**Official** Asia Cup 2004 Thread

[ReallyCrazy]

Hints for recovery:

Fielding needs to improve. The Indian team and their opposition were evenly matched, so the better fielding team would win. None of the Indian throws hit the stumps- Zoysa's run-out from the deep could have won the match. The Indian fielders were slow in bending down and picking up the ball and Sehwag was playing too much football- their Lankan counterparts got over the ball and threw it back fast. Not much difference in wicketkeeping- neither side was up to the mark there.

Agree with you that the fielding does have to improve. But I think India are an overall better fielding team than Sri Lanka. I didn't see the matches in the Asia cup but I think if India didn't field as well as SL did, then its only because they have been out of match practice.

Running between the wickets needs a lot of improvement too. Soemtimes, I think Dean Jones would make a far better coach than the soft-spoken, sad-faced Wright. Dean would put evgery player through the wringer in fieldign and running between wickets, so that they score as many as 50 extra runs in every match. They lack the hitting power of Australian and West Indian batsmen, which makes aggressive running more important. In fact, I actually support Sehwag's running- it just needs to be more selective.

How do you know whether Dean Jones will make a far better coach or not? What team has he coached so well and made invincibles? I mean what exactly are you basing your argument on? But you're right. Running between the wickets is very important and I'm sure John Wright and the players themselves know about it.

The first 15 overs bowling should be tight. It does not matter how good or bad the bowling conditions are; the ball should land in the right place. Can't say much of Pathan, since he's the only bowler close to world class, but Balaji needs to bowl STRAIGHT. Zaheer is having problems with fitness- he should not be considered in the future unless he completes 5 FC matches without breaking down. Bhandari would make a good selection, since he is a far more intelligent bowler. That said, India's bowling strength is not pace, but spin, so a second spinner has to play.

Pathan....world class? Come on, the guy has hardly played 15 matches and you are calling him world class? He hasn't done anything so phenomenal in his career to date that we should start labelling him a world class bowler and also have him OPEN the innings according to you Also, you are being too tough on Balaji. He had an excellent series in Pakistan and I'm willing to see how he progresses in this series and make my call on him then.

Pathan must move up to number 7- he is far more productive there than so deep down at 8 or 9, and far more productive than Parthiv.Appointing Dean Jones as coach would be too desperate, so I hope John Wright makes serious statements about fielding and running, and I sincerely hope Ganguly improves his own- fter all, he is the captain of the team!

Make up your mind.....you want pathan to open or come at 4 or bat at 7? But I do agree he's better than Parthiv Patel. Patel should not even be in the team.

Also you are right, Ganguly should improve his form. He's starting to rest on his past laurels. I was really hoping he'd make a good score and take india out of trouble in the last match but it was once again Dravid who tried. Its high time Ganguly starts making a contribution.

 

[Arjun]

How do you know whether Dean Jones will make a far better coach or not? What team has he coached so well and made invincibles?

The way he talks about certain issues, he is potentially a good coach. He talks hard and is very honest. Being an Australian, he'll try hard to get the end result, rather than make mournful speeches.

Pathan....world class? Come on, the guy has hardly played 15 matches and you are calling him world class? He hasn't done anything so phenomenal in his career to date that we should start labelling him a world class bowler and also have him OPEN the innings according to you

He's not yet world class, but the only fast bowler anywhere close to world class. He is the best equipped bowler and also the most intelligent of the pack. Hmm.....what if he played for Australia?

Also, you are being too tough on Balaji. He had an excellent series in Pakistan and I'm willing to see how he progresses in this series and make my call on him then.

Pakistan 2004 is past. That team was awful- they let pathetic temperament get the better of them and some of the players in that team were not up to international standard. The Lankans, on the other hand, were a very professional outfit and far better than Pakistan 2004, in the match. He has to improve his bowling against professional teams.

Make up your mind.....you want pathan to open or come at 4 or bat at 7? But I do agree he's better than Parthiv Patel. Patel should not even be in the team.

I can get Pathan to open the innings as a pinch-hitter (that was quite successful for most teams and still is) or come in at 3 or 7. I would keep all options open.

Also you are right, Ganguly should improve his form. He's starting to rest on his past laurels. I was really hoping he'd make a good score and take india out of trouble in the last match but it was once again Dravid who tried. Its high time Ganguly starts making a contribution.

His batting is not much of a problem, but he's making absolutely no progress in fielding, which weakens the team a lot. Several batsmen in India are as good as him, but can field better- Gambhir can be picked, Badani is not too bad, Gavaskar is a big match player, and all of them can field a lot better.

