England in India

[cricket_lover]

The series has just started. Indian batting needs to be refined, mainly their application. Some of them are in good form, like Gambhir, Dravid, Kaif and Raina...they just need to spend more time in the crease.

I think Sreesanth will be replaced by either Agarkar or Munaf Patel (if he's fit).

 

[SaiSrini]

The series has just started. Indian batting needs to be refined, mainly their application. Some of them are in good form, like Gambhir, Dravid, Kaif and Raina...they just need to spend more time in the crease.

I think Sreesanth will be replaced by either Agarkar or Munaf Patel (if he's fit).

Yuvraj has wasted his good form by not playing to his potential. When he is in form, he is a delight to watch. Had he stayed for more time today, Indian batting might have looked much better!

Since Sachin batted really well in the ODI's in Pakistan, he might be missed here for the England series with the bat!

 

[gaurav_indian]

I think it's time to bring a new opener instead of Gambhir.He is doing nothing in the team.Also he got many chances but still he failed to make an impression.Two good openers will serve good for this team bcoz this will keep Sehwag on his toes and he will feel insecure about his place.There should be competitions for the openers place.Also I feel that the super-sub ule which is finished now was more suitable to Indian team than any other country.Bcoz that way we play 5 bowlers in our lineup.

 

[sohum]

The only thing that has changed is that India has won. The pathetically bloodthirsty attitude of most Indian fans on this forum still exists. Teams are not formed by slapping a batsman here, a bowler there and changing it around till it sticks. You are not only not allowing comfort levels to develop, but you are also possibly destroying/altering the careers of many players.

Suresh Raina may not seem like a matchwinner now but NO ONE knows if he'll be knocking centuries down by the dozen 2 years from now. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Pathan are all young and they are bound to fail from time to time. But they are matchwinners for a reason--they can turn games on their head with a single performance.

"But he's blocking the place of another cricketer!" Well, according to the same policy suggested by you, this new cricketer only has 2-3 chances to prove his worth, and accordingly is elevated to legend status or dropped into the scrap-pile to make way for another replacement. There will be no shortage of good cricketers in our country, so that is not a viable reason to drop someone.

England would be disappointed by this loss, but so too would India by their batting performance. One cannot point out bad batting as the reason England lost, because India too batted badly and irresponsibly.

A two-paced pitch of variable bounce helped, and the match on the whole was ample evidence that 872 runs and bowlers-to-the-slaughter alone don't one-day entertainment make.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/story/242541.html

A quote if there ever was one.

 

[gaurav_indian]

The only thing that has changed is that India has won. The pathetically bloodthirsty attitude of most Indian fans on this forum still exists. Teams are not formed by slapping a batsman here, a bowler there and changing it around till it sticks. You are not only not allowing comfort levels to develop, but you are also possibly destroying/altering the careers of many players.

Suresh Raina may not seem like a matchwinner now but NO ONE knows if he'll be knocking centuries down by the dozen 2 years from now. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Pathan are all young and they are bound to fail from time to time. But they are matchwinners for a reason--they can turn games on their head with a single performance.

"But he's blocking the place of another cricketer!" Well, according to the same policy suggested by you, this new cricketer only has 2-3 chances to prove his worth, and accordingly is elevated to legend status or dropped into the scrap-pile to make way for another replacement. There will be no shortage of good cricketers in our country, so that is not a viable reason to drop someone.

England would be disappointed by this loss, but so too would India by their batting performance. One cannot point out bad batting as the reason England lost, because India too batted badly and irresponsibly.


http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/story/242541.html

A quote if there ever was one.

I think you are very happy with the win.Good teams learn from their mistakes.
Have India lost the match you would also be criticising them here.Ok they won today but who won the match for them bowlers not the batsman.

 

[cricket_lover]

The point is not to criticise the players. Its just the lack of applications that irks me, but the bottom line is...its upto them...i cannot do anything.

Except Sehwag, the whole batting line-up is iin some form. But form should be converted into big scores...and for that they need to apply first, attack next. Dravid was doing the right thing before being undone.

The second ODI will be even more interesting, both teams will be looking to better their performances.

