Sri Lanka tour of India - November/December 2017

[SaiSrini]

Wonder why people are blaming the declaration here. After having been behind in this test match for most part, the turnaround happened just yesterday and though the end result makes it look like India could've won with a slightly earlier declaration, truth is India did astonishingly well to even get to this point where they were just 3 wickets away from a miraculous win. The gulf between the two sides got exposed further where despite having India on the mat for 3 days a bit beyond that, Sri Lanka almost lost the game.

I think the declaration was fine at 230. India had enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out. Light saved Sri Lanka there and it just got too tight with the amount of play that was lost in the first 3 days. By the end of it, Sri Lanka will feel so lucky to get out of jail in a game where India were in jail for most part. India go in with a huge psychological advantage into the next test and I expect a sound thumping of Sri Lanka at Nagpur.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Wonder why people are blaming the declaration here. After having been behind in this test match for most part, the turnaround happened just yesterday and though the end result makes it look like India could've won with a slightly earlier declaration, truth is India did astonishingly well to even get to this point where they were just 3 wickets away from a miraculous win. The gulf between the two sides got exposed further where despite having India on the mat for 3 days a bit beyond that, Sri Lanka almost lost the game.

I think the declaration was fine at 230. India had enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out. Light saved Sri Lanka there and it just got too tight with the amount of play that was lost in the first 3 days. By the end of it, Sri Lanka will feel so lucky to get out of jail in a game where India were in jail for most part. India go in with a huge psychological advantage into the next test and I expect a sound thumping of Sri Lanka at Nagpur.

Read the thread. I understand where you're coming from if you've seen the scorecard, but if you watched the game you would see why people are questioning it. I wrote here while it was happening that we should have declared 20 runs ago when the lead was 199. If you watch the highlights, you'll see Kohli asking the dressing room how much they need? I think he was visibly looking for guidance and if armchair experts like myself read the game from such a distance, you'd expect the management to be smarter. India never needed more than 180. The game was never about the number of overs, it was always about 16:30 hrs on the clock. We never had enough time to bowl anyone out from the outset. Also, dangling the carrot of a win would have been just perfect to sneak in a couple of wickets more. 15 more minutes would have been the difference between 1-0 up and 0-0. Not to mention, more than the scoreline, the self belief such wins give you. It is these sort of wins that distinguish the good sides from the best ones.

The reason the declaration is being questioned also is because an individual milestone was given more importance over a team victory as is evident in the video tweeted by the BCCI. Wasn't there a bit of boasting earlier that this team believes in wins over personal HLS as it's team ethos? People ask why this Indian team isn't as great as the Aussies of 99-07? For starters, they won abroad and secondly they always won test matches even after being down and out. They never gave personal achievements importance over team ethos.

In my honest opinion, today Kohli was visibly looking for help from his support staff and I have no doubt that a competent one would have snagged a win out of this one. The fact that Kohli is allowing MSD to shepherd the death in limited overs is a clear indication of his acceptance to others opinion in terms of leadership on the field.

 

[asprin]

Wonder why people are blaming the declaration here. After having been behind in this test match for most part, the turnaround happened just yesterday and though the end result makes it look like India could've won with a slightly earlier declaration, truth is India did astonishingly well to even get to this point where they were just 3 wickets away from a miraculous win. The gulf between the two sides got exposed further where despite having India on the mat for 3 days a bit beyond that, Sri Lanka almost lost the game.

I think the declaration was fine at 230. India had enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out. Light saved Sri Lanka there and it just got too tight with the amount of play that was lost in the first 3 days. By the end of it, Sri Lanka will feel so lucky to get out of jail in a game where India were in jail for most part. India go in with a huge psychological advantage into the next test and I expect a sound thumping of Sri Lanka at Nagpur.

I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with you here. kushal17 has put it nicely as to why I think we declared a bit too late. 180 was good enough shield to carve out a draw. The fact that the declaration was delayed in order for one batsman to achieve a personal milestone doesn't really send a strong message to the opposition. We weren't going in for the kill up until SL were 3 down or so. The intensity that we showed during the final hour of the game should have been done much earlier (by declaring aggressively).

Yes, we came back from deficit and got into a winning position. But we floundered it just as easy.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21489640/green-pitches-likely-nagpur-delhi-too

Good move this especially with Indian Management requesting.

Also India's squad for second test

Virat Kohli (Captain) KL Rahul M Vijay Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-Captain) Rohit Sharma Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper) R Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Kuldeep Yadav Mohammed Shami Umesh Yadav Ishant Sharma Vijay Shankar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not in the squad as he has been given break for his wedding I think.
BTW who is Vijay Shankar

 

[CerealKiller]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21489640/green-pitches-likely-nagpur-delhi-too

Good move this especially with Indian Management requesting.

Also India's squad for second test

Virat Kohli (Captain) KL Rahul M Vijay Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-Captain) Rohit Sharma Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper) R Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Kuldeep Yadav Mohammed Shami Umesh Yadav Ishant Sharma Vijay Shankar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not in the squad as he has been given break for his wedding I think.
BTW who is Vijay Shankar

Pace bowling AR.

 

[AliB]

BTW who is Vijay Shankar

He played in the IPL for SRH, looked promising with the bat, didn't watch him bowl though.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Also saw Dhawan is not part of the squad. He is so inconsistent with form as well as his availability but glad that Vijay will open

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_...umar-shikhar-dhawan-released-india-test-squad

This article mentions Bhuvneshwar out for the series and Dhawan to be back for third test. I wish it was other way around

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Blimey! Dhawan gets a lot of leeway and 'off's' for personal reasons!

