Re: Sehwag the genius!
I admire his daring attitude when he bats, but the man is one of the easiest to get out. Bowlers get too intimidated and stop thinking before bowling to him. Really.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
yes atlantis people are usually born straight... but we know it's different where you come from it's alright enjoy
Re: Sehwag the genius!
if tendlia can be compared to bradman, then sehwag is definitely much better than bradman....
Re: Sehwag the genius!
deja-vue Sachin tandulkar 
and India’s continueing ‘Mahan Bhagwaan’ larger than life heroes. 
, I hope this crap don’t spill over to Pakistan.
Good ‘Diplomatic’ statement by Bablu towards the Indian camp.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
…but how come he got his azz whop during the Pakistan tour.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
This article reminds me of a Rahul Dravid quote which Faisal posted in one of the threads...'you're probably not as good or as bad as they make you out to be'.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
What about this one 
**India needs three-dimensional players **
Bob Woolmer (PTI)
April 20, 2005
One of the great things about cricket is that it stimulates debate. It is the sort of game where no one really knows if they are right or wrong when they assess teams or individuals.
After conceding the lead in the Test series against Pakistan and then again losing their way against a Pakistan team in the One-Day Internationals, naturally pundits, critics, coaches will ask the question: ‘why?’ to India.
Indeed my guess is that it was caused by a multitude of factors, one being that Pakistan played as a team and all contributed and that the side seemed to have a better game plan.
Of course this is pure speculation as I do not sit with the Indian team and discuss these things. I am only able to comment from our perspective as the opposition.
I am often asked what I think of the Indian team. In fact, someone asked me the other day can India win the 2007 World Cup. So much can and will take place between now and the World Cup that the only answer is that India have the same chance as most other teams in the competition.
India’s performance in the last World Cup in South Africa was interesting. They were unheralded before the tournament started, for reasons I am unable to explain.
They have on paper a batting line up that rivals Australia’s, both in ability and talent. Yet following their World Cup performance they have been unable to sustain that momentum and probably, as I write, have regressed slightly.
With a batting line up boasting of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, most of us would agree that they would never be short of runs.
Apart from the Delhi chase on a pitch not fit for One-Day International cricket they stacked up the runs heavily against us in the just-concluded series. So why did they fall from a 2-0 lead to concede the series?
My opinion is this: most modern day limited-overs sides have at least five frontline bowlers, usually six and sometimes with South Africa in the 90s they had seven. This allows for flexibility in strategy and tactics.
They also have an interesting problem that they have three very fine left-arm bowlers but like right arm bowlers bowling over the wicket the ball ends up going wide of the off stump and the modern one-day player will latch onto any width.
I though Ajit Agarkar’s inclusion and his ability to cramp the right hander with reverse swing gave India more options. Interestingly, Lakshmipathy Balaji to me is a Test match bowler not a one-day bowler as he also tends to give too much room outside the off stump.
Another area where India will have to look at the make up of the team will be in the fielding department, Mohammed Kaif stands out but it looks pretty pedestrian apart from Tendulkar who is a great all-round cricketer.
The batting I do not think is a problem as the ability to score heavily is always there.
One thing that really struck me though was, a lot depended on Dravid to do the donkey work in the middle, taking the ones and twos. It seemed that the individual roles were blurred.
I hasten to add here that I am not privy to their meetings but I guess the instructions are pretty much play your natural game, Rahul you bat through, Kaif you pressurise them later with running between the wickets etc. All teams have that.
However, if one of Tendulkar or Sehwag were to bat through the innings instead of blasting together then India would have a great advantage.
Yuvraj Singh is a fine player whose form has not come to the fore in this series. He has not had that much opportunity to bat for long periods, but it is these strategic areas that India were unable to put it together, or that is how it seemed to me!
In the Test match arena it is similar — runs are very rarely the problem, but it is containing and pressurising the opposition with a balanced attack.
Whether they like it or not the side need to find an all-rounder with the capabilities of an Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock or Jacques Kallis. I suspect that most sides would crave that.
I have always believed that in order to win One-Day Internationals it is important to have three-dimensional cricketers in the team, but not bits and pieces players.
I suspect that with the depth they have, India can put together many combinations. Despite VVS Laxman being not included in the one-day side, batting was never a problem.
I was very impressed by Sridharan Sriram at Hyderabad as he is a quick singles and twos man, hits the ball hard and is a brilliant fielder, completely three-dimensional.
Irfan Pathan looks like he can bat. He might be encouraged to be used at seven with a specific role.
In Mahendra Dhoni India have found a good all-round cricketer and as he improves he will be a very important part of their one-day side.
Yes, I think India can win the World Cup but I also think Pakistan can! I suspect Australia think they can too! Don’t forget the other teams as well!
The most important part of any debate are concrete facts, not hypothesis.
As I said cricket is just the sort of sport where no one will ever be one hundred per cent correct but it is fun to speculate and hope that your team plays better on the day than the opposition!
(Bob Woolmer is Pakistan’s national team coach)
http://www.htcricket.com/htcricket/7679_1328698,001600980001.htm
Re: Sehwag the genius!
ofcourse!
India has the deadliest batsmen in the world today …guess they have grown a bit too complascent playing development squads like BD and even pakistan which is a team fast maturing with exciting individuals.
India’s main issue is their strategy around bowling - ironically it’s at the same time a problem of plenty and scarcity. Suddenly we have Irfan, Zaheer, Balajee and Nehra but our play books don’t really know how to attack with them. For some reason we feel beholden to Harbhajan and Kumble and anyother spinner that comes along.
As a result (and as I wrote BEFORE the pak series started) we end up making heros of mediocre players from the opposite team!
Re: Sehwag the genius!
This is the famous line from last year’s Pakistan tour of Indian team. Pakistan made bowlers like Balaji and Irfan heros over night. Soon after the series the Indian baloon poped and we see an infinte series of defeats. Irfan became Ata-ur-Rehman of India, Balaji (still not bad of a bowler) lost his consistency. Injury might have played a role, but hey, which fasty didn’t have injuries! 1) The fact is that Indian captain failed, not just as batsman but the biggest failure was his captaincy, which he has been famous for. He didn’t utilized his bowlers properly, and as you said, there was no plan to begin with. 2) OR, it could be other way around, the computer and video analysis of opponents and planning got too complicated that the actual application in field was never or partially made. 3) Also it often happens to a star-studded side that they lose the flair to win the matches.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
You're wrong about both Irfan and Balajee - very capable young bowlers. But because of the void they came to fill, they get overused or atleast we become over dependent on them. Maturity comes only with time I guess.
We think the batting juggernaut can overcome bowling shortages ...to be a world beater all 3 departments have to be excellent.
Re: Sehwag the genius!
Let me tell you the exact word you should use “chokers” for your batsmen :k:
Re: Sehwag the genius!
I have looked up his bowling figures its pretty bad…