What a superb match and a sensational win to Team India. MS Dhoni’s boys did what previous Indian legends could never accomplish. This win in the best of three finals will rank as high as the Twenty20 World Cup. Massive celebrations at the end of the match clearly indicated the emotions that the Indians were going through. After a controversial summer, the Indians managed to tell the Aussies - Shut the hell up.
Sachin Tendulkar was the standout performer for India and played two dream innings just when it mattered. He silenced his critics, for now, by playing match winning knocks in the crucial finals. But the real heroes were the 19 and 20 year olds backed by their maverick captain. I still remember Dhoni calling this team as “My team” in the presentation ceremony. This performance, coupled with the T20 win, has surely put an end to the One day careers of Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly.
Playing with the most inexperienced side in this tri-series, Dhoni and his “boys” have proven that experience without will and talent is like a glass without water. I, for one, had been extremely impressed by the selectors’ decision to pack the squad with these talented youngsters. The fact was that these players had already proven themselves in the T20 World Cup. How many tournaments have Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman won for India? I am not questioning the talent and experience of these four, but at the end of the day, results matter.
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Published by Nanda on 26th January 2008
Well, its time to give out my opinion on the squad that has been chosen for the ODI series involving India, Sri Lanka and Australia. A lot is being said about the exclusion of some “Big” names from the squad and that the players selected are not right for this series. The selectors have flat-out cleared their criteria - Fielding. In a country where people are completely crazy about their stars, this is not a good enough reason. In my opinion, hats off to the selectors for finally putting a greater emphasis on the fielding capabilities of ODI players.
For years we have seen our team to be the worst in fielding, on paper and on Live TV. The bungling old players have had over a decade of playing experience, yet there has been absolutely no improvement in their fielding. Yes they are good in catching, and catches win matches. But catches don’t come every other ball. Every single run counts in ODI cricket, and every time the ball is placed to Ganguly and Dravid, the batsmen always take an extra run.
Well what about running between the wickets. It would be an understatement to say that both Ganguly and Dravid are the worst runners in the Indian squad. Saurav Ganguly has played 311 matches. He has been part of 145 losses. He has been runout 13 times averaging 34.92 every time. Almost once every 11 matches that India have lost. Almost always after getting a good start. Overall he has been runout 23 times. Dravid, on the other hand, has played 333 ODI matches. He has been involved in 160 defeats and got himself runout 20 times. That is once in every 8 defeats. He averages 30.65 and just like Ganguly gets himself runout after getting a good start.
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Published by Nanda on 6th October 2007
Harsh words came out from Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of selectors, after India’s dismal batting performance in the last two matches. None of the Big 3 have done anything, with Ganguly injuring himself in the first match. Tendulkar was showing signs of coming back, however, the form that he displayed in England is nowhere to be seen.
Dravid, on the other hand, quit the Indian captaincy as he wanted to concentrate more on his batting. At the moment, nothing seems to be going right for him and he does seem a little lost. Which makes me wonder if there was more to his resignation from being India’s captain in both forms of the game.
A lot depends on how these three are going to perform and its unfair to the other youngsters who had performed admirably in the Twenty20 World Cup. Vengsarkar has definitely done the right thing by putting these three on notice as a patience is now running thin. After the humiliation in the first two matches, the Indian fans are wondering if the T20 win was just a fluke. Well I sure hope that wasn’t the case. What India needs is controlled aggression and that can only come from the youngsters. The fielding standard has become dismal again - it was extremely refreshing in the T20 tournament.
Can India come back? More importantly, how will the Holy Trinity of Indian cricket respond to this challenge thrown at them by Vengsarkar and the youngsters. I guess we will just have to wait and watch.
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Published by Nanda on 27th September 2007
Published by Nanda on 25th September 2007
Click here for the match highlights
Phew! Amazing. Spectacular. Astounding. Thriller. Sensational. Exhilarating. I am actually out of words to describe this match. No anti-climaxes here. The ending justified why these two teams made it to the finals. It was a day to remember, for both teams played like there was no tomorrow. The edge-of-the-seat thriller that only an India-Pakistan tie can create. I know there are already a million or so articles on this match, but I had to write this one down as I am still in a dream daze.
The all important toss was won by Dhoni and once again the Indian skipper decided to bat first. There were no surprises here. The theory is to get a big total in a final and then defend it letting the other team try and chase the total, preferably a bigger one. They say that a final match always brings some kind of surprises. Man, there weren’t just some but plenty of surprises in this match.
The first, and perhaps not really a big surprise, was that Sehwag pulled out due to the thigh strain that he had sustained during the start of the
India-Australia semi final. And surprise surprise, look who walks in to open.
None other than the “other” Pathan. In what could only be described as a gutsy move, Dhoni decided not to go with Dinesh Karthik or the most experienced player in the squad, Ajit Agarkar. So Yousuf Pathan was given an opportunity to play at the biggest stage any debutante could have ever dreamed of. And that too opening the batting in a pressure cooker situation. India needed a good start and it was really asking too much from a youngster. Confidence in your own men is one thing, but over-confidence can make or break careers.
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