India Team Discussion

[abhi_jacko]

I am really surprised how people are writing off the Indian team considering the fact that we have been amongst the best teams in the One-day format for more than a decade now. I mean this Indian team beat SL in SL 5-0, Windies in Windies 3-1, Australia in Australia 2-1, New Zealand in New Zealand 4-1, South Africa in South Africa 5-1 and we did trouble England in England even though when we lost 2-1. And only one of the match they got out less than 100 and people made it a big issue like they got out on that score 4/10 times. And is the recent Australia series at home the yardstick to judge this Indian side ? And people are constantly bringing up the issue of this side not being able to score 350+ but nobody looks at the fact that we are well capable of winning even after scoring 300-320 and we have done it as well. This shows that we are doing better than other teams. If you talk that even Pakistan is being hammered in England after scoring 350+ then also look at the fact that they are not playing their full-strength line-up. And the way people are backing England is actually surprising. I mean England have the history of doing well before any ICC tournament and then failing at last and I am very confident that same is going to happen this time as well. And last thing I have to bring up is that people over here are talking of India not being able to lift CT'17, WC'15, WT20'16, I mean this is all rubbish !!!! The fact is these losses definitely made Indian team better. And especially the way they lost in CT'17 I definitely believe that they would be all charged up to rub that off and make history this time. I am sure that Indian team will actually do well than what most of the people on this forum think !!!!!

I dont think anyone here is "writing off" the Indian team. Most of the people agree that we start as favorites considering our lineup and the form we have been in throughout the year. I am all for being a dedicated fan of the Indian team, and once the tournament starts I will support them no matter what happens. But you cannot ignore some obvious issues we have with this line up.

I think ours is the only batting lineup which doesn't have a settled middle order. We still have no idea who is going to come at no.4 in the first game. Kohli might call is "flexibility" but it gives more of an uncertainty vibe. I think the 350+ score is still an issue. Sure, we have the bowling to defend a PAR score of 300-320 on a flat wicket, but its not a given. We need a batting lineup which can score above-par totals, in case our bowlers have an off day. Jadhav on a flat wicket can give you 4-5 overs at best.

I dont know what Pakistan getting hammered by England has anything to do with us, considering we are a far superior team than Pak.

And people are backing England because they are the team to beat this world cup. Their batting is a never-ending nightmare for the opposition bowling attack and makes up for their strictly decent bowling lineup by regularly posting/chasing mammoth targets. If you have followed the world cups thus far, one thing is very clear, that history doesnt really matter in this tournament.

And finally, the talk of not being able to lift CT17, WC15, WT2016 etc comes up because there is a pattern there where our batting fizzled out big time under pressure. I feel our middle order is a lot more stable than it was back then, but I wouldnt bet my life on it. I still have serious doubts on our ability to chase a 300+ score if we lose our openers early.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

If you have followed the world cups thus far, one thing is very clear, that history doesnt really matter in this tournament.

But some things haven't changed. Bangladesh have kept coming up upsetting a strong opposition everytime since 1999 WC. The Proteas have kept losing in the knockouts. Aussies have thrashed the opposition coming off the worst forms time and again. New Zealand have always been inconsistent in every WC they have played. They do well in one tournament and get out embarrassed in another. Only Asian teams have consistently shown signs for improvement. India is no longer an under-dog, Pakistan no longer scares any opposition every day, Sri Lanka have lost their charm in this tournament. At the end of the day history is bound to repeat unless you do something miraculous. The biggest example of that is 1983 WC.

I think the 350+ score is still an issue. Sure, we have the bowling to defend a PAR score of 300-320 on a flat wicket

Do you remember when was the last time India played their full-strength team on an absolute flat deck ? The thing is they hardly do. Since 2014 they have always played on competitive wickets where both teams have got equal chances. India hardly plays on flat wickets where there is nothing but help for the batsman. And I believe they can score 350+ even if they get on to a slow start. I believe it is a better option to save wickets. I just have a feeling that in one of the matches India would score 400+ this time around

And finally, the talk of not being able to lift CT17, WC15, WT2016 etc comes up because there is a pattern there where our batting fizzled out big time under pressure.

