***Official*** India in Sri Lanka

[TT Boy]

The referral system in this game has been a joke, both Sachin and Dravid clearly hit the ball yet the on-field umpires are sacred to make a rudimentary decision - this led to a ridiculous situation where Mahela has to call for a referral when everyone including batsman and on-field umpire known exactly what the third umpire’s decision is going to be. What a crock of ****, it was even marginal calls or in the case of Sehwag’s LBW, plumb, it was bloody out. This sort of umpiring sets a poor precedent and calls into question why Doctrove and Benson are even out there if they aren’t going to give those.

Anyhow, top performance from Mendis and Murali, was a treat to watch. Indians batting may have been under-par in this game but I would be more concerned with their bowlers for the rest of the series - the seamers were complete nonentities, Sharma lost about 15mph after ten minutes whilst Kumble and Harbhajan were awful considering the wicket was crumbling to pieces from the start.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Love seeing spinners rip though sides, so seductive.

 

[weldone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKHbH6BahJ0

Highlights of the second innings wickets.

Thanks...Was searching for it...

 

[weldone]

What a crock of ****, it was even marginal calls or in the case of Sehwag’s LBW, plumb, it was bloody out.

In the case of Sehwag's LBW, no umpire in the world could have been sure whether the ball pitched outside leg stump or not...

 

[adharcric]

The referral system in this game has been a joke, both Sachin and Dravid clearly hit the ball yet the on-field umpires are sacred to make a rudimentary decision - this led to a ridiculous situation where Mahela has to call for a referral when everyone including batsman and on-field umpire known exactly what the third umpire’s decision is going to be. What a crock of ****, it was even marginal calls or in the case of Sehwag’s LBW, plumb, it was bloody out. This sort of umpiring sets a poor precedent and calls into question why Doctrove and Benson are even out there if they aren’t going to give those.

Crock of ****? Sachin's edge was tough to catch and Sehwag wasn't out even after technology showed the ball pitching on leg. The referral system has been great apart from the fact that it's a half-baked transition that ignores some of the better technological tools and doesn't give the on-field umpire any say once the referral is made. Koertzen is the one who didn't catch the front pad deflection. Get a clue.

 

[Jono]

M&M is going to be such a cool nickname for Murali and Mendis.

Still shocked that we got spanked so bad, but its kind of cool in a way, even as an Indian fan.

 

[JBH001]

Haha, incredible stuff.

Pasag, your avatar is from Miller's TDKR isn't it? Its cool.

 

[silentstriker]

M&M is going to be such a cool nickname for Murali and Mendis.

Still shocked that we got spanked so bad, but its kind of cool in a way, even as an Indian fan.

I hope people remember who came up with it.

 

[Mard]

Mendis is amazing.

 

[pasag]

Pasag, your avatar is from Miller's TDKR isn't it? Its cool.

Yeah, though missing Trumper somewhat. Still have the sig flying the flag for that though.

 

[Dissector]

The referral system in this game has been a joke, both Sachin and Dravid clearly hit the ball yet the on-field umpires are sacred to make a rudimentary decision - this led to a ridiculous situation where Mahela has to call for a referral when everyone including batsman and on-field umpire known exactly what the third umpire’s decision is going to be. What a crock of ****, it was even marginal calls or in the case of Sehwag’s LBW, plumb, it was bloody out. This sort of umpiring sets a poor precedent and calls into question why Doctrove and Benson are even out there if they aren’t going to give those.

Anyhow, top performance from Mendis and Murali, was a treat to watch. Indians batting may have been under-par in this game but I would be more concerned with their bowlers for the rest of the series - the seamers were complete nonentities, Sharma lost about 15mph after ten minutes whilst Kumble and Harbhajan were awful considering the wicket was crumbling to pieces from the start.

