associate nation, I think this is a phenomenal thing.
06:23And they have very good youngsters who have got some good experience in county cricket.
06:28And you have, of course, Roloff who has played for South Africa
06:34and who is bringing that experience to the Dutch team.
06:43So, I think it's a phenomenal effort
06:46because none of us even thought that they would even win a match.
06:49But yes, they have certainly done excellently well.
06:54And they are the team to watch out for in the future events, I would say.
07:00Guys, now let's head over to the semi-final.
07:03That is the elephant in the room.
07:04Tomorrow's semi-final.
07:05We can't escape.
07:07Robin, here is where we need your input.
07:08India has won all the games here.
07:10And that too, all of them were in the league.
07:12Tomorrow is a knockout.
07:13That is a different beast, isn't it?
07:15Tell us what India can expect.
07:18Well, I expect India to win it.
07:21Given the kind of form that they are in.
07:23As in, if you got to look at it from a very objective perspective.
07:29You know, the three departments of the game are very, very strong.
07:33And they are performing excellently.
07:34As in, they are batting, bowling and fielding exceptionally well.
07:38Four out of five batters, the top five batters have gotten hundreds.
07:41And we have to understand that Shubman Gillow is coming back from Dengu.
07:46And despite coming back from Dengu, he has had a very good tournament.
07:49Because I can personally tell you, coming back from Dengu into playing cricket,
07:53in full flow, at the highest level, at the highest possible level in a World Cup,
07:57is not easy at all.
08:00And it takes a while for the body to get adjusted.
08:02There is a lot of body pain involved.
08:04And to see the way he has been batting has been tremendously pleasurable.
08:09And I think he is ripe for a hundred.
08:12And I thought by this point, he should have got at least one or two hundreds.
08:16He would be a little disappointed not to convert that 50 against Netherlands into a big one.
08:20Because the way he was batting, he looked good for a double hundred.
08:23Not just a hundred, to be honest.
08:25So, for me, batting is covered.
08:28Bowling, let's go through the bowlers.
08:30Bhoomra, 17.
08:31Shami, 16.
08:32Jaddu, 16.
08:34Kuldeep, 14.
08:35Siraj, 13.
08:37Like, what more could you ask for from a bowling lineup at a tournament like this?
08:45And the fielding has been top-notch.
08:47But besides all of this, what really stands out for me is the energy of the group.
08:52Is the camaraderie within the group.
08:55It's very rare in Indian cricket to be able to kind of bring that all together.
08:59And for it to work together during the course of a tournament.
09:02And they have been able to do that.
09:04I have seen it happen a couple of times.
09:06In the 2011 World Cup, you felt that camaraderie was the same.
09:11In 2007, when we won the World Cup in South Africa, the camaraderie felt similar.
09:16You can sense that camaraderie from outside.
09:19And if it's that visible, then you can only imagine how tight the group are within that.
09:26Within themselves.
09:28They seem like they are playing for each other.
09:29They are enjoying each other's success.
09:31All the wonderful signs of a great team that has great camaraderie.
09:35And a team that wants to go all the way.
09:38So, New Zealand, make no mistake.
09:41New Zealand are a phenomenal side.
09:43They are playing against equals, for sure.
09:45They are not a lesser side.
09:47Don't go by their performances in the last five games.
09:51They will leave you in shock and awe if you give them an inch.
09:55So, I am looking forward to this game.
09:57I certainly believe that a lot is dependent on the toss.
10:01I think the team that bats second will have a big advantage.
10:05Satish, you had written an article saying that how India can…
10:10Five reasons why India can win.
10:12Can you elaborate on that?
10:14Yeah, I think more or less what Robin had told me.
10:19The team is fighting on all cylinders in all three departments.
10:22Plus, the batting is revolving around Rohit and Kohli, who are the pillars of the team.
10:27Whereas, the others are also performing in their roles.
10:34Then, some conditions.
