That was some really nasty stuff, Watson says of Wahab's spell
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ADELAIDE: Shane Watson admitted he was fortunate to escape Wahab Riaz's classic spell of intimidatory, eyeball-to-eyeball fast bowling in Friday's World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan.
Watson ended the game on an unbeaten 64 off 66 balls but he was dropped on four by Rahat Ali at fine leg off a 145kmh Riaz bouncer as the veteran Australian all-rounder was under physical siege.
Riaz charged in, peppering the batsman with a series of short-pitched deliveries and sarcastically applauding and even blowing the 33-year-old a kiss at one stage.
“Wahab gave it everything, he was right on the money and there were some really nasty balls in there,” said Watson, after his team's six-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval which set up a semi-final clash against defending champions India.
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| Shane Watson and Pakistani bowler Wahab Riaz embrace each other at the end of the match. — AFP |
“I was lucky to get through that spell.”
Australia captain Michael Clarke share Watson's view.
"I am extremely happy. It was a close game in the end our bowlers did a great job and we were strong in the field. Credit to Pakistan, and Riaz in particular, for the way they bowled. It was the fastest spell I've seen in a long time. You are under pressure the whole time and the way Watson hung in was fantastic.”
Riaz finished with two for 54 but he should have had more wickets, with Sohail Khan displaying similar butter-fingers to Rahat when he dropped Glenn Maxwell late in the innings.
“(Rahat Ali's dropped catch) was a crucial moment. We would have had Watson and a wicket to put more pressure on Australia,” Riaz told Sky Sports.
“We watched how the Australia guys play and had a chat before the game and put plans in place. I knew Watson was not so good with short balls so I knew I had to attack. The plans were successful at times but unfortunately we could not win the game.”
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq hailed the fiery Riaz.
“He bowled his heart out and was a different kind of bowler throughout this tournament. I have never seen a bowler bowling like that and if that catch had been taken who knows what could have happened?” said Misbah.
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On DawnNews
Mar 20, 2015 04:43pm
India vs Australia....
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Mar 20, 2015 04:46pm
All Pakistan need is half decent batsmen.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:46pm
A poetically ferocious chapter in the history of fast bowling was written today with the amount of adrenaline discharged by Wahab's spell. Victories and losses are forgotten but this will stay for a very long time. Well done W.R. and green shirts for not going down without a fight, despite all the odds.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:46pm
Dropped catches don't win you matches. Good players will always make you pay for the dropped chances. It was criminal to drop those 2 chances at international level and that too in a crunch game in the WC. Better luck in 2019.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:47pm
pak missed irfan ,
other pak bowlers are not of same class as wahab or irfan, may be u guys missed ajmal as well.......
btw why no one from pak takes wahab riaz seriously even though he always performs well in big games, i remember the other spell in wc semis 2011.....
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Mar 20, 2015 04:49pm
You can't drop catches depending 213/-
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Mar 20, 2015 04:49pm
Wahab Riaz - Respect! Your bowling was fantastic enough - the way you rallied your team and scared the bejeezus out of Watson was incomparable!! Well done
Misbah - Respect! In a mediocre team, you stood out as a rock and as a leader. It is a travesty that you are not revered in your own country. Go well ...
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Mar 20, 2015 04:49pm
Brilliant piece of bowling.
Pakistani Classic Bowling attack
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Mar 20, 2015 04:50pm
sledging dnt help pakistan in qauter final.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:51pm
Wonderful aggressive bowling by Wahab Riaz was the only good thing from Pakistan side. Otherwise with such diabolical batting effort Pakistan didn't deserve to go through anyway...most batsmen got out playing rash strokes.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:51pm
Thanks to the PCB and the management for providing our fielders an extra ordinary fielding practice for this world cup.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:52pm
well done boys no shame loosing this way , you gave your 200%, l would love to see Afridi to get to 400 wicket and then retire from ODIs
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Mar 20, 2015 04:52pm
Wahab Riaz was at his best bowling, unfortunately dropped catches by Rahat Ali of Shane Watson and then Sohail Khan of Glen Maxwell, that costed Pakistan to loose the match.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:53pm
That was some seriously intimidatory bowling. Fast, accurate, and short left-arm pace. Pakistan team seriously needs to improve the fielding. Every world cup its the same story. Great bowling, so-so batting, lousy fielding. 2003 they dropped Sachin early, in 2011 they dropped Sachin four or five times!!!
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Mar 20, 2015 04:53pm
Oh well! You win some and you loose some!
