***Official*** India in Sri Lanka

[pup11]

Big wicket that for India, its always good to get rid of him early on in a chase for the defending team, Kumar getting good shape on the ball.

 

[Perm]

Excellent knock from Dhoni and well supported by Raina and Rohit Sharma at different stages. Definitely gives the Indian bowlers a target, with Jayasuriya's early wicket a crucial one.

 

[SJS]

India are definitely one bowler short and it won't be easy for them to defend this target, but i just can't understand Indian gameplan, when they were going in with 7 batsmen they should have backed themselves to chase whatever target the lankans might have set, even if that meant playing Mendis and Murali in the second-half of the game.

I am amazed at how many people seem to under-estimate India's lack of bowling resources. The part time bowlers have to be IN ADDITION to the five designated bowlers. All successful teams do that. Sri Lanka is playing with three medium pacers plus two pure bowlers in Mendis and Murali and yet have Jayasuriya available and he (Sanath) has 310 ODI wickets. He is not to be compared with Yuvraj Singh, let alone a motley combination of Rainas, Badris and Sharma's.

By the way, Sri Lanka also have Dilshan who has 47 odi wickets in 150 games which compares favourably with Yuvraj's 56 in 214. So Sri Lanka, by Indian standards, have six regular bowlers PLUS a Yuvraj Singh type in Dilshan. How come they dont worry about there lower order.

Three bowlers who bowl, on an average once in six or seven games do not constitute a fifth bowler. That is so laughable.

The fact that India may win the game (and I pray they do) does not make this strategy any less silly.

If India worry about the lack of bowlers who can bat and batsmen who can bowl, they have only themselves to blame. They have never bowled Sehwag (a fine off spinner) and Yuvraj consistently as Australia bowl Clarke or West Indies do with Gayle. If we had been doing this the problem would have been less acute.

Then when we have someone like Patahn who can bowl a bit and bat a bit, we ruin his possibilities with a bat by treating him as the 'spare tyre-to-beat-all-spare-tyres'. If Pathan had been give a fixed role in the lower middle order we could have got more out of him then we have managed. As for cribbing about his bowling having gone down, it is true but also hyped. Yes he is not the bowler he was when he started out but he is still a useful fifth bowler who can bat more than decently if used well. To say that Pathan is not good enough for odi's is being silly. He wont take five fors but he will pick up the wicket here and there.

Even when we had Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman we were scared of playing five pure bowlers on a consistent basis. Why dont we look at what Australia does instread of talking complete cricketing non-sense.

If our policies and strategies were so good we would have won something worthwhile in the last twenty years, surely the golden period of Indian bating and it is the important skill in one dayers and yet we stumble. We have to ask ourselves why?

 

[duffer]

Quality stuff here. Lanka in some strife.

 

[adharcric]

Sri Lanka really need to put an end to this Jayasuriya-Sangakarra pairing. Once the openers are gone, you get the feeling that most of the team is already back in the hut. The lineup looks far too top-heavy. Dilshan, Udawatte or Tharanga?

Besides, Sanga's getting owned by Zaheer lately.

 

[pup11]

Great stuff from Kumar and Khan, Sri lanka are almost dead and buried in this game, Dilshan and Jayawardene there only hope now, but the way Dilshan is throwing the kitchen sink at everything, he doesn't look like lasting for too long.

 

[pup11]

Sri Lanka really need to put an end to this Jayasuriya-Sangakarra pairing. Once the openers are gone, you get the feeling that most of the team is already back in the hut. The lineup looks far too top-heavy. Dilshan, Udawatte or Tharanga?

Besides, Sanga's getting owned by Zaheer lately.

Its just not fair to expect Sanga to keep wickets for 50 overs in these energy sapping conditions and then expect him to open the batting, so i am also in favour of getting someone else to open, can Warnapura in limited over cricket, he looked decent in the recent test series.

 

[adharcric]

I am amazed at how many people seem to under-estimate India's lack of bowling resources. The part time bowlers have to be IN ADDITION to the five designated bowlers. All successful teams do that. Sri Lanka is playing with three medium pacers plus two pure bowlers in Mendis and Murali and yet have Jayasuriya available and he (Sanath) has 310 ODI wickets. He is not to be compared with Yuvraj Singh, let alone a motley combination of Rainas, Badris and Sharma's.

By the way, Sri Lanka also have Dilshan who has 47 odi wickets in 150 games which compares favourably with Yuvraj's 56 in 214. So Sri Lanka, by Indian standards, have six regular bowlers PLUS a Yuvraj Singh type in Dilshan. How come they dont worry about there lower order.

