[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by rovingeye

Unless a win is marketed with some amount of hoopla, the next fair-and-lovely contract will not come.

Agreed. Kohli has achieved what many Indian captains haven't been able to do in 71 years. And he has the bragging rights. It has not been done before, whereas India has won 2 ODI WCs.

Not taking anything away from the Indians, but I think we defeated the Australian team with the weakest batting lineup in decades.

Adding to my previous post, I think it is goodbye Saha and Vijay.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by mac187

- I hear that Aus fortunes will turnaround after Smith and Warner return? This effectively means that two guys is all it takes for a team to win!

- In the same breath we had, in an given team, atleast 4 greats and yet couldn't win in Aus. Doesn't this fact highlight what this team has achieved?

The major difference has been bowling. Any cursory look into the past shows that it was bowling prowess that was the difference between teams. The west indies had a devastating batting line up, but their bowling was just above anyone else. Same with the great Aussie team. They had great batsmen, but also had McGrath, Warne and good supporting cast in Lee and Gillespie. If we had the same bowling line up during the days of Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Sehwag, we would have been at the top and would have won lots of away series as well.

Our batsmen were as good as any in the world since decades. But away from home, we were, most of the times on the backfoot as our pace bowlers weren't as lethal and let the opposition to score huge runs. The pressure of scoreboard together with the knowledge that we may not be able to take 20 wkts puts a psychological barrier.

Ultimately a team has to take 20 wickets to win, as the opposition cannot lose even if they don't score more runs. This team has that killer edge with 5 quality fast bowlers in the squad and many others waiting in the wings. I would say that, if not for selection mistakes, the final 11 not the squad, we would have had a chance to win in SA and England as well. What I would give to have this pace bowling unit along with the quartet of Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Sehwag. The good thing about Kohli is he is good enough to demand a place even in that line up.

PS- An interesting stat. Australia doesn't have a century in this series. This might be the first time since I started watching cricket with more interest. Just cross checked, the highest score from an Aussie i.e., 79 in this series is also the lowest for a series of two or more tests in last 100 years. How the mighty have fallen.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

Ultimately a team has to take 20 wickets to win, as the opposition cannot lose even if they don't score more runs.

I agree, hence feel people are trying to underplay the significance of this win. Is this bigger than WC? I can argue both ways. Point is people don't seem content with things.

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

An interesting stat. Australia doesn't have a century in this series.

Would be interesting to see how the fortunes will change once Smith and Warner are back.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by mac187

I agree, hence feel people are trying to underplay the significance of this win. Is this bigger than WC? I can argue both ways. Point is people don't seem content with things.

Irrespective of how good or bad Australia are at the moment, this will be a great moment in Indian cricket. One reason why people, not all of course, are not feeling the impact or magnitude of this achievement might have to do with expectations. For the first time, there was a belief that we can win a series away, especially given the state of Australian batting and strength of our own pace bowling. The display of our pace men in SA strengthened that belief.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by mac187

Is this bigger than WC? I can argue both ways.

Why even bother to compare ? The situation and context are totally different (ODI Vs Test cricket). The 1983 world cup victory was a first time ever achievement that actually did a lot for our country - triggered massive interest in the game, helped move towards professional cricket and BCCI's and player's financial fortunes soared.

This test series victory is also to be cherished coming at a time when interest levels of spectators is waning in test cricket. This is again a first time ever achievement of winning a test series in Australia in 71 years..yes, it took us that long to achieve a test series victory in Australia

What is the need to compare or argue ?

[Eddy]

Not 1983.

The discussion started when Virat was asked to rate the WC11 and this win. He chose the latter.

No doubt 1983 was the biggest cricketing achievement of this nation.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Eddy

The discussion started when Virat was asked to rate the WC11 and this win. He chose the latter.

Ok, I was confused reading some other earlier posts.
I think Virat was right when he chose this test series win over the 2011 world cup. That win wasn't the first time India had won the world cup, first and last time for Sachin though.

[vibbs]

When Dhoni was asked after couple of his many whitewashes overseas, if this was lowest point in his cricketing career, he said no it was the world cup exit in 2007.
I disagreed with him then. India had never failed to compete so spectacularly as we had during those few overseas tours.

Today I agree with Kohli taht this test series win despite this being weakest Australian team in near past still ranks above 2011 WC triumph.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Not 1983.

The discussion started when Virat was asked to rate the WC11 and this win. He chose the latter.

No doubt 1983 was the biggest cricketing achievement of this nation.

Shastri after the series win - This win is as big as 1983 World Cup win if not bigger: Ravi Shastri



The series win is historic for Indian cricket, in fact for Asian cricket. The credit goes to primarily for Pujara's form & bowlers, particularly Bumrah. The weak Australian batting also helped.

Kohli contributed with his batting. But Shastri-Kohli have been making a series of blunders. This reflected in drubbing received in SA & Eng. Unfortunately, Pujara & weak Australian batting ensured Australia did not take advantage of the mistakes.

