Saifullah Sani
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Amazing Cricket - Aus vs India
- Thread starter DelhiDareDevil
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---------- Post added at 11:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 AM ----------
India lost the third Test against Australia on Sunday inside two-and-a-half days, going down to a 3-0 series defeat. It was their seventh consecutive overseas Test defeat stretching back to the tour of England last year. Sports writer Suresh Menon, who has written books on Sachin Tendulkar and Bishan Bedi, on why India's cricket authorities cannot be silent spectators any longer.
American mathematician Sam Saunders has a lovely analogy about how certain truths creep up on us.
A frog placed in hot water will struggle to escape, he points out, but the same frog placed in cold water that is slowly warmed up will sit peacefully until it is cooked.
Indian cricket is in hot water, but it has become hot so slowly that no one has noticed. After six away defeats in a row, it is time to shed sentiment and wield the axe.
At least since 2008, when Sourav Ganguly retired, the idea that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would follow suit soon ought to have been in the minds of the authorities.
Three years later in Australia comes the realisation that we don't have too many replacements.
The system seems to have let the team down, and it is the cricket board which has fiddled with the system, placing greater emphasis on money-making in the shortest form of the game while refusing to learn the lessons from its national championship, where runs are made by the tons by mediocre batsmen on shirt-front wickets.
Weak foundation
If the governing body of the sport has money-making as its motto, it cannot then blame the players for adopting the same motto.
The board knows that money buys influence and power. Sadly, it doesn't buy victories, as the players are discovering now that an entire nation is turning against them.
Of 28 Tests abroad dating back to Boxing Day 2007, the start of their last tour of Australia, India have won only eight while losing 13.
Australia, England and South Africa have all won more Tests abroad than they have lost in the last five years, to emphasise the weak foundation of India's number one ranking.
More to the point, despite their reputation as the finest batting side in the world during that period, India have batted for 100 overs in an innings just nine times in 55 outings. In the same period, they lost only two of 22 home matches, both to South Africa.
Perhaps we were spoilt by the natural-born strikers of the cricket ball.
The Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans, Gangulys and Sehwags made everything look so easy and performed with such authority for so long that we turned a blind eye to their diminishing powers.
The selectors got caught up in the hype too, and seem to have no plan for the transition. The result, like a frog jumping out of hot water, will be an entire middle order abruptly retiring, leaving a gaping hole.
It is never easy to tell a long-serving employee that his time is up. But it is a job that has to be done, and done with as much dignity as possible.
Skipper MS Dhoni has said that it has to be a process, not an event. Which is fair, except that, thanks to the lethargy of those in power, it might turn out to be an event after all. This is unfair to some of the greatest players to have played for the country, but it is the price for the lack of foresight.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly, under whom India first began to win abroad consistently, has said that this team cannot hope to win away from home. It has taken seven defeats in a row to come to terms with the reality.
The board, which has been a silent spectator for so long, cannot now afford to swing the other extreme and sack everybody. Starting with the coach - in the time-honoured sporting tradition - might be a good idea.
I am a great cricket supporter and am surprised its taken so long - but Indian cricket must have a revamp of everything - the sooner the better. It may mean Sacin never getting 100 100s.
BBC News - Moment of reckoning for Indian cricket?
American mathematician Sam Saunders has a lovely analogy about how certain truths creep up on us.
A frog placed in hot water will struggle to escape, he points out, but the same frog placed in cold water that is slowly warmed up will sit peacefully until it is cooked.
Indian cricket is in hot water, but it has become hot so slowly that no one has noticed. After six away defeats in a row, it is time to shed sentiment and wield the axe.
At least since 2008, when Sourav Ganguly retired, the idea that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would follow suit soon ought to have been in the minds of the authorities.
Three years later in Australia comes the realisation that we don't have too many replacements.
The system seems to have let the team down, and it is the cricket board which has fiddled with the system, placing greater emphasis on money-making in the shortest form of the game while refusing to learn the lessons from its national championship, where runs are made by the tons by mediocre batsmen on shirt-front wickets.
Weak foundation
If the governing body of the sport has money-making as its motto, it cannot then blame the players for adopting the same motto.
The board knows that money buys influence and power. Sadly, it doesn't buy victories, as the players are discovering now that an entire nation is turning against them.
Of 28 Tests abroad dating back to Boxing Day 2007, the start of their last tour of Australia, India have won only eight while losing 13.
