Article: Dhoni as a Captain

[Gurjot95]

Nothing will change in India batting drastically unless trio decided to retire at same time. Youngsters will gain experience as they will play with them.

 

[AngryPixel]

Massive inferiority what??

Nobody cares what you say if they can't understand you, admittedly you have a good batting line-up, however your lower order batsmen have yet to prove themselves, and with the exception of Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan, I'm unimpressed by your other average bowlers,

It's going to be close, but we'll win because you won't be able to play our bowlers on a day when it's cloudy and favouring the bowlers; whereas we'll be able to dig in and score runs

Really? I remember someone called "R.P Singh" tormening your batsmen in similar conditions during the last tour. You couldnt play him and now you are dreaming to play Zaheer in such conditions He would blow your top order away and then Bhajji would take care of your middle order.

 

[SaiSrini]

With the kind of batting riches India have, I wont be surprised if we easily fill in the shoes of Dravid, Laxman or Tendulkar. With guys like Pujara, Badrinath, Kohli, Rahane, Manish Pandey, etc, I think we are in a position to unearth a few really good guys who can replace the greats. Thats why its a blessing in disguise that Sachin has also opted out of the WI series. Now one or both of Badrinath or Kohli will definitely get their chance in the test series along with Raina. Pujara got his chances and did well too against Australia in that home series. Rahane and Pandey might get their chances soon. Yes, bowling is our biggest worry. We need to develop our fast bowlers better. Not worried much about our spin which looks OK with the likes of Ashwin, Mishra, Ojha, Rahul Sharma, etc.

 

[harrisb]

Really? I remember someone called "R.P Singh" tormening your batsmen in similar conditions during the last tour. You couldnt play him and now you are dreaming to play Zaheer in such conditions He would blow your top order away and then Bhajji would take care of your middle order.

When was the last series, 2007, that's 4 years ago, nobody cares about something that happened 4 years ago, especially when it has no bearing on the current state of affairs, I think that since then, our players, Cook, Trott, Bell, Broad, Swann, Anderson have come into the side and majorly improved.
I don't think Zaheer will have a huge effect, and even if he does, he can't bowl for the entire innings, and if you think we're worried by Harbhajan, then you must be having nightmares of facing Swann on an English pitch

 

[AngryPixel]

Its Indian team you are talking about. They have played spinners all their life. Anderson is more threatening at the moment than Swann for India.
In midst of all this, you forgot VVS. He has a very naughty tendency to perform whenever India dearly require him too. He's won more matches for India in last 2 years than any other player IMO

 

[AngryPixel]

Okay so a lot has changed in last 4 year. Lets have a look at stats then

Lets compare the teams by player by player.

Openers

Sehwag
Matches:35, Runs:3539, Avg:58.98,100/50s:10/15
Gambhir:
Matches:25, Runs:2550, Avg:57.95,100/50s:8/13
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Cook:
Matches:50, Runs:4050, Avg:49.39,100/50s:12/20
Strauss:
Matches:45, Runs:3186, Avg:43.64,100/50s:9/16

Indian Openers are clear winners here, both have perfromed exceedingly well in last 4 years. Although cook has hit a purple patch in last few months, it would be intersting how he would handle Zaheer who just loves lefties.



Middle Order

Dravid:
Matches:41, Runs:2697, Avg:40.25,100/50s:7/12
Sachin:
Matches:40, Runs:3770, Avg:61.80,100/50s:14/16
Laxman:
Matches:40, Runs:3025, Avg:58.17,100/50s:6/22
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K.P:
Matches:47, Runs:3218, Avg:44.08,100/50s:9/12
Trott:
Matches:20, Runs:1863, Avg:64.24,100/50s:6/6
Bell:
Matches:38, Runs:2570, Avg:46.72,100/50s:7/16

Dravid is the only weak link in the middle order. Sachin And Laxman are in sublime touch. Whereas for England, Trott has become new The Wall. K.P is struggling for last few months, while bell looks good before he plays some stupid shot to get himself out. Overall, Again Indian Middle Order wins..

