***Official*** India in South Africa

[TT Boy]

Damn, Mongia cost India at least 20 runs.

What about Sachin wasted forty odd balls then got out to a long hop, pretty poor going and just as bad as Mongia, who did not have the benefit of facing RP all the time. India have been awful, good wicket to bat on (minus the early movement) and there can only manager 200, bowling has been ridiculously poor also. Their lengths will have to improve for the test series, you can’t bowl short at 70mph to the likes of AB.

 

[silentstriker]

I don't even need to say anything about our pace attack.

 

[silentstriker]

What about Sachin wasted forty odd balls then got out to a long hop, pretty poor going and just as bad as Mongia, who did not have the benefit of facing RP all the time. India have been awful, good wicket to bat on (minus the early movement) and there can only manager 200, bowling has been ridiculously poor also. Their lengths will have to improve for the test series, you can’t bowl short at 70mph to the likes of AB.

Sachin did exactly the right thing IMO. Pollock had just owned us, and he ended up with an S/R of 56, which is acceptable considering what he had to bail us out from.

 

[Turbinator]

I stopped watching once Pathan got smashed!

Anyways, TBH, look at our team... they all look so untalented, unfit, either too fat or too skinny, not built etc etc. I was looking at the team today in the field we look so unimpressive... Sehwag "trying" to run after a ball at the same time keeping up his jiggling. Everyone looks as if they have been thoroughly battered and bruised. Running between the wickets TBH was pathetic today, Mongia can't run for ****!

While you look at SAF, they're body language is completely different, very athletic AND energetic in the field and while running between the wickets and in other stuff.

Very dissapointed in the Indian Team. Why doesn't Chappell make them workout, Sreesanth and Munaf should workout and make a strong built. Send Sehwag and Mongia to run 5 -10 K every day. Also, as Jonty said, SAF don't spend long hours fielding instead they spend short amount of time but in that short amount of time they practice HARD. We really need to shape up our players and make them all as atheletic as they can get. You see SAF diving all across the field, while the Indian hesitate to dive, and when they do it is poorly executed.

 

[TT Boy]

Sehwag might as well go for it, what's the point of having the field spread when there is less than a hundred runs to play with. If anything it means he can get back to his hotel room service quicker.

 

[silentstriker]

Very dissapointed in the Indian Team. Why doesn't Chappell make them workout,

Because if he ever yells at the Primma-Donnas that make up the Indian team, hey gets criticized (even by those on these boards) as being 'unprofessional'.

 

[jot1]

Early finish today. Polly man of the series for me. And of this match regardless of who scores how much.

 

[Nate]

Not that I know much of Indian cricket, but my ODI team would be:

Uthappa
Tendulkar
Dravid
Mongia
Sehwag
Dhoni
Yuvraj
Powar
Khan
Kumble
Patel

EDIT: Powar in for Sreesanth. Powar is an awesome bowler, but Sreesanth is in my XI favourite players. Very hard choice.

How is Balaji fairing these days? I remember him taking a good 4-for in the Irani trophy a while back, but nothing since.

 

[Dravid]

Haven't been keeping up with Bala, but Gambhir>Uthappa.

 

[TT Boy]

Sachin did exactly the right thing IMO. Pollock had just owned us, and he ended up with an S/R of 56, which is acceptable considering what he had to bail us out from.

Take out the freebies that RP gave him then he would have been as woeful as Mongia. You drop anchor like Sachin did and you need to go (like Kallis did previously), he failed too and hence put more pressure on the guys coming in. Par score for this wicket is 250 easily. Mongia and Sachin were batting like it was some sort of minefield because the balls went over ankle height.

 

[Dravid]

Sachin was struggling in the start, so I don't blame him for taking time with his shots. However Mongia wasn't struggling early and should have atleast looked for singles instead of leaving or defending the ball.

 

[silentstriker]

Take out the freebies that RP gave him then he would have been as woeful as Mongia. You drop anchor like Sachin did and you need to go (like Kallis did previously), he failed too and hence put more pressure on the guys coming in. Par score for this wicket is 250 easily. Mongia and Sachin were batting like it was some sort of minefield because the balls went over ankle height.

The problem is there is no one 'coming in' who is any good. They had to bat like they did because there is no one else. For practical purposes, they were the batting order. Dhoni did well, but basically aside from them, no one would have done anything, and they were proven right.

I am not arguing that the score is below par, but Tendulkar did what he had to do based on the match situation.

 

[TT Boy]

Sachin was struggling in the start, so I don't blame him for taking time with his shots. However Mongia wasn't struggling early and should have atleast looked for singles instead of leaving or defending the ball.

Mongia's problem is that he just couldn't time the ball, looked ok just kept hitting the fielder though his dismissal was awful and unforgivable. Though saying that his been one of the better batsman for India, which says everything I guess.

 

[TT Boy]

Good stuff Sehwag take the Poweplay son.

 

[TT Boy]

Fifty for Smith, good stuff should be off encouragement for the test series, played the spinners very well also.

 

[jot1]

Smith got 50. Duh! About time too.

 

[adharcric]

What about Sachin wasted forty odd balls then got out to a long hop, pretty poor going and just as bad as Mongia, who did not have the benefit of facing RP all the time. India have been awful, good wicket to bat on (minus the early movement) and there can only manager 200, bowling has been ridiculously poor also. Their lengths will have to improve for the test series, you can’t bowl short at 70mph to the likes of AB.

I'm not sure which match you were watching, but there was a HUGE difference between the two. Sachin also started very slowly but he was playing himself in against tight bowling from Pollock, Ntini and Nel. He went after Kallis and Peterson and started rotating the strike once set. Mongia, on the other hand, never succeeded in rotating the strike throughout his innings. He did get to face Peterson and Kallis and wasted those deliveries. He was plain dreadful ... the boundaries he managed were an inside-edge and an outside-edge.

Tendulkar was obviously playing himself into form for the test series. Mongia was obviously trying to save his place in the team but ended up looking lost on most occasions.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mongia's finished as an international cricketer, but hopefully he gets another go because he has been alright in the 4 matches he's gotten.
Kaif and Raina should be dropped for Badrinath and Laxman. Sehwag is a failure and needs to be dropped soon for Gambhir. Ganguly is the wild-card if he does well in the tests.

 

[Dravid]

It's embarrasing that Pathan has to bowl with Munafs shirt.

 

[silentstriker]

This is so funny. 10 wicket win coming up. I really hope they can pull it off, if just for the awesome newspaper headlines in India.

 

[Dravid]

Most embarrasing series for India in the 21st century? Discuss.