Honestly, they probably should worry about their lower order. Just like our batting in this series, their batting isn't consistent enough to genuinely warrant playing five bowlers. However, M&M have to play and they want three seamers so it's their call. Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Kapugedera and Silva are all capable to varying degrees so I'd question their selection strategy.

Three bowlers who bowl, on an average once in six or seven games do not constitute a fifth bowler. That is so laughable.

The fact that India may win the game (and I pray they do) does not make this strategy any less silly.

If India worry about the lack of bowlers who can bat and batsmen who can bowl, they have only themselves to blame. They have never bowled Sehwag (a fine off spinner) and Yuvraj consistently as Australia bowl Clarke or West Indies do with Gayle. If we had been doing this the problem would have been less acute.

Yeah, and it's about time they start trying these guys more often. Today's a good opportunity.

Then when we have someone like Patahn who can bowl a bit and bat a bit, we ruin his possibilities with a bat by treating him as the 'spare tyre-to-beat-all-spare-tyres'. If Pathan had been give a fixed role in the lower middle order we could have got more out of him then we have managed. As for cribbing about his bowling having gone down, it is true but also hyped. Yes he is not the bowler he was when he started out but he is still a useful fifth bowler who can bat more than decently if used well. To say that Pathan is not good enough for odi's is being silly. He wont take five fors but he will pick up the wicket here and there.

Even when we had Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman we were scared of playing five pure bowlers on a consistent basis. Why dont we look at what Australia does instead of talking complete cricketing non-sense.

If our policies and strategies were so good we would have won something worthwhile in the last twenty years, surely the golden period of Indian bating and it is the important skill in one dayers and yet we stumble. We have to ask ourselves why?

Pathan is not in a massive form slump, he just made a comeback a few series ago and he's developed a new approach (change of pace, cutters and all that) which seems to be working well. He's not the Pathan of old, the one who was arguably the best new-ball bowler after Bracken at one time, but he's still good. By "poor form", I'm only referring to the way he's bowled this series as he's gotten carried away and bowled it short and wide far too often. Usually, playing him as the fifth bowler is a good idea for this side and he's definitely a valuable asset for India. It also doesn't help that our batting has capitulated throughout the series and Pathan has hardly helped in that respect. Looking at how Zaheer, Praveen, Munaf and Harbhajan have bowled, packing the batting was definitely a good move IMO.

 

[Arjun]

The good work done of the bowlers has been undone by the rubbish bowled by Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma.

Soft, Dhoni, Soft!

 

[Arjun]

Add to that catches dropped by Raina and Badrinath, their best fielders.

 

[Arjun]

Pathan's loss of form is a far bigger problem than it's made out to be. The team is limping without him, and he's a liability when he's playing. All this of someone who's genuinely talented, with ball and bat, and showed a lot of promise at the start of his career. The team management cannot afford to let go of this issue easily.

 

[Arjun]

Another catch dropped- Yuvraj drops a Mahela slice.

And some people thing fielding is irrelevant in ODIs.

 

[adharcric]

And some people thing fielding is irrelevant in ODIs.

Who?

 

[Arjun]

Who?

Some so-called expert on All India Radio

• You should not 'chuck out' seniors because they can't field.
• Fielding is not important. They have to score runs.
• If the Indian team was fielding first, would they have prevented Lanka from scoring 300 runs? NO!

 

[Arjun]

BOWLED! Zaheer castles Thushara. Too late.

Now Mahela hits a six, to put the Indians in danger. Clearly, going in a bowler light has backfired. Now the main bowlers will get the rap for the rubbish pelted by the fillers.

 

[Arjun]

Munaf gets a deflection and a genuine run-out chance here. Billy doesn't refer this to third. A wicket denied by umpire.

And then the next delivery gets hit for four. Clearly, eight overs of Yuvraj have put the Indians from a position of comfort to that of danger. And Munaf will be blamed.

EDIT: Mahela tried a chip-shot on the next delivery, to get a century real quick, to get out caught by Kumar. Fantastic knock by Mahela. One man playing an innings of substance is substantially better than seven batsmen scoring bits and pieces.

 

[Arjun]

Lazy fielding in the inner ring makes a run-out into a two. Munaf, not surprisingly. This is ODI cricket. Seriously.

 

[Arjun]

The pace attack of Zaheer, Praveen and even Munaf are proving effective against the Lankans, once again. The Indians can get a lot out of this result. They can add a fourth seamer, and keep them in action for a long time when in good form. And of course, keep enough in close-in catching positions. Then go ballistic with Zaheer and Praveen.

 

[Arjun]

Murali misses, Munaf hits, the Indians take the lead, 2-1. Three each for Zaheer and Munaf.

 

[Precambrian]

Good win for India, could've been comprehensive but for the middle overs crisis, by not having a specialist fifth bowler.