Irrespective of the final result of the 3-nations final, one can draw the following conclusions after this series -
1. The era of Australian "supreme dominance" has come to an end. Yes, Aussies will still remain the champions in test and one day cricket, but they are not the same invincible side that they were 2 years ago. They have not found true replacements for McGrath and Warne and with Gichrist having retired, they will miss a quality stroke maker, specially in onedayers. All and all, there is a distinct decline in the standards of Australian cricket.
Even if Ponting may put up a brave face and try to pretend as though this is just "one of those things", Ponting's and the other Aussie player's actions (on the field and off the field) clearly indicate that they are indeed rattled!
2. Although India's oneday team selection had been criticised, our youngsters have justified the faith the selectors have had in them. So at least now, let us say a word of congratulations to the selectors, who otherwise get nothing but flak. Although we still have not found proper players for some of the spots, the absence of senior players has been hardly felt. Rohit Sharma's success means Dravid can well forget making a comeback in onedayers and also will have to face a serious challenge even for his test position.
True, we have not found a good opening batsman yet, but there is no point in going back to Ganguly. Uthappa does not fit the openers role and the selectors should look
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by bharat on Mar 03, 2008 08:59 AM
continued...
... for another opener.
The team nucleus has been built, now we have to find the rest of the pieces to complete the jig saw plus some bench strength. We have got players who are ready to put up a fight.
The series has a lot of positives for India and has left the Aussie think tank, a lot to think about.
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by chrsvd pavan kumar on Mar 03, 2008 10:07 AM
to a very good extent u r right. but for one thing. india still needs a strong opening pair. sachin and who... sehwag off late is unreliable. gambhir fitted the role of a no.3 batsman. utappa is still to get his foothold right and is a perfect one at no.5 or 6. pathan cant be tested at the opening slot as his career has already been spoiled and given a slap by the famous combo of dravid-cheppal. i still feel there is a place for ganguly for at least One more year as an opener before some one else is found and nurturned. till then it should be sachin-ganguly pair. if some one is found then he may be tested by RESTING one of these seasoned opening pair and in due course of time, may ganguly be left out - but definitely not at this juncture of time. This is clearly evident in the tri-series that the top order failed in almost all the games. and the need of one more experienced player is direly felt. all these things apart, i strongly appreciate the guts shown by the younger-lot who put up a brave fight against aussies in their own backyard.
RE:RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by naveen dhanerwal on Mar 03, 2008 11:22 AM
well i think gambhir is ok with sachin and rohit is on no 3 because of his solid temperament...then raina and yuvraj followed by dhoni and pathan...what you say?
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by Wihang Bendre on Mar 03, 2008 10:47 AM
You, I agree with you. But what I am thinking is, after Sachin WHO??? I cannot rely on Sehwag at all. He's too fixed in his approach of getting there and trying to clobber all balls out of the park. If he learns to defend 50% of the deliveries he can be a match winner, but until then, a BIG NO !!! Why not get Raina in the team?? Ganbhir is doing real good, Yuvi, well, when he strikes form he's devastating .... Rohit is fantastic and should be there in both forms of the game. Lets not try to shuffle the slots too much .... at times we have wrong people at specific positions. The bowling department is good, fielding on the way up, but batting is still a bit of a bother. Guys, after Sachin steps out of the scene, ho do we bank on for the wisdom, advice and the enormous respect he commands from all the rivals?? lets face it, when Sachin steps out on the turf, bowlers thinks a lot more of how and where to bowl at. We must have more batsmen who command such respect.
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by Gen Zia on Mar 03, 2008 09:57 AM
Bear in mind that Tendulkar won't be there for 2011 WC. That means we need 2 openers.
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by True Blue on Mar 03, 2008 10:14 AM
Aravinda De Silva played his last World Cup for Sri Lanka in 1996 at the age of 37. Sri Lanka won that edition. If Aravinda can play well at 37, it could be possible for Sachin too, provided he has no major injuries.
RE:The Aussie Bastion has been ratlled!
by naveen dhanerwal on Mar 03, 2008 11:19 AM
even hayden and surya are still playing..hayden is of 37 and surya is of 38..so why not sachin if his fitness or form support him...
Baaji is under attack by Australian Media run by Ruper Murdoch(an Australian by birth).
(google, Herald sun australia)
The Aus media under the leadership of Murdoch controlled "News Group" newspapers have baselessly alleged Bajji on racial actions against - guss what - the specters. They crowd were booing and rebuking Bajji all the time.
