Tri-series in West Indies - June/July 2013

[vaibhavtewatia]

With MSD not playing in Zimbabwe, Karthik has to play. I am not too sure Karthik is that bad. And we always need backup keepers from here on. Dhoni won't be getting young, and we have already started seeing the toll of heavy cricket on his body. Karthik is right now 2nd best option after Dhoni to be our keeper-batsman. Today, Karthik solidifed the innings along with Rohit Sharma. Similar to how Kohli solidified along with Gambhir in that WC final.

Ohh yeah, how could I forget that he's the keeper in absence of Dhoni. :faceplam Whose the other one for the tour, Rayudu?

Just don't agree on how Karthik's solidified the team innings, actually after all these failures, the least I could have expected from him was getting out on a 20-odd, just whatever, but can't see this sort of stuff.

As for Dhoni's wicketkeeping, it might not be the greatest, but it is effective. People can write articles about how bad his technique is while keeping, but at the same time, he inflicts stumpings faster than anybody in the world. That is the bottom line.

 

[Aravind.]

india clinched the series,srilanka

 

[KrishnamurthiN]

Yes! Captain cool has done it again for India by finishing the proceedings started off well by our so called #Maggiman for a change Think that its time that Maggi finds some other player for increasing its publicity Now we have yet another trophy in our bag

 

[Warner Watson]

only only Dhoni do job for India, like in CT13 Final his captaincy only made difference.

 

[sifter132]

Nayan Mongia is a better wicketkeeper than Dhoni in test matches. Dhoni is not a great keeper. He is a relatively safe keeper. Mongia was a very reliable and good keeper. And a decent batsman in an era where the keeper-batsman style had not yet exploded (it exploded with the advent of Adam Gilchrist).

I too say that there is no one better to lead India in tests right now. That's why Dhoni can't be moved in tests. But that doesn't mean Dhoni is a great test captain. I would rate Dravid better than Dhoni in terms of test captaincy.

Dhoni is definitely above average as a keeper. He may not be Jack Russell or absolute TOP NOTCH, but he's better than most international keepers. Keeping to spin in particular. Indian fans have nothing to complain about with his keeping. Try watching Kamran Akmal!

And Dravid had better tools as his disposal than Dhoni ie. Kumble, Zaheer at his best (think England 2007), Harbhajan nearer his peak, a star studded batting lineup that wasn't aging. Yet Dhoni's Indian teams have managed to have more success overall than Dravid's. It's really only been 2 awful tours (England 11, Australia 11/12), but otherwise a lot of success for MS lead teams.

 

[Meet]

This is ridiculous.
I can not even imagine the criticism he had to face if he had not scored those runs in the last over. And yes, how calmly does he do that everytime?? If there would have been any other player, he would surely felt a lot of pressure in such situation.
Required 15 of last over. OK. Changed his bat, and then bang, bang, bang. 6, 6, and 4..... Was it difficult??? Oh ma goodness, I couldn't even think of anyone pulling out such a thriller.

 

[Aalay]

Karthik has had many failures after that back to back century in CT warm-up matches. He did make a scratchy 50 against WI in the 2nd match of the champions trophy but still, he hasn't looked comfortable out there. He needs to realize that these are rare opportunities for him. Selectors have added Raydu as a back-up keeper for Zimbabwe tour so he needs to lift his performance. There is Manoj Tiwary still on the bench and if Karthik keeps failing, he might come back into the scene. With next series being against Zimbabwe, he should score runs and if he does not, he will be removed. I guess he is experienced enough to realize that after 62 ODI's.

 

[War]

I am in trinidad now and went to all the games. Dhoni final innings was massive, i think its time he is rated above Bevan as the best ODI finisher ever and above Gilchrist as the best ODI keeper/bat in 50 overs cricket history.

West Indies once again let down by their own mental faux pas. That team is just as talented as Indian & Sri Lanka, probably better in a few area's. But unless its a T20 game, the loner the formats they make a lot of silly mistakes.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I thought I'd be writing this sooner than I am, but whatever, here goes:

MS Dhoni, is inhuman. It's just unreal how he does it. Any situation, any conditions, you just throw him into it in a limited overs format and he has the answers. He's like that lone student in a classroom where a professor thinks he's asked a question that no one will answer, and a bright young kid some how always finds a solution, even though he puts his hand up to answer as nonchalantly as you can possibly imagine. I think, he has his critics, but when he's done with cricket, a lot of Indian fans will realise what we had. I've been following cricket since 1990, and at the end of the '07 WC it had become hard to watch. Now, you might as well just tune in when this guy comes in to bat. The biggest compliment I can give Dhoni is that, earlier when SRT would bat, you'd just pray and pray that he doesn't get out. You knew, if he was there till the end, he'd do it. But, you didn't know if he'd be there. Now, if Dhoni's playing, you know he'll get you home, all be it with a few heart attacks.

Coming to Sri Lanka. I think they sincerely need to think about what they want. I think, their younger generation is just too overwhelmed/overpowered by the older. It still seems that the strings are pulled by the big 3. I like Matthews, I think he's a mighty fine cricketer. But, he needs to stamp his authority and do so quickly before the realms of a 'past it' core of players destroy any chances he has of a young team that isn't short of talent.

I think Mahela Jayawardene is pathetic. I don't see him not playing the 2015 WC, but if that is the case I don't see a reason why he wouldn't lead the side because effectively, any situation that Sri Lanka find themselves in, he seems to excercise control. I think, Sangakkara is pure class when it comes to this. He drops the odd advise but perhaps realises that he needs to throw Matthews and a few others in the deep end to make them learn. On five separate occasions in the finals, Jayawardene was preceeding conversations with the bowler, while Matthews stood impotently. I don't think he needs to interfere at every opportunity. The most pathetic episode was him arguing with the umpires on MS Dhoni's obstructing the field run out appeal. He went on arguing and cribbing for a good two overs, for nothing. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[vaibhavtewatia]

Coming to Sri Lanka. I think they sincerely need to think about what they want. I think, their younger generation is just too overwhelmed/overpowered by the older. It still seems that the strings are pulled by the big 3.

Indeed they are. It is just a matter of time when Sanga and Mahela retire. But you have to blame the administration for this. When talking about batsmen, it is not that they are short on talent, Chandimal for eg., but they have to be used well to be resourceful.

When it comes to tests, Chandimal is one batsman who will increase his stature in a couple of years, but when it comes ODI's, he is getting limited chances due to some pathetic changes in order. I find no reason why Chandimal should come at 7, and Thirimanne at 4 (?). Lahiru Thirimanne is another prospect in the limited overs, but both of them are very different. Thirimanne has actually showed that he can bat below with Perera etc., whereas Chandimal is one who'll definitely take time to settle in, and once he is, runs will start flowing not with some rash shots, but by pure class, you can say Sanga/Mahela style, but atm he isn't even close to them. But it takes time, he has shown a lot of promise before, but he just hasn't been used well in this series, pitches where you actually wanted your batsmen to stay, neither Thirimanne has been successful at the top. I do blame the management for this stuff.