*Official* Sri Lanka in India

[silentstriker]

Let's get serious - India have beaten NZ and Eng away who both fielded second string pace attacks

It's an improvement but also an indictment on how bad the opposition bowlers have been

Well, they couldn't win a series in Zimbabwe before, TBH.

Indian away record in 90s: 1-15 (One Test win vs. SL)
India away record in last 3 years: 7-7 (Test match wins in SA, SL, Aus, WI, Eng, NZ)

You're arguing something I'm not. I am not claiming they've outbowled Wasim and Waqar.

The bowling has been better and now it gives India an opportunity. Before it did not. That is merely my point.

 

[social]

Well, they couldn't win a series in Zimbabwe before, TBH.

Indian away record in 90s: 1-15 (1 win vs. SL)
India away record in last 3 years: 7-7

You're arguing something I'm not. I am not claiming they've outbowled Wasim and Waqar.

The bowling has been better and now it gives India an opportunity. Before it did not. That is merely my point.

Agreed

End of a long couple of days where I've watched 3 of the world's "best" spinners (Swann, Harris and Hauritz) achieve success

Oh for the good old days where I could sit back and watch McGrath make people look silly on roads

 

[Migara]

Good win. Dilshan starred once more. Interesting to find where is he now in ICC rankings after these two centuries. Real steel is shown in Mathews' charachter. He's injured and there goes another SL medium pacer. The loss will be huge in up coming matches.

 

[Cruxdude]

Good one from Mathews. I thought India should win ater the double blow but well played dude.

 

[silentstriker]

Oh for the good old days where I could sit back and watch McGrath make people look silly on roads

Yea, that's why I rate McGrath so highly. We talk about 46 double centuries scored this centuries, say an average of 50 isnt what it used to be. Add to that the, the bats get better, the pitches get flatter and batsmen get bolder. And there he is, a guy taking top order wickets like he is playing on uncovered wickets, at a rate that compares favorably with anyone who has ever played the game, in any era.

 

[HMas]

Dhoni banned for 2 ODIs.

 

[Jono]

Sucks

 

[pasag]

Should threaten to go home

 

[Jono]

Gtfo

 

[Shri]

If Yuvraj returns India will not be hurt badly. If he doesn't return either, its going to be a long 3 days for the side.

 

[Pratters]

Zaheer Khan has been good abroad without being great over the past 2 years.

 

[Vikas Bhatt]

As much as I try to, I just can't warm upto these crap high scoring tonkfests. And there is no way to escape them on any stupid media/news channel! I simply hate the **** that passes for 'one day' cricket in India. The media just won't take a hike and downplay it at all! Unfortunate 'cricket' obsessed reality of urban India.

I simply wish that Lanka wins all these high scoring crap played on 'good one day wicket' [The shameless qunt curators like Prasanna actually call it that?] and the BCCI finally does some soul searching on these crap flat pitches! It's just damaging our cricket!

When I think of one day cricket that was enjoyable I think of the one day match against SL in Singapur after the 1995 WC, when the buoyant WC winning Lankan team couldn't chase 200 against us. Or that thrilling WC quarter final Pak game at Bangalore in 1995. Or Sachin's desert storm against the Aussies in 1998. Or the Hero Cup final. Or the 5 match Toronto series against Pak in 1997 that we won 4-1 on Ganguly's all round show where not a single game went beyond 250 runs per innings. Or India's successful run chase of 314 in fading light against Pak in Dhaka in 1998. Or the Titan Cup semi-final against Aus and final against SA in 1996. Those were quality games. It's now just ridiculous and stupid to see teams chasing down 300, 350 and even close to 400 so regularly because the pitches offer no contest to the bowling at all. Or even that Natwest Trophy final in England that Kaif and Yuvi won. That game was sheer fightback. It was not deliberate. So many games these days end up deliberate because of the crap flat wickets now. Where is that class, excitement and the beauty of it in the one day cricket we get now anymore?

How can anyone even imagine this dreary tonkfest designed for ugly sloggers and murdering bowlers even watchable let alone exciting is beyond me. I wonder how people can't be tired of this crap already?

 

[G.I.Joe]

Of course people are tired. These ODIs see nowhere near the posting activity on official threads as tests or quality ODIs see, for instance.

 

[Pratters]

I am not even keeping track of scores of these games.

 

[Raghav]

Whats the use of these bowlers on these pitches except for making them tired. Both teams should agree to inroduce bowling machines and the maximum scoring team wins the match. That would be more interesting to the game ATM

 

[Arjun]

As much as I try to, I just can't warm upto these crap high scoring tonkfests...How can anyone even imagine this dreary tonkfest designed for ugly sloggers and murdering bowlers even watchable let alone exciting is beyond me. I wonder how people can't be tired of this crap already?

That's not such a big problem- seven years ago, everyone in the cricket fan community (but for a few Kiwis) complained about the then excessive spate of shootouts in New Zealand, when India toured. Maybe the complaints were then a lot more, but we've seen a lot less of that.

These complaints about flat decks have gone on too long. Teams have got to adjust to them, but we don't find that happening. Complaints from certain teams about these decks just cover up their own weaknesses- that the bowlers are not doing the job, the fielders are struggling and the fielding captains are making a mess of their own teams. The Aussies played on the same flat decks. Did they complain? They won a series in India handsomely, and their bowlers returned with good figures, especially rookie Dougie. The Indians and now the Lankans, however, can't make the most of these pitches, and have hence suffered- some of the current batsmen in either team are actually a liability on these flat pitches a lot more than even the bowlers!

 

[Arjun]

I simply wish that Lanka wins all these high scoring crap played on 'good one day wicket' [The shameless qunt curators like Prasanna actually call it that?] and the BCCI finally does some soul searching on these crap flat pitches! It's just damaging our cricket!

And what does the BCCI do? Their selectors terminate more budding (and crucial) careers just because of these wickets. We've seen them lose more than a few players, and even more after the latest series loss. If they lose this series as well, at least two more players may be headed for a permanent drop. The quality of personnel management is far worse than that of the pitches- we see strugglers and ODI misfits like Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha and Munaf Patel repeatedly get ODIs even on flat decks!

 

[Sir Alex]

Should threaten to go home

 

[Xuhaib]

Ishant should not be forced to play this rubbish use your Nehra's Parveen Kuman or Irfan Pathan for these slogfests.

 

[Manee]

Ishant should not be forced to play this rubbish use your Nehra's Parveen Kuman or Irfan Pathan for these slogfests.

What do you mean 'forced to play'? You are acting as if he is some sort of superstar bowler.