Does Rahul Dravid deserve an applause ?

[King]

I don't believe the captains make or mar a game but some on this forums aren't short of questioning his credentials as an able captain. His decision to bowl first in the first ODI was rightly questioned. Now for the second ODI, does he deserve credit for : 1. Sending Yuvi at no.3 2. Scoring quick runs and leading by example. 3. Playing 2 spinners (that pretty much won the game for India) despite fair bit of grass on the pitch. England played no spinners as they thought the ground was small and there was grass on pitch. Indian team management had better of England in this ODI. England misread the pitch completely even in the conditions that they are used to.

[gator]

yes he does deserve credit..... though, i believe point number 1 was long due.... Yuvraj had earned the right to play at 3 last yr when he was chalking up big 50s and hundreds consistently... Dravid has done terrific in the last 15-20 overs consistently over the past 4 yrs or so and he needs to stop coming in at 3 occasionally and keep Yuvi coming in at number 3...

[fineleg]

RD has become a great finisher. He has to bat after 30-35 overs. He should NEVER come before 25 overs in ODIs!

[Anakin]

I don't believe the captains make or mar a game but some on this forums aren't short of questioning his credentials as a able captain. His decision to bowl first in the first ODI was rightly questioned. Now for the second ODI, does he deserve credit for : 1. Sending Yuvi at no.3 2. Scoring quick runs and leading by example. 3. Playing 2 spinners (that pretty much won the game for India) despite fair bit of grass on the pitch. England played no spinners as they thought the ground was small and there was grass on pitch. Indian team management had better of England in this ODI. England misread the pitch completely even in the conditions that they are used to.

x2 :two_thumbs_up:

[Ram]

Did the spinners do well because there was something in the pitch for them , or England just played too badly ? That is something we have to consider. Hindsight is always a very good friend. If Flintoff had managed to connect a few in the middle overs against Powar or Chawla , we would all been been singing a different tune. Playing two spinners was a gamble that paid off, luckily for us.

[Donny]

Of course, credit for #2. #1 was obvious and #3, as m_m alluded to, was 2 hits short of being a disaster. Not sure RD deserves credit or criticism for either decision. Members in here were quick to defend him over his decision not to enforce the follow on in the 3rd. Test, pointing out it would've been a team decision. Or at least in consultation with senior players. Ravi, do you know if it's RD's call alone, on team selections ?

[chanakya]

whatever even if it was a team decision it was a good one. Two spinners though a risky was a very good gamble considering that the pitch was so flat.

[King]

Did the spinners do well because there was something in the pitch for them , or England just played too badly ? That is something we have to consider. Hindsight is always a very good friend. If Flintoff had managed to connect a few in the middle overs against Powar or Chawla , we would all been been singing a different tune. Playing two spinners was a gamble that paid off, luckily for us.

Strange you say that Sriram. You never gave benefit of doubt in the first ODI but weren't too happy Rahul Dravid didn't chose to bat first. Hindsight then also could have been used don't you think? :D Don't tell me KP or Freddi batted badly. DP got a beauty from Chawla. Ramesh Powar's variation was fantastic. I would rather give credit to the spinners for doing a good job rather than say England batters gifted their wickets.

[Ram]

Strange you say that Sriram. You never gave benefit of doubt in the first ODI but weren't too happy Rahul Dravid didn't chose to bat first. Hindsight then also could have been used don't you think? :D Don't tell me KP or Freddi batted badly. DP got a beauty from Chawla. Ramesh Powar's variation was fantastic. I would rather give credit to the spinners for doing a good job rather than say England batters gifted their wickets.

Ravi , if you read my post on the first ODI , you would see that i never singlehandedly blamed Rahul for his decison to make India bat first. I just said , it was one the big factors that cost us the victory. That India were 28/2 in 10 overs , in a chase of 289 only indicated how tough the pitch was for batting in the evening. Even , in the second match , i am not denying Rahul credit for his decision to include two spinners. All i am saying is - It could have worked both way. Fortunately for us , it clicked. Even if the english had swatted our spinners all over the park , i wouldnt have criticized Rahul. As Donny aptly put , his decision to include two spinners is not something either to be criticized or commended over the top.

[Chandan]

RD has become a great finisher. He has to bat after 30-35 overs. He should NEVER come before 25 overs in ODIs!

Even if the ball is seaming and swing alarmingly as it did at Lahore ODI last year??

[King]

Sriram, anything can have two ways to it not just this decision to play spinners. A player can or cannot perform. A team can or cannot win. The trend I see though is everyone is trigger happy to comment on captaincy and make a big hue and cry. Similarly when things worked out I don't see one poster that was having a go at the decision not to enforce follow on in the last test match or the decision to bowl first in the first ODI come up lauding Rahul (or the team management) for playing two spinners. The two spinners had major impact in the second game and that' can't be denied. If you think bowling first in the last ODI cost India the game then playing two spinners did win India the game. There should not be second thoughts about it. It's as simple as that. The suggestion "it could have gone other way" doesn't arise here at all.

[Ram]

Ravi , I am not in any way denying Rahul any credit that he deserves. All i am saying is - The way i look at it is , even if the two spinners had been mauled and england had won , i wouldnt have overly criticized Rahul. In the same vein , i wont go over the top and praise him now , since he won. Strategy can fail and succeed. It is something under the captain's control ? How can you equate it to a bowler/batsman coming or not coming good. Isnt that totally out of the captain's control ?