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Mar 20, 2015 04:57pm
well bowled by wahab good to see some fire in the belly, sadly we dont have the batting firepower and changes need to be made. Pakistan should drop Younis, Maqsood, Akmal and Shazhad, and with the retirement of Afridi and Misbah we should be now looking to bring in fresh youth. I would like to thank Misbah for leading Pakistan he has done a sterling job with a mediocre team.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:58pm
No comments!
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Mar 20, 2015 04:58pm
wahab should be a captain in ODi after misbah retirement..you can not make captain from pakistani batting lineup..they all are useless..
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Mar 20, 2015 05:05pm
For the first time in my life I have seen that many Indians felt sad of Pakistan losing cricket match. The reason may be they preferred Pakistan over Australia in semi final. But I have seen many appluading Wahab Riaz's terrifying bowling spell.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:06pm
wahab played really well.He was outstanding but unfortunatly he was not supported by the fielders.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:06pm
Fantastic bowling by Wahab. had Pakistan won today, it would have been pretty difficult for India. I am an Indian and I happy they would not be facing Wahab in the semis. If only Amir were there, they would have had a serious chance of winning this. Bad luck but excellent show of bowling but poor batting and fielding.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:06pm
You guys fought your hearts out. My respect to Wahab Riaz for his effort. But please don't make Rahat Ali the villain. He did not deliberately drop the catch. Misbah is wrong when he says "Who knows if the catch had been taken what could have happened?" Sir, if you and Afridi had scored runs, who knows what could have happened. Don't blame others.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:12pm
Wahab is one player whom Pakistan need to nurture. I first saw him during India-Pak match in 2011 world cup semi-final. he took 5 wickets!! he's really a good player with decent batting prowess...Pakistan is fortunate to have discovered next Wasim Akram...All the best for your future endeavours..
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Mar 20, 2015 05:15pm
well there was never enough on the board to put aussies under pressure.,except some good bowling by Riaz ,batsman again failed to imply themselves.There should not be any excuses now.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:18pm
He gave 54 runs in a match where target was paltry 213 runs and everyone is going gaga over his performance. Pakistani bowlers took just four wickets and 16 overs were still left when winning run was scored by Australia but everyone is praising pakistani bowling. Amazing thinking.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:21pm
Our Pakistani fielders and batsmen have ruined all the hard work of bowlers, so sad but still we love our cricket fellows, after all the odds like spot fixing,fitness,injuries,lack of international exposure they manage to cruise to quarter final,If we compare the match b/w Srilanka vs South Africa and Australia vs Pakistan, Pakistan's has shown a much better fighting spirit then Srilanka.They have shown resilience specially in their bowling..better luck next time
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Mar 20, 2015 05:22pm
Only Wahab, Misbah and Sarfaraz deserved the spot in the world cop team. The rest are all unfit old players.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:25pm
@Genghis Khan India Australia all the way to World Cup win, we are with you.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:27pm
Catches need to caught in worldcup and otherwise you lose the world. same holds good for any team. Improve your fielding skills.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:30pm
Please ask Ehsan to play in Hockey matches or go back to the under 13.. If you can't variation and don't have enough speed then he should perhaps think of starting a new leaf.. Please leave cricket for the good of cricket.. A better choice would have been picking Younis Khan and asking afridi to complete his spell.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:33pm
Why was Afridi in the team. Just coz of his fan following. what was his contribution as a bowler or with bat ?
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Mar 20, 2015 05:44pm
no fairy tale for Misbah or Afridi, but very much a fairy tale finish for Wahab. It was truly an amazing spell, In 28 years of watching cricket I can't remember anything like it. Certainly not in the world cup. Hats off Wahab, you did us proud.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:48pm
Rahat Ali did not drop a catch but the world cup for Pakistan. Very poor fielding Pakistan side failed to back up their excellent bowlers.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:49pm
Well bowled Wahab Riaz, it is always a pleasure to watch great fast bowling.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:49pm
We must admit Australian side is a better and better side must win. Now We pray for Australian to sucessed in their semi with our arch rival. Final with Austrlian and South Africa. SA might win.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:53pm
Toss was the key, wrong to win the TOSS should have fielded first so at least could have idea what you heading for.
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Mar 20, 2015 05:53pm
wahab should be a captain in odis..we should not appoint captain from batsmen as they dont deserve ot..captain should be from bowlers
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Mar 20, 2015 05:57pm
Father India will take revenge ...No need to worry
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Mar 20, 2015 06:05pm
Wahab's average speed had been almost similar to Shoaib Akhtar's speed.
But he threatened Aussies probably more than Shoaib.
