India's tour of West Indies June 2011

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Also I would like to say I hated Raina's captaincy throughout this series and its just because of it they lost twice to Zimbabwe as well as West Indies now. Firsy of all why the fearsome tweak was Dhawan in the team. Seriously 5 matches 60 runs is ████. Also poor saha goes back to India without playing a match.3 overs were left and India just had a over from vinay and ishant.. What was Raina thinking? That's the reason India need Dhoni and his skills and his luck. Kohli would have done better then him

 

[AngryPixel]

Why does the world champions tend to take it easy after the World Cup win, Hangover i guess . I remember Australia playing West Indies for a 7 Match ODI series just after 2003 WC and winning the first 4 comfortably then losing the next 3. Is that a trend or something
I was in fact enjoying the Windies hitting in last few overs coz hey this aint the Indian team i cheer for. There were only 2 players (Raina,Kohli) playing who would be part of the real team

Few Positives from this series are:
1)Rohit Sharma coming of age.
2)Kohli is turning into a exceptional player. Scoring runs with ease.
3)Ishant looks fit and bowling at nice pace.

-ve:
1) Pathan has gone from bad to worse and then to worst in this series.
2) Mishra tends to loose the cool when attacked. Was looking helpless against Bravo.
3) Ashwin Experiments too much.
4) Raina had a nice start but then got out to 4 miserable needless shots in 4 consecutive matches. Thats inexcusable for a senior player like him and he's captain too

 

[sifter132]

^Mishra is just an angry little man. I think I saw him smile maybe twice during the IPL when he got a wicket... every other time it was the angry face Which is unfortunately becoming a trend, particularly among Indian players. Lets see some joy on the face for a wicket eg. Malinga and Gayle - always grinning.

Also I would like to say I hated Raina's captaincy throughout this series and its just because of it they lost twice to Zimbabwe as well as West Indies now. Firsy of all why the fried chicken was Dhawan in the team. Seriously 5 matches 60 runs is ████. Also poor saha goes back to India without playing a match.3 overs were left and India just had a over from vinay and ishant.. What was Raina thinking? That's the reason India need Dhoni and his skills and his luck. Kohli would have done better then him

The selections aren't Raina's fault. And having no one to bowl the last over is often a smart move. You want to bowl your best bowlers before the last over to try and put the game away so that the last over is too hard. But I do think Ishant bowled too many overs before the 40th especially considering the batting PP was still to come. In that way, Raina's captaincy was very Dhoni like. I'm sure Dhoni would have relied heavily on Ashwin in the later overs.

 

[SaiSrini]

^Mishra is just an angry little man. I think I saw him smile maybe twice during the IPL when he got a wicket... every other time it was the angry face Which is unfortunately becoming a trend, particularly among Indian players. Lets see some joy on the face for a wicket eg. Malinga and Gayle - always grinning.

The selections aren't Raina's fault. And having no one to bowl the last over is often a smart move. You want to bowl your best bowlers before the last over to try and put the game away so that the last over is too hard. But I do think Ishant bowled too many overs before the 40th especially considering the batting PP was still to come. In that way, Raina's captaincy was very Dhoni like. I'm sure Dhoni would have relied heavily on Ashwin in the later overs.

No, Dhoni would have finished Ashwin off much earlier and would have kept Ishant and Vinay Kumar bowling most of the batting powerplay overs. Dhoni doesnt like the spinner bowling when the heat is on and when the opposition need to go for big shots to win the game. Well most of the time, we would criticise Dhoni for it, but there is a bigger risk of a spinner getting hit easily if he doesnt get it absolutely right.

Raina is better off being just a player. I think it should be Kohli after Gambhir who is after Dhoni, in the pecking order of Indian captaincy. Raina's performances suffered this series (he most often heaves towards midwicket and gets out). This could have easily been 3-2 in WI favor had Rohit Sharma not staged that comeback with Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar in that third ODI. In that context, those innings from Rohit/Bhajji/Praveen were gold dust.

 

[crazyrahul]

Though its 3-2, I am happy for team's performance. It was average and not at best. The most disappointing person was Yusuf Pathan, both with bat and ball. I won't be surprised if selectors will exclude him in coming series. Amit Mishra and Rohit Sharma was sensational.

HITS -
1. Amit Mishra's terrific variations to trouble batsmen.
2. Rohit Sharma's superb form.
3. Virat Kohli once again showed why he can become next wall of India.
4. Munaf Patel's accuracy.

MISSES -
1. Yusuf Pathan's worst show.
2. Badrinath again failed when matters.
3. Raina's irresponsible shots and way-wire captaincy.
4. Ashwin lost his form with so much experimentation.

I must say, we missed Harbhajan in death overs in the last 2 ODIs as well as in the bowling department.

 

[6ry4nj]

Yusuf is a good domestic T20 player. Someone should tell him to go back to the Syed Mushtaq Ali - and stay there.

It is fine to try people out in International based on the IPL, but this one's way had his chance.

 

[SaiSrini]

Though its 3-2, I am happy for team's performance. It was average and not at best. The most disappointing person was Yusuf Pathan, both with bat and ball. I won't be surprised if selectors will exclude him in coming series. Amit Mishra and Rohit Sharma was sensational.

HITS -
1. Amit Mishra's terrific variations to trouble batsmen.
2. Rohit Sharma's superb form.
3. Virat Kohli once again showed why he can become next wall of India.
4. Munaf Patel's accuracy.

MISSES -
1. Yusuf Pathan's worst show.
2. Badrinath again failed when matters.
3. Raina's irresponsible shots and way-wire captaincy.
4. Ashwin lost his form with so much experimentation.