Australia, England and South Africa have all won more Tests abroad than they have lost in the last five years, to emphasise the weak foundation of India's number one ranking.
More to the point, despite their reputation as the finest batting side in the world during that period, India have batted for 100 overs in an innings just nine times in 55 outings. In the same period, they lost only two of 22 home matches, both to South Africa.
Perhaps we were spoilt by the natural-born strikers of the cricket ball.
The Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans, Gangulys and Sehwags made everything look so easy and performed with such authority for so long that we turned a blind eye to their diminishing powers.
The selectors got caught up in the hype too, and seem to have no plan for the transition. The result, like a frog jumping out of hot water, will be an entire middle order abruptly retiring, leaving a gaping hole.
It is never easy to tell a long-serving employee that his time is up. But it is a job that has to be done, and done with as much dignity as possible.
Skipper MS Dhoni has said that it has to be a process, not an event. Which is fair, except that, thanks to the lethargy of those in power, it might turn out to be an event after all. This is unfair to some of the greatest players to have played for the country, but it is the price for the lack of foresight.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly, under whom India first began to win abroad consistently, has said that this team cannot hope to win away from home. It has taken seven defeats in a row to come to terms with the reality.
The board, which has been a silent spectator for so long, cannot now afford to swing the other extreme and sack everybody. Starting with the coach - in the time-honoured sporting tradition - might be a good idea.
I am a great cricket supporter and am surprised its taken so long - but Indian cricket must have a revamp of everything - the sooner the better. It may mean Sacin never getting 100 100s.
BBC News - Moment of reckoning for Indian cricket?
Pukhtoon
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I hear your annoyance - the problem is you cannot get rid of ALL the backbone of the team and still expect to perform. I agree changes have to be made - i would initially remove 2. Dravid and Laxman - these 2 have been superstars of India and should be given the opportunity to gracefully retire. Then subsequently implement the rest of the changes in the next 6 to 12 months.
Pukhtoon
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Prepare 'rank turners' for visiting teams - Gambhir
Sidharth Monga at the Adelaide Oval
January 22, 2012
Gautam Gambhir has called for "rank turners" when teams visit India after India have lost seven consecutive away Tests on pitches that he reckons had lot of grass on them. He said the real test of a team was to win overseas, and that Indian curators shouldn't hesitate to make it as tough as possible for visiting teams.
"We need to realise that when we go overseas every country prepares wickets to their own strengths," Gambhir said. "So once the other teams come home we need to prepare tracks to our advantage as well. So there should not be a lot of talk when Australia or South Africa or England come home that we should not be preparing turners. I think we should be playing to our strengths, and if we can prepare rank turners, that's where their technique and their temperament will be tested."
Gambhir said there was a lot of movement available to seam bowlers in all of their seven defeats starting from the English summer onwards. "We have seen in last three Tests matches and even in England, there was a lot of grass and that helped their seamers," he said. "Once these people come to India we should not be hesitant in making turners, and that's where we would get to know whether they are mentally strong, and [what happens to] the kind of chit chat do they do when we go overseas and they talk about our techniques.
"That's where they will be tested, and we'll see how good they are against spin bowling. So we shouldn't be hesitant in preparing turners to our advantage, and that has been our strength and if we can do that people should support us rather than saying we should not be preparing turners. We should always be preparing something which is to our advantage."
Gambhir was asked what progress he saw in Peter Siddle's bowling from the time he debuted against India in 2008-09 to now being the leader of the Australian bowling attack. "The only difference is the conditions," Gambhir said. "He made his debut in Mohali. He played really well in that Test series. It's [these are] his own conditions, it's his own backyard. The important thing is once you start doing well in subcontinent, that's when you are rated as a very good bowler.
"He has bowled really well in this series - no doubt about that - he has been their main bowler who has always taken wickets whenever he has got into his spell. The important thing is, how he bowls well in the subcontinent. Here he has bowled well, but let's see what he does in other conditions as well."
That didn't stop Gambhir from praising the Australian bowling unit, whose performance he rated higher than the English bowlers last summer. "When you see the results both have been at par," Gambhir said. "England had a lot of lateral movement, but over here a lot of credit goes to them [the Australian bowlers]. They had a very inexperienced attack. England have far more experience than the Australian fast bowlers. The way they have bowled in this series is tremendous.