10:36That's another one which is working in India's favour.
10:39India, generally, they don't lose.
10:43It's a fortress that is hard to be breached.
10:46And then, you have the bowling.
10:48Whereas, again, Robin Uthappa said, you have five bowlers in the top 15.
10:55Where everybody has got wickets.
10:58In comparison, if you look at New Zealand, they have probably two bowlers and two batsmen
11:02in their line-up.
11:04So, that's where I am saying that the bowlers have the edge, again.
11:08Most importantly, the familiarity of playing in Wankhede Stadium, Dishan, where despite
11:14all this, you have four players who play on a regular basis.
11:19Like Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Brumbhara.
11:23All of them have played plenty of games in Wankhede Stadium.
11:29The moment you go into a familiar surface, which is very familiar to you, it gives you
11:33that extra edge.
11:34I am sure Robin will accept that.
11:35Because every time, he will walk into a place where you have done well, where you have performed
11:41well.
11:41And Robin walks into Chenna Saha Stadium.
11:46No, I think maybe Robin might have a different venue also, isn't it, Robin?
11:49Like, what's your favourite venue?
11:51Whenever you…
11:51Long time.
11:54So, which is your favourite venue?
11:55Whenever you walk in there, you will feel that I will score.
11:58Well, certainly Eden Gardens in Mumbai and Bangalore, for sure.
12:03Both the venues in Mumbai, Brabhavan and Wankhede, are exceptional batting tracks.
12:08So, I certainly believe that these batting tracks will…
12:12It will be a high-scoring game.
12:13I don't think the spinners will be as effective as they have been in previous games.
12:18Unless the wicket are prepared for spin.
12:23Having said that, I think the batters will score a lot of runs.
12:26And there will be swing and seam in the first 10 overs of the second innings.
12:30So, whoever is batting second, if they can survive the first 10 overs of that swing and
12:33seam, will have advantage on their side.
12:38Ashfaq, you are the neutral here.
12:40What is your objective or opinion?
12:45Where do you see the India-Dusseldorf match going?
12:50I can see India and South Africa finals.
12:55That's my observation.
12:57All right.
12:58I get you too.
12:59You are batting for India for tomorrow's match.
13:02So, let me quickly go over to Sai.
13:04Sai, New Zealand has been a kind of a nemesis for us.
13:08We lost to New Zealand in the last 2019.
13:10We lost to New Zealand.
13:11We lost the World Test Championship to New Zealand.
13:14So, it's a tricky side, like Robin said.
13:16I mean, make no mistake.
13:18I mean, they always love the tag of underdogs.
13:22But that is their biggest strength.
13:24So, do you think that that could happen tomorrow?
13:28See, I don't want to jinx it.
13:30I always wish that India will win.
13:32But you know, when…
13:33And also, you look at it, Ratan's form and Daryl Mitchell and Santana, these three are
13:39very, very critical in New Zealand's game.
13:42And it's how India plays Santana that will make the match.
13:46And if Rohit and Gill comes in flying colours, then there's nothing like it.
13:50I mean, I really hope that Rohit will do his due diligence.
13:55I mean, he'll play his best in tomorrow.
13:56And tomorrow is a make or break day.
13:58And it's a time to pay back.
14:00And I'm confident.
14:01I'm very happy.
14:02I mean, I'm very hopeful that our team will come back and they'll break the jinx.
14:11Robin, quickly back to you for the last question.
14:15Do you see any key areas where India has to be careful in the second half?
14:19In the sense, like, any tricky areas where India should be careful about something which
14:24they should negotiate, especially against the New Zealand side?
14:29Well, I'm very confident of our bowling.
14:32And equally confident about our batting.
14:34But I think the first 10 overs of each innings is going to be very crucial.
14:38That's what sets the tempo of the game.
14:40And a game can be made or broken there.
14:43So, I think the first 10 overs are going to be very, very crucial when India bat.
14:47Whether it's the first or the second innings.
