***Official*** India in West Indies

[Dasa]

Truly, all you guys deserve each other

Yes, we do. We really don't deserve you...

 

[SJS]

Yes, we do. We really don't deserve you...

Well said.

 

[Anil]

Give some credit to the Indian team too, Anil. Luck did not win the series for them. Bad luck prevented them from winning by a bigger margin.

i thought that was what i was indicating there...all along i was saying that they(as in the windies) were lucky not to have been down much earlier in this series...

 

[SJS]

i thought that was what i was indicating there...all along i was saying that they(as in the windies) were lucky not to have been down much earlier in this series...

Oh sh**. You are right!!

I am a tube light

 

[shankar]

Quite a few positives to come out of this tour I think - Jaffer, Laxman, Sreesanth and Munaf, and of course the performance of Kumble and Harbhajan away from home.

Were Jaffer and Laxman's performances really positives? They (everyone except Dravid actually) capitulated on the one pitch where they needed to stand up and be countered. The batting really looks very fragile at the moment.

 

[R_D]

"Harbhajan and Anil have always bowled well in tandem. Both bowled brilliantly and played a big part in the victory. In fact, it was a mistake in not playing Harbhajan in the first two Tests. Otherwise, India could have won the series stylishly with a handsomely bigger margin," the former left-handed stylish batsman said.

.

What part of Harbhjan being injured didn't your understand.. wasn't Harbhjan injured hence why he wasn't picked for the first 2 test matches and plus he wasn't in great form. He took 3 wickets in ODI's and he hasn't been too flash in test cricket.

You got the perfect name for yourself.. you really are a tool.

Rather than getting depressed why don't you enjoy the WIN. India's finally won a test series outside subcontinent in 20 years.

 

[silentstriker]

Were Jaffer and Laxman's performances really positives? They (everyone except Dravid actually) capitulated on the one pitch where they needed to stand up and be countered. The batting really looks very fragile at the moment.

The following Indian batsmen capitulated on that pitch (in bold):

Virender Sehwag
Wasim Jaffer
VVS Laxman
Rahul Dravid
Yuraj Singh
Mohammad Kaif
MS Dhoni


We are way way too reliant on one guy.

 

[adharcric]

JustFool

 

[adharcric]

The following Indian batsmen capitulated on that pitch (in bold):

Virender Sehwag
Wasim Jaffer
VVS Laxman
Rahul Dravid
Yuraj Singh
Mohammad Kaif
MS Dhoni


We are way way too reliant on one guy.

Yeah that is rather worrying, but all of the Windies batsmen failed too. A little consolation, but that's not close to good enough if we hope to be a strong team. Jaffer, Laxman and Kaif have the temperament to succeed in this type of situation I think, while Yuvraj has done so in Karachi. Still, potential doesn't mean much, we need results when it counts.

 

[silentstriker]

Yeah that is rather worrying, but all of the Windies batsmen failed too. A little consolation, but that's not close to good enough if we hope to be a strong team. Jaffer, Laxman and Kaif have the temperament to succeed in this type of situation I think, while Yuvraj has done so in Karachi. Still, potential doesn't mean much, we need results when it counts.

You're right in that most of the windies failed too. However, our strength is supposed to be our batting, and I don't think we can count ourselves amongst the best unless we can put up at least a decent score in all conditions. How will we handle the bouncy wickets in South Africa next?

Kaif may have the temperament, but I don't know if he has the class to play on such wickets.

Yuvraj, more and more, I am beginning to think, does not belong at the test level. Jaffer might, and lets hope these two innings were an abberation. But both times, he got out trying to play shots as if we were still playing in India. So I don't know if he has the class either, considering how rare such pitches are in India.

RIght now, the only 'sure' class players on such wickets would be Dravid and Tendulkar (when he gets back). The 'class' of other players on such wickets is either unproven, or proven in the negative.

On flat tracks, we play better than most and thats definatly a good thing considering the amount of flat wickets around the world these days, but if you want to win overseas you need two things (in this order):

1. Bowlers who can take wickets in all conditions and win matches.
2. Batsman who can score runs in all conditions so bowlers can with matches.

Frankly, I'd rather take a first innings score of 330 rather than 550 on flat wickets and 150 on bowler friendly ones.

We have Kumble in the spin department who can do that, but our pace attack is unproven and young. Plus, how long will we have Kumble anyway? A year? Probably two at the most. He's already almost 36.

And batting, as I mentioned above, I am increasingly worried about. I think we need to start preparing a lot more bowler friendly pitches in the domestic arena so people can learn to play in such conditions.


