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G-BYGB
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dhoni made the mistake of not batting first after winning the toss in both the games.

Correy Anderson has performed well in both the match with bat and bowl. He looks like a good prospect of being the next best all rounder for the Kiwis after Chris Cairns.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My personal point of view is that the current team is perhaps the best the selectors could have selected (barring a few people...may be), and is definitely not `good enough'. I too will not be surprised if they struggle at the QF stage in the Oz WC. However, I would not worry about this too much, since most are on a learning curve, which in itself, could be a bit steep (however, I see it as going upwards). I have hope in the positives. I do not think we should expect grand results right now.

Some specific points, mostly for The_Goat, and the first, for Srinivas:
- Srinivas: nice point about Corey perhaps being the next Chris Cairns. NZ will really benefit if he can carry this form along, at least in the shorter formats, for quite some time. If he can show temperament in addition to his hand-eye coordination, it will be an added bonus.
- Dhoni: true that he is not in the awesome form we have seen him in, but he is still very good. I liked the fight he showed in both these matches. Did you see the matches Sir, or simply read about them on cricinfo.com?
- The World T20 in Bangladesh: I may also look at the complete opposite. Use this young team to build up some more confidence in themselves with some more international exposure, albeit on some flatter tracks. This may do them a world of good. Of course, your point about trying out the bench strength to build up an even bigger selection base - is well-taken. Either may fail, however: if the former happens and players do badly, we end up with players with worse self-confidence than before. If the latter happens and we do badly, the `bench strength' will end up being short of both confidence, having done badly on pitches similar to the dust-bowls and flat tracks in India. This is not an easy question to answer! The last time they tried an alternate parallel team: with the second-rung side in Singapore (and was it Ganguly & Co in Toronto?), it worked badly for both, except for Ganguly's single-handed heroics in the first match.
- Srinivas would have seen the matches, but The Goat: Sir, I have been following domestic cricket quite a bit since the 1970s. Given the current team and the current bench strength, I would not be very hopeful of grand successes right now, but hope for some good performances with time. I will perhaps survey some teams, some good domestic players, some time. Did I forget Parvez Rasool's name among promising players? In the recent post - yes, but I remember having mentioned about him before. I'll add Dinesh Karthik's name to the list of unlucky wicketkeepers, but also add that he would be a rung above Parthiv Patel, at least in limited over matches. I will also perhaps do a write-up on quicker bowlers: the `Fast-Medium' kind, who have crossed 140kmph with regularity, from what I have seen or heard of them, in domestic cricket, and some international matches as well.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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G-BYGB
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:


Some specific points, mostly for The_Goat, and the first, for Srinivas:
- Srinivas: nice point about Corey perhaps being the next Chris Cairns. NZ will really benefit if he can carry this form along, at least in the shorter formats, for quite some time. If he can show temperament in addition to his hand-eye coordination, it will be an added bonus.
- Dhoni: true that he is not in the awesome form we have seen him in, but he is still very good. I liked the fight he showed in both these matches. Did you see the matches Sir, or simply read about them on cricinfo.com?


Yes Sir, I saw both of Dhoni's innings and he batted superbly. He is a good chaser and always bats till the end. That is why his batting average in the ODIs is 52. Sadly, he did not have the support that he wanted from other players.

On the point of view of India's bench strength, they were always not the issue in the sub-continent. But for overseas matches, even the best playing eleven don't look that strong. Except for few individuals like Dhoni, Kholi and Shami, who have played well in NZ so far.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The third one-dayer. It is just half-time.
Shami had a rare off-day, and got a bit of a pasting.
Aaron bowled well within himself, certainly not at the pace we have seen of him. Is he still injured a bit, and not to peak fitness? It is nice to see the selectors persisting with him, knowing him to be a special talent. He is perhaps the only Indian who can bowl in the late 140s and early 150s, occasionally (Yadav hits the 140s regularly, but Aaron seems a tad quicker). If however he has dropped his pace for better longevity on the field, is this a good sign?
Ashwin and Jadeja didn't bowl too badly, but weren't that effective, either, as we have seen them to be, at their bests.
The pitch has some pace and bounce.
Things look ominous for the batting line-up, facing 315.
The top order will have to fire: yes, most of them, at least.
NZ know the conditions far better, and will obviously have an upper hand.
[Edit: 16th over: India in a spot of trouble, with Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli back in the pavillion, and the NZ bowling looking good.]
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh dear! What a match!
Great stuff by Dhoni, Ashwin and Sir Jadeja, particularly by the last two who stabilized the innings when things seemed to be going out of India's hands.

