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Ganguly's recent form


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is confusing and muddling. As much as I admire the determination and strength of character to fight back into the Indian team, his recent scores have left more questions unanswered. Forgetting about Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman for the moment, here are his scores since his return (excluding Bangladesh) : 51, 25, 0, 26, 66, 46, 34, 40 He is getting the starts and then getting out. In fact, it was the same in the last two tests he played before being dropped with scores of : 40, 39, 34, 37. 30s, 40s, and 50s have never won test matches. All cricket experts emphasize the need to build on starts and carry on to score hundreds and big hundreds. Now these aren't exactly poor performances by Ganguly, specially when one bears in mind that Dravid, Laxman, and Tendulkar have actually performed worse in these matches but they are very low impact performances. Is this the best Ganguly can offer? If the answer stays yes by the end of this tour he needs to go despite all his pluck. He has made a decent comeback but for it to translate into anything substantial for the team some of these 30s, 40s, and 50s need to be converted into centuries.

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Along with Wasim Jaffer, he has been India's best batsman in recent times. I have no complaints. Tendulkar and Laxman haven't exactly converted their "starts" recently either. The last time Lax scored a hundred was back in the winter of '05, well over a year ago. If anyone should go based on their recent form, it's Tendulkar. 534 runs @ 29.66 since the home series vs Sri Lanka. Sehwag scored the exact same number of runs at the exact same average (when you discount his runs in WI) and he was rightfully kicked out for it. Why should Tendulkar be any different ? I'd kick out these two before i even contemplate dropping Ganguly.

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Predator, I agree Tendulkar and Laxman have not been going anything much and even their most die hard supporters have conceded that they are out of form at best and finished at worst. Ganguly is supposed to be in form. He needs to be going on to make the big runs. Ganguly's last international hundred was in Brisbane almost 4 years back.

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shwetabh, my opinions on the positions of these veterans are well documented. If it were up to me, none of them would be playing Test cricket for India. They are all past their peak and none of them are capable of producing big runs consistently anymore. There is no point in continuing with them. It's foolish to expect Ganguly to score hundreds, don't expect the same from Tendulkar or Lax either - they aren't good enough to produce quality innings against top class opposition like England. These days, all it takes is one good ball to do them in since they have been out of form for far too long. If we are to have a pecking order though, it's clear that Ganguly is worth keeping ahead of Tendulkar and Laxman. What i still see in Ganguly is a cavalier, fighting spirit. Notice how once he arrives at the crease, he puts a price on his wicket and stays - forging partnerships and knuckling down. He also scores at a comparatively fast pace. You don't see this from Tendulkar anymore, and not often enough from Laxman. Sure, there is a bit of selfishness to his game as he plays for survival and refuses to take excessive risk, but at least his commitment is guaranteed. This is all i could ever ask for from an Indian cricketer. Effort, commitment, putting on a price on your wicket. These things don't amount to much, but as of right now - he is the best of a very bad bunch.

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is confusing and muddling. As much as I admire the determination and strength of character to fight back into the Indian team, his recent scores have left more questions unanswered. Forgetting about Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman for the moment, here are his scores since his return (excluding Bangladesh) : 51, 25, 0, 26, 66, 46, 34, 40 He is getting the starts and then getting out. In fact, it was the same in the last two tests he played before being dropped with scores of : 40, 39, 34, 37. 30s, 40s, and 50s have never won test matches. All cricket experts emphasize the need to build on starts and carry on to score hundreds and big hundreds. Now these aren't exactly poor performances by Ganguly, specially when one bears in mind that Dravid, Laxman, and Tendulkar have actually performed worse in these matches but they are very low impact performances. Is this the best Ganguly can offer? If the answer stays yes by the end of this tour he needs to go despite all his pluck. He has made a decent comeback but for it to translate into anything substantial for the team some of these 30s, 40s, and 50s need to be converted into centuries.
I guess that's why he is never considered a great batsmen unlike some of his more esteem peers in the middle order. Actually , other than the century at brisbane during '04 tour or the unbeaten half century in the first SA test last year , I fail to recall an innings of substantial substance in my mind's eye from Ganguly which altered the playing results in favor of India.
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Ganguly & Laxman have just done enuff recently to keep their places in the side. Neither have done enuff to put their place in the side beyond doubt. The fact that they also ended up the best performers says how much our middle order batting standards have declined.

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There is a small chance of him not playing the 2nd test. Is it just me, or is Ganguly always injured or ill

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/engvind/content/current/story/303599.html A fitness worry for Sourav Ganguly has compounded India's batting problems ahead of the second Test against England on Friday at Trent Bridge. Ganguly, suffering from a stiff back, opted not to face the bowling machine as the Indian batsmen practised indoors at the National Cricket Centre in the Loughborough University premises, a forty-minute drive from Trent Bridge. "Sourav has got a stiff back, I am sure he will be fine tomorrow," Yuvraj Singh said after the session. Rocky Rufus, the team's administrative manager, said he had a slight lower back strain. "There's nothing to worry about, he should be able come out for practice for tomorrow", Rufus said. Ganguly was in visible discomfort during the second innings of the Lord's Test, hobbling towards the end of the fourth day. Ironically, Yuvraj is the likely replacement if Ganguly doesn't regain fitness in time for the second game. "I would love to play, but it is not in my hands whether I play or not," Yuvraj said when asked if he was readying himself for the match. "We will see how it goes in the next two days." The Indians were originally supposed to practice at Trent Bridge but changed their plans this morning because of incessant showers. The practice itself saw some innovations, with the batsmen trying out strokes with the wrong hand against deliveries bowled underarm. Ganguly did take part in that session, batting right-handed, and even padded up to face the bowling machine later but decided against it towards the end. The senior bowlers weren't present and it was mainly Ishant Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the wicketkeeper, who did the bowling. More rain is expected over the next few days and the weather could again have the final say as it did in the first Test. Yuvraj said the batsmen were aware of the possibilities of rain. "It's been raining over here so we are well prepared for it. All our batsmen are obviously geared up and we know that we need to get a big score on the board. The Lord's pitch was quite a good one to bat on but it suddenly changed after the rain. We have played here before and know these things can happen. We can't say much about the weather but it is a fresh start. The first Test is already gone, it is a new day and a new Test match and anything can happen. "
Rocky Rufus ? :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:
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I agree with Preds here. He might not be setting the world alight, but put into context, he comes out of it smelling of roses. I'm almost certain he'll never score another test match hundred..he was never a prolific test tonner in his heyday, and with age comes fatigue, lethargy and diminished powers of concentration. He's still showing testicular fortitude though, and that'll tide me over this summer. "Best of a bad bunch" is probably the best term for it. Like deciding whether you'd rather have herpes or genital warts.

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