**Official** Asia Cup 2004 Thread

[Sunny Mehta]

India are a joke

Rubbish captaincy

He soaked up too many overs

Well ganguly has got another big score against another non-test side

Ganguly should be out!

 

[biased indian]

rahul out for 104

 

[Magrat Garlick]

India are a joke

Rubbish captaincy

He soaked up too many overs

Well ganguly has got another big score against another non-test side

Ganguly should be out!

Funnily enough, if it hadn't been for him keeping his cool and not throwing his wicket away (like Sehwag, Tendulkar and Laxman), India might have been in it deeper than they are now...

 

[biased indian]

Rubbish captaincy

like

 

[Arjun]

Why were Yuvraj and Pathan not sent up the order? They like the ball coming on the bat at a good pace, which is what these bowlers were. Ganguly is better off at 5,6 or 7, against the spinners, where he can hit them out of the ground, rather than struggle and scratch against the seamers. That said, he HAS TO IMPROVE HIS RUNNING BETWEEN WICKETS- it was horrible! An Australian or Kiwi batsman would have got a hundred given the same number of balls in this scene! Of course, Pathan may not look a top-6 batsman, but he has good technique for a bowler and being a bowler first, he can bat without pressure- thus hitting more sixes.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Well UAE in a little bit of trouble now losing 3 quick quicks already

I Pathan looks like a good promising player.. hes taken all the 3 wickets.. but i wouldnt be too hasty saying he is the greatest now cauz Indias just playing UAE..

 

[ReallyCrazy]

India are a joke

Rubbish captaincy

He soaked up too many overs

Well ganguly has got another big score against another non-test side

Ganguly should be out!

yeah right! Ganguly came in at 0/1 after 3 balls and was there even after the dismissals of sachin and laxman. as someone said, if it wasn't for ganguly, 260 wouldn't have been possible. so what are you talking about.

 

[Arjun]

He's not a great bowler, but very good, considering he's new. Far the best strike fast bowler in this team. That said, Balaji's bowling is a bit of a problem area, since he's not taking many wickets. Both bowlers should get battign opportunities, though they don't have to bat like top-6 batsmen, just hit the big shots. They're under no pressure while batting, since they can fall back on their bowling. That's an all-rounder's advantage.

 

[ReallyCrazy]

Why were Yuvraj and Pathan not sent up the order? They like the ball coming on the bat at a good pace, which is what these bowlers were. Ganguly is better off at 5,6 or 7, against the spinners, where he can hit them out of the ground, rather than struggle and scratch against the seamers. That said, he HAS TO IMPROVE HIS RUNNING BETWEEN WICKETS- it was horrible! An Australian or Kiwi batsman would have got a hundred given the same number of balls in this scene! Of course, Pathan may not look a top-6 batsman, but he has good technique for a bowler and being a bowler first, he can bat without pressure- thus hitting more sixes.

yuvraj and pathan are not sent up the order because ganguly is a proven better batter than both of them. Ganguly is GOOD against seamers......he's played most of his matches as an opener and has scored a LOT of runs in this position. He scored a patient 50 at the right time. Be grateful to ganguly...if not for him, India might not even have scored 260.

That said, you might have a case for pathan or yuvraj opening the batting. Because unlike sehwag, an australian batter (gilchrist) would have scored a double century in the same situation. And someone like ponting might have scored at least a 100 unlike sachin

 

[masterblaster]

Id rather be more grateful to Dravid (as always) rather than just Ganguly.

Sure, Ganguly did a good job. But who in the end bailed us out of trouble?

Rahul Dravid

The guy you can depend on, for most of the time.

 

[masterblaster]

UAE: 5/36

I guess they can't really bat. Im missing AA's bowling in this game, being the strike bowler AA is he would've had a great time, and they didnt even play Nehra.

What a waste!!

 

[ReallyCrazy]

UAE: 4/36

I guess they can't really bat. Im missing AA's bowling in this game, being the strike bowler AA is he would've had a great time, and they didnt even play Nehra.

What a waste!!

5/36 now. im feeling really bad for UAE. I want them to do wll coz i used to live in that country for a while.

But I am not missing AA at all. Balaji and Pathan seem to be doing well.

 

[Arjun]

unlike sehwag, an australian batter (gilchrist) would have scored a double century in the same situation

Not entirely his fault- just a big error in judgement. No real point in getting it against UAE- always better against a Test team. I would prefer a Pathan 50 to a Sehwag 100.

That said, Rahul Dravid's hundred is definitely a memorable one, since it came in more than a run a ball, apart from holding the innings together. What was most impressive was his running between wickets- Ganguly should take note- he could have got a century in that time.

