[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by khaadu75

also i see mclaren , what makes you say that Yuvi shud be dropped ?? Who wud u want to fill his slot -- or do you wanna drop him , fill his slot with some guy who may and just may after a few yrs of persistence perform the way Yuvi does !!

Yuvi cannot be replaced !

The other thing is the I luv the concept of ICL ... if this league does come up -- then we just may see a lot more players coming up the ranks !! Due ti ICLs formation -- th BCCI overnight raised the money for local players .... with coffers over flowing this should have been done ages ago . If a player at the age of 10-11 can dream of surviving on the money made from playing cricket , then he would follow it more diligently .... and that in the long run is gonna be beneficial for the Men in Blue ( if they stay at blue ) !!!

This needs to be worked upon. getting money from cricket and surviving on it - well then ads will come along and all the cricket wicket goes out of the window

he just might have decided to retire in a Flurry of big shots , knowing he has nothing to lose at all ...

That would be the best gift he could give the country and the crazy fans. He has always looked good when he tries and dominates.

As for blaming them for sticking around ..... if they really had their self interest in place , they wudn't have OPTED out of the 20 - 20 world cup !! Just goes to show that they do have an interest in the fuiture of the team .... unlike what a lot of ppl may think or feel !!!

Khaadu, they have opted out of the 20-20 , but it could be they would be caught out in a tournament like this with the fielding / running between wickets / catching etc and thats why they sat out ? I know now you will say I am a cynic

[khaadu75]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

.


Khaadu, they have opted out of the 20-20 , but it could be they would be caught out in a tournament like this with the fielding / running between wickets / catching etc and thats why they sat out ? I know now you will say I am a cynic

.. U bet Im going to call you a cynic !!!

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Saazid Uncle

also i see mclaren , what makes you say that Yuvi shud be dropped ??

Arey baba. I don't want anyone dropped. I am not the management. The point I was trying to make is that if the FAB 4 have to be dropped for inconsistent performances then Yuvi should get dropped to. Since everyone were pointing out the fact that only the Fab 4 were to get dropped. We all know Yuvi plays as inconsistently as the Pakistan team in itself. On his day, he is a touch apart.

Originally Posted by normally cynical

Yuvi cannot be replaced !

Abba, I have been trying to tell the same thing for over a month now. But in this case about the FAB 4. No I will not argue this with any of you. There is just no talent YET to replace them.

Also, do realize that this new found confidence in Karthik needs to last a longer time before saying he should be a permanent player, or taken in place of Ganguly etc. We Indian's have always made a mistake of upholding someone after a brilliant performance in JUST 1 SERIES and make him feel like GOD. Then you see the usual HYPE around him, not to mention the million dollar commercials he gets into. Look at Dhoni for eg. He is all over the TV.

A player should be considered fit to be in the team only if he showed a good performance over a period of time, not just one series. So, lets stop drawing too many conclusions right now.

[Surprise]

ENG were 281/8 in 50 overs with Bell top scoring 79 off 89 deliv. Powar the pick of the bowler with 45-2 in the alloted 10 overs.

Let's see how sachin and ganguly open the innings. i pray not to go for a very cautious start and loosing wicket while settling down.

[mclaren1885]

That little kid Piyush has a very good head on his shoulders. I just pray that our press, fans just don't create the unnecessary hype around him. He just needs to be left alone, groomed, trained well and protected from injuries. He has a very bright future. He will surely make India proud, if he is handled well.

I just noticed that Munaf concedes not only a lot of runs from his own bowling, but also ends up giving at least an over extra in no *****. Not to mention the extra runs that the opposition makes of these extra *****. Then to add to injury, everytime the ball goes to him in the outfield its but understood that the batting team will eventually get at least 1 run extra. So if he concedes 50 runs in 10 overs + add another 10 runs from the extra over he gets the opposition + another 10 runs due to his brilliant fielding I think India really doesn't need a strong opposition. And then, he is the most unfit player in the team. He probably is the most hyped bowler ever in Indian team. He came with the tag of being express fast, but is nowhere near close to fast. Let alone express.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

That little kid Piyush has a very good head on his shoulders. I just pray that our press, fans just don't create the unnecessary hype around him. He just needs to be left alone, groomed, trained well and protected from injuries. He has a very bright future. He will surely make India proud, if he is handled well.
....

Does anybody remember a certain bloke called Irfan Pathan? Where is he now??

[rks]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Does anybody remember a certain bloke called Irfan Pathan? Where is he now??

Munaf Patel showed glimpses of his best in the previous match. He needs to get match-fit after a long lay-off. Bowling in the nets is not enough. Munaf is a valuable prospect for India and I hope he is not mishandled like Pathan was. Piyush Chawla also looks good and could follow Kumble into the Test team. But he has a long way to go and only time will tell whether he will develop and sustain the skills needed to survive at the international level.

[Surprise]

Sachin got out. I guess none of this 90's recently scored came while chasing.

