At the end of 1st day at Newlands, Capetown, SA - there was a talk stating that Rahul Dravid had given his team a New Year Gift by winning the toss. Also there was a talk of similarties between matches played in past and especially the one played in Sydney
But looking at the comparision, one can definetely feel that the similarities failed to exist since day 1
Day 1: In sydney India scored 284 for 3 In SA scored 254 for 3 (a loss of 30-40 runs)
Day 2: India ended the day @ 650 for 5 In SA were bowled out for 414 (a loss of 200 runs)
Day 3: India decl @ 705 for 7;Australia 342/6 In SA, the home team is bowled out for 373 (a lead of 200 )
Day 4: Australia 474, India 211/2d, Australia 10/0 In SA India bowled out for 169, SA score 55 for 2
Day 5: Australia survive @357 for 6 SA canter to Victory @ 211 for 5
Hence feel India lost the script since day 1 and squandered the 'golden' chance to win a series in SA.
Personally feel India missed the bus in SA due to
1. Slow Scoring Rate - ended the day 1 short by 30-40 runs
2. Middle Order Failure - there was no defining partnership in the middle order
3. Bowling - Bowlers not bowling well on the pitch considered to be in India's favor.
4. Selection process - playing Munaf instead of Harbhajan. Would India have played 3 fast bowlers on a Indian Pitch? Answer known to 'Indian Think Tank'. Why was Virendra Sehwagh persisted?
Rain has alway played a 'defining' factor in deciding the results of a game or fortunes of a political parties in elections.
Every team travels with all the help of technology and support staff whose duty would be to keep track of things happening outside the cricket field. Indian cricket team is no different and was surprised to hear no one was watching or hearing the weather channel after India's batting started crumbling on day 4. If weather report was predicting rain for day 5, a message should have gone out the Indian Tail-enders to stay put as long as they can and give Kartik ample support. History repeats itself again, India had to playout few minutes (not even sessions) in the last test match against WI in WI before a downpour could have drawn the match and given them a chance to go home smiling.
There was another incident that would have caused India a wicket and a embrassing defeat that would have definetely raised another 'furor' in the minds of the politicians of the country. Sachin was away for 18 mins on the 3 rd day during the SA innings and could not come out to play till 18 mins were gone in India's 2nd innings. This point should have been definetely noted by the support staff and pointed out to the Indian Captain.
It would be interesting to note if BCCI would take action against the support staff for such 'performance' lapses.
All said and done, it was not a NEW YEAR GIFT the INDIAN CAPTAIN would have liked giving to his team...
INDIA needs to gear up and come up with some tricks for the WC2007.
Showing posts with label SA Tour - 2006. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SA Tour - 2006. Show all posts
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
SA hold the upper hand at Capetown
At the end of the 4th day's play SA seem to be holding the upper hand in the duel at Capetown.
The glow on the SA faces must have have dimmed a bit with the fall of Amla at the end-of-days play. But they would be overall excited and anxious to wrap the match tomorrow on a canter.
But the Verdict from Dileep Premachandran in Capetown clearly says it all... India dig their own grave
Whatever happened on the 4th day has been written and debated for many years now in the books of Indian cricket. It is the same old story, that keeps getting repeated like any other Bollywood masala movie storyline.
From the heart of a true-Indian, would luv to see India win and create history tomorrow. But in reality,odds definetely favor SA clinching the match and series.
If India pull out a miracle tomorrow, they will definetely come back home with lots of fanfare. And also prolong careers of some of the so-called stars
And if they loose, the think-tank definetely will have lots of questions to answer and may even see the Aussie mentor pack his bags.
As a bystander and well-wisher of Indian Cricket would like answers for the simple questions
a) Knowing the state of the pitch, why did we not play Harbhajan?
b) Knowing Viru's form, why did they send him as opener in the second innings?
Well, these questions will never be answered or may not be even asked depending on the outcome of the match tomorrow.
And as they say nothing can be said till the last ball is bowled.
The glow on the SA faces must have have dimmed a bit with the fall of Amla at the end-of-days play. But they would be overall excited and anxious to wrap the match tomorrow on a canter.
But the Verdict from Dileep Premachandran in Capetown clearly says it all... India dig their own grave
Whatever happened on the 4th day has been written and debated for many years now in the books of Indian cricket. It is the same old story, that keeps getting repeated like any other Bollywood masala movie storyline.
