The Cricket Thread

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Are you ladies still cribbing about individual performances (or lack of it) rather than enjoying the game and the victory ? Too bad I missed it, but spending a holiday in Munnar is something I would do than watching a cricket match.

We all are enjoying the victory here McL but certain performances leave a bitter taste.

[MC Mayank]

NC is still very strong in his belief that we could have won this match without Sachin's innings

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by MC Mayank

NC is still very strong in his belief that we could have won this match without Sachin's innings

I would have preferred if Dhoni would have walked out at the fall of the 1st wicket. Atleast hopefully he would have crash banged his way to win and we would have won with 9 wickets and not 7.

But a WIN is a WIN. 3 Cheers to the Indian team - Hip Hip Hooray , Hip Hip Hooray , Hip Hip Hooray.

[rks]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

I would have preferred if Dhoni would have walked out at the fall of the 1st wicket. Atleast hopefully he would have crash banged his way to win and we would have won with 9 wickets and not 7.

That is an aggressive approach that Indians do not take; perhaps Aussies would have done that by sending in Gilchrist up the order (but probably not ahead of Ponting at No. 3, who is already a very aggressive player). The way Indians play is to first ensure that they cannot be beaten; once that is achieved, and only then, will they will go for victory. In this Test, since England got out very quickly, even a lead of 200 in the first innings could not guarantee that India would be safe from defeat. That explains the rationale behind the slow grind to 482; do not score too quickly because then England could have time to turn the tables on India by scoring a quick 400+ in the second innings.

That cautious approach could have denied India a victory if, say, half a day had been rained off on any of the final two days. Even without this a draw was on the cards when England had wiped out the defiicit of 282 with only 3 wickets down. At that stage England felt the loss of some good middle/lower-order batsmen that they had in the past (Flintoff, G.O. Jones, Giles) who could have taken England to safety.

In the final test at the Oval, India can again expect conditions favouring the seamers. Hoggard could be back, probably in place of Anderson. The Oval in the past used to favour the spinners also on the fourth/fifth days. One can expect a tough contest.

[Nitin]

I found the 'jelly bean' incident pretty funny.. too bad that Zaheer didn't take it as a joke.. But,at the end of it, they played well & i hope they repeat things to get a better win in the next test. Do they play some other local teams before the next test on Aug 9th?

[rks]

The Indians do have a game against some county before the final Test. I predict that the Indians, with the possible exception of Karthik and Dhoni, will play dour and defensive cricket when they bat in the final Test; the idea being to hang on to the 1-0 lead. This is something that Shastri has warned against and could amount to playing into the hands of the Englishmen. But our top batsmen seem to prefer this defensive approach.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Nitin

I found the 'jelly bean' incident pretty funny.. too bad that Zaheer didn't take it as a joke.. But,at the end of it, they played well & i hope they repeat things to get a better win in the next test. Do they play some other local teams before the next test on Aug 9th?

They play a 3 day game against Sri Lanka A

I think dada might sit out that match. Probably Dravid and VVS will find some form. SreeSanth will also do well to find some rhythm. Zaheer and Kumble deserve a rest. All this if it does not rain

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by rks

will play dour and defensive cricket when they bat in the final Test; the idea being to hang on to the 1-0 lead.

but ending up the series 1-1.

[msdivy]

India bat first. Wish they win series against England in England.

[normally_crazy]

YAAY !! Kartick gets to another 50. this boy is sure turning out to be a consistent performer. Guru Greg was right when he saw something in this boy.

[normally_crazy]

Its all set up the "BEST" batsman in the world. Dravid and kartick were going pretty fast - lets wait and watch

[normally_crazy]

Kartik is gone - was it Sachin who was responsible ?

[Surprise]

Sachin- 2 runs in 15 *****. Happy man u NC

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Kartik is gone - was it Sachin who was responsible ?

Iam on cric-info. Whats happening???

[lurker]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Kartik is gone - was it Sachin who was responsible ?

In a sense yeah, Sachin failed to rotate the strike and was glued onto the crease. Frustrated young Kartik