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***Official*** India in South Africa
- Thread starter James
- Start date
You should just be happy that any of your drivel is even being attempted to be read. Here's more for all you statistics lovers:
Among the top batsmen, the major disappointment of the year was Sachin Tendulkar. He managed just 267 runs from eight Tests at 24.27, and had to wait till his last match of the year to register his first fifty-plus score (63 in the first innings at Durban). To put his stats in perspective, Tendulkar averaged lesser than the likes of Brett Lee and Mohammad Rafique.
To add to that Tendulkar made more money than any cricketer in the world. thanks to the patronage of medicority demanding folks like you.
Too bad God didn't give you one - not one that is of any use to anyone anyway.Good insultNothing beats a good rinsing with the insult tool.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
How can you be sure that the Indian fans here haven't blamed the Indians so far? I am not sure if you have read the whole thread.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
Anyways, I think it is time to look at the players who played in this series individually. Generally, I like to rate them on a scale of 1-10, but I didn't watch the whole series, missed the last 4 days of the last test, so I am just gonna comment on their performances.
India
Wasim Jaffar - Came back well with the hundred in the last test but still hasn't convinced anyone that he can do well in tough conditions, which is what India is looking for from him as an opener. Gambhir, IMHO, can score just as much as he can on flat tracks and he will definitely add a lot more to the side in terms of the fielding. Hasn't proved anything in this tour, tbh, and was a pretty poor shot from him with 5 overs to go o the last day. It may just have made the diff. between India getting 500+ and the score they ended up getting.
Virender Sehwag - Less said about him, the better. Batting is awful, bowling seems to have gone downhill. Still carries too much weight. Only thing was that his catching was really good. Time to drop him and hopefully, he will come back a better player for that.
Rahul Dravid - Extremely disappointing. In fact, IMHO, he was the most disappointing Indian player on this series, not Sehwag, not Sachin and not Kumble. Yeah, he got two crap decisions in Durban but you certainly expect more from a top 3 batsman of this century so far. May not have been a bad move for him to open instead of someone like Sehwag in the second dig. His captaincy has always been mediocre and his unwillingness to use part timers more does really stand out. In an allrounder starved country like India, the only way we can do well is by utilizing the part timers well. And he is basically hopeless in that regard.
Sachin Tendulkar - Scored a couple of 60s and made a very very good 44 under tough conditions in the first dig at the Wanderers but spoiled it all with that crawl in the second dig at Cape Town. We expect that from Dravid, but never from Sachin, not even when he is at his worst. I have honestly never rated him as the best test match batsman in the world even in his glory days, but he really does seem to have forgotten the art of building up to a really big innings. He never has played too many of them, mind you, but nowadays he seems to have forgotten even how to score a 100 or 150 at a decent clip. But still remains an enthusiastic member of the side who can contribute with the ball too. Maybe he can go down in the order without being dropped, maybe that will be a gentle message for the genius to get his act together.
VVS Laxman - Promised a lot, but like Sachin, seems to have forgotten the art of scoring big. And his strike rate has really hit rock bottom too. Too many in this middle order are happy to bat defensively and that is what is killing us, IMHO. It is ok for two or three to do that but if all four are going to bat that way and the only one who can score quickly is in awful form, our batting will look as pathetic as it has done now. Dravid has always been the anchor player and Ganguly can never really be ahead of the 50 off 90 type player in tests. He can't score quicker consistently and he can't hang around more consistently. Time for VVS and Sachin to get into the quicker scoring mode, or else, we might as well replace them with men who can. The days of winning a test scoring 2 an over are long gone, esp. against good teams. At least, we need guys who can score 2 or 3 singles an over when the bowling and fielding are defensive.
Sourav Ganguly - Had a really good series but as I said earlier, he is not someone who can score big hundreds. He can be consistent in scoring reasonably quick 50s and 60s but that's it. I am not sure if we can expect more from him. Maybe he will give us a reliable 3rd slipper and silly point and maybe his medium pace could be utilized more. But definitely showed a great heart in coming back the way he has done.
Mahendra Dhoni - Showed a surprising knack of being able to change his game according to the situation at Durban. But still, concerns remain about his ability to score big. If he can't make more than the 30s, 40s and the odd 50 under difficult conditions, we might as well go to Kaarthick who is easily the better keeper. Still, showed great spirit and great attitude and should retain his place in the squad for that alone.
