Wah, and what percentage of chance did Steve Waugh offer India when he declared at Brisbane? 198 to get from 23 odd overs - reckon that's even lower than 2 percent, right, Steve?
How hypocritical to expect Saurav to bend over backwards to please the Aussies with a nice, generous declaration!
No, Ganguly had declared at the right time.You are not sincere, Mr Waugh to your conscience!Why India was not successful in enforcing victory? The reason : Australia seemed to be playing with 13 players! When the judges acquit the criminals for their crimes,who should be blamed? How many clear lbw decisions of aussie batsmen were truned down for no possible reason! Were the umpires suitably rewarded for their job? Who knows!Neutral umpires have to be professional and unbiased in their jobs! The very same Bucknow gave Sachin out lbw for a "not-out" ball, denied at least 3 plumb lbw decisions against the aussies on the final day! How do you expect then Indians to win?? The above gross blunders apart, this series showed how neutral umpires can be conducted without the outrageous bias of the former years!If the umpires were australian, India would have lost this series by at least 3-0, nothing less!!
How ridiculous is for Steve Waugh to comment on Ganguly's sportive declaration as late!
1) Australia has scored over 400 runs several times in this series and in the last few years and have always done it a rate of close to 4.5 runs an over. Ganguly's setting a target of 450 in 94 overs was extremely sportive, since all Australia had to do was bat for 94 overs with the top order intact - if they did that, then the scoring rate of 4.5 would have been ensured and they could have won. Does this mean that Waugh feels it is not in the right spirit to expect the Aussie top order to bat an entire day?
2) The same Waugh had set an improbable target in the 1st test - 200 runs in 20-odd overs - against a side which scores close to 3.5 runs an over! How sporting was that!
3) Waugh after feeling the pressure of a shrewd-Fleming to make a match of what would have certainly been a drawn test, declared sportingly and then unsportingly bowled wide in the final overs to ensure a draw.
Waugh neither deserved to make the comment nor was he fair in his view.
I accept Waugh finished off in style in his last test too, thanks to his ever-favouring luck (which has helped him more than any other INDIAN cricketer), and shoddy umpiring, not to forget, also his grit.Appreciated. Let me tell you,if Saurav had declared a bit earlier and If Australia had won on a pitch that betrayed, then including Waugh, the whole world would have blamed Saurav. I think Waugh should shut up his bloody ugly mouth, or tell out directly that India denied Australia a record-chase, or him, the adulation (which is already hyped!) His comments on sledging also can't be taken jovially. That gives a picture of weak they can be, in their minds, and unsportive, depolying such tactics. And one more thing, why isn't umpiring always an injustice for Indians, that too, in greater degrees only in Australia?!!! That has been happening for years(that's a record too!).
