Lord's: Ajantha Mendis didn't take a wicket and Shahid Afridi never hit him for a boundary but the "demystifying" of the Sri Lankan spinner told greatly on his team's defeat in the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 here on Sunday.
Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara conceded that Pakistan had played his "mystery spinner" too often in recent times and it had played into his opposition's hands. What he didn't know was that an Indian had also contributed hugely in Pakistan's quest to tackle Mendis.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi were lodged in the same hotel with their teams in central London in the second week of the competition when they caught up with each other over a dinner. Afridi had then inquired Gambhir, arguably one who has played Mendis best so far, on how to come to terms with the Sri Lankan spinner.
Afridi's questions were specific: how to spot when Mendis was bowling a googly or varying the degree of spin or when he was in "carom ball" delivery mode. Gambhir patiently shared all his knowledge with Afridi which must be kind of a news in itself as the world believed their was no love lost between the two cricketers. Afridi and Gambhir were involved in an ugly confrontation during a match of the 2006-07 series and the latter was even hauled up in front of the match-referee.
Well clearly much water has passed under the bridge since then and Gambhir was more than keen to help out Afridi. The mercurial Pakistani at that stage must not have k
Re: ban on porkis in ipl.
by Pradip on Jun 28, 2009 03:22 PM
dhoni worring abt his place in team india bcoz dinesh karhik also played well in last couple of month so mr dhoni dnt wnt to take rest even injured
Re: ban on porkis in ipl.
by Pradip on Jun 28, 2009 03:22 PM
dhoni worring abt his place in team india bcoz dinesh karhik also played well in last couple of month so mr dhoni dnt wnt to take rest even injured
Re: i sharma
by john rambo on Jun 27, 2009 10:31 PM
Yeah...After gifting them the T-20 tittle now India shud Have a Freindly 6 Match ODI with them-Phukistan... Team For Pukistan shud be...
Capt R Jadeja Vice Capt : Dhoni Other important players::: Ishant Sharma, and rest shud be....
Dhoni is injured. He got a back injury during NZ tour and never got time to recover from it. This is something he has admitted more than once. He is managing things one way or the other by marshalling the resources at his command. We shd be happy as long he is winning matches. After the current tour Indian team gets a break. We may see a fit and delivering Dhoni after that. I know a few will say that he should sit out. But perhaps there is no substitute for him. He sat out one match in NZ and India came to the brink of defeat. He sat out the Sr Lanka series and every one what happened. I am amazed that every one knows about the above yet they are baying for Dhoni's blood. I would rather see some lover of the game admire the grit, courage and determination of Dhoni to satnd for his country's prestige even in such a situation. The only other example that comes to mind is that of Nari Contractor who continued to bat against the fiery English bowling at Lords in the 1959 tour when all other batsmen were falling like nine pins. Yet, Nari, despite a fracture in the rib cage stood his ground and contributed a valuable 80. Even the Queen came to the ground to appreciate his bravado. But the mean Indian fans who are ignorig his injury and his valiant contribution despite that, can only be called inhuman or some sub-human.
Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by gollamadugu reddy on Jun 28, 2009 06:21 AM
If dhoni is injured why he is playing ?He can take rest as he asked his team members who want to take rest they can do so.He can also shred his wicket keeping job to dinesh kartik.It's not that he is great wicket keeper.I think he is as good as karthik.He keeps on playing because he might loose his ads if he is not playing.It's not right playing in the team if you are not complete fit.
Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by aman malhotra on Jun 27, 2009 08:38 PM
Ashish...Dhoni is a very good One day/Test player....T20...sorry to say he doesnt fit!...you need hitters in T20 and not nudgers...hope you get the point.
Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by Ashish Kumar on Jun 27, 2009 08:43 PM
You have failed to respond to the injury aspect. At this moment he is no good for any form of the game. In fact he should be taking physiotherapy or some other treatment. I am not talking of Dhoni's merits. I am talking about fans who fail to appreciate an injured man's valiant effort. That is why I have used such a derogatory expression. If you have reply to is point, please do come forward.
Re: Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by aman malhotra on Jun 27, 2009 09:49 PM
Agreed...your points make sense...but i beg to differ as far as having a substitute for him is concerned...Dinesh Karthik has shown that he is a capable batter and a good keeper as well.Moreover,no one told Dhoni to continue despite injuries...i understand he has undergone a lot of physical and mental strain in the last couple of years and needs a break...however,if u say that the indian team can not win w/o dhoni...i dont agree...in any case,every good team should have a strong bench and a rotation policy in place...i believe Yuvraj could lead the capably in his absence as he has matured tremendously in the last year and a half...having said all this,i'd say that Dhoni's efforts in the last 2 years have been phenomenal and he should be credited for it.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by Ashish Kumar on Jun 28, 2009 07:02 AM
I am happy to see that you have seen the point I was tryig to drive home. I am not saying that Dhoni is indispensable. No one is. But the BCCI has made bonded labour of our players through their "yellow contracts". Why should they not rest him? And I am sure you will appreciate that no winning captain ever wants to break his team's winning momentum. I think this is what that is driving Dhoni to carry on. Dhoni's wicket keeping has become pathetic. He is unable to bend quickly to pick up the low balls. If only he could do that when the ball was thrown directly to him in the match against WI in the T20 WC, Bravo would have been run out hands down. However, Dhoni's leadership qualities and street smartness as captain remain as before and that is why he desires to remain in the team. I would compare his mind set to that of ATLAS (the Giant holding the heavens on his shoulders in the Greek mythology) who quickly took back the assignment of holding the heavens from Hercules when he saw a few stars tumbling down.