[kavensri]

Looking at the diverse opinion here, I am sure that not everyone will agree with what has been written here. But, still thought of sharing. http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/...-history-india

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Eddy

PS: Ignore what Shastri says, he is DUI most likely

Originally Posted by msdivy

Shastri after the series win - This win is as big as 1983 World Cup win if not bigger: Ravi Shastri

As I said earlier, he talks a lot of nonsense which we should ignore.

Edit:How bad was the Koffee with Karan episode with Pandya ? They've been issued show case notices for sexist remarks. From what I have been reading about Pandya's comments, he does owe an explanation. Anyone here saw the show ?

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Anyone here saw the show ?

I saw a part while flipping through channels. In fact I stopped at this channel to see how more outrageous it can get. I was actually more surprised with Rahul. I remember thinking how his middle class parents will react when they see this.
'No more hanging out with Hardik'

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Meanwhile, he also stated that the 'world is against you'. I was like Indian fans desperately wanted a series win overseas. I was rooting for them all the time, however when I see this constant boorish behavior and chest thumping is when I become indifferent.

Yes, that's a ridiculous claim to make. Almost everyone in the media has been supportive during this tour. They did get a few brickbats during the last tours to SA and England but that was primarily for their ridiculous selections in the first few matches of each series. Dropping Rahane/ Pujara and picking Rohit, really? The brickbats were well deserved though they also came with a lot of praise for the fight they showed on an unsafe pitch in the 3rd test in SA.

Originally Posted by kavensri

And if I really have to pick the test series, I would any day pick 71 series win against WI at the top of my list.

Wasn't that series won against a not so string WI bowling attack? I could be wrong though I somehow recall that Gavaskar made more runs against bowlers not named Marshall/ Garner & party.

Originally Posted by kavensri

This may be true while playing away. But when we play at home, I don't think toss matters a lot these days.

If the toss is creating such issues, the ICC should consider having the toss only for the first test and then alternating the decision for the remaining tests. Such that the captain who lost the first toss can automatically decide for the next test without a toss. Though it does impact heavily the team composition if you already know that the decision to bat/ field first is already with you. The toss is really a tough one to avoid, I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions.

Originally Posted by mac187

I think we should be happy with this win as Indian cricket fans. Sometimes, feeling good is completely upto us.

I am sure we all are happy with the win. It is the posturing which rankles. The sooner we get rid of the cheerleader the better for us. Whatever he is doing, he can do sitting in the commentary box too. Though he is a pain to tolerate there also.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Wasn't that series won against a not so string WI bowling attack? I could be wrong though I somehow recall that Gavaskar made more runs against bowlers not named Marshall/ Garner & party.

Agree that the WI bowling attack was not that great in that series, but their batsmen were still formadable. So, when Gavaskar made more runs than for example Sobers, that means Gavaskar must have been damn good in that series, right?
Then, 71 and 86 series against ENG also I would rate higher than the current series win.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

If the toss is creating such issues, the ICC should consider having the toss only for the first test and then alternating the decision for the remaining tests. Such that the captain who lost the first toss can automatically decide for the next test without a toss. Though it does impact heavily the team composition if you already know that the decision to bat/ field first is already with you. The toss is really a tough one to avoid, I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions.

There has been some discussion going on about toss. They want to get rid of toss completely and allow the visiting captain to give the option to bat first or not. But, even your idea seems to be good and something innovative. I just hope that they do something on this. Otherwise, most of the visiting teams to SENA countries will have tough time if they happen to lose the toss.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by Eddy

How bad was the Koffee with Karan episode with Pandya ?

It was a shitshow from get go. The implied jokes from Kapil Sharma show were explained, dissected and cheered by the host. Worst was Pandya trying to act cool and explaining his 'routine' and 'conquest' like a frat boy. It showed Indian cricket team in bad light.

Oh, almost forgot, he mentioned that Kohli is a better batsman than Sachin.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

The sooner we get rid of the cheerleader the better for us.

Kohli-Shastri are clearly about starching each others backs. As I mentioned before, a weak board only makes them stronger, this doesn't bode well for Indian cricket. This duo doesn't like to be questioned, atleast the way they reply isn't civil. We can expect more hair brained decisions in the future.

[libranof1987]

There seems to be a serious reprimand for these two. Rightly so.

The Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai on Thursday recommended a two-ODI ban on India players Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul for their controversial comments on women in a TV show but fellow COA member Diana Edulji has referred the matter to the BCCI's legal cell.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/67467673.cms

Originally Posted by Eddy

How bad was the Koffee with Karan episode with Pandya ?

Originally Posted by mac187

It was a shitshow from get go

Didn't watch the episode but followed an excerpt from the interview on news reports. Pretty despicable language and mentality from Pandya.

To each his own but rarely do we see a high-profile national figure be so crass. Instagram, all his "airport looks" all reek of highly arrogant and childish mentality. Rahul, especially, surprises me. He has a very lousy performance to back up his antics.

Imagine the face-palm the likes of Dravid, Kumble, Laxman are doing right about now.