Which was the most painful defeat for India?

[social]

I would've thought the loss in NZ in the early 2000s deserves a mention simply because of Ganguly's attitude

He clearly gave up and gave catching practice because it was all too hard

 

[Cruxdude]

Surprised at no mention of Karachi '06.

That series did not capture the imagination of the audiencce. It was a horrible loss but it didn't stick in the mind.

 

[chicane]

I would've thought the loss in NZ in the early 2000s deserves a mention simply because of Ganguly's attitude

He clearly gave up and gave catching practice because it was all too hard

Yeah NZ 2002 was bad. Horrible pitches aside, it was the first full away series I followed, hapless India in swinging conditions and all.

Contrasting fortunes for some of my favourite players too. Zak and Bond were great, Sehwag had some success, but it was the start of the rut for Sachin.

 

[Cruxdude]

NZ 2002 wasn't actually painful, it was more indignation at the kind of pitches on display and the furore generally raised about dustbowls in India.

 

[Richard]

Yeah NZ 2002 was bad. Horrible pitches aside

No more horrible than the Wankhede '04/05, IMO. Not like either of those decks were dangerous, just super-seam-friendly. NZ knew such decks were their best chance, and the extent to which they were made seam-friendly was exaggerated further by the prevailing weather at the time. They played to their strengths, and came out on top against a team which, in other conditions, would generally have been their superiors. Fair do's.

Of course, in the ODIs it was another story - was stupid and short-sighted to be preparing green decks there, as preparation for South Africa was what counted, not the result of that series.

 

[silentstriker]

I would've thought the loss in NZ in the early 2000s deserves a mention simply because of Ganguly's attitude

He clearly gave up and gave catching practice because it was all too hard

Yeah NZ 2002 was bad. Horrible pitches aside, it was the first full away series I followed, hapless India in swinging conditions and all.

NZ 2002 was fun. And the pitches were perfectly fine. I loved it. India lost on a deck that the other team was superior at exploiting. That's perfectly fair play.

It was hard, but Test cricket is supposed to be hard. They were beaten by a team superior in those conditions, simple as that. It would suck if such pitches just stopped coming around anymore (they are sadly too rare already).

Sydneygate on the other hand will rankle in my mind for a long time.

I'd love to replay NZ 2002 again, and would love to see how India do this time around, even if they end up losing 3-0. It would be a fun, exciting series. Replay Sydney again? I'd rather get stabbed in the nuts.

 

[vic_orthdox]

That post was never remotely likely to start any flame-war, unlike the comment about Chappell's views on Tendulkar, and my comment that Chappell and Waugh did not get along at all is about as speculative as someone stating that the Moon orbits the Earth. If that's not accepted fact, nothing is.

I agree with the essence of your post. But I don't know if I'd go around throwing around statements about "hating" another person though. They don't get on, that's for sure, but I'd be surprised if either of them would use the term "hate" to describe their relationship with one another.

 

[Sanz]

Off topic a bit ...

For me the drubbing our 2003 WC team got was the turning point. That was one heck of a team on paper for Pak...but was simply thrashed....Akhtar and Waqar were hit all over the place. Even though Waqar got 2 on 2..that was only 1 moment when Pak looked like winning.....but Sachin took that away....

Probably a very heart breaking defeat for Pak....

Anwar
Taufeeq
Razzaq
Inzi
Yousuf
Younis
Afridi
Latif
Akram
Waqar
Akhtar

That's what I meant when I said it was the match in 2003 that kind of erased the memory of 1986 Miandad Sixer and (IMO) it kind of affected the Pakistan fans/cricketers pretty much way Miandad's shot affected many of our fans/cricketers.

 

[chicane]

No more horrible than the Wankhede '04/05, IMO. Not like either of those decks were dangerous, just super-seam-friendly. NZ knew such decks were their best chance, and the extent to which they were made seam-friendly was exaggerated further by the prevailing weather at the time. They played to their strengths, and came out on top against a team which, in other conditions, would generally have been their superiors. Fair do's.

Of course, in the ODIs it was another story - was stupid and short-sighted to be preparing green decks there, as preparation for South Africa was what counted, not the result of that series.

NZ 2002 was fun. And the pitches were perfectly fine. I loved it. India lost on a deck that the other team was superior at exploiting. That's perfectly fair play.

It was hard, but Test cricket is supposed to be hard. They were beaten by a team superior in those conditions, simple as that. It would suck if such pitches just stopped coming around anymore (they are sadly too rare already).

Yeah fair enough, they played to their strengths. It was just sad viewing though, especially because neither team's batsmen were really able to cope with the conditions. A replay would probably be fun however, with the overdose of flat pitches in recent times.

 

[Shri]

Perfectly fine with NZ pitches of 2002. Love extreme pitches in tests. Doesn't matter wether it supports pace or spin.

 

[Faisal1985]

That's what I meant when I said it was the match in 2003 that kind of erased the memory of 1986 Miandad Sixer and (IMO) it kind of affected the Pakistan fans/cricketers pretty much way Miandad's shot affected many of our fans/cricketers.

I remember that game very clearly.....and i am telling you when we walked out of the room after the game was over it was almost like someone died in the family lol.

It surely gave us psychological wounds and erased India's....

 

[Richard]

I agree with the essence of your post. But I don't know if I'd go around throwing around statements about "hating" another person though. They don't get on, that's for sure, but I'd be surprised if either of them would use the term "hate" to describe their relationship with one another.

Yeah, I'm given to exaggeration to make a point sometimes, and a more accurate term could've been used - such as "considerable dislike".

 

[Jono]

India would have had a much better chance in NZ in 2002/03 if they played Srinath.

 

[Sanz]

India would have had a much better chance in NZ in 2002/03 if they played Srinath.

What do you mean If they played Srinath ? Wasn't Srinath going through "I am retired", "I am back" syndrome. I think we wanted him to tour NZ but that dude wouldn't listen to anyone, one of the least motivated guy ever to play for India.

 

[Jono]

Apologies, badly phrased.

"If Srinath played" like he did in the ODIs.

 

[SaeedAnwar]

Sorry my indian friends, but please relive the memories of this painful match:

YouTube - INDIA vs SRI LANKA, 1996 WORLD CUP SEMI FINAL, EDEN GARDENS, KOLKATA, SL INN

YouTube - INDIA vs SRI LANKA, 1996 WORLD CUP SEMI FINAL, EDEN GARDENS, KOLKATA, IND INNINGS