Dinesh Kaarthick - Impressed one and all in the last test. Has always been a very good keeper but his batting seems to have come on as well and surprised everyone as a fielder. Should continue to be in the squad and chances should be given to him as and when they come. Hopefully, will be in the scheme of things for the WC.
Anil Kumble - Started well but let the team down in the last test when a lot was expected of him. Batting has gone downhill and was never really an asset on the field. But still, one can count the no. of times he has failed the side in an last innings on one hand and therefore deserves a bit of slack.
Zaheer Khan - Will never be a world beater but showed that he can be an important part of a good bowling team. Batted with composure at times and gave his all on the field. Was an asset throughout the trip.
Sreesanth - Player of the tour for India. Impressive bowling, zest in the field and spunk with the bat. Hopefully, he will continue to grow in all areas and remain an asset to the side in the times to come.
VRV Singh - Has good attitude and decent pace. Was unlucky at times but does not remain possess too much skill as a bowler. And has to watch his no-balling. Should be encouraged, though.
Munaf Patel - Have said it before and will say it again. He has the WORST attitude of all in international cricket. Doesn't throw because he is afraid of injuring his arm. Doesn't bowl flat out at any stage because he is again afraid of injuring himself. Cant bat, Cant run fast. Wasn't fit enough at any stage of the tour. Just hope he is thrown back to domestic cricket so that he can realize what he has lost due to his own laziness and greed.
South Africa
Graeme Smith - Been a fan of his aggressive ways both with the bat and as a captain. Tends to go on the defensive rather soon for my liking as a captain but showed great character in the way he came back after the Wanderers debacle. Def. a guy with bright things on the horizon.
AB De Villiers - One of the brightest young talents in world cricket. Didn't do full justice to his talent. Brilliant in the field and can keep as well. Always an asset.
Hashim Amla - Not sure of his ability at this level.
Jacques Kallis - Improving with the ball, always a tough wicket when batting. Decent series by his standards, nothing great though.
Herschelle Gibbs - Still not sure of him as a player in this line up. Wonder what the reserve batting options of RSA are like.
Ashwell Prince - Star of the series for me. The Graham Thorpe of RSA. Every team needs a player of his type at 5.
Mark Boucher - Did his stuff. Quite reliable with the gloves to the pacers and can chip in with the odd important knock with the bat. Seems to have declined as a batter though, to me, for some reason.
Shaun Pollock - Bit of a resurgence from him as a test match bowler. REmains to be seen how he can fare against better batting sides of pace bowling.
Andre Nel - Played his heart out. Can shut up a little more (like Sreesanth) But a good whole hearted cricketer to have in the squad.
Dale Steyn - bowled well at times but lost a bit of pace. Again, not sure of anyone in this attack against a good batting side of pace.
Makhaya Ntini - Was consistent as usual. Set up that Durban game for RSA. Continues to grow as an international class opening bowler.
Morne Morkel - Impressive on debut. Decent bat as well. Will hear more about him in the future, I guess.
Andrew Hall - Gives his all whenever given a chance. Not sure if he is test class but is good in a back-up capacity.
India
Wasim Jaffar - Came back well with the hundred in the last test but still hasn't convinced anyone that he can do well in tough conditions, which is what India is looking for from him as an opener. Gambhir, IMHO, can score just as much as he can on flat tracks and he will definitely add a lot more to the side in terms of the fielding. Hasn't proved anything in this tour, tbh, and was a pretty poor shot from him with 5 overs to go o the last day. It may just have made the diff. between India getting 500+ and the score they ended up getting.
Virender Sehwag - Less said about him, the better. Batting is awful, bowling seems to have gone downhill. Still carries too much weight. Only thing was that his catching was really good. Time to drop him and hopefully, he will come back a better player for that.
Rahul Dravid - Extremely disappointing. In fact, IMHO, he was the most disappointing Indian player on this series, not Sehwag, not Sachin and not Kumble. Yeah, he got two crap decisions in Durban but you certainly expect more from a top 3 batsman of this century so far. May not have been a bad move for him to open instead of someone like Sehwag in the second dig. His captaincy has always been mediocre and his unwillingness to use part timers more does really stand out. In an allrounder starved country like India, the only way we can do well is by utilizing the part timers well. And he is basically hopeless in that regard.
