One thing I noticed about Sachin

[NareshK]

This is not meant to be a bashing thread but if you have seen Sachin bat for a while, the innings in which he gets dropped he rarely makes the most of it. It seems he cant get it out of his mind and he goes into his shell and keeps playing in a very edgy way. Suddenly, he is no longer the champion batsman. He usually gives another chance in the same over or gets out very soon. The same thing happened in Ind Vs Pak WC Semi Final. After the first LBW decision got turned down or the first drop catch, he kept giving chances but Pak didnt take them and he played very doubtfully for the rest of the innings. I have seen the same thing happen before and yesterday too. After Broad trapped him LBW which was turned down by Bowden, he played 40 deliveries and scored 1 run. Then he was also dropped by Strauss at first slip and in the same over got out.

[pinkfreud]

Yes, I've noticed that too. Apart from being edgy yesterday, he was also highly defensive, which ultimately led to his downfall in the match. Sachin must never become ultra defensive... it's just not his style, and when he is not in his comfort zone, he becomes hesitant, goes into his shell, and becomes a very easy target. I love Sachin, but he's not someone who can do well under extreme pressure... he needs to bat in a relatively 'free' environment to make the most of his unique abilities and talent. There are some players who perform far better under pressure, and some who don't. Sachin falls in the second category. The batting order mess up, the pressure of the top order collapse, and the several goof ups by the English fielders all had a lot to do with his crablike mentality on the pitch. He tends to get very affected by a claustrophobic situation, especially when he's playing at a ground where he doesn't have a stellar record. All those factors and his illness would have contributed to his measly run in the 1st Test. Not to mention the unrealistic expectations people have of him, hoping that he'll score a ton each time- that, and all the hullabaloo about his anticipated Lord's/100th century. The English players sensed that, and immediately brought on Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson, who's now scalped Sachin more than any English bowler (I think?). They just went in for the kill. I'm hopeful he'll do better hereon though. He just needs to snap out of it.

[gult]

I'll be flamed for saying this, but the truth is these days Sachin can't handle pressure that well. I bet with my friend that he will get out for a low score in the 2nd innings and he did. He's the world's best batsman and it's sad to see him not even trying to play positively

[Trichromatic]

Whenever he doesn't play his natural game, he rarely survives. He has made use of dropped chances in tests and ODIs. I don't think it's about those deliveries getting stuck in his mind. All his better innings are those when he plays with flair. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64127.html http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/238187.html His inning was similar to the one played in this match. There also he went into the shell and was defending almost every ball. When I was watching the match, this inning immediately came to my mind. He is never good at playing like non-Sachin. I believe he can 200 deliveries by playing strokes and not by defending like that. It's not about the second innings only. I have never seen him surviving for long by blocking every delivery. I remember one inning when he was batting well. He scored 30 odd runs in his natural style. At that time he was not under the pressure. Suddenly he started blocking everything. It took him long to score few runs after that. Commies were saying that he made a mistake by not continuing his game as he was doing. Later he fell exactly in the same way as he did yesterday. All those innings look very similar to me. In this case India was not even trying win or draw the match. We have seen him having poor run for few matches. Most of the time he came back by trying to play like he always does. Does anyone remember Ind-Pak match at Kolkata in 2005? At that time Sachin was not doing well. He started his inning with determination and played his natural game which was missing in his earlier inning. He scored 52, but that inning was very impressive. That's what he hasn't done in most of the pressure situations.

[CasualVisitor]

I do not concur. When there is no realistic chance of winning why risk playing shots. Just watch the ball with extra care and defend the same. Easier said than done (curbing your natural style of batting) but then you expect that from geniuses. Think Sachin also wants to prove to himself that he can bat that way too. And this would be a true sign of virtuoso batsman IMO. One who can score at 7-9 RPO when needed and one who can play out sessions without feeling the need to score runs. My 2 cents!

[rkt.india]

what are people talking about here. Sachin has pressure on him every time he comes to bat and is doing so for the last 21 years. He took can fail and remember he was down with viral fever during the match and i do not know if people can even come on to the field with that.

[pinkfreud]

I do not concur. When there is no realistic chance of winning why risk playing shots. Just watch the ball with extra care and defend the same. Easier said than done (curbing your natural style of batting) but then you expect that from geniuses. Think Sachin also wants to prove to himself that he can bat that way too. And this would be a true sign of virtuoso batsman IMO. One who can score at 7-9 RPO when needed and one who can play out sessions without feeling the need to score runs. My 2 cents!

