I know its been long since I blogged - exactly 1 week and i have missed loads of matches inbetween..I have no intention of writing about each one of them but when I managed to catch up with Indian cricket, I was met with the usual frustration and the headache that happens after every pathetic display by the team (which btw is getting very very frequent)
India got into the SL match with a do or die situation. With a listless display against Bangladesh, it was a must win agst the SL lions. The match against Bermuda could have been substituted/written off as nets practise but unfortunately ICC decided to count this nets practise as an offical ODI game. So the D-Day arrived and millions of Indian fans got up and prayed for Dravid and co for the team to do well and make us all happy and proud by getting into the second round.The result just happened to break the heart of millions of Indians and with that ended an era of hope.
Winning the toss was one of the major advantage that we had and the bowlers put up a decent show in the opening spell ,keeping it tight throughout except for a brief period during the Silva and Dilshan partnership. The lankans scored 255 and it seemed gettable in a track that got better with every ball bowled and every ball played. Out come Uthappa and Ganguly. In my opinion there was already a miscalculation with Uthappa opening.. Ideally SRT could have come out, taken the strike as he did against Pakistan in the 2003 WC and get us to off a decent start.
Its been more than 8 months, since the opening pair gave us more than 100 and that is one of the concerns that this team needs to address..When SRT didnt walk out in number 1, there was a back shift and once the wickets started to tumble it was the familiar Indian story - the story thats as old as the bollywood hero's running behind the heroin's around a tree in a never seen garden. Yuvi's run out sealed the fate of the team and with that the hopes of a billion people and the sponsors were into the ditch.
Sachin needs a special mention.. The ball wasnt anything special,the pitch didnt hold any demons, the bowler was not settled, the target was not 500,the team had not lost wickets around him, he could have taken his time to settle, proved that he can play in big matches (apart from the sharjah one some 10 years back and WC 2003 agst Pak). But then our man, poked, jabbed, tried something and ended up getting his timber rattled. The familiar nod of the head, the MRF bat edge check(a habit that players have when they get out due to an inside edge), a look into the skye and you know it is over!He is the man who sums up the condition of the present Indian line up. The team whose ave age is 32, is as old as SRT and has been given a long enough rope thats the time has come fotr the inevitable. I am a big big fan of Mr.Sachin but then its time he re-thinks about his odi career. Its totally upto him and India is proud to have him.. But may be, he might not get the fairytale farewell that he might deserve.
So what does the future hold for the nation that has definetly due to her performance in the WC earned the title of minnows. Dravid I feel might continue as the captain but then frankly, I ll have a youngster getting into the helm of the side.. May be a Yuvraj could do it for starters.. Dravid doesnt bring in the aggression element that Ganguly had so succesfully exuded.. He has been a gentleman but then all gentleman cannot be great leaders.. You need some aggression, some jeering that brings the game alive .. When Ganguly was the captain, you could always sopt where he would be, his superb moves, his emotion when a wicket falls.. I think Dravid is right the opposite.. A person who watches Ganguly on field will immediately recognize him to be the captain of the team while with Dravid you need some effort to get it right.. I am not saying he is a horrible captain.. I am just trying to say that its the Ganguly way that works and not the Dravid way ..
Greg Chappel in all possiblities will be sacked and the board might have a re-wamp in its selction panel. Vengsarkar could run for the coach and India would for sure go in for a local coach and not an Intl coach. Kumble might hang up his boots once the WC formalities are done and Agarkar might be the person who might be the guy to look out for.. He has not had a great series.
The super eight has been reduced to a super 6 with the minnows Bangladesh and Ireland getting in. The World Cup still holds some meat only due to Australia, South Africa and the Lankans. Just hope the super eight stage is crossed off in a jiffy and the semi's start soon. Thats when the cup comes alive!
