Kohli's left field calls that went India's way

[mancalledsting]

Kohli has received a lot of criticism on the following matters (blatant blunders in bold): 

 

1. Non-selection of KL Rahul and A Rahane 

2. Selection of Dhawan and Rohit

3. Dropping Bhuvi in the 2nd test 

4. Selection of Parthiv Patel 

 

I think it is important to remember some of his left field, non obvious calls that spectacularly worked in India's favour:

 

1. Picking test cricket debutant Jasprit Bumrah 

2. Opening the bowling with Shami in 4th innings Jo'burg and using him to clean up the tail (was on horrible form in that test until then)

3. Backing Shami in 2nd and 3rd test despite his rhythm appearing sub optimal 

4. Backing Ishant....he was miserly all series

5. Choosing to bat first in Johannesburg

6. Opting to complete the third test when talk of abdoning match despite already being 2-0 down in the series

7. Dropping Ashwin and picking 4 front line seamers for 3rd test

8. Picking Ashwin over Jadeja in first 2 tests

 

 

The moral of the story is, Virat is still an inexperienced captain overseas but clearly has the will and passion to win. He has made some captaincy blunders during this tour but has also made some excellent decisions. He has enthused the team with a fighting spirit and never say day attitude and has possibly overseen the assembly of India's most potent ever pace attack. I think its important to back him as a captain (even when he makes some mistakes) as its clear the net movement of Indian cricket under his watch is certainly in the right direction. 

Edited January 29, 2018 by mancalledsting

[vvvslaxman]

But his mistakes caused bigger impact. It is not like we are saying in hindsight. Many warned beforehand. Rohit Sharma becoming an automatic in the playing XI over Rahane was unimaginable an year back. Even now. Somehow Kohli probably thought Rohit would score fastest 300 in tests. 

[mancalledsting]

2 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

But his mistakes caused bigger impact. It is not like we are saying in hindsight. Many warned beforehand. Rohit Sharma becoming an automatic in the playing XI over Rahane was unimaginable an year back. Even now. Somehow Kohli probably thought Rohit would score fastest 300 in tests. 

Maybe in this series...but it's important to appreciate the global perspective and look at the overall direction of travel of Indian cricket. Winners also learn from their mistakes whilst losers repeat them time and again; 3rd test performance is testimony to that. 

[sensible-indian]

..

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[mancalledsting]

22 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

..

too much punctuation and rhetoric for your brain to handle? apologies in advance 

[sensible-indian]

18 minutes ago, mancalledsting said:

too much punctuation and rhetoric for your brain to handle? apologies in advance 

Huh what u on about?

 

Anyways, he made some really good moves. Deserves to be praised.

 

Sadly he also made some obvious bad moves which cost us a historic series win.

 

So a bitter sweet test series.

 

He made similar mistakes like this in 2015 and we thought he would have learnt his lesson but he didn't.

 

Let's hope this time he does. Apart from this and being way too emotional, he has the ingredients of being a really good test captain.

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[Cricketics]

Biggest bullocks was people making big deal that India batted first. This was made when India was bowled out early in the first inning, people found the right opportunity to criticize Kohli. It took only one day for Indian bowlers to get back into the game to remind the people that batting 4th on this pitch will be a crazy idea.

 

[mancalledsting]

1 minute ago, sensible-indian said:

Huh what u on about?

 

Anyways, he made some really good moves. Deserves to be praised.

 

Sadly he also made obvious bad moves which cost us a historic series win.

 

Bitter sweet test series.

 

He made similar mistakes like this in 2015 and we thought he would have learnt his lesson but sadly he didn't.

 

Let's hope this time he does. Apart from this and being way too emotional, he has the ingredients of being a really good test captain.

lol, criticism of Kohli is getting to desperation point now. He had barely taken over the role of captain in 2015, despite that still achieved historic wins against SA and SL. After that year had an almost impeccable 2016 and 2017 in tests. Records broken left right and centre. I find it a bit rich to criticise an Indian captain to this level of scrutiny given what came immediately prior to him in that role. 

[Trichromatic]

His on field captaincy was top class.

[sensible-indian]

11 minutes ago, mancalledsting said:

lol, criticism of Kohli is getting to desperation point now. He had barely taken over the role of captain in 2015, despite that still achieved historic wins against SA and SL. After that year had an almost impeccable 2016 and 2017 in tests. Records broken left right and centre. I find it a bit rich to criticise an Indian captain to this level of scrutiny given what came immediately prior to him in that role. 