 

[Targaryen]

Blimey! Dhawan gets a lot of leeway and 'off's' for personal reasons!

And there is Shami who played for his country even when his child was in serious condition in the hospital.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

And there is Shami who played for his country even when his child was in serious condition in the hospital.

He's not from Delhi and not a friend.

 

[SaiSrini]

And there is Shami who played for his country even when his child was in serious condition in the hospital.

Wait. I have an opposing view on this and have always wanted to bring this out. The concept of 'playing for your country' is a fantasy that has been propagated by ICC and its member boards to ensure that they can earn good amount of revenue. They are not fighting a war here. They are just playing for entertainment. And the BCCI has gone to great lengths to defend themselves that they 'are a private institution' and that they are not answerable to government or the people. BCCI pays, the players play.

So, Shami playing on when his child is serious or Dhoni not going home for the birth of his child during 2015 WC is their decision which they needn't have taken but they took it (for their own image). If Dhawan needs leave for personal reasons, he should take it.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Wait. I have an opposing view on this and have always wanted to bring this out. The concept of 'playing for your country' is a fantasy that has been propagated by ICC and its member boards to ensure that they can earn good amount of revenue. They are not fighting a war here. They are just playing for entertainment. And the BCCI has gone to great lengths to defend themselves that they 'are a private institution' and that they are not answerable to government or the people. BCCI pays, the players play.

So, Shami playing on when his child is serious or Dhoni not going home for the birth of his child during 2015 WC is their decision which they needn't have taken but they took it (for their own image). If Dhawan needs leave for personal reasons, he should take it.

You are crazy. Missing the birth of your child is not something you do for money/image. You might not be very emotional about things in life, but all the wealth and image in the world can't buy the happiness of the emotion of having a child or being by your family's bedside in tough times. I'm not saying your opinion is wrong but you're bananas if you are so ignorant about the human element.

I will say that even someone as moronic as Dhawan values the India cap more than the money and fame. It's not just a propaganda.

 

[SaiSrini]

You are crazy. Missing the birth of your child is not something you do for money/image. You might not be very emotional about things in life, but all the wealth and image in the world can't buy the happiness of the emotion of having a child or being by your family's bedside in tough times. I'm not saying your opinion is wrong but you're bananas if you are so ignorant about the human element.

I will say that even someone as moronic as Dhawan values the India cap more than the money and fame. It's not just a propaganda.

Did you even read through my post and understand it properly? I was actually saying that Shami should've been there for the birth of his child and should not have skipped that for a game that he is playing for his employer, the BCCI. I am actually on the side of 'being with your family and children is more important than playing for a cricket board'.

Secondly, this 'India cap' is a fantasy propagated by all sporting agencies/boards across the world to ensure that the general public feels that the nation is fighting a war. But it is not. Behind the scenes, all the money is being milked. The idea of 'India facing Pakistan' on a cricket field or 'Australia facing England' on a cricket field is something that the public wants to see and enjoy. So the respective boards draw up skilled players, stack them up together into a team that they call 'India or Pakistan or Australia or England', and then communicate with each other (between boards) to draw up itineraries and have the teams face off each other. What is the objective of these face offs? To earn revenue by entertaining people. Do these boards indulge in philanthropy? Maybe but very likely by a miniscule amount. Most of the money they earn is being pumped back into the sport by developing more players who can go on to earn more money in the future. At the end of it all, sports is 'an entertainment industry', where you accept it or not. So yes, Dhawan might value his India cap but that thought has been engrained into his mind by this whole system that I've tried to describe in detail above.

I've noticed that the subcontinent teams seem more fixated on this fantasy of 'playing for the country and valuing the cap' and all. This impacts Western world teams a lot lesser (it still does, as Baggy Green is highly valued but again they take more personal breaks and are not as much roasted by their fans for it as subcontinent teams are).

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Did you even read through my post and understand it properly? I was actually saying that Shami should've been there for the birth of his child and should not have skipped that for a game that he is playing for his employer, the BCCI. I am actually on the side of 'being with your family and children is more important than playing for a cricket board'.

Secondly, this 'India cap' is a fantasy propagated by all sporting agencies/boards across the world to ensure that the general public feels that the nation is fighting a war. But it is not. Behind the scenes, all the money is being milked. The idea of 'India facing Pakistan' on a cricket field or 'Australia facing England' on a cricket field is something that the public wants to see and enjoy. So the respective boards draw up skilled players, stack them up together into a team that they call 'India or Pakistan or Australia or England', and then communicate with each other (between boards) to draw up itineraries and have the teams face off each other. What is the objective of these face offs? To earn revenue by entertaining people. Do these boards indulge in philanthropy? Maybe but very likely by a miniscule amount. Most of the money they earn is being pumped back into the sport by developing more players who can go on to earn more money in the future. At the end of it all, sports is 'an entertainment industry', where you accept it or not. So yes, Dhawan might value his India cap but that thought has been engrained into his mind by this whole system that I've tried to describe in detail above.

I've noticed that the subcontinent teams seem more fixated on this fantasy of 'playing for the country and valuing the cap' and all. This impacts Western world teams a lot lesser (it still does, as Baggy Green is highly valued but again they take more personal breaks and are not as much roasted by their fans for it as subcontinent teams are).

We both have had enough cricketing chats to not throw around terms like 'did you read my post?' The discussion was about Shami playing a test inspite of his child being hospitalised.

Secondly, 'the India cap' is not a fantasy. There are cricketers that would not do away with that cap for anything else in life. I don't deny that there's money being milked in the background and so what? The discussion is about the players not the board.