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17 comments:
Sachin is the only person who could make an ordinary delivery look like an extraordinary one and pose as though he got out to one of the best deliveries ever bowled in cricket history. Pathetic- tats all comes to my mind. If a batsmen who has played for 15years, plays the wrong DEFENSIVE shot to a nothign delivery, then India can go to hell. But all the same i believe Rahul Dravid did all that he could on the field though he was expressionless. The team did not support him most of the time, maybe he was neglecting the fact that his teammates are indians!
lol .. agreed .. for a change both of us have the common view point.
"An ordinary delivery." Come on man, forget your fuckin' emotions for one second and look at that dismissal again. A ball bowled around about 89.5 miles well outside off-stump, seaming in a long way to strike top of off. If that is not a fantastic ball, I dunno what is! Glenn McGrath has been bowling stuff like that for years, and that is the reason why he will forever be remembered as one of the fast bowling greats (who never had to resort to bowling bouncers and yorkers to get wickets.) ... If you get a ball like that first up, you would do a good job keeping it out. Secondly, i think India's own game plan hindered Tendulkar's game and his effectiveness as an ODI player. I mean, for God's sake, how many times has he batted at no.4 for india in ODIs? You choose to send him in at no.4, an unfamiliar position for him in an all-important game with the score at 44-2, and he gets out to a gem, whos fault is that? If Dravid prefers Uthappa to SRT at no.1 , he must be crazy. They deserve this, for having 4 openers crammed into their batting order. AND, its not Sachin's fault they have been playing around with his batting position. For years, he has changed matches at the top of the order ...
The one think I do agree with is the Indian attitude is pathetic. The attitude of Indian fans ... These three guys - Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid. For years, they have been doing great things which have been recorded in the books of cricketing history. They dont need any stupid Indian fans to remember those things for them. The world will never forget their achievements. Why cant we just sit back and celebrate and appreciate the genius of Sachin Tendulkar? Its infuriating to watch the so-called fans of the indian team take out processions and stone houses of cricketers, claiming that they "feel let down" by their cricketing heroes. There is no sense of perspective or understanding.
If you'd rather side with those TV show anchors, reporters, and other fuckers whose only talent is to sensationalise things, and who demand that Sachin Tendulkar be shown the door for his "terrible performances in this WC and before", do so, by all means. Only, just dont call yourself a fan of this game anymore.
Dravids captaincy was pathetic..i definitely agree with that,especially when he had 4 fielders in the ring with scroes reading 20 overs 90 for 2..Ganguly would have had 6 in the ring.Infact i feel u guys are being a lot softer on rahul than u shud be for his stupid captaincy and ideas like fiddling with SRTs opening position.The defensive mode of dravid costs us the match. The indians lost a trick or two by picking seven stroke makers (shud have dropped uthappa and taken dinesh or brought in kaif). Regarding SRT in big matches..he averages 60 odd in WCs...if WCs arent big matches then wat on earth is big matches .. give an answer to dat.If nething has to be done to indian cricket it shud be sackin rahul..bring in a new captain.. stop fooling around with 8 fast bowlers..find a good attackin spinner and allow SRT to do wat he does best...open the innings and let him groom a team for 2 years and leave the stage with grace.IF ne one is suggesting he must be retiring, they are dumb cos dis is a situation wre u need all the experience of SRT in building a team.similair to wat BC lara is playin and has successfully accompolished..ofcos i am not suggesting he must lead india but neverthless be a part of the rehab.
good one sandy..Yeah he is the best batsman in the world (wait till punter dances to the doosras of murali)but doestn mean he can score each and every match becos dats y dis game is so beautiful,so exciting..one good ball ,one bad decision,one lapse of concentration,one bad shot..u r done especialy for a batsman..pointing at one false shot and questioning the greatness of SRT is highly stupid...as sandy puts it sit back and appreciate the greatness of sachin. Iam sure good things are goin to happen to indian cricket with rahul sachin and ganguly around.. the path back to normality is only easier..and guys please accept RAHUL DRAVID was hopeless in captaincy...yeah he lacked support while batting..but if neone is got to be blamed its himself for picking the wrong team..the wrong batting order..the wrong attitude..
sigh, too dejected to even analyse.
do agree about the dravid thing though. hes not a bad captain, just that you need a different approach while handling this team. we kept waiting for that 'something' to fall into place; something just didnt feel right; sigh again, was too late after all...
