CT25: Kohli and Gill hundreds put India in knockouts

[00:00:08] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of The Edges & Sledges Cricket Podcast. I'm your host Ashwin. I'm joined by DJ this week as we do a Champions Trophy edition of this episode. And before we get into it, DJ, I will apologize. I don't have any of my normal setup. I'm in the midst of moving cities, so I'm recording this on an iPhone. So audio quality, video quality may not be what it normally is. But DJ, how are you doing, man? We're about six, seven days into the, five, I guess, days into the Champions Trophy.

[00:00:36] And actually at the time of recording this, we already have our Group A semi-finalists locked down. How are you feeling? Or Group A? Yeah, Group A. That was right. Yeah. How are you feeling?

[00:00:50] Yeah, I'm well, man. I'm well. So yeah, you've apologized for the audio quality, but for those guys who are watching on video, I've realized that my mic is actually quite far away from where I'm sitting. So I'm slowly moving it into, without getting it all disconnected and losing connection. What a great start to this episode.

[00:01:08] I think I'm here. I'm in, yeah. Excellent. Yeah, we just started chatting about why you have a green background on a show which is in cricket podcast, but Indian, Pakistan. So I clearly got distracted and didn't do my technical checks that we otherwise do. Anyway, after 35 years, we should have started this episode. Pakistan gets one by day four there. I mean, I shouldn't.

[00:01:37] As defending champion, no less. They were defending champions, boss. Pakistan defending champions 2017 challenge trophy. And that's what we were, you know, we're supposed to record this, honestly, right after India, Pakistan, which is awesome. Good to, good result. Good to be able to record. King is back. All of that stuff. By the time we're recording this, New Zealand has defeated Bangladesh as well. So that's what I mean when I say, as you and I are sitting here, man, Group A, they've been, each team has only played two matches.

[00:02:04] There's one match left. Yes, India versus New Zealand will matter for who goes into the semifinals leading the table. But, I mean, that's the group is done, right? Bangladesh and Pakistan both lost both of their games. Meanwhile, Group B, also very interesting because Australia won from a position that looked tricky. They beat England. It was exciting. South Africa looks solid as ever. But a lot more potential scenarios happening. I'm sorry, in Group B, which is the other group.

[00:02:30] So anyway, DJ, let's start with kind of overall champion's trophy. It feels like it's been a little bit less excitement than previous years' tournaments, if you will. I don't know if that's me projecting a little. But where the IPL is around the corner, the T20 World Cup just happened. What role does the Champions Trophy play in the cricket calendar for you? Are you feeling it a little out of place? I mean, the question is, what role does ODI cricket play for you in the cricket calendar?

[00:03:00] More generally, isn't it? We've been fed on such a diet of T20 cricket. Even people who were naysayers to start with. I probably started off saying, this is popcorn cricket. Who cares about this format of the game? We all started off like that, right? But to sit through 50 overs now... It's hard like 263. It is hard work. The 350 that England... It's really hard work. ...australia, it's slightly different. It just feels like sitting through 100 overs.

[00:03:30] And for some reason, I can sit through 90 overs of test cricket back-to-back days. No question. But there's... So, I was thinking about this the other day, right? There's more narrative. There's story. There's an arc in test cricket. It tests you physically. It tests you mentally. Things happen in clusters. The game bursts into life. There's like... You can see the attrition between players. Like there's... Yeah. You can see it. How hard they're trying. It's over five days, right? So, there's a massive physical element to it as well.

[00:03:58] Conditions tend to not affect it as much. I mean, the conditions change. But like... It's not like if you bat second and a dude comes down, the game becomes easy. And like you win because you're chasing, right? It's... If you dig yourself into a hole, you can dig back out. Right? In test cricket. Whereas in 50 overs... Anyway. We're good. We're good. Yeah. I mean, there was a bit of that, right? In the Bangladesh game. And we should talk through the Bangladesh game as well. Because they were 33 for 5 and then Rohit dropped that catch of Akshar. Poor guy. I can't believe it. Okay.

