ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 / News
World Cup 2011
Harbhajan says World Cup is fresh start
ESPNcricinfo staff
January 30, 2011
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Harbhajan Singh has said that India's performance during the recent South Africa series will have little bearing on their World Cup campaign. India drew a Test series in South Africa for the first time, won the only Twenty20, and an under-strength one-day side led the five-match series 2-1 before losing the final two games.
"From my personal experience, I can tell you that our good show in South Africa may give us a bit of confidence but that's about it," Harbhajan told PTI. "Doing well in bouncy pitches in South Africa and playing in the World Cup is a different ball game altogether."
He gave the example of the 2003 World Cup, when India reached the final on the back of a forgettable tour of New Zealand. "If you remember, we had a disastrous tour of New Zealand where we lost in both Test and ODI series," he said. "But when we played in the World Cup, it was a different story. We dominated New Zealand and went on to play the final. That's why I feel that a bilateral series can never be an indicator to a team's performance in a big event."
India go into the World Cup starting next month as one of the favourites, and Harbhajan said the form of the youngsters in the team would be a big factor in how far India progress. "I have loads of expectations from guys like Virat [Kohli], Yusuf [Pathan] and [Suresh] Raina. They have had enough exposure in international cricket and I am really hopeful that they would come up trumps."
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Favorites Sri Lanka and India...no doubt..and i'm sure the world cup will return to the subcontinent after 1996...bangladesh could surprise as well...no hope for england, new zealand or even south africa...australia is athreat as always..but i hope Sri Lanka will win it, if not either india or pak maybe
Posted by anver777 on (January 31 2011, 11:39 AM GMT)My friend Harbhajan is very much overconfidence........ Beware!!!! even SL & Pak r equally strong on slow pitches ...........
Posted bywhtevr guys. IN SHORT: INDIA may reach to 2nd round.If luck goes they max go to semies.. But the world cup.. Its nt for thm.. THEY CANT MAKE IT THTS FOR SURE.. Thr r many teams who r more capable of having world cup.
Posted byYes south africa dominated the whole ODI series , but when it mattered the most , they choked again ...so it is a fair result 3-2 .. don't think steyn & morkel will be effective in sub-continent conditions , neither they have world class spinner .. If anybody can save them it will kallis or AB devillers . England has good chance as they have quality spinner in Swann & yardy and good batting line up .So the hot favourites are still India & Sri lanka . Cmmon guys support india , as this is the best team they ever had going into WC , they can have a odd bad day but cmmon they can't lose to bangladesh atleast .....I hope they don't have a bad day in semis or finals like in 1996 world cup ..
Posted by Rajiv007 on (January 31 2011, 10:58 AM GMT)I like the peoples who commented against India... Thanks Guys!! India always played well when people said they cant... Post more comments against India.... I love to see Sachin, Sehwag and Pathan in angry mode... God save the bowlers!
Posted byindia got a better side this tym .... my team _ sachin shewag gambhir raina yuvi dhoni yusuf bhajji zaheer praveen munaf.... best team... if its a slow track one more specialized spinner can be operated... no use of nehra to play in the 11..... chak de india!!!!!!!
Posted by@ TheNeutralAnalyst........... by what stretch of neutral analysis can you proclaim that India would lose to Bangladesh... they might not win the world cup and that doesnt mean they dont have the capability, it just means that anyone can have a bad day in field after quarterfinals...
Posted by screamingeagle on (January 31 2011, 10:06 AM GMT)Ind- Bad bowling, Good batting, dodgy under pressure. Depends a lot on how the bowlers do, especially the part timers SA-Honest triers, might be tough for them in the subcontinent with Steyn/Morkel being less effective. Hmm, and someone said they tend to..choke. lol Eng-Could surprise some people, but not really in the long run. SF at best. Aus-Would rate them higher than lots of people here, depends on how Ponting/lee/clark and the support bowling fare. SL-good team, may run into a few teams with lots to prove. WI, Pak etc. Can be interesting. If they do well in league phase, would be a tough team. Pak/WI/Bang-Odd upset here and there, but frankly, lacks the consistency. NZ-rate em lesser than above teams. Rest? they make up the numbers. I do feel the league phase would give us a more clear indication. I tend to think it would be Aus/SL/Pak/nz in Gr A & Ind/SA/Eng/Bang in Gr B Semis Aus-SA and Ind-SL; Finals MAY be Aus-Ind Its will be a WC of bits and pieces players!!