To go kp:
Hey Mr.KP, its not about the emotions da..Its about reality!!
The ball was a good length ball just outside off-stump.There was no great deviation of the air nor off the pitch!!And you ask me to drop my emotions??
How is this justified?You are speaking about a person who has tormented the minnow attacks and made 10,000 runs and more.So how can one not expect him to perform?
And for nuts its been ages since he has performed for us during those descive moments which separate a good perfomer from the so called great ones!!
I am not saying SRT is the cause for the WC debacle nor is dravid or greg.Its just that although no one person can be singled out for the cause of Indian failure, the senior players need to take up resp. Did you read the article about how Dravid and Tendulkar were against including younger players? Dont you think there is a problem in the mind?I seriosuly feel that the mental side of the players need to be addressed as well. I read somewhere in Viv Richards interview that he felt that he was the ruler of the park when he walks on to the field. He compared the Aussies and said he felt sometimes intimidated when they impose themselves on the opposistion, the way they do it 99% of the times and when a B team of theirs loses against a listless England team we have people like our "go kp" who feel England is the team of the future. You need to control your "fuckin emotions" my friend!!
That aside, I dont say SRT is a failure and he needs to go away.I am just saying that we need to reduce the hype around him to be the greatest player earth has ever produced and make sure that he has his feet to the ground instead of having straws under your foot. By this i dont mean that he is imposing himself but infact thats one of his greatest qualities- to be humble always.But then, why do we blow up his talent to the size of a huge gas ballon?
To Vignesh:
Dear SRT follower, I understand that you are allowing your emotions about Sachin not to be tinted away!!But then can u beat the fact that Ponting is a much better match winner compared to our man...How can u guys be so ignorant of this fact and still feel that SRT is the best?
It is sheer emotions that make you speak. Take records based on average / no of matches that he has won single handedly / his captaincy and batting being done simult? Try arguing about that..I sugest,you go a little away from yourself,give it a calm thought(may be google about it?May be listen not to people like Sunil Gavaskar,Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar)and watch some of the most recent videos where Ponting has been on song(from 2003 beginning) and then u answer this..Are u right in hyping about SRT being the greatest player?May be you might still feel so but then the World is slowly shifting towards the opinion that SRT is not the man that he was hyped to be 4-5 years back. He has faded away as a shining star into the dark clouds of the game.
Ok, so this thing needs some clarifications:
1. "The ball was a good length ball just outside off-stump.There was no great deviation of the air nor off the pitch!!" - No matter what you say, I would disagree with that. If McGrath had bowled that ball, it would have been a typical mean McGrath delivery, jagging back into the right hander, and rightly so! Michael Holding showed a hawk-eye comparison of the path of actual ball with the trajectory of the ball if it hadnt seamed in. And he concluded that that was a "jaffa". So please forgive me if I rather side someone who is one of the greatest bowlers this game has known.
2. "And you ask me to drop my emotions??" - that emotion thing was for Sriram.. Its very easy for us to sit in our rooms or air-conditioned lounges, watch our team lose and then come up with shit like "Pathetic- thats all comes to my mind", "Sachin is the only person who could make an ordinary delivery look like an extraordinary one". Sriram's opinions swing from one end to the other very quickly.
3. "You are speaking about a person who has tormented the minnow attacks and made 10,000 runs and more" - I dunno whether you intended to include the word "minnow" there. If you did .. Well, you just need to listen your own heroes, Ponting and McGrath. They talk of Tendulkar being the best batsman they have faced up against, apart from Lara. McGrath wouldnt speak so highly of a "minnow-basher" , would he?
