I told you so ...

[The Outsider]

......I generally don't like people doing the "I told you so" jig, but can't help saying so here. To accommodate, an unproven, technically faulty batsman we made a hash of our batting line up and the results are there for all to see. What an embarrassment Dravid was opening the innings. It underlines the fact that solid technique, coming in within 5 overs anyway are arguments which appear good only on paper. He does not have the mindset of an opener and we have seen ample examples of it in the past. Cricket is not played on paper. Then we have our glue in the lower middle order, Laxman, being sent up. He is superb form but given the excruciatingly slow and painful starts he was unsure about the game to play. His 30s and 40s could easily have been 70s and 80s at his familiar position, where he has batted for years now. All for what - a batsman who has been a failure in tests on the whole till now and on the back of one innings against the likes of Sami, Arafat, Kaneria, and a washed up Akhtar dislodges two seasoned performers from their spots. That's not the way to win tests. If he wants to play, he must open or wait for a middle order spot to open up. Is it any surprise that our best batsmen in the test were seasoned performers who played in their natural and comfortable batting positions of 4 and 5? Not to me. This madness must be chucked immediately. Get Sehwag/Yuvraj to open at Sydney with Jaffer and let the middle order play in their positions. They are our only hope of salvaging something from the series.

[Guest HariSampath]

Sehwag to open...YES...but not Yuvraj...and Dravid certainly NOT to open...current team needs and Dravid's past record and present situation , merits a 5 or 6 slot...thats all

[The Outsider]

First priority should obviously be Sehwag, but if somehow the team management still thinks that Yuvraj HAS to play, then opening slot is the only place where he should be played. The Indian middle order and Kumble are the only reliable things about the team and one of them has been shred to bits by this lunacy to accommodate Yuvraj at any cost.

[Guest HariSampath]

there was no lunacy to accomodate Yuvraj....with a blazing 169 at 60-4 in the last test, he was always a walkin...rest was just the effort to accomodate Dravid

[kumble_rocks]

Looks like Yuvi indeed faltered to deceive this time around also ! While , I was advocating his return to the test side , it was for a short lease only . I still remember the last time around when he was accommodated in the England series in 2006 based on his alleged tremendous form in the prior Pak series and he managed a paltry average of only 21.33 . And what you sow is what you reap. I remember then skipper Dravid accommodating Yuvi over Laxman in spite of the fact that Laxman had a reasonable Pak series himself . And if this time around , if Dravid is at the receiving end , so be it. No sympathy from my side.

[novpj]

The only reason for MCG batting fiasco is poor form - Jaffer didnt click, Dravid is in horrendous form. I didnt see any impact on laxman from batting at no. 3 - frankly the argument that he was unsure of how to bat and could have scored more lower down smacks of intellectual dishonesty. The simple issue is that Dravid, Karthik and Sehwag are all in poor form. If you had to choose one out of these three who would it be? I would still bet on Dravid.

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

hahaha....here we again.....One Yuvraj made the whole batting lien get bowled for 156 and 196 or sumfin by coming at numba 6....wow what a solid ' I told you so ' statement.He will come good in the second test.

[Hawkeye]

I remember our brief exchange on this topic at the time and with the benefit of hindsight you are right that Dravid should not have opened. But hindsight is a beautiful thing. The problem was (and still remains) of identifying the correct opener with Jaffer and there was simply no better choice than Dravid although Tendulkar came close to it and again with the benefit of hindsight would have given that impetus at the beginning of the innings with runs on the board. You must bear in mind that nobody (not even you) anticipated that Dravid would have an innings comparable to his performance at the Oval this year. Remember that it was his negative mindsight coupled with some ruthless bowling which left him high and dry. I have no idea why Laxman was promoted to 3 when clearly the best batsman in the team (Tendulkar) should have been given that slot with Dravid's promotion. Yuvraj is simply not an option at the top for using your very own argument in the pre-match post, we should not have an opener with little or no experience in this position. Sehwag might be the solution but I suspect that he will pose too much of a risk and they'll settle for Karthik pushing Yuvraj out and hopefully bringing Pathan back. That said there's nothing like watching Sehwag smash a few to the boundary!

[Hawkeye]

hahaha....here we again.....One Yuvraj made the whole batting lien get bowled for 156 and 196 or sumfin by coming at numba 6....wow what a solid ' I told you so ' statement.He will come good in the second test.