"They have never let us off the hook, they have always kept us under pressure though they were playing with just three seamers and a spinner. They kept coming at us, which is important, because there are times in Test cricket where you can get easy runs, especially in middle sessions. A lot of credit has to go to them.
"Even in the middle sessions they kept hitting those areas, and never let us score freely. As we all know Indians are known to score runs freely. Most of our middle order has been boundary hitters. They never let us score those boundaries. Never gave us balls where we can score freely. Especially in that middle session."
COMMENT - A frustrated reaction
Gambhir's comments about the pitches seem to be a combination of many factors. At worst they could be indicative of the defensive attitude of a team that has lost seven away Tests in a row. They can easily be seen as an extension of the response of Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli to sledging by Australian players about the Indian batsmen's technique and average. You would expect better from a team that wants to be the best in the world.
There also seems to be a lack of awareness that India's recent wins outside the subcontinent have all come on seaming tracks that make it easier for their bowlers to take 20 wickets. Also the pitches in Sydney and Perth were hardly the monsters they are being made out to be.
However, at such times, it is easy to miss the deep-rooted frustration at the kind of pitches the Indian curators have been rolling out over the recent years: slow, low, devoid of life and excitement. The last time India actually got a pitch that turned and bounced was in Kanpur in 2007-08. Otherwise the pitches in India are all designed to last the longest possible distance. Gambhir is also understandably annoyed at how easily the turning tracks are labelled "disgraceful" by the media and the ICC. Sidharth Monga
India in Australia 2011-12: Prepare 'rank turners' for visiting teams in India, says Gautam Gambhir | Cricket News | Australia v India | ESPN Cricinfo
---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------
Comment from an Indian fan
Posted by Shridhar_Malur on (January 22 2012, 12:10 PM GMT)
Dear Gambhirji you might have heard of - "Naach na jaane aangan teda". The reason we don't make rank turners in India is because we might then start losing miserably even at home too... Instead of making foolish comments, please tighten up your technique and stop giving catch practice to the opposition's slip cordon. Along with the big 3, the Indian fans are running out of patience with Viru, you and the wicketless wonder Ishant Sharma. Less talk and a better batting performance would also help you to ascertain if you have (indeed) made it(?) "LARGE"!!!
Sidharth Monga at the Adelaide Oval
January 22, 2012
Gautam Gambhir has called for "rank turners" when teams visit India after India have lost seven consecutive away Tests on pitches that he reckons had lot of grass on them. He said the real test of a team was to win overseas, and that Indian curators shouldn't hesitate to make it as tough as possible for visiting teams.
"We need to realise that when we go overseas every country prepares wickets to their own strengths," Gambhir said. "So once the other teams come home we need to prepare tracks to our advantage as well. So there should not be a lot of talk when Australia or South Africa or England come home that we should not be preparing turners. I think we should be playing to our strengths, and if we can prepare rank turners, that's where their technique and their temperament will be tested."
Gambhir said there was a lot of movement available to seam bowlers in all of their seven defeats starting from the English summer onwards. "We have seen in last three Tests matches and even in England, there was a lot of grass and that helped their seamers," he said. "Once these people come to India we should not be hesitant in making turners, and that's where we would get to know whether they are mentally strong, and [what happens to] the kind of chit chat do they do when we go overseas and they talk about our techniques.
"That's where they will be tested, and we'll see how good they are against spin bowling. So we shouldn't be hesitant in preparing turners to our advantage, and that has been our strength and if we can do that people should support us rather than saying we should not be preparing turners. We should always be preparing something which is to our advantage."
Gambhir was asked what progress he saw in Peter Siddle's bowling from the time he debuted against India in 2008-09 to now being the leader of the Australian bowling attack. "The only difference is the conditions," Gambhir said. "He made his debut in Mohali. He played really well in that Test series. It's [these are] his own conditions, it's his own backyard. The important thing is once you start doing well in subcontinent, that's when you are rated as a very good bowler.
"He has bowled really well in this series - no doubt about that - he has been their main bowler who has always taken wickets whenever he has got into his spell. The important thing is, how he bowls well in the subcontinent. Here he has bowled well, but let's see what he does in other conditions as well."
That didn't stop Gambhir from praising the Australian bowling unit, whose performance he rated higher than the English bowlers last summer. "When you see the results both have been at par," Gambhir said. "England had a lot of lateral movement, but over here a lot of credit goes to them [the Australian bowlers]. They had a very inexperienced attack. England have far more experience than the Australian fast bowlers. The way they have bowled in this series is tremendous.