 

[SaiSrini]

I think it's time to bring a new opener instead of Gambhir.He is doing nothing in the team.Also he got many chances but still he failed to make an impression.Two good openers will serve good for this team bcoz this will keep Sehwag on his toes and he will feel insecure about his place.There should be competitions for the openers place.Also I feel that the super-sub ule which is finished now was more suitable to Indian team than any other country.Bcoz that way we play 5 bowlers in our lineup.

No! At times, the Super Sub rule worked against us. we were confronting 12 players against our 11 when we lost the toss. so it was also against us which is unfair.

regarding gambhir, yes it is painstaking to see him fail but he has loads of potential. did you see the shots he played yesterday? that hook for 6, and the whip for four off the very next ball were gems of a shot. i dont think the team management is working with him the right way. if they had, his flaws can be corrected. the whole world knows he falls across the line and gets vulnerable to the LBW. also the whole world knows he is vulnerable to the ball moving away from him. these flaws need to be rectified. what was he doing when he was not playing for india against england in the tests? the team management should have grasped his flaws and should have asked him to rectify that!

 

[cricket_lover]

No! At times, the Super Sub rule worked against us. we were confronting 12 players against our 11 when we lost the toss. so it was also against us which is unfair.

regarding gambhir, yes it is painstaking to see him fail but he has loads of potential. did you see the shots he played yesterday? that hook for 6, and the whip for four off the very next ball were gems of a shot. i dont think the team management is working with him the right way. if they had, his flaws can be corrected. the whole world knows he falls across the line and gets vulnerable to the LBW. also the whole world knows he is vulnerable to the ball moving away from him. these flaws need to be rectified. what was he doing when he was not playing for india against england in the tests? the team management should have grasped his flaws and should have asked him to rectify that!

well..what does the team management have to do with Gambhir's flaws? All they can say is "we trust you, if you deliver the goods, you'll stay in the team, or else..."
Its upto Gambhir (and to some extent the coach) to apply himself and control his shots.

May be he has an attitude problem? like many "other" players did/have?

 

[SaiSrini]

The only thing that has changed is that India has won. The pathetically bloodthirsty attitude of most Indian fans on this forum still exists. Teams are not formed by slapping a batsman here, a bowler there and changing it around till it sticks. You are not only not allowing comfort levels to develop, but you are also possibly destroying/altering the careers of many players.

Suresh Raina may not seem like a matchwinner now but NO ONE knows if he'll be knocking centuries down by the dozen 2 years from now. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Pathan are all young and they are bound to fail from time to time. But they are matchwinners for a reason--they can turn games on their head with a single performance.

"But he's blocking the place of another cricketer!" Well, according to the same policy suggested by you, this new cricketer only has 2-3 chances to prove his worth, and accordingly is elevated to legend status or dropped into the scrap-pile to make way for another replacement. There will be no shortage of good cricketers in our country, so that is not a viable reason to drop someone.

England would be disappointed by this loss, but so too would India by their batting performance. One cannot point out bad batting as the reason England lost, because India too batted badly and irresponsibly.


http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/story/242541.html

A quote if there ever was one.

Well if I am one of those bloodthirsty Indian fans in your 'list', I would like to clear myself. Yes, I have been very critical of Virender Sehwag. But why? For how long has he failed? The poor thing is that, he follows a set pattern these days. Score a big one (a 100 or so or a 70 or 80 in a winning cause!) and then make scores like 4, 5, 7, 1, 3, etc.

He also has a new flaw for which he is not known for - short pitched bowling. Saurav Ganguly was sorted out by the bowlers around the world when it was known he was a sitting duck against such short pitched bowling. Sehwag is following the same path. In the case of people like Tendulkar, you can expect them to score anytime and once they score, you can also expect that it might be the turnaround for them and they will keep scoring consistently after that. But thats not the case with Sehwag. You never know when he scores. And he occupies the crucial spot in both forms of cricket - No.1 (opener).

 

[RoboRocks]

India are a better ODI side than England, so England missed an oppotunity to get a win on the board early.

 

[cricket_lover]

Well if I am one of those bloodthirsty Indian fans in your 'list', I would like to clear myself. Yes, I have been very critical of Virender Sehwag. But why? For how long has he failed? The poor thing is that, he follows a set pattern these days. Score a big one (a 100 or so or a 70 or 80 in a winning cause!) and then make scores like 4, 5, 7, 1, 3, etc.

