Australia's Tour of India - 7 ODI's

[TumTum]

Not really. Based on recent performances, I would say Aus, SA, SL and Pakistan are all better ODI teams then India and it is between those four (mainly SA and Aus for the number one spot) Personally I would say India are down with the dregs of England and New Zealand India are just too up and down to be real contenders for number one. They failed in the CT. They failed in the 20/20 World Cup and as far as I can see theire only ODI success of 2009 has been in the Compaq Cup and even in that they only beat SL once (in the other match they were totally thrashed, once again highlighting how hot and cold India are)

There is no denying they have the potential to be number 1, but then again so do teams like England and NZ. However, until they start putting some consistent performances together it seems to me that they will always be a "just about/there abouts" side.

Oh and India. Please pick Sreesanth. That guy actually is a legend, just for actually showing some agression and passion.

Pakistan and SL are also inconsistent in ODI.

 

[pcfan123]

If only India had someone who could come in at 3 or 4 and get really stuck in, play a sensible innings and add some stability. You know, like a Rahul Dravid.

 

[Howsie]

Dhoni really should take up that responsibility, but batting at three would make getting not-out's a lot more difficult.

 

[angryangy]

Adversity breeds creativity. Australia were put to the test by injuries, but found a way to function. There is no doubt that several of the casualties would have been better avoided and the subsequent selections of Manou, Henriques and Cockley have not been arguable improvements to the squad. However, if there had been no forced change at all, they probably wouldn't have 9 wickets at 19 from Bollinger, nor a century to Marsh.

It may even have been true that should Clarke and Ferguson have been fit, that Mike Hussey's position would have been forfeit and what a shame that would have been. Even if it was Cameron White to make way, a vital 57 from 33 deliveries at Hyderabad was very much an innings of that player's own creation and not easily replicated by just anyone.

Johnson struggled, but eventually he prevailed. Perhaps the injured ankle did hold him back over a number of games, but as has been the case before, he returned to the fold and took wickets in brutal fashion. While an abundance of bad balls in some games were to the detriment of the team, Johnson's dismissal of Sehwag and Gambhir proved that there is just no substitute for scything wicket-taking deliveries. The answer was to embrace the challenge rather than avoid it.

The small victory margins should not be dwelt upon. That is cricket, especially limited overs cricket. At the highest level, although teams do falter and fall into massive defeats, you can't expect such to happen every time if the teams truly are among the best. The difference between two elite teams is always small and the difference between winning and losing is often only about the ability to consistently find an extra 5%, if that.

In spite of being a series apparently lacking in relevance and concerns that 7 matches is far too long for a bilateral engagement, the games appear to have given themselves context. The spirited contests have added weight to arguments of a newborn rivalry between the two sides and go a way to justifying the regularity with which they play each other.

 

[rahuldravidfan]

That was because Australia was wearing their unlucky green kit :sarcasm.

Don't be silly now, Kartik :laugh.

Australia and excuses :laugh:laugh:laugh

If only India had someone who could come in at 3 or 4 and get really stuck in, play a sensible innings and add some stability. You know, like a Rahul Dravid.

Bring Dravid back, selectors. Even Hmarka is convinced now :sarcasm

Oh and India. Please pick Sreesanth. That guy actually is a legend, just for actually showing some agression and passion.

I think Sreesanth is the fastest bowler in India. With a diminutive body like his, he averages 140kmph on 4 out of 6 deliveries, which is spectacular for someone with a physique like him. I WANT Sreesanth to comeback. That man atleast tries and gives it 200% no just with pace, but with his sheer effort. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is an awesome prospect for World cricket

 

[SciD]

Bring back Sky Blue. :

 

[drainpipe32]

Bring back Sky Blue. :

Sky who? And in regard to people who said ODIs are dead, take a look at ur series against South Africa, India, New Zealand and Pakistan this year. For me, still the most exciting form of cricket.

 

[aditya123]

Here here!

There is a big difference in beleif and reality.

Yes there is. We played crap cricket in this series and hence lost which is a reality. However, we still are one of he best sides in the world if we can sort some of these issues out and it is good in a sense for Indian cricket and I believe we will come out stronger. Another reality is that people must not jump into the bandwagon and say that India is a pathetic team just because of a few losses. This is our first defeat in a bilateral series(home and away) since 2007. That shows how consistent we have been.

Your comment on there being a big difference between belief and reality sounds like India only believes it can win but does not actually win. However, it is not true. We`ve won more than 70% of our games since our last bilateral series defeat in 2007. No need to panic yet. We need to iron out the flaws and we`ll be back to our winning ways.

 

[sohum]

How much did our batting suck that day? Too bad, too, since it was a day game and hence I actually had an opportunity to watch the game at around 9pm. Luckily couldn't find a stable... ahem... viewpoint because it would hurt to watch that!

Jadeja finally put in a good innings--but this, more than anything, shows that he should be competing for a Test spot, not an ODI spot. Unless he wants to play the Dravid role, in which case he cannot be down at number 7-8. We're not going to be 27/5 on most days, so this innings doesn't really vindicate his selection.