 

[Arjun]

Why Agarkar, even Sehwag would look a strike bowler. I can't watch the match now- a soap opera is on. You know these soap audiences- they don't part with their channels!

 

[Magrat Garlick]

UAE: 5/36

I guess they can't really bat. Im missing AA's bowling in this game, being the strike bowler AA is he would've had a great time, and they didnt even play Nehra.

What a waste!!

They were unlucky to have their best batsman gone early (Arshad Ali - made 143* in an Intercontinental Cup match). Khuram Khan looked promising, but today he batted like a rabbit.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

He's not a great bowler, but very good, considering he's new. Far the best strike fast bowler in this team. That said, Balaji's bowling is a bit of a problem area, since he's not taking many wickets. Both bowlers should get battign opportunities, though they don't have to bat like top-6 batsmen, just hit the big shots. They're under no pressure while batting, since they can fall back on their bowling. That's an all-rounder's advantage.

just as you say balaji took 2 wickets , ending his over now 4-1-19-2 is looking pretty good to me so far , he did look shaky in his opening overs , but im sure once Zaheer Khan is back in form he will be sharing the new ball with I Pathan..
And Strike bowler wise Pathan is a good fine for India and certainly the future in the fast bowling department for them.

And hands down on Rahul Dravids peformance once again, scoring 100 coming in when India was struggling a bit was real good , played with real character, i think hes having the best time of his life right now , hes in pretty good form.

Im missing AA's bowling in this game, being the strike bowler AA is he would've had a great time, and they didnt even play Nehra.

i think with the current composition of the squad agarkar wouldnt really fit in anywhere.. and if India was looking for an all rounder i would look to work with either Yuvraj Singh or V Sehwag to keep working at their bowling because batting wise they have good talent and seem to be working hard at that and they could easily be handy if they keep working on their bowling. And i would rather have Harbajan Singh on before i give agarkar a go.

 

[masterblaster]

Im sorry Reuben, I just can't discount AA at all.

He's grown to be one of my favourite players. 193 wickets at 27 is very impressive.
Forget the RPO of 5.11 against UAE, because at the rate AA gets his wickets (SR of 32) there's a fair chance he'd rip apart UAE's batting.

 

[Arjun]

i think with the current composition of the squad agarkar wouldnt really fit in anywhere.. and if India was looking for an all rounder i would look to work with either Yuvraj Singh or V Sehwag to keep working at their bowling because batting wise they have good talent and seem to be working hard at that and they could easily be handy if they keep working on their bowling. And i would rather have Harbajan Singh on before i give agarkar a go.

Agarkar- would fit in as a fifth bowler.

Sehwag- bowls a lot better when given 10 overs. What's there to lose when those 10 overs are free? Why not try out a regular bowling batsman? He can do a lot better than 4 2-over bowlers, gettign more practice. He can be a Symonds/Sanath/Styris type all-rounder, which is not at all bad.

Yuvraj- Can't bowl for toffees. Lesser bowled the better.

All-rounders- India have two genuine al-rounders, bowlers who are not great but pathetic with the bat, batsmen who are not great but helpless with the ball, but these two all-rounders never get a game! JP Yadav is a brawny, hard-hitting batsman who bowls useful slow-medium pace, and Powar is a sneaky off-spinner who can hit the ball hard, so they should make a national team, but they don't. And the experts complain about the lack of an all-rounder. Can't they pick one available?

Harbhajan- Infamous for those weird shots, but when he sticks to the basics, he can be a very good batsman.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Okay Sangrah accounted for the fact that Agarkar is a good Strike bowler given your fact. and as Arjun too argues for an all rounder necessary for the team,
whom from the current outfit can be discounted for? Everyone in the current squad has proved their worth really well and the only person id really discount for that could do with spending time on the bench is Kaif and if he was to sit out , i would bring in Harbajan Singh as a 5th bowler as i find his combination with Kumble to be very good. Although it hasnt struck together yet it is bound to sometime soon.
And to fit Agarkar into a team there the only option would be if Balaji had a slump then Agarkar would be my choice over Nehra , basically because batting wise Agarkar is a lot better than Nehra and bowling wise Agarkar has a lot more control than nehra does i feel in terms of consistency too Agarkar would win over Nehra.

And M.Kaif he was quite a regular bowler/part time when i watched the U 19 world cup where India had won quite a few years ago. im pretty suprised they havent given him a chance with the ball..or given him more opportunities. Yet if he has a talent such as that i would look to work on that to give him an all rounder role as that would suit him quite well..

 

[marc71178]

Interesting to see that Rafique was bowling his 11th over of the innings when Hong Kong were bowled out...

Was it at good old Asoka's end?