4. "Did you read the article about how Dravid and Tendulkar were against including younger players? "
i have not read any such article where the name Sachin Tendulkar appears as the accused. And even if there were any, that would be pure speculation. Perhaps you are suggesting SRT has been conspiring against certain members of the team? Or of trying to sideline the youngsters so his place is not under threat?? God, even the indian media hasnt gone to that extent!
4. "and when a B team of theirs loses against a listless England team we have people like our "go kp" who feel England is the team of the future."
I dunno how England's cricket team is even related to this discussion ... anyway, an Australian B-Team .. thats a good way of trying to discredit a fantastic performance from a young England team full of character. The one guy Oz missed was Symonds. and thats a B Team?? the English media has given the Aussies all the credit for the 5-0 win. Its not hard to come up with rubbish excuses like Tresco, Vaughan, Jones ... were missing. guys like Harmy, Anderson, freddie, giles were coming off an injury. but nobody gives that as a reason for the defeat. Injuries happen, and must be accepted. It was fantastic come-from-behind win at the end of a tough tour, and everyone is giving them credit for that.
5. "But then, why do we blow up his talent to the size of a huge gas ballon?" - there is no need to blow up his talent. His record speaks for itself.
6. "But then can u beat the fact that Ponting is a much better match winner compared to our man"
Guys like Ponting , Yousuf etc are good players, no doubt, but you wouldnt hear anyone mention these names as being in the same class as Lara and Ponting. You say Ponting has been a match winner since 2002-03. What was he doing before then? It took him nine years to mature into a performing player. Tendulkar and Lara have done all of that and more for sixteen years. Tendulkar's performances over the last two years have'nt been great. that shouldnt take away anything from him for what he has done for years before that, when Ponting was a nothing player. And we all know about his travails against spin, he averages 12 in India.
that essay length comment above was me, btw
ok i agree you are a genuis in fluid mechanics and u will breeze through tomorrow's exam even without studying.. but i am sorry i am not in the same league as you and i will have to study and cannot waste time justifying my point of view now. so wait for a reply tomorrow
Great work sandy.. u seem to covered all areas.. lol.. i loved the part against sriram.lol
To Go KP:
http://holdingwilley.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=9[/quote]
There is no point responding to that piece of shit.
When I reached that so-called "Fact Two", I paused, went to cricinfo statsguru, and checked those stats myself.
Tendulkar's averages in ODIs :
unfiltered 44.05.
Flitered:
AGAINST ALL TEAMS:
In Aus: 35.14
In England: 39.82
In New Zealalnd: 30.36
In RSA: 40.40
So, whats the conclusion? That this writer is an asshole, who has no clue about what he writes.
Only his average in NZ is poor by his standards , 30.36. But, that is understandable, given the kind of wickets India always encounter there. I am sure you remember the matches in Nz during the 2002-03 tour(just before the WC 2003). The commentators were amazed with the pitches, the indian captain ganguly, was crying out about how they were not ideal pitches for ODI cricket.
Every morning i used to get up at 6 AM (all of them were day-night matches) and listen to the commentators reminding the viewers that they were watching a cricket ODI, and not a basket ball match, such were the scores, all around 120-150. The Kiwi batsmen struggled too - in their own home conditions.
2. Remember, this guy played most of his matches in the 90's , when the pitches werent pancake-flat ones, unlike the ones where hayden, Yousuf and ponting and other "heroes" are muscling their way into the record books. Just for an example, This WC ., jus look at the hollow runs Oz and SA scored against holland and Scotland. St.Kitts, flattest pitch in the world, smallest ground in the world. What more do you want as a batsman! The world is so beautiful! Everyone is a hero and a champion! The bowlers are just bowling machines that walk and grunt and grumble. Poor souls cannot even sledge! The image of Gibbs with his big powerful bat against the hapless Daan van Bunge (the guy who got raped - 6 sixes in an over!!) is enough to get them to turn around and sulk back to their run up mark.
