I'm trying to post a very relevant reply and the board shows that my post was reported for abuse. I thought it was an error and so tried to post the reply again - but no use. So, I wanted to post it as a fresh message instead of as a reply - still no use. I can't understand what is happening. Moderators can you please show my message? Thanks.
RE:What's the matter?
by Ramanjaneyulu Gandluri on Feb 28, 2008 11:53 AM
Dear Ravi, Yes, I agree with your posting of 26.02.08. VVS Laxman is another unsung hero. Rahul and Laxman together made batting look so easy in difficult conditions. More recent example is the Perth Test: When all other guys struggled to adopt to the fast and bouncy wicket, the Dravid and Laxman have scored half centuries to put decent runs on the board that enabled bowlers to finish the job. Mind you, Rahul was not in the best of forms, but still scored 93 runs in the first innings. Laxamn's 70 runs in the second innings was the most crucial in the match. While Laxman is as good a batman and slip fielder as Rahul Dravid is, my complaint against Laxman is that he was not able to adopt well to the ODI format - especially his running between the wickets. Still, I expected him to be in the ODI Team for Triseries for his batting abilities alone against Aussies. But the so called wisemen ignored both the players. Unfortunately, people of the region don't take to streets and politicians do not complain against injustices meted out to their players. Here probably, they have better things to do.
I agree with Dravid that the prices paid for IPL players doesnot reflect their true value in T-20. Otherwise how does one explain Dravid getting Rs.4 Cr. ? He can't play this kind of game . If Dravid really thought it is not about money than he wouldn't play this game . Haridas
RE:RE:RE:Dravid & IPL
by ravi boppudi on Feb 25, 2008 02:05 PM
Rahul Dravid's ability to play at a strike rate of 100 or 200 or above was never a question to many as he has shown on numerous occasions before. My only concern now is - is he still capable of putting in such similar performances? A comparison between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly makes for some interesting reading. I have decided to see how many times these two were able to score at a strike rate of 80 or above and score not less than 35 runs. The result is not surprising to me.
RD: 54 innings with a final strike rate of 79.90. SG: 49 innings with a final strike rate of 79.04.
Since Rahul Dravid came down the order many times, it should be obvious that even a score of 20 or above but less than 35 but with a strike rate of not less than 90 should also be considered as a meaningful contribution. In such a scenario where he is coming in at 4-6:
7 innings at a final strike rate of 111.67. So, we have RD who has played some meaningful knocks in 54 7 = 61 innings vs SG who has done the same in 49 innings.
Finally, if we have to look at any other innings of Rahul Dravid and Ganguly, where they came in at positions 3-6 and got some good starts and got dismissed between 20 and 35, then we can add 13 more to RD\'s initial 54 and 6 more to SG\'s initial 49.
RE:Dravid & IPL
by Ramanjaneyulu Gandluri on Feb 25, 2008 04:21 PM
Mr. Ravi,
You are taking lot of troble in collecting/ compiling the statistics. My compliments to you.
But, statistics alone do not tell you the full story about the value of Rahul Dravid' innings. In what kind of match situations were these inings played, and the ultimate contribution of these innings on the result of the match makes it much more valuable than what is otherwise portryed through the figures. Even on standalone basis, these figures are enough to prove the quality of his batsmanship.
RE:Dravid & IPL
by ravi boppudi on Feb 25, 2008 10:01 PM
Dear Ramanjaneyulu,
I agree with you completely that match situations are the key to the importance of a knock. For the same reason even a knock of say 30 at any meager strike rate should be considered as meaningful if it was in a winning cause. But the very topic here is RD's ability to score really quick and so I thought let me throw some light on the same. His approach just shows how selfless he was as a Man in Blue to play as per the match situation and the 'fans' are paying 'tribute' to him by branding him as a misfit in real quick scoring formats. I sincerely hope that RD doesn't pay any mind to such 'tributes' and get irritated as has happened to him during the England Tour. One particular innings that comes to my mind immediately was against England in Natwest Series 2002 at Lord's. India lost 3 quick wickets for 10 runs chasing down 271. RD has already played 24 balls before Yuvraj Singh faced his first ball. RD was on 12 from 24 balls in a situation that needs a cautious approach from him. By the time YS reached 39 in 41 balls, RD was still on 37 in 56 balls. YS reached 50 in 54 balls and RD was still on 43 in 69 balls scoring 31 in 45 balls in that partnership till then. But what followed was the RD that I know - a priceless versatile batsman scoring his next 30 runs in 16 balls reaching 73 in 85 balls and YS was on 64 in 65 balls. The effort from RD was so smooth that I didn't even realize that he scored his last 30 runs @ nearly 200. What a priceless batsman!!
