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[Libran]

Runs counting is stopped ..........banned by ICC it seems !
Can anyone suggest me its equivalent in the new system and how to execute it?

you can write a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD 

ps : just kidding

or praising the DGians you have mentioned in your post 

[KKIRANK61]

Runs counting is stopped ..........banned by ICC it seems !
Can anyone suggest me its equivalent in the new system and how to execute it?

you can write a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD 

ps : just kidding

or praising the DGians you have mentioned in your post 

U all DG ians are already praised earlier as being good friends and i had even showed a desire to reward you,( but for 'ban of runs') which is just enough to the extent to which u all praised MSD for his sigular gesture which touched u most. In future as (if) you all will unite together to (duly) aprise MSD for his cricketing deeds; we all will obviously sing same song (as happened with u all in case of SG) and a continuous DGian praise will automatically follow (flow) !! 

[Blwe_torch]

Why didn't Ravi Shastri ask Ganguly to say a few words in the post match ceremony?! 

[KKIRANK61]

Runs counting is stopped ..........banned by ICC it seems !
Can anyone suggest me its equivalent in the new system and how to execute it?

you can write a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD 

ps : just kidding

U need not be keeding, say LOUD AND CLEAR ' How about writing a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD '
To which my answer is ( i am sorry) : I see an element of selfishness in all of them and team interest as secondary. Not to do anything out of the way for the team ( during crices,single handedly or otherwise and frequently...........as done by MSD many times in 4 yrs). Yes barring some stray occassions which u all  can immediately throw on me. In short none of them were  MAN OF CRICES ON CONSISTENT BASIS, WHO COULD NOT JUST SAVE BUT TURN THE TABLES ON OPPOSITIONS (certainly not so in recent times)...........this is what of highest order to me than anything else
Now a days, MSD' new ability, the captaincy skills ( a bonus for me) are put on display. On this front he is outshining all the 4 Ms mentioned  above. So much so that many x-captains from all over, who criticized him on 8-1 issue; also got stumped by seeing success of his tactics. MOM would have put a firm stamp on it but was given to a visitor as a mark of 'athithi devo bhava' as happens only in india.(statistically he lost one award, which will be forgotten in future)

[cricinfo]

Why didn't Ravi Shastri ask Ganguly to say a few words in the post match ceremony?! 

He was scared that SG might withdraw his retirement given a chance to speak to the camera when emotions are running high

[keep-it-cool]

OK - joint #2 with SA. India gain 7 pts, Aussies drop 9 pts !!

Australia      31 3992 129
India           40 4659 116
South Africa 34 3953 116
Sri Lanka      28 3032 108
England        38 3965 104
Pakistan       19 1895 100

Are NZ not ranked?  So if we beat Eng and NZ beat Aus we are No1.? Oh ok I know I have to get real, but just a thought.

Anyway, we'll be back at No 3 soon. SA have tests against Bangladesh coming up and our test series against England will not start soon.

[achutank]

Runs counting is stopped ..........banned by ICC it seems !
Can anyone suggest me its equivalent in the new system and how to execute it?

you can write a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD 

ps : just kidding

U need not be keeding, say LOUD AND CLEAR ' How about writing a paragraph each praising each of the Ms - SRT, VVS, SG, and RD '
To which my answer is ( i am sorry) : I see an element of selfishness in all of them and team interest as secondary. Not to do anything out of the way for the team ( during crices,single handedly or otherwise and frequently...........as done by MSD many times in 4 yrs). Yes barring some stray occassions which u all  can immediately throw on me. In short none of them were  MAN OF CRICES ON CONSISTENT BASIS, WHO COULD NOT JUST SAVE BUT TURN THE TABLES ON OPPOSITIONS (certainly not so in recent times)...........this is what of highest order to me than anything else
Now a days, MSD' new ability, the captaincy skills ( a bonus for me) are put on display. On this front he is outshining all the 4 Ms mentioned  above. So much so that many x-captains from all over, who criticized him on 8-1 issue; also got stumped by seeing success of his tactics. MOM would have put a firm stamp on it but was given to a visitor as a mark of 'athithi devo bhava' as happens only in india.(statistically he lost one award, which will be forgotten in future)

if you can stop for a moment this dhoni puja you will perhaps notice that people look further because they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them

ok now you can continue your dhoni puja

[dextrous]

What a moving and beautiful gesture by MSD

-- asking SG to be the captain

 

Is it because of the Dexy's connection with the langotiya yaar? 

Nice of MSD !! 

well, being the humble citizen that i am, i simply suggested it would be good for his PR given that gangulians need someone new to admire

[prfsr]

Dex
How is that Dhoni interview coming along?

[dextrous]

Dex
How is that Dhoni interview coming along?

It has turned into a book contract at this point.

[kban1]

Not feeling the love

Ali Cook

November 10, 2008

 
Winning at all costs no longer seems to be the Australian way, but it doesn't feel like supporters have gained a team to love instead of an uncompromising steamroller. The tourists still walk on the confident-arrogant border, sledge in times of strength and weakness, insist there is only one way to play the game, and mention "the spirit of cricket" as a defence when their behaviour or tactics are challenged.

It was one of the reasons Ponting gave for calling on his part-time bowlers instead of looking to his fast men when the over-rate became more of a concern than winning the fourth Test and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Bowling 90 overs in a day, something the Australians hardly managed over the past five weeks, suddenly came under the banner of a "spirit of cricket" issue. It's not the sort of response that makes you feel all warm and cuddly for the players' commitment.

There were many stages that cost Australia this game, from India's strong opening partnerships to the visitors' failure to attempt to disrupt India's negative line, to the inability of the fast men to strike regular blows and the illnesses experienced by Brett Lee and Michael Clarke. But no point was harder to understand than Ponting using his spinners on Sunday - and then watching them ease the pressure on India - instead of looking for a quick kill and thinking "stuff the consequences".

If he had to sit in the Gabba stands for next week's first Test against New Zealand for doing everything in his power to win here, he would have been celebrated. That's the sort of attacking outlook that would charm people. Ponting chose the defensive option instead and his side suffered and he has been heavily criticised.

Ponting has now lost two of the major Test trophies for similar reasons. In England in 2005 Australia was slow to catch on and unable to innovate. That happened again in India, unless picking Cameron White as a specialist spinner for three matches is creative. Old tactics were used with defensive field settings and bowling plans, but new trends were missed, especially with reverse-swing.     
 
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in charge of India the side looked vibrant and in control compared to the outfits of Ponting and Anil Kumble. It can't be a fluke that the two games Dhoni led, India won in dominating fashion. Dhoni was helped by a firing unit, but he provided the energy.

Ponting can manage that only when a team is in front, which is probably a product of him not being behind too often. That is changing. Ponting has now slipped below Steve Waugh as the game's most successful captain - his winning percentage is 68.75 next to Waugh's 71.92 - and it looks like it will drop further.

This is not a side that will dominate all-comers any more and the home-and-away battle against South Africa over the next six months will determine whether Australia head to England for the 2009 Ashes as a world leader or a challenger. Despite a 13-point lead over second-placed India, Australia's No. 1 spot is no longer undisputed.

For the past three Tests, Australia have been behind as soon as they have lost the toss. The fast bowlers have not had regular impact and Jason Krejza showed how much a specialist spinner could achieve with his 12 wickets on debut.

Krejza's performance was the only significant bright spot in another difficult game for the tourists, but he must now wait until the series against New Zealand to discover whether he can make it at home. Without Krejza's performance here, Australia would have been humiliated. Instead they were beaten badly.

"This tour we've just been totally outplayed," Ponting said. "With the exception of the first