Um Sehwag's lbw wasn't plumb; in fact it was clearly not out. Did you even see the extended discussion of it during the lunch break? What happened was that the ball deflected off the front pad onto the back pad. On first contact it wasn't hitting the stumps but Virtual Eye missed that first deflection and thought it hit first the back pad. Boycott, Manjrekar and Jaysuriya were unanimous that it was not out. So this was an unfortunate case of a correct decision being overruled by the review. However although Virtual Eye made a mistake the replays clearly showed what happened so it was a human error not a fault of the technology as a whole.

And although Tendulkar was clearly out it would have been far from clear from the umpire's position in real time. That is exactly the kind of decision where umpires are inclined to play it safe and give the benefit of the doubt.

Personally the main change I would like is the third umpire should given all the information including Hawkeye and Snickometer but also the discretion to overrule them if he thinks they are inaccurate. While the two aren't perfect they are accurate enough that umpire should be able to make use of them.

 

[DaRick]

I'd like to say that this is one of the more comprehensive victories that I've ever witnessed. Brilliant stuff by both Murali and Ajantha Mendis. Although I've yet to be completely convinced that Mendis will have a substantial Test career (he still risks being spin bowling's answer to a 'flash-in-the-pan' due to his lack of a discernible stock ball), you cannot reasonably expect him to have had a better debut.

 

[krishneelz]

Not taking anything away from Sri Lanka, they have been superb !.

But the collapse of India's batting is the latest in a long catalogue of failures stretching back to 2005.

IMO guys like Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Harbhajan and KUmble are well past their best as players. I think India need to start blooding the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ojha, Mishra etc at test level.
Sure they will probably struggle against Murali and co but they have scope to learn and grow.

These senior players have zero scope for growth and are repeatedly making mistakes now under pressure.

Ladies and gentlemen here we have the comments of a true genius. I commend you my friend. Dropping Sachin and replacing them with Rohit Sharma...man never thought of that one...Possibly India's greatest batsmen almost average 60 in first class cricket 54 in test match and in reach of the world record for the most test runs blah blah blah with Rohit Sharma a player averaging an amazing 37 in first class cricket with no test runs at all...Oh but wait stats dont tell the whole picture...Well then lets get rid of dravid who has gotten india out of trouble multiple times...More recently Ganguly who has shown grit, determination and consistancy...no need for him...Rohit Sharma with his 20/20 heroics is definitely a better test batsman than all these names combined. He would have made Murali and Mendis look like complete idiots...

But you know what...this man did not just stop there....How about Kumble and Harbhajan...yessss you know it all lord kaiser....lets just drop india's greatest wicket taker in test match cricket along with harbhajan singh...man lets just kill everybody in the world over the age of 30...oh the world will be such a beautiful place and India would definitely be undisputed kings of cricket

how bout lets forget about finding the right balance between experience and youth and get rid of all the old farts who are absolutely useless...As a matter of fact why is murali still playing for sri lanka..isnt he 36 something. Man hes even older than tendulkar dravid and harb...What about Samaraweera and Jayawardene...easily over the age of 30...But yet they both scored centuries out there...

Tell you what...you should definitely be the sole selector of the Indian team...For the next test match we would have 5 debutants. And what if they fail...hmmmm how bout bring in Prankaj, Tiwary, Tammy...Heck Im just under 21, I might even get a shot...

People like you make my day

 

[krishneelz]

I'd like to say that this is one of the more comprehensive victories that I've ever witnessed. Brilliant stuff by both Murali and Ajantha Mendis. Although I've yet to be completely convinced that Mendis will have a substantial Test career (he still risks being spin bowling's answer to a 'flash-in-the-pan' due to his lack of a discernible stock ball), you cannot reasonably expect him to have had a better debut.