You've missed the point about Swetabh's post which explains why Dravid opening was always a bad idea. As to Yuvraj, he is only part of the reason why India miserably failed in the 1st test but against the background of 1.) His inability to perform despite the team going to great lengths to accommodate his inclusion and 2.) The team's recent concerns about his attitude I wouldn't put much money on your namesake making an appearance at Wednesday's test.

[fineleg]

......I generally don't like people doing the "I told you so" jig' date= but can't help saying so here.

Most I told you so threads start exactly this way :P Good points made.

[fineleg]

Why dont we consider Hari's idea of dropping Dhoni, and getting KKD, and then Sehwag instead of Jaffer. Just to give the attacker + defender combo at top, and use this as an opportunity to get an all rounder IKP to strengthen batting and bowling. Hari's proposal: 1. Sehwag 2. KKD 3. SRT 4. VVS 5. SG 6. Dravid 7. Irfan 8. Kumble 9. Harbhajan 10. Zaheer 11. Ishant Sharma

[sm332]

i dont understand why we are keen on completely rejigging our lineup after one bad test ... some changes are needed however not as many as some are suggesting

[Bumper]

A no. of flaws in the reasoning of the OP: 1) Dravid is in pi$$ poor form at the moment. No matter where you put him, he is gonna sweat bricks. I dont buy this, he'd have done wonders if he batted at 3, argument. (What did he do in the 2nd innings, after seeing off the new ball ? 15 off 20 overs is just unacceptable) 2) The alternate opener Dinesh Karthik isnt in the form of his life. Nor is our FTB Jaffer, setting the world on fire. So no matter which guy you pick, he is gonna suck 90%of the time. The only gamble that makes sense is Sehwag, which is equally risky. So Dravid coming in, in the first 30 mins is almost a certainity 3) Yuvraj just played the innings of his career in his last test. You dont drop a batsman who scored a blazing 100 in his last test, certainly not for a failed & out of form DK. 4) The right time to talk about Yuvraj's performance is the end of the series. It is sad really, that in a gruelling tour where most of our top order fails, we are gonna make a bakra out of this man. 5) The reason we prodded around in the beginning, is because of : a) Lack of freebies from Aussie bowlers. b) Sluggish outfield = no easy boundaries c) Our poor running between the wickets. I dont see how playing DK, would have solved any of the above. Sehwag may have made a difference, with his tendency to go hard at the ball. But none of this is Yuvraj's fault.

[kabira]

Its common sense to promote your in form batsman..Our inform batters from last series are 1) Jaffer 2) Ganguly, 3) Laxman and 4) Yuvi.. I agree with OP, Dravid needs to bat at number 6. Laxman did good at number...lost his concentration but he looked in good nick..Ganguly looked good until he misread Hogg's bowling...Sachin was in tremendous touch in both the innings but one mistake he was out..Yuvi looked out of sorts...Dravid looked out of sorts.. Jaffer needs time to adjust to aussie pitches..He was the only guy who scored hundred on SA pitches...Aussie pitches are flatter than SA pitches. My batting order 1) Jaffer 2) Sehwag (if he clicks, aussie will not have attacking fields) 3) Ganguly 4) Tendulkar 5) Laxman 6) Dravid 7) Dhoni Bowlers

[Rajan]

Laxman is not our lower order glue.in fact he takes a single and goes to the other end exposing the tailenders.tell me how many matches has he stitched decent partnerships like Inzy or even Misbah did recently.He will run out of partners if he was batting at #6 as the aussies literally swept aside Yuvi, Dhoni, HS, RPS and ZK. after Kumble there was no one to hold the fort.let us admit it, there was no way he could have scored 70 or 80 instead of 30 and 40. Laxman has the most suitable technique to play in Aussie pitches and at #3 he is a very good option.

[kabira]

doesn't matter who bats at 3, I am fine with Laxman and Ganguly.. But please keep Dravid away from 1,2,3,4 and 5 positions.

[Rajan]

Whatever we discuss and hit out, I think Kumble is some one who sticks to " u cant write off a batsman with just one test in aussie conditions".so, i expect the same set of batsmen in the same batting order for Sydney. The news is that sydney pitch would be bouncier than usual. Dravid will find it suitable if the ball comes on to the bat better than the 2 paced MCG. Lets hope he provides the ideal start with Jaffer.

[The Outsider]

Bump for Morriz Mongia! :winky:

[Ram]

Credit to where credit's due! :hatsoff:

[achilles]

Jaffer :two_thumbs_up: