This draft is based on player performances in ICC World Cups and Champions Trophy only, only performances in these tournaments count, performances outside these tournaments carry no weight. Please vote according to this criteria.
TEAM HARSHAD
1. M. Greatbatch
2. M. Waugh
3. B.C. Lara
4. A. De Silva
5. A.Ranatunga
6. K. Dev
7. W. Akram
8. L. Klusener
9. S. Pollock
10. I. Smith (WK)
11. S.Warne
VS
TEAM THE RED VIPER
01. Virender Sehwag.
02. Adam Gilchrist. (+)
03. Jacques Kallis. (5)
04. Virat Kohli. (c)
05. Javed Miandad.
06. Joe Root.
07. Scott Styris. (6)
08. Andy Roberts. (2)
09. Muttiah Muralitharan. (4)
10. Waqar Younis. (3)
11. Glenn McGrath. (1)
Harshad writeup
2. M. Waugh - One of the GOAT openers
3. B.C. Lara - One of the GOATs
4. A. De Silva - One of the great SL middle order batsman - MOM in the 1996 Semi-final and Final
5. A.Ranatunga - Captain Marvel
6. K. Dev - Charismatic leader who led India to its first World Cup victory in 83. Played one of the best, if not the best, innings in any World Cup of which, sadly, there is no footage available.
7. W. Akram - One of the GOATs. MOM in the 92 Final
8. L. Klusener - Remember '99 World Cup. But for a brain fade, it would have been known as the Klusener Cup
9. S. Pollock - Old war horse.
10. I. Smith (WK) - Has a strike rate of over 100.
11. S.Warne - GOAT. Of the 2 SF and 2 Finals he played he was the MOM in 3 of them
Why I would win - My team is full of players who have a history of performing in clutch situations and winning matches.
The Red Viper writeup
THE TEAM:-
The Batting Unit:-
Opening the batting for us, we have the ultra-destructive pair of Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist, which would put fear in any bowling attack's minds. Two of the greatest openers of all time, both Viru and Gilly were uber attacking batsmen who could take advantage of the power-play and set the platform for the middle-order to build on it. At 1-down, we have Mr Consistent and super-dependable Jacques Kallis. One of the greatest batsman in ODI history, Kallis would provide some solidity to the batting unit. At 4, we have possibly one of the Top-3 batsman of ODI history in Virat Kohli. A supremely talented batsman with a range of shots as good as any. Kohli is a master of pacing his innings and playing depending on the situation. He can either anchor the innings or play the role of the finisher. At 5, we have Javed Miandad. One of the best finishers of all time, Miandad was the pioneer of finishers in ODIs. He was hugely influential when Pakistan won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, as he was 2nd highest run-scorer in that World Cup. We have Joe Root at 6. Bit below his usual batting position, but he has the skill-set and ability to thrive there. A very good hitter of the ball, can find the gaps and rotate the strike comfortably and also has the ability to hit boundaries as proven by his strike-rate of 90. At 7, we have Scott Styris. A powerful batsman who thrived in the role of a finisher for the New Zealand team from early 2000s to 2010s, Styris would provide us with quick scoring with his ability to strike the ball and accelerate during the death overs. Andy Roberts, Muttiah Muralitharan, Waqar Younis and Glenn McGrath complete the tail. While nothing spectacular, Andy Roberts and Muttiah Muralitharan could hit a couple of boundaries and get a quickfire 10/15 odd runs.
All in all, the batting line-up is really balanced. It has openers who exploit the new hard ball and destroy the opposition bowling attack in the power-play and provide the platform for the middle-order, middle-order batsmen who could anchor the innings and build on the start provided by the top-order, finishers who can guide the team to a great total or chase down the total by perfectly pacing the innings.
The Bowling Attack:-
The bowling-attack comprises of Glenn McGrath, Sir Andy Roberts, Waqar Younis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis and Scott Styris. In Glenn McGrath, we have the the greatest bowler bowler in World Cup history. The highest wicket-taker in World Cup history. And in Andy Roberts and Waqar Younis, we have another two All-Time Great fast bowlers. McGrath and Roberts would spearhead the bowling attack and share the new ball. McGrath with his line and length and Roberts with his brute pace and bounce would complement each other extremely well. Our first change would be Waqar Younis, who would give our spearhead bowlers a breather without us losing much in terms of wicket-tacking ability. However, we won't bowl Waqar much in the initial stages of the game. We will preserve him for the middle overs when the ball gets old and starts to reverse and for the death overs where he can be an absolute menace to the opposition batsmen with his pace and ability to bowl yorkers at will. Muttiah Muralitharan would be our primary spinner. The 2nd highest wicket-taker in World Cup history, Murali would suffocate the opposition batting unit in the middle overs by stopping the flow of the runs and taking a couple of wickets. With McGrath, Roberts and Waqar already cleaning up then top-order, it would allow Murali to do what he does best. Dominate in the middle-overs and take the game away from the opposition. Jacques Kallis is the fourth seamer of the attack. Another fine bowler. Pre-shoulder injury, Kallis was fast and was an extremely dangerous bowler who had a knack of picking up wickets. Post-shoulder injury, he lost the pace but mastered the art of swing and seam movement. What he lost in pace, he compensated it with his line and length. Scott Styris would be our 6th bowler. A very handy bowler, Styris offers us some variety to our bowling attack with his medium-pace and off-cutters.