14:50And, you know, just the way they're bowling.
14:51I think they keep their wits about themselves.
14:54I think they will do exceptionally well.
14:56But I wouldn't be surprised if New Zealand come out all guns blazing against the Indian
15:01fast-bowling attack.
15:02Because no one really has counter-attacked India so far.
15:05So, if they're choosing to go that way, they could go that way.
15:09You never know.
15:10You know, with the Kiwis, I've never perceived a game against the Kiwis as a payback game.
15:14But you just know that they're a force to reckon with in world cricket.
15:19And one of the things they do really well is they play together as a team.
15:23And they like low-profile.
15:25So, there's a lot to love about this New Zealand side.
15:28And you look at the guys like Devin Conway, his story.
15:32You look at Rachid Ravindra, his story.
15:34These are very enduring stories within that group.
15:36And it epitomizes the kind of team that they are.
15:39So, you know, you respect them.
15:42But you want to play competitive cricket and continue to dominate.
15:47And this Indian team reminds me of the 2007 Australian team that
15:53won the World Cup without losing a game.
15:55And I certainly believe that.
15:57And I hope and pray that that's what will happen as well.
16:00Because I would be heartbroken if this Indian team doesn't make it,
16:04doesn't go ahead and go in the World Cup.
16:06Because like I said, the camaraderie within the group,
16:10especially in Indian cricket with all the dynamics that it entails,
16:13it's very hard to find this camaraderie.
16:15And it's taken a lot, I think, within this group to find that.
16:18And so, I want this team to go all the way, personally.
16:24Yeah, one second.
16:26Robin, you have played with Conway.
16:28You have played with Sackler.
16:30What do you think is the difference that New Zealanders do
16:34whereas the other cricketers have not done?
16:35Because they seem to be, as you said, they seem to be very happy to keep a low profile.
16:39But what do they do best to make sure that they stand out in their performance?
16:45Because that kind of a mindset, we are not able to understand.
16:48So, I think they are a very process-driven side.
16:50And they are not looking for individual glory, so to speak.
16:55And they like being low profile.
16:56It's in their culture to be low profile.
17:00And they are genuinely the nice guys of world cricket.
17:04And I have had experiences with multiple Kiwis.
17:09And I can't think of one Kiwi who I have had a negative experience with.
17:14So, for me, they are the perennial kind of good guys.
17:18And you know, I remember during the World Test Championship final,
17:26I was like, okay, if we lose to anyone…
17:28I took solace from the fact that, okay, we lost to New Zealand
17:31because they were like the good guys, you know.
17:35Because they didn't get an extra boundary, you know.
17:38So, that's the kind of feeling that they kind of invoke in you.
17:42So, it's a great side.
17:44And they play for each other.
17:46And it's, you know, camaraderie, I think, within that group is great.
17:50And I think in team sport, when you have that,
17:53you can create magic that, you know,
17:56seldom that can be created in individual sport, you know.
18:00I think that's what makes team sport so beautiful.
18:03Because you bring in 20, 25, 50,
18:05sometimes 55 minds in the likes of an NFL team, perhaps, you know,
18:12to come together to win a championship.
18:14And it's not easy at all.
18:16People come from different backgrounds, different cultures,
18:18different upbringings.
18:21To get all of that together and move in one direction
18:24and to be willing to be led with the kind of egos that you already have.
18:28And you need a big ego to perform at the highest level.
18:31So, it takes a lot for all of those dynamics to come in together.
18:34And I feel like India is in a very sweet spot right now, as far as that is concerned.
18:39Lovely.
18:40Prashant, sorry.
18:41Yeah, I interrupted you.
18:42It's all right.
18:43That's all from us today.
18:45Thank you for tuning in.
18:46Thank you to our guests.
18:47And for more updates, when breaking news,
18:49please log on to gulfnews.com and all our social media sites.
18:53Thank you, guys.
18:54Thanks very much.