B +

[Gambit]

Ok. So this was quite a shattering loss and the sight of the boys in blue laughing and joking at the end of the game was soul crushing. Dhoni should get the boot as captain and batsman from the T20, the...ok ok. This thread is not meant for brickbats. This team has given us so much joy in the past 2 years. The jellybeans in England 2007 The 'almost' epic 203 run chase Pakistan 2007 + ODI win :two_thumbs_up: The stunning knockout of the bros T20 World Cup Win :cantstop: The 2 billion watt electrically charged fractious Australian Tour 2008 :whack: Weeding the Ozzie garden CB Series 2008 :giggle: The taming of the MuMe SL ODI series 2008 :bangbang: Getting the BG trophy back in style Australia 2008 :finger: THE CHENNAI TEST England 2008 Taming of MuMe again SL ODI&T20 series 2008 :mama: The cavalier performances in New Zealand 2009 B-) Let's forget this little blip .The next world cup is in 9 months anyway. Lulz in advance @the team that wins this as they will be the shortest holder of a 'World Cup' ever in the history of sport. :hysterical: It's time to win big in West Indies, do well in the Champions Trophy and then thrash SL in the tests in India. Go Blue! :top:

[flamy]

:rock:

[DomainK]

I am proud of this team. They have been playing great cricket over the last 2/3 years. And I am ready to accept the odd loss here and there. They are young and are still learning. They are bound to make mistakes. As a fan, I stand by them in their bad time like I celebrated with them in their good times.

[Desi Cartman]

I hope this thread remains "whine FREE"

[yoda]

That is an impressive list. Looking forward to the WI series.

[Chandan]

Let us also not forget that these guys have been playing non stop cricket since God knows when! They just had January as their off cricket month and then again travelling across the continents for so many matches. They are human beings and they need rest too. I hope BCCI cancels the WI ODI series so that these guys can recharge their batteries, especially bowlers who seem to have run out of fuel badly!

[Desi Cartman]

There is an association of Players in Australia but I dont think we have one in India. None of the players would openly admit that they are playing too much cricket since they dont wanna upset BCCI but its pretty obvious that these guys need a break. MSD and his team has given us many victories and above anything else it has given hope that there is cricket in India after SRT , RD , SCG , VVS and AK are gone...

[Mr. Wicket]

At the end of it, it's a fricking Twenty20 match, a format of the game that puts far more into luck than ODIs or tests. I've said it before umpteen times, T20s are fun and all that in small doses but it's really a McDonald's version of the game, far less substance and importance and I'm sure that several months down the line this will hardly be remembered. On the other hand... years from now, they'll still be talking about that win at Perth. Or Tendulkar's brilliance in that entire series, from the centuries in Sydney and Adelaide to those unbelievably timed uppercuts off Lee at Perth. Or the fact that England's reign of dominance at home - they had not lost a series at home since the 2001 Ashes - came to a grinding halt thanks to Dhoni's grit at Lord's to save a win in bad light, and then Zaheer's brilliance at Trent Bridge. Or Sehwag playing a truly freakish innings at Galle with that 201 - and like a true legend, even denying himself a single to get the 200 just to protect the man at the other end. This is a top quality team featuring some brilliant players in a unit that has everything from flair and elegance to steel and the grit to fight it out against the top teams in the world. People should remember that instead of going overboard calling for MSD's head based off one masala series.

[maggot_brain]

Yes we've had a good run since Dhoni became captain. Let's put things into perspective. Our T20 form coming into this WC wasn't great. We lost in Australia, narrowly defeated SL in SL and lost both T20s in NZ. BUT, we've had a good run in the ODI game. Series wins in Aus, twice in SL and NZ and against Eng at home. We lost out in the Asia and Kityplu cups but these things happen and we had a strong showing till the finals of those two series. As for Test matches we've lost one series since Aus, 2007-2008, and we've since then worked out how to deal with Mendis. Some of our newer batsmen have got technical and tempermental deficincies but these can be worked out, look at Gambhir's turnaround. Time is on their side. They're young guys in their early 20s. I think calling for Dhoni's or Kirsten's head is premature to say the least.

[flamy]

Fantastic last two posts and I'm forced to agree with "T20s dont matter much" :--D

[maggot_brain]

Fantastic last two posts and I'm forced to agree with "T20s dont matter much" :--D

They don't. Look how we were walloped in Australia and came back to win the CB series with a match to spare.

[maggot_brain]

There is an association of Players in Australia but I dont think we have one in India. None of the players would openly admit that they are playing too much cricket since they dont wanna upset BCCI but its pretty obvious that these guys need a break. MSD and his team has given us many victories and above anything else it has given hope that there is cricket in India after SRT , RD , SCG , VVS and AK are gone...

Good point. Look how many of the Aus players opted out of the IPL for example. Can you imagine any of our players doing this?

[pan_walla]

T20 is all FUNZ and STUFFZ so we should not take it seriously anyway. Only the first T20 WC was important as it was....well the first one :haha:

[CricketGirl]

India India!! B-> we still the best team in the world!! (to me anyway) and those stats dont lie!! India will be back with a vengance you watch!! :icflove:

[Malcolm Merlyn]

our team was just tired and under prepared......some rest and bit of rejuvenation....and we will again be that damn good....starts with w.i tour.....let the battle begin...let us have our revenge againist taylor edwards and bravo

[Malcolm Merlyn]

there is an old saying...it goes something like...defeat is the greatest inspiration for a great warrior.....hope this defeat gives the team the rejuvination it needed to be that damn good again

[Sachinism]

Oh thank god a non-whining thread. Boys have done extremely well over the last few years, cut them some slack

[Mr. Wicket]

Fantastic last two posts and I'm forced to agree with "T20s dont matter much" :--D

Let's put this way flamy: India's tour of New Zealand: - 2 T20s, started explosively with Sehwag hitting his first three balls for sixes. India lost both matches. - Full ODI series, India won in style against an excellent outfit - 3 test series, India completed a historic win. Right now, what are people remembering about that tour? What will people look back on that to talk about in a decade's time? Surely the NZ fans won't look back on it to think "Oh my god, we won the two Twenty20s!", and I'm damn sure very few Indians will give a flying **** about either of those two masala matches. Ditto with the India/Australia tour last year. See how many people can remember the exact events of the T20 games the two teams played. See how many people can and will remember - for a lot longer - the controversy at Sydney, or the Perth heroics. Or the CB series finals and Tendulkar's two epics. T20s are insignificant, ultimately meaningless matches that just attract crowds for a couple of hours of song and dance entertainment. OK, back to selling my Dhoni effigies. :--D

[CricketGirl]

Let's put this way flamy: India's tour of New Zealand: - 2 T20s, started explosively with Sehwag hitting his first three balls for sixes. India lost both matches. - Full ODI series, India won in style against an excellent outfit - 3 test series, India completed a historic win. Right now, what are people remembering about that tour? What will people look back on that to talk about in a decade's time? Surely the NZ fans won't look back on it to think "Oh my god, we won the two Twenty20s!", and I'm damn sure very few Indians will give a flying **** about either of those two masala matches. Ditto with the India/Australia tour last year. See how many people can remember the exact events of the T20 games the two teams played. See how many people can and will remember - for a lot longer - the controversy at Sydney, or the Perth heroics. Or the CB series finals and Tendulkar's two epics. T20s are insignificant, ultimately meaningless matches that just attract crowds for a couple of hours of song and dance entertainment. OK, back to selling my Dhoni effigies. :--D

Mail one effigy to me too! :--D

[Mr. Wicket]

They're all sold out and on pre-order. :D