Many of us here are fans of Kohli including him being the captain....but criticism is valid.

 

He almost lost the SL 2015 away series if Pujara didn't save his ass after getting dropped for first 2 games and picked to open on a green seamer. 

 

In gross islet, Ashwin and Saha saved us.

 

Point is he made similar mistakes in the past. 

 

Moreover, this time Kohli had a gun team and all he had to do was take bcci offer to fly out the team early, pick the right team and we most certainly would have won the series. 

 

Noother Indian captain had the team that Kohli had this time. 

 

Yes he made some really good moves but his bad moves were worse. 

 

With all being said, I do think you raise some really good points reg his captaincy...aspects that deserve praise.

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[Cricketics]

2 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

 

 

Noother Indian captain had the team that Kohli had this time. 

 

Very easy to say this, but one should remember we took this same team under previous captain to South Africa, or West Indies but have never tasetd similar success or look as threatening away from home.

 

Bhuneshwar Kumar actually now started getting chances in Test under Kohli, but never before. He was the one of the main performers in this series. 

 

Umesh did well in home series against Australia or England, Kohli backed them. 

 

READ this particular part written below carefully as it holds a lot of importance

Kohli has been trying to change the way the game is played at home. He is giving chances to seamers over spinners to ensure we are not only winning at home with the contribution of just our spinners but that our seamers are ready for away tours and are in play most times at home. This team is not only relying on our spinners to win back home.

He is creating that fast bowling culture so we do not just win at home, but also away from home. Many did not like this when he gave ball to Shami and co over Ashwin and others, but he is trying to bring our seamers into the game when series are taking place in India. There is a change in bowling culture in India recently, and Kohli is backing the seamers. 

 

Even in this test we dropped our premier spinner to play a fast bowler. He just loves fast bowling and knows that this is what is going to help us win the test matches in most places.

 

 

[sensible-indian]

8 minutes ago, Cricketics said:

Very easy to say this, but one should remember we took this same team under previous captain to South Africa, or West Indies but have never tasetd similar success or look as threatening away from home.

 

Bhuneshwar Kumar actually now started getting chances in Test under Kohli, but never before. He was the one of the main performers in this series. 

 

Umesh did well in home series against Australia or England, Kohli backed them. 

 

READ this particular part written below carefully as it holds a lot of importance

Kohli has been trying to change the way the game is played at home. He is giving chances to seamers over spinners to ensure we are not only winning at home with the contribution of just our spinners but that our seamers are ready for away tours and are in play most times at home. This team is not only relying on our spinners to win back home.

He is creating that fast bowling culture so we do not just win at home, but also away from home. Many did not like this when he gave ball to Shami and co over Ashwin and others, but he is trying to bring our seamers into the game when series are taking place in India. There is a change in bowling culture in India recently, and Kohli is backing the seamers. 

 

Even in this test we dropped our premier spinner to play a fast bowler. He just loves fast bowling and knows that this is what is going to help us win the test matches in most places.

 

 

I agree Kohli has been responsible for the team being built. He also had the good fortune of having players like Bhuvi, Shami, Ashwin and Jaddu maturing with experience.

 

Many believe in Kohli's captaincy not for his onfield tactics which range from above average to downright poor but for his belief in bowlers and his inspirational leadership.

 

That's why his moves in SA hurt cos it created an environment where no one was sure of their place and the wrong people were picked based on faulty analysis.

 

All said and done, the team that went to SA was a bloody good team. And Kohli didn't close out the deal with his wrong moves.

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[jf1gp_1]

2 hours ago, mancalledsting said:

Kohli has received a lot of criticism on the following matters (blatant blunders in bold): 

 

1. Non-selection of KL Rahul and A Rahane 

2. Selection of Dhawan and Rohit

3. Dropping Bhuvi in the 2nd test 

4. Selection of Parthiv Patel 

Rahul didn’t do much in fact scored less in 4 innings compared to 2 of dhawans innings. Rohit avg more than 3 openers,pujara , pandya and keeper. It shows how poor we have batted when ashwin and bhuvi were better than all of them. Selection of dhawan n rohit was non issue. 

 

Saha was injured , selector gave kohli parthiv how is selection of parthiv his problem. Even then 3rd test parthiv did his job and we won.

:

 

 

 

[mancalledsting]

41 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

Moreover, this time Kohli had a gun team and all he had to do was take bcci offer to fly out the team early, pick the right team and we most certainly would have won the series. 

