*Official* - India in West Indies

[vcs]

Huh, well I'd say West Indies deserved the draw due to Chanderpaul and the two Edwards. They didn't have much luck this test, so this feels just.

Still, I stopped watching after Chander's century but I always felt it unlikely India would go for the win in this situation. Not Dhoni's style, and this is why I find it very hard to support India under his captaincy. Just find them unlikeable.

Not that there's anything wrong with being defensive, its just as a neutral its not fun to watch.

Well, India have done a very good job chasing healthy fourth-innings totals in recent times on more than one occasion. Obviously the mentality changes when you are protecting a series lead and we saw a similar kind of reluctance to go in for the kill against England in 2007 and NZ in 2009 as well, when India took the series lead.

Agree with your first paragraph, it's hard not to feel happy for WI, Chanderpaul, Edwards and Fidel, they got the result they justly deserved after working really hard to keep India at bay under adverse circumstances.

 

[NasserFan207]

Well, India have done a very good job chasing healthy fourth-innings totals in recent times on more than one occasion. Obviously the mentality changes when you are protecting a series lead and we saw a similar kind of reluctance to go in for the kill against England in 2007 and NZ in 2009 as well, when India took the series lead.

Agree with your first paragraph, it's hard not to feel happy for WI, Chanderpaul, Edwards and Fidel, they got the result they justly deserved after working really hard to keep India at bay under adverse circumstances.

Yeah, I understand that perfectly but its just not good to watch as a neutral like I say. Obviously Sehwag makes a huge difference for chasing in the fourth innings, but i still think this was a missed oppurtunity for a win.

India not the only country who does this though tbf

Considering their batting however I'd have expected this to be their strong suit

 

[vcs]

Yeah, I agree having Sehwag makes a huge difference (though he has not really contributed much in fourth innings chases bar Chennai 2008). If he comes off, it's a pretty straightforward target. Dravid and Laxman just aren't cut out for a situation like this, and Vijay and Raina fell trying to force the pace. IMHO the only criticism is that Dhoni didn't promote himself, but he has been in poor form himself and his style does not necessarily translate to Tests as well as it does to ODIs.

 

[Bun]

Bun sort of did say the first tbf

bloody hell, I said that i'd like to think that, I didn't say we won 2-0 as if it was a fact or anything! ****'s sake can't I even think aloud??

lol again at chaps turning up and havoing a go at india without even following it.

take it as a compliment of how they treat even this famished india B team so seriously!

 

[G.I.Joe]

I'm very disappointed we didn't go for broke.

 

[Vroomfondel]

The main upshot of this series is that this West Indian team is not bad at all. Rampaul has been great for a few series now, and Fidel was brilliant in this test on a pitch that didn't offer all that much. They have a quality leg-spinner in the works in Bishoo, and a decent dibbly-dobbly holding man in Sammy.

I'm pretty confident that Roach and Taylor will be back in force. And with the aid of modern psychiatry, perhaps Benn will make an appearance in WI colours as wel.

As for the batting, both Kirk Edwards and Powell seem like decent prospects and deserve an extended run, and Baugh can bat, thankfully. But I am not convinced that Barath and Samuels have a brain between them (despite a couple of decent knocks).

If by some miracle, they can get Gayle back in the side and get Sarwan's head straight, their batting will be sorted.

Exciting times for WI cricket.

 

[Bun]

where were everyone needling india now, when England pulled the plug on
June’s Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka when needing
six wickets (or seven if the injured Dilshan batted
again) in 15 overs, having, in the previous two
innings in the series, taken their opponents’ last
six wickets in 7.2 and 22.5 overs respectively????

 

[GotSpin]

The main upshot of this series is that this West Indian team is not bad at all. Rampaul has been great for a few series now, and Fidel was brilliant in this test on a pitch that didn't offer all that much. They have a quality leg-spinner in the works in Bishoo, and a decent dibbly-dobbly holding man in Sammy.

I'm pretty confident that Roach and Taylor will be back in force. And with the aid of modern psychiatry, perhaps Benn will make an appearance in WI colours as wel.

As for the batting, both Kirk Edwards and Powell seem like decent prospects and deserve an extended run, and Baugh can bat, thankfully. But I am not convinced that Barath and Samuels have a brain between them (despite a couple of decent knocks).

If by some miracle, they can get Gayle back in the side and get Sarwan's head straight, their batting will be sorted.

Exciting times for WI cricket.

Benn should be nowhere near West Indies colours. He's well behind the order in my mind.

There's definitely some positives to take away from this series but it was still an opportunity missed. The bowlers got the team into a fantastic position in the first two tests but were let down by a batting line up that failed in every first innings.

 

[ankitj]

The Confectionery Stall | Page 2 | ESPN Cricinfo

Agree

 

[Spark]

Absolutely agreed with that, both Dhoni and Strauss deserve to cop it for that (not so much Sammy and Dilshan)

 

[Vroomfondel]

Benn should be nowhere near West Indies colours. He's well behind the order in my mind.