In any case, right now is not the time for such worries. I'm still very excited about the overseas win!

 

[Sanz]

What part of Harbhjan being injured didn't your understand.. wasn't Harbhjan injured hence why he wasn't picked for the first 2 test matches and plus he wasn't in great form. He took 3 wickets in ODI's and he hasn't been too flash in test cricket.

Yeah Right Bhajji was injured. Did you know that Bhajji was fully fit before the first test, it was only before the second test he had a slight groin strain ?

And also If that is not enough - I hope you read the Ravi Sawant's interview.

As for taking 3 wickets in ODIs and not being in great form in ODIs..How many wickets did Munaf and SreeSanth take in ODIs ?

 

[vic_orthdox]

Didn't Harbhajan (sp) and Pathan miss a Test because of a discipline thingy?

 

[silentstriker]

Didn't Harbhajan (sp) and Pathan miss a Test because of a discipline thingy?

Thats what I thought.

 

[SJS]

Didn't Harbhajan (sp) and Pathan miss a Test because of a discipline thingy?

I believe that is true though the management isn't going to go public with that irrespective of media noise on the selection flaws. Rightly so.

 

[honestbharani]

Great stuff India they deserved to win. Dravid is an absolute legend on the other hand Lara was dissapointing but one got to understand the guy is in his 37th year and a very small amount of cricket is left in him.

Not sure abt Lara being disappointing. I thought he captained the side he was given very well and had a couple of rough decisions and a couple of very good deliveries in the series. And in one of the innings he was going for broke as well. If I were a member of whatever side the Windies are playing next, I will definitely not consider Lara to be in poor form. In whatever opportunities he got, he was middling the ball pretty well. Even the last dismissal of his, we saw the ball kept a tad low, like what happened to Sachin in Mumbai or Karachi (not sure). NOt unplayable, but def. kept a bit lower than expected.


I think I will toe the line of Ian Chappell on this thing. He said that both sides would have positives more than negatives from this series and that is what I think too. India having gotten a monkey off their backs will be more relaxed now and the Windies, if they can sort out their selection issues, will feel that they have a core group which can help them be competitive at the international test level.

 

[Jono]

Well sections of the Indian media have now stated that Dravid is officially India's greatest batsman ever, jumping ahead of SG and SRT.

The legendary Gavaskar and current superstar Tendulkar have long been regarded as the greatest Indian batsmen, but Dravid appeared to have leapfrogged ahead in the eyes of the media.

If there were any doubts about Rahul Dravid being his country's greatest ever Test batsman, he dispelled them in the fourth Test," wrote the Hindu's cricket correspondent from Sabina Park.

The Indian Express concurred. "Let's say it once again here: Rahul Dravid is today the greatest batsman in Indian cricket, the finest in the world on all pitches," it said.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19668616-23212,00.html

 

[silentstriker]

Not sure abt Lara being disappointing. I thought he captained the side he was given very well and had a couple of rough decisions and a couple of very good deliveries in the series. And in one of the innings he was going for broke as well.

Bad decisions or not, but averaging 26 is dissapointing for someone of Lara's stature.

 

[silentstriker]

Chappell on Dravid:

"His performance on the tour was outstanding, particularly his performance in this Test match," said Chappell at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston. "If he would not have been Man of the Match, I would have been disappointed, His performance was critical - obviously Harbhajan, Kumble and the pace bowlers contributed - but on that wicket he was the outstanding batsman from both sides.

"He is continuously striving to get better; when he got out in the first innings he did not complain abut the wicket, he just said I should have been forward. It shows the mindset of the individual - wanting to get better and better. For our young batsman to have that as an example in this Test was just fantastic. We couldn't have had a better example of commitment, application, desperation, determination, patience and technique to cope with the difficult conditions than we saw from our captain. History will show that he is one of the best players for anyone, forget India, anywhere, anytime. He makes runs anywhere and does it consistently."

 

[marc71178]

Bad decisions or not, but averaging 26 is dissapointing for someone of Lara's stature.

If you get sawn off first ball every innings you average 0 - but that says nothing about anyone's ability.

 

[silentstriker]

If you get sawn off first ball every innings you average 0 - but that says nothing about anyone's ability.

Wait, what? Lara is an all time great. I simply said he's had a dissapointing series. I didn't say anything about his ability.

I am simply saying that if someone of Tendulkar/Lara/Ponting/Dravid's stature averages 26 over a four game series.....thats a dissapointing series by their standards. That's all.