Second innings blue's certainly a black mark in his cricketing show

Edit: Hmm...... KARTHIK GOT PROMOTED TO DOWN-1

Edit-1: Kathik was out for a duck

[Surprise]

posted twice-pls delete

[rks]

India need 133 runs to win off 18 overs with 4 wickets down, Yuvraj and Dhoni batting. These two guys need to play to their full potential to pull this one off for India. Tendulkar 8 (19), Ganguly 72 (104); too slow, yet agian. Dravid cleaned up the mess and gave India some hope.

[mclaren1885]

So the Fab 3 seem to have done their part (however annoyingly slow they might have played, they maintained a similar RR to the Englishmen). Maybe, Karthik was asked by the captain to get out in that fashion for a duck . Now, the youngsters have the perfect platform to take it from here. Lets see how it goes.

Originally Posted by rks

Munaf Patel showed glimpses of his best in the previous match.

Just GLIMPSES are not enough. Sourav, Dravid, Sachin too have shown glimpses of their best in the one day series from a couple of shots. That has not stopped us from criticizing them. Same should apply to Munaf.

[rks]

All over for India. Dhoni, Powar and Chawla just gifted away their wickets due to the pressure of the asking rate. They should have tried to give the strike to Yuvraj instead. Anyway, Powar was again brilliant as fifth bowler. His bowling performance easily covered up for the absence of a regular batsman.

[mclaren1885]

So much for giving chance to youngsters! First RP drops a dolly. Then he misses a run out. Karthik tries a Jonty and misses another run out. Sloppy fielding by almost all. Then Karthik gets out for a duck. Dhoni & Powar are equally disappointing. Yuvi gets cramps the minute he realizes he is out of partners and subsequently commits suicide. It was a day of let downs by our youngsters.

Lets not kid ourselves into saying that the Fab wasted too many ***** etc. They maintained a net run rate which was as good as England's. If the English youngsters could do it why not us? I have seen people like Kanithkar, Yuvi, Kaif, Dhoni and many more pull India out of far worse situations than these. So that would really be the lamest excuse to back up the poor performance.

This is the reason why Dravid always insisted for more number of batsmen. Our batting is only next to Pakistan Cricket team in terms of inconsistency.

On the other hand hats off to the Englishmen for their wonderful performances. First off with Ian Bell, that kid surely is the top contender for the MOTS award. Then the brilliant fielding by the whole England team. Ian Bell will easily win the MOTM award IMO.

[rks]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

This is the reason why Dravid always insisted for more number of batsmen. Our batting is only next to Pakistan Cricket team in terms of inconsistency.

Powar picked up two wickets (Cook and Collingwood) and conceded only 45 runs in 10 overs. Powar was the fifth bowler and cannot possibly be dropped after his outstanding performance in the first two games. If Munaf is dropped, we will pick another paceman because under English conditions we need at least 3 seamers. So who should replace Munaf? Probably Agarkar. Other bowlers justified their selection. Munaf may need some more time to get fully fit.

I think other than that change (possibly), the same team should play. It would be folly if India pick another batsman in place of Munaf. Out batting failed us miserably. Karthik had a bad day, that's it. You cannot expect him to deliver match after match. I still maintain that he should open. And as I said, Dhoni, Powar and Chawla need to be more responsible and not give it away. I am sure they will come good. You cannot compare youngsters with the Fab 3, because the youngsters have a future potential, while the Fab 3 do not. The Fab 3 will be judged purely on the basis of their current performance because they no longer have much of a future potential.

Why couldn't Ganguly increase the scoring rate even after he got to a decent start? India were chasing 282. In a one-day game, any number of batsmen can play defensively and succeed; there are no bouncers allowed, not too many close-in fielders and so on. At least after getting off to a start Ganguly needs to increase the scoring rate so that there is less pressure on the other batsmen and they too can take some time to settle down. Same applies to Tendulkar.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by rks

You cannot expect him to deliver match after match.

Exactly my point. The same applies to every other member of any team. Not just Karthik.

Karthik had a bad day, that's it.

Are you willing to expect the same excuse for the FAB 4? I bet not. Some have just a bad day, others have a bad series. And this is not only with Indians.

while the Fab 3 do not.

Haha. All thought Ganguly was out of the team for good. That he had no future left. See what he has shown us all. If it wasn't for his consistent 30 or 40's India would be in deeper mess than they actually are in. And now there are talks going around that Ganguly should be back as the captain. Lot of them judged that Dravid had no future potential in One Day cricket when he started off with this career. He certainly has proved them all wrong. Its just a matter of time. These players know best when to hang up their boots. So shall we allow them to take a call?

Why couldn't Ganguly increase the scoring rate even after he got to a decent start?

For that you need to be a true sport and appreciate the fact that the Englishmen bowled well. They made a quick turn around in their strategy and started to bowl short of a length. When they pitched it up, Ganguly gave them the treatment they deserved. Collingwood bowled brilliantly. So did Broad & Anderson. Have you ever given them their due credit for brilliant performance rather than criticizing the Indian's for poor show?