[00:04:28] We'll get into specifics. But essentially, I guess... The question that has to come with is... I mean, if test cricket is a movie and T20 cricket is a 20-minute fun sitcom episode, 21 minutes or whatever, where does... Where does Odiac Cricket fit in? And I think it's a bigger, broader question because on the one hand, we're celebrating records that continue to be broken in Odiac Cricket by the king himself and all of this positive stuff.

[00:04:56] But it has left a little bit of a question on the role this format plays. But DJ, I'm going to go backwards, actually. Because if we start with India-Bangladesh, half of the guys listening will drop off. So let's start with the main event that was India-Pakistan. And before I get into the actual event, has this also been a little bit of a match that till, I don't know, 2012, 2013 was a huge deal, big hype, all that. And yes, the rivalry still exists. And yes, the hype is still there.

[00:05:24] But it has not felt like the competitiveness of India, Australia, even India-England over the years. And I wanted to play it because obviously I can say this now that we've won. But there was so much hype as usual for India-Pakistan game. And it sort of left a little to be desired, didn't it? I mean, I was on another podcast yesterday. And I think what I was saying to those guys was there's been more hype off the field with

[00:05:50] the whole BCCI, PCB, ICC, Malaki, the why is the Champions Trophy Pakistan logo not on the India-Bangladesh game. We are not coming to India. We are not going to Pakistan. The cricket was left a lot to be desired. It was like no dramas, easy chase. It was, yeah, I mean, most of the drama was off-field as is usually the case with these teams.

[00:06:21] Pakistan have been in India in 2017, then in 2021. They've lost 11 times out of the 14 times they've met in ICC events. This is not a team in transition anymore. This is a team that has no one you know in it almost left. Like, you know, Baba Razum, you know Shaheen, you know Rauf, you know Nassim Shah maybe. But who's Khushdil? Who's Salman Agha? And maybe it's our ignorance.

[00:06:50] Because we don't watch the PSL and we don't follow Pakistan cricket as closely. But like, you knew who the players were in the Pakistan cricket team. At one point, you knew who their bowlers were. You knew who their batters were. And it's a function of us not playing enough and us meeting. But even between the last time we met Pakistan, like, how much of that? Has their team changed since then? Yeah, it's not a... I mean, they're minnows, man. To be honest.

[00:07:20] It's such a sad thing to say. But they're minnows of the world cricket game. The bottom of the World Test Championship. Right? They are... I'm not saying this because we're an Indian cricket podcast. Just look at the... Just look at their record, right? They're already out of the Champions Trophy. I don't know where they are in the one-day game. They haven't qualified for the last T20 World Cup. They didn't qualify for the last ODI knockout stages. Yeah, I mean, I'm actually sitting here...

[00:07:49] Where? What? I mean, they did the T20 World Cup. We went to the final in Australia, like, 2022. Right? Fine. But that was also freakish because it was all the... Kudrat ka nizam and, like... It was... We've come back from the dead, like, in 1992. They lost to Zimbabwe in that tournament, if I'm not wrong, as well. You just like... Park Bean. Remember Park Bean? We're not having a serious conversation about cricket here. Yeah. We're having a serious conversation and I was talking about Park Bean. But...

[00:08:19] Park Bean. I forgot about that. Almost right. I don't know if I can sound a format and call it that one. Sri Lanka has just beaten... I've lost you now with Park Bean. That's great. For those of you watching our video, you'll know. I've absolutely lost you. But Sri Lanka has just beaten Australia. But what a thing to do as well. I can't get a Park Bean. Deep breath. Sorry. Get back to you. Serious face. That's what we're talking about here. Sri Lanka just beat Australia in two ODIs. Right?

[00:08:48] Pretty convincingly, too. And yes, I understand they didn't qualify and all that. But it makes you wonder, like, what are we doing? Should Sri Lanka have given this tournament a bigger shot? But let's get into the game. I know it's been about off-field drama, etc. We have to talk about it. There was Pakistan. Like it or not, we are guilty of driving this hype that doesn't exist. But we'll do it anyway. Pakistan, there is one wins the toss. And he chooses to bet first. Talk to me about that, DJ.

