***Official*** India in West Indies

[adharcric]

********. Had Dravid not conceded, the drama would have gone forever. I have not seen such blatant bias in a while.

Exactly. Not only have I lost some respect for Brian Lara, but also for a few posters here who act like unbiased angels with an expert opinion on things and then come up with ridiculously biased ********. At that point, the argument that Dhoni should be out was understandable but the defense of Lara and accusation of Dhoni of going against the spirit of cricket was absurd. Right now, even the argument that Dhoni should be out is absurd if you've read that cricinfo report which indicates that Ganga didn't even know himself if he had stepped on the boundary.

Interestingly, most of the people that made these ridiculous arguments were England supporters. I really don't know what to make of that so I won't draw any conclusions. If you all want to maintain some degree of respect, own up to it and admit that you were wrong. Otherwise, go on with your farcical approach.

 

[maxpower]

I dont know what the big hopla is all about, if 3rd umpire can't figure it out then no one really is a bad guy onfield, but I guess since dhoni in previous game had appealed for a catch that wasn't its easy to make him the bad guy.
And hopefully everyone commenting here have actually seen what happend before commenting on this, because even when seen over and over its hard to tell who's right.
About taking fielder's word, well I don't know how a fielder can be definite all the time if he took the catch or not, I mean Vaughn didn't wanna take fielder's word when Ponting suggested it, but everyone was ok that time I guess.

p.s Also Dravid should'nt have left Dhoni on island like that.

 

[roseboy64]

********. Had Dravid not conceded, the drama would have gone forever. I have not seen such blatant bias in a while.

 

[roseboy64]

AFAIK only one person claimed Dhoni to be unsportsmanlike. NOt entirely sur ethough. Don't see why it's being generalised.

 

[luckyeddie]

May be LE Because England Lost to SL hi hi hi hi

Most of the neutral was from ENG

I'm sorry, I fail to see the logical connection.
Then again, that's not unusual here, is it?

 

[adharcric]

AFAIK only one person claimed Dhoni to be unsportsmanlike. NOt entirely sur ethough. Don't see why it's being generalised.

Yeah I'm pretty sure only one person actually called Dhoni unsportsmanlike, but this generalization comes from the fact that everyone else (the biased fans) refused to refute that accusation and refused to put any blame on Lara. Even you understand that Lara's conduct was poor - to treat the umpire like dirt, snatch the ball away from him and privately ask the batsman to declare himself out after a decision has already been made is simply terrible in cricket. I understand that he was trying to stand up for his team and just got a little too into it, but Dravid chose a different route so Lara isn't blameless. Some of the people that came out of nowhere and commented early on probably weren't even watching the game; others may have gone by Ganga's claim that he caught it clean. Now it turns out that his claim itself was one of uncertainty, so there is only one thing to go by - benefit of doubt to the bastmen.

 

[Nate]

Here's Cricinfo's report on today's controversy.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wivind/content/current/story/249668.html

After reading that, it becomes rather clear that
a) Dhoni should have been not out (by benefit of doubt)
b) Ganga wasn't sure whether he had stepped on the line
c) Lara was the only one who exhibited unsportsmanlike conduct

Winner.

 

[adharcric]

I dont know what the big hopla is all about, if 3rd umpire can't figure it out then no one really is a bad guy onfield, but I guess since dhoni in previous game had appealed for a catch that wasn't its easy to make him the bad guy.
And hopefully everyone commenting here have actually seen what happend before commenting on this, because even when seen over and over its hard to tell who's right.
About taking fielder's word, well I don't know how a fielder can be definite all the time if he took the catch or not, I mean Vaughn didn't wanna take fielder's word when Ponting suggested it, but everyone was ok that time I guess.

p.s Also Dravid should'nt have left Dhoni on island like that.

In regard to what Dhoni did in the previous game (I don't personally know which incident you're talking about), that's not relevant to this situation. As far as I know, Dhoni hasn't done anything blatant in his career thus far that should cause people to suspect him of being the unsportsmanlike one in a situation like this. Lara probably hasn't either. What matters is the way Dhoni and Lara reacted to the situation.

***Dhoni was walking back after he saw that the catch had been taken but was sent back by Dravid after it had been referred. He heard from Ganga, the umpires and Lara without any protest. He then took Lara's "advice" and declared himself out as Dravid declared the innings. Perfect conduct IMO. Just went with the flow and let the umpires do their job.

