• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Do you agree with Ganguly??

Choora

State Regular
India 'can be number one'


Man-of-the match Dravid scored the winning runs
India captain Sourav Ganguly said his side's historic Test win against Australia in Adelaide could be a stepping stone to greater things.
"I said before that we are the second best side in the world," said Ganguly after Australia were beaten by four wickets on Tuesday.

"But if we can win this series then we definitely can be number one."

"This was our Test. I think we played better than them in the last three days of the Test and deserved to win."

It was the first time in 22 years India had won a Test in Australia and only their seventh victory in the last 69 matches away from home.

Ganguly is well aware of that fact.

He went on: "We are almost unbeatable at home but we haven't played well overseas."

They may not look like it from the outside but they're pretty tough characters

Sourav Ganguly

"We've started to play well over the last two years but we also knew we had to do something special to beat this side [Australia]."

India seemed to have no hope of winning the match after Australia racked up a daunting first innings of 556 before reducing the tourists to 85-4.

But they turned the match around with a 303-run partnership by vice-captain Rahul Dravid (233) and VVS Laxman to get within 33 runs of Australia before Ajit Agarkar took 6-41 to skittle the home team for 196.

Ganguly added: "There are some characters in the side, they may not look like it from the outside but they're pretty tough characters."

Ganguly expects the Australians to respond with some tough cricket of their own.

"We have to lift our game, this is a four-Test series not a three-Test series," he said.

"We know that they're going to come hard at us but also we know that we can beat them."

India, in a similarly unlikely performance, came back from the dead to win the second Test at home two years ago before taking the series 2-1.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I agree that India is potentially a very good side, but I don't think they are number 2 in the world.
 

Salamuddin

International Debutant
If you're talking about one dayers, then India has a case for calling themselves the number 2 side in the world.

With tests, well as I said before Australia are still streets ahead of everyone else.

But after them I think its pretty close between RSA, NZL, IND, Pak and ENG. RSA and NZ are probably 2 and 3 on current form but if India can cause another shock by winning at Melbourne or Sydney they probably deserve to be ranked higher than their official rating of six.
Similarly if Pakistan can win the series in NZ, they should move up.

However I do expect India to improve their official ranking over the next 2-3 years -- they've got some good bowling talent back at home which will help them win more tests overseas in thge near future.

So, not yet Mr Ganguly but maybe so in a short while.
 

masterblaster

International Captain
Interesting comments really. One should always be humble and gracious after such a victory.

We were 4/85 at one point, and it was highly likely that the match would've finished on the fourth day. So India is lucky to come out of it.

As for number 2, I disagree with that, we may have the Number 2 Batting Lineup in the world, but our fast bowlers are very, very poor with the exception of Zaheer Khan and sometimes Ajit Agarkar.

Our fielding is still not up to scratch with guys like Nehra, Ganguly and Harbhajan being pathetic really. The consistency to be number one or number two isn't there yet.

India has been doing well, but they really need to do better. If India win 17 tests in a row and start beating everybody in foreign conditions then I will say that they are the best.

Currently I would rate India at about Number 4 really, behind Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

So to sum it up, I don't really agree with Sourav. He should focus on winning this series first, before saying something he might end up regretting.
 

amits

Banned
i fully agree with ganguly.

we have the best batting line-up and the 3rd best bowling line-up and v r the 2nd best team. once v win the series, v will surely be no.1.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
How is it possible to be the 2nd best test side in the world without winning any series overseas for ages?
You can win all the series you like at home, but good sides win the tough matches overseas & India have yet to do that (Yes, even in Australia despite being 1-0 up).

I see that if NZ beat Pakistan in the test series they will move up to #2 & that would make the forthcoming series between NZ & S.A a justifiable series for the outright 2nd ranked team in test cricket.
I think there are 2 outright teams at the moment in Aus & S.A.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
I struggle to recall the last time NZ lost a test match..it was problably that ill-fated tour to Pakistan last year.

Sure NZ draw alot of series, but no wonder...playing 2 match test series is a disgrace.

Recent results: 2001 onwards
Drew 0-0 v Australia (3 match series)
Drew 1-1 v England (3 match series)
Won 2-0 v Bangladesh (2 match series)
Won 1-0 v West Indies (2 match series)
Drew 0-0 v Sri Lanka (2 match series)
Won 2-0 v India (2 match series)
Drew 0-0 v India (2 match series)
Lost 0-1 v Pakistan (2 match series, 2nd match abandoned)

NZ can debate they could have drawn that series v Pakistan, but they got annhilated in that 1st test match so all signs were pointing to a 2-0 loss.

