***Official*** IndianOil Cup in Sri Lanka

[Jono]

A lot of peopel seem to think India should play 5 bowlers for the remainder of this tournament which i probably agree, but when Tendulakar returns and get India's ODI side back to full strenght would that be the best option???

Because u have blokes like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif, Dhoni who have to play so how are you going to fit a 5th bowler in???

Get Yuvraj out of there as far as I'm concerned, at least temporarily till he begins to utilise his talent. Past year and a half he's been horrid.

Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Dravid
Dhoni
Kaif
Pathan
Harbhajan
Kumble
Zaheer
Nehra

You could put Agarkar in there instead of Kumble for the 5th over, and switch the batting order however you like. But that team is our strongest ATM with Nehra in the form he is in. Raina is a future talent no doubt, but when Sachin is back I think he'd have to give way along with Yuvraj.

EDIT: Sorry for some reason I left Harbhajan out of the team and had 7 batsman again and only 4 bowlers, must have gone brain dead. Anyway.

 

[Dasa]

A lot of peopel seem to think India should play 5 bowlers for the remainder of this tournament which i probably agree, but when Tendulakar returns and get India's ODI side back to full strenght would that be the best option???

Because u have blokes like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif, Dhoni who have to play so how are you going to fit a 5th bowler in???

Yuvraj and Kaif are expendable out of that lineup, although I'd give Kaif a bit longer.

 

[SJS]

Get Yuvraj out of there as far as I'm concerned, at least temporarily till he begins to utilise his talent. Past year and a half he's been horrid.

Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Laxman
Dravid
Dhoni
Kaif
Pathan
Kumble
Zaheer
Nehra

You could put Agarkar in there instead of Kumble for the 5th over, and switch the batting order however you like. But that team is our strongest ATM with Nehra in the form he is in. Raina is a future talent no doubt, but when Sachin is back I think he'd have to give way along with Yuvraj.

India are in a big fix right now. They do need the fifth bowler it would appear but their batting is looking so brittle too.

Some wishful thinking

• Kumble and Zaheer start geting useful runs in the lower half to bolster Irfan.
• Dhoni shows some batting consistency or India finds another Gilchrist
• Dravid improves his keeping skills. (as of today he is only 20% better than Dhoni)
• Laxman plays one dayers in the test mode (which for him means playing strokes)
• Sehwag stops playing in the one day mode (which for him seems to mean do the bowlers job for him)
• Ganguly stops trying to make a point to the Asian selectors and score some over the new cricketing dispensation in India
• Sachin get back his old elbow, his old form, his old confidence, his old everything
• Harbhajan stops abusing the batsman, the world, the crowd (or whoever he does) as son as he gets a wicket and smiles and starts thinking of where he is going to bowl the next ball since the fight is unfinished yet.
• Dravid realises that he isnt doing a terrible job on the field but he would be better off a bit more relaxed and that smiling relaxes the facial muscles
• Kaif and Yuvraj realise that careers and reputations of seniors like Sachin, rahul and saurav are not built around asingle-handfull of innings irespective of what besotted fans and 'knowledeable' media may say

 

[chipmonk]

On top of that I believe it was you who believed Kumble didn't belong in India's ODI side, wasn't it? I'd love to see him in there now, because on the day when Harbhajan is off (like against SL couple of days ago) we still have another quality bowler. With only 4 fulltime bowlers now, if one has a bad day, then we're stuffed.

I agree, Infact if you read the article By Arjuna Ranatunga that I have posted he maniones the same and goes on to say how much respect he has for Kumble.

 

[honestbharani]

I think the time has come for India to sort of slot people in certain positions and then pick the right combination from that. For instance, once Sachin comes back, for India, there will be 4 options for the top 3., in fact, make that 5..


Sachin
Sourav
Sehwag
Laxman
Kaif


Now, India will have to pick 3 out of these 5 based on form and other normal cricket considerations. Now to the middle order, which is 4-6...


Dravid
Yuvraj
Raina
Rao
Sriram
Badani
Mongia


Now, juz pick the best 3 out of this.


And then for 7, the wicket keeper's slot

Dhoni
Kaarthick
Parthiv (unfortunately, he is still in Ganguly's and the selector's minds)


And then pick the 4 best bowlers.. But given India's problems, I don't really see why India should not pick a side like this...


Sachin (when available)
Sehwag
Sourav
Dravid
Kaif
Dhoni
Agarkar
Pathan
Harbhajan
Kumble
Nehra/Zaheer/Balaji

 

[Anil]

you can make all sorts of combinations which look good on paper....unless they perform on the field, it doesn't really count for much....

 

[SJS]

you can make all sorts of combinations which look good on paper....unless they perform on the field, it doesn't really count for much....