***Lara heard from Ganga (apparently that he wasn't sure whether he had stepped on the boundary) after the referral was made. Rauf and Taufel finally decided to give the benefit of doubt to the batsmen. Rauf and Taufel (especially) are two of the best umpires in world cricket today, so you can trust that they had made the correct decision in declaring Dhoni not out (as the fielder was himself uncertain). Instead of accepting the decision, Lara became angry and aggravated and snatched the ball from Rauf, ignored Rauf and started to set his field even while Rauf tried to get his attention. He then had a chat with Dhoni and Kaif and apparently advised Dhoni to walk because he should trust Ganga's verdict. Ignored the decision, treated the umpire like trash and showed dissent ... calls for a fine IMO.

***Dravid didn't really have much of a role for the most part. The best thing he did is that he did nothing at all and let the umpires do their job on the field. He finally declared the innings to avoid controversy and didn't even ask for the extra six runs which India deserved.

 

[Dasa]

^That sums up the situation very well.

 

[adharcric]

To be honest, I think Lara's conduct deserves a one-match suspension ... but I don't want this series to be tainted by this incident or this controversy to carry on ... so a fine is appropriate. Anything less is intolerable.

 

[viktor]

Hate to keep harping on the same issue but I saw the highlights just now and saw Lara seemingly admonishing Dhoni. I couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had it been Ponting instead of Dhoni there. Lara would likely have got a pretty clear opinion of just what Lara's indeed the entire Lara clan's role in the affair amounted to, which was, zilch.

btw, was that ramp shot off Gayle awesome or what!!! and thet flicked six made a reappearance. Dhoni is amazing when he gets going. Feel sorry for Dave though; he never should have been bowling that over.

 

[marc71178]

Marc, Please dont show your Bias here. What part of "'I'm not really sure if I stepped on it'." suggests that fielder's word should be trusted here ?

Since when shuold I have bias in WI vs India?

And how is comparing whether or not the ball has been nicked to whether or not a catch on the boundary has been taken cleanly showing bias?

 

[SJS]

I am a great fan of Lara but I am terribly disappointed by his conduct yesterday. Maybe Dhoni was out maybe he wasnt but since when have the umpires decided to reverse a decision because the opposition captain throws a tantrum.

I would like Dhoni to be reinstated as not out and six added to the Indian teams total - not because it improves india's chances or Dhoni's average but because it restores the umpires dignity.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I think the initial thing that Lara was up in arms about was that the batsmen were coming out to bat when Dhoni was initially given not out. This is after Dravid declared the innings closed. That appeared to be the initial grievance.

I fully expect Lara to be fined, but Dhoni handled it well.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

In any case, what an innings by Jaffer.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I would like Dhoni to be reinstated as not out and six added to the Indian teams total - not because it improves india's chances or Dhoni's average but because it restores the umpires dignity.

The thing is, even as they called Dhoni back as not out, it didn't seem as though they were about to give him the six runs. I'm not sure why, but even as they walked off the field with the declaration (before Dhoni declared he would accept the dismissal) they never made signal of the six.

As far as I know, adjustments to the official scorer's book off the field may only be made in terms of counting, rather than addition on the basis of an incorrect boundary call. That's why the standing umpires refer such things to the third umpire, but the third umpire can't act otherwise.

 

[silentstriker]

I agree with Mr Mxyzptlk. I can understand why Lara was upset, but I don't think he should have snatched the ball out of the umpire's hand and walked away even as the umpire was still talking to him. On the other hand, I wish Dhoni/Dravid had made the declaration as soon as they thought it would be a controversy, just to stay ahead of the curve.

In any case, let's focus on today's cricket. Do the WI have a chance?

I stand by my the comment I made when the test began that India are not good enough to bowl a side out twice, with their current crop of bowlers. We will see.

 

[SJS]

I agree with Mr Mxyzptlk. I can understand why Lara was upset, but I don't think he should have snatched the ball out of the umpire's hand and walked away even as the umpire was still talking to him. On the other hand, I wish Dhoni/Dravid had made the declaration as soon as they thought it would be a controversy, just to stay ahead of the curve.

In any case, let's focus on today's cricket. Do the WI have a chance?

I stand by my the comment I made when the test began that India are not good enough to bowl a side out twice, with their current crop of bowlers. We will see.

As with the one day series that just ended we could see a battle between two mediocrities , may the less mediocre win

 

[nightprowler10]

"'I'm not really sure if I stepped on it'." - Daren Ganga. Do you still think Dhoni should have walked ?

Well Dhoni was given the option wasn't he? He could've just not walked, right? Or did he not know what Ganga said?

Either way, my post was mostly in response to the earlier post which suggested that the Dhoni/Ganga situation is similar to getting a nick and taking a fielder's word on it, which is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[nightprowler10]

Oh and to answer your question, knowing that information, no I wouldn't have walked. But then again knowing that I had done the job I had came to do I may have just to avoid any more drama. Perhaps that is why Dhoni walked?