[00:09:16] Dubai, obviously, different pitch to what they're playing in Pakistan itself. But when you have the greatest chaser in the history of the game on the other side, why don't you make a bet first? And it's an oversimplification of a complex decision. But talk to me about that decision first to win the toss-in bet. No, the decision itself is not wrong. I think India made it look pretty hard to chase against Bangladesh, to be honest. We only won with like three, four overs left. Maybe? I don't know.

[00:09:45] It wasn't an easy chase. It was quite hard to get the ball away. So, the decision to bet first is not a wrong one. I think they probably worried about the pressure of a big game, Pakistan. They did the same thing in the ODI World Cup, if you remember. And Bumrah just blew them away. And India chased those runs quite easily. I don't think they got many runs in that ODI 23 India-Pakistan game. It was like 100-something, maybe. Here, they did okay.

[00:10:14] They conserved their wickets. But that would have been their plan. Let's try and absorb some of that pressure and see what we can do. But again, it's kind of hoping for a miracle. I was sat there watching that. Honestly, it was like win the toss, bat first. But then bat like you're in 1980. It felt like, you know, it gave me a real 90s vibe that I was waiting for Azaruddin to come out to bat at one point. Because I was like, what's happening? They're batting at four runs and over. It's in the Middle East.

[00:10:44] It's like 34 degrees over there. The stands are half empty. I mean, it was just really tough to watch. That's the only way to articulate it. At one point, when they accelerated and got to almost five runs and over the 35 on the mark, we were saying, oh my gosh, this is amazing. This is what it could have been like. That's still only five runs and over. And a game that is now breaching 350 routinely. It just, I understand the conditions and all that. Not a lot to write home about. Salchukil mid-half century.

[00:11:12] Kush Thiel saved, honestly saved some blushes after 200 for seven. And managed to get them to 241. Thoughts on Team India's selection? So obviously no borrowed in the lineup, right? Kuldeep is a lone kind of pure spinner. Because Akshar is the number five battered out. We'll come true. Akshar and Jadeja are under a spin options. And then we will come back to talk a little bit more about Mohamed Shami. Didn't take a wicket in this game against Pakistan. But Hardik also bowling full spells. Harshad bowling.

[00:11:42] How are you feeling about Team India's composition? Which is a loaded question to ask after two pretty good wins on the trot. It just, it feels good. But also important that we talk about it. I mean, it's a great testament to the team that there's hardly any changes from the 23 World Cup, right? Like the one swap that I can really see is the Harshit Rana for Bumrah swap. Of course, that's a bit of a downgrade without any offense to Harshit Rana fans. But look, I mean, it's almost the same lineup that went unbeaten in 10 games.

[00:12:12] Akshar's come in instead of, I'd say, probably Ashwin in a couple of games or Siraj, right? So that's the change. And then Sky had come in because Pandya got injured and the balance went off. But that's pretty much it. Like it's the same squad. It shows you the consistency of the ODI team. And when you contrast that, and this is what I was kind of saying, when you contrast that to the Pakistan team, like you don't know half of these guys.

[00:12:38] And I think Imam was flown in from halfway through a domestic game. He was batting on 150. And then he went running straight all the way back to that game to carry on batting by the looks of it. Because he was run out by miles. Not just Imam, but Haris late in the innings as well. Like, I don't know if you saw that throw when you got Haris out. Yeah. He's going to get the fielding middle for sure. He's at 2.0. It's great. Anyway.

[00:13:07] TJ, why don't we talk about then the start of the chase? And then we will take a quick break and talk about the most important part. But Rohit and Gil come out. Gil scored runs against Bangladesh. Obviously, he scored a great century, which we'll talk about next. Rohit also actually looked good against Bangladesh. He came out playing that role. And he did that again against Pakistan. He was just like, I'm going to hit my way out of the power play. And try to give the team an edge and advantage. But Rohit ended up getting out on the fifth over.

