Arunava
Club Captain
yeah start is very important. Sehwag not only scores fast..very fast and also demotivates the opposition bowlers and lifting up the dressing room morale.
India v England 2008
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yeah start is very important. Sehwag not only scores fast..very fast and also demotivates the opposition bowlers and lifting up the dressing room morale.
My final comment on the unfair criticism of England's slow scoring is this...if England had hit out and been bowled out to leave India a chase of 300 in a day and a half it would have been all over by lunch.
If the match had ended as a draw with India 9 down then maybe you could point to the slow scoring, but they didn't, India won it easily, so England going out and batting like a team of idiotic Afridis would have just hastened the defeat.
By saying they should have scored quicker you are assuming they would not have lost wickets while doing it.
Pointing to England's slow scoring rate is like saying Strauss and Collingwood cost them the match, so following that logic I say it is fair enough that Sehwag won the Man of the Match award...seeing as Strauss cost England the game.
If the match had ended as a draw with India 9 down then maybe you could point to the slow scoring, but they didn't, India won it easily, so England going out and batting like a team of idiotic Afridis would have just hastened the defeat.
By saying they should have scored quicker you are assuming they would not have lost wickets while doing it.
Pointing to England's slow scoring rate is like saying Strauss and Collingwood cost them the match, so following that logic I say it is fair enough that Sehwag won the Man of the Match award...seeing as Strauss cost England the game.
Arunava
Club Captain
you went to extreme. Afridi is a slogger and scores at around 7rpo. Strauss and Colly were not asked to slog, they were asked to score at a faster rate around 4-5rpo- which doesn't require slogging when the field is spread and batsmen are settled. that would have motivated the later batsmen to score at around 6rpo as they were planning to declare.
I will repeat it again...
By saying England should have scored faster you are assuming they would have not lost wickets while doing so.
Look what happened to Strauss and Collingwood after they ground out their tons, they did what anyone would have done in that situation...tried to up the scoring rate...and what happened?...they got out.
By saying England should have scored faster you are assuming they would have not lost wickets while doing so.
Look what happened to Strauss and Collingwood after they ground out their tons, they did what anyone would have done in that situation...tried to up the scoring rate...and what happened?...they got out.
sohum
Executive member
My ratings for India:
Virender Sehwag: 8/10
His first innings performance left a lot to be desired and he didn't really get in with the ball, but his second innings essay was match-swinging. Shows why India need him to fire and what Test cricket needs to be able to stand up to Twenty20 cricket: positivity.
Gautam Gambhir: 7/10
Gambhir's stability and consistency has provided the perfect counterfoil for Sehwag. He got a couple of starts and wasn't able to convert either of them into something really big, but he continues to shine as an opener.
Rahul Dravid: 0/10
Dravid had an(other) absolute shocker. He sucked with the bat, he dropped a couple of catches and did not really contribute anything to this match. It looks like it may be time for The Wall to be broken down to make way for Badrinath.
Sachin Tendulkar: 9/10
Played a crucial second innings knock to lead India to victory after getting a start in the first innings. This innings meant a lot to the genius Mumbaikar and his second century in as many series shows that he is getting back to really good form.
VVS Laxman: 6/10
VVS looks in good touch but has thrown away both of his starts. He wasn't needed as much this match, but he needs to keep his concentration for the next Test match. He would also be disappointed at being dismissed twice by spinners in this match.
Yuvraj Singh: 7/10
Yuvraj silenced his critics (of which I am one) and played a match-winning knock alongside Tendulkar. It definitely took a lot of effort from him to adjust his temperament and ignore the jabbering from Flintoff and Co. in his second essay. But his temperament still leaves him somewhat suspect, and he would need to work on that for his career to really take off.
Mahinder Singh Dhoni: 7/10
Dhoni's first innings half-century was crucial and his partnership with Harbhajan kept India hanging around after a top- and middle-order collapse. His captaincy at times left a little to be desired, especially with the rotation of his spinners, but one can hardly complain at the final result. 4/4 for Dhoni as captain and hopefully the wagon rolls on! He also dropped the costly catch of Strauss on 10, which may have resulted in a completely different (and probably less interesting Test match) but kept his boys pumped up.
Harbhajan Singh: 5/10
Harbhajan outperformed himself with the bat this match, compared to his performance with the ball. He's developing into a stable lower-order batsman in the Shane Warne mould--something that should help India if they want to play 5 bowlers sometime in the future. His bowling, however, was nothing short of pathetic at times. Bhajji needs to slow down his pace and pitch the ball up. Although it was a slow pitch, he needs to get the batsmen playing off the front foot rather than staying back and cutting everything.
Zaheer Khan: 8/10
Zaheer couldn't do it with the bat this time but once again showed that he has mastered the art of reverse-swing--something that England seemed to lack in their arsenal. His ability to get rid of tailenders will address the issue India has had in the past with letting the tail bat on. His lack of a new-ball wicket is worrying, but for the moment one can be happy with a trustworthy hand for the old ball.
