*Official* Sri Lanka Tri-Series

[Jezroy]

Hey it's fine. Little off topic but alas it's about how this Tri Series is a preview of the WC so kinda on topic as well. None the less, I actually like NZ v SL in the final of this series.

I like NZ in the final of ANY series. But I think I am a little bias.

I know the nature of the pitch may change as the tournament goes in, but I can't believe how much it appears to suit us.

Will be interesting to see how the Lankans use the "home" pitch they have.

 

[honestbharani]

Why is Dhoni continuing to play despite the obvious pain? Is this series really THAT important? I would like to see all of Mithun, Ishant and Dhoni go back to India.. We can replace them with Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan and maybe Vinay Kumar or Balaji.. And Kohli can take Dhoni's slot in the XI and Irfan can take Mithun's.. We will be so much better that way.

 

[blahblahblah]

Why is Dhoni continuing to play despite the obvious pain? Is this series really THAT important? I would like to see all of Mithun, Ishant and Dhoni go back to India.. We can replace them with Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan and maybe Vinay Kumar or Balaji.. And Kohli can take Dhoni's slot in the XI and Irfan can take Mithun's.. We will be so much better that way.

he is putting way too unnecessary pressure on himself

if he himself doesnt want to rest ,BCCI should force him to

 

[Zinzan]

Dhoni caught in whinge-fest shocker

India v New Zealand: India undone by 'spongy' bounce | Cricket News | Sri Lanka Triangular Series | Cricinfo.com

 

[honestbharani]

Dhoni caught in whinge-fest shocker

India v New Zealand: India undone by 'spongy' bounce | Cricket News | Sri Lanka Triangular Series | Cricinfo.com

lol.. Dhoni says "even 200 would have been difficult to chase given the way they bowled" and basically says even the chances given to Ross Taylor and Styris didn't change the game and is giving credit to the NZ bowling side and you are calling it whinging.. You just wanna take the piss out of India everytime, don't you?

 

[chicane]

Dhoni caught in whinge-fest shocker

India v New Zealand: India undone by 'spongy' bounce | Cricket News | Sri Lanka Triangular Series | Cricinfo.com

:/

 

[Flem274*]

Here we go again.

 

[Sir Alex]

That's whine? More like crediting opp.

Zinzan jumping the gun in targeting India shocker more like.

 

[GGG]

surprise surprise Oram doubtful because of hamstring.

 

[Athlai]

Meh no great loss.

 

[Jezroy]

Meh no great loss.

Concur - would rather have N Mac or Southee even.

 

[Zinzan]

lol.. Dhoni says "even 200 would have been difficult to chase given the way they bowled" and basically says even the chances given to Ross Taylor and Styris didn't change the game and is giving credit to the NZ bowling side and you are calling it whinging.. You just wanna take the piss out of India everytime, don't you?

lol, Fair enough, in hindsight maybe l was a tad harsh, as the quote you've pointed out displays that it wasn't a total whinge-fest. However, it just seems to me whenever India have lost in recent types the emphasis goes more on the conditions rather than purely admitting they were outplayed. Almost like whenever India strike conditions that aren't perfectly suited to hitting through the line of the ball, they make excuses. .
Thought the following comment for example, where he makes the pitch out to be some sort of mine-field was way over the top considering NZ got close to 300 batting.

"This is completely different bounce, it is very spongy, bowlers are bowling 125-126 and the keeper is standing where he usually does for Shoaib Akhtar," Dhoni said. "You can't really drive off the backfoot, the only option is to cut and pull, and if the bowler doesn't give room, it is very difficult to score."

 

[BeeGee]

Dhoni caught in whinge-fest shocker

India v New Zealand: India undone by 'spongy' bounce | Cricket News | Sri Lanka Triangular Series | Cricinfo.com

It isn't a whinge fest, but he is placing some of the blame for their poor batting performance on the pitch .
The only occasions when a captain can legitimately complain about the pitch is if :
1) it changes significantly during the course of the game giving one side an advantage over the other, or
2) the pitch is in such bad condition that it can't safely be played on.
I don't think either of those situations apply in this case. The bounce looked just as 'spongy' when NZ batted as it did when India batted.
One of the skills of batting is being able to quickly assess the condition of the pitch and adjust your game accordingly and the Indian batsmen completely failed to do that.

 

[Polo23]

Agree that perhaps Dhoni should blame the skillset of his batsmen rather than the pitch. Same for both teams buddy!

 

[Spudsy2061]

It isn't a whinge fest, but he is placing some of the blame for their poor batting performance on the pitch .
The only occasions when a captain can legitimately complain about the pitch is if :
1) it changes significantly during the course of the game giving one side an advantage over the other, or
2) the pitch is in such bad condition that it can't safely be played on.
I don't think either of those situations apply in this case. The bounce looked just as 'spongy' when NZ batted as it did when India batted.
One of the skills of batting is being able to quickly assess the condition of the pitch and adjust your game accordingly and the Indian batsmen completely failed to do that.

3) The pitch causes the middle test in a series to be nothing but a run fest, with each side scoring at least 600 runs in their first innings... <------------- Fixed

 

[BeeGee]

3) The pitch causes the middle test in a series to be nothing but a run fest, with each side scoring at least 600 runs in their first innings... <------------- Fixed

Well... the two conditions I listed only apply to ODIs, not Tests. In Test matches the pitch changing during the course of the game is a given and actually a requirement.
The perfect Test pitch: does a bit for the seamers on day one, flattens out to be a good batting surface on day 2 - 3.5, starts taking turn on days 3.5 - 5. But your point is well made

 

[shankar]

Are we reading the same article? To me he seems to be openly admitting to a weakness in his team's batting and saying that NZ exploited it to perfection.

 

[Jono]

^ Agreed

To me Dhoni basically said "we can't play bounce" in that article How is that insulting the NZ team?

 

[honestbharani]

Agree that perhaps Dhoni should blame the skillset of his batsmen rather than the pitch. Same for both teams buddy!

That is pretty much what he was admitting.. He is saying our batters are out of their depth in these conditions.. Did he ever mention it being any kind of an unfair advantage for NZ...

 

[Zinzan]

That is pretty much what he was admitting.. He is saying our batters are out of their depth in these conditions.. Did he ever mention it being any kind of an unfair advantage for NZ...

Nah, this bit .."This is completely different bounce, it is very spongy, bowlers are bowling 125-126 and the keeper is standing where he usually does for Shoaib Akhtar," Dhoni said. "You can't really drive off the backfoot, the only option is to cut and pull, and if the bowler doesn't give room, it is very difficult to score." seems more like an excuse to me as opposed to him simply saying they were outplayed. That said, I conceded I probably took this out of context a tad earlier because he did mention that even if NZ got 200, it still would have been tough.