flute202020 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I know he made 70 something in second innings, but I think it is plain "sponsor" selection to have him in the playing 11 ahead of Yuvraj. WHY do we need two keepers in the team and now, are we saying that dhoni is better bat than yuvraj in Eng? what the heck? As for his second innings performance, see the feedbackfrom BBC and cricinfo below. I have a feeling that there is huge influence of sponsors and vested interests in team selection and hence people like kaif and yuvraj are not getting a consistent run. Dhoni is the current fav of sponsors and hence his inclusion. Of course, I do not have hard evidence but this is what I feel might explain the bone headed selections. BBC: Both bowlers tested Laxman and Dhoni with some short stuff and the latter led something of a charmed life. He should have been back in the pavilion for 14 when he slashed a short ball from Panesar and Collingwood failed to grasp a chance he would normally swallow up at slip. The aggressive wicket-keeper/batsman did make cleaner contact on several occasions, cuttng a wide Collingwood long-hop and crashing Tremlett through the covers. Sidebottom swung the ball repeatedly to trouble the Indians Laxman also had a bit of fortune when he slashed at Sidebottom and the ball went over gully for four, but he was much more in control than his partner. Two orthodox back-foot drives off Tremlett and a pull off Sidebottom were pleasing on the eye and he continued to look good after the break. After edging the first ball after the resumption through where a third slip should have been he produced trademark wristy strokeplay to dispatch Anderson and Panesar for three runs each through mid-wicket. Dhoni continued to provide a mixed bag: flaying Anderson through cover-point and Panesar down the ground but almost edging Panesar and Tremlett behind as he reached his fifty off 120 balls. Surprisingly, Laxman was the man to go, bowled comprehensively off his pad for 39 by one that Tremlett nipped back in and there was another boost for England with the second new ball when a Sidebottom inswinger hit Anil Kumble's pad in line with middle. Cricinfo: Show Pony Dhoni?: That's what some have taken to calling India's wicketkeeper in these parts. As much as the Fab Four who are no longer fab, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a whole lot to prove when he walked to the crease this morning. His first-innings dismissal had been a shocker, his keeping patchy, and his technique remains among the most ungainly you'll see at this level. But what Dhoni has is heart, and an ability to adapt, and he showed that with an innings that spanned 159 balls. There was plenty of flirtation with Dame Fortune, as edges evaded fielders, but he stuck around for the denouement, rotating the strike and thumping the odd boundary. India's hero. Sledge of the day: Gamesmanship standards have undoubtedly declined, with coarseness and crudity almost completely replacing humour. Matt Prior came up with a gem though soon after Dhoni had arrived in the middle on a filthy, grey morning. "Yuvraj is looking brilliant in the nets, isn't he Dhoni?" he piped up. Not quite in the Eddo Brandes-Glenn McGrath- biscuit category, but well worth a chuckle Link to comment
yoda Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 talk about wrong timing. :hysterical: Link to comment
DesiChap Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 WTF is Dhoni doing in the playing 11? Saving our a$$ :haha: Link to comment
coffee_rules Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Typical crap-misinfo stuff. Link to comment
flute202020 Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 talk about wrong timing. :hysterical: why bad timing? When I posted this thread, the match was already drawn, owning to Dhoni's ugly 70+. One chance filled innings do not justify his inclusion ahead of a class act like Yuvraj. Yuvraj is a recognised batsman with proven technique outside subcontinent. it is simply foolish to play MSD ahead of Yuvi IMO. if anyone think my POV is crap, they should explain their cricketing logic behind the selection or future selection instead of posting one line comments using words like crap etc. Link to comment
DesiChap Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 why bad timing? When I posted this thread' date=' the match was already drawn, owning to Dhoni's ugly 70+. One chance filled innings do not justify his inclusion ahead of a class act like Yuvraj. [b']Yuvraj is a recognised batsman with proven technique outside subcontinent. it is simply foolish to play MSD ahead of Yuvi IMO. if anyone think my POV is crap, they should explain their cricketing logic behind the selection or future selection instead of posting one line comments using words like crap etc. Post of the Month ! Link to comment
King Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I can't see how Yuvraj is any better than Dhoni. He has his limitations too. For once give credit where it is due. But for Dhoni India right now will have sunk under the defeat. Link to comment
yoda Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 why bad timing? When I posted this thread' date=' the match was already drawn, owning to Dhoni's ugly 70+. One chance filled innings do not justify his inclusion ahead of a class act like Yuvraj. [/quote'] Ugly or not, bottom line is that it saved the match for us. Yuvraj loves fishing against the moving delivery and the guy plays weird sweeps off spinners. Yes, if the delivery is mediocre he plays some sweetly timed shots. He is as unreliable as the next guy in the team. Link to comment
flute202020 Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 Ravi & Yoda, it is not about giving credit. Yes, dhoni's innings helped in extracting a draw, but my point is, shouldn't we select the team based on cricketing logic rather than based on one single innings? I think our biggest problem in cricket is the fact that we go too much by last few innings and avg. Our thinking is way too much based on avg and last innings. We are way too much emotional about the immediate innings to make a cold, calculating, cricketing logic based selection. I know Dhoni has a few things in his favour but the fact remains that he is suspect against genuine swing bowling outside the subcontinent. While Yuvraj too has issues, but for God's sake, there is no comparison between the two in terms of batting ability. Yuvraj is a more complete batsman with better technique compared to dhoni who is a wicket keeper batsman. Yuvraj is the future mainstay of batting and he deserves a consistent run along with kaif. But anyway, based on current evidence, may be both dhoni and Yuvi need to play ahead of Ganguly & SRT & Dravid. Since dravid cannot be dropped as a captain and between srt and ganguly, SRT faired badly in recent times when needed the most, SRT should be replaced with Yuvi. If SRT is somehow pushed into the team, then yuvi needs to be accomodated ahead of Dhoni. All this inspite of the fact that I am not a great fan of yuvi and I quite dislike his arrogance and attitude. Link to comment
