[Nitin]

mclaren,i agree that a batsman doesn't have to walk away after he nicked the ball.. but talking about it immediately after the game made me feel that the guy didn't respect the honesty associated with the game.

If he were to talk about it after a week,it wouldn't have been as wierd as it seemed at the ceremony.Just my opinion..

I agree that Dravid should have been retained for the last ODI. It wasn't like KD Karthik was doing wonders with the bat.

[rks]

Originally Posted by Nitin

I found one thing really stupid.

Karthik comes on stage to receive the Man of the match trophy. Was there any need for him to acknowledge the fact that he did nick the ball? It made him look like a joker,for not walking away when he got out. Ponting even mentioned that 'it would have been nice if karthik had walked away'.

Everybody knew what the reality was. That is why Karthik admitted the truth. Otherwise you can bet that he would have denied having nicked the ball. You cannot expect the batsman to walk away, although it would be nice if he did. The argument against that is that they have to walk when wrong decisions are made against them.

What is really stupid is for the ICC to drag its feet on using technology for making these decsions, for purely non-technical and political reasons. A number of leading cricketers (mostly batsmen, possbly including Ponting) have opposed the introduction of technology to make these decisions. Obviously because the batsmen would stand to lose most from introduction of technology. After the introduction of Hawk-eye, it became very clear that batsmen routinely get away with many plumb LBW decisions going in their favour. Also some politics may be involved in trying to ensure some employment for ex-cricketers as umpires.

I think it is time for Dravid to call it quits and let Dinesh Karthik establish himself. You cannot judge Karthik on the basis of just one game, can you? He has shown the potential and performance in the past (under tough conditions in SA and England) and so deserves a sustained opportunity.

[Nitin]

Thats true, rks. Dinesh Karthik should be given ample number of chances to prove himself.

A couple of us were joking about how the tailenders won the game for us. A handy 21 by Murali & 31 by Zaheer.. Maybe the next experiment would be sending these guys to open the innings.

[mclaren1885]

Nitin, what do you think Karthik should have answered to Rameez Raja? No I didn't knick the ball? Blatently lie? I respect him for telling the truth. Not many players have had the guts to do that.

Just another small thing I noted today. Was watching some highlights of some old matches against the Windies during the Pepsi Cup. Robin Uthappa opening the innings didn't contribute much at all after being forced into the playing XI with hardly any experience. Now, after a year of "hanging around" with the team, senior members etc on the bench see how much he has matured in his batting. This is what I mean by learning from the rest. A big factor on why our youngsters should be "groomed" well like the Australian's do rather than just pushing them into the forefront and seeing them burnout. Prime examples being Parthiv Patel, Sanjay Bangar, Raina etc.

[Nitin]

mclaren,I rest my case.

Its a pleasure to watch Uthappa walk down the track and send the ball to the boundary,quite effortlessly. I found that wierd at first,since we've mostly seen people dance down the track. This was more like him saying.. ' aaja beta..either ways i'll hit for s 4 or 6'.

[diabloo]

Some interesting read Deepika says 'yes' to Dhoni

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

OT

Dhoni seems has taken a liking for Deepika Padukone. Do we see him get a medal at the Badminton WC's? Seems like these news channels have gone nuts.

[diabloo]

If this is true then ICC should take action against Kartik for showing the umpire in poor light. Kartik should have upheld the umpire's decision and refused to be drawn into controversy.
Note: kartik was on Neo Sports panel. Can't believe he got into trouble, being a media man.

Originally Posted by Nitin

Karthik comes on stage to receive the Man of the match trophy. Was there any need for him to acknowledge the fact that he did nick the ball?

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

You seem to think that its fashionable to criticize your own - a lot of people seem to do this. In my own very humble opinion, that is because it takes courage to back your own. The word that I really wanted to type instead of courage would be turned into asterisks by the forum.

True. Except they're not our own. They're the BCCI's own.

If India plays England, it is a match played by the official team of BCCI and not the official team of India

players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid play for the official team of the Board and are not the official team of India.

And the best for the last:

We do not even fly the national flag nor do we use any national emblem

Source

[diabloo]

BTW when did Uthappa 'hang' around?
1st time he made into the team, his performance was like 'flash in the pan'. So he was dropped. He did well in the domestic circuit and again he made into the team. This time his performance was better than before and hence he is still in the team. When did Uthappa 'hang' around?

Parthiv Patel: His keeping never improved. Now can be beat Dhoni, Dinesh Karthick at the job?