Misbah rightly hailed the fiery Wahab.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:08pm
Almost our entire office about(1000 employees) gathered infront of a giant screen to watch and cheer wahab riaz... for each and every ball from first spell he got a wonderfull appluse .. It was very delightful to see (Indians) cheering for Pak .. Fantastic Spell by Wahab... Love and Respect from India... :)
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Mar 20, 2015 06:10pm
Even if both the catches were caught, Australia would have still won the game with about 10 overs to spare. Australian batting line-up is very deep, even their 8th and 9th batsmen could have finished the game. Apart from a dozen fiery balls from Wahab, Pakistani batsmen or bowlers did nothing to put up a fight. Even Wahab lost his steam during his second spell and got hammered by Watson. Basically, it was very poor all-round performance from Pakistan cricket team.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:12pm
The deserving team won.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:15pm
What a fantastic spell Wahab! A really aggressive and a nasty one. Very well done.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:18pm
Phew!! That was probably the best spell of pace bowling I have watched in the last 25 years. At the end better team won, no doubts about that.
I read some comments about what is the big deal about few overs of good bowling and one dropped catch, Australia still thrashed Pakistan by a huge margin. Well those people don't realize in a pressure knock out match like a World Cup Qtr Final, 89/3 and 89/4 makes a huge difference. If watson was gone that early, then Australias pinch hitters would have to come in so early in the match under pressure situation and it might have been a different story. We would have also seen a much spirited bowling and fielding attack from Pakistan from that point onwards. So that dropped catch does matter, and it was some fiery spell.
But again, at the end, better team won, no doubts about that.
Australia, we are waiting for you in the SF!
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Mar 20, 2015 06:20pm
Wahab was superb. He will cause much damage in future.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:21pm
That spell was Magic....was with real Jazbaa and got me goosebumps....I feel sad for our pak brothers, they played well, but on the day the runs were not enough and hard as they fought, aus were superior...however for my pak brother, donot loose hope and keep heads high, that one spell was the highlight of the bowling totally in this wc.....my commiserations to pak...from your indian fan....and i hope u will cheer for us....
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Mar 20, 2015 06:25pm
One of the greatest bowling aggression I have ever seen in matches. He had shaken the Aussies. next India needs to give them a nice lesson.
All the Best Wahab you played for your country.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:33pm
Great bowling Wahab; you were just not supported by the team. Bad luck
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Mar 20, 2015 06:37pm
It was the best Fast blowing ever seen by my generation from Riaz . The Aussies choke everyone when it is their turn and Ria gave them their medicine. Thosh Pak ost the Semi final Ria won the hearts. Ria i salute you. Go home with Good memories.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:37pm
What Pakistani team needs is a balance team, the political pandits need to be out of the sports arena. Pakistani team needs a good offensive players, who can bat at any number, at any given time to score at least 300+ runs in 50 ODI, and their defense also needs to be good, you cann let the ball go or drop catches. It is time for Pakistan to build a good team, for future. God Bless Pakistan.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:38pm
Wahab Riaz should be the next captain after Misbah. We could use this level of dedication as the leader of our team.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:40pm
Really feeling sad for this player, who bowled his hear out and batted sensibly too... alas your colleagues were not half good as you were...
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Mar 20, 2015 06:53pm
@Hilarious I agree with you 100%. Misbah, I have been always your fan. You should get a rousnig welcome in Pakistan when you return from Australia. Don't blame Rahat please. It happens.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:56pm
Wat a spell of fast bowling!! take a bow! Wahab Riaz U beautyy!!!
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Mar 20, 2015 07:05pm
There was no hope from the word go.
Other than Misbah the Pakistan batsmen have no clue why they are on the pitch.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:11pm
Wahab really brought the match alive. He was let down by fielders and other bowlers. I think Irfan was missed.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:14pm
One can bet that except for the class of Misbah and Younis there are better batsmen and bowlers in the country than the given lot but it is unfortunate that they do not get a chance. Lot of soul searching is needed.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:16pm
We heap praise on a player for one or two performances and after that the same player simply turns sheepish with meek performances. First it was Sarfaraz and now it is Wahab.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:16pm
Justice was served.
Pakistan do have better batsmen but not selected in the team, like Fawad Alam.
