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Sangakkara...Balls of Steel


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Delivers again under pressure while all else were falling around him. Don't think I've seen many better LOI innings under pressure. Was top Test batsman for a fair whack and still among the top two. The Aussies rate him very highly, and so does anybody else in his right mind. Captain's knock. Shwetabh, he deserves an entry into your Hall of Fame ahead of any batsman playing cricket today bar Sachin, Kallis & Ponting.

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A top batsman indeed Dhondy, and he's played some superb innings (that 192 in Australia was a real treat to watch) - but how is it you're lionizing him after a knock in this lottery format of the game that so often narrows the gap between real class and the umpteen other mediocre sloggers or four-over wonders who can also be useful in a Twenty20 match?

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A top batsman indeed Dhondy' date=' and he's played some superb innings (that 192 in Australia was a real treat to watch) - but how is it you're lionizing him after a knock in this lottery format of the game that so often narrows the gap between real class and the umpteen other mediocre sloggers or four-over wonders who can also be useful in a Twenty20 match?[/quote'] It was the pressure Thal. Format matters, but so does pressure. Very few men would have come through in that situation.
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It was the pressure Thal. Format matters' date=' but so does pressure. Very few men would have come through in that situation.[/quote'] True, but he's played some far superior knocks in far tougher situations. How about stroking a matchwinning 83 in the opening CB series final of 2006 against a pretty damn strong Australian attack? Or in tests, that outstanding 157 on a MINEFIELD of a wicket against the West Indies, where both teams had been dismissed for around 150 total in the first innings? Heck, three of the innings that game saw teams bowled out for 150 or less. The other - the match-defining third innings - was set up by Sangakkara's brilliance. Or what about him scoring 156 out of a total of 268 against NZ a year later in a test SL NEEDED to win, being 0-1 down on a dodgy wicket against Bond and Martin? The other four batsmen in the top five made 7, 0, 0 and 5. Sanga at #3 scored 156 for a solid first innings total that set up the game. Really Dhondy, he's played a lot of other fine innings that show true skill, class and temperament - picking this knock in a hit and giggle tourney in this format of the game as a knock to lionize him cheapens some of those knocks - which were all FAR superior (and will be remembered far longer than this).
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True, but he's played some far superior knocks in far tougher situations. How about stroking a matchwinning 83 in the opening CB series final of 2006 against a pretty damn strong Australian attack? Or in tests, that outstanding 157 on a MINEFIELD of a wicket against the West Indies, where both teams had been dismissed for around 150 total in the first innings? Heck, three of the innings that game saw teams bowled out for 150 or less. The other - the match-defining third innings - was set up by Sangakkara's brilliance. Or what about him scoring 156 out of a total of 268 against NZ a year later in a test SL NEEDED to win, being 0-1 down on a dodgy wicket against Bond and Martin? The other four batsmen in the top five made 7, 0, 0 and 5. Sanga at #3 scored 156 for a solid first innings total that set up the game. Really Dhondy, he's played a lot of other fine innings that show true skill, class and temperament - picking this knock in a hit and giggle tourney in this format of the game as a knock to lionize him cheapens some of those knocks - which were all FAR superior (and will be remembered far longer than this).
Or his 194 in Hobart ... what a knock! And he was done in by umpiring too
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Delivers again under pressure while all else were falling around him. Don't think I've seen many better LOI innings under pressure. Was top Test batsman for a fair whack and still among the top two. The Aussies rate him very highly, and so does anybody else in his right mind. Captain's knock. Shwetabh, he deserves an entry into your Hall of Fame ahead of any batsman playing cricket today bar Sachin, Kallis & Ponting.
Ponting doesn't qualify for hall of fame because he's never averaged above 40 on an Indian tour.
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Darn. So if having a hole in your resume against ONE country bans you from the HOF, shall we also block Warne from the Hall of Fame? And what about eternally blacklisting Muttiah Muralitharan from the Hall of Fame too, as he averages 75+ in Australia? :roll:
Exactly. Say what you want about Ponting but he has an impressive record that is definitely HOF worthy. * He has scored over 10,000 runs in both Test cricket and ODI cricket * 37 Test centuries (the most by an Australian and 2nd best of all time) and 26 ODI centuries and counting * Test batting average of 56.2 * His lowest average against any team is 47.2 against India * Has captained his side to victory in a Test series against all of the other Test teams * Scored 2 centuries in the first 2 matches of the Ashes series that Australia went on to win 5-0. * Only Sunny has scored twin tons in a test match as many times as Ponting. * He has scored a match-winning century in a world cup final * He has captained his side to consecutive world cups (in which he remains undefeated in world cup games as captain) There's plenty more, but these are the main ones I highlighted. I dont like Ponting because of the arrogant manner in which he conducts himself quite often, but one can not deny his place in the Hall of Fame. He is arguably the 2nd best no.3 batsman Australia has ever produced, behind Bradman.
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Darn. So if having a hole in your resume against ONE country bans you from the HOF, shall we also block Warne from the Hall of Fame? And what about eternally blacklisting Muttiah Muralitharan from the Hall of Fame too, as he averages 75+ in Australia? :roll:
Actually what I meant to say was, he doesn't belong in the Lara Tendulkar league in this era. If you were going to design a hall of fame just like the NBA or NFL then of course Ponting belongs. He's a great batsmen, a legend, but not in the Tendulkar/Lara league.
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Actually what I meant to say was' date=' he doesn't belong in the Lara Tendulkar league in this era. If you were going to design a hall of fame just like the NBA or NFL then of course Ponting belongs. He's a great batsmen, a legend, but not in the Tendulkar/Lara league.[/quote'] This is such a transparent attempt at stirring up controversy, it's not worth a rebuttal. Absolute rubbish.
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i dont think its good to say he has testicles of steel cos he has failed in teh pressure situation agnst india many timez he is a nice guy but i t think his priority shud be to stop talking in that fAKE accent good test batsman but op is clearl overrating him on basis of 1 inning, this is rong

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i dont think its good to say he has testicles of steel cos he has failed in teh pressure situation agnst india many timez
Similarly, I can recall several situations when he's succeeded in pressure situations against India, Australia, South Africa, etc.
he is a nice guy but i t think his priority shud be to stop talking in that fAKE accent
Has it crossed your mind that perhaps it is his natural accent. I have seen several Sri Lankans who speak with a similar accent where I study. And since when is accent a problem/priority for a cricketer?
good test batsman but op is clearl overrating him on basis of 1 inning, this is rong
Good is understating it, and he's clearly not overrated
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i dont think its good to say he has testicles of steel cos he has failed in teh pressure situation agnst india many timez he is a nice guy but i t think his priority shud be to stop talking in that fAKE accent good test batsman but op is clearl overrating him on basis of 1 inning, this is rong
Do you see the amount of ignorance we are battling with here?
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