[00:13:36] And yeah, I guess, let me, we will go to break when I talk about this. I will send you this screenshot, which I haven't yet meant to send you. But I was messaging with Varun during the game. Okay. And after the first innings, I was like, man, these 250-on-run chases, they just suck. They're just like, I'd rather be chasing 120, call it a day, or chasing 350. And it's exciting. And I know we want Team India to win. But it's boring to watch a 240-250 run chase. And Varun responds to me.

[00:14:06] I'll give him credit where it's due. Saying, the thing is, we're going to lose two wickets in the first 20 overs. Then we're going to have a great partnership. Then we're going to lose two late wickets and panic a little. And then they're going to win by six wickets. I swear he wrote this at his timestamp on WhatsApp. And this is literally exactly what happened, right? Rohit and Gil go. Then Trajas and Kohli make that partnership. And then Trajas and Hardik get out. And of course, the team sees it through.

[00:14:34] So, DJ, without further ado, let's take a very quick break. We'll come back and talk about what I know you are waiting to talk about, which is the king's 51st century. Don't go anywhere. We will be right back. Welcome back to the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast. It's DJ number 51 for Virat. I mean, it's just one of those things you've seen so many times.

[00:15:04] Both Virat centuries, by the way, and Kool deep wickets. So, one of those things that you know are going to come. The player is talented, inevitable. And yet, you just feel this inexplicable, unbridled joy when it happens. Is that how you felt, by the way? Regardless of how, we'll talk about how he got to the final 100, despite some Shane wines that looked like they would make it improbable. So, how great is it to see Virat make a century? And how many times have we said that over the seven years of this show? That's true.

[00:15:33] It's been fewer times in the last few years, I can tell you that. It's been a bit of a grind to be a Virat Koli fan. I don't want to get ahead of myself again, but he... It was vintage Koli, man. It was just complete control of the chase, the master of the chase. The reaction at the end said a lot as well. Like, he seems to really save his best for Pakistan. Yeah, why is it? How does that happen? I think a lot of knocks. He's got 183 points against them.

[00:16:03] Asia Cup. I don't know. And they respect him for that as well. He's loved in Pakistan for... They're like, why can't we have players like Virat? And we're just like, wow. No player. Like, okay. Has won more than three Man of the Match for Player of the Match awards against the same opponent in ICC tournaments. Virat has won five against Pakistan. No other player has won more than three against the same opponent. I have it in front of me. Can you name the five? Okay, let's go.

[00:16:33] Okay, so I can name them, I think. In ICC tournaments. So the Asia Cup doesn't count, obviously. So Adelaide 100 against Pakistan 2015. He scored, I want to say, 50 against Pakistan in the ICC T20 where he bowed down to Sachin. It was like over 50. It wasn't 100. Well done. You got two. 2016. He got the... He scored Melbourne, of course, 2022. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:17:03] No, no, I'm trying to do it in order. I'm probably missing it. This one, of course. This is... I'm trying to think where else he's got. I'm glad I didn't just tell you. No. He's won it in the Under-19 World Cup. No? We... He didn't get it at the... No, he won it in the 2011 World Cup. He was close. 2013. 2013. Champions Trophy. We were there. Varanayu was there. Oh, he did. He scored 50 in that game.

[00:17:33] Rain caught him. Batting second. He got like 50-something. He won it in the World Cup. He did. In the World Cup. Before it was called a World Cup. In 2012. In Colombo. He made 78 of 61. Yeah. Same. I had no idea. Oh, wow. No clue. No clue. But... Yeah. But he scored a 50 against Pakistan in that Champions Trophy game, which was rain truncated as well. From what I remember. What is his average against Pakistan? Just for... ODI average. Junaid Khan got him out like three times.

[00:18:02] But I'm guessing that almost only three times he's gone out against Pakistan by the sounds of it. No, that's crazy. No, but we should talk about it because it was vintage goalie when he started pulling those like cover drives out against Rauf and there wasn't much foot movement. So, it was like, okay, you're just like, please don't nick this. Because Babur went out a similar way, right? But then it was... There was a certain sense of calm that descends on Indian cricket fans when you see Kohli in that mood, right?