I'm sad that Varun Aaron had a rather forgettable day with the ball. How nice it would have been if he had clicked .

Rohit Sharma and Dhawan flopped again. It's really time those two were given an ultimatum.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had thought of progressively editing my earlier post, but the fightback after Dhoni's dismissal completely changed the complexion of the game.
the_Goat wrote:
Rohit Sharma and Dhawan flopped again
Sir, if you watched the match, you would not have felt so. Rohit, Dhawan and Raina could not convert some very good starts into bigger ones. In this match in particular, both Rohit and Dhawan were very positive, and impressive. However yes, those starts need to be converted into longer innings, to really count. For once, Captain Cool looked a bit worried, and harried, during his excellent innings. It was a real pleasure to see Ashwin and Sir Jadeja take the fight to the opposition. Ashwin's and Dhoni's superbly paced innings (the right amount of aggression, plus level-headed solid play) could have only ended in a just manner, with two superlative catches. Sir Jadeja excels at street-smart cricket. Even the die hard Sir Jadeja supporter could not have imagined what would happen in the last over. And we thought that only Dhoni excelled in such high-pressure situations. India pulled off a heist in a match they should have lost badly, given the way they bowled. NZ would rue their chances, and their luck, in spite of such a spirited performance.
In the Women's T20, India lost in spite of two superlative innings from two batters who are expected of doing it, the stylish Mithali Raj (who was surprisingly aggressive today), and India's usual six-hitter and master-blaster, the powerful Harmanpreet Kaur. How I wish cricinfo would at least have a ball-by-ball commentary, if not anything else. SL won the match on the penultimate ball. I wonder how many of us have seen these two in action. Yes, Mithali Raj has been in action for some time, and many would have seen her in action, with her flowing strokes, and deft placements. Harmanpreet is something: it is a treat to see her muscle the ball over the ropes, and strike clean sixes with some regularity. She has age on her side as well. I guess only a few of us have been lucky enough to have seen her on TV. There are very few youtube videos of her in full flow, most videos have static shots of her batting. It is hard to believe that this little slightly built lady can pack in so much power into her shots. A real promise for Indian cricket.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 6:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some short random musings on the Indian women's team
Once again, there was a good match played right here in India, and with cricinfo, where a large number of the excellent commentators and analysts are Indians, we did not get a ball-by-ball commentary. I have read and admired the articles of Siddharth Ravindran, Dileep Premachandran, the statistics of S Rajesh, to mention a few, over the years.