Sachin Tendulkar - Scored a couple of 60s and made a very very good 44 under tough conditions in the first dig at the Wanderers but spoiled it all with that crawl in the second dig at Cape Town. We expect that from Dravid, but never from Sachin, not even when he is at his worst. I have honestly never rated him as the best test match batsman in the world even in his glory days, but he really does seem to have forgotten the art of building up to a really big innings. He never has played too many of them, mind you, but nowadays he seems to have forgotten even how to score a 100 or 150 at a decent clip. But still remains an enthusiastic member of the side who can contribute with the ball too. Maybe he can go down in the order without being dropped, maybe that will be a gentle message for the genius to get his act together.
VVS Laxman - Promised a lot, but like Sachin, seems to have forgotten the art of scoring big. And his strike rate has really hit rock bottom too. Too many in this middle order are happy to bat defensively and that is what is killing us, IMHO. It is ok for two or three to do that but if all four are going to bat that way and the only one who can score quickly is in awful form, our batting will look as pathetic as it has done now. Dravid has always been the anchor player and Ganguly can never really be ahead of the 50 off 90 type player in tests. He can't score quicker consistently and he can't hang around more consistently. Time for VVS and Sachin to get into the quicker scoring mode, or else, we might as well replace them with men who can. The days of winning a test scoring 2 an over are long gone, esp. against good teams. At least, we need guys who can score 2 or 3 singles an over when the bowling and fielding are defensive.
Sourav Ganguly - Had a really good series but as I said earlier, he is not someone who can score big hundreds. He can be consistent in scoring reasonably quick 50s and 60s but that's it. I am not sure if we can expect more from him. Maybe he will give us a reliable 3rd slipper and silly point and maybe his medium pace could be utilized more. But definitely showed a great heart in coming back the way he has done.
Mahendra Dhoni - Showed a surprising knack of being able to change his game according to the situation at Durban. But still, concerns remain about his ability to score big. If he can't make more than the 30s, 40s and the odd 50 under difficult conditions, we might as well go to Kaarthick who is easily the better keeper. Still, showed great spirit and great attitude and should retain his place in the squad for that alone.
Dinesh Kaarthick - Impressed one and all in the last test. Has always been a very good keeper but his batting seems to have come on as well and surprised everyone as a fielder. Should continue to be in the squad and chances should be given to him as and when they come. Hopefully, will be in the scheme of things for the WC.
Anil Kumble - Started well but let the team down in the last test when a lot was expected of him. Batting has gone downhill and was never really an asset on the field. But still, one can count the no. of times he has failed the side in an last innings on one hand and therefore deserves a bit of slack.
Zaheer Khan - Will never be a world beater but showed that he can be an important part of a good bowling team. Batted with composure at times and gave his all on the field. Was an asset throughout the trip.
Sreesanth - Player of the tour for India. Impressive bowling, zest in the field and spunk with the bat. Hopefully, he will continue to grow in all areas and remain an asset to the side in the times to come.
VRV Singh - Has good attitude and decent pace. Was unlucky at times but does not remain possess too much skill as a bowler. And has to watch his no-balling. Should be encouraged, though.
Munaf Patel - Have said it before and will say it again. He has the WORST attitude of all in international cricket. Doesn't throw because he is afraid of injuring his arm. Doesn't bowl flat out at any stage because he is again afraid of injuring himself. Cant bat, Cant run fast. Wasn't fit enough at any stage of the tour. Just hope he is thrown back to domestic cricket so that he can realize what he has lost due to his own laziness and greed.
South Africa
Graeme Smith - Been a fan of his aggressive ways both with the bat and as a captain. Tends to go on the defensive rather soon for my liking as a captain but showed great character in the way he came back after the Wanderers debacle. Def. a guy with bright things on the horizon.
AB De Villiers - One of the brightest young talents in world cricket. Didn't do full justice to his talent. Brilliant in the field and can keep as well. Always an asset.
Hashim Amla - Not sure of his ability at this level.
Jacques Kallis - Improving with the ball, always a tough wicket when batting. Decent series by his standards, nothing great though.
Herschelle Gibbs - Still not sure of him as a player in this line up. Wonder what the reserve batting options of RSA are like.
Ashwell Prince - Star of the series for me. The Graham Thorpe of RSA. Every team needs a player of his type at 5.
Mark Boucher - Did his stuff. Quite reliable with the gloves to the pacers and can chip in with the odd important knock with the bat. Seems to have declined as a batter though, to me, for some reason.