Great performance by our bowlers, especially by Wahab Riaz. You just can't win matches on bowling alone.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:16pm
Great picture of Wahab and Shane Watson. After such a hostile spell, Shane Watson survived and eventually took his team home. Great stuff played in the proper spirit of the game. Absolutely compelling and fantastic to watch.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:20pm
@Nomadic We missed not only Ajmal, but Junaid too. Junaid swings the ball both ways and could have been handy. Ideally, we should have had Irfan, Wahab, Junaid Umar Gul and Ajmal in the squad. Rahat or Sohail should have been 14th and 15th player. Then we needed Fawad Alm in the lower order. Pakistan is deprieved of batsmen, and now as Misbah and possibly Younis will leave ODI team, they should try out some youngesters like Sami Aslam.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:28pm
Today Pakistan lost match, but the great Wahab Riaz won the hearts.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:28pm
Wahab - for me "man of the Tournament"
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Mar 20, 2015 07:28pm
Wahab Riaz has shown where ICC is going wrong. In the end, Cricket is not about lofty hitting and 100 runs in the last 10 overs, it is about a genuine showdown between bat and bowl. Australia won, it had to win, it is a better team. We can forever regret and wonder what would have happened if Rahat hat taken that catch but the match will be remembered for Wahab's spell. It seems if ICC has its way, soon such bowlers will be thing of the past, and as Ambrose has said, will be replaced by bowling machines.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:31pm
@Gaurav Arya , you are absolutely right. I would want India to win big time in the SF and show this biased nation that South Asians are a talented bunch. best of luck India.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:33pm
Indian supporter, but I was rooting for Pakistan this game. I love seeing Australia taken down a few pegs. Wahab Riaz's spell was amazing, reminded me of the 2011 semi final against India. Wanted to give Rahat Ali a good shake when he dropped that catch.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:36pm
Just imagin our bowling attack from now on. Irfan, Wahab, Mohammad Amir, Junaid and Ajmal. Wahab and Mohammad Amir must develop in to allrounders,
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Mar 20, 2015 07:47pm
wahab riaz needs million dollar contract with ipl. he will be a force there.
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Mar 20, 2015 07:55pm
No matter what - Pakistan was never meant to win as they are sloppy
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Mar 20, 2015 07:55pm
that short little spell by WAHAB was a treat to watch.....:-) what a burst of energy...it was....just too good!! cheers WAHAB ......hard luck....your team failed you on the day of deliverance...:-(
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Mar 20, 2015 07:59pm
congratulations pakistan. you have
almost won the game. Wahab the great.I enjoyed the match.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:01pm
Pakistan performed better than expected. I wonder what was the role of Mushtaq Ahmad with only one spinner in the squad who didn't even play. Mushatq Ahmad was also assistant coach in 2007 WC while Waqar Younus was the coach in 2011.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:02pm
Wahab Riaz!!! Superb I loved that. I have never seen such an amazing bowling.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:13pm
Misbah, wake up you 40 year oldie...."who knows what could have happened?" Maxwell would have scored more runs or at the worst case you would have gotten whipped by India in Semis...come on buddy, don't be political. just admit that you screwed up rather than putting blame on rahat.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:14pm
@Pravin Very True They bowed their hearts worth tried defending the total and played a very Manly game.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:16pm
Well done Wahab Riaz. Cricket seldom produce talent like you. Hats off. keep it up! from an indian cricket fan.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:16pm
no body appreciating coach waqar younis's bowling skills. He taught bowling skills to relatively young and inexperienced bowlers.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:29pm
I don't know.. why you blocked my earlier comment....! Please tell me
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Mar 20, 2015 08:50pm
Would have preferred if Pakistan had won against the Aussies - not because India is afraid of them (Aussies). This would have ensured 100% a subcontinent team would have a crack at the final. Now with India-Aus fixture there is a 50% chance of a subcontinent team making it to the final. Earlier, Sri Lanka too bowed out in the QF. Let's see what happens with India-Aus match.
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Mar 20, 2015 08:56pm
pakistan was playing good enough but that stupid shot from 3rd and Afridi was just childish.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:01pm
All credit to Wahab for his body line bowling scaring an experienced Australian player. Shami and other pacers would use the same tactics but I am sure Indians will not drop catches. After watching this game today, Indian team would believe in themselves that they can beat Australia on 26/3.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:03pm
@Genghis Khan India ---It is actually SriNavasan vs Australia. :)
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Mar 20, 2015 09:09pm
What a great spell fearsome of bowling by Wahab !!. Best I have seen in last 20 years of ODI history. Hands down best bowler in this world cup. Felt bad seeing Pak lose the QF, if they had 50 more runs on the board they could have won this even with those couple of dropped catches. Hoping to see more of fast and furious stuff from Wahab in future.
