Sanz said:
Agree with everything. but isn't reaching 13 or 15 finals in a row a success ? We did lose most of those finals, but by no means I would count that as poor ODI performance.
One has to also keep in mind that in a lot of those finals, we met an all time great ODI team.
No you're correct, and 'sucked in ODIs' was far too harsh asI don't think India were as bad in ODIs from 2002-2005 as the ODI ratings suggested, but that being said they were ranked 7th for a while, and that's poor. They always were a talented ODI team who looked on paper like they were 2nd or 3rd best in the world, and they showed that by often getting into ODI tournament finals, but they just didn't take the grand prize enough unfortunately.
But you get my point though. India's most successful period in recent times, i.e the Ganguly era, is much more known for its test success than its ODIs.
silentstriker said:
Maybe I should rephrase. When I say ODI, I mean the WC and other tournaments...but especially WC. Both of us have only anecdotal evidence to back up our claims, but I am certain that a WC victory would be more celebrated in India than any test series win, anywhere, at anytime, against any opponent. Period. I would be suprised if you disagreed with this.
A WC victory more celebrated in India than any test series win? Yep you'd be right there. But I'd suggest, and I honestly have no way of proving this so this discussion will lead no where, but I suggest that as captain of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid would
at least be as happy with an
AWAY test series win to Australia than a WC victory. That's just my opinion, but the sheer delight India showed when they came down here to Australia and not only won a test but competed the whole series was amazing.
A WC win would do wonders for India, and I'm sure the general consensus of fans would appreciate that more than an away test series win over Australia. I'm not so sure Rahul Dravid and the rest of the Indian team would though. It'd be pretty damn close.
Fact is, a test cap means more than a ODI cap. Not just in Australia and England, in Asia too. And if having the honour to play in a test match for your country means more to one's self than playing in a ODI, surely victory in a test series against the best in the world in their own backyard would at least equal the honour of conquering the world in ODIs?