To be frank our bowlers struggled in those match. And again this point of yours contradicts your previous point of history not repeating itself in WC matches. Well this has been a pattern that is being followed on this forum now. Before Australia Test series people were like India would lose, India would lose, India would lose, India would lose and when they finally won people were like we beat a weak team, if Smith and Warner were there we would have lost the series but in an ideal world India would've won the series 3-1 had it not been 2 days being washed out in the 4th Test. Again people came up with a statement that Indian One-day side is the most over-rated side in the world right now before the New Zealand ODI series. At the end we won the series 4-1. And on both occasions I had already predicted for India to do better than what most of them think and I was being criticised for no reason but at the end only that happened what I had said earlier. Though right now I am not saying that they would definitely win the Cup, but I would be keen to see their performance this time around. What I can say for sure is most of the sides would face it difficult to beat the Indian team this time around

 

[Targaryen]

We shouldn't worry about India because we already have a settled squad for 2 years now. And we have been consistent in ODIs apart from few games. The no.4 issue will be automatically solved if MS is promoted up the order followed by Jadhav, Pandya and Vijay Shanker(Dinesh Karthik, for solid batting lineup). We have the best bowling in the death and middle overs. And 2 years are more than sufficient for players to understand the game of each other and change the mindset according to situation of the match.

And since we might be seeing flat pitches initially, we might be seeing some solo perfomances from Dhoni because he WILL perform on the flat pitches after what we have seen off him in the IPL. He can play the anchor role too. As somebody mentioned before, pitch won't remain flat for whole tournament. It will start getting competitive once we are half way through in the tournament. There comes the strength of our team. We like competitive pitches and not completely flat or bowler friendly.

 

[Targaryen]

Once the worldcup is over, we need to invest on young players because, we won't be having 4 players in next world cup who are playing currently - Dhawan, Karthik, MS, Jadhav.

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw are perfect replacements for these players.

 

[abhi_jacko]

To be frank our bowlers struggled in those match. A

Yes, our bowlers struggled and we ended up chasing and above par score and FAILED. So our batting failed too. It is history repeating itself if it happens twice. But this has happened in the last 3 ICC tournament knockout games - that is PATTERN. And I clearly said, we are a lot more settled now.

All this stuff about not playing full strength team is rubbish. We have played the same core team in most of the important series. One or two players missing from a world-class team shouldn't hamper the results.

Well this has been a pattern that is being followed on this forum now. Before Australia Test series people were like India would lose, India would lose, India would lose, India would lose and when they finally won people were like we beat a weak team, if Smith and Warner were there we would have lost the series but in an ideal world India would've won the series 3-1 had it not been 2 days being washed out in the 4th Test.

Again people came up with a statement that Indian One-day side is the most over-rated side in the world right now before the New Zealand ODI series. At the end we won the series 4-1. And on both occasions I had already predicted for India to do better than what most of them think and I was being criticised for no reason but at the end only that happened what I had said earlier. Though right now I am not saying that they would definitely win the Cup, but I would be keen to see their performance this time around. What I can say for sure is most of the sides would face it difficult to beat the Indian team this time around

Either you are confusing other social media platforms with this forum or you are being forgetful. If I recall correctly, before the start of the Australia series most of the people were expecting India to win or atleast draw. Because Aussies were missing their two major players. Heck, most of us were expecting India to win in South Africa and England too, but we did not because of some horrendous management decisions by VK and our tubby coach.

I think you are taking the Indian team criticism too emotionally It comes from a good place, at least on this forum.