I have written on Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur in my previous post. I think that the Indian women's team has always been quite good over the years, since I started following the game. When I started doing so, Shanta Rangaswamy was a well-known batswoman (I know the term `batsman' is often used as a gender-independent term, but it is still not quite universal, even on cricinfo). I remember Gargi Banerjee, Diana Eduljee, Sudha Shah. Some players on the 1990s I remember include wicketkeeper Anju Jain, Anjum Chopra (who is seen in commentary teams), the all-rounder Poornima Rao (with her strong build getting her boundaries, and her controlled off-spin, wickets), and the left arm spinner Neetu David. The current team has someone who at one time was the quickest on the women's circuit, the tall Jhulan Goswami. The current team has the talented Gauhar Sultana, who has good dip and flight in her left arm spin. Amita Sharma is a good pace bowler, who has been around for a while. Anagha Deshpande looks a good prospect. When the BCCI took control of the women's game as well in 2006, it was a good move, which brought some much-needed money into the women's game as well. In spite of there being only two teams worth the name : Railways, and Air India, it is a tribute to the players themselves that they have maintained a good standard on the game, and ensured that the Indians have never really been push-overs in International cricket. Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet are some rare talents. I hope they are able to hone their talents to perfection.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The current crop, and the speed gun
cricinfo has a rough characterisation of a bowler: LFM refers to Left-hand Fast (Medium), which is faster than LMF Left-hand Medium (Fast). Hence, Zaheer was always quicker on the average, than Nehra, though Nehra had a 148kmph ball in the World cup, compared to Zak's maximum of 142-odd. However rough, this may be the best metric around. Steyn can bowl on in the 130s, and suddenly shift gears to the 140s: he is still `RF'. He can consistently bowl 140+. In India, who are those that make the cut? I will not talk of those who have hit 140 once in a blue moon (Mithun, or even Praveen Kumar - at least, once, or Irfan Pathan- in that Bengaluru test)
- Varun Aaron is perhaps the quickest, with his usual top speed going in the late 140s, and on occasion, topping 150 as well. The last match had him bowling far slower than what we have seen him bowl. I only hope this is a passing phase, and he will regain his peak fitness, and we will see an Indian bowler bowl in the late 140s again.
- Umesh Yadav has not compromised much on pace. He can hit the mid-140s with ease. It is nice to see the selectors persisting with Varun and Umesh as they are special talents. They perhaps need to be preserved for the shorter formats, given the wear and tear on the bodies of bowlers who can bowl 140+
- Right now, Shami. Shami is not express pace. His main weapon is reverse swing, and his fair accuracy, which completely belies his lack of experience. He can bowl 140+, but must be used with care.
- Ishant. For perhaps the first Indian contemporary bowler with a `RF' tag, he used to hit the 140s with ease, and even topped 150 on occasion, but has slowed down considerably. Now, he bowls in the mid 130s, mostly.
- Zaheer mostly bowls in the 120s, but on occasion, can still deliver an express 140+, a ball to look out for, and beware of, for the batsmen.
- Parwinder Awana can touch 140. As can Assam's Abu Nechim. Dhawal Kulkarni has touched 140 a few times. Thanks to the IPL, we got to see these men bowl quick, on the screen. I wonder if they can also make it to the big league. Sheer speed is exciting, but definitely not the only parameter in bowling well. Line and length is paramount.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So that's it then, another series loss.

India's bowlers coming in for a bit of a stick there. But a good question is as to what Ambati Rayudu was doing with the ball for three overs, when a more established bowler like Binny got just one over?

