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*Official* Indian Premier League 2010

Shri

Mr. Glass
No way. He is above those mickey mouse tournaments :ph34r:

TBH want him full firing for tests and ODI world cup.
And any type of international cricket is practice for him. Want him to play all matches in the calendar looking at the kind of form he is in now.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
And any type of international cricket is practice for him. Want him to play all matches in the calendar looking at the kind of form he is in now.
Nah International guys will target him. One false stroke and a career could be in trouble. He is too much to risk that...
 

Shri

Mr. Glass
Nah International guys will target him. One false stroke and a career could be in trouble. He is too much to risk that...
You can get hurt walking down the stairs. Not taking risks is a bit too conservative, especially in sports.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
common man. No way.

Keep in mind, bowlers, pitches, bats, status of the game and type of the game.
Steyn is much better than any bowler perhaps barring McGrath (did he face McGrath in 1998) in 1998.... He took that Steyn to cleaners.. He has taken now SA, Aus, NZ (in NZ), SL and Eng bowlers who form basically the top crux of test and ODI teams...

In 1998 yes he used to dominate Aussies for fun, but then there were also the Zimbabwes. It was never an allround effort like this.

And oh, the risk minimisation is simply incredible.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
It is getting sadder by the day. To witness Sourav Ganguly, once a proud man, resemble a slow and ageing boxer, entering the ring tired and sluggish is not an entertaining sight. That image of an intense Ganguly, staring his opponent in the face and steadily infuriating his enemy with his attitude, strategy and daring, is now a thing of the past. Instead what remains is an athlete, forcibly fighting against time and playing in a format that is uncompromising.

After five games in this IPL, Ganguly has yet to complete 100 runs - he is two short of that mark and has a paltry average of 19.60. Lesser-known batsmen like Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, to list a few, have shown more character and had more impact on the fate of their teams than Ganguly has. And, before you say that all these three are youngsters, more suitable for the format, what of the dominance of Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble? All these men are on the other side of 30, all Ganguly's peers, but it is only the Kolkata captain, who finds himself in an isolated corner, sitting numb from the punches thrown at him.

Today was the first instance of Ganguly walking in as an opener in this IPL. In the first four matches he batted at No.3, and in the previous match, against Rajasthan, he had come in as No. 4. But Ganguly batting in the middle-order was always going to be a gamble considering he lacked the firepower he once possessed to take the bowling attack on. Also in the absence of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge opened the innings in the company of Manoj Tiwary, but apart form the solid partnership in the home victory against Bangalore, that pairing had not proved to be successful.

After the defeat in Ahmedabad, Dav Whatmore said the loss would prompt a change in the batting order. For Ganguly, opening remains the most appropriate position in his present form where he could at least use the pace of the ball and the freshness in the pitch to his advantage along with some initiative. But that was not to be the case at Brabourne Stadium, which was once again filled to the brim with Mumbai supporters.

On the fifth ball of the fourth over, Zaheer Khan pitched a short delivery outside off stump. In his pomp Ganguly would've hit that ball over, or cut it past point for a definite four. In this instance it ended up being a hit and miss. Zaheer followed with the same delivery, maintaining the same line. Ganguly stepped out, failed to connect once again, ending up looking ridiculous. Immediately he asked for a change of gloves. Clearly, the erstwhile 'God of the off side' was nervous. The pattern did not change through the innings - even as Ganguly lengthened his stay, the run rate stayed stagnant.

The reasons behind Ganguly's failure to dominate can be many but the most important one is his slowness. His reflexes have dimmed. That impeccable placement has disappeared followed closely by the timing. Those wrists don't co-ordinate anymore with the bat to lend any direction to the drives, those legs stay planted to the spot. Even his charges against spinners invariably end in the hands of the fielder, where once they ended behind the ropes. Ganguly's actions have become predictable, making it easy for the bowlers to gain the uppherhand.

It is easy to put the detriment of age behind Ganguly's reverses but take the example of Tendulkar today. He was chalk to Ganguly's cheese: Tendulkar bristled, stayed athletic at all times, and urged his fielders and batsmen to remain pro-active, and dissected the bowlers clinically.

All this is not saying that Ganguly doesn't try doing the same. He does, only that, perhaps, time has overtaken him. Things happen in the Twenty20 format at run-time - all those net sessions add up to zero most times and what remains the key is recognising the moment to step up the ante. Today Ganguly had the opportunity many times to force the change with the bat. But he failed miserably. It was the same case against Rajasthan.

In fact it is not the first time he has been exposed in this format. In the inaugural season of the IPL, when Gayle was absent, McCullum left after four games and Brad Hodge was yet to be bought, Ganguly was the top run-getter with 349 runs at 29.08 but those runs could not save Kolkata from drowning. In South Africa, the following year, Ganguly struggled on the bouncier pitches and ended the tournament with 189 runs at 17.18.

This is not the end of the road for Ganguly because he remains Kolkata's brand image. Also he still retains the leadership qualities that are necessary to inspire the team and he is the most accomplished and capable man to lead the side. Only that he needs now to inspire himself first.

The clock is ticking for Sourav Ganguly | Cricket News | Indian Premier League 2010 | Cricinfo.com
 

Uppercut

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"Once a proud man"- this guy has a serious talent for the euphemism.

When was Ganguly ever any good at T20? Is there a parallel universe where everyone once saw him being remotely half-decent at T20 long ago? AFAIC he's crap at T20 and has always been crap at T20. There's been no "decline" or "fall". He started crap and has remained crap.

Quality ODI player though.
 
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Sir Alex

Banned
"Once a proud man"- this guy has a serious talent for the euphemism.

When was Ganguly ever any good at T20? Is there a parallel universe where everyone once saw him being remotely half-decent at T20 long ago? AFAIC he's crap at T20 and has always been crap at T20. There's been no "decline" or "fall". He started crap and has remained crap.

Quality ODI player though.
He was quite good in the first IPL but withered off in 2nd and is now completely gone in the 3rd.
 

pasag

RTDAS
There's too much silliness here wrt to writing off players, for some it takes a little time to adjust whether it be to the format, or playing in front of packed houses in India. Anyone who doesn't hit a 6 on their first ball seems to be overrated, it's getting a bit much.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
Went to the game against Kings XI.. The ground looks awesome. Can't wait for the chepauk to be renovated fully. Work is on at an amazing pace.. 2 and a half stands torn down and redone in just 100 days..


Awesome game too. Real credit to Yuvi for being brave enough to try that shot under that pressure. Gotta say it again, Chennai has GOT TO BE one of the best live crowds... Pretty sporting too... We cheered Yuvi and Mahela's strokes as well.


But Chennai losing a game they had no business losing.. :( **** off Gony!!!
 

Edged&Taken

U19 Vice-Captain
Where will the 2 new teams get there players from? I assume all the best ones are already spoken for.
In September this year, the 3-year contracts for most players will cease. Players can re-negotiate terms with his team OR he can opt to move to a new team for a bigger paycheck . With new players who never played IPl before coming in, the Pakistanis, the contracted players switching alliances , and teams poaching players, there should be enough drama and talent for all the 10 teams I reckon.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
definitely the quality of cricket will dilute coz I don't think THAT many good cricketers are around, esp. with the 4 players cap on the foreign guys...
 

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