From the heart of a true-Indian, would luv to see India win and create history tomorrow. But in reality,odds definetely favor SA clinching the match and series.
If India pull out a miracle tomorrow, they will definetely come back home with lots of fanfare. And also prolong careers of some of the so-called stars
And if they loose, the think-tank definetely will have lots of questions to answer and may even see the Aussie mentor pack his bags.
As a bystander and well-wisher of Indian Cricket would like answers for the simple questions
a) Knowing the state of the pitch, why did we not play Harbhajan?
b) Knowing Viru's form, why did they send him as opener in the second innings?
Well, these questions will never be answered or may not be even asked depending on the outcome of the match tomorrow.
And as they say nothing can be said till the last ball is bowled.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
An Interesting Duel at CapeTown
An interesting duel is in offerring at Capetown,SA between India and SA.
It is interesting to note that all the experts have been going gaga over the pitch and claiming it to be an Indian twin. But surprisingly, Indian Think Tank thinks otherwise and have decided to play only one spinner in the match. Personally, have been harping on playing Bhajji in SA since the beginning and feel India have missed a trick or two here again. With SA also playing a spinner, India had all the signals required to play two-spin attack and try clinching the rubber. Time will only tell, if Jumbo would be good enough for SA team.
Personally feel India is 70-100 runs short in the first innings. On a pitch like this India should have scored 500 plus and made sure that they only bat once in the match. Other factor that may go against them was the slow scoring rate. In modern times, a score of 300 or more in a day is common and gone are days when you could count yourself safe by a slow grind.
And let us not forget in the recent Ashes series, we had a result even after the team batting 1st scored 500 runs.
As the situation stands, SA have given a positive response. Smith and Amla have shown no signs of any fear against the pitch behavior.
Anything can happen from here on, SA can pile up a good score or India can run thru the SA fragile middle-order.
But as they say...Cricket is a funny game and you cannot predict till the last ball is bowled.
It is interesting to note that all the experts have been going gaga over the pitch and claiming it to be an Indian twin. But surprisingly, Indian Think Tank thinks otherwise and have decided to play only one spinner in the match. Personally, have been harping on playing Bhajji in SA since the beginning and feel India have missed a trick or two here again. With SA also playing a spinner, India had all the signals required to play two-spin attack and try clinching the rubber. Time will only tell, if Jumbo would be good enough for SA team.
Personally feel India is 70-100 runs short in the first innings. On a pitch like this India should have scored 500 plus and made sure that they only bat once in the match. Other factor that may go against them was the slow scoring rate. In modern times, a score of 300 or more in a day is common and gone are days when you could count yourself safe by a slow grind.
And let us not forget in the recent Ashes series, we had a result even after the team batting 1st scored 500 runs.
As the situation stands, SA have given a positive response. Smith and Amla have shown no signs of any fear against the pitch behavior.
Anything can happen from here on, SA can pile up a good score or India can run thru the SA fragile middle-order.
But as they say...Cricket is a funny game and you cannot predict till the last ball is bowled.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Dancing away to Victory
The blue brigade has turned the tables on the Proteas at the Wanderers.
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” – The saying from Bhagavad-Gita aptly portraits the Indian Cricket Team’s belief in them and that has lead them to a victory and cricket-crazy nation into raptures of joy.This moment will be even more cherished as it has come at a time when Indian Team was expected to get white-washed.
The best part of the win was underlined by the fact that India won the match due to a team effort. For the first time, the team did not depend on individual performance to win. There were contributions from each and every one in all the departments of the game. Whenbatting, it was good to see the ‘comeback seniors’ proving their worth and making their respective returns a memorable one. The ‘dada’ of Indian Cricket has again proved the saying ‘class is permanent, form is not’. When it came to bowling, Indian bowlers demonstrated to their well-known opponents a class of seam bowling. Sreesanth and Zaheer were a class act in themselves. Catches win matches, and the Indians held all their catches and also hit the stumps to get their run-outs.
Sreesanth also danced into the hearts of the Indian Fans, with his jig and gave the opponents back in the manner well deserved. The altercation between Nel & Sreesanth has shown that this team is not the one that is going to take it lying down. They definitely have in them to give it to the opponents if necessary. But it would be interesting to see who would fall on the wrong side of the ICC Referee’s sword.