I am not optimistic about our performance in the test matches which follow. It is going to be much harder to bat against the likes of Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 4th ODI: India comprehensively routed
Some points:
- The pitch was flatter, and the Indians flattered to deceive
- The Kiwi pacers bowled line and length, just what was needed on
a pitch that did not give them much. Their pitch, their
weather, their knowledge of the conditions...their match.The
Kiwi pacers aren't fast, they were just accurate. They did not
give much width, or length to go for it.
- I for one admire Dhoni for his two changes. If it succeeds,
Dhoni's genius is hailed, if not, the knives come out. One may
have expected one player to be dropped to be Rohit, and not
Raina, who had a neat innings in the last match, to add to his
electric fielding, and useful fastish off-spin, but no - and it
nearly worked.
- I however did not understand the logic of sending perhaps the
best No.3 batsman around (Kohli), as an opener, in spite of
Rahane in the side. Even Dravid has opened on occassion, and
Laxman as well, but everyone has his own strengths. Dhoni is
usually known as a captain who gets every player into his
comfort zone, and tries to give his best.
- India's best bet as batsmen of the future, Kohli and Rahane,
had a bad day.
- Rahane and `Sir' Jadeja, add Rayudu-gAru to the list
as well, are fantastic fielders. They were outstanding,
to say the least.
- Rohit had a neat innings. He upped the ante quite well, in
spite of the stiffling line and lengths.
- Rayudu was a neat choice: as an all-rounder. He can
occasionally bowl off-spin, and keep wickets as well. He was a
grand potential as an U-19 player, who is blossoming now, and
to some extent, thanks to the IPL slash-bang. The logic of
Dhoni giving him a bowl was to see the Kiwi batsmen's
hesitation against some spin. Rohit may have been the next try.
Why not Binny, is a valid question. Did he not want to expose
him to perhaps a slug-fest, given that the batsmen were on the
rise at that time? What about the time, when the three main
pacers were being taken apart? Dhoni was under pressure, as the
pacers were simply spraying it around. Did he make a mistake?
It is easy for us to surmise, on hindsight.
- Rayudu batted well in spite of some very decent bowling. He
showed his range of shots, and ability to dig in as well.
- Shami had another off-day, with his radar going all awry. His
speed was fine on the flat pitch, touching 140, but he was
regularly getting hit. Bhuvi corrected course a bit, but still
got the stick. It was heartening to see Varun Aaron regularly
cross the 140 mark, and bowl in the early 140s, but didn't get
the right line and length: giving width and bowling a tad short
was not going to work with batsmen who know the flat pitch much
better. I take some positives from this. At least the pace is
coming back, for Aaron.
- Dhoni showed once again why he is highly regarded as perhaps
the best finisher in the game today, with the bat. It was a
superb innings, which he paced very well. `Sir' Jadeja was
exceptional with his batting. It is heartening to see him
realising his potential, in spite of some of his limitations.
- `Sir' Jadeja and Ashwin bowled exceptionally well. They
completely strangulated the run rate with some superb bowling.
Line, length, control, turn, keeping the batsman guessing with
all of these - this is a big positive I would take from this
match.
- For the last one-dayer: will it be worthwhile trying Ishwar
Pandey? We have nothing (more) to lose. Perhaps try Ishwar, in
place of Bhuvi?
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A slightly improved performance from the Indians today, but at half-time, we may be staring down the barrel again. The NZ batting was just too good.
- It was really heartening to see Varun Aaron hit the 150 mark a few times, and consistently clock the higher 140s. His bowling was also more on target.
- Shami: three maidens, but got a bit of stick towards the end. Bowled with his usual good pace: the late 130 and early 140s, he seems to be getting his radar back.
- Ashwin and `Sir' were decent in the bowling, though not spectacular, unlike the last match. Bhuvi was so-so (his lengths were better), and Kohli was not bad at all. Dhoni's talking-to seems to have helped a bit, but the NZ batsmen were just too good today as well.
- Rahane is simply superb in the field!
If the batsmen don't fire today it will be 0-4 for us. The pitch is not thatflat, and the NZ seamers know their tasks, and the situation well. However, though a turn-around from India will be difficult, it is certainly not impossible. India have done it before. Edit: the two openers are back in the pavillion, with the 13th over in progress. The run rate is very slow, but there are Kohli and Rahane at the crease right now.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
A slightly improved performance from the Indians today, but at half-time, we may be staring down the barrel again. The NZ batting was just too good.


Sorry , but apart from Virat Kohli, all other senior players have been a sheer waste of money.

There may have been spirited fights in some games, but they mean nothing if matches cannot be won. Even associates like Afghanistan and Netherlands have put up great fights.

Such performance from a team that was ranked World no 1 before the last match is simply unpardonable, that too against a team ranked no 7!

Face it, outside of India our boys are worthless.

Such pathetic performance on the field, coupled with all the bullying and arm-twisting by the BCCI at the ICC , are making India the laughing stock of the cricketing world.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
Sorry , but apart from Virat Kohli, all other senior players have been a sheer waste of money.
Valid point, Sir. Only Kohli played a lone hand in the batting today. The rest fell like ninepins. Even Dhoni was not able to pull it along, but by the time he had come in, it was quite late. I really wish I could have written something nice about India's batting today. I took some positives from the bowling, at least: Aaron and Shami, Kohli to some extent, and Rahane on the field.
Money make the mare move. This is one thing which the BCCI has done right, right form the time the astute businessman Jagmohan Dalmiya came into force. Let us face it, he made the ICC financially viable. I do not see anything wrong per se in the BCCI's somewhat crazy arm-twisting, but yes, it would have been nice it it had been backed by some strong performances by the Indian men's team.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The BCCI should appoint a certain Gundappa Vishwanath as batting coach, or at least make him the offer.

He was one of the best batsmen against pace and bounce in India's cricketing history. He was also an expert in the art of staying in and saving a match when the chips are down.

Surely he can offer our struggling batsmen some valuable advice.

A person like Vishwanath can also give our players lessons in humility, sportsmanship and not playing the game solely for money. Don't know how well they will learn that though.