Overall, the bowling attack has plenty of ammo and variety in it. It has bowlers who can bowl at a genuine pace, swing the new ball as well as the old ball using reverse swing and the greatest spinner in World Cup history. We have the Top-2 bowlers in World Cup history in McGrath and Murali. McGrath was the master of line and length and setting up batsmen, Roberts had a mean bouncer in him, especially his slow bouncer which fooled almost every batsmen and Waqar who offers elite reverse swing as well as unplayable yorkers in death overs. And Murali was the spin king. With Kallis and Styris supporting them, we have a bowling attack with plenty of variety and can restrict any team's batting unit.
The Opposition - (Harshad):-
Harshad has got a very good team but I feel I have a much better bowling attack and have the edge in the batting unit. In terms of bowling attack, I have got simply got much better bowlers who had incredible record in ICC tournaments. I have got 4 bowlers with the bowling average under 22, meanwhile Harshad has got only 1 bowler whose bowling average was below 24. I have also got the more economical bowlers as well, who can suffocate any batting unit.
Now, in terms of batting, I have got a better opening pair. Sehwag & Gilchrist is a better opening pair than Greatbatch & Mark Waugh. The sheer destructiveness of Sehwag and Gilchrist in the power-play would be tough to match for any opening pair. The middle-order of Kallis - Kohli - Miandad - Root - Styris is better than Lara - Aravinda - Ranatunga - Kapil - Klusener. Now, I might not have the explosiveness of Harshad's lower-middle order but I have far more established batsmen who would be able to deal with a top class of bowling attack better than Harshad's. The likes of Kapil and Klusener won't get full-tosses and half volleys from McGrath, Roberts, Waqar and Murali here.
Anyway, in terms of overall batting unit, I have better openers and middle-order meanwhile Harshad has got better lower-middle order and a very long tail. I feel overall we more or less balance each other out in batting but my superior bowling attack would be the difference here.
TEAM HARSHAD
1. M. Greatbatch
2. M. Waugh
3. B.C. Lara
4. A. De Silva
5. A.Ranatunga
6. K. Dev
7. W. Akram
8. L. Klusener
9. S. Pollock
10. I. Smith (WK)
11. S.Warne
VS
TEAM THE RED VIPER
01. Virender Sehwag.
02. Adam Gilchrist. (+)
03. Jacques Kallis. (5)
04. Virat Kohli. (c)
05. Javed Miandad.
06. Joe Root.
07. Scott Styris. (6)
08. Andy Roberts. (2)
09. Muttiah Muralitharan. (4)
10. Waqar Younis. (3)
11. Glenn McGrath. (1)
Harshad writeup
1. M. Greatbatch - The protagonist of pinch-hitting openers. Don't believe me? Read this.2. M. Waugh - One of the GOAT openers
3. B.C. Lara - One of the GOATs
4. A. De Silva - One of the great SL middle order batsman - MOM in the 1996 Semi-final and Final
5. A.Ranatunga - Captain Marvel
6. K. Dev - Charismatic leader who led India to its first World Cup victory in 83. Played one of the best, if not the best, innings in any World Cup of which, sadly, there is no footage available.