I have a very uncomfortable feeling about the Indian one day team unless Sachin comes back to close to his best days. Please pray that I am absolutely wrong.

Whatever one has seen of the new brigade is too little to start jumping to any final conclusions but there isnt anything earth shatering either.

*looks heavenwards with folded hands*

 

[maxpower]

IND batting has not been great in SL, but scores tend to keep low like the wicket in SL, they are probably 20-30 runs short, and it can be fixed by some sensible batting NO MATTER who is in the team. Bowling as always is dissappointing, but what r u gonna do about it, can't really see any great match changing bowlers sitting on the bench either....wait did someone just say ajit agarkar

My Pace Bowler Analysis

Balaji: We saw him at the best he can be while touring PAK, and that is not really all that great.
Pathan: With little time he might have a chance to improve, can be effective but not a match winner.
Zaheer: Remind me a lot of Srinath, a lot of ppl say Srinath bowls really well but could not really produce and wickets to show it, same goes for Zaheer. Talent and Heart may be there, no luck when it comes to wickets.
Nehra: I just don't see it happening, flash in the pan performances will be his career.
Agarkar: If all the bowlers can make it to IND squad, why can't he ??? Coz he did it a million times and did not really do anything spectacular, and now its the turn for the rest to be mediocre like him.

 

[Indian god]

New member

Hi my name is Amit patel , I come from birmingham , and I cricket rocks , My favourite team is india , and I hope 2 get 2 know all of you , and have a good chat about cricket

 

[Indian god]

IND batting has not been great in SL, but scores tend to keep low like the wicket in SL, they are probably 20-30 runs short, and it can be fixed by some sensible batting NO MATTER who is in the team. Bowling as always is dissappointing, but what r u gonna do about it, can't really see any great match changing bowlers sitting on the bench either....wait did someone just say ajit agarkar

My Pace Bowler Analysis

Balaji: We saw him at the best he can be while touring PAK, and that is not really all that great.
Pathan: With little time he might have a chance to improve, can be effective but not a match winner.
Zaheer: Remind me a lot of Srinath, a lot of ppl say Srinath bowls really well but could not really produce and wickets to show it, same goes for Zaheer. Talent and Heart may be there, no luck when it comes to wickets.
Nehra: I just don't see it happening, flash in the pan performances will be his career.
Agarkar: If all the bowlers can make it to IND squad, why can't he ??? Coz he did it a million times and did not really do anything spectacular, and now its the turn for the rest to be mediocre like him.

Pathan a a strike bowler for india , who avreages 2 wickets per match , he is alos a good batsmen , pathans a talented allrounder .

I think thier will be lots of improvements 2 made.

 

[aussie]

you can make all sorts of combinations which look good on paper....unless they perform on the field, it doesn't really count for much....

well said anil.....

 

[GermanShepherd]

I don't understand why India are not playing JP Yadav.
He is the only allrounder they have and should play at no.7 - he will give them that fifth bowling option they crave.

He may or may not be good enough for international cricket. but there's only one way to find out......

 

[chipmonk]

What About Dhoni's Keeping ? Pretty pathetic imho, Surely their must be a better option...

 

[aussie]

What About Dhoni's Keeping ? Pretty pathetic imho, Surely their must be a better option...

you serious mate

 

[chipmonk]

you serious mate

Yes, He was not able to pick Harban's and gave many runs that could have been stopped on the leg side. Infact he even missed a chance, Dravid is much better imo.

 

[chipmonk]

India's bowling was exploited

Arjuna Ranatunga | August 04, 2005 16:43 IST


I suspect India will have too many issues to ponder at the end of their triangular series match against Sri Lanka.

They started off well and then lost the plot in batting . The same happened when they bowled. Sri Lanka were just a whistle from being blown away. Such lordliness from a team trying to take fresh roots would hardly be funny to the new coach Greg Chappell.

It is stating the obvious that a lot of good starts were not built upon. India were 20-30 runs short in the end. Sourav Ganguly would have little complaints though he got out at the wrong time for India. Virender Sehwag did not make use of the chances but he deserves sympathy because the wicket was too slow.


It has not been a good bunch of one-day strips in the middle of the Dambulla stadium. Tilakaratne Dilshan is a part-time bowler in the Aravinda de Silva mould. He is the kind of bowler who relies on batsmen to make mistakes. And mistakes sure did the Indians make. They played bad shots and a great platform was lost.

Dilshan was the last man you expected to wreak such damage. He is a half-bowler in the mould of Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya. Given the pitches in the 2007 World Cup in Caribbean would be similar to what we have at home in Sri Lanka, Dilshan could inspire hope for the captain.

The other star for Sri Lanka was Mahela Jayawardene. He is the kind of player who always relishes Indian bowling. There were concerns about his form and about the manner in which he got out in the first two games, missing straight deliveries while attempting to drive in the front.