[00:18:31] Like he's knocking singles, his feet are moving fine. It's boring, but it's exciting in its own way. Because it takes you back in time to when he was just churning out 100 after 100 after 100 in every single chase. So, it was just great to watch. I mean, not to forget, two years, well, less than two years ago, a year and a half ago, he was man of the tournament, high scorer, 900 plus runs in the World Cup, right? It's not like he's forgotten how to bat.

[00:19:00] We just remember Australia. Which is more recent. It's recency biased, but in a different way. The match form has been what we remember for the most part because ODIs aren't that exciting anymore. It's just great to see, man. And so, I will just close on Bharat, by the way, with your stats. He averages 58.2 in all of the AIs. 59.8 against Pakistan. So, actually better than his total average, but not by all that much. Averages 60.2 against Sri Lanka. 66 against the West Indies.

[00:19:30] 65 against South Africa. 53.8 against Australia. 71.6 against Bangladesh. I mean, I'm like, where does he average below? 41 against England. So, slightly lower than, or quite a bit lower than his total average. 31.5 against Netherlands in two games he's played. Anyway, now I'm going off the rails. Okay. Yeah. No, but he also went past 14,000 runs in like 60 innings less than the great Sachin Tendulkar himself.

[00:20:00] Like, that's not a record you would have ever thought would be broken. He's two more centuries than Sachin. I think 160 something fewer innings. It's mind-boggling. Yeah. Yeah. It's just staggering. And they don't even play that much one-day cricket anymore. Right? So, like, if he played as much one-day cricket as Sachin Tendulkar, who's the god of cricket? Right? I don't know. You do the match. Why don't...

[00:20:26] Can you, like, extrapolate how many hundreds you would have in ODI cricket? DJ, let's quickly talk about the last couple of them. Okay. So, 17 to win and Kohli's on 87. So, 13 needed. Okay? Shaheen comes in, couple singles, whatever. I think at this point it's 15 to win and Kohli needs 12. Great. Doable. You're not solving for the century first. You're not. But when you're on the trot, when you're on the way to two wins on the trot, and it's

[00:20:56] not looking like net run rate will matter. I know there were plenty of people, including Shreyas, by the way, who are critical about not winning it sooner. It's all Shreyas. We'll come back to that. But I'm like... He wanted to watch a movie. You wanted to go and watch a movie. That was the issue. So, 15 to win. 12 for his century. Two wides. Wide. Kohli gets two runs. And then another wide. Four runs off of wides. And suddenly the match starts getting tricky. Obviously, no spoilers or anything.

[00:21:26] But Akshay is just taking singles. And I think they needed three runs to win when Kohli got back on strike and he hit a boundary. Because if they had run two or three, it would have been hard. He couldn't have gotten it. So, great that he got exactly 100, not out. But like how... At this point, does the opposing team do that on purpose to try to avoid the personal miles? Or do you think it was just poor bowling from Shaheen? No, I don't think. I think Shaheen had a playoff day.

[00:21:51] He had one ball on target, which was the Rohit world-beating type of in-swing Yorker. And Rohit was just like, okay, fine. But then he wasn't trying to bowl wide. He just was bowling badly. And Rizwan was being Rizwan. And Pakistan wicketkeepers have always dropped the ball. Starting with the Kamran Akhmars of the world, right? It was a shabby performance, man, overall.

[00:22:18] And it would be imputing too much malice to that Pakistan cricket team who's barely holding it together at that point. They're not doing any maths or calculating anything. So, they are going to be out of their own home tournament. It's sad to see now. I mean, we joke because India fans, obviously, it's entertaining for us. But it is sad, right? Like, you're sitting here seeing a pretty crushing loss to New Zealand in those 60 runs or so.

[00:22:45] And then, obviously, six wicket loss or five wicket losses. No, is it? Six wicket loss. But equally, we should have a discussion about whether India actually has a home advantage in this tournament. Because they don't travel anywhere. They play the same pitches in the same city in front of the same crowd. All their games will be in that one stadium. Which I still don't see, by the way.

[00:23:12] But if they do, is there a little asterisk on it because of all the off-field stuff? Or do you still think it counts? I mean, all things considered, they could have hosted the tournament without India. They could have been alternate choices. India, yes, has too much power in the world to create it. No question. But, I mean, it's not the 11 guys' fault on the field that they're getting an advantage. It's not. And, I mean, but the fact is that India don't have to travel.