RE:Dravid & IPL
by Ramanjaneyulu Gandluri on Feb 26, 2008 09:52 AM
Dear Ravi,
Thank you for the figures.This is the reason why I rate Rahul Dravid as the best batsman/ Cricketer that India has ever produced so far. A Rahul Dravid is born once in a century, probably. Apart from his perfection as a batsman and near perfection as a fielder, I am bowled over by his humble behaviour. He would not hesitate even a second for admitting his mistake. During the last series against touring English side in the Mumbai test, Dravid put Englad to bat first after winning the toss. India lost the test mainly because of this error of judgement. In the post match briefing to the media he has strait away admitted his mistake. While nobody is infallible, I doubt whether any other Captain would have the guts to admit such errors.
RE:RE:Dravid & IPL
by ravi boppudi on Feb 26, 2008 07:53 PM
Dear Ramanjaneyulu,
You are most welcomed. The greatness of Rahul Dravid is that he is a rare package of humbleness combined with a shrewd cricketing brain and excellent batting skills. As you said in one of your previous posts, he is the real unsung hero among all the Indian Batsmen we have seen. VVS too got the rough end of the stick. The handling of VVS by the Indian Cricket Board was/is less than ordinary and deserves strong condemnation.
Brian Lara, after the India's Tour of West Indies, said that the two innings that Rahul Dravid has played in the final test match were two of the finest innings he has ever seen in his life. One look at the score card shows us that Rahul Dravid din't set the ground on fire with two huge 3 figure scores, but they were just half-centuries. All the batsmen were struggling to get in terms with the bounce which was notoriously unpredictable.
There were many slow innings in his ODI career which were priceless given the context of the game. It is very unfortunate that many people are not fortunate enough to savour the fine balance that he brings to his job which is indispensable in achieving the goal the team is confronted with. Rahul Dravid has been the humble soldier and untiring workhorse of Indian batting lineup and delivered his duties with a sense of purpose. Such players grace this great game of cricket only in generations and I am glad that he has played cricket when I am watching him live on TV or on the cricket field.
Till sixtees and even in the seventies the cricketing standards in the country were low and teams like ENGLAND, AUSTRALIA, WEST INDIES etc. would send their second string team only. And fellow like IAN BOTHAM would like to send only his mother.in.law to INDIA & PAKISTAN. Further, India was just another 3rd world country and the touring teams would come with crates of beer bottle cartons lest our water infest them with Malaria. No good hotels, poor air connectivity etc. would be their other grievances. The IPL auctions and influx of the GORAs to India marks a decisive change in the Nations stature vis-à-vis the world not only in the Cricket field but also in the Economic field. Other sports bodies should also try to emulate our cricketers/cricket administration and professionalize instead of keep cribbing. They must realize that first they have to excel in their respective area of sports and should be close to the TOP in world order to get mass following or support of people and consequent financial backing.
RE:A PARADIGM SHIFT ?
by kachra seth on Feb 25, 2008 05:33 PM
you are right. But other counties have soccer or some other sport as their most popular one.They spend a lot on that sport,like India does on cricket
No wonders DRAVID is a great player..in ODI/Test but 20-20---???? besides all the old Sr. citizens looks out of place in this format. C the performance of our U-19 team--tanmay, virat, sangwn, jadeja.. and pl. recall recent performance of Dravid, Jaysuriya, Ponting, syamonds recently
RE:????????
by ravi boppudi on Feb 23, 2008 12:27 PM
agree with you Mr. Lucky on that - the recent performances were not up to the mark. but not long before Rahul was thrown out of the team he scored a 63 ball 92 at Edgebaston - a class act. an act of a silent killer. as I observe Dravid from very close quarters, I am pretty much sure that he was mentally torn apart which culminated in his resignation from captaincy. i could easily see that Dravid was not his natural self during the Australia's Tour of India and was very uncomfortable in his moves. his body was there but his mind wasn't there for sure. cricket is as much in the mind as it is in skill. Dravid paid a high price for accepting Captaincy of a team that was in doldrums in 2005. worse even media crucified him for every move of his that a Gentleman like Dravid had to have arguments with journalists and infact threw the newspapers at some point of time during the England Tour.
RE:????????
by Ramanjaneyulu Gandluri on Feb 23, 2008 04:44 PM
Mr. Ravi,
Very well said. Rahul is the best batsman that India has ever produced in any form of the game. Just because he has not played T20 does not make him a bad player of that format. The number of matches - tests or ODIs that India had won or the number of matches that India has saved (which otherwise lost)sheerly because of his batting are many. He is the real unsung hero, who has always played for the country/team instead of playing for himself and for records. He is not the player who comes and blasts always 15 runs of 10 balls. If the situation so demanded, he has done that. If the situation demands that he stays at the crease and save the other end, he has always done that. In my view he is the most valuabe player. Only the cricket illeterates cannot appreciate his value and performance.
RE:????????
by srivatsa yb on Feb 25, 2008 11:42 AM
Rahul is the best player india has produced....most indians just want to see flamboyant players...but only ppl who have played cricket a lot know the value of a player like dravid...he is the greatest indian test batsmen and one of the best odi players