3. The other great thing about Sachin's ODI record is that he has those stats inspite of opening the innings, and facing the new ball. Whereas, Lara opened for the WI for only a small part of his career. Of course, Lara is a great batsman no question, its just that SRT might have had to face more challenging situations and conditions opening.
4. Shit-heads like that Jaideep make it sound as if it is a criminal offence in cricket to score against the so-called "minnows" ... It is like every other game. Take for example, 2003WC, People keep saying that ganguly's only 3 centuries came against "minnows" - Kenya (2), Namibia(1).. Forget the namibia thing, that was a bonus. But the two kenya matches were crucial, and india were truly struggling when he came in. In the Super Six match at Cape Town, India, chasing 226 or something, were at 24-3 in 10 overs, when Ganguly saved them with a 100. Is he given credit for that? No. Why? cos its only Kenya! The next one was in the semis, again struggling against Kenya on a bowling pitch. His century took india to a good score. It is unfair that people dont give him credit for the two vital knocks, jus cos they came against kenya.
Another example, take KP - the world's No.1 batsman in ODIs today. He has openly come out and said that he finds it hard to concentrate in minnow matches.
Sky Sports says:
http://home.skysports.com/cwc/article.aspx?hlid=457599&CPID=491&clid=3067&lid=7201&title=Pietersen+staying+focused
"The newly-crowned best one-day batsman in the world rankings admits that he sometimes finds it hard to get his mindset correct when facing so-called 'lesser' teams."
""I know against Canada (Group C game at St.Lucia) I didn't know what to expect and I went in there and played like a clown.""
Now I believe that this is a deficiency. It is a weakness that he has to overcome. Because, minnow matches are important too!
SRT has weaknesses , no doubt, there is nobody who doesnt. But, our indian guys will question his place in the team and his greatness only when something major like this happens. I promise you, when india beat bangla 3-0 in may (if that happens, as is likely to), these guys will shut up, and there will be no more of such shit.
To Go KP:
I agree with most of them..Just a few variations...
What I am not saying / implying:
1. Iam not saying SRT is horrid
2. Iam not saying SRT is super stupid
3. I am not saying SRT is the worst ever batsmen India has seen
4. I am not saying that SRT can never score.
What I am trying to say:
1. SRT by scoring against minnows doesnt warrant a place in the best batsmen list.
2.Mr.KP who might be the worlds best batsmen might feel so and it is true in a way-no questions askd! But then just the minnows being thrashed and squandered while the mightier teams being handled well to a 50-60 doesnt justify that the person is great- does it?
I salute the batsmen for maintaining his records against all teams and with his ave touching 40 odd, i am sure he is one of his own kind and Lara also doesnt have such a brilliant record to boast..Yet, Lara ranks mightier than SRT for 2 reasons:
a) Weaker team => more pressure
b) Have played against all opponents and destroyed them not as consitently as Sachin (for the ave says so) but has scored when it mattered.
Opening is tough agreed: No disputes
I have never ever said that minnow bashing is not tough or very tough.Ganguly's innings was the only thing that saved us and didnt allow Kenya to get into the finals.But then, i am saying just the minnows being bashed and squandered and having a decent record doesnt make one the greatest. He is there - a class above but then not there on the top..its only for those souls from the carribean - viv richards and B.C.Lara..
Heard of this man named Sobers?
Can you reason out why, although the late Don is respected and admired, he doesnt make it to where a richards has made it..Possibly coz no one has ever seen him play properly in those days and most importantly the matches were so spread out that you wont feel the stress of the game getting into you..Compare this with a richards, the most devastating batsmen of all time and our man is just a squeal , an ant in his eyes!!
Lets bring down the hype and make him a normal mortal after all he is one isnt he?
"SRT by scoring against minnows doesnt warrant a place in the best batsmen list"
TOTAL CRAP
if people have such silly ideas..dis topic isnt worth arguing with that person..sorry..hopeless observation..if sachin doesnt warrrant a place in the best batsmen list.. then who does.. my god.total crap..total crap
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