Flash in the pan??? Because he is not orthodox enough for you??? How about we just coach him to drop this horrible habit and make sure that he bowls 5 or 6 stock leg breaks per over...He will definitely be the greatest test bowler of all time without doubt...Jeez only if Sri Lanka dropped Kalu and Jayasuria when they started to reinvent the one day game...maybe then they would have won the 1996 world cup with ease

man people like you make my day

 

[NUFAN]

Ladies and gentlemen here we have the comments of a true genius. I commend you my friend. Dropping Sachin and replacing them with Rohit Sharma...man never thought of that one...Possibly India's greatest batsmen almost average 60 in first class cricket 54 in test match and in reach of the world record for the most test runs blah blah blah with Rohit Sharma a player averaging an amazing 37 in first class cricket with no test runs at all...Oh but wait stats dont tell the whole picture...Well then lets get rid of dravid who has gotten india out of trouble multiple times...More recently Ganguly who has shown grit, determination and consistancy...no need for him...Rohit Sharma with his 20/20 heroics is definitely a better test batsman than all these names combined. He would have made Murali and Mendis look like complete idiots...

But you know what...this man did not just stop there....How about Kumble and Harbhajan...yessss you know it all lord kaiser....lets just drop india's greatest wicket taker in test match cricket along with harbhajan singh...man lets just kill everybody in the world over the age of 30...oh the world will be such a beautiful place and India would definitely be undisputed kings of cricket

how bout lets forget about finding the right balance between experience and youth and get rid of all the old farts who are absolutely useless...As a matter of fact why is murali still playing for sri lanka..isnt he 36 something. Man hes even older than tendulkar dravid and harb...What about Samaraweera and Jayawardene...easily over the age of 30...But yet they both scored centuries out there...

Tell you what...you should definitely be the sole selector of the Indian team...For the next test match we would have 5 debutants. And what if they fail...hmmmm how bout bring in Prankaj, Tiwary, Tammy...Heck Im just under 21, I might even get a shot...

People like you make my day

Nice.

 

[krishneelz]

Um Sehwag's lbw wasn't plumb; in fact it was clearly not out. Did you even see the extended discussion of it during the lunch break? What happened was that the ball deflected off the front pad onto the back pad. On first contact it wasn't hitting the stumps but Virtual Eye missed that first deflection and thought it hit first the back pad. Boycott, Manjrekar and Jaysuriya were unanimous that it was not out. So this was an unfortunate case of a correct decision being overruled by the review. However although Virtual Eye made a mistake the replays clearly showed what happened so it was a human error not a fault of the technology as a whole.

And although Tendulkar was clearly out it would have been far from clear from the umpire's position in real time. That is exactly the kind of decision where umpires are inclined to play it safe and give the benefit of the doubt.

Personally the main change I would like is the third umpire should given all the information including Hawkeye and Snickometer but also the discretion to overrule them if he thinks they are inaccurate. While the two aren't perfect they are accurate enough that umpire should be able to make use of them.

Hey lets not just stop there....how about KFC hotspot...that magnifying thing they show on nine...that ruler which shows how far the batsmen is out of his crease...might as well have a supercomputer to make year long calculations on the probability on whether the batsmen is out or not to the nearest 1 billionth decimal place...As a matter of fact get rid of all humans in cricket and just simulate the game on the law of averages...India might have one that one right?

 

[adharcric]

Hey lets not just stop there....how about KFC hotspot...that magnifying thing they show on nine...that ruler which shows how far the batsmen is out of his crease...might as well have a supercomputer to make year long calculations on the probability on whether the batsmen is out or not to the nearest 1 billionth decimal place...As a matter of fact get rid of all humans in cricket and just simulate the game on the law of averages...India might have one that one right?

Calm the **** down.

 

[DaRick]

Flash in the pan??? Because he is not orthodox enough for you???

Did you actually read what I wrote? I said that he risked becoming spin bowling's answer to a flash-in-the-pan. I never said that he had already reached that dubious status.

At any rate, Murali is, for an off-spinner, extremely unorthodox. However, he has a stock delivery (his off-break). Mendis, does not, as of yet. There's a difference between being unorthodox and lacking a stock delivery.

How about we just coach him to drop this horrible habit and make sure that he bowls 5 or 6 stock leg breaks per over...He will definitely be the greatest test bowler of all time without doubt...

He has more chance of becoming one if he develops a stock delivery than if he doesn't. That way, the batsmen would take a longer amount of time to pick all of his variations. He'd be a formidable bowler, indeed, if he developed a stock delivery and built his multiude of variations around it.