But today it bode good for him as he was able to flick deliveries to fine leg from the off and middle stump from the word go. The only regret for Mahela must be the run-out of Marvan Atapattu in the game. This is the third time running when the two have been involved in harakiris and Atapattu has been at the receiving end.


It seemed to have had a decisive impact on the game when Sri Lanka were six down with less than hundred on the board in next to no time. But Mahela himself in the end retrieved the situation. Running between the wickets is a matter of trust and understanding. A little nod of head and gesture from eyes is all you need. It becomes doubly a matter of concern when two senior players have been involved in more than one run-out.

India struggled once their fast bowlers were through with their spells and it has been a feature for them throughout the tournament. Three matches is a long time for an alternative or a change in plan to emerge. The opposition waits for weaker bowler to emerge out of shadow and as Indian batsmen have not made big totals in the first place, the weaker links in bowling are being exploited to the full.

India played extra batsman and shortened their bowling once again. It is all the more disappointing that batsmen still have not been able to justify the trust in them.

VVS Laxman made a forgettable return to one-day cricket. His face was a giveaway as it showed him extremely uptight. Laxman is a slow starter in one-day cricket and there is no emergency in his batting, a faculty which was badly required after the openers had given a solid start.

He has been given a berth in the team in the absence of seniors and if he can not make use of this divine intervention, he can as well bid goodbye to the next World Cup.

Irfan Pathan raises hope for India as an all-rounder in the making. He made some clean, whistling hits. He has good batting technique and if a fast bowler can contribute 30-40 runs in dominating style, it could be extremely useful to the batting team.

I would not fault Rahul Dravid for India's embarrassing loss as it was the batsmen and bowlers who were guilty. Dravid himself did not make any contribution but the leg before wicket verdict was debatable.

First his batsmen wasted a good start and then bowlers drifted too much down the legside. It was strange to see even Harbhajan Singh not being able to control his spin which fetched quite a number of wides and fours down the leg-side to the Sri Lankan pair of Mahela and Upul Chandana.

He and the fifth bowler duo of Ganguly and Sehwag let the pressure off which was so splendidly built by the fast bowlers. I am afraid it is increasingly looking the old familiar tale for the Indians in Sri Lanka.

Arjuna Ranatunga is a former captain of Sri Lanka.

 

[SJS]

What About Dhoni's Keeping ? Pretty pathetic imho, Surely their must be a better option...

Cant think of any word other than pathetic to discribe his keeping to Harbhajan in the last game. It was so bad, I refuse to believe he cant keep better than this. He moved/started moving having made up his mind which way a ball is going to go after pitching. And he did so before the ball had pitched! A recipe for disaster in most cases and ridiculous if the bowler moves either way as Harbhajan does.

He had bad luck too since his 'guess' turned out to be wrong in more cases than it should have even if he had tossed for it

One more day like this and he will be compared to the best known keeper from India in recent times, the redoubtable Parthiv Patel.

I hope and pray, he was having a very very bad day, had just lost up with the girl he loved to the guy he hates, had got up from the wrong side of the sofa or some such thing and not that this is the limit of his ability.

 

[Anil]

Whatever one has seen of the new brigade is too little to start jumping to any final conclusions but there isnt anything earth shatering either.

now that is the very definition of an understatement...

 

[Sanz]

I stand corrected on my stance of not dropping Parthiv Patel as Wicket Keeper. Those who said that 'Dhoni was the man' and according to one very respected member of CW who said the following about Dhoni's Wicket Keeping :-

"....Dhoni was a revelation. He was always at the right height to take the ball. He moved rather than dived and took the ball in both hands even when it was wide, again a great quality. The ball seemed to land in his hands ever so gently. If I had to find a fault, I would say that initially he appeared a bit flamboyant, tossing the ball to the slips almost at the same instant that it landed in his gloves, a dangerous habit. But he quickly stopped doing that and settled down to a great display. Very impressive and no one had talked of his keeping so far...."

 

[honestbharani]

Cant think of any word other than pathetic to discribe his keeping to Harbhajan in the last game. It was so bad, I refuse to believe he cant keep better than this. He moved/started moving having made up his mind which way a ball is going to go after pitching. And he did so before the ball had pitched! A recipe for disaster in most cases and ridiculous if the bowler moves either way as Harbhajan does.

He had bad luck too since his 'guess' turned out to be wrong in more cases than it should have even if he had tossed for it

One more day like this and he will be compared to the best known keeper from India in recent times, the redoubtable Parthiv Patel.

I hope and pray, he was having a very very bad day, had just lost up with the girl he loved to the guy he hates, had got up from the wrong side of the sofa or some such thing and not that this is the limit of his ability.

Maybe for once we could pick a guy because he is the best available keeper. Where is Dinesh?