I believe Glenn McGrath is going to spend some time with our pacers as bowling coach? That would be a good idea.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ECB Suits 'unanimously' end Kevin Petersen's career

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/cricket-ecb-39-unanimously-agree-39-end-pietersen-191017796--spt.html


What a bunch of tossers! The ECB must be mad.

With Trott gone and KP leaving, Cook and Ian Bell are the only quality batsmen left in the England side. They are getting nowhere with the likes of Michael Carberry, Joe Root , Johny Bairstowe and the other misfits.

I hope they bring Eoin Morgan into the Test side.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

After nearly two-thirds of the first day...our bowlers have come out second-best, again.
I think Abhishek Purohit's article on cricinfo summed it up beautifully. No one expected a semblance of a fight from us in South Africa, and we did much better than one anticipated. In NZ, one expected us to do better, but...
Cheers, Sumantra.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Getting smashed, we've gifted McCullum and Williamson free tons in day 1 of a figurative 10-day test series.

I hope they don't let it get to their heads, this is the easiest bowling they had to contend with....like ever. The ton Williamson scored vs South Africa at the Basin Reserve last year in the 4th dig was of much superior quality - that was against Steyn, Morkel (who took a 6-fer) and Philander. This is against Jadeja, Shami, Ishant and Zaheer. So yeah.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
This is against Jadeja, Shami, Ishant and Zaheer.
...who were completely off-colour. We sorely missed Zak's experience and guile (movement, lengths, change of pace, sudden quicker balls), Shami's line and length and reverse swing (what has suddenly happened in the last 3 matches, I wonder: he looks completely ill at ease). Sir Jadeja bowled within his limits, but was far from his best, and Ishant is sorely missing that extra yard of pace: he lost control as well, later on. Sir Jadeja and Rahane took two really sharp catches, with the latter's flying dive standing out. Unfortunately, those were the only two bright spots on the first day, for India. Almost everything seems to be going wrong for us. The fightback in South Africa against a vastly better side was heartening to see. This performance is very disappointing!
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And how much do we read into Ishant's six-for? It looks nice on the scoreboard, but that is just it. He did not bowl that well, and is well short on pace. Jadeja's last catch was simply incredible. Apart from that, there was nothing, really nothing to look forward to, from an Indian point of view. Should there be some knee-jerk reaction on this? In a team on a re-build, will a knee-jerk reaction work well, given that failures will be scrutinised even more, and new players will be under that much more pressure to perform? Or should we go ahead, and make the changes, and persist with a newer crop of players? Really, whom do we go to - our cupboard is quite bare t this moment. Umesh, perhaps. Ishwar Pandey? He hasn't had a look-in. It may be better to preserve Aaron for the shorter format. And what about the relatively bare spin cupboard? Or do we need a change in the coaching team? All this is post-facto, and all this is from the comfort of my arm-chair, and I guess I am as disappointed as many of us are, on this forum. This is perhaps the best team (well, more-or-less) we can put up at the moment, and we are simply not good enough. I guess we must face it, keep the disappointment out, and look forward.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
And how much do we read into Ishant's six-for? It looks nice on the scoreboard, but that is just it. He did not bowl that well, and is well short on pace.


Law of averages. Give me a 100 games and I'll take a 6-fer by the time the 100th rolls around as well.

Good recovery though, always mentioned that Sharma is a test player. Dunno what the deal is having him opening the batting in LoIs.
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
sumantra wrote:
And how much do we read into Ishant's six-for? It looks nice on the scoreboard, but that is just it. He did not bowl that well, and is well short on pace.
Law of averages
Good pun on `average', Varun!
Spiderguy252 wrote:
Good recovery though
I missed the later part of the match today as I was away, hence missed the Rahane and Sharma fightback.
Spiderguy252 wrote:
always mentioned that Sharma is a test player. Dunno what the deal is having him opening the batting in LoIs.
Rohit Sharma was praised by none other than Tendulkar as one having immense potential. He is a scratchy starter, and often gives it away on a sudden rush of blood, with a false stroke, and often fails to convert good starts into good scores. Once in full flow, he is a delight to see. His strike rate rises by leaps and bounds. Many have often felt that Rohit has had more chances than what was otherwise due to a player, but now-a-days, he seems to be getting a bit consistent. In the 50-over ODIs too, I have enjoyed seeing those who are not exactly great hitters, but can build an innings: and yes, that has included Dravid and Laxman, and I would enjoy seeing Pujara in the role, as well. a T20 does not give much scope to `re-build' an innings, but this is often needed in the 50-over format.
Cheers, Sumantra.