Boycott all Murdock controlled media-empire in India and show solidarity to Baaji
RE:Baaji Under attack by Rupert Murdoch
by dc on Mar 03, 2008 10:00 AM
I think Bhajji needs to be thrown out of the team. He is no saint himself!! Like Hayden said: I feel he is disrepute to Indian Cricket and an obnoxious little weed. Why are'nt people like Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Laxman in the news unlike Bhajji? Obviously, Bhajji is a problem trying to be in the news t cover up his failures in the just concluded Test Series!!
RE:Baaji Under attack by Rupert Murdoch
by Another Indian on Mar 03, 2008 10:43 AM
Like Hayden said he is a disrepute, and you agree he is a disrepute.. Dhoni said Aussies need to behave.. what say you? :-)
RE:Baaji Under attack by Rupert Murdoch
by True Blue on Mar 03, 2008 10:12 AM
I must disagree with you in the context of just the previous match. Bhajji's fielding was really good and very nearly resulted in a run-out in India's favor. Plus he bowled well in tandem with Piyush Chawla and got Hayden and Symonds. Short-tempered and easily provokable is what he is, however the racism charge has not been proven. Hayden's opinion is his own and not endorsed by other players such as Lee and Gilly.
And as ususal doesn't know its spelling.. but its fine. He can't digest (like the true idiot he is) that India has won. Pre-match he was convincing everyone he met how India CANNOT win. Now that India wins, he is convincing everyone that there is something wrong.. There IS something wrong, but we all know who with.. :-)
A hall mark of true champions is the magnanimity. True champions savour victories and at the same time should like true sportsmen, give full credit to the opposition when beaten.
Yesterday's match was a classic case when India completely outplayed Australia. Yet, Ponting did not admit this even indirectly. Infact, he tried to give excuses - like blaming their own performance; saying that they were 30-40 runs short. Considering that we won with 5 overs to spare, we could have easily scored the additional 30-40 runs even if Aussies had made a higher total. He went on the indicate that Sachin was lucky with a few close calls early on. Mr. Ponting, you got to be aware that it is seldom that an opening batsman does not get beaten a few times early on. So have Hayden or Gilchrist every time they got a big score. Going by Ponting's criteria, most of the big innings played by opening batsmen should be considered lucky since most of the time there would be some play and misses early on. This uncouth fellow has no sense of sportsmanship.
To top it up, Aussie newspapers are trying to cook up a new controversy to fix Bhajji. It shows how bitter they are at being beaten by India.
RE:Aussies are Poor Losers
by Another Indian on Mar 03, 2008 08:30 AM
bharat.. Learn to take it with tongue in cheek.. So - Ponting said they were 30-40 runs short.. who stopped them?... :-) His boys are going to a super market and not picking up what they want?.. :-) Sachin was lucky.. fantastic.. he needed that luck with all the LBWs he has been getting .. . :-) Leave Bhajji alone.. he is enjoying every moment of this "ugly" situation.. look everyone including Haydos is on the backfoot... giving radio comments and still falling to Bhajji on the field..
If this is not called "mental disintegration", what is?.. :-)
RE:Aussies are Poor Losers
by Arnold S on Mar 03, 2008 08:31 AM
You are spot on. I cannot agree more. I could not hear any acknowledgement of Tendulkar's brilliant innings when Ponting spoke. Ponting may be a very talented batsman and a match winner for Australia. But he cannot be considered a sportsman at all and is a mockery on the expression "to take things sportingly". Even when Aussies were beaten by Lanka in Melbourne Ponting did not acknowlege that Lanka bowled well. He simply said "This is not end of the road". However much they crib and try to give lame excuses, finally the end result is what matters. Ponting will go down in History as one of the worst Australian captain and sportsman (?!)
RE:Aussies are Poor Losers
by Gen Zia on Mar 03, 2008 10:00 AM
Note that Ponting is there to win matches for his country, not to be a cheer leader for India or Sachin for that matter.
RE:Aussies are Poor Losers
by Another Indian on Mar 03, 2008 10:47 AM
Hey Zia: Oh is it so? Then why is the Aussie media so hellbent to prove that Bhajji is a son of a devil? Is he there to shower praises on all the vile stuff that is coming both from the Aussie players as well as the crowds?.. :-) And by the way, Aussies are the poorest lot that won a world cup.. They had nothing to play for, it was Sri Lankans who scored about 30-40 runs short and couldn't bowl effectively to castle the opposition. Similarly India hadn't played up to their potential in 2003 WC.. If only our bowlers had taken 10 Aussie wickets within 100 runs, India would have won.. If I talk like this, what would you make out of me?.. Probably that I am a cry baby.. Draw your own conclusions now about Ponting.. :-)