Look at how many 2 match series NZ are playing..its a disgrace for a test side that has recently been ranked 3rd.
 
Last edited:

Salamuddin

International Debutant
Are RSA really that a good a team ?

When RSA came here in late 2001, they were billed as a side capable of genuinely competing with Australia for the world no 1 spot.
Nothing of the sort ensued - Australia absolutely annnihlated them both here and in RSA.

I saw them in England -- they weren't all that impressive and they subsequently lost in Pakistan to an emerging Pakistani outfit.

Kim Hughes was correct in one sense -- NZ (with Shane Bond) are probably a more worthy no 2 than RSA.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
jamesryfler said:
Kim Hughes was correct in one sense -- NZ (with Shane Bond) are probably a more worthy no 2 than RSA.
Certainly not! But it is 1:10 am here now, so I will elaborate at a less cursed hour.
 

Linda

International Vice-Captain
I dunno, look what they did to the Windies (besides THAT over, of course ;)) especially in the 2nd Innings. I was quite impressed. I didnt see it, but the highlights were enough, haha.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
New Zealand will have to play bloody well against South Africa..with or without Shane Bond.

South Africa have (along with Pakistan) been our worst nightmare over the last 8 or 9 years in tests. So if NZ pull off a test series victory over South Africa it'll be some achievement.

Right now...I still think South Africa is ahead of NZ in test matches.
 

Linda

International Vice-Captain
Hey, when Bangladesh were here they were saying that it took how ever many years to actually win a test match (like Bang)... how many was it (if you can bear to say)? They have improved a tonne then!:P

Just shows you, one day the Bangers could be up there.
 

warrioryohannan

U19 Cricketer
amits said:
i fully agree with ganguly.

we have the best batting line-up and the 3rd best bowling line-up and v r the 2nd best team. once v win the series, v will surely be no.1.
3rd best bowling line up?How exactly??


I think on current form India looks stronger than the likes of RSA and NZ, though they will have to do well in overseas tours consistently (and not just in 1 series) tomove upto 2 spot!
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
But your judging India's 'current' form on just 1 match...what happened before that?
They lost 2-0 in NZ (yes albeit on pitches that offered nothing for batting), drew a match that arguably they should have won in Ahmedabad & narrowly avoided defeat in Mohali.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
However I won't deny that India's achievement in Adelaide was outstanding & they're taking a big step in the right direction in their goal to at least become #2nd ranked test playing nation.
 

warrioryohannan

U19 Cricketer
Actually you have a point, i do think India played well in both the first two test matches of this series, but the series is far from over, so it was premature for me to say that India is better than others.
Before this series India's performance in tests was poor, i just hope that won't be the case in future.
 

The Argonaut

State Vice-Captain
Ganguly's comments can be written off as being stated after the euphoria of a win against the best side in the world. Even if India wins the series there is no way that they could be considered the best side in the world. They must win more away series as Australia has done to prove themselves. A win in this series would probably lift them to number 4 behing Aus, SA and NZ.

Don't get me wrong it would be a great start for India's march towards number 1 but they need to play this type of cricket for the next 2 or 3 years before it is so.
 

roofromoz

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
"But if we can win this series then we definitely can be number one."
Yes, they CAN be the number one side, they definitely have the artillery in their batting line-up, however, they have to be able to win more away from home (their current record is shocking), and I think they are at least one quality pace bowler short (Zaheer Khan is a genuine talent, Agarkar needs to produce his Adelaide efforts a lot more often, and Asish Nehra can become a great bowler). If those three can live up to their potential, more often, along with Kumble and Habharjan, they will be an awesome team.

It may take a while, but it can be done. They definitely have the base to become a super-power... maybe this series will be a turning point, just like the Ashes in 1989 was for us.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Mr Mxyzptlk said:
Certainly not! But it is 1:10 am here now, so I will elaborate at a less cursed hour.
Reasons why South Africa is better than New Zealand (w/ Bond):

1/ SA has two stable openers who form a very good partnership. New Zealand has one and no partnership.
2/ Gary Kirsten is statistically a better batsman than any of the Kiwis, bar Richardson.
3/ Jacques Kallis is the best allrounder in world IMO and at the very least is leagues ahead of New Zealand allrounders.
4/ Mark Boucher is a better batsman than Hart and McCullum and is a far better keeper than McCullum.
5/ New Zealand have one world class bowler and a few good bowlers. In Pollock and Ntini, South Africa have two world class bowlers.
 

Top