Posted by KiwiRocker on (January 31 2011, 10:05 AM GMT)This is same non sense that I hear every four years since 1987. India builds up a lot of hype and over zealous Indian fans build up unrealistic expectations. India is supposed to be No.1 test team in world and they were rolled over by SA and a drawn series was a win for SA. India were found wanting in ODI's and 3-2 result is unfair to SA who dominated the whole series without best ever cricketer J Kallis. Indian might struggle even against B'desh. Biggest weakness for India is their bowling that has no quality in it. Harbhajan has been taken to cleaners by Sri Lankan and Pakistani batsmen in past. He averages 65 with bowl against Pakistan.Zaheer Khan can not bowl more than 10 overs. India made a blunder by not picking Sreesanth who was a stand out in SA series. Indian middle order looks inexperienced.Raina and Yuvraj should not even be in team based on form and performances.Yousaf Pathan has been tried, tested, measured, weighed and failed more than he succeeded. Not Good Signs..Really
Posted by naren17245 on (January 31 2011, 09:45 AM GMT)Cmon guys...be practical....some say that India wont even reach semis....some say it will loose its first match with Bangladesh....just watch the Team....Its not about the an individual player...its about the team....not like in the 90's where the entire team relied on just a single player....most of them are making their own contributions in each and every match....they r sometimes where not even a single player plays that match...but it happens to every team.....so stop Fussing around that India wont reach Semis....they will Definitely reach Semis....and let us hope that it is not a repeat of 2007.....
Posted by kash26 on (January 31 2011, 09:44 AM GMT)The Indian batting is strong and more so when they are playing on their home ground.However the Indians are weak in both fielding and the bowling attack.Therefore no one should be surprised if the Indians get knocked out in the preliminary round.
Posted by Nitesh.Chandra on (January 31 2011, 08:31 AM GMT)@dr_arindam, u need to check the format again.. QF: A1vsB4 (Q1), A2VsB3 (Q2); A3VsB2 (Q3); A4 vsB1 (Q4). SF: Q1 winner vs Q2 winner (S1); Q3 winner vs Q4 winner (S2) Final: S1 winner vs S2 winner. Assuming India to be A1 or A2, India can meet SL in Finals if SL is either B1 or B2; assuming India ti be A3 or A4, India can meet SL in finals ifSL is either B3 or B4..
Posted bySouth African batsmen struggled against indian part time bowlers on bouncy tracks ...they have no chance of reaching finals this WC .. India and Srilanka are hot favourites to win this year ....
Posted by NoMeRcY-RaGE on (January 31 2011, 07:43 AM GMT)lets do 1 thing...pik india's playing 11 n then match with other teams on behalf of merit who disagree that india wont win the cup
Posted by NoMeRcY-RaGE on (January 31 2011, 07:36 AM GMT)this cup shud be india's that too not only bcoz its being played here but for sachin...n its fitting that d final is in mumbai only..easily said than done...after group stage even a single mistake will cost d cup
Posted by vipinchaudhary2325 on (January 31 2011, 07:32 AM GMT)my team for WC. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kohli, Raina, pathan, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Munaf/praveen.... no Nehra plz.... we dont need him, he cant bat, he cant field, he cant bowl..... 50 overs.... 30 overs from (Zaheer, Harbhajan, Praveen)... 20 overs from (pathan, yuvraj, sehwag, raina)... yuvraj and pathan can bowl 7-8 overs each.... remaining 5-6 overs can be done by Sehwag & raina.... nd dont forgot Sachin can bowl too.... batting upto 9 (Harbhajan can bat).... WC is ours
Posted byAll the top 8 team can reach QF, after that there is a lottery, 3 good games in as row you are the world champions. Team need to concentrate on consistency... this will get them through. Wish India do that..