Shaun Pollock - Bit of a resurgence from him as a test match bowler. REmains to be seen how he can fare against better batting sides of pace bowling.
Andre Nel - Played his heart out. Can shut up a little more (like Sreesanth) But a good whole hearted cricketer to have in the squad.
Dale Steyn - bowled well at times but lost a bit of pace. Again, not sure of anyone in this attack against a good batting side of pace.
Makhaya Ntini - Was consistent as usual. Set up that Durban game for RSA. Continues to grow as an international class opening bowler.
Morne Morkel - Impressive on debut. Decent bat as well. Will hear more about him in the future, I guess.
Andrew Hall - Gives his all whenever given a chance. Not sure if he is test class but is good in a back-up capacity.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Yeah nicely put though I would say that Mark Boucher's batting has improved greatly since he got back into the test side. His now a far better player of spin as well and given a situation he usually pulls South Africa through, played two extremely vital knocks in this test series.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Is this true? How do you know? If so, he needs to be removed immediatly.honestbharani said:
Dravid
International Captain
Even if he isn't afraid to injuring him self, he should still be sent back to domestic cricket. A player of his attitude is a disgrace to Cricket. And also he's the worst fielder I have ever seen, probably worse than Monty.
Mr Mxyzptlk
Request Your Custom Title Now!
He's actually gotten a lot better with the bat in recent times. Not only is he contributing under pressure, but he's doing so more consistently in both forms of cricket. Averaging 32.94 over his last 10 Tests and scoring at a fifty per 3 innings.
Pollock isn't a pace bowler anymore though. He's a seam bowler. So if he continues to bowl as he did in this series, he will trouble good players of pace as much as Glenn McGrath has.
Mr Mxyzptlk
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Courtney Walsh didn't throw for a large portion of his career and Reon King at his peak was worse than Patel in the field.
The way I see it, if Patel is still bowling well without bowling flat out, why should he be criticized? When he gets back to full fitness, if he's lacking penetration bowling in the low to mid80s, where he bowled a lot of last year AND bowled well for the most part, then criticize him.
Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
I'm 100% positive I heard Munaf mention that his new-found success in ODI cricket has been because he was specifically told to not try and bowl flat out and spray it all over the place, but bowl line and length.
I very much doubt he chooses to not bowl fast on purpose, its what he got a name for in Indian domestic cricket in the first place.
I think Munaf is getting a fair bit of criticism here because he can't field, can't bat, and his face looks like that of a super evil villain in a movie.
I very much doubt he chooses to not bowl fast on purpose, its what he got a name for in Indian domestic cricket in the first place.
I think Munaf is getting a fair bit of criticism here because he can't field, can't bat, and his face looks like that of a super evil villain in a movie.
Mr Mxyzptlk
Request Your Custom Title Now!
And he's been India's best bowler (bar Harbhajan) in ODI cricket since the series in the West Indies. IIRC, he's only had one bad game since, against Australia on their way to the CT title.
Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
Yep very true, and it was only after that game that people started attacking him for apparently only "placing the ball on the pitch" and not actually bowling fast.
Those complaints were no where to be seen before when he was bowling really well at ODI level prior to that, doing the exact same thing.
Those complaints were no where to be seen before when he was bowling really well at ODI level prior to that, doing the exact same thing.
Dravid
International Captain
I don't have a problem with his bowling tbh, just his attitude, and the fact that it looks like he doesn't care about Cricket by like not having his shirt tucked in at times. It's not gully Cricket, it's proper Cricket, at test level and he should have his shirt tucked in at all times, even if he's off the field or even if he's not playing. If he's wearing his teams shirt, he should have it tucked in. His attitude is a disgrace to the game.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Shirt tucked in? You're complaining about shirts tucked in? We just got demolished on an Indian pitch, and you're harping about shirts. Ridiculous.
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Mr Mxyzptlk
Request Your Custom Title Now!
So even if he's bowling well, you take issue with his presence because of his shirt? Maybe he has better things to think about than whether or not his shirt is tucked in. Like, I dunno, line and length?
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Hmm, should I focus on getting Kallis out, or should I tuck in my shirt? Well, I know which would make Dravid happy....
PhoenixFire
International Coach
God doesn't exist.
And how do you know what gender I am, whether I have a tool, or how big it is. You seem to be the fool/tool around here.