- High regards for Wahab from a hard core India fan.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:15pm
I am staunch supporter of India, and was watching Wahab's spell in the Airport tv. I was the last person to board the flight , after my name was called twice!! Simply wonderful! ICC are losers and pansies if they fine him , I believe.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:17pm
Nice to see some fantastic and fiery display of fast bowling by Wahab Riaz, a rare thing to see in these days of boring cricket dominated by batsman only.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:21pm
Its time you guys developed a NEW team, how long can old players carry the burden. And please it was your team and they gave their best. Do NOT blame them for catches dropped or anything. Its the seniors who have failed not the youngsters
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Mar 20, 2015 09:28pm
In my book, there are only two choices for potential captains: Wahab Riaz or Sarfaraz...both aggressive, play with their hearts out, and give everything to the game!
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Mar 20, 2015 09:38pm
Awesome spell by Wahab, too bad you had butterfingers out their in the field, otherwise Pak team was on verge of creating another upset.
Being a Pakistani captain is a thankless job :), Misbah - hope you get to keep your job once back home.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:43pm
Great fast bowling spell. However if Pakistan is serious in playing international cricket they need to put in place proper infrastructure in the country. Otherwise cricket condition will be same like hockey soon.
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Mar 20, 2015 09:49pm
bowling with full of adrenalin .........gave nice answer to ausii .....
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Mar 20, 2015 09:58pm
I promised one of the Indians on this forum a few weeks ago that I will support India should Pakistan get knocked out. So good luck to India in the semis. You have my support. Be aggressive like Wahab and don't be submissive. You can do it.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:01pm
Not about missing first choice bowlers, Ajmal, Irfan, Junaid, it is missing quality batsmen who once set, will play for big scores. Defending 200+ is not possible even if you bring all the world best bowlers.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:03pm
@Nomadic That spell you are talking about in WC2011 is the first time I saw this Wahab Riaz kid and I thought - here is the next Wasim Akram. However, Wahab has not had that kind of continuous support or exposure in the last 4 years else he would have been a class apart by now.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:04pm
WC 2011 is the first time I saw this kid Wahab and I thought - here is the next Wasim Akram
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Mar 20, 2015 10:17pm
Riaz's spell left everyone spellbound.. a fierce display of contest between bat and ball that's just hard to find these days. A classic reminder of the good old Paki's bowling attack. Hope to have seen such commitments in batting and fielding as well. Well fought in the end !! Perhaps a lot to take back as well. Hope you will rise next time.
Good luck to India in semis.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:19pm
Just imagine Wahab bowling in tandem with Junaid/Irfan/Gul! This game was Pakistan's all the way.
None of the other team boasts of such high class quartet of pacemen. Only bad luck seems to have deprived Pakistan from
making it to the finals, and probably from winning the Cup after 23 years once again in Australia. Anyway, that's just wishful thinking, and history now. It is, indeed, very pleasing to know that circumstances do bring out the best sometimes from an ordinary individual, and that's exactly what happened here. Well, let's not forget what Starc did to Wahab when the latter was batting! So, the Aussies should not be pointing fingers here.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:21pm
@Faisal Taquie ... and you think those are good qualities for a captain? God help Pakistan and I hope Riaz get the recognition and respect his talent clearly deserves.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:30pm
Wahab and Misbah were outstanding through out this world cup. Our fielding and batting let us down. Winning or losing is part of the game, atleast our team put up a fight this time :-)
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Mar 20, 2015 10:30pm
@Pravin indians like every body else are in awe of Pakistan. Had we had Irfan as well, then it would have been a tsunami. The mindset of Misbah, Afridi and Shazad was not all there at the top.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:31pm
literally a great spell by wahab. shown the way to shammi, sharma, and yadav how to ball on 26th.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:32pm
Even though we lost but i am personally very happy with our bowling unit. A total of 6 catches have been dropped off Riaz's bowling throughout this tournament. If those would have been taken he would have been leaps ahead of the other highest wicket takers but he has provided a blueprint for the Pakistanis to follow when bowling against teams like Australia. Now, like many other occasions, we are just left with "what if.....".
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Mar 20, 2015 10:33pm
@Hilarious Misbah is revered, but we pakistanis expect to be no 1, because we pakistani nation believe we are no 1.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:35pm
@Hasan pls forgive that poor guy rahat
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Mar 20, 2015 10:39pm
Best of luck India .you deserve to win the World cup
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Mar 20, 2015 10:45pm
The best spell I have seen in a very long time...Hats off Wahab. Liked your spell very much. But it will not be possible always because, the body can't tolerate that much anguish. You're a hero.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:47pm
It is now almost two decades and we are still looking for Good Prolific Batsmen. After all the bowlers again bowled their heart out. All the current bowlers can be groomed further and if we get another one who can bowl like, Wahab did today and inclusion of Amir will make a very lethal pace attack for future.