Posted by Agus2010 on (January 31 2011, 06:58 AM GMT)Yes! even if we don't make in World cup, still we have more cricket follows (by IPL 4th session), so no need to worry about, still they will play more cricket and make more money, the fans should support whether they win or lose lol!
Posted by TheNeutralAnalyst on (January 31 2011, 06:50 AM GMT)@ Cpt.Meanster : Keep dreaming!!! India can't qualify to semi final. India will lose its first match VS Bangladesh on 19th February!!!
Posted by Muneeb_Dawood on (January 31 2011, 06:44 AM GMT)Hmmm...let me just understand this. India went to SA with the best team that will probably ever go there and managed to only draw the test series. They then won a Pro20 which was more a celebration than a proper match...emphasised by it being played on a soccer pitch. They then contrived to self-implode and lose the one day series. To be honest, as an Indian living in SA, I expected more from team India. Atleast an ODI series victory? My summary is that India competed well but came up (well) short. The mentality of being happy to just compete on away tours should change - it's worthless. Also, I was gutted to hear about the Kolkata stadium. C'mon guys, countries like SA have hosted a soccer world cup, and India can't even ensure that one stadium is properly renovated?? And a comment below was made about economic power...my word...shocking! Absolute mediocrity!
Posted by TheNeutralAnalyst on (January 31 2011, 06:42 AM GMT)India will not reach even the semi final!!! I bet!!!
Posted by amarjeet3007 on (January 31 2011, 05:52 AM GMT)India will win this beating south africa in the finals.
Posted by rafiq881 on (January 31 2011, 05:36 AM GMT)The only guy who doesnt seem to show confidence in Yusuf Pathan is MS Dhoni, Dhoni was a different person before. Money has gotten into his head. In the last 20 ODI innings he averages 21. He takes credit for teams performance, no one seems to point at what he his form is , what is contribution is. Gambhir gave ONE chance to yusuf to play higher up in the order and it has changed his career. Dhoni is mean, he is responsible for the outter of sreesanth, rp singh, irfan.. they couldd be in playin 11 anyday, any time.I really hope India win the world cup!
Posted byIndia by sure will reach the semis ! i hope our bowlers don't have bad day in big match like in 2003 finals ....this is our last chance to win the world cup for our legend sachin tendulkar...
Posted byI think everybody is underestimated Sri Lanka. They have some of the best ODI (and Test) players in the world. They could easily go undefeated to the final, and I can't say that about any other team. Having said that, watching Australia's bowling dismantle England last night gives me confidence in them.
Posted by dr_arindam on (January 31 2011, 04:36 AM GMT)@Nitesh.Chandra: India and Sri Lanka cannot play the final. The format of the world cup will ensure they play in semi-final if both of them qualify.
Posted byRavi Darira- either u have very limited knowledge about cricket or u r so biased in ur opinion . for ur info S.L has one of the most in form batsman in world cricket at the moment ( Sanga / Dilshan ) in a one day game u wouldn't need all 7 batsman to score centuries u jst need 1 or 2 click. S.L. has 2 of the best all rounders at the moment ( Mathews & Thisara Perere ) can u name 1 Decent all rounder in the indian team? if u say Yuvi or Pathan is an all rounder its a joke. moreover india's bowling is weak. thats y they always pick 7 batsmen , hoping that they can win matches by their strong batting. but that is not the case, u need a balance side when it comes 2 a tournament like this. remember the last w.c. indian's went home in the first round it self after boasting so munch leading up to the w.c. Indians do crumble when it comes to crunch games, simply be coz thay cannot perform under pressure. And specially with the bowling lineup u have. My fav's are S.L. / Aus/ S.A. / Pak.
Posted by nlambda on (January 31 2011, 04:27 AM GMT)@Ranura, if my memory is correct India beat SL by 183 runs (!!) in 2003 and 157 runs (!!!) in 1999 WC.
