Post Match Thoughts

[Dhondy]

Does anybody else feel that Kartick should be our WK away from home? Did you see the shot that Dhoni got out to? A schoolboy would have been ashamed of that. Watching Ishant Sharma bowl, having replaced a seventh batsman, I so miss Pathan. He could have bowled better than this lad with one hand tied behind his back, besides being a proper batsman to boot. Sachin gives me hope, real hope for England. If he carries this form into Tests, we are in business. In a strange way, I do feel Ganguly will do well in Tests. He knows his game so well. If he can survive against the best short of length bowler in Ntini, surely he can rough it out against Harmison and co? What's going to be our bowling combo in the first Test? Apparently Zaheer bowled well? He, Sreesanth and Kumble are certs, leaving that 4th slot up for grabs between RP, Bose and Piyush. Any thoughts on this?

[Guest dada_rocks]

I didn't see Dhoni dismissal but he doesn't do it often. I would say he is still a better batsman than karthik PS: Download Koffe with karan for 1.99 .. Are there samples in the world who spend money for this kind of crap..

[Dhondy]

Sachin looks fired up, doesn't he? I think he is really up for this. Doesn't take a lot to figure out that when he logged on to Cricinfo after that 99 and saw that ridiculously patronizing article by Andrew Miller or whatever his name is, he must have been smarting. I reckon those pull shots were the result of that indignation. I never tire of saying this, but great performances in sport need a degree of anger. You make the man mad, his reflexes will speed up, his self doubts will vanish, he'll have a point to prove. I sometimes think that the opposition deliberately praise Sachin to high heavens to keep him sated. I don't think it's a bad idea at all for the media to get on his back and question his greatness.

[Mandrake]

Dhoni continues to suck big time overseas.Karthick should come in for him as a wk.He seems to handle pressure pretty well.In English conditions,seam bowlers would be preferred I guess.Didnt RP play for an English county?....if he did how did he fare?

[Predator_05]

Does anybody else feel that Kartick should be our WK away from home? Did you see the shot that Dhoni got out to? A schoolboy would have been ashamed of that. Watching Ishant Sharma bowl, having replaced a seventh batsman, I so miss Pathan. He could have bowled better than this lad with one hand tied behind his back, besides being a proper batsman to boot. Sachin gives me hope, real hope for England. If he carries this form into Tests, we are in business. In a strange way, I do feel Ganguly will do well in Tests. He knows his game so well. If he can survive against the best short of length bowler in Ntini, surely he can rough it out against Harmison and co? What's going to be our bowling combo in the first Test? Apparently Zaheer bowled well? He, Sreesanth and Kumble are certs, leaving that 4th slot up for grabs between RP, Bose and Piyush. Any thoughts on this?

Good points. Re; Dhoni - i've always said that he is not going to score anywhere near as prolifically away from the subcontinent. Karthik is definitely first choice wicket-keeper as far as i am concerned - especially in Test cricket. I think he has done enough in ODI's as well, and he should be made India's #6 or #7 on a permanent basis. I'd continue playing Dhoni in ODI's, but if he doesn't produce results...:thumbs_down: Piyush Chawla might take that vacant 4th slot in the bowling attack if he continues bowling well. I don't know how effective he will be on flat English decks like Lords, but as a strike bowler i don't think he would be any worse than RPS. My greatest source of satisfaction was Yuvraj Singh's clincher. He played a scratchy innings today, certainly nowhere near his best - but he kept his composure and scored the runs when the occasion demanded it - finishing the match for India in the process. That is the most heartening thing for an Indian supporter, as Yuvraj's form mirrors that of the Indian team. When he is playing well, the batting lineup is 5 times as good - especially when chasing. That unbeaten 49 will be a morale booster for a temperamental player like him and hopefully this marks the start of another hot streak.

[varun]

Yaar Dhondy why don't you write a recap article. The front page looks very out of date without any mention of the ODI's happening right now. I would, but I haven't watched either match

[Dhondy]

I was thinking on the same lines about Yuvi as well, Pred. However, I follow ODIs mainly as an indicator to India's form and confidence going into Tests. These results don't affect me that much really. In contrast, Test match losses really depress me. I take ages to recover from those. Do you see Yuvi even play a role in the coming Tests? Like you, I'd drop Dhoni without a second thought and play Yuvi in his place, but somehow I doubt that will happen.

[Dhondy]

Yaar Dhondy why don't you write a recap article. The front page looks very out of date without any mention of the ODI's happening right now. I would' date=' but I haven't watched either match[/quote'] Pred, wanna do this? If you can't, I'll chip in, no worries.