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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...and what a turn-around! Though the chase is quite stiff in conditions which the Kiwis know much better, here are some points:
- There was a capitulation in the morning, by batsmen who are capable of much better things. It is disappointing to see more than one batsman repeat the same mistake.
- `Sir' Jadeja and Rahane are simply awesome in the field. Simply awesome.
- The turn-around started off with Shami, who was impressive again.
- The slip cordon was standing closer.
- Ishant for one, bowled well in the second innings.
- Zaheer was listless again, despite those two wickets. Slow, and line and length not spot-on
- From an NZ point of view, India were down on the mat. It beats me as to why they did not enforce the follow-on!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

India's dominance in cricket world must be proven on the ground and not through an individual or a money making cricketing board that is beginning to be a dictatorial regime. It is not good for the game and to Indian cricket.

I don't like this new proposal of the ICC giving decision making power to 3 richest cricket board.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

G-BYGB wrote:
India's dominance in cricket world must be proven on the ground and not through an individual or a money making cricketing board that is beginning to be a dictatorial regime. It is not good for the game and to Indian cricket.
Matching cricket credibility on the ground would be great Sreenivas, but let us give credit to Jagmohan Dalmiya & Co. for bringing money into world cricket, and making things viable, in the first place. That is no small achievement. The BCCI's financial strength also took away the influence of a few snooty stiff upper lipped individuals and organisations from controlling the game. The big money associated with media coverage, and today's cricket enthusiast's choices for his/her viewing pleasure: this is a small part of the openness and reforms.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We showed a good fight in this test from a rather hopeless position - that is a great positive. After Shami led the bowlers, and the intensity that Rahane and `Sir' Jadeja showed on the field, the fact that we came within some 40 runs is commendable, in the face of some extremely good bowling from the NZ pacers. Dhawan redeemed himself, Kohli was his usual dependable self, Dhoni and `Sir' Jadeja went on a counter-attack, even Zaheer put his head into his batting for once: all that are positives we would take form the match. After the first innings reply, all seemed lost. Rahane got a bad decision, but then, it all averages out, I guess: the NZ batsmen got a few bad ones, too.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
We showed a good fight in this test from a rather hopeless position - that is a great positive. .



There really is no point of staging these two bit fights if we cannot last five days in a test match.

I thought NZ had goofed up big by not enforcing the follow-on. India were also rather strongly placed at the beginning of the day, needing around 300 odd runs with nine wickets still intact. One big partnership could have done it.

Going forward, it looks like that among the top teams, India has the worst bowling attack. Even the Pakistanis are far better.

and in the batting, we have only one dependable guy in Virat Kohli. He is increasingly looking like a certain Sachin Tendulkar during the 1990s - standing tall among the ruins.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We're quite possibly the #1 or #2 side at home.

But the problem is that away, we are down at lousy #8th, everywhere we go.

Also, that second innings bowling effort was a fluke. We all know it's never going to happen again, and New Zealand are notorious of third innings collapses anyway.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How many ever humiliating series defeats we face in the overseas tours, the cricketing board doesn't seem to be that concerned of improving our team's performance.

Instead they are more concerned about making money and produce flat pitches in India.

Barring Saurav Ganguly, there have never been any other Indian captain that have been so vocal about improving their tests and ODI records in Eng, Aus, WI, SA and NZ. He has mentioned that you are considered a best cricket ing team only if you win many series in abroad.
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I missed watching Ishant's 6W haul. Too bad with the time difference.

But this carnage has been keeping me well entertained

http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-australia-2013-14/engine/match/648673.html

Mitchell Johnson.... my word Shocked He is un-playable in his current form. Should he carry this form into the WC, then everyone might as well give up and hand the tournament to the Aussies even before the first ball is bowled. It will be that pointless.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here we go again. Another overseas loss for India.

Even teams like NZ are setting World records against us. Wonder what's next? Losing to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup?