Fifers agaist SA and Aus show he's test class. What other WI spinners can make this claim? I would hope he'd be part of the touring squad to Bang/Ind along with Bishoo and Jagganath (who I haven't seen play).

Wrt batting: agreed, there is some way to go, but the signs are positive (after a forgettable Pak series and 2 tests here). I hope Sammy can pull his socks up -- if he can average even 25 with the bat and hang around with the tail, it would be a big boost.

 

[GIMH]

bloody hell, I said that i'd like to think that, I didn't say we won 2-0 as if it was a fact or anything! ****'s sake can't I even think aloud??

lol again at chaps turning up and havoing a go at india without even following it.

take it as a compliment of how they treat even this famished india B team so seriously!

You made a **** comment and got called on it. Welcome to the Internet.

And people were plenty critical of Strauss when we took the early finish.

 

[Spark]

Fifers agaist SA and Aus show he's test class. What other WI spinners can make this claim? I would hope he'd be part of the touring squad to Bang/Ind along with Bishoo and Jagganath (who I haven't seen play).

Wrt batting: agreed, there is some way to go, but the signs are positive (after a forgettable Pak series and 2 tests here). I hope Sammy can pull his socks up -- if he can average even 25 with the bat and hang around with the tail, it would be a big boost.

I'd not read a great deal into that 5-for. If you bowl that many overs you should be able to pick up a few wickets and one or two of them were somewhat fortuitous (North being dismissed off the back of his bat, for example). Worth noting that not only did he not take any wickets second dig, he looked rather pedestrian too.

 

[sateeshin]

congrats team India!

 

[GotSpin]

You made a **** comment and got called on it. Welcome to the Internet.

And people were plenty critical of Strauss when we took the early finish.

haha so true.

 

[GotSpin]

Fifers agaist SA and Aus show he's test class. What other WI spinners can make this claim? I would hope he'd be part of the touring squad to Bang/Ind along with Bishoo and Jagganath (who I haven't seen play).

Wrt batting: agreed, there is some way to go, but the signs are positive (after a forgettable Pak series and 2 tests here). I hope Sammy can pull his socks up -- if he can average even 25 with the bat and hang around with the tail, it would be a big boost.

I still don't think he's that good regardless of the odd 5er. I'd rather Martin ahead of him purely because of attitude.

I agree there are some positive signs. The bowling depth looks decent atm. Rampaul and Edwards had a very good series with averages of 24 and 20 respectively.

A few of the batsmen are lacking some brains - Barath and Junior Bravo in particular - but they definitely have the talent. Lets hope they send out a full strength squad to Bangladesh and get some wins under their belt

 

[Bun]

You made a **** comment and got called on it. Welcome to the Internet.

And people were plenty critical of Strauss when we took the early finish.

1-0 > 0-1

 

[Blaze 18]

I'm a little disappointed we didn't go for the win. Away tests wins - no matter the opposition (except maybe Bangaldesh) - are always hard to come by. India really aren't doing enough IMO (again, it's a mark of how far they come that the fans are not content with a series win). Who knows, four or five years down the line West Indies may have a much stronger side than us and may thrash us in the next series. Make hay when the sun shines, etc.

All that said, India put up a reasonable show. A 1-0 win is a fair result if you take into account the team India sent to the West Indies and the weather.

As far as the batting numbers go, it's a bit disconcerting that our two most prolific scorers this series were Dravid and Laxman (although Raina did well despite copping a few rough ones). Our 'young guns' namely, Mukund, Vijay and Kohli did nothing whatsoever of note. Kohli in particular was a major disappointment; Mukund got a fifty and Vijay top scored in the final innings. I guess test cricket is a hell of a lot different from facing Gomez and Unadkat in the IPL.

The bowling numbers were better. Ishant (MOTS) and Praveen were excellent and Harbhajan continues his trend of putting up good numbers without ever looking very threatening (11 wickets @ 25).

 

[weldone]

I'm pretty impressed with the performance of 'this' Indian team in this series, especially the bowling. We came without our 5 regular players - Tendulkar, Zaheer, Sehwag, Gambhir and Pujara. We won the first game, which was least affected by weather out of the 3. We have had the upper hand in the last two tests as well, but drew them 'mainly' due to bad weather and some good cricket from West Indies. All of Ishant, Dravid, Raina, Laxman, Mukund and Praveen impressed - and only Laxman among them carried pretty good form into the series. So, that's a positive sign. Only Vijay, Kohli and to an extent Harbhajan disappointed big time. I shall not be too worried about the first two, as they are not part of our first XI. And, Harbhajan has the knack of stepping up for big occasions - so I shall be hoping for a decent performance from him in the England tour.

 

[Prince EWS]

We came without our 5 regular players - Tendulkar, Zaheer, Sehwag, Gambhir and Pujara.

And Sreesanth.