This is not the first time India has lost a Test Match and it would not be the last....but what irks me immensely is the margin of defeat against what is a rag-tag depleted English side.
On another note, India's batting cupboard is surprisingly threadbare(as compared to the fast bowling options)...there isn't too many people to choose from....the "best" people on the bench are Gambhir, Venugopal Rao...which is not saying much.
Having said that, I think India should persist with Wasim Jaffer in Test Matches. He is entitled to a good run.
Sir kindly enlighten me with breath-taking performances from Sachin in last 15 innings, one century against sri lanka aside. He is a legend but he is on a downhill and since he is the most studied batsman in world cricket, he is somewhat found out by bowlers. Consistency was his hallmark and now a missing piece in his armory. (Well he is failing consistently if you wanna put it that way)
What a performance by England. No vaughan, tresco, harmi, jones or giles. That means FIVE regular first team players missing and they still prevailed a full strength indian team in their backyard. Credit goes to flintoff and young players. :k:
They could have won the first test had they taken their catches and hence the series. One bad session cost in second test cost them the series otherwise they played better cricket in alien conditions than India
(location: small cafeteria, bunch of highly depressed fans having tea).....
fan1: saala aaj to players ki wife unko paas nahi aane degi ....
fan2 : (with a bright smile) aisa hota to koi bangladeshi cricketer kabhi baap nahi ban pata
Well well well……just checked the score and could not believe it…..India out for 100……I guess it is all about Dravid….if he stays there , the indian team would either win or at least draw the match. I am pretty sure that statistically speaking, there is probably no other player in the cricket history who would have such an impact on the outcome of the match…Pakistan was able to win the test match in Karachi because dravid got out cheap in both innings….Anyway, I wont start analyzing India’s batting because frankly speaking there is not much to analyze. It was probably just another bad day in the office though Indian think tank should figure out that how come India has so many talented fast bowlers in reserve but there is hardly any quality batsman available to replace some senior players. I guess that is where the poor vision comes into play. We tend to do the same thing in Pakistan and Indians did the same. For years, Indians were blamed for not being able to produce fast bowlers. Therefore, the Indian think tank allocated all of its resources in setting up different bowling academies and camps for fast bowlers all over the country neglecting the batting department all together. Now all of the sudden, they are facing an unusual dilemma? Batting dilemma....
But hats of to England team especially to Flintoff….Flintoff has shown to all of us that he is indeed a true champion…..Not only England has drawn the series but in my opinion England did maintain pressure on India for most part of the series. Even in the first test match, England was at the top for almost 90 percent of the match. Good Job England......
India hasn’t learnt that they can’t play in a “defensive” shell… Too many a times they played over-defensively and gave away their wickets. 295 was certainly not a massive target given the Indian batting’s “royal highness” including Dravid, Sehwag, Dhoni, Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Pathan+Kumble.
Wonderful job by Flintoff in all departments bowling, batting and captaincy :k: As others said already, it was half the England’s strength team and they still managed this victory, should expose Indian strategy esp when batting second!
Well played England. :k: India got whipped by a depleted English team. Wonder what would have happened if they were at full strength. So much for the best batting line up in the world.
India was playing definitely one batsmen short, though i wonder if to would have made a difference.Add to that fact india was chasing. I dont know why Dravid thinks that India should chase all the time. They have been doing the chasing from the first test to Pakistan onwerds. In all three test india chased, now the three test here and again they were chasing. Its indeed quite a mystary to me why one has to chase in Bombay of all the pitches. I think Dravid doesnt have any confidence in their bowling strength or have too much confident in their batting strength. its a pity.. The games India lost are a lot to do with Indian poor batting than poor bowling. Bowling only helps in winning games. But batting help to save game. Both against Pakistan and here in bombay, Indians were bundled out for pretty small scores.
Dravid clearly lost the plot when he decide to field.. I have no idea how one can take such a horrible decision.
ne got the highlight of the 100 runs innings with Tendu comin bak into form and makin 34% of the runs the easiest calculation I have done in a long time
India always plays at the level of the opposing team. When playing mediocrity they become so. When playing superclass they get to that edge. It makes for interesting games but doesn’t help the win loss numbers. Happened in Pakistan and happened here again.
As to best batting line up, I think it is no longer as good as it was. It’s still better than most but the inconsistency is not good. But then our bowling is not the worst anymore!
Bowling has picked up, so naturally batting comes down to balance things out. Yeh hein Hindustan! Always in balance.