[00:23:42] They don't have to go anywhere. They stay put in one place. They stay in the same conditions. Like, Karachi is different from Lahore. It's different from Raul Pindi. It's different from Bumultaan. So, I mean, I don't know whether there's an asterisk as such. Because the teams have to come to Dubai to play India there. And the pitches in the stadium could be different. They could eat. They could have, in theory, you could have a seeming pitch one day as part of the square. But it's unlikely to be the case, right?

[00:24:12] Yeah. It'll be kind of similar. There are some grounds where you've got red soil, black soil, and you can change it up. I don't think Dubai has that level of variety, to be honest with you. So, I mean, and these teams have all played in these conditions as well. So, I don't know whether there's an asterisk as such. Pakistan had UAE as home for ages, right? So, they know those conditions pretty well. New Zealand, who's going to play India next day, has won in Dubai previously playing test match cricket against Pakistan, right? So, they know the conditions.

[00:24:42] But it's an advantage, I would say. I think in an elite sport, you take whatever little advantage you can get, right? Like, it's like Virat Kohli doing those extra reps in the gym to reach the ball to take that catch to enable him to become India's greatest ever outfielder. You do it. Yeah. Whatever it is. It's those extra... All right. We've used it up most of our time on India. But six games are over in this tournament.

[00:25:10] And by the way, I know there's some critics of the format and how, like, after just two games, the home team is knocked out and all that. I like it. No game is without stakes, right? Like, it almost feels a little like a knockout tournament. If you lose, you don't have much of a path back. You can. Yeah. Yeah. Which is what it was. That's how it started. It was the ICC knockout is what it was when it started. Let's run down quickly. By the way, I realized as I was starting to look at the scorecards for this podcast, every single one of the first six games has had at least one century.

[00:25:39] That's kind of a fun fact, right? So let's do the rundown and we'll spend our last couple minutes talking about Bangladesh and India. But New Zealand defeated Pakistan. I think that one had dual centuries, right? Will Young, Tom Latham both made centuries. New Zealand went to 320. India beat Bangladesh in a chase. Fantastic Shuman Gilnock, which we'll come to in a second. South Africa beat Afghanistan. Pretty disappointing to see from Afghanistan, a side that has been a force on world cricket. You know, great Ryan Rickleton.

[00:26:06] And century, apparently he's been working with Hashim Amla, by the way, who is faster than Kohli to 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 ODI runs. So had Hashim had a longer career, he would have maybe been up there on the stats. But anyway, England-Australian Josh English, who apparently has an English passport too. So it's not just his name that sounds English, but his passport is English too, in addition to his honor. Josh English. He's Josh English. His passport is English. Josh. Josh English. That's Josh Butler.

[00:26:35] Oh, that's Josh Butler. It's too much. But great century. Josh English and Josh English. A couple of points in this show. I've tried to reel us back in with last year. And then, of course, we talked about Rat. And then Rajinder Vindra. Yet another century in White Pole cricket for him against Bangladesh today. But DJ, let's just wrap up by talking about this Bangladesh-India match, right? So first off, you were the most excited at this 5-4.

[00:27:03] So talk me through how you felt about the return of Mohamed Shami. And what is it about Mohamed Shami and ICC events versus non-ICC events? It was great, man. Shami comes in, takes two wickets early doors. Bangladesh seemed to be in a pretty hurry. Try and smash everything. They pick up three with the old ball. I kind of lay rest to any questions around his fitness before he then actually went off

[00:27:32] injured in the second Pakistan game. So hopefully gets a rest in the third game. No, it was... I mean, he's come back from injury, man. And he took like... I think he said he felt like a toddler before he was walking. And it was like... It's tough for a guy who plays cricket and could not even walk, right? But it showed that he still had the skill. He still had the magic. And he still had the willingness. Maybe he wasn't as... It's not back to his peak fitness, I would say. He's not...

