*Official* India v England T20 International series in Ahmedabad

[Manee]

I must say, I'm surprised to see that pressing the ball into the ground with the heel of the hand is now defined as a catch.

I must say I was furious at the time but I think the most zen attitude is that perhaps it is best off not to attempt the same shot as the ball before now that a fielder has been explicitly put in place for it!

 

[Manee]

Bad news for India, we'll see more of Shardul in T20s thanks to that double wicket over.

That late cut he played should earn him a knighthood for services to cricket. It reminded me of a ridiculously effective shot that you could play in EA Cricket 2004.

 

[artvandalay]

Lol.. I am not the one doing it. Entirety of reddit or twitter or general Indian cricket media and social media who are doing it. I was just pointing out it was stupid that it is now prevalent in CW too.

And yes, you can debate ad nauseum on captaincy decisions and I bet I can show you a good move for every bad move you call too, which was basically the point of my post, as it was a response to the stupider posts on his captaincy in this very thread.

the discussion is neither here nor there tbh, like you said you can argue the toss either way and confirm your own suspicions but I don't consider it in the main baseless personally. the kind you refer to question Kohli's place in the batting line up in the process of venting about his captaincy and will blame him for even global warming if they could.

 

[Jarquis]

Ffs Pandya, hit it square. Guy's batting like a ****ing meathead minus the meat.

Yeah **** off out of there.

So > Wade?

 

[karan_fromthestands]

the discussion is neither here nor there tbh, like you said you can argue the toss either way and confirm your own suspicions but I don't consider it in the main baseless personally. the kind you refer to question Kohli's place in the batting line up in the process of venting about his captaincy and will blame him for even global warming if they could.

That was me trolling the minority of Kohli fans here. I have praised his batting time and again, and there's no one in the team who can bat as well as Kohli across all formats.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

Lol.. I am not the one doing it. Entirety of reddit or twitter or general Indian cricket media and social media who are doing it. I was just pointing out it was stupid that it is now prevalent in CW too.

And yes, you can debate ad nauseum on captaincy decisions and I bet I can show you a good move for every bad move you call too, which was basically the point of my post, as it was a response to the stupider posts on his captaincy in this very thread.

You can call people stupid for calling out the obvious issues in Kohli's captaincy/selection, but there's no denying that there are valid arguments out there to point out why he should step down.

I totally agree that sometimes people go overboard with it, but when someone doesn't get the basics right(like team selection), people are bound to question.

 

[honestbharani]

You can call people stupid for calling out the obvious issues in Kohli's captaincy/selection, but there's no denying that there are valid arguments out there to point out why he should step down.

I totally agree that sometimes people go overboard with it, but when someone doesn't get the basics right(like team selection), people are bound to question.

I agree with most of this but it gets tedious on whatsapp groups and twitter and reddit, and the one place to rationally discuss this was the CW match thread and I was juz pissed off that even that is being ruined now.

The point about him stepping down is a tough one to handle, as you have to think of the fact that we are really still a nothing batting team without him in all formats, inspite of the others. And you don't want it to impact him mentally that will cost us his batting. There is also the simple point that he is still the best leader of this group. You can see it in how people talk about him.

For me, the ideal scenario is that Rahane and Rohit participate more in strategies and decision-making and tbh, I think that is already happening quite a lot. For example, I dont think Virat would have alone taken the decision to get Hardik on with the new ball, same as Shardul bowling at the death. There is a management group with Bewda, the other coaches, Virat and Rohit and they seem to get it right. Now they are also involving Rahul and Hardik, which is also good to see.

One thing that needs to stop is Pant trying to be MSD and calling every ball to the spinners. His calls were utterly ridiculous yesterday and everytime they bowled what he asked they were smacked. Sometimes as a keeper, you realize when a bowler is not in good form or not having a good day, and you just learn to shut up. Wicket keepers everywhere and at every level of the game suggest stuff to bowlers. But MSD fanbois have made it this amazing super power of his (he is better than most, tbf, but obviously the internet fandom exaggerates it a million degrees) and now Pant seems like he is trying too hard to be the same thing.

I actually recall people often commenting on how quiet MSD is, for a wicket keeper. In his early years both as a player and as a captain. I seriously hope Pant is given a break from LO cricket. He is just not that good at it now and it is only messing him up for the tests, where he is an absolute superstar.

 

[Manee]

Ffs Pandya, hit it square. Guy's batting like a ****ing meathead minus the meat.

Yeah **** off out of there.

I was really frustrated with him at the time but to be fair to him, I think he had lots of success in the last IPL by getting under the short ball and somehow hitting it straight - I just think these seem like quicker pitches (and bowlers) than in the last IPL.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

I agree with most of this but it gets tedious on whatsapp groups and twitter and reddit, and the one place to rationally discuss this was the CW match thread and I was juz pissed off that even that is being ruined now.

The point about him stepping down is a tough one to handle, as you have to think of the fact that we are really still a nothing batting team without him in all formats, inspite of the others. And you don't want it to impact him mentally that will cost us his batting. There is also the simple point that he is still the best leader of this group. You can see it in how people talk about him.

For me, the ideal scenario is that Rahane and Rohit participate more in strategies and decision-making and tbh, I think that is already happening quite a lot. For example, I dont think Virat would have alone taken the decision to get Hardik on with the new ball, same as Shardul bowling at the death. There is a management group with Bewda, the other coaches, Virat and Rohit and they seem to get it right. Now they are also involving Rahul and Hardik, which is also good to see.

One thing that needs to stop is Pant trying to be MSD and calling every ball to the spinners. His calls were utterly ridiculous yesterday and everytime they bowled what he asked they were smacked. Sometimes as a keeper, you realize when a bowler is not in good form or not having a good day, and you just learn to shut up. Wicket keepers everywhere and at every level of the game suggest stuff to bowlers. But MSD fanbois have made it this amazing super power of his (he is better than most, tbf, but obviously the internet fandom exaggerates it a million degrees) and now Pant seems like he is trying too hard to be the same thing.

