I can understand your disappointment over the Indian team lacklustre show in the current series against the Aussies. It hurts me a great deal too. But i vehemently disagree with you on one point.....You are asking for VVS Laxman's head for failing in this series while commenting that he's woefully out of form for a long time.....what are you smoking exactly my friend?
VVS Laxman 2nd innings counterattacking 72 in final Lahore Test won the series in Pakistan and his 100 in the final one dayer clinched the one-day series too. Did we play any other series that Iam forgetting my friend?
Batsmen like Laxman come once in a generation and judging by some intermittent failures would show the stupidity of the people. What happened to Tendulkar when we were in Australia last time? He failed miserably until the last test to score double hundred with Laxman thumping the bowling to all corners to lend him the much confidence.
A well-written article. I couldn't agree more with what Rajeev had to write about Patel's blunders behind the stumps, Indian selectors' continued persistence with Laxman or Rahul's extremely subdued and needless first innings in Nagpur. I would also like to add that it beats me to even think of Yuvraj opening the batting for India. The guy who normally comes on to bat when over 40 overs have been bowled in One Dayers can at best play as a middle-order batsman. I can still imagine if Kaif was asked to open. Akash Chopra had done enough to cement a place in the side. I wouldn't be surprised if we loose this series 3-0. Mumbai is a happy hunting ground for Aussies, after all!
Yessss, I want India to win, but I just dont want the current Indian tem to win. They just are damned to lose in the current for. No cribbing abt that. Even Bangladesh if invited may defeat the current India team at home. So forget winning or thinking of a miracle against the gr8 Aussie team. only when the egos of these cricketers are bruised will they realize their """actual""" potential and do a reality check. They deserve an apology to the cricket fans for their lack of fighting spirit.
I dont know why everybody keeps on saying that india is the best team that can match Aus at present which is a big joke in itself. Aus have not won a tes series in india for 35yrs, but we have not won a series in aus or for that matter in any foreign country excluding sub continent, for decades now. Rather than considering a couple of fluke results in the past and saying that is one of the best, we have to face the reality and accept that aus us the best team as far as fielding, bowling and batting r considered. India won in adelaide only bcoz of the nature of the wicket and the number of catches dropped by the aussies. It was an unaustralian wicket when compared to previous tour. Realize that fact. India wins only when the other team makes mistakes on its own. Think professionally
Nicely written. The cold, hard truth of the matter is that our top 5 batsmen have been responsible for India about lose the Final Frontier status in the Aussie eyes. The tail has contributed the majority of the runs scored by India thus far in this series and it has cost us dearly. Laxman, Dravid, Ganguly & Yuvraj simply didn't do their jobs. Given this scenario, I can't see how Patel can be dropped because I shudder to think what our batting performance would have been without his contributions. This Indian squad is paying a heavy price for it's complacency. Another way to look at it this would be to ask, what can one expect out of a team that's managed by an organization as shambolic as the BCCI ? As for me, I'm praying for Rain, Glorious Rain !!! Nothing else can save us now...
this was the article i was searching for, which speks the truth...but u have to blame the BCCI their selectors and all others too...mr JAGGU DADA has adhered to the seat like a lizard adhers to the wall...
That article of yours was simply awesome and deserves some credit.In a country where anyone and everyone are Cricket analysts yours was a true analyst and a sportive one.What Parthiv is doing in the team?Well no one knows.I believe even Dravid can do a better wicket keeping job compared to Patel's.Laxman has no clue where his next runs are going to come from.Sehwag thinks he can belt every ball and any ball he faces.AKash Chopra seems to have had a bad coach in his career.A coach who might have taught him that trying to Drive the ball or cut or pull damn,to play a shot is a sin!!!Dravid can be allowed one bad series.Sachin,well,10 times in ten innings he's out for a single digit.Ganguly has no clue about test cricket.This sort of a performance poses a lot of questions.One of them is this team did well in Australia and In Pakistan.Yes no doubt.But that might be a fluke.If that sort of a remark creeps in i'm sorry to say that we're back @ Sqaure one.
Team India is in shambles. I still believe that we can overcome the situation.
1. This is the first time in a long time, I could not see evidence of a plan for the game. Dravid simply gave in. His insipid batting showcased the need for aggressive, from-the-front leadership.
2. We must rest Parthiv Butterfinger Patel (middle name borrowed from Raja Swaminathan). Not only he is bad, he has a very demoralizing influence on the bowlers. Parthiv is only a club-level keeper. He stands too far back, allowing balls to drop before they get to him. His hands do not follow the trajectory of the oncoming ball, only when his guess is good, he catches the ball, which happens rarely. Most of the time, the ball comes lower or higher than his hands, and he fumbles. He likes to tumble to the sides, but he does not take any steps to get closer to the ball before he does that, and he clearly does not tumble far enough. When the keeper cannot collect the ball, the bowler limits himself, basically trying to hit the stumps or to induce nicks in the slip cordon only.
3. Indian batsmen have style, and not necessarily gutsy. Viru and Kaif succeeds because they are gutsy. We need more like them.
Very rarely do I agree with everything written in an article ... but, I do on this one. I'm glad you pointed out the importance of Dravid not performing and Laxman's poor form (though, as most times ... he'll get a big score in the last innings to warrant his selection for the future :(. Thanks for reminding us about Zimbawe's game ... hopefully the Indians take somn. out of their book. And, yes ... everything's fair ... and so we should always win. And, in this case if we do, then no way can a team, scoring 500+ in the 4th inning to win, be called undeserving.
