India in England/Ireland/Scotland

[RoboRocks]

England were much improved from when they played the West Indies.
They need to take advantage of the powerplays, they still haven't done that yet.
Apart from that a good performance alround against a good Indian side.

 

[sd92]

not really.. but some of us have to be up early for work in the morning..

Thats the advantage of the school holidays

 

[zimrahil]

Well I have never been so bored watching an England win - I just wish India had gone for it and been all out after 30 overs as opposed to settling for boring batting practise?

 

[evertonfan]

To be over critical, there was absolutely no way 288 was enough on the pitch. Yes I know in hindsight it was more than enough, but 320 was the score we should have got. Now it didn't make any difference tonight because India practically handed us the victory on a shiny silver platter, but India aren't always going to hand us victory and there batting line-up won't always fail so it's important we make the most of good platforms like we had today.

But to be positive, we need a big shiny gold shiny shrine of Jim.

 

[Will_NA]

ok the run rate is basically 10 now so india might as well go home

there are still six matches left!

they're not going anywhere!

great all-round performance by england.

i'm not sure what India were trying to achieve with their run-chase, going at under 3 an over.

I was angry when Tendulkar got out. What kind of shot was that! Summed up India's day

 

[evertonfan]

It's strange, Freddie has done nothing in this match, it's not his fault - we batted well and we took the wickets first - but seeing him out there in an England shirt again makes me feel warm inside. Why?

Because he's da maaan.

 

[legspinner@fred]

Or because he IS a man?

 

[siddharth2002]

I reckon India needs bashers at the top, not Tendulkars or Gangulys. But lets wait and see what they come up with in next game.

 

[Will_NA]

Flintoff doesn't need looseners

 

[irottev]

I didn't see a lot of the game, but it seems England played well. They had Cook and Bell stand up with the bat and Anderson and Flintoff with the ball.

India's bowling seemed to be pretty weak. 2 wickets in a whole ODI innings is very sad. Agarkar is poor, they need to replace him with someone with some firepower. India's bowling has been a problem for a while now. They need to use Munaf Patel in my opinion.

India's batting order also seems a muddle.

 

[Will_NA]

I'm still yet to be impressed by Agarkar. He has lost a yard of pace and just bowled floated half-volleys

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Well done, England! Our batting was great, after a slow start and our bowlers were excellent, backed up by some great fielding. That's what we want to see from our ODI boys. And isn't it great to have Freddy back and bowling at 90mph?

india never turned up..

will have to watch the highlights..disappointed to see that they are scheduled for 12-1am !!

You have a VCR, no?

 

[harishankar]

Good thing I didn't sit up to watch the Indian Innings. From the descriptions here, seems India muffed up big time.

I keep saying the same thing over and over again: the golden oldies of Indian cricket (Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar) need to retire from ODI cricket. The modern game is just not suited for a team so immobile on the field and a captain who is so negative that he thinks he can draw a ODI match.

We need dynamic youth like in the 2002-2003 days. We've gone backwards by holding on to the same set of losers who played the World Cup 2007... the whole saga was a joke in my opinion. What ever happened to the era of "youth" policy? We now have old-age pensioners in the side who are hanging on for their records and it's getting almost pathetic...

As for Ajit Agarkar, god knows how long he'll continue gracing the team with his sublime presence because I think he's set the record for being the underperformer of the century in Indian cricket who's had such a long run in ODI cricket.

England played it just right and all congratulations to them. They look set to win this series with their strong bowling attack and the all-rounders who add so much balance to the side. Now they look like a modern side.

 

[irottev]

I hate to think how bad India would be without Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly though. The Zimbabwe side may have the best team on paper in that instance.

 

[harishankar]

I hate to think how bad India would be without Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly though. The Zimbabwe side may have the best team on paper in that instance.

That is what I call as negative thinking. I like to think how *good* India will be with fresh blood and exciting young talent instead of tired, jaded minds and bodies struggling on the field...

Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly are great players - no mistake about that - but they are quite old now and have worn themselves out through years and years of hectic international cricket.

Youngsters are far more likely to be positive in ODI cricket, which is what is required. We need the experience of the "fabulour four" in Test cricket, but in ODI cricket, we need the dynamism and positive thinking of < 25 year old cricketers who are athletic, agile and talented.

There is no dearth of cricketing talent in India. To compare that situation with Zimbabwean cricket is ludicruous as Zimbabwe is not exactly a flourishing cricketing nation with all its political turmoils.