[Predator_05]

Pred' date=' wanna do this? If you can't, I'll chip in, no worries.[/quote'] I only caught the last 30 of the Indian innings. Didn't watch the rest...:embaressed_smile:

[Dhondy]

OK, it's mine.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[jf1gp_1]

Here is my concern. We haven't learnt a thing from WC debacle. In 05, 2yrs before WC when chappell took over he tried new players and they did well in subcontinent. In the next 2yrs most of the top teams had figured out how to bowl or bat against this young Indian side, leaving little time for these youngsters to work on their weakness, result we struggled to put together 15 for WC and 1st round exit. How many expect 38yr old sachin, saurav, dravid playing WC-2011 ? If all these player retire from ODI by late 08 or early '09 (at the age of 35-36) we will be back to '05, 2yrs from WC with a young side with players like Yuvraj (Sehwag if he makes a comeback) as senior most player. Sachin played a great inning today, saurav provided a great support but is it helping the Indian team in a longer run ?

[yoda]

Here is my concern. We haven't learnt a thing from WC debacle. In 05, 2yrs before WC when chappell took over he tried new players and they did well in subcontinent. In the next 2yrs most of the top teams had figured out how to bowl or bat against this young Indian side, leaving little time for these youngsters to work on their weakness, result we struggled to put together 15 for WC and 1st round exit. How many expect 38yr old sachin, saurav, dravid playing WC-2011 ? If all these player retire from ODI by late 08 or early '09 (at the age of 35-36) we will be back to '05, 2yrs from WC with a young side with players like Yuvraj (Sehwag if he makes a comeback) as senior most player. Sachin played a great inning today, saurav provided a great support but is it helping the Indian team in a longer run ?

Everything we do now can't be geared towards 2011. We need to win games now as well. Dravid and Tendulkar I believe will be playing in 2011. Ganguly most probably (and hopefully) not. They need to drop Ganguly and allow someone like a Gambhir or Uthappa to blossom at the top. I would rather play Sehwag than Ganguly in ODIs.

[yoda]

Dinesh Karthick seems to have a knack for somehow helping the team pull through at the end.

[jf1gp_1]

Everything we do now can't be geared towards 2011. We need to win games now as well. Dravid and Tendulkar I believe will be playing in 2011. Ganguly most probably (and hopefully) not. They need to drop Ganguly and allow someone like a Gambhir or Uthappa to blossom at the top. I would rather play Sehwag than Ganguly in ODIs.

Mr pawar seems to be taking care of business well in advance why not the team. Yes to an extent i agree we need a few wins under our belt but name one player we are grooming ? Kartik was an accident rather than planned inclusion.

[Ram]

As i had mentioned sometime earlier , Dhoni's place in the side ( atleast the test side) is under real threat. He is safe in the ODI's though. He is among india's top 2 match winners in ODI's. He averages 75 in the matches that India won. Sachin answered quite a few of critics with this performance, though i would have liked him to have stayed there till the end , maybe ending up with 130 not out or something. Then i would have boldly proclaimed- " He is back ! " . He still hasnt reached the full levels of performance levels yet. Its a bit strange that India's top 3 batsman are going in 1,2,3. I would feel more comfortable if atleast one the three go in at 5 coz the batting looks a bit light in the lower middle order. Irfan Pathan is sorely missed. Good performance overall. Now , for the third match . DONT be surprised if Sachin delivers in that too.

[observer1]

Sachin looks fired up, doesn't he? I think he is really up for this. Doesn't take a lot to figure out that when he logged on to Cricinfo after that 99 and saw that ridiculously patronizing article by Andrew Miller or whatever his name is, he must have been smarting. I reckon those pull shots were the result of that indignation. I never tire of saying this, but great performances in sport need a degree of anger. You make the man mad, his reflexes will speed up, his self doubts will vanish, he'll have a point to prove.

Agree totally - the Tendulkar pull and, in particular the hook in the air are usually the result of anger - remember him taking on Andrew Caddick in Durban in 2003? Caddick had said something like ' I know how to get him out, he isnt that hot' - his first short ball landed in the crowd. Dilhara Fernando, circa 2002, mouthed off some nonsense in a pre-match interview - bowled short and fast - the ball was hooked OUT of the Oval - now, that is a big ground.

[Cricketics]

though some good points mentioned above in some of the posts.. i really feel and hope that yuvi is not chosen over Laxman in test side.. hope Laxman gets the nod first rather then any other.. good all round plaly by yuvi though today.. and this karhik guy has played really well, now he has been in such situations often.. and he has always turned out to produce a tidy knock when situation has been demanding.. hope he continues..

[Chandan]

No one has mentioned how Chawla failed yesterday. Was it just a bad day in the office or has been sorted out?