[00:28:01] Or maybe it's the heat in Dubai. That's the other factor. I was like, he's not looking as fit and smooth. That... That... You know, that temple run run-up that he has. Where the... He like comes in. It was not looking as smooth as it would usually look. But like... Still good enough for five fouls. And then chasing... Not a tough target. 228. It was a tough pitch. Let's go. Let's declare it. The ball wasn't coming on to the bat. It looked tough to bat. How good was Shumat? Like Rohit got off to the start. Virat ended up perishing. Shreyas.

[00:28:32] Akshar didn't do well. And then spare thought for KL. Who came in. You know, at one point to your point. And after that fourth wicket falls with still 20 overs on the board. You're thinking India has made what should have been an easy chase. Looked more complicated than it needs to be. But Shuman was just clutch, right? I mean, back to thinking he's the prince. Yeah. It was awesome. I think we are, man. He's got a hundred again. He's got 87 against England. And he got a few... He got a hundred in the last ODI.

[00:29:00] He's now got a hundred in the first Champions Trophy game. He's got like a few runs in this Pakistan game as well. Before he got like a really good ball that took his... Yeah. He got a 50 before that as well. So, it's the consistency of runs, right? Like it's the inevitability of those runs, which I think Shuman is now starting to churn out those scores. But no, I mean, Rahul getting dropped in the Jakar Ali in the outfield. Repaying the favour that India had given Tawheed Ridhoi and others.

[00:29:29] He was at 33 for 5. I mean, that game could have been over 60 all out. Yeah. But then Ridhoi got a hundred and we should acknowledge that as well. That was a very good knock. But the moment of it was actually that Rohit drop of Akshar. It was, I swear, as far as slip catches go, man. Like I'm not an international... The easiest drop you've heard. But I can guarantee that is the...

[00:29:56] If you ever had to ask for a catch to come to you, it's like the ball is flighted slowly. He's seen the ball all the way into his hands. It's like it's an international hat-trick that is in an ICC event. Yeah. It would have been replayed over and over and over again. And Akshar Pate has... And I wonder what he's taken him out to eat on Friday. That was his reply. Rohit, Rohit, Akshar all the time.

[00:30:26] Yeah. Unfortunately, it's a great opportunity. All right. DJ, as we wrap. Some big games coming up. Tomorrow at the time, by the time you're listening to this, you may have happened, but Australia plays South Africa. Both with a win on the board. So not likely to eliminate one. But whoever wins will probably cement their spot. Afghanistan plays England. Both needing a win to stay alive. Because again, mathematically, it's still possible. Then, obviously, I cannot look at an Australia-Afghanistan match without thinking of Glenn Maxwell. Maybe the greatest knock of all time.

[00:30:55] And so it's going to be really interesting. Where India plays New Zealand, I think the format, if I'm not mistaken, is top of the group, plays second in the other group. I actually think the groups are strong enough that whether India wins the table or not, or tops the table or not, doesn't really matter, to be honest. And so... I think an India-Australia final would be fitting. Only if we come out of the right side. A little bit of revenge. Kohli lifts the trophy. Rohit, I say...

[00:31:23] In 29 hours, consider me retired or whatever. No, they're not retiring. This is all a dress rehearsal for 27. I've told you... I'm telling you this. There's no way either of those two guys are going anywhere until 2027 World Cup. I can't think of a better not to wrap this up, because I have no good words to say about that, so I'm just going to pause. We will find out. We'll find out. We'll cut that clip, save it, and find out if Rohit and Kohli are still running at number one and number three in 2027.

[00:31:54] DJ, thank you for joining me. Thank you to everybody for listening. I forgot to say this at the break, but if you're on YouTube, hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, leave us a comment. We'll be back next week. Hopefully, me with Mike in full setup under a normal Sunday recording schedule, if we can swing it, and Champion Strophy will be in full swing. We didn't get to talk too much about the WPL, so we'll talk a little bit more about that on Sunday. It's been good and alive and kicking, even though Delhi's kind of started strong and started to struggle. But DJ, thank you for joining me.

[00:32:24] Thank you everybody for listening. We'll be back next week. This has been the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.