Please find the batsmen. We are seeing in front of our eyes how important batsmen with consistency is.
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Mar 20, 2015 10:52pm
Wahab Riaz .... u bravo .... superb intensity ....
i loved it ....
#won't give it back
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Mar 20, 2015 10:58pm
deadly intimidatory bowling...to win accolades from the Aussies is no mean task...surprising to have adrenalin pumping through out...superb stuff by wahab...you are a genius
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Mar 20, 2015 11:08pm
Why is he blowing kisses?
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Mar 20, 2015 11:08pm
@MOHAMAD Riaz needs to keep away from ipl but play for UK county's.
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Mar 20, 2015 11:17pm
I was as excited for wahab's spell as knowing that misbah wont be leading pk after wc!
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Mar 20, 2015 11:24pm
@Jaihind Our players are very egoist which made fielding coach resign during the trip. They exchanged harsh words with him for tough training. And now the results are apparent.
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Mar 20, 2015 11:39pm
A beautiful spell of fast bowling....in an era dominated by bat and flat pitches. Thank you Wahab Riaz!
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Mar 20, 2015 11:55pm
For the first time I was supporting Pakistani team. Current pakistani squad is really down to earth except Umer Akmal. The attitude of all the players is very good. It was so frustrating when Rahat dropped Watson and a game changer, else we could have clashed again with more tha a billion viewers for the game.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:01am
Wahab Riaz has emerged as a new leader, I think after Misbah's retirement, he is the perfect candidate for the Captain's job. No one else comes even close to justifying their place in the playing XI let alone being a captain.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:06am
Proud of Wahab Riaz for giving back to the Aussies in action and not in words. He showed them in their true colors, as afraid of fast bowling as a minnow might have been. Asia Aur Pakistan Ki laaj rakh li. Wish this superb bowler continued success.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:11am
I like the kid, you can tell he brings passion and intensity to the game. Unlike afridi he gives it his all and he did. Tell me he didn't outperform the veteran and vice captain Afridi by a mile? We need more passionate players like him, if only he can control his emotions and temper I see a potential captain in him. Cornered tigers are fighters to the last ball and WR is a fighter.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:18am
A lion is called a 'king of beasts' obviously for a reason.
When they made a fun of him they (ausises) should have known they are gonna get it back in an incereased dose!
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Mar 21, 2015 12:36am
@Raj , Thanks dear.
We all are soooo disappointed for our batting and then fielding performance.
Tooo hard to digest.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:46am
Sarfaraz Ahmed should be the next captain.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:56am
@Cosmic Lion Sorry all Pakistan needs is that every Pakistani be honest to themselves and to their unfortunate country. Merit and Merit only. No cast, creed or culture should intervene in any decision Pakistani's make. Once the above is done seriously see how the table turns.
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Mar 21, 2015 01:35am
OMG! what a fiery spell from Wahab! Today's match will be remembered more for Wahab's hostile pace and drama. Good luck to both India and Australia for the semis. I have a feeling however that this world cup will belong to either NZ or South Africa
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Mar 21, 2015 04:11am
@india Misbah is not wrong - Maxell was also dropped on 5 runs. Most people would agree that a score of 20 overs against a hostile bowling attack is not something that most would bet on. Nevertheless, the better team won because of Pakistans age-old problems: poor fielding & batting
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Mar 21, 2015 04:15am
Talk about positives and the first thing that comes to mind is Wahab 2nd Sarfaraz.
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Mar 21, 2015 04:18am
stop sulking green shirts.
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Mar 21, 2015 05:30am
Wahab!! fast & furious. Shane Watson will remember him for as long as he lives. Hats off to Pakistan bowlers unfortunately your batsman have disappointed the cricket fans. Please replace Afridi with some young talent.
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Mar 21, 2015 05:40am
@Zak
Thanks for that. But I think Australia got a better chance.
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Mar 21, 2015 05:43am
Pakistan batters along with their fielding let them down. The bowlers, particularly Riaz, did their level best to contain Australia.