 

[Arjun]

About Dean Jones, he dressed up as a professor and took a blackboard and made a SWOT analysis on both teams, including a controversial theory-

Spoken and shown by Dean Jones on ESPNSTAR's Taking Guard:
Look at this:
Vaas: Economy Rate is 4.78 against India and 4.45 overall.
Murali: Economy Rate is 4.87 against India and 3.52 overall.
They're hurting these two, the Indians!

The figures may be incorrect, but isn't Deano forgetting something? What about wickets/match? And strike rate?

 

[marc71178]

this was more of a practice match...there was no point to this match because India are already in the semis so I guess he just put patel on opening just to see how he does

Easy to say after the event when the team has lost...

And another reason why Australia are head and shoulders above anyone else in the International game.

 

[marc71178]

Next round begins with a clean slate . Nothing is carried over from the first round......good too , coz it would have been unfair if Pakistan got to carry over points from their game vs Bangladesh , while India failed to carry over any points simply coz they had to play SL instead of Bangladesh .

It would only be carried in a manner that would allow the match-ups not to happen again (and therefore remove 2 games from the schedule)

In the World Cup it's different because you have 3 qualifying, so it's making a more considerable saving in games.

 

[marc71178]

He is the only one close to being an all-rounder in this team, and the Indians have repeatedly felt the lack of a genuine all-rounder. He would make a far better all-rounder than Dravid.

Which rates his batting as better than Rahul's keeping...

 

[marc71178]

He's not yet world class, but the only fast bowler anywhere close to world class. He is the best equipped bowler and also the most intelligent of the pack. Hmm.....what if he played for Australia?

He'd be 5 years older...

 

[ReallyCrazy]

I can't take the fact that india lost! They better win every other match or else. They're are freakin paid so much and they can't win a game. And still they talk about being #2 in the world. And they end up losing against Sri Lanka. Results are needed

 

[marc71178]

It just shows that on any day, most sides can beat one another.

 

[ReallyCrazy]

yeah indian team is full of losers. they ****in need to start winning consistently

 

[tooextracool]

im surprised no one has mentioned yuvraj's innings yesterday because it was quite a pathetic one.....he looked absolutely at sea against the spinners and was trying to sweep everything that was bowled to him.

 

[biased indian]

yeah indian team is full of losers. they ****in need to start winning consistently

we lost and two reasons was poor bowling in the last 10 overs
and ganguly's silly captiancy of sending patel as opener

 

[imranrabb]

i now think that sri lanka are favorites then india and then pakistan are close behind india.

 

[Swervy]

I can't take the fact that india lost! They better win every other match or else. They're are freakin paid so much and they can't win a game. And still they talk about being #2 in the world. And they end up losing against Sri Lanka. Results are needed

i think that is what a lot of us have been saying for quite some time

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

im surprised no one has mentioned yuvraj's innings yesterday because it was quite a pathetic one.....he looked absolutely at sea against the spinners and was trying to sweep everything that was bowled to him.

Doesn't Yuvraj generally look at sea against the spinners?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Easy to say after the event when the team has lost...

And another reason why Australia are head and shoulders above anyone else in the International game.

Meaning what? You're trying to suggest that Australia doesn't lose meaningless matches? Australia is renowned for that. The reason they rule the world is that they don't lose meaningful matches.

 

[marc71178]

They don't experiment in dead rubbers, and the number of games they won in a row suggests they don't "take the foot off the pedal" any more.

That is why they are so ahead of the rest of us.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

But look at the 20 games they won in succession and how the streak was stopped - 3 losses against the West Indies after 4 wins and the series in the bag.

 

[JASON]

I have to agree with MR.Mxyzptlk on this one. Australia have a habit of losing meaningless games but never games of any significance. They call it Gamesmanship!!

India may have shown similar Gamesmanship in this meaningless game!! They are bound to play a lot better when the real serious games start in the next phase.

 

[Vroomfondel]

yeah indian team is full of losers. they ****in need to start winning consistently

erm, talk about fickle fans...

India is coming off a 3-month break, and is it any surprise that Sri Lanka is sharper after being whooped by the Australians? I don't know what your expectations were, but they were probably unrealistic.

Fine, the loss is disappointing but I'm not overly concerned, and I don't think John Wright is either. As Arjun mentioned, the main areas for concern are fielding and running between the wickets. Far be it for me to compare my cricket with that of international teams, but every time I've started playing immediately after the off-season I notice that calling/running/direct hits are the first things to go. So I can empathise.

Zaheer is a problem, and he's probably out of the tournament. It must be so frustrating for him to be injured time and time again. I know he had a groin strain before Australia, but does anyone remember what happened during the Pakistan tour? Was it the left hamstring, which would mean that it's a recurring injury -- and that sucks.

India is not the 2nd best, 3rd best, or whatever, but this Indian team is still the best one I have ever seen. Still my pick for the tournament.