No.1 trumps No.4

[punjabi_khota]

So' date= to be ranked No.1, the team has to win all home series? Then India should have been the undisputed No.1 for a long, long time!!!

No, but the so called Aussie on decline beat them in SA :dontknow:.

[thevortex]

No' date=' but the so called Aussie on decline beat them in SA :dontknow:.[/quote'] So that makes Australia a better team than South Africa then?! Do make up your mind. Like I said, India has been a tiger at home for a long, long time.....

[ravishingravi]

So' date= to be ranked No.1, the team has to win all home series? Then India should have been the undisputed No.1 for a long, long time!!! And see, I did not tell you that I was the first one to point out that Australia is in decline. And I believe I have held that opinion a lot earlier - however I may not have registered on this forum back then.

Well the No.1 team or the best team in the world is expected to win at home at the very least. SA drew against Eng. and lost to Aus. It definitely puts its candidature as the best in serious jeopardy. Am not saying we are undisputed "best" in the world, but there really isn't any team that can claim that throne an the only yardstick world cricket these days goes by is ICC rankings.

[thevortex]

Well the No.1 team or the best team in the world is expected to win at home at the very least. SA drew against Eng. and lost to Aus. It definitely puts its candidature as the best in serious jeopardy. Am not saying we are undisputed "best" in the world, but there really isn't any team that can claim that throne an the only yardstick world cricket these days goes by is ICC rankings.

See the highlighted section please. The 'No.1 team' and the 'best team in the world' need NOT be the same one. That is all, I guess.

[Mamu]

New Zealand 3-0 and then SA

People are smoking if they think they can beat NZ 3 - 0. NZ has always played India well in India. In fact their batsmen relish flat tracks also, and the most important factor would be complacency. India can produce sporting tracks if they want. Both Mohali and Banaglore were superb -- 3 days of good batting and bring your A game for the last 2 days or you lose. unlike friggin engerland -- where a lot of people get excited -- just one session of cloud cover could swing the match in your favor , which is blatantly unfair (which is what happened to Aus against Eng in Ashes and even against the Pakis which they lost).

[achilles]

Please post this to an Australian fan forum and link us as well. We want to be a part of the fun

[dial_100]

With this bowling line up, we have been playing like TIGERs even out of sub continent for past 7-8 years. Be it SA, Aus or Eng. It is just that we have started beating teams these days too often.

[ZodiaC]

People are smoking if they think they can beat NZ 3 - 0. NZ has always played India well in India. In fact their batsmen relish flat tracks also, and the most important factor would be complacency. India can produce sporting tracks if they want. Both Mohali and Banaglore were superb -- 3 days of good batting and bring your A game for the last 2 days or you lose. unlike friggin engerland -- where a lot of people get excited -- just one session of cloud cover could swing the match in your favor , which is blatantly unfair (which is what happened to Aus against Eng in Ashes and even against the Pakis which they lost).

Their side is much worse than it used to be. Specially batting.

[Karan114]

People are smoking if they think they can beat NZ 3 - 0. NZ has always played India well in India. In fact their batsmen relish flat tracks also, and the most important factor would be complacency.

I agree that 3-0 will be tough because of the complacency factor. But just a word on NZ - they drew last time (very good performance, even forced us to follow on in the second Test) but that was way back in 2003. Since then, they haven't won a single Test away from home against non-minnow opposition. They are really bad at Test cricket these days, even worse then the poyzz and only better than WI and Bangla Boyzz

[Bradman99]

This was a series which sadly passed Australia by. We should have won the 1st test, 2 wickets needed and 80 runs required and we lose. That is not good enough. In the 2nd test we were just outplayed, there is no doubting that and India clearly deserved to win that match. However I'm sure having had India 8 down with 80 runs still remaining, Australia will feel this series should of been a 1-1. It's dissapointing to be whitewashed but then again.. It's pinpointed Australia's weaknesses and we should be better for it next time round!

[b555]

yep u r right but one alwyas feels match should have gone easily the other way around when australia last played a one dya series last yr they ended 4-2 on aussies favour but some might also feel india should have won 4-2 as both the matches (one in whihc harbhajan brought us very near and other one in which sachin scored 175) should have been won by us at the end result is all it matters

[EnterTheVoid]

You are not conversant with what I have been saying on this subject. I doubted that earlier. Now it is confirmed. I think I had a discussion with Bradman99 about Australia's decline as early as about 6 months back if not further back. About the rankings, what can you say when Sri Lanka is ranked No.2?!! Are they the world's second best team? You accept that whole heartedly? If yes, then please - these discussions about merit and other related things need not keep you down. We will just have to agree to disagree.

I understand what you're trying to say and I agree to it. Just because the ICC rankings rank SL @ #2, that doesn't mean they're the second best team in the world (at present), so to a certain extent, the ICC rankings is flawed. A more suitable ranking at present would have India @ #1, SA/ENG tied @ #2 and Australia at #3.

[rkt.india]

SL is not #2 right now.Its SA #2, SL#3

[girishk14]

Eng @ #2? Because they won a few matches which the Paks threw away? No way, SL n SA are way ahead of Eng

[Andy]

^SL at 2? Have they won a single test match away from home in last Calender year or two?

[thevortex]

I understand what you're trying to say and I agree to it. Just because the ICC rankings rank SL @ #2, that doesn't mean they're the second best team in the world (at present), so to a certain extent, the ICC rankings is flawed. A more suitable ranking at present would have India @ #1, SA/ENG tied @ #2 and Australia at #3.

Absolutely Sree. The rankings just measure form and that too only relatively recent form. Plus opportunities are not equal for all teams. With the advent of the Test league, all this will go away. That is a focussed competition. If a team lifts that trophy (depending on the format of the league) then that would be the No.1 team in the world. Period.

[ravishingravi]

Aggressive, variety-filled India deserves to be No.1 Test team: Warne Australian legend Shane Warne [ Images ] has said that India [ Images ] deserves to be the No.1 side in Test cricket in the world because they play a good attacking game. India thrashed Australia [ Images ] 2-0, handing them their worst defeat in the last 22 years. Warne believes Australia's champion aura was partly created by being ultra-aggressive and going for the jugular when Tests were on the line. As Australia plummeted to their lowest ever Test ranking of fifth, Warne said Test rivals are gaining confidence because Australia sometimes shies away from their win-at-all-costs mantra. He believes Australia are picking their best possible team, but says they must not go into their shell during big moments. "Why aren't we converting strong positions into victories? We have to learn how to win again. The best way to learn to win is have a mindset where you have to attack. You have to be prepared to lose a Test to win a Test," he said. "You always have to think 'how am I going to get this batsman out' - not just dry things up. I think India deserve to be the No.1 side in the world because they attack a lot and have got a lot of good variety," Warne added http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2010/oct/16/aggressive-variety-filled-india-deserves-to-be-number-one-test-team-says-shane-warne.htm

[Mamu]

Quote by rkt.india New Zealand 3-0 and then SA

People are smoking if they think they can beat NZ 3 - 0. NZ has always played India well in India. In fact their batsmen relish flat tracks also, and the most important factor would be complacency. India can produce sporting tracks if they want. Both Mohali and Banaglore were superb -- 3 days of good batting and bring your A game for the last 2 days or you lose. unlike friggin engerland -- where a lot of people get excited -- just one session of cloud cover could swing the match in your favor , which is blatantly unfair (which is what happened to Aus against Eng in Ashes and even against the Pakis which they lost).

3-0 ? :hysterical::hysterical: Has reality set in for all of you? Still day dreaming?