I actually recall people often commenting on how quiet MSD is, for a wicket keeper. In his early years both as a player and as a captain. I seriously hope Pant is given a break from LO cricket. He is just not that good at it now and it is only messing him up for the tests, where he is an absolute superstar.

I totally agree about the Pant part, he needs to be himself instead of imitating MSD. Dhoni was street smart and only directed the bowler when he knew what could unsettle the batsmen. Pant keeps on chirping like an idiot.

Also regarding Kohli, you are spot on about how the tactics might be discussed and Rahane and Rohit might be involved in creating strategies and decision making. Definitely agree that we might be wrong there. But ultimately the issue here is, you can only have one guy who can lead the side. Sure Virat can take Rohit/Rahane's opinion every now and then, but it is clearly not working. You saw a massive difference in how the team was performing with/without Kohli in Australia. Under Rahane the guys looked more relaxed and his field-placement was spot on. I particularly remember times where he quickly made field-adjustments that resulted in a wicket/blocking the flow of runs. That proactive-ness required to seize the key moments of the game is sometimes lacking in Kohli's captaincy. And despite of Rohit and Rahane's input, I don't think Kohli would just go to them every time he doesn't know what to do coz that would simply look bad.

With regards to Kohli's batting, we were fine in Australia without him. He is clearly our best batsmen right now, but the team has done well even when he has had his ups and downs. If taking away his captaincy would affect his batting, he is surely not mature enough to lead this team. Ultimately, players should respect what's best for the team.

I would also say that despite of how good/bad his captaincy is, Kohli's contribution to this team is huge, so it's not as easy as some of us think it is to just make changes in the leadership. I just wish the selections under Kohli/Shastri are a little more fine-tuned. I'll give you the most recent example, Rishab Pant was clearly out of shape at the start of the Australian test series but no one had an issue, but Virat had to come out and pass rash statements when it came to Varun and Rahul T. Of course I think they did the right thing by backing Pant and giving him space to make improvements, but they could have maintained the same with two youngsters(one of whom has literally not gone through the formal age group cricket).

 

[honestbharani]

I totally agree about the Pant part, he needs to be himself instead of imitating MSD. Dhoni was street smart and only directed the bowler when he knew what could unsettle the batsmen. Pant keeps on chirping like an idiot.

Also regarding Kohli, you are spot on about how the tactics might be discussed and Rahane and Rohit might be involved in creating strategies and decision making. Definitely agree that we might be wrong there. But ultimately the issue here is, you can only have one guy who can lead the side. Sure Virat can take Rohit/Rahane's opinion every now and then, but it is clearly not working. You saw a massive difference in how the team was performing with/without Kohli in Australia. Under Rahane the guys looked more relaxed and his field-placement was spot on. I particularly remember times where he quickly made field-adjustments that resulted in a wicket/blocking the flow of runs. That proactive-ness required to seize the key moments of the game is sometimes lacking in Kohli's captaincy. And despite of Rohit and Rahane's input, I don't think Kohli would just go to them every time he doesn't know what to do coz that would simply look bad.

With regards to Kohli's batting, we were fine in Australia without him. He is clearly our best batsmen right now, but the team has done well even when he has had his ups and downs. If taking away his captaincy would affect his batting, he is surely not mature enough to lead this team. Ultimately, players should respect what's best for the team.

I would also say that despite of how good/bad his captaincy is, Kohli's contribution to this team is huge, so it's not as easy as some of us think it is to just make changes in the leadership. I just wish the selections under Kohli/Shastri are a little more fine-tuned. I'll give you the most recent example, Rishab Pant was clearly out of shape at the start of the Australian test series but no one had an issue, but Virat had to come out and pass rash statements when it came to Varun and Rahul T. Of course I think they did the right thing by backing Pant and giving him space to make improvements, but they could have maintained the same with two youngsters(one of whom has literally not gone through the formal age group cricket).

I dont think India surprising Australia in the series meant India's batting was "fine" without him. It is very obvious there is a gulf of difference in quality when he is there and he is not there. I definitely agree his selection style, especially, needs a lot of improvement, even though I am seeing more improvement now than when the 2018 away tours cycle started, for instance. And as far as the fitness thing goes, the Indian side has different fitness standards for tests and LO cricket, which is very sensible. And while Pant did seem to be overweight, they did not drop him for it and he did meet the fitness standards set for the test match line up. And this is not new. The same thing happened when they introduced the Yo-Yo test as a selection criteria sometime back. So I dont see any issues with that.

 

[artvandalay]

Kohli decides to open, wow. Also betting on Kohli not winning a toss is as safe as they come.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Rohit is so so nice to watch. Just imperious when in this mood

 

[karan_fromthestands]

Wow, this is great! Kohli opening is awesome for India. He can control the pace of the innings and play as per the situation while letting others play their natural game.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

I never expected Wood to get smashed liked this in this series, especially bowling in the first innings.

 

[MW1304]

This is the issue with Wood really, on a pitch that has a bit in it, bowling back of a length, he is really difficult to get away. On a flat one, getting his length wrong, he is so hittable. Some glorious shots mind.

 

[Bahseph]

Rohit is looking ominous. Amazing LO player!

Edit: My first post in ages and I obviously forgot about the power of the Jinx.

 

[MW1304]

Let off there, was looking like one of his really brutal knocks. Still going to be a huge score this.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

An elite level partnership that was. RCB-esque.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Sky-Kohli partnership is like Iron man and Captain America.
Licks like peas for Brittania!

 

[MW1304]

That's unreal Chris Jordan