Another frequently cited mistruth. Here's how it went. BCCI scheduled Tests/ODIs/T20 series in an otherwise vacuous December 2017 schedule. Kohli ended up playing all 3 tests. He then needed to get married and get rested given his hectic playing schedule (would anybody deny him this right)? When BCCI offered him opportunity of flying early, it was at expense of his honeymoon/rest period., so they could maintain the high ground and chewts who were willing, could use it against Kohli.

 

Now picture this, no tests/ODIs/T20s vs Sri Lanka. Kohli gets to get married and start his rest weeks to months earlier i.e. following NZ LOI series. By the time mid to late December comes around, all is out the way and the team can all travel together. But no, fitting in extra series was Sri Lanka was BCCI's priority. 

[mancalledsting]

10 minutes ago, jf1gp_1 said:

Rahul didn’t do much in fact scored less in 4 innings compared to 2 of dhawans innings. Rohit avg more than 3 openers,pujara , pandya and keeper. It shows how poor we have batted when ashwin and bhuvi were better than all of them. Selection of dhawan n rohit was non issue. 

 

Saha was injured , selector gave kohli parthiv how is selection of parthiv his problem. Even then 3rd test parthiv did his job and we won.

re: KL Rahul, the argument is that an extra game in Cape Town to allow him to settle in would have helped him to possibly find top form. Runs aside, KL Rahul's approach and confidence during the evening session of Day 2 helping get India to 50/1 was critical to the excellent batting performance that followed. KL Rahul is a long term overseas prospect (until comprehensively proven otherwise). Dhawan on the other hand was complicit in our first innings collapse in Cape Town with a horrible shot which gave away is wicket. He is also older than KL (poor long term prospects) and is already a proven failure overseas. 

 

Parthiv's drops in the 2nd test probably cost us the entire match. 

[sensible-indian]

8 minutes ago, mancalledsting said:

Another frequently cited mistruth. Here's how it went. BCCI scheduled Tests/ODIs/T20 series in an otherwise vacuous December 2017 schedule. Kohli ended up playing all 3 tests. He then needed to get married and get rested given his hectic playing schedule (would anybody deny him this right)? When BCCI offered him opportunity of flying early, it was at expense of his honeymoon/rest period., so they could maintain the high ground and chewts who were willing, could use it against Kohli.

 

Now picture this, no tests/ODIs/T20s vs Sri Lanka. Kohli gets to get married and start his rest weeks to months earlier i.e. following NZ LOI series. By the time mid to late December comes around, all is out the way and the team can all travel together. But no, fitting in extra series was Sri Lanka was BCCI's priority. 

Nah. No one asked Kohli to go. Just the rest of the team.

 

Bcci were idiotic and the real culprits but team management was also idiotic.

 

Apparently if one can't go, no one can go was their logic.

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[mancalledsting]

1 minute ago, sensible-indian said:

Nah. No one asked Kohli to go. Just the rest of the team.

 

Bcci were idiotic and the real culprits but team management was also idiotic.

 

Apparently if one can't go, no one can go was their logic.

but if the whole team couldn't have gone, then it probably wouldn't have made a difference. Kohli needed to be there to make sure the intensity was right. He was also undercooked in the first test. 

[sensible-indian]

9 minutes ago, mancalledsting said:

but if the whole team couldn't have gone, then it probably wouldn't have made a difference. Kohli needed to be there to make sure the intensity was right. He was also undercooked in the first test. 

You really believe that?

 

1. Atleast whole team wouldn't have been undercooked for the first test. Kohli might have struggled in first test but then we came real close even in Cape Town with him doing very little.

 

2. Our pacers wouldn't have wasted Bhuvi efforts by bowling the wrong length in first test first innings.

 

3. Batsmen would have adjusted better and not thrown away wickets that often.

 

Australia prepared in UAE for weeks before India tour and they did well. So well, they almost broke us in Bangalore and could have taken the series too.

 

Imagine how well this team could have done if we too had similar practice.

Edited January 29, 2018 by sensible-indian

[mancalledsting]

3 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

Australia prepared in UAE for weeks before India tour and they did well. So well, they almost broke us in Bangalore and could have taken the series too.

thanks I know this, that's why I blamed the BCCI for their scheduling of the Sri Lanka series. 

[mancalledsting]

22 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

You really believe that?

....

Imagine how well this team could have done if we too had similar practice.

yaar, if we sent a third of the first XI out early, it would only be of benefit if we had practice games. Playing warm up games without your first XI, you run the risk of losing to domestic South African teams and destroying confidence/reputation of Indian cricket.