[Surprise]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Bring back dravid. At least for this series.

Khaleej Times Online - India have 'too many young players'

I guess a good balance of youth and experience is always welcome. In our teams, we try to have experience in important positions. This India hasn't got.

"We have not been playing anywhere near our best. It's about the time batters did so. We have been winning and getting bonus points and if our batters hit the straps, we would be very difficult to beat."

[diabloo]

Ponting is saying this for the heck of telling something to reporters. Oldies had their time and didn't do it. What can they do now ?
What about Sri Lanka? They have their share of oldies in the team and still they are last in the points table

Originally Posted by Surprise

Khaleej Times Online - India have 'too many young players'

[normally_crazy]

The younger players are the ones performing. Ishant, Rohit (barring yesterday's failure), Gambhir and the seniors amongst the young guns ( Sehwag, Yuvi, Sachin ) have so far failed to make any impression.

Take away Ishant and replace him with Munaf Patel / Praveen Kumar - get the picture ?

Gambhir and Rohit have performed better than Sachin/Sehwag so far. Dhoni is playing well too, better than Yuvraj at the moment. Pathan is doing good while Ishant is the star. Sreesanth looks a bit lost and Bhajji is doing quite ok though I would have liked him to bowl better.

So what is the problem with the younger players ?

That they do not WIN ? Well as diabloo pointed - with Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Laxman we did not get into the finals.

And yesterday Dhoni impressed me. He has a very good brain (street smart one). His field placings and bowling changes were spot on. Yes he gave Yuvi 4 overs but that was due to the slow over rate. And his batting was very good - we feel he has lost the ability to play the big shots but the way he batted yesterday was very good.

And he is decisive in his thoughts - he said it was due to Rohit's fault that he was run out. A brave thing to do or a foolish one (depending on how you look at it).

And for once I agree with Gavaskar for his views on Munaf. It was painful watching him try to field.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Khaleej Times Online - India have 'too many young players'

Arre ask POnting whether he knows how to bat ??? He cannot get to double figures and keeps talking about India's batting.

And what about his STAR batsmen ? Hayden, Gilly, himself, Hussey , Symonds - what have they done against India's "young" bowling attack ??

[diabloo]

'Ponting struggling with captaincy burdens' and who tells it? Its his deputy, Gilchrist.

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Arre ask POnting whether he knows how to bat ??? He cannot get to double figures and keeps talking about India's batting.

[rsjaurr]

Why blame the end result only on younger players when its seniors e.g.Sachin,Yuvi,Sehwag (3 most senior members of preset cricket team ) who are not doing that well.

BTW i do believe that likes of Raina,Venugopal Rao,Ishant,Rohit,Manoj Tiwary,Balaji,Pathan,Sreenanth can go very long way if (a big "if" though) they remain fit and properly taken care of by the board.

[diabloo]

India lost because they committed the blunder of the series - dropped the lucky mascot Sehwag. Team without Sehwag was a shot in the arm for the opposition and they bowled with multiplied strength. India must get Sehwag back and start winning.

[jraj]

Originally Posted by diabloo

India lost because they committed the blunder of the series - dropped the lucky mascot Sehwag. Team without Sehwag was a shot in the arm for the opposition and they bowled with multiplied strength. India must get Sehwag back and start winning.

and if he is not fit,lets open with Robin.He is being absolutely wasted at No7 position.Poor guy must be pretty confused now about his role in the team.

I dont know how many would agree with me.But why not select Kaif.He is back among the runs again and he has the experience of around 100+ ODI's as well.Is amazing in the field as well.He got a raw deal from the team management as well.Never really got as many chances as Yuvraj.

[suman]

BUMP! Wakey, wakey mates!

In the morning, when India had Australia on the mats, I was wondering where the hell were the cynics? Wow, there are here in plenty - all required for them to show them is a wicket of India to fall

And I'm wondering why all is so quiet today. The non-cynics are playing safe - no predictions. Come on guys, come out with some predictions - what's SL going to end up with?

Originally Posted by diabloo

Those who so feel oldies would have made any difference must have started watching cricket rather late, or their memory is short. Here is what the oldies combo - Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid & Laxman - have achieved in their peak:

Yeah sure, I think that you were in school when the 2003 WC happened - or perhaps cricket was not on your agenda in those days.

[Surprise]

Wonderful inning by Sangakkara and Jayawardene. They built a wonderful partnership slow but steady and pulled up SL from the disaster. Jaywardene has clearly mentioned that keeping wickets will automatically get runs and no need to scare about the scoring rate initially. He did the same with Sangakkara.

My guess: SL will score around 225

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by Surprise

My guess: SL will score around 225

Make it a little more: to 240~250.

[suman]

Yeah, I think 240-250 is on the cards provided they don't lose quick wickets now

Originally Posted by diabloo

What about Sri Lanka? They have their share of oldies in the team and still they are last in the points table

In case you haven't noticed, they've played one game less. Which is why India find themselves once again in a semi-final situation today

[diabloo]

Dhoni has gone into the match with negative mindset by dropping Sehwag. Since SL can't cross 250, Sehwag might not be needed. Other blokes can just manage.

Originally Posted by suman

And I'm wondering why all is so quiet today. The non-cynics are playing safe - no predictions. Come on guys, come out with some predictions - what's SL going to end up with?

2003 WC happened in South Africa. This series is going on in Australia. Oldies are like 'cat on hot tin roof' in Australia.

Yeah sure, I think that you were in school when the 2003 WC happened - or perhaps cricket was not on your agenda in those days.

[suman]

Originally Posted by diabloo

This series is going on in Australia. Oldies are like 'cat on hot tin roof' in Australia.

Yeah sure.

Man, make up your mind. When Dravid & Ganguly were dropped, you were all praises about "oldie" Sachin & were busy justifying his inclusion in the team.

Now, you are including him in your list of four oldies who were on a hot tin roof in Australia. This is just spreading Manure for the heck of it.

Lets talk facts here - the "youngsters" in question are Gambhir, Tiwari, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthapa, Raina - period! Lets look at their statistics collectively before we talk about cats on a hot tin roof. I won't even talk about Yuvraj because he's a veteran in the ODI team. And lets not bring the bowlers or their performance into it because Sreesanth, Ishanth etc were always part of the team for the ODIs

[diabloo]

Of the oldies, Sachin deserves his place in the team in Tests, ODIs & even T20. Not because he is a match winner, but he is a useful contributor to the team. Other 3 wanted a place in the team due to their past exploits.

Originally Posted by suman

When Dravid & Ganguly were dropped, you were all praises about "oldie" Sachin & were busy justifying his inclusion in the team.