"They have never let us off the hook, they have always kept us under pressure though they were playing with just three seamers and a spinner. They kept coming at us, which is important, because there are times in Test cricket where you can get easy runs, especially in middle sessions. A lot of credit has to go to them.
"Even in the middle sessions they kept hitting those areas, and never let us score freely. As we all know Indians are known to score runs freely. Most of our middle order has been boundary hitters. They never let us score those boundaries. Never gave us balls where we can score freely. Especially in that middle session."
COMMENT - A frustrated reaction
Gambhir's comments about the pitches seem to be a combination of many factors. At worst they could be indicative of the defensive attitude of a team that has lost seven away Tests in a row. They can easily be seen as an extension of the response of Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli to sledging by Australian players about the Indian batsmen's technique and average. You would expect better from a team that wants to be the best in the world.
There also seems to be a lack of awareness that India's recent wins outside the subcontinent have all come on seaming tracks that make it easier for their bowlers to take 20 wickets. Also the pitches in Sydney and Perth were hardly the monsters they are being made out to be.
However, at such times, it is easy to miss the deep-rooted frustration at the kind of pitches the Indian curators have been rolling out over the recent years: slow, low, devoid of life and excitement. The last time India actually got a pitch that turned and bounced was in Kanpur in 2007-08. Otherwise the pitches in India are all designed to last the longest possible distance. Gambhir is also understandably annoyed at how easily the turning tracks are labelled "disgraceful" by the media and the ICC. Sidharth Monga
India in Australia 2011-12: Prepare 'rank turners' for visiting teams in India, says Gautam Gambhir | Cricket News | Australia v India | ESPN Cricinfo
---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------
Comment from an Indian fan
Posted by Shridhar_Malur on (January 22 2012, 12:10 PM GMT)
Dear Gambhirji you might have heard of - "Naach na jaane aangan teda". The reason we don't make rank turners in India is because we might then start losing miserably even at home too... Instead of making foolish comments, please tighten up your technique and stop giving catch practice to the opposition's slip cordon. Along with the big 3, the Indian fans are running out of patience with Viru, you and the wicketless wonder Ishant Sharma. Less talk and a better batting performance would also help you to ascertain if you have (indeed) made it(?) "LARGE"!!!
AZADPAKISTAN2009
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T20 = Death of technique and Skill
T20 = Death of class
No wonder India is suffering and so is England
T20 = Death of class
No wonder India is suffering and so is England
Mani2020
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At stumps aus are 335-3 , ~240 runs partnership b/w punter and clark ....india seems to be one country against whom big partnerships are always on the cards and there is a very strong chance for every team to build big partnerships against them due to their pathetically weak bowling attack .... i dont know why they are continuously playing ishant sharma when he is unable to take wickets ...just on the base of one tour of his when he last time visited aus they are just shoving him in every team when he has clearly been spanked by the oppositions really no sense in that ... pretty senseless play at the moment for india...no thought process been put in any game...its like they woke up and thought they will run over aus just because they won couple of matches last time and just because aus team looks pretty weak when compared to what we have seen from aus in last decade or so
But its great time to be ponting...isn't it... i mean couple of years back he went out of form against the same team after that for around 2 years he was centuryless but after approx 2 years the same team comes and he gets his form back and guess what...bang bang 2 centuries and couple of 60's taking him to an average of around 100 ....and the same bowler who was being so much hyped for taking ponting's wicket has been ruffled up by him ....
It seems another bang bang for india.......... its going to be 4-0 soon
But its great time to be ponting...isn't it... i mean couple of years back he went out of form against the same team after that for around 2 years he was centuryless but after approx 2 years the same team comes and he gets his form back and guess what...bang bang 2 centuries and couple of 60's taking him to an average of around 100 ....and the same bowler who was being so much hyped for taking ponting's wicket has been ruffled up by him ....
It seems another bang bang for india.......... its going to be 4-0 soon
At lunch Aussies were on the back foot - 95 for 3. Come back from lunch - Serwag has a brain fart and puts Yadav onto bowl who so far had bowled 5 overs for 40. He got smacked round and game drifted away. Why the hell did he not put Zaheer Khan and Ashwin on coz at that stage if India took a couple of wickets Aussies would have been in serious trouble. Instead he waited an hour then brought Sharma on with no slips and the ball goes through slips. Just not good enough for an international captain. Im very frustrated and im sure the Indians will be too
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