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Mar 21, 2015 06:57am
@ahmed really? I think Wahab deserves to be the next captain
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Mar 21, 2015 06:58am
wht a nyc bowling of wahab riaz . He won our hearts
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Mar 21, 2015 06:59am
@NASR Indian should lend some of their batsmen to Pakistan and Pakistan should lend some of their bowlers to India. InDia bowling never impressed me but their batting has always been fantastic. PAKISTAN is vice versa
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Mar 21, 2015 07:11am
I had never seen such a aggressive, passionated and motivate to win the match by Riaz. We wish if Shane was caught when he 4, it was obvious Pakistan game. But this is once again a game and it wasn't Pakistan day today. But i wish they would've win.
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Mar 21, 2015 07:20am
What a great bowling it has been from Wahab. Really it was a treat to watch. Personally i do not support Pakistan but admire bowlers like Wasim Akram. It was wonderful watching the way wahab bowled and I supported Pak team yesterday. Disappointing to see he could not get enough support from the fielders. Had those catches been taken, it could have been different story all together. Felt sorry for Wahab. Wahab! you are the next Wasim Akram for Pak.
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Mar 21, 2015 07:59am
One really feels for Wahab and, to an extent, Misbah as well. Both of you have earned this cricket fan's lasting respect. What a heroic, lion hearted bowling effort! And even as he gave Watson some lip, I don't think anything indecent was said. The problem was that along with a few good men such as Riaz and Sarfraz Ahmed there were too many tourists in the team. No self-respecting cricketer would have dropped that sitter. Also Afridi, Younis and Waqar Younis let Misbah down; perhaps some of them didn't care enough to win. That desperate hunger to win was totally absent from the Pakistan team and nobody wins a World Cup without that, not even the then mighty Windies in 1983 when they chased 183 with fatal nonchalance. Good luck and godspeed, Misbah! You enhanced the reputation of cricket in general and Pakistani cricket in particular with your gentlemanly presence. Finally, for the record, I am Indian :)
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Mar 21, 2015 08:53am
Whoa just saw the highlights of Wahab Riaz terrorizing Watson. Something primal about it,Loved it. Who cares about the game, this part was awesome.
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Mar 21, 2015 09:07am
We should let go our fielding, bowling and batting coaches - do we even have a batting coach? Train a new battery of bowlers. And learn to have a strategy before a game. We deserve to lose with that type of fielding - in matches like this there is no room for error and sub-par batting
BTW must say Wahab's spell was probably the best in the WC so far. It made me throw few plates around ...got me all pumped up!
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Mar 21, 2015 09:21am
Riaz a fantastic bowler having good future, the only pitfall to the pakistan team is not able to play international matches in Pakistan is leads to lack experience in playing international cricket and the terrorism not only ruined the country also ruined the good cricket and team in the international level it is really very sad to me as the good cricket lover
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Mar 21, 2015 09:27am
well done wahab.............as a indian please accept my congrats. what a spell. Dill lutt laya.....
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Mar 21, 2015 09:40am
selection committee and PCB management needs to resign. hopeless selection.
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Mar 21, 2015 09:43am
@Vikramaditya You sir, are not a fan of cricket. You do not appreciate an individual bowler bowling his heart out, just because he is a Pakistani.
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Mar 21, 2015 10:01am
Pakistan should have no regrets for losing the quarter final against Australia,as they played a great game .It was a pity that shane watson was dropped,but kudos to Wahab Riyaz for that spell of fast bowling unseen till now from any bowler.Comments from Micheal Clark say all about it.It was a wonderful game and a feast to watch.Pakistan needs players who posses the venom (like Wahab) when playing.I salute Wahab Riyaz for his great effort.
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Mar 21, 2015 10:15am
No worries guys that was only a game not the end of the world....I am happy we have picked some finest bowlers in the world...we have got only one asian team in the final and should support India in the sf...
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Mar 21, 2015 11:22am
@Zak Stop thinking about ifs and buts. Pakistani fans are good only at that. What if David Warner had played like he does in many matches (thrashing bowlers), then no matter whether it is Irfan, wahab or any bowler, everyone would have got thrashed.
What matters the most is winning matches and here Pakistan team does badly.
The thing is, it really does not matter "what a team can offer or what telent they have". What matters is "what team offered on the day to win match".
I hear this silly argument now and then that, Pakistan is the most talented side and they can beat any team on a given day.
That does makes no sense. In fact it is true for most teams and not only for Pak.
All teams have a bunch of talented players in their own way and if team capitalizes, they will win.
Your bowler Irfan bowled against all teams in league matches. Except for his height, he looked like any other fast bowler. I don't think any batsman will worry about facing him like Dale Steyn or Mitchel Johnson. He is no where closer to these bowlers.
Finally, no one in India is in awe of Pak team. There is no player in the current squad who will scare before the match. Pak fans should be lucky that their team made it to Knockouts and it was decided only on their final league match.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:27am
@Zak Yes. Right. That way Pak cricketers can become like English cricketers who never try to win any major ICC events.
