[iraghava]

I heard that the best batsman in world got out for a duck tonight too! Isn't that two ducks in a row?

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Deccan Chargers - The team management got carried away with I-CON players, misfits for captains.

IIRC, there are no ICON players in the DC team.

[diabloo]

They got the I-con status removed. But they couldn't do away with him (due to IPL rules framed by BCCI).

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

IIRC, there are no ICON players in the DC team.

[diabloo]

I am seeing that you have something against Sehwag. Are you plain jealous?

Originally Posted by iraghava

I heard that the best batsman in world got out for a duck tonight too! Isn't that two ducks in a row?

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Test cricket had made joke of spectators .

Last 30 days of cricket had more cricketing skills display than last 30 years of Test cricket .They are in background. Its cricket the winner.

You are joking right?

[diabloo]

I know it is the in-thing to say Test is great cricket, ODI is pyjama cricket and T20 is bikini cricket.
But I am not joking.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

You are joking right?

[Spitfire]

LOL... in-thing? No dude, i am not some punk who wants to look cool by bad mouthing this form of the game. What gets me is that having played cricket for 10 years and every shot that we have ever being told never to play(with some of the sickest bad words you must have ever heard) from the coaches, we see the exact opposite of it.

What i do like about this is players getting to mix with each other. When in your wildest dreams could you have thought that you could sit and play next to greats like Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, Mark Boucher, Sachin, Saurav and all the other greats playing. Forget about sitting next to them sharing the team room, the hotel, the bench, in my playing days i could have given an arm and a leg just for this, forget the money involved. Just this part has been a godsend for a huge number of junior players.

[maddy42]

Well NC i think laxman is an icon player as he didnt get selected.

Yesterday DC threw the match away with pathetic fielding and bowling. Venugopal rao showed good skill but that bowler got an unwanted hatrick
The batsmen threw the wickets away like what mr sidhu says a cycle stand

[rsjaurr]

Originally Posted by diabloo

I know it is the in-thing to say Test is great cricket, ODI is pyjama cricket and T20 is bikini cricket.
But I am not joking.

No,you ARE joking!!

To compare T20 with test cricket is an insult to test cricket and players like Dravid,Kallis,Ponting,Boucher,Laxman,Ganguly,Kumbl e,Gilchrist,Murli etc.

IMO the most obvious reason why we all have liked T20 is time slot it has got.We hardly watch a test match as we are usually in our offices or colleges.The other reason could be that it has glamour,its fast paced and great players from different countries playing under one roof.

And i agree with spitfire that it has given the younger players chance to sit with great players and learn from them.IPL has also given them fame,money and recognition for future.
We have all heard of V Rao,Raina and Yusuf Pathan but i am sure no one had ever heard of players like Dinda and Goni.

Without IPL these players may have never got fame and money and would have had to do some petty jobs for living as domestic cricket is doesn't guarrantte you food.

[F50]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well NC i think laxman is an icon player as he didnt get selected.

Well, I think Adam Gilchrist is more iconic than Laxman.
How can one select a player who plays few tests once a year that too only against Australia, doesnt know how to play one-day cricket and ask him to captain a T-20 side? Just beats me.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Yesterday DC threw the match away with pathetic fielding and bowling. Venugopal rao showed good skill but that bowler got an unwanted hatrick
The batsmen threw the wickets away like what mr sidhu says a cycle stand

Yeah it was really sad to see them fall apart. They were almost there. And rightly said "unwanted hatrick" none of the delivery was wicket taking ones, all gifted. Afridi is a talented guy but every now and then there are short circuits happening in his brain. Gibbs gave it away too.
Thats why a player like Shane Watson is very good. He knits the innings. Yesterday DC were in the same position as RR were few days back, 140 odd to get in 90 odd. RR won DC didnt.

[CaAT]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

What i do like about this is players getting to mix with each other. When in your wildest dreams could you have thought that you could sit and play next to greats like Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, Mark Boucher, Sachin, Saurav and all the other greats playing. Forget about sitting next to them sharing the team room, the hotel, the bench, in my playing days i could have given an arm and a leg just for this, forget the money involved. Just this part has been a godsend for a huge number of junior players.

Well said. It would indeed be a dream come true for the junior players and help them a long way in their careers.

No dude, i am not some punk who wants to look cool by bad mouthing this form of the game. What gets me is that having played cricket for 10 years and every shot that we have ever being told never to play(with some of the sickest bad words you must have ever heard) from the coaches, we see the exact opposite of it.

I understand the gist of what you are saying, but the game itself - especially the batting - has evolved so much from its early days.

When Ranjitsinghji invented the 'leg glance', he was frowned upon by the so called 'purists' in England. Later, it became one of the more elegant shots in cricket. Similarly, a lofted shot or a paddle sweep would be a strict no-no going by the cricket manual, but these shots are routinely used in test cricket these days.

Even the 'inside-out' shot over the covers, that VVS plays so beautifully against the leg spinners/left arm spinners, or the 'upper cut' that Sachin so effectively used in the first test against SA in 2001/02 (Bloomfontein) won't find a place in manuals. But then, like the game itself, batsmanship has also undergone a sea change. And some of it has been for good too.

[Spitfire]

@CaAt: I wouldnt call it evolution. How many of the strokes or stances can you really use to play normal cricket? Maybe then the argument could be only for T20 but then thats not the argument.

Batsman standing inside the crease - will anyone do it in other forms of cricket?

Will we now have coaching camps for T20 alone (with how to manage money classes thrown in).

Too much of a good thing is bad no?

And i think thats the reason why players like Dravid, Laxman and others find this form of cricket difficult to adjust to, they have spend their careers perfecting some of the shots they play. But then you could say what about Saurav and others, i dont know all i can say is they have adapted. Maybe to survive or to make money or maybe hoping they will get selected for national duty if you do well here.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Eddy

....
Do you guys think that Mallaya did the right thing by going public with his comments ? I mean, he could have had a private boxing match with Dravid. Going public has put a lot of pressure on the entire team and it was evident when they came out to bat.

Honestly, at this moment, I don't think anybody would want to be Dravid's shoes.
What can you do if your boss loses faith, loses trust, lose hope on you?

Mallya was part of the team involved in the auction and selection of players. It was within his powers to get the players he wanted. If he was in doubt, he should have opened his mouth and should spoken his mind. But he chose to keep quite. When things went wrong, he opened his mouth, put the blame squarely on Dravid. Like a brat-kid, he tried proving that it was not his fault.

Our former President Abdul Kalam says, a leader must know how to manage success, and even more importantly, failure. He also says that the best management lession he has learnt is, When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure, When success came, he gave it to his team. Mallya has failed miserable here.

Now the clincher:
Q: Would you like to work for Mallya?
A: Sorry, no thanks.

I guess that settles for Mallya.

[Hurrycane12]

Hope Mumbai come on top today; Bollywood will be divided with their support today between Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians

[maddy42]

I have great plans for today. Couple of beers plus unlimited support for mumbai as they take on my fav most hated team KKR. Would actually love to see some belly dancing like whats specified today. Go Mumbai ala re