With this win, Indian team has really put the SA Team in a quandary. SA team has been been given taste of their own medicine. This would have definitely put them in 'confused state' regarding the pitch they would like to ditch out for the second test.
A win at DURBAN and DRAVID team would have the PARLIAMENT jumping up and down. Blue Brigade keep it going…win the series and ring in the NEW YEAR.
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” – The saying from Bhagavad-Gita aptly portraits the Indian Cricket Team’s belief in them and that has lead them to a victory and cricket-crazy nation into raptures of joy.This moment will be even more cherished as it has come at a time when Indian Team was expected to get white-washed.
The best part of the win was underlined by the fact that India won the match due to a team effort. For the first time, the team did not depend on individual performance to win. There were contributions from each and every one in all the departments of the game. Whenbatting, it was good to see the ‘comeback seniors’ proving their worth and making their respective returns a memorable one. The ‘dada’ of Indian Cricket has again proved the saying ‘class is permanent, form is not’. When it came to bowling, Indian bowlers demonstrated to their well-known opponents a class of seam bowling. Sreesanth and Zaheer were a class act in themselves. Catches win matches, and the Indians held all their catches and also hit the stumps to get their run-outs.
Sreesanth also danced into the hearts of the Indian Fans, with his jig and gave the opponents back in the manner well deserved. The altercation between Nel & Sreesanth has shown that this team is not the one that is going to take it lying down. They definitely have in them to give it to the opponents if necessary. But it would be interesting to see who would fall on the wrong side of the ICC Referee’s sword.
With this win, Indian team has really put the SA Team in a quandary. SA team has been been given taste of their own medicine. This would have definitely put them in 'confused state' regarding the pitch they would like to ditch out for the second test.
A win at DURBAN and DRAVID team would have the PARLIAMENT jumping up and down. Blue Brigade keep it going…win the series and ring in the NEW YEAR.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Historic Win in SA
Wow ... Indian Tri Color flies high @ the Wanderers,SA
Unbelievable stuff.. SA is bowled out for 84 in their own den..
Indian fans are going to cherish this win for long time...
Congratulations Blue Team and keep the good work going... We need to win the series and prove everyone (yours truely incl.).
Unbelievable stuff.. SA is bowled out for 84 in their own den..
Indian fans are going to cherish this win for long time...
Congratulations Blue Team and keep the good work going... We need to win the series and prove everyone (yours truely incl.).
Thursday, December 14, 2006
When are we going to learn - Indian Cricket Team?
In the past, team selection has been the 'achilles heel' for the Indian Cricket team. They always believe in playing to the strategy of 'horses for the courses' rather than playing to their strengths and belief.
Personally feel, that Indian Team is repeating the same mistake once again by not playing their best players. Over the years, Indian team has won matches by unleashing their 'spinning missiles' on the doubting minds of batsmen worldwide.
Whatever may be the state of the pitch, you need to play with bowlers who are going to help in picking up 20 wickets in a match. And one person who has definetely proved in the past that he would do no harm to that cause, is none other than our own "TURBANATOR". He is a quality spinner who has proved in past that he is not over-dependent on the pitch conditions for the purchase of the wickets. And with Jumbo firing in from the other end, they both would form a dangerous proposition for any seasoned campaigner on any track.
But with no 'turbanator' and no 'pathan' let's look at the bowling options that India wishes to use to create a dent in SA armor
Zaheer - playing his first test match after a long forced sabbatical and as the experts say test match is a different ball game than the ODIs. Hope he carries his form from the shorter version to the longer one.
Sreesanth - has not grown the stature where Indian team can pin their hopes of leading the bowling attack
VR Singh - is all raw pace and knowing that SA batsman are great players of pace...don't you feel that the SA players would be just happy to receive this 'wrapped gift' just before the 'christmas'
Kumble - has vast experience and a lone figure who may be able to make some impression, but god help India if SA players start negating his expertises...
Let's take the case scenario, if one or two of the four bowlers is taken to the task by the SA batsman who is the 'WALL' going to fall back upon -VIRU n SACHIN no way..Will the Bengal Tiger be asked to bowl...these should not be your options at all.. Don't you think it would have been a better proposition to have the following players in the script
Jaffar, Sourav,Dravid,Sachin,Laxman,Dhoni,Zaheer, Pathan, Sreesanth, Harbajan,Kumble
Blinking..u have too..VIRU is dropped in my list...with the form he is in..give him a dose of 'drop'... at the most he will get you some runs which Ganguly can also and with 'pathan' in the list you can definetely bet ur penny on having more runs on the score sheet. Pathan would give a double-edge to the team.. he would definetely add runs to the total with the form he is in..and even in his bad bowling form..he would be a better prospect than the 'raw power' of VRSingh. With Bhaji n Jumbo bowling in tandem, India stand a better chance of getting past SA... It was these two great spinners bowling in tandem that helped India record their first series win in 35 years on a WI soil. Between them they had taken 12 wickets, out of the 20 needed to win a test match. On the sidenote...VIRUBHAI's contribution was a total of 4 in the whole match and no wickets.
During the WI tour there was this fantastic article on how well kumble n harbhajan bowl in tandem. It proves that article has definetely not been read by 'think-tank' of Indian team.
Guys... lets just hope n pray for the best... hope the 'raw pace' of VRS get a 5-wicket haul...aur apna VIRU Bhai score a 196 and set the tune for INDIA's march to many milestones.. Personally, would luv India win with any combinations... Wish the BLUE BOYS all the best.
Personally feel, that Indian Team is repeating the same mistake once again by not playing their best players. Over the years, Indian team has won matches by unleashing their 'spinning missiles' on the doubting minds of batsmen worldwide.
Whatever may be the state of the pitch, you need to play with bowlers who are going to help in picking up 20 wickets in a match. And one person who has definetely proved in the past that he would do no harm to that cause, is none other than our own "TURBANATOR". He is a quality spinner who has proved in past that he is not over-dependent on the pitch conditions for the purchase of the wickets. And with Jumbo firing in from the other end, they both would form a dangerous proposition for any seasoned campaigner on any track.
But with no 'turbanator' and no 'pathan' let's look at the bowling options that India wishes to use to create a dent in SA armor
Zaheer - playing his first test match after a long forced sabbatical and as the experts say test match is a different ball game than the ODIs. Hope he carries his form from the shorter version to the longer one.
Sreesanth - has not grown the stature where Indian team can pin their hopes of leading the bowling attack
VR Singh - is all raw pace and knowing that SA batsman are great players of pace...don't you feel that the SA players would be just happy to receive this 'wrapped gift' just before the 'christmas'
Kumble - has vast experience and a lone figure who may be able to make some impression, but god help India if SA players start negating his expertises...
Let's take the case scenario, if one or two of the four bowlers is taken to the task by the SA batsman who is the 'WALL' going to fall back upon -VIRU n SACHIN no way..Will the Bengal Tiger be asked to bowl...these should not be your options at all.. Don't you think it would have been a better proposition to have the following players in the script
Jaffar, Sourav,Dravid,Sachin,Laxman,Dhoni,Zaheer, Pathan, Sreesanth, Harbajan,Kumble
Blinking..u have too..VIRU is dropped in my list...with the form he is in..give him a dose of 'drop'... at the most he will get you some runs which Ganguly can also and with 'pathan' in the list you can definetely bet ur penny on having more runs on the score sheet. Pathan would give a double-edge to the team.. he would definetely add runs to the total with the form he is in..and even in his bad bowling form..he would be a better prospect than the 'raw power' of VRSingh. With Bhaji n Jumbo bowling in tandem, India stand a better chance of getting past SA... It was these two great spinners bowling in tandem that helped India record their first series win in 35 years on a WI soil. Between them they had taken 12 wickets, out of the 20 needed to win a test match. On the sidenote...VIRUBHAI's contribution was a total of 4 in the whole match and no wickets.
During the WI tour there was this fantastic article on how well kumble n harbhajan bowl in tandem. It proves that article has definetely not been read by 'think-tank' of Indian team.
Guys... lets just hope n pray for the best... hope the 'raw pace' of VRS get a 5-wicket haul...aur apna VIRU Bhai score a 196 and set the tune for INDIA's march to many milestones.. Personally, would luv India win with any combinations... Wish the BLUE BOYS all the best.
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