Lower Middle Order


Raina:
Matches:8, Runs:373, Avg:33.90,100/50s:1/2
Dhoni:
Matches:37, Runs:2115, Avg:43.16,100/50s:3/16

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Morgon:
Matches:8, Runs:353, Avg:35.30,100/50s:1/1
Prior:
Matches:39, Runs:2016, Avg:42.00,100/50s:4/15

Lower Middle Order of both teams are almost similar. Morgan and Raina had similar start to their careers, scoring maiden hundreds and then going through a lean patch. Whereas Dhoni and Prior are almost same although Dhoni is little agricultural in his approach. Might turn off purists
Thus its a Tie here.


Opening Bowlers


Zaheer Khan:
Matches:31, Wickets:129, Avg:28.60, Econ:3.23
Ishant Sharma:
Matches:30, Wickets:89, Avg:35.83, Econ:3.43
---------------------------------------------------------------

James Anderson:
Matches:42, Wickets:169, Avg:28.96, Econ:3.11
Steven Finn:
Matches:12, Wickets:50, Avg:26.92, Econ:3.89


Zaheer and Jimmy have been the best fast bowlers in last few years and stats indicate it too. Both are pretty difficult to play with new ball and can swing it both ways. Both have ability to reverse the ball but Zaheer has masterd the art.

Other new ball bowlers Finn and Ishant are identical in their approach. Both off them are pretty tall. More than 6 foot 6 i guess. Both hits the deck and bowl on short of good length to get wickets. Finn so far has been very successful while Ishant Is menacing when ball seams around. (Punter can confirm that )

Thus New Ball attack of both team is similar thus another tie.

Change Up Bowler

Munaf Patel:
Matches:5, Wickets:9, Avg:56.11, Econ:3.38
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Stuart Broad:
Matches:36, Wickets:105, Avg:35.97, Econ:3.15

As a first change bowler Broad is miles better than Munaf. And he can chip in with the bat too. Thus England are clear winners here.

Spinner

Bhajji:
Matches:36, Wickets:155, Avg:34.90, Econ:2.86

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Swann:

Matches:31, Wickets:138, Avg:27.62, Econ:2.89

Swann is the best spinner in the world cricket and his stats show that too. On the other hand bhajji has performed slightly below the expectations. But in the same period Bhajji has scored 2 test hundreds too.
But we are talking about bowling here so Swann is the clear winner. Whereas Bhajji adds to team as a bowling allrounder and English batsmen are not the best players aof spin while Indians are who can negotiate Swann pretty well.
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Net Result: India:2 ,England:2

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Thus i expect this to be a closely fought series. Some last day, post tea session finish would be awesome

 

[harrisb]

^^ you've beaten me too it, I was going to do something like that, but i wasn't sure who would be coming this summer, especially if one of the younger Indian players makes a claim for a place against the WI.

Just bear in mind that for the likes of Sehwag and Tendulkar, it takes an incredible talent to hold up that kind of average over such a long career.

It will definitely be interesting though, I for one can't wait

 

[AngryPixel]

Thats why i wasnt so fussed about Trotts 60+ avg. Both K.P and Hussey had unbelievable avgs during early part of their career but they are nowhere near that avg now.

P.S: It took good 45 minutes to do that. I was first opening every players record for last 4 years in stats guru. Then i remembered that there is a tab for checking stats for complete team

 

[MDStar]

That's right! It will definitely be a very interesting contest between the two countries. In-fact, it will be more than a pleasure for Indians to watch- because the tour of West Indies, so far has been very very... dull
--
@Angrypixel: Wonderful stats round-up.
____

PS- Guys, we should take this fussing to the "India in England 2011" thread. We've strayed away from the subject to be discussed on this thread, for far too long now.


MDStar

 

[Eric.Greeny21]

it is best article about a Dhoni as a captain
I like this sharing

 

[Gurjot95]

Thanks mate

 

[Fenil]

Dhoni is brilliant in captain-ship but can't tell the same about his batting.