It's not about expecting that from him because he's a genius. It's just an observation. Sachin always seems very uneasy when he gets all too defensive, because it's simply not his style. He's always been at his very best when he plays with flair and in a carefree manner- it's just the way he is. It's not a criticism of his technique- in fact, his manner of playing is what makes him truly unique. He just tends to get very affected by pressure, like a sponge that soaks in everything. Then again, we can't really blame him because he's not been keeping well. If he's trying a defensive technique to prove something to himself or sharpen his blocking/defending/leave skills, then that's fine... but I don't know if that's the case because you can notice the slump in his body language when he does that. He doesn't seem very comfortable the way Dravid does when he's in his Wall mode. I'm not trying to slag him off here. I love watching him play, and I believe he's a 100% when he's just himself.

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin must never become ultra defensive... it's just not his style' date=' and when he is not in his comfort zone, he becomes hesitant, goes into his shell, and becomes a very easy target. [/quote'] Exactly!! It happened in the first innings as well. His score was 32 off 36 balls at one stage and suddenly he went into a shell and got stuck at the same score for around 20 balls. Just as I thought he should get a move on, he was out.

[Lord]

lol at Sachin ant handle pressure.all his 99 tons have been under huge pressure.all his innings are under pressure. agree about yesterday,he was ultra defensive,maybe bcoz draw was the only result likely for us.I'm sure he'll do well in rest of the series

[CSK Fan]

You can see this difference clearly if you compare Sachin in such situations with Laxman. Laxman has a very uncluttered approach and plays all his shots. The Eden Garden innings is a prime example. Sachin is someone who actually tries to eliminate all his weaknesses and practise on them. He should recognise this weakness in his game. In the past, whenever he played good innings in such situations, they were all counter-attacking ones

[Sachinism]

Disappointed to see him go into his shell. That was never going to work

[deepak_sach]

Disappointed to see him go into his shell. That was never going to work

The God know when to do what.:two_thumbs_up:

[kabira]

its mindset. when you are not playing your shots, your footwork becomes tentative. Although he survived 60 odd balls he never looked comfortable. Heck Raina looked more assured than him. When Gambhir was there, he looked positive, that flick was terrific shot, the ball was coming in and he flicked from middle stump. Then Gambhir gets out and he totally changes his game as if he is batting with tailenders.

[Jersey #10]

Expect me to bump this sh!tty thread after or during the second game.

[King Tendulkar]

Expect me to bump this sh!tty thread after or during the second game.

Not if I get there first

[kabira]

anyone know what Sachin told Gambhir before Gambhir got out. Before that delivery Gambhir was comfortable against Swann

[asterix]

anyone know what Sachin told Gambhir before Gambhir got out. Before that delivery Gambhir was comfortable against Swann

Gambhir was coming out and playing agressively to Swann before that. In comes a defensive mindset Tendu, advices something to Gambhir, Gambhir playes a defensively next ball and gets out..

[Kookabura]

There is difference between 'burden of expectations' (which Sachin has everytime he bats for India) and 'pressure situation for the team' (which happens sometimes like when we are saving a Test match on Day 5). Sachin may handle the burden of expectations well, in general, but he does not handle the team pressure situations well. We saw that in the WC final and we saw it here at Lords (if it weren't for 5 dropped catches in Semis, his score would have been much less in SF as well). That doesn't take away from how good a batsman he is, but it does tell you how important the likes of Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh etc are/were to their teams

[pinkfreud]

Expect me to bump this sh!tty thread after or during the second game.

How typical. Are you too thick enough to understand this is not a Sachin-bashing thread? Oh well, dumb question. Guess you are.

[Lord]

There is difference between 'burden of expectations' (which Sachin has everytime he bats for India) and 'pressure situation for the team' (which happens sometimes like when we are saving a Test match on Day 5). Sachin may handle the burden of expectations well' date=' in general, but he does not handle the team pressure situations well. We saw that in the WC final and we saw it here at Lords (if it weren't for 5 dropped catches in Semis, his score would have been much less in SF as well). That doesn't take away from how good a batsman he is, but it does tell you how important the likes of Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh etc are/were to their teams[/quote'] team pressure situations?like 100 at Chennai chasing 387 against England,or the 100 @ Cape Town last year?or scoring a double against Aus? I think you r making too much of one failure.Sachin wasnt the only one who failed yesterday?