Amit Mishra: 6/10
The young leggie outperformed his senior partner in spin-crime but still left a lot to be desired. Dhoni did not show a lot of confidence in him, but Mishy picked up a couple of very key wickets--none more important than the one of Strauss at the fag end of Day 1. However, like Bhajji, he was guilty of pitching the ball short far too often. It will be interesting to see him operating on the quicker pitch in Mohali, though, especially if India bat first. Also, his short innings with the bat in the first dig for India shows that he has a pretty solid technique, so another possible lower-order batting option is in development.
Ishant Sharma: 7/10
Ishant continues to shine in tough sub-continent conditions. A match haul of 4 wickets may be a little disappointing, but he continued to trouble the batsmen, especially with his bounce. I cannot wait to see this man operating in New Zealand.
Overall, a great performance by India. Pretty much everyone played their part, except for Dravid. Idealistically, I would go for the following line-up in Mohali:
1. Gautam Gambhir
2. Virender Sehwag
3. VVS Laxman
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. Mahinder Singh Dhoni*+
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Amit Mishra
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ishant Sharma
However, I feel like Dhoni will go with an unchanged line-up, except maybe swapping Laxman and Dravid.
sohum added 2 Minutes and 45 Seconds later...
Virender Sehwag: 8/10
His first innings performance left a lot to be desired and he didn't really get in with the ball, but his second innings essay was match-swinging. Shows why India need him to fire and what Test cricket needs to be able to stand up to Twenty20 cricket: positivity.
Gautam Gambhir: 7/10
Gambhir's stability and consistency has provided the perfect counterfoil for Sehwag. He got a couple of starts and wasn't able to convert either of them into something really big, but he continues to shine as an opener.
Rahul Dravid: 0/10
Dravid had an(other) absolute shocker. He sucked with the bat, he dropped a couple of catches and did not really contribute anything to this match. It looks like it may be time for The Wall to be broken down to make way for Badrinath.
Sachin Tendulkar: 9/10
Played a crucial second innings knock to lead India to victory after getting a start in the first innings. This innings meant a lot to the genius Mumbaikar and his second century in as many series shows that he is getting back to really good form.
VVS Laxman: 6/10
VVS looks in good touch but has thrown away both of his starts. He wasn't needed as much this match, but he needs to keep his concentration for the next Test match. He would also be disappointed at being dismissed twice by spinners in this match.
Yuvraj Singh: 7/10
Yuvraj silenced his critics (of which I am one) and played a match-winning knock alongside Tendulkar. It definitely took a lot of effort from him to adjust his temperament and ignore the jabbering from Flintoff and Co. in his second essay. But his temperament still leaves him somewhat suspect, and he would need to work on that for his career to really take off.
Mahinder Singh Dhoni: 7/10
Dhoni's first innings half-century was crucial and his partnership with Harbhajan kept India hanging around after a top- and middle-order collapse. His captaincy at times left a little to be desired, especially with the rotation of his spinners, but one can hardly complain at the final result. 4/4 for Dhoni as captain and hopefully the wagon rolls on! He also dropped the costly catch of Strauss on 10, which may have resulted in a completely different (and probably less interesting Test match) but kept his boys pumped up.
Harbhajan Singh: 5/10
Harbhajan outperformed himself with the bat this match, compared to his performance with the ball. He's developing into a stable lower-order batsman in the Shane Warne mould--something that should help India if they want to play 5 bowlers sometime in the future. His bowling, however, was nothing short of pathetic at times. Bhajji needs to slow down his pace and pitch the ball up. Although it was a slow pitch, he needs to get the batsmen playing off the front foot rather than staying back and cutting everything.
Zaheer Khan: 8/10
Zaheer couldn't do it with the bat this time but once again showed that he has mastered the art of reverse-swing--something that England seemed to lack in their arsenal. His ability to get rid of tailenders will address the issue India has had in the past with letting the tail bat on. His lack of a new-ball wicket is worrying, but for the moment one can be happy with a trustworthy hand for the old ball.
Amit Mishra: 6/10
The young leggie outperformed his senior partner in spin-crime but still left a lot to be desired. Dhoni did not show a lot of confidence in him, but Mishy picked up a couple of very key wickets--none more important than the one of Strauss at the fag end of Day 1. However, like Bhajji, he was guilty of pitching the ball short far too often. It will be interesting to see him operating on the quicker pitch in Mohali, though, especially if India bat first. Also, his short innings with the bat in the first dig for India shows that he has a pretty solid technique, so another possible lower-order batting option is in development.
Ishant Sharma: 7/10
Ishant continues to shine in tough sub-continent conditions. A match haul of 4 wickets may be a little disappointing, but he continued to trouble the batsmen, especially with his bounce. I cannot wait to see this man operating in New Zealand.