I concur with Harsha Bhogle's observation about the ICC ranking. How can India still be No 2 in Tests when we haven't had one away series win in the last three years?
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dhoni is out injured from the Asia Cup.

Please let this be the beginning of the end for him.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So India is out of the Asia cup now (Unless the impossibility of Sri Lanka losing to both Bangladesh and Afghanistan happens). Poor Kohli couldn't have asked for a worse beginning as a captain.

And even if Australia draws the Cape Town test with SA, India will be pushed down to no 3 in Tests. Talk of a double whammy.

But hey, once the IPL match fixing circus begins, all will be forgotten. We will again have half-synthetic Bollywood stars and dimwitted businessmen raving about "ab shuroo hoga asli muqabla" Rolling Eyes
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Cricinfo's Karthik Krishnaswamy continues the line of some excellent analysers in the game. Dileep Premachandran, Siddharth Ravindran, Anand Vasu, S Rajesh (the stats man), Abhishek Purohit, and now Karthik: their cricinfo articles are a joy to read, for the writing style, the in-depth analysis and of course, the content itself.
Sorry to follow up on my own post...but I am sure many of you would have noticed that most of these are Tamilian names, and at least, all could be from the South of the Vindhyas. Purohit? Purohits can be Maharashtrians, but can be Kannadigas as well. The well-known confectioners of Belgaum are the Purohit chain of stores. kunda, anyone? Mmm...Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What an awesome exhibition of hitting from Lala! (no aviation connection here Razz)
This reminded me of Inzamam's assault on the NZ bowlers in the 1992 World Cup.
This reminded me of the 16 year old Tendulkar tearing the Pakistan attack to shreds in that exhibition match, where his 50 came off 18 balls. He launhced into Mushtaq, Qadir and had Akram not bowled the last over, India would not have lost by the margin of 4 runs. I have memories of that match: I just wanted to watch the then `boy wonder' in action. And what an assault it was...it is a real pity that only excerpts of that match are available on youtube. Tendulkar had this ability to do it in a seemingly effortless manner, as opposed to Inzaman or Afridi muscling those balls away.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice to see Afridi doing well with batting for a change. Sad though, it came at a wrong time on both occasions, affecting India.Smile

Meanwhile, sad to see Grahame Smith's tenure end, in cricket on a loosing note with the resurgent Aus beginning to play at their previous best.Smile
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

G-BYGB wrote:


Meanwhile, sad to see Grahame Smith's tenure end, in cricket on a loosing note with the resurgent Aus beginning to play at their previous best.Smile


Graeme Smith is easily, one of the best captains in the history of the game. He, along with Kallis, was mainly responsible for helping South Africa overcome the chokers tag, and reach the no 1 position in Test cricket. Graeme was also instrumental in bringing out the best in his fast bowlers like Steyn, Philander and Morkel, giving South Africa one of the most formidable pace attacks as a result.

Fantastic player and captain. Sad to see him go.


That said, Graeme Smith is Career Destroyer Mitchell Johnson's latest casualty. Wonder how many more cricketing lives Mitch the Witch will destroy before he hangs up his boots.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So Congratulations to Sri Lanka for winning the Asia Cup. As to how good their bench strength is, this comment on espncricinfo sums it up.

Daniel Alexander: "No Dilshan, Herath, Kulasekara, Mendis and Sangakkara gone first ball, and still Sri Lanka win! "


Nice work by the Lankies. I expect them to be quite hot to handle during the WC.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sri Lanka is the deserved winner of this tournament. They had the best bowling and batting line-up. Pakistan got lucky in few matches with Afridi and Umar Akmal's brilliance saving them.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sri Lanka finally win a final! Razz
Good for them.
Next time, I hope Mahinda Rajapaksa is sitting there during the final.
*bad omen for SL Twisted Evil *
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

...and Pakistan's lack-lustre performance and complete uncertainty in consistency let India get a much-needed victory, good for the morale of a struggling team with a few new faces. All three spinners, and of course, Shami were impressive. This was heartening. This T20 World cup has seen more focus on exciting performances from much lower-ranked teams who do not even play very regular cricket, and have lots of expats in their side, primarily from the sub-continent, and Australia.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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