Re: Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by aman malhotra on Jun 27, 2009 09:51 PM
Agreed...your points make sense...but i beg to differ as far as having a substitute for him is concerned...Dinesh Karthik has shown that he is a capable batter and a good keeper as well.Moreover,no one told Dhoni to continue despite injuries...i understand he has undergone a lot of physical and mental strain in the last couple of years and needs a break...however,if u say that the indian team can not win w/o dhoni...i dont agree...in any case,every good team should have a strong bench and a rotation policy in place...i believe Yuvraj could lead the capably in his absence as he has matured tremendously in the last year and a half...having said all this,i'd say that Dhoni's efforts in the last 2 years have been phenomenal and he should be credited for it.
Re: Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by aman malhotra on Jun 27, 2009 09:50 PM
Agreed...your points make sense...but i beg to differ as far as having a substitute for him is concerned...Dinesh Karthik has shown that he is a capable batter and a good keeper as well.Moreover,no one told Dhoni to continue despite injuries...i understand he has undergone a lot of physical and mental strain in the last couple of years and needs a break...however,if u say that the indian team can not win w/o dhoni...i dont agree...in any case,every good team should have a strong bench and a rotation policy in place...i believe Yuvraj could lead the capably in his absence as he has matured tremendously in the last year and a half...having said all this,i'd say that Dhoni's efforts in the last 2 years have been phenomenal and he should be credited for it.
Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by I am on Jun 28, 2009 09:54 AM
IF SOME IS NOT FIT OR IF HE IS INJURED HE SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR not RUIN MATCH FOR THE COUNTRY..........HE IS NOT PLAYING FOR HIS GULLY OR HIS STATE DHONI is playing for COUNTRY!!! THERE ARE THOUSANDS WAITING TO GET A CHANCE D KARTHI, PATIL are all good wicketkeepers they can replace DHONI
Re: Re: Are some of us sub-human/inhuman?
by Ashish Kumar on Jun 28, 2009 01:13 PM
Absolutely right. That is why BCCI should rest Dhoni and not use the contract to make him to play. Dhoni has not concealed his injury at any point of time. I find him to be an honest but after the WC he has said sa (or rather has been compelled to say) that he is out of form. Have you seen him swinging a horizontal bat through 180 degrees or from bottom to top after the NZ series as he used to do and get sixes with ease. I have seen him do so twice and each time he was unable to provide adequate power and got caught. The poor guy is now scoring runs by nudging which is another strong point of his to make do (Dhoni has the lowest percetage of dot ball - 25%, as reported by Sunil Gavaskar). Dhoni should be rested. He can ill afford to hand over keeping to Karthik while he is captain. This is because both are competing for the same slot and Karthik cannot be trusted to fully support his effort in winning which would be ultimately deprive Dhoni of his USP of being a winning captain.
KARTHIK STOOD FIRMLY IN THE INTIAL STAGES OF THE INDIAN INNINGS WHERE AS ROHIT AND GAMBHIR LOST THEIR WICKETS CHEAPLY.YUVI,DHONI,YOUSUF AND HARBHAJAN LATER TAKE US TO A GOOD SCORE.BUT OUR BOWLERS HAS DONE NOTHING IN THE MATCH.
Re: KARTHIK HAS GIVEN A PLATFORM INTIALLY
by babran on Jun 27, 2009 08:27 PM
DHONI SHOULD USE THE RESERVE PLAYERS IN THE COMING MATCHES INSTEAD OF THE NON PERFORMERS IN THE CURRENT INDIAN TEAM.
where is the learning/Gambhir and Rohit fall for the short pitch balls .Rohit tries to hit a ball out side the off stump towards leg - hook at the early part of a new series and innings . Ishant should go back to the drawing board - his performance in IPL .WC has been pathetic .
We got complacent - nothing new .Great teams of the past never ever were complacent .They will go for 4-0 or 5-0 verdict but not like India .Once the rubber is won - they invariable lose .
Re: Re: Re: India cricket team
by vivek singh on Jun 27, 2009 07:09 PM
whats wrong in that whateve mr. birju said is fine becoz there is not 'h' in gautam..
Re: Re: Re: Re: India cricket team
by icc on Jun 27, 2009 07:16 PM
there would have been nothing wrong if he had just pointed out the spelling kistake. but why get abusive? what was that thng about the rotten idli?? a case of north indian complex?? thats why i decided to get abuseive too. serves the b#stard right.
Re: India cricket team
by babran on Jun 27, 2009 08:36 PM
IT WAS A GOOD DECISION BY DHONI TO SEND KARTHIK IN THE OPENING SLOT.HOPE KARTHIK CAN DO BETTER IN THE COMING MATCHES TO RETAIN HIS PLACE IN THE INDIAN SQUAD.