I must say, we missed Harbhajan in death overs in the last 2 ODIs as well as in the bowling department.

One ODI, and you call Ashwin a miss. Even in that last ODI today, Ashwin bowled tight for most part of the innings. It was that batting powerplay over which spoiled his figures. He took the dangerous wicket of Pollard in the 4th ODI and had figures of 1-39 in 10 overs (thats brilliant for an ODI these days). Harbhajan would have fared as bad (if you want to call it that way) or even worse.

The rest I agree. Will add one more "Hits" in the form of Parthiv Patel's maturity in showing that he is the second best wicketkeeper batsman after Dhoni. His batting at the top of the order has been very solid, and its said that his keeping has been very safe in this series (though I didnt personally watch the games, havent read blemishes about his keeping this series). I think Parthiv might have cemented the backup keeper spot for himself.

 

[lwliang061]

These things looked pretty good, and some that I can learn, and I hope to learn more on it!

 

[AngryPixel]

One ODI, and you call Ashwin a miss. Even in that last ODI today, Ashwin bowled tight for most part of the innings. It was that batting powerplay over which spoiled his figures. He took the dangerous wicket of Pollard in the 4th ODI and had figures of 1-39 in 10 overs (thats brilliant for an ODI these days). Harbhajan would have fared as bad (if you want to call it that way) or even worse.

The rest I agree. Will add one more "Hits" in the form of Parthiv Patel's maturity in showing that he is the second best wicketkeeper batsman after Dhoni. His batting at the top of the order has been very solid, and its said that his keeping has been very safe in this series (though I didnt personally watch the games, havent read blemishes about his keeping this series). I think Parthiv might have cemented the backup keeper spot for himself.

There is no way in hell i would say his keeping is safe. He missed a lot of chances. His batting is good but i'm sure India has better WK than him. Dinesh Karthik would be my choice for second WK

 

[Ahmad94]

Why is Ashwin not like in the IPL

 

[cricket_icon]

a carbon copy of the Pak v WI ODI series, although I see India being far more dominant in the Test series.

 

[AngryPixel]

^Mishra is just an angry little man. I think I saw him smile maybe twice during the IPL when he got a wicket... every other time it was the angry face Which is unfortunately becoming a trend, particularly among Indian players. Lets see some joy on the face for a wicket eg. Malinga and Gayle - always grinning.



The selections aren't Raina's fault. And having no one to bowl the last over is often a smart move. You want to bowl your best bowlers before the last over to try and put the game away so that the last over is too hard. But I do think Ishant bowled too many overs before the 40th especially considering the batting PP was still to come. In that way, Raina's captaincy was very Dhoni like. I'm sure Dhoni would have relied heavily on Ashwin in the later overs.

I agree. Raina is a good captain. Its just that bowlers didnt supported him. He's had a heated discussion with Vinay Kumar after the over where he was smacked over long off for six and cost 15 runs in that over. Captain can't do ████ when bowlers would bowl waist high full tosses and bowl on the pads when fine leg is up. That was poor bowling that resulted in the loss not poor captaincy.

 

[sifter132]

^Indeed. WI needed 80 off 8 overs and got them in 6 and a half. And with no part timers bowling - it was the main 4 guys. So yeah, I'd say the bowlers let him down...

No, Dhoni would have finished Ashwin off much earlier and would have kept Ishant and Vinay Kumar bowling most of the batting powerplay overs. Dhoni doesnt like the spinner bowling when the heat is on and when the opposition need to go for big shots to win the game. Well most of the time, we would criticise Dhoni for it, but there is a bigger risk of a spinner getting hit easily if he doesnt get it absolutely right.

Well it's pretty hard to be certain of that. Ashwin and Dhoni have only shared 3 ODIs together... Here's how Ashwin's been used by Dhoni in those games:
*Vs WI in World Cup, he bowled 7 overs with new ball and overs 41 and 43 (which were in the batting PP - although WI were 8 down at the time...)
*vs Aus in World Cup QF, bowled 6 overs with new ball and overs 38,43,47 & 49 (last 2 were in batting PP vs D.Hussey and Ponting. Noteworthy because D.Hussey has previously massacred Ashwin in a Super Over at the Champions League last year, but Dhoni obviously wasn't too worried)
*vs Aus Oct 2010 - only game where Dhoni used him 'normally', with Ashwin bowling 5 overs between 14-23 and another 4 between 32-41.

I'd say Dhoni trusts him a lot and would have been happy to throw him the ball at the death (or to open the bowling in the first PP). He does it with CSK and has done it in 2 of the 3 ODIs they've played together.

Raina is better off being just a player.

Agree with that

 

[SaiSrini]

Why is Ashwin not like in the IPL

He was played here just to give him some games (and to stretch his body). In the IPL, he is Chennai's premier spinner and is indispensable. In ODI's, wickets are slow to come by than T20.

 

[angryangy]

Raina is better off being just a player. I think it should be Kohli after Gambhir who is after Dhoni, in the pecking order of Indian captaincy. Raina's performances suffered this series (he most often heaves towards midwicket and gets out). This could have easily been 3-2 in WI favor had Rohit Sharma not staged that comeback with Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar in that third ODI. In that context, those innings from Rohit/Bhajji/Praveen were gold dust.

I would agree with that. it's not too difficult to find that Kohli has a considerable leadership pedigree in his short career. He is young, but he has played a fair bit of cricket. He hasn't played a Test, but probably should have. He also looks like the sort of player for which responsibility is natural.

In the World Cup, the evidence was that Kohli was the more essential player than Raina. Raina has a lot of experience, but it is getting to the stage that when they send out a team like this, Raina is almost an artificial inclusion for the sake of his captaincy, which is itself a bit nonsensical.