DesiChap Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Yuvraj is the future mainstay of batting and he deserves a consistent run along with kaif. where is DSR when we need him :hysterical: Link to comment
King Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 It's not about the runs, it's not about the average but it was about the ability to stay at the crease and play differently than what he is used to. If you have a player that can blast away or keep a lid on his instinct for the team's cause it is better you don't drop him. Yes he will continue to play badly at times but he has shown he has stomach for a fight. I particularly didn't like his stupid batting in the first inning, dabbing balls to slips when he was required to stay at the crease but I think he has redeemed himself thanks to the knock in the second essay. I've seen Yuvraj play some really stupid dabs straight to the slip cordon too so I can't say he will chip in with runs straight away. There simply is no way Yuvi can force into the team at this point in time. I'm afraid he has to bide his time that's about it. You don't go around making changes just for the sake of it. Everyone bar Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have had a decent outing in this test match. It wasn't easy to put even 30s or 40s on the board and most have done it which is a good sign. Link to comment
Predator_05 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I totally agree with him there. KAIF RULES ! Look at him ! He is BAD-ASS. It's like he is saying, "I am gonna take this award and shove it up your @ss". Bowlers will sh*t their pants when they bowl to KING KAIF Link to comment
flute202020 Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 It's not about the runs, it's not about the average but it was about the ability to stay at the crease and play differently than what he is used to. If you have a player that can blast away or keep a lid on his instinct for the team's cause it is better you don't drop him. Yes he will continue to play badly at times but he has shown he has stomach for a fight. I particularly didn't like his stupid batting in the first inning, dabbing balls to slips when he was required to stay at the crease but I think he has redeemed himself thanks to the knock in the second essay. I've seen Yuvraj play some really stupid dabs straight to the slip cordon too so I can't say he will chip in with runs straight away. There simply is no way Yuvi can force into the team at this point in time. I'm afraid he has to bide his time that's about it. You don't go around making changes just for the sake of it. Everyone bar Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have had a decent outing in this test match. It wasn't easy to put even 30s or 40s on the board and most have done it which is a good sign. Ravi, we will have to agree to disagree. While I am not disputing your points about dshoni names his fighting siprit and his willingness to stay at the wicket etc., I still think it is boneheaded to place him ahead of Yuvi, a pure batsman. Dhoni is a wicketkeeper batsman and there is really no need to have 2 keepers in the side. As for everyone having had a good outing, our indian cricket keeps going in circles without wins, but every star and their sponsor getting one good outing to maintain their place in the team. In my book, a single 50 or 40 should not buy immunity/insurance for a player. Attitude age, type of innings, nature of innings and fighting spirit too should be counted. Hence my take that Dhoni can be accomodated ahead of SRT or Ganguly but not ahead of Yuvi. SRt, SG, RD & VVS are spent forces devoid of excuberance and giving chance to guys like kaif, KKD, yuvi etc., we are building out team for the future and also with old guys in the waiting, these young turks will play their heart out. This is the way forward. We should not be happy with mediocrity dished out by former greats. Link to comment
King Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 As for everyone having had a good outing, our indian cricket keeps going in circles without wins, but every star and their sponsor getting one good outing to maintain their place in the team. In my book, a single 50 or 40 should not buy immunity/insurance for a player. Attitude age, type of innings, nature of innings and fighting spirit too should be counted. Hence my take that Dhoni can be accomodated ahead of SRT or Ganguly but not ahead of Yuvi. SRt, SG, RD & VVS are spent forces devoid of excuberance and giving chance to guys like kaif, KKD, yuvi etc., we are building out team for the future and also with old guys in the waiting, these young turks will play their heart out. This is the way forward. We should not be happy with mediocrity dished out by former greats. Putting into perspective this game, how many 100s did you see or even 50s did you see? Even Ganguly's 40 and Laxman's stay at the crease was as important as Strauss' or Vaughan's first inning. The end result was a "DRAW". A fighting 40 or a 70 in the last inning is quite good and on this pitch a 70 on the last day pitch was as good as getting a 100. You need youth in ODIs yes but in test cricket you need a mix of youth and experience. There is fair bit of youth in this test team anyways. Jaffer, Karthik, Dhoni, Sreesanth, RP are all still wet behind ears in test cricket. Oh BTW Rahul Dravid and Laxman aren't spent force in test cricket. They still can hold a bat and Laxman is just about 32 years of age. Link to comment
yoda Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I totally agree with him there. KAIF RULES ! Look at him ! He is BAD-ASS. It's like he is saying, "I am gonna take this award and shove it up your @ss". Bowlers will sh*t their pants when they bowl to KING KAIF :haha: Link to comment
gs Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I totally agree with him there. KAIF RULES ! Look at him ! He is BAD-ASS. It's like he is saying, "I am gonna take this award and shove it up your @ss". Bowlers will sh*t their pants when they bowl to KING KAIF LMFAO :hysterical: Link to comment
King Tendulkar Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I totally agree with him there. KAIF RULES ! Look at him ! He is BAD-ASS. It's like he is saying, "I am gonna take this award and shove it up your @ss". Bowlers will sh*t their pants when they bowl to KING KAIF :hysterical::hysterical: Link to comment
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