Overall, a great performance by India. Pretty much everyone played their part, except for Dravid. Idealistically, I would go for the following line-up in Mohali:
1. Gautam Gambhir
2. Virender Sehwag
3. VVS Laxman
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. Mahinder Singh Dhoni*+
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Amit Mishra
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ishant Sharma
However, I feel like Dhoni will go with an unchanged line-up, except maybe swapping Laxman and Dravid.
sohum added 2 Minutes and 45 Seconds later...
No one is asking them to go to the other extreme and trying to smash the ball out of the park. Compare Sachin's innings with Strauss' innings. Neither really went after the bowling in a Sehwag-esque style. The key difference was that Strauss' first mentality was blocking the ball whereas Tendulkar was thinking about pushing it into the gap for a single. England should have made use of the right-left combination. They didn't. They spent too many balls just defending the bowlers and not rotating the strike enough. Getting easy singles would have upped the run rate as well as bring the fielders back into the circle--which would have increased the probability of boundaries.
Highlander999
ICC President
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Nice little write up there Sohum. I feel Dravid should be kept in the team (it means a free wicket for us 
) But India do either need him to sort his head out, or be given the boot. It is kind of ending up in the situation as Vaughan was for England, except Vaughan was still doing a good job as captain.
I think Mishra deserved a 7. I obviously cannot watch the match, but from the TMS it seemed like it was him and Swann who were the best spinners in that match
) But India do either need him to sort his head out, or be given the boot. It is kind of ending up in the situation as Vaughan was for England, except Vaughan was still doing a good job as captain.I think Mishra deserved a 7. I obviously cannot watch the match, but from the TMS it seemed like it was him and Swann who were the best spinners in that match
Will_NA
Chairman of Selectors
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Pathetic. We didn't deal with Sehwag who just set the game. We didn't add any pressure at all. It was poor. But well played to India. You have to have class to get that score, definitely the best in the world at the moment.
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
No one said anything about hitting out! Just more running between the wickets ffs!
aditya123
National Board President
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One good thing here is that there has not been a lot of gloating by the Indian supporters.I bet we would have gloated a lot more had this come last year.Its a sign that we are getting used to winning.
Highlander999
ICC President
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...and also the fact that it was decent of the England team to come back to your country, where there is a risk of terrorists attacking them.
It shows good sportsmanship all-round
It shows good sportsmanship all-round
aditya123
National Board President
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I did mention that in my previous post.This is good for world cricket.
It should pave way for teams to tour the subcontinent more readily now.
That's about to change
Gloat Gloat Gloat Gloat Gloat
Gloat Gloat Gloat.
Gloat Gloat.
What a win, I can't believe it. It must suck to be an England fan now...
Still, I'm more disappointed with this match than anything. Dravid failed. His career cannot end like this, he deserves far, far better. And I can't believe the cries for him to be dropped! You can see after every failure, he just gets more and more disappointed in himself, and he feels worse after every failure. You can see it in his face, the way he walks, he is feeling terrible about this. And Dravid is the kind of guy who when he feels he is causing more hard than good will focus tenfold and force his way back into form, by hook or by crook. I can bet you he would rather not be in the side than be in the side knowing that no one wants him there. And I know he will fight back. How long it will take him, I do not now, but I feel this series will be it. And he's got just one match left. He Has to make this one count. He just Has to.
And I don't think blaming Fletcher/Vaughan for Monty's failures is fair. I think the current management may have more to blame. Maybe having Swann in the side will rub off on him...
evertonfan
Chairman of Selectors
I'm glad they gave Sehwag the man of the match. Fair enough Strauss was magnificent, but at the end of the day his twin hundreds have counted for nothing. Sehwag changed the game completely with his knock and I honestly felt that he'd pretty much won the game for India before we could even recover. If we'd have got him out cheaply early on yesterday then we'd have won. I'm confident in saying that. So yeah, he may not have scored a hundred but if it wasn't for him we'd have won or drew.
Well played to India though. We didn't exactly bowl well, but 387 takes some getting.
Well played to India though. We didn't exactly bowl well, but 387 takes some getting.
zimrahil
Retired Administrator
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Atleast you won the 'We're gonna lose' competition. You can now have bragging rights for the next match 
And yup, yup, aha, yes, indeed, and yup. Viru deserved the MOTM. Rough on Strauss and Sachin though. I think this is probably one of the very few times I've seen a player win MOTM for actually turning a match around. Usually someone like Sachin would have won this now.
And yup, yup, aha, yes, indeed, and yup. Viru deserved the MOTM. Rough on Strauss and Sachin though. I think this is probably one of the very few times I've seen a player win MOTM for actually turning a match around. Usually someone like Sachin would have won this now.
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