We should look at picking up a win in the final game. A 3-4 result isn't that bad, and at least sounds better than 2-5. Looks like we'll be playing Sri Lanka soon (again) anyway, and we've shown them who's boss in bilateral series of late, so our ranking should not suffer.

 

[piriyanth]

Bollinger and Johnson.:hpraiseWhy didn't Johnson bowl like that in the Ashes:, Anyways hope he continues his form against West Indies.


India could just drop Yuvraj to no.7, if they need a big hitter down the order.

 

[aussie1st]

Might be worth moving Jadeja above Raina when you have a collapse. If you are looking for runs you could put him below Harby and Kumar who both have shown they can score quickly.

 

[aditya123]

1.) Based on recent performances, I would say Aus, SA, SL and Pakistan are all better ODI teams then India and it is between those four (mainly SA and Aus for the number one spot)

2.) Personally I would say India are down with the dregs of England and New Zealand India are just too up and down to be real contenders for number one. They failed in the CT.

3.) They failed in the 20/20 World Cup and as far as I can see theire only ODI success of 2009 has been in the Compaq Cup and even in that they only beat SL once (in the other match they were totally thrashed, once again highlighting how hot and cold India are)

4.) There is no denying they have the potential to be number 1, but then again so do teams like England and NZ. However, until they start putting some consistent performances together it seems to me that they will always be a "just about/there abouts" side.

You have`nt been watching a lot of Indian cricket is what I could guess from your post and fair enough, I don`t expect you to follow India games but you could`ve have looked up at facts before posting something like that.

1.) I don`t know whether you`ve been watchin enough cricket or you only watch when India are losing because suggesting that Sri Lanka are way better is again a clueless comment. India have beaten Sri Lanka in 3 series (two bilateral and one tri series) in the past 12 months, all of those played in Sri Lanka, their den. This very team beat Australia in Australia and a really strong Aussie side last year. Pakistan have not done anything to suggest that they are a better side than us. If anything, they are as inconsistent as India. We did not play well in this series and in the Champions Trophy.

2.) Now Mr.Highlander, I`m not sure how you could bunch India with England and NZ. England and NZ have been quite mediocre except for the Champions Trophy. India beat NZ comprehensively in NZ in earlier this year. England lost 5-0 here late last year.

3.) We (India) have played five ODI Series this year and won 3 of those. Out of the 2 lost, we only lost one game in the CT. This was the only big defeat of the year. T20 WC 2009 is not OD cricket, it was T20s, an altogether different format. For the record, Australia were knocked out in Round 1 in that tourney as well.

4.) We have the best win/loss ratio along with Australia and SA over the past couple of years. In fact, Australia have`nt won an home ODI series since 2006. Noone here looks at facts like that before posting. England and NZ are nowhere near even being a potential No.1 side, whereas India are contenders for it, even after this defeat. That is because you don`t just look at recent performances and say that a side is consistent or inconsistent, you look at performances over a period of time to comment on things like that. I don`t know what you mean by your recent performance yardstick, if its the same for SA,India and SL, all of them crashed out in round 1 of the Champions Trophy. Yet you go on to claim that SA and SL are contenders for the No.1 spot.

All I can gather from posts like these is that people here keep waiting for India to have bad days for an opportunity to have a dig at us. Had we been inconsistent like you said and SL were a contender for the No.1 spot, they would`nt be down in the rankings at No.5 or 6 and India would`nt be at No.2. Nor would SL have lost 3 consecutive ODI series to India in SL. Wait, SL have`nt beaten us in an ODI series (other than the Asia Cup final 2008) since 2004 !

aditya123 added 2 Minutes and 42 Seconds later...

Might be worth moving Jadeja above Raina when you have a collapse. If you are looking for runs you could put him below Harby and Kumar who both have shown they can score quickly.

Raina should`nt be a certainty in the side at the moment. He does not seem to have too many options with his strokes other than the lofted ones. We need another accumulator in the middle order in place of Raina or Jadeja. Both are two extremes with their batting.

 

[.::Stevo::.]

4.) We have the best win/loss ratio along with Australia and SA over the past couple of years. In fact, Australia have`nt won an home ODI series since 2006. Noone here looks at facts like that before posting. England and NZ are nowhere near even being a potential No.1 side, whereas India are contenders for it, even after this defeat. That is because you don`t just look at recent performances and say that a side is consistent or inconsistent, you look at performances over a period of time to comment on things like that. I don`t know what you mean by your recent performance yardstick, if its the same for SA,India and SL, all of them crashed out in round 1 of the Champions Trophy. Yet you go on to claim that SA and SL are contenders for the No.1 spot.

Doesn't matter. India simply don't peform when it counts. They've been pathetic in the last few world cups and champions throphy and ordinary in this series. Sure you might have a similar win/loss ratio, but that really means nothing. If you want to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk without crumbling into a heap. If your playing against an injury ravaged side on your on turf, i would expect results.

 

[piriyanth]

Now the game is won, I think we should give Hauritz a rest and play Holland instead.

 

[SciD]

Its dead rubber now.

Series should just end.