Though right now I am not saying that they would definitely win the Cup, but I would be keen to see their performance this time around. What I can say for sure is most of the sides would face it difficult to beat the Indian team this time around

As an Indian fan, I say we will win the Cup

As a more realistic cricket fan, based on the current team, I say we will almost certainly reach the knockouts, possibly topping the table or coming second. What happens in the knockout, will depend on how we have performed through the tournament and how the team is looking at that point

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Once the worldcup is over, we need to invest on young players because, we won't be having 4 players in next world cup who are playing currently - Dhawan, Karthik, MS, Jadhav.

Add Rohit Sharma to that list. So it makes 5[DOUBLEPOST=1558021004][/DOUBLEPOST]

Either you are confusing other social media platforms with this forum

I left it long back before that series. So I am definitely talking about this place.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Australia still the favorites for me in the test series despite not having their two best batsman in Warner. Australia's pace quartlet is right up there and if you add Lyon to the lineup then they are capable of 20 wickets of any batting team on any surface.

It's strange to see people (ex-cricketers including) talk about this being our best chance to win a series in Australia. Statements such as those do not hold weight after two disappointing series.

it really baffles me how experts are seeing India are favorites tbh I will be really surprised if India even managed to draw the series.

@abhi_jacko These were the posts before Test series in Australia had started

I somehow feel India is being massively overrated in ODI's

it would be a surprise if India win or level

And these were posted before NZ series

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Irfan Pathan becomes the first Indian player to put his name in the CPL draft.

Although Sunny Sohal (former KXIP player and Punjab player in the Ranjiis) and Saurabh Netravalkar (played in the 2010 U19 world cup ) were part of the draft last year and Former got picked by Barbados Tridents as both players are now playing for United States so they are eligible.

On Irfan Pathan I feel he is way past his years perhaps 6 years too late for him if anyone manages to pick Irfan in the squad.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

A lookback to 2011 WC Presentation Ceremony

 

[Bevab]

Strangely enough, our spinners actually seem to bowl better on the flatter or greener decks rather than ones that assist spin. Their record in India is quite good, but away? It's extraordinary, to say the least. Is it because the flatter pitches offer more bounce to our spinners, which aids in their unpredictability?

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Strangely enough, our spinners actually seem to bowl better on the flatter or greener decks rather than ones that assist spin. Their record in India is quite good, but away? It's extraordinary, to say the least. Is it because the flatter pitches offer more bounce to our spinners, which aids in their unpredictability?

Are you sure ? Because they mostly played on dry pitches over the last 20 months or so. If you are talking about Test Cricket then yes we have struggled to bowl on spin friendly tracks but remember when we were playing on those tracks away from home in one match we were playing with a bowler who was just 75% fit(Southampton Test), in another we did not even have a regular spinner(Perth Test) and in third instance it rained for about 2 & ½ days (SCG Test)

 

[Bevab]

Are you sure ? Because they mostly played on dry pitches over the last 20 months or so. If you are talking about Test Cricket then yes we have struggled to bowl on spin friendly tracks but remember when we were playing on those tracks away from home in one match we were playing with a bowler who was just 75% fit(Southampton Test), in another we did not even have a regular spinner(Perth Test) and in third instance it rained for about 2 & ½ days (SCG Test)

I was seeing only the ODI stats to be fair. In T20s, Chahal has a better record at home compared to away, but Kuldeep conforms to the norm. Bodes well for the World Cup if our spinners don’t need extra assistance from the pitch.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I was seeing only the ODI stats to be fair. In T20s, Chahal has a better record at home compared to away, but Kuldeep conforms to the norm. Bodes well for the World Cup if our spinners don’t need extra assistance from the pitch.

I felt you were saying that we don't have the ability to bowl well on spinning tracks these days. I misunderstood your previous post. Yes, you made an absolutely valid point, but they become even more lethal on spinning tracks

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Good to see Rahane utilizing the free time to score runs in the county cricket.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Go Rahane !! Big fan of his batting and strokeplay