7. W. Akram - One of the GOATs. MOM in the 92 Final
8. L. Klusener - Remember '99 World Cup. But for a brain fade, it would have been known as the Klusener Cup
9. S. Pollock - Old war horse.
10. I. Smith (WK) - Has a strike rate of over 100.
11. S.Warne - GOAT. Of the 2 SF and 2 Finals he played he was the MOM in 3 of them
The Red Viper writeup
THE TEAM:-
The Batting Unit:-
Opening the batting for us, we have the ultra-destructive pair of Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist, which would put fear in any bowling attack's minds. Two of the greatest openers of all time, both Viru and Gilly were uber attacking batsmen who could take advantage of the power-play and set the platform for the middle-order to build on it. At 1-down, we have Mr Consistent and super-dependable Jacques Kallis. One of the greatest batsman in ODI history, Kallis would provide some solidity to the batting unit. At 4, we have possibly one of the Top-3 batsman of ODI history in Virat Kohli. A supremely talented batsman with a range of shots as good as any. Kohli is a master of pacing his innings and playing depending on the situation. He can either anchor the innings or play the role of the finisher. At 5, we have Javed Miandad. One of the best finishers of all time, Miandad was the pioneer of finishers in ODIs. He was hugely influential when Pakistan won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, as he was 2nd highest run-scorer in that World Cup. We have Joe Root at 6. Bit below his usual batting position, but he has the skill-set and ability to thrive there. A very good hitter of the ball, can find the gaps and rotate the strike comfortably and also has the ability to hit boundaries as proven by his strike-rate of 90. At 7, we have Scott Styris. A powerful batsman who thrived in the role of a finisher for the New Zealand team from early 2000s to 2010s, Styris would provide us with quick scoring with his ability to strike the ball and accelerate during the death overs. Andy Roberts, Muttiah Muralitharan, Waqar Younis and Glenn McGrath complete the tail. While nothing spectacular, Andy Roberts and Muttiah Muralitharan could hit a couple of boundaries and get a quickfire 10/15 odd runs.
All in all, the batting line-up is really balanced. It has openers who exploit the new hard ball and destroy the opposition bowling attack in the power-play and provide the platform for the middle-order, middle-order batsmen who could anchor the innings and build on the start provided by the top-order, finishers who can guide the team to a great total or chase down the total by perfectly pacing the innings.
The Bowling Attack:-
The bowling-attack comprises of Glenn McGrath, Sir Andy Roberts, Waqar Younis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis and Scott Styris. In Glenn McGrath, we have the the greatest bowler bowler in World Cup history. The highest wicket-taker in World Cup history. And in Andy Roberts and Waqar Younis, we have another two All-Time Great fast bowlers. McGrath and Roberts would spearhead the bowling attack and share the new ball. McGrath with his line and length and Roberts with his brute pace and bounce would complement each other extremely well. Our first change would be Waqar Younis, who would give our spearhead bowlers a breather without us losing much in terms of wicket-tacking ability. However, we won't bowl Waqar much in the initial stages of the game. We will preserve him for the middle overs when the ball gets old and starts to reverse and for the death overs where he can be an absolute menace to the opposition batsmen with his pace and ability to bowl yorkers at will. Muttiah Muralitharan would be our primary spinner. The 2nd highest wicket-taker in World Cup history, Murali would suffocate the opposition batting unit in the middle overs by stopping the flow of the runs and taking a couple of wickets. With McGrath, Roberts and Waqar already cleaning up then top-order, it would allow Murali to do what he does best. Dominate in the middle-overs and take the game away from the opposition. Jacques Kallis is the fourth seamer of the attack. Another fine bowler. Pre-shoulder injury, Kallis was fast and was an extremely dangerous bowler who had a knack of picking up wickets. Post-shoulder injury, he lost the pace but mastered the art of swing and seam movement. What he lost in pace, he compensated it with his line and length. Scott Styris would be our 6th bowler. A very handy bowler, Styris offers us some variety to our bowling attack with his medium-pace and off-cutters.
Overall, the bowling attack has plenty of ammo and variety in it. It has bowlers who can bowl at a genuine pace, swing the new ball as well as the old ball using reverse swing and the greatest spinner in World Cup history. We have the Top-2 bowlers in World Cup history in McGrath and Murali. McGrath was the master of line and length and setting up batsmen, Roberts had a mean bouncer in him, especially his slow bouncer which fooled almost every batsmen and Waqar who offers elite reverse swing as well as unplayable yorkers in death overs. And Murali was the spin king. With Kallis and Styris supporting them, we have a bowling attack with plenty of variety and can restrict any team's batting unit.
The Opposition - (Harshad):-
Harshad has got a very good team but I feel I have a much better bowling attack and have the edge in the batting unit. In terms of bowling attack, I have got simply got much better bowlers who had incredible record in ICC tournaments. I have got 4 bowlers with the bowling average under 22, meanwhile Harshad has got only 1 bowler whose bowling average was below 24. I have also got the more economical bowlers as well, who can suffocate any batting unit.
Now, in terms of batting, I have got a better opening pair. Sehwag & Gilchrist is a better opening pair than Greatbatch & Mark Waugh. The sheer destructiveness of Sehwag and Gilchrist in the power-play would be tough to match for any opening pair. The middle-order of Kallis - Kohli - Miandad - Root - Styris is better than Lara - Aravinda - Ranatunga - Kapil - Klusener. Now, I might not have the explosiveness of Harshad's lower-middle order but I have far more established batsmen who would be able to deal with a top class of bowling attack better than Harshad's. The likes of Kapil and Klusener won't get full-tosses and half volleys from McGrath, Roberts, Waqar and Murali here.
Anyway, in terms of overall batting unit, I have better openers and middle-order meanwhile Harshad has got better lower-middle order and a very long tail. I feel overall we more or less balance each other out in batting but my superior bowling attack would be the difference here.