Posted by vikicork on (January 31 2011, 03:59 AM GMT)team should be --- Sachin,Sehwag,Gambhir,Kohli,Yuvraj, Raina,Yusuf,Dhoni,Harbhajan,Zaheer and Praveen. Yuvraj is good enough to bowl ten overs on his own and Yusuf ,Raina and Sehwag can share ten .theres no point taking bowlers for the sake of taking bowlers if they are not match winning bowlers and i think Yuvraj can bowl as well as Chawla and obviously bat a whole lot better .What do you guys think?
Posted by@ that Moment Aussies Came Back Seriously. So Game Is Open between Aussie/SL/IND/SA & Pak. England Cant win Bcoz there Always failed @ Subcontinental. @ the moment WC race Between SL/IND/ & SA. But AuS Can win If there come back strongly. PAK Also hv a chance bcoz , anyone cant able to forecast About Them
Posted by Ranura on (January 31 2011, 01:42 AM GMT)@Deepkar. he he, u r correct about all da things wt u said but india can't beat sri lanka
Posted by@Deepkar - calling dhoni the luckiest captain is laughable, do you even follow cricket?!! he is the best captain in the world at the moment, and every team he captains has been winning consistently (lead to CSK to IPL and Champion's trophy, india to a number of test and ODI wins), no test series losses so far, and ironically he has actually been unlucky with the tosses! We are lucky to have him as our captain!
Posted by Deepkar on (January 31 2011, 00:30 AM GMT)India have good chances as its batting is very strong 6 out of top 8 r test centuriens (make it 7/8 if raina playes) 2 who dosent have century r those who never played test (kohli and pathan) minimum ave. of batsman is 32+ (pathan who plays at no.7 and he have sr 115+) we have luckiest captain on earth, most distructive openers in SRT and viru, only consern in batting is yuvi if he fails in whole WC it dosent matter as SRT, gambhir, kohli r in very good form and dhoni can be destructive on indian pitches + pathan. WE R HAVING VERY STRONG TEAM.
Posted by@nlambda - i don't think its the worst, we have a decent bowling line up - zaheer, nehra and praveen are good enough, harbhajan is dependable. Clearly this is the best Indian team in any world cup so far. People are writing off pakistan, which is a mistake. Similarly sri lanka are not as good as they are made out to be, their batting looks thin. My bet is on ind, aus, pakistan and england to make it to the semis...
Posted byI do not want to put pressure on the Indian team, but they've gotta win this. I'm not going to make predictions before the tournament starts, because the World Cup is one tournament where even the best analysts predictions get thrown out of the window.
Posted by Cpt.Meanster on (January 30 2011, 22:31 PM GMT)@Sabika Zehra: Keep dreaming ! Pakistan is going back home after the league phase. They don't have quality players apart from Afridi, Younis Khan and Misbah. They don't have a captain yet how's that for an easter egg ? @Martina.Aus: Australia champions ??? don't be ridiculous please. This ain't no Aussie side of the 1990s or early 2000s. Sure Ponting is coming back but he's just a bitter old man with fond memories. His retirement will be painful. My semi finalists are India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England. Final will be played between India and Sri Lanka. It's anybody from there on however given the recent form of India against SL it should be an Indian victory. Chao !
Posted by Nitesh.Chandra on (January 30 2011, 22:02 PM GMT)@manaswi lingam- Pak will be knocked out in QF or SF at the max..
Posted by Nitesh.Chandra on (January 30 2011, 22:00 PM GMT)SL will win this world cup.. with India the runner up..
Posted by@Sabika: Dream on..Dream on..
Posted byI think this is the most open world cup after a long time, no clear favorites. My favorite has to be India, Aus, SL and SA. England have been struggling in Aus and shown their true colors (I expect England to reach Qtrs at least) All the teams right now are struggling in bowling or batting and that makes this world cup more interesting. Lets hope we win it for Sachin.
Posted byIndia will be knocked out by Pakistan in the quarterfinals.