Besides, for all of the variation that Shane Warne had to develop in order to compensate for his injuries, his age and the relative diminishing of his flipper's effectiveness, the leg-break (his stock delivery), rightfully remained the essence of his individual art. He didn't have a bad test career, now, did he?

Jeez only if Sri Lanka dropped Kalu and Jayasuria when they started to reinvent the one day game...maybe then they would have won the 1996 world cup with ease

A few points:

1) The concept of an opening 'pinch-hitter' can be traced back to the 1992 World Cup, when Ian Botham opened the batting. Putting Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya upfront was brave, but not as revolutionary as many seem to think.

2) Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup (specifically, the final) on the back of a classic Aravinda De Silva knock and their legion of slow bowlers, more than they did due to the input of Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sanath Jayasuriya (Kalu, in particular, was often dismissed too quickly to have a substantial impact).

3) WTF does this have to do with Mendis, anyway?

man people like you make my day

You too, mate. You too.

 

[krishneelz]

Did you actually read what I wrote? I said that he risked becoming spin bowling's answer to a flash-in-the-pan. I never said that he had already reached that dubious status.

At any rate, Murali is, for an off-spinner, extremely unorthodox. However, he has a stock delivery (his off-break). Mendis, does not, as of yet. There's a difference between being unorthodox and lacking a stock delivery.



He has more chance of becoming one if he develops a stock delivery than if he doesn't. That way, the batsmen would take a longer amount of time to pick all of his variations. He'd be a formidable bowler, indeed, if he developed a stock delivery and built his multiude of variations around it.

Besides, for all of the variation that Shane Warne had to develop in order to compensate for his injuries, his age and the relative diminishing of his flipper's effectiveness, the leg-break (his stock delivery), rightfully remained the essence of his individual art. He didn't have a bad test career, now, did he?



A few points:

1) The concept of an opening 'pinch-hitter' can be traced back to the 1992 World Cup, when Ian Botham opened the batting. Putting Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya upfront was brave, but not as revolutionary as many seem to think.

2) Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup (specifically, the final) on the back of a classic Aravinda De Silva knock and their legion of slow bowlers, more than they did due to the input of Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sanath Jayasuriya (Kalu, in particular, was often dismissed too quickly to have a substantial impact).

3) WTF does this have to do with Mendis, anyway?



You too, mate. You too.

Da Rick you have officially shut me up...kudos to you brother

 

[Prince EWS]

Ladies and gentlemen here we have the comments of a true genius. I commend you my friend. Dropping Sachin and replacing them with Rohit Sharma...man never thought of that one...Possibly India's greatest batsmen almost average 60 in first class cricket 54 in test match and in reach of the world record for the most test runs blah blah blah with Rohit Sharma a player averaging an amazing 37 in first class cricket with no test runs at all...Oh but wait stats dont tell the whole picture...Well then lets get rid of dravid who has gotten india out of trouble multiple times...More recently Ganguly who has shown grit, determination and consistancy...no need for him...Rohit Sharma with his 20/20 heroics is definitely a better test batsman than all these names combined. He would have made Murali and Mendis look like complete idiots...

But you know what...this man did not just stop there....How about Kumble and Harbhajan...yessss you know it all lord kaiser....lets just drop india's greatest wicket taker in test match cricket along with harbhajan singh...man lets just kill everybody in the world over the age of 30...oh the world will be such a beautiful place and India would definitely be undisputed kings of cricket

how bout lets forget about finding the right balance between experience and youth and get rid of all the old farts who are absolutely useless...As a matter of fact why is murali still playing for sri lanka..isnt he 36 something. Man hes even older than tendulkar dravid and harb...What about Samaraweera and Jayawardene...easily over the age of 30...But yet they both scored centuries out there...

Tell you what...you should definitely be the sole selector of the Indian team...For the next test match we would have 5 debutants. And what if they fail...hmmmm how bout bring in Prankaj, Tiwary, Tammy...Heck Im just under 21, I might even get a shot...

People like you make my day

Excellent post.