He also has a new flaw for which he is not known for - short pitched bowling. Saurav Ganguly was sorted out by the bowlers around the world when it was known he was a sitting duck against such short pitched bowling. Sehwag is following the same path. In the case of people like Tendulkar, you can expect them to score anytime and once they score, you can also expect that it might be the turnaround for them and they will keep scoring consistently after that. But thats not the case with Sehwag. You never know when he scores. And he occupies the crucial spot in both forms of cricket - No.1 (opener).

I agree with that.

Sehwag has been, for a while now, very tentative just outside the off...be it incoming or outgoing deliveries...mainly due to his poor footwork. Short-pitch bowling also has been his nemesis over the last season or so.

The thing is, his last 20-30 ODI scores are quite bad, and you should expect the team management to make a decision against him. They don't...because they want to "look ahead, to the future".

India's wonderful run in ODI's is mainly due to Dhoni, Pathan, Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvi. Sehwag has played a nothing role for a long time now, in ODI's and its time he rectifies himself..or find someone who can perform consistently.

I still believe Ganguly is a better batsmen than many in the current Indian team.

 

[IloveGilly]

Can't believe England couldn't even chase that score. England would be quite good in those situations.

 

[sohum]

Have India lost the match you would also be criticising them here.

Play in the hypotheticals if you wish, but do not suggest the way someone else thinks. The only time I have criticized the Indian team is if they have made a complete mess of a situation due to their fault. Like the failure to register a win from having Pakistan 39/6. And not managing to win the test series 1-1. You will notice that I have not partaken in any of the cut-and-paste strategies that remind us of Pakistani selectors in the years past, that others on this forum have been implementing. Besides, criticizing and changing the team are two different things. You criticize someone when you want them to improve. You change the team when you are sure that the current team CANNOT improve.

Well if I am one of those bloodthirsty Indian fans in your 'list', I would like to clear myself. Yes, I have been very critical of Virender Sehwag. But why? For how long has he failed? The poor thing is that, he follows a set pattern these days. Score a big one (a 100 or so or a 70 or 80 in a winning cause!) and then make scores like 4, 5, 7, 1, 3, etc.

He also has a new flaw for which he is not known for - short pitched bowling. Saurav Ganguly was sorted out by the bowlers around the world when it was known he was a sitting duck against such short pitched bowling. Sehwag is following the same path. In the case of people like Tendulkar, you can expect them to score anytime and once they score, you can also expect that it might be the turnaround for them and they will keep scoring consistently after that. But thats not the case with Sehwag. You never know when he scores. And he occupies the crucial spot in both forms of cricket - No.1 (opener).

A few months ago, I regarded you as possibly one of the most mature [Indian] members on this website. The past few months have certainly changed my opinion somewhat. What would your comments be like, I wonder, IF Sehwag hits 2-3 centuries in the remainder of the series (given he plays). His past records don't suggest he will, but will you embrace him back into your good books if he does?

Sehwag as an ODI opener is definitely debatable. His records in ODI cricket are far shoddier than his in Test cricket. I would not be against a move to drop him down the order or even 'rest' him in ODI cricket, guaranteed we had an apt replacement. I don't think we really have an apt replacement at the moment, with Ganguly unpicked and Tendulkar injured. As for the short ball, surely having played competitive test cricket successfully for 5 years, scoring almost a dozen centuries and almost 4000 runs, having an awesome 50-to-100 conversion rate, must have allowed bowlers of all types to bowl everything at him. I think his inability to play the short ball is just a short-term condition which has grown due to lack of confidence and a lot of media pressure. It's the same thing that haunted Ganguly for a period, until he started mingling with controversies to shift the media focus.

What India need to build on is consistency. You don't need to have the best batting, bowling and fielding departments in the world as long as they consistently perform at an acceptable level. Inconsistent would be if India make 300+ in the next game and lose it. Our problem is that we cannot get batting, bowling and fielding clicking together. Yesterday it was batting that failed, and fielding and bowling that succeeded. Who knows what it will be tomorrow?