Posted by manasvi_lingam on (January 30 2011, 21:03 PM GMT)Even though everyone thinks India are one of the favs, I'm not sure. We have a good top order with players like Gambhir, Sachin, Kohli in the top 4. Similarly, our lower order is good with Yusuf Pathan, Bhajji and Zak. But, the middle order is the most crucial part of any team and all of our players are out of form. Munaf will not be effective on Indian pitches and Nehra is out of form. Bahjji can contain but does not pick up wickets. Only Zaheer is a good bowler. I think India may make the quarters but not further. I see Aus, SA and Sri Lanka making it. If England find the right player at 7 and Morgan fires, then they will make it. But the true dark horses are Pakistan with their array of all-rounders - Hafeez, Afridi and Razzaq. In fact, they can go in with only 3 pure bowlers and bat all the way till 8.
Posted byindia have a good chance for 2011 trophy with good all rounders like yousuf and yuvi
Posted byIMO, the final four will be Ind, Aus, England, and SL or SA with India as the favorites to lift the trophy. Apart from the obvious advantages of playing in sub-continental conditions, the Indian team has in its favor: (1) Right talent: Whether it be Gary's coaching, Dhoni's captaincy, the dramatic improvement in fielding with the youngsters, the fantastic batting line-up down to #9, the number of spin bowling all-rounders in the team - this is a dream team, (2) Sachin's send-off: All of India, especially the players want to win it Sachin - and it is as if the Universe is conspiring to make it happen in front of Indian fans, (3) None of the top teams are a class apart as WI was in their heyday or Australia was over the last 20 years - more or less evenly matched, and (4) Money - India winning the world cup in India will have an impact on India's overall emergence as a economic power. India has to imaginative in selecting the final XI, not settle for stale combinations, and execute well.
Posted by nlambda on (January 30 2011, 19:51 PM GMT)We have best batting line up AND worst bowling line up of any major team.
Posted by niksaims on (January 30 2011, 19:16 PM GMT)I have respect for all d teams. Let me tell Aussie lovers who r still ignoring chances of indian team that : With Pathan don't forget Sehwag. He will be in true colour in indian pitches with sachin. We r just talking about sachin sehwag & pathAn. But in indian pitches with top 3 sachin sehwag & gambler back. It will b hard to restrict india. On indian pitches & given conditions only batting will be count and not bowling in slow pitches. So beware of sachin, sehwag, gambler, Pathan, yuvraj
Posted by martina.AUS on (January 30 2011, 18:37 PM GMT)well, india cant boast about good odi performance in recently concluded SA series, though test side definitely made an impact. But Aus are the real fav , with the return of ponting and lee. im predicting ind - aus final, because of the influence of sachin . but my heart goes for aus - eng final. though possible semifinalists would be aus, india, eng , sri/SA. best of luck india.. not underestimating ur capabilities, with pathn add colour to this side. BUT ausies wil hold the trophy//
Posted by candyfloss on (January 30 2011, 18:29 PM GMT)It would be ridiculious to judge the team based on the SA tour where they didnt do too bad as most of them were playing their first odi series there.I actually believe that we should bat under the lights most of the time as we have been good at chasing lately.Conversely P.Kumar and Z.Khan can be a handful bowling under lights.
Posted by ravithecricbuff on (January 30 2011, 17:51 PM GMT)Absolutely spot on!! Sachin's World Cup that this one is deserves a better and World Class performance from Team India!
Posted bylets hope that this team wins the world cup for the sake of sachin
Posted byIthink bhajji will be the crucial factor in this worldcup for india. we cant afford for 2 spinners, and the one spinner picked shud live up to the expectations. Of late, bhajji is a bit mediocre in ODIs, compared to the likes of Shakib, vettori, swann, mendis, murali, and afridi. His variations are not unplayable anymore, and he seems to have lost that surprise element to deliver crucial breakthoughs. With dhoni slowly reducing his service in powerplays (once bhajji used to bowl regularly in powerplays) it puts more pressure on our pace attack to deliver, and opens up an option in ashwin. All said, i feel Bhajji's success = India's success.
Posted bybhajji is right india is favourite,yousuf need to strike for a good chance