India in South Africa

[hindustani]

why is kaif takaing the blame for this runout. karthik is runs half way down and then decides to run backa nd leave kaif in the middle with nowhere to go shows that karthik is probably one of the worst runners in history. kaif was looking very good out there

 

[SaiSrini]

Just based on this game to say Karthick is the worst runner is "stupidity". Karthick has been a livewire on the field and is a good runner. Today it was one of those mistakes which need not be repeated in future!

Dhoni batting well here. Karthick giving him good company. Hope to see some entertainment from India!

 

[surendar]

With just 4 wickets down, We dont have any batsman if this pair breaks! I feel that Team composition itself is somewat bad! This is where we miss Yuvi and Dravid!

 

[sohum]

Yay, Dhoni is gone. Pathan will follow suit soon enough and then our tail will get washed out. Looks like my prediction was slightly overconfident (we will probably lose by more than 80 runs by the look of it).

 

[prarara]

If Pathan and Karthick can fight back I'd be very happy. It doesn't matter if we win or lose, but a decent fight is important.

 

[sohum]

Pathan is showing some good resilience but how long will it last? Dhoni showed it for 20 balls. Kaarthick needs to stay as long as possible as it may put him in contention for a test match berth. Pathan really needs to fire to save his skull.

... And immediately Kaarthick decides he's had enough out there in the middle.

 

[surendar]

Looks like my prediction was slightly overconfident.

My prediction starting to come true though This is how a team shd perform before World Cup

 

[prarara]

Oh Gawd I hope Irfan can get his maiden century. That would be a good comeback, I think, for Team India.

...Agarkar gone.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

And Zaheer's first OD fifty would be nice too.

And Zaheer's Kumble's first OD fifty would be nice too.

 

[hindustani]

pathan is doing all he can and sehwag shows that he really has no captaincy skills. as cricinfo said sehwag is half the vice captain dravid was to ganguly.

 

[sohum]

80 runs it is.

 

[SaiSrini]

Some consolation in the batting of Irfan Pathan. But to say that we are thrashed in this series would be a very big understatement. We have been hammered to pieces. I think this series is going to have a lot of side affects on us, and only god knows if we can get over those side affects in time before the world cup. our morale is hugely shattered! we have forgotten the mention of the word "victory"

 

[prarara]

Hey we found someone to make those token half centuries now. Inevitably we can cling on to the hope that someone on our team will make a token half century only to be let down by the imploding batting order around him.

 

[Cricketman]

I haven't been impressed with the Indians recently. They have to start looking to the future for young players and they have to stop relying on Sachin Tendulkar because it is as if when he fails, the team fails. They need radical changes if they are going to challenge for the number one ranking in test and one-day internationals again.

That was the case in the 1990's, pre 03 world cup. Now, at the start of 2006, I could safley say they were looking good enough to knock down the best of the best.
After the WI series, they have lost their mojo. Now, they don't look good enough to beat the worst of the worst.

maybe if dhoni hadn't kept...

 

[SaiSrini]

That was the case in the 1990's, pre 03 world cup. Now, at the start of 2006, I could safley say they were looking good enough to knock down the best of the best.
After the WI series, they have lost their mojo. Now, they don't look good enough to beat the worst of the worst.

maybe if dhoni hadn't kept...

I am not sure if Dhoni in the field would have been as good as Karthik on the field. Dhoni is stockily built and would be exhausted faster than Karthik while fielding in the outfield. Karthik with his physique was better suited to field while Dhoni was right in keeping! Karthik was brought in as a specialist batsman, not as a replacement for Dhoni!

And we didnt lose this series because of Dhoni's keeping.

There are lots of stories floating around now about Ganguly's possible inclusion tomorrow. Some say the team management now is forced to resort to experience in the wake of the disastrous results in recent times. Some say that the team think tank still wants to have faith on the youngsters and might induct Badrinath into the team instead of Ganguly!

If true, then why Ganguly? Why cant Badrinath threaten Laxman? Does Laxman have a century in the domestic competitions recently? His batting form hasnt been any great shakes in the domestic games. In fact, he is sailing in the same boat as Ganguly is (or even lesser). When Ganguly didnt deserve the place, he was given. When he deserves it, why there are lots of hesitations?

Anyways, there is another rumor going around that Aakash Chopra might be included in the team instead of taking Gambhir. I feel its a superb idea. Aakash and Sehwag had those terrific opening starts for India during their tour of Australia in 2003-04 and invariably, the middle order fed on the great starts and scored lots of runs! Sehwag and Aakash make a better pair than Sehwag and Jaffer. Aakash can be the backup opener for India in South Africa. I wish Irfan is sent back and VRV comes in for him. Let Agarkar stay. Anyways, Munaf and Sreesanth will be preferred over Agarkar (Zaheer is back as our spearhead now, Yahoooooo!).