Sanjay Bangar: Batting allrounder, whose batting never clicked.

Raina: Yet to be 21, will make it to the team when the Fab retire.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Just another small thing I noted today. Was watching some highlights of some old matches against the Windies during the Pepsi Cup. Robin Uthappa opening the innings didn't contribute much at all after being forced into the playing XI with hardly any experience. Now, after a year of "hanging around" with the team, senior members etc on the bench see how much he has matured in his batting. This is what I mean by learning from the rest. A big factor on why our youngsters should be "groomed" well like the Australian's do rather than just pushing them into the forefront and seeing them burnout. Prime examples being Parthiv Patel, Sanjay Bangar, Raina etc.

[khaadu75]

Guys , can we just move on to the next game at hand .... ???

As for admitting to the nick .. good that he did -- the Aussies needed to know that he could have walked but he chose not to as Ponting himself has always supported the fact that no one should walk unless given out by umpire ( unless he meant that only for the Aussies ) !

Lets move to this evening guys and see if Team BCCI can whip Team Australia ;-) !! Should be 3 hrs of entertainment ....

[snaronikar]

Hope the entertainment will not be one sided. BTW what will be the composition of today's game? 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers?

Aussies will rightly show where we belong in today's game (i presume). It was a fluke we got through aussies in T20 w/cup. Wat say Guys?

[maxbhp]

In the post-match presentation, Ravi Shastri to Dhoni "Congratulations to you and the whole Indian team for winning this world cup. You guys have produced a great nail baiting show.. and deserves the cup. We welcome you to share the joy with us."



Dhoni "Thanks Ravi, the match was pretty close encounter between two great teams and our guys held the nerve to win the game and cup."

Shastri, "Who was the main reason for this thrilling victory?"

Dhoni, "All us played well but I would say the main reason and man behind this great victory is Ajit Agarkar"

Shocked Shastri..., "Agarkar ? ? .. how come Agarkar... he didn't played in the final"..

Dhoni, "Yeaph.. that's the reason we won this low scoring match.. if he could have bowled in final, Pakistan would have scored the winning runs from his 4 overs...."

Shastri, "ok.. fine, To whom you want to thank for winning this final..."

Dhoni, "The team doctor deserves the credit... he really helped us to prepare for the final..."

Shastri, "Is it? ?.... how the doctor helped to prepare for the final...

he is not the coach or physical trainer...Dhoni.. I am getting confusion"

Dhoni, "Ravi... nothing to confuse... he has failed Sehwag in the fitness test according to our game plan and we managed to pick a good playing team.. thus we weigh the doctor's contribution as very high...

infact its better than our team effort in the field.. our game tactic worked well"

Shastri, "To whom you want to dedicate this World Cup?"

Dhoni, "The entire team including myself wants to dedicate this cup to Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly..."

Shastri, "I really really appreciate you... its good that you have so much respect to the seniors....and you ...." Dhoni interrupts....

"Ravi.. let me complete... India would have exited in the Group matches if they decided to play in the series... thank god they opted out and we managed to play cricket and won the cup.."

Shastri, "The match was thrilling encounter and was concluded by a single mistake of Misbah.. Isn't it? "

Dhoni, "Yes you are right, after lofting the ball Misbah told me that he has sent the ball to where there was no one....but he didn't know that there is a malayali in every corner of the world.... This single mistake has coasted the game and won the cup..."

Shastri faints and Dhoni receives the CUP and thats the end of the great Twenty-20 world cup...

[rks]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

True. Except they're not our own. They're the BCCI's own.
Source

This source only addresses symbolic issues.

The BCCI is supposed to have objected to performance clauses in the contracts that players sign with their sponsors, for the following reason. Suppose for example, in a player's contract the sponsors tell him that with each 100, he will get x rupees. Then do you think that he would be interested in accelerating the scoring rate according to the team's needs? The sponsors do not care about the strike rate, they just want a 100 out of the player. Greg Chappell, just before he finally bowed out, alleged that our seniors are playing for their sponsorships rather than for the team. This should be investigated carefully and in my opinion, any contract that a player signs with either BCCI or private sponsors should be made available to the general public.

[snaronikar]

Aussies has won the toss and has elected to bat. Guess what will be the score? I feel should be around 180

[khaadu75]

So far the BCCI team has Ponting FLUSTERED ... lets hope they can finish it of !!!

Steer @ Where are you hiding or are you busy cheering them on ???