79-99 was Pakistan's golden period.
5 semi finals.
Two finals.
Twice co-hosted.
And a title.

On this day in 2012 - a continent trophy win in Dhaka.

on QF exit

https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/photos/pb.191600374219003.-2207520000.1426924786./792981517414216/?type=1&theater … https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/photos/pb.191600374219003.-2207520000.1426924786./792981027414265/?type=1&theater … https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/photos/pb.191600374219003.-2207520000.1426924786./792970254082009/?type=1&theater …

https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/760697053975996
https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/756222231090145
https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/758007534244948

https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/702180186494350
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=714025215309847
https://twitter.com/KINGMisbah/statuses/474486087105400832

Tomorrow - important wins for Pakistan in Dhaka
2011 vs West Indies
2014 vs Australia

Peter Moores and Waqar Younis - second stints don't work

India in Semis

1983 beat England in England
2003 beat Kenya in South Africa
2011 beat Pakistan in India

Chance to add for two countries and join the list for two countries. Most Finals.

Aus = 6.

Ind, Eng, SL, WI = 3.

Pak = 2.

Everyone else = 0.

Most Semi Finals updated.

Australia = 7.

New Zealand = 7.

India = 6.

Pakistan = 6.

England = 5.

South Africa = 4.

Sri Lanka = 4.

West Indies = 4.

Kenya = 1.

10/10 for batting.

For Captaincy and specifically selection.

Dhoni can look past world class players like Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj, Gambhir, Harbhajan. Dhoni has backed young players like Dhawan, Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Raina even when they have been going through some challenging phases.

He hasn't been able to take firm decisions on senior players.
Dropped. Recalled. Dropped. Recalled. The consequences are.

One has scored 115 runs in 9 innings with a best of 37 on this tour and had to be dropped midway through the tournament, even though he was using vague justification to try and accommodate him at every possible opportunity in press conferences.

One has been wicketless in six of the seven matches.

Neither of these were in the 15 man squad for the Champions Trophy and yet finds themselves playing the big one. Sums up the indecisiveness of his selection.

There seems to be little direction to his one day captaincy. Younger player aren't given extended opportunities and quickly find themselves ditched in favour of tried and tested seniors.

Once you make a decision you stick by it. I expected much better from him. The results probably wouldn't have made a huge difference, but there is a lot more to gain by working with a younger set of players. Unless they are exceptionally important and reliable such as himself or a Sangakkara, 34+ aged players have little to offer in modern limited overs cricket.

One of the hallmarks of his Test captaincy success has been consistent selection and sticking with players at all costs. Same cannot be said about his one day captaincy. Complete opposite.
It only comes around every four years. It's gone now. Nothing can be done. But one thing which has really frustrated me.

This is what I mean when using undeserving and unexplainable selections to make himself look marvelous so someone else gets bashed. I can never forgive him for this. I am not even going to using the full initials of the other player because of the way he blackmailed the cricket board to get into the side. In most other countries such a player would have been banned, fined and reprimanded severely. He can screw all his Test runs as he failed to deliver in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and he used his Test form to encourage former players and the media to campaign for his selection and literally bully the chief selector into picking him, despite the chief selector categorically stating he would not be part of future plans regardless of his performance in a completely different type of cricket.

vs NZ Presidents XI

1st game
His score 100
Y score: 1
LOST

2nd game
His score: 80*
Y score: 7
LOST

NZ

1st ODI
His score: 58
Y score: 9
LOST

2nd ODI
His score: 45
Y score: 11
LOST

Warm Ups

Bangladesh
His score: 10
Y score: 25
WON

England
His score: 90*
Y score: 19
WON

Competition proper

India
His score: 76
Y score: 6
LOST

West Indies
His score: 7
Y score: 0
LOST

South Africa
His score: 56
Y score: 37
WON

9 games - Y has 115 runs with a best of 37
Same 9 games for him: 6 50s

Because of Y lack of performance they had to change team combination in the middle of the tournament, not what you want to be doing because it suggests panic. Because he didn't play in the crunch games because of his several failings beforehand, all the preparation time was wasted by playing him in the first place. And Y lack of performance was completely expected for those that don't have memories like gold fishes.

Y was not even in the best 30 probables for ICCCT2013
Then out of the blue was recalled after 1.5 years for the mega event
Indecisive selection

Afridi dropped for 2012 India tour
Recalled for 2013 South Africa tour
Dropped for ICCCT2013
Recalled for West Indies tour 2013
Indecisive selection

Scared to drop seniors?

2 of them
7 50s

More than Yousuf, Y, Inzamam and Afridi

Pakistan's leading run scorer in:
2007 World Twenty20 (just player)
2011 World Cup (vice captain)
2013 Champions Trophy (captain too)
2015 World Cup (captain too)
Best Pak batter in ICC Events ever

MSD and India won all the previous 3 listed 

Sangakkara innings reminded me of Chanderpaul in the first QF four years ago. Sluggish 40, his last one day game too. Team thrashed. Left handed middle order batsmen.

NZ have lost their last 7 games against Bangladesh in ODIs, though in different conditions. 

Mohali 2005

10 years since the Mohali escape. 

30 years. MCG 1985. Final.

England have lost their last 2 ODI games against Bangladesh