We lost the match due to 2 reasons - we didnt capitalise on the start we had & our bowlers let us down. We could & therefore should, have scored 310 or thereabouts.Whereas every Pakistani put a price on his wicket, Sachin got out to an uncessary run, Shewag threw his wicket and Dravid and Ganguly were a shade slow for such a high scoring match.310 was definitely on when Shewag was batting.His rash shot meant that Dravid and Ganguly had to become cautious - & indeed we scored precious little in those middle overs.Ganguly looked off colour for the first part of his innings & Dravid's problem in getting to a quick "start" continued. Then came our bowling.You cant give 23 wides & hope to win a match.If the bowlers had just stuck to a nice line we'd have won the match.Ganguly's faith in a bowler as ordnary as Nehra, that too over someone as seasoned as Kumble, is qute inexplicable.We were done in by the lack of killer instinct.After we won the toss, our players thought that the match was half won - & a 290+ score made them complacent & quite certain of victory.Our bowlers lacked intent & instead of TRYING to get Pakistani wickets, just HOPED they'd get out.They DID bat VERY well though.
Someone on this site wrote that the victory of India over Pakistan in Pakistan would create a permanent psychological advantage for India and I was really laughing at that time. The Pakistani tigers kept my head high by defeating India four times in four matches. Pakistan was down on many occassions in the match played at Kolkata but SALAM to the greatness of Inzamam and the youngster Salman Butt who kept their nerves cool and progressed Pakistan to a memorable victory. Hope India would not make a mistake of holding another match like this on its 100th Anniversary of BCCI. 292. A target that would have made every Indian as happy as anyone could be was chased without a dent on Pakistani armoury. When Indians came to Pakistan. Pakistanis gave them all the love and welcomed them with all their heart and soul. But, it was a pity to see that the crowd of eden gardens was totally biased and there was hardly any support for Pakistan or a single banner suggesting any sign of friendship with Pakistan. No shot was cheered. Not even the century of Salam Butt got any recognition. It was a pathetic crowd and it got what it deserved. Long live Pakistan. Indians would keep licking their wounds.
dear you wrote in this column something strange, which i would like to share with u and have specification you said that sehwag hit a six off afridi and then got out? so can u tell me when did he hit afridi for a six? i think he hit malik and akhtar for six? am i right?
Ganguly's selection of bowlers in this particular ODI was funny.He has to explain us why he dropped kumble?kumble with harbhajan combination would have paid.
Hats of to the Young Butt who snatched a probable Victory from the hands of the Indians ! Despite a dazzling display of daring batting displayed by the Indians on Diwali,Inzy's team led from the beginning by the Blazing Butt,battered the bowling to bits fetching a great Victory worth celebrating on Eid !!
It was a "Treat" for the fans and Cricket emerged as the Master of Festivities !!
how pathetic is the situation today that people have time to watch a sport that the britishers invented to pass days after days in their colonies..the fact stays... no other sport is played as long as cricket is. its a game for lazy people. and we indians are all the more stupid to think of ourselves as the kings(actually no-where close to kings) of a sport that hardly ten countries in thw world think of being worthy enough to be played. just giving a thought .. have a look at the cat-fight for the australian tour of india. if even 10% of the people stop watching cricket and shown interest in any other sport.. our medal tally (in olympics) wouldnt have been as deplorable as it is right now. THINK INDIA ... THINK!!!
It is high time players like Dravid and Ganguly realise that just staying in the middle for long doesn't serve any purpose. For any one who watched the match, it is very clear that the 17 overs from 22nd to 38th sealed India's fate. Dravid and Ganguly looked pathetic out there, not able to even rotate the strike. Yuvraj's effort contributed to a fighting total. There was no devil in the wicket for them to have slowed down the run rate, after Sehwag's and Laxman's effort.
If they have to look pathetic out in the middle, they might as well have come down in the order after Yuvraj and Kaif. If India lost the BCCI's platinum jubilee match, only two are to be blamed - Dravid and Ganguly. A little bit effort from them could have resulted in a score around 315 to 325, which would have been impossible for Pakistan to achieve.
One should give credit to the grit with which Salmat Butt and Inzaman chased the Indian target. Congrats to them.
The only way to redeem Indian team is to sack just non-performing one day players like Dravid and Ganguly and bring in more young blood to groom for teh future. Last but not the least, our team just doesn't care for the millions of cricket fans.