The main difference b/w Indian batsmen and the other sub continent counterparts is that they think most targets are achievable. IPL has a major contribution towards that attitude.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:06pm
half of Pakistan team was not in this match ajmal,irfan,hafeez,junaid khan, yasir shah, umar gul, alam some due to injuries some due to ICC ban. It was unfortunate WC for Pakistan but we did good with whatever we had.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:48pm
Wahab Riaz was incredibly superb! He virtually made Shane Watson dance!! His fiery spell reminded me of Malcolm Marshall. Even though Australia won the match, Wahab and Misbah deserve wholesome praise. Memorable spell indeed. Keep it up Wahab! Misbah's retirement is sad. He is an asset to Pakistan team. I wish him best.
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Mar 21, 2015 01:02pm
wonderfull wahab.. u beauty.. should be captain of pak team. well done misbah...
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Mar 21, 2015 01:11pm
@Vikramaditya - you are so true...
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Mar 21, 2015 01:12pm
Yes, it was only the Wahab Riaz display of fierce fast bowing that made the match attractive. It was one of the best spell I many people like me have seen in their lives.
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Mar 21, 2015 01:20pm
Awesome Bowling By Wahab.. to me he was man of the match. it's pity to give MOM only to winning team , absolutely loved it.. he has been doing it throughout world cup.. I think Pakistani kids need to change their heroes a bit.. You need to give guys like Wahab and Sarfaraz and in Batting Misbah their due..
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Mar 21, 2015 02:00pm
@Rajesh The score was so low, that even if Australia was 94/6, their tail enders could have won the match. Rubbish batting and silly fielding never wins a match.
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Mar 21, 2015 02:33pm
@Gaurav Arya
Spell does not matter, victory matters. It was amazing but useless.
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Mar 21, 2015 07:33pm
It is a rare site. Watson does not have an answer to the W R's bowling. That was an killer spell. Enjoyed a lot!
I saw this killer bowling after long time. Missed Wasim Akram. W R surly another Wasim. Good luck.
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Mar 21, 2015 07:38pm
Bravo team pakistan. With no gsme as orhers are Playing. With every one mingling in ocb from govt to judiciary to bookies to sifarshi to corruption to rumor of superstitions to group making to unhappy nation To injured ballers Hats off to game played. We should support them and tell govt to revive pcb with administraters and proffessional playerz who work for country and team not for themselves.
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Mar 21, 2015 09:07pm
All they need is FOCUS..
Good psychological coaching.
Very distracted and inconsistent team.
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Mar 21, 2015 10:06pm
What else can he say?
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Mar 21, 2015 10:42pm
As a goodwill gesture, can Pakistan loan Wahab Riaz to India for the semis??
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Mar 21, 2015 10:47pm
Best spell of fiery ,genuine ,original,fast bowling for a long long long time.It reminded me of those days of Lillee,Thomson,Holding,Roberts,Croft,Malcolm Marshall.At the same time one felt sad for the low quality fielding of Pakistan team which was not certainly to world cup standards
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Mar 21, 2015 11:35pm
Pakistanis remember these positive comments from the Indians next time India plays!
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Mar 22, 2015 02:59am
@Rajat Khanna
In the first three matches, Umar Akmal dropped three catches, of Afridi bowlling. Not a good way to start the world cup.
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Mar 22, 2015 04:31pm
Wow! What a spell! Loved every moment of that spell!!
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Mar 22, 2015 07:34pm
Wahab Riaz is my hero. Forget the rest of them.
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Mar 22, 2015 11:18pm
@Genghis Khan India Australia versus New Zealand.
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Mar 22, 2015 11:24pm
Seeing Wahab Riaz dynamic feisty mesmerizing spell as the world watched, made me feel proud to be pakistani. Suddenly out of nowhere, unexpected, Such brilliance, can come only from pakistan.
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Mar 23, 2015 08:18pm
Wondering no body is talking about Mitch Strac who started the sledging with Wahab
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Mar 23, 2015 08:19pm
wahab riaz well played in this icc world cup i am very happy on wahab riaz b
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Mar 23, 2015 11:01pm
@whats in a name IPL is thoroughly corrupt and will close up in the near future. It's only for Indians. English county cricket is prestigious world wide and a learning experience for all.
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Mar 26, 2015 01:29am
@Pakistani we go on talent not on asian or non asian. All are humans and we are here to admire best talent, which in this case is Australia and NZ.
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