 

[SaiSrini]

Play in the hypotheticals if you wish, but do not suggest the way someone else thinks. The only time I have criticized the Indian team is if they have made a complete mess of a situation due to their fault. Like the failure to register a win from having Pakistan 39/6. And not managing to win the test series 1-1. You will notice that I have not partaken in any of the cut-and-paste strategies that remind us of Pakistani selectors in the years past, that others on this forum have been implementing. Besides, criticizing and changing the team are two different things. You criticize someone when you want them to improve. You change the team when you are sure that the current team CANNOT improve.


A few months ago, I regarded you as possibly one of the most mature [Indian] members on this website. The past few months have certainly changed my opinion somewhat. What would your comments be like, I wonder, IF Sehwag hits 2-3 centuries in the remainder of the series (given he plays). His past records don't suggest he will, but will you embrace him back into your good books if he does?

Sehwag as an ODI opener is definitely debatable. His records in ODI cricket are far shoddier than his in Test cricket. I would not be against a move to drop him down the order or even 'rest' him in ODI cricket, guaranteed we had an apt replacement. I don't think we really have an apt replacement at the moment, with Ganguly unpicked and Tendulkar injured. As for the short ball, surely having played competitive test cricket successfully for 5 years, scoring almost a dozen centuries and almost 4000 runs, having an awesome 50-to-100 conversion rate, must have allowed bowlers of all types to bowl everything at him. I think his inability to play the short ball is just a short-term condition which has grown due to lack of confidence and a lot of media pressure. It's the same thing that haunted Ganguly for a period, until he started mingling with controversies to shift the media focus.

What India need to build on is consistency. You don't need to have the best batting, bowling and fielding departments in the world as long as they consistently perform at an acceptable level. Inconsistent would be if India make 300+ in the next game and lose it. Our problem is that we cannot get batting, bowling and fielding clicking together. Yesterday it was batting that failed, and fielding and bowling that succeeded. Who knows what it will be tomorrow?

Two to three centuries followed by the same single digit scores wont still put him in my good books. He is hugely entertaining though. I never miss Sehwag's batting much because he is the type of entertainer when in full form can be a delight to watch! In fact during the test matches, the moment he got out, I switched it off and went to bed! I still have that liking for him. But you often criticise people whom you really like because you want to see them do well.

Well sorry for not keeping up my reputation as 'one of the most mature [Indian] members' in your list ! But yeah, opinions differ and its not always easy to please some one! What might be a 'mature' post in your sight might sound ridiculous to some one else!

 

[aditya123]

Iam completely with Sohum on the selection basis.
One poor series and people start asking qustions of a layer like Tendulkar !
The reason they give is `He is blocking someone else`s place !`

Take the example of Harbhajan.
He has had a poor run with the ball comparable to Sehwag`s run with the bat.
Had we dropped him by losing faith in him, guess what would have happended ? Th guy would have lost his confidence.

Sehwag , is a player whom you cannot expect consistency.
The funny part is that he averages 76 in the first innings of tst matches which is absolutely stunning and that sets up games for you.
I don`t know why Indians and generally Asian fans are so obsessed with changing the sides.
We are just left with 9 months for the WC 2007 and I believe w hav stumbled upon the successful combination of 15-16 players we need for the world cup.
I don`t think we need to try any more players in the meantime unless this side suddenly starts losing matches in a heap.
We`ve won 13 out of the last 16 ODI matches (against SA,SRL,PAK and now ENG).

Sehwag should be persisted with because, if you bring in another youngster, the lineup looks even more brittle with the selectors not showing any signs of going back to Sourav.
I do not agree with Sai that Sehwag has had a string o low scores in this season.

Starting from the Super Series here are the scores.
21,37,20,38,39,48,19,22,35 ,1, 77*,30,27 , 5 ,67 , 7
*The failures are in bold.

This proves Sai`s statement wrong.
Sehwag has not followed the pattern of scoring a hundred and keeping quiet for 10 innings.
He has been getting to the late 30s and 40s consistntly and has been involved in some important partnerships with Sachin .
He has just 3 failures in the last 16 innings.
In fact the above scores suggest that he has been reasonably consistent in recent ODIs in giving India starts.
The best part of the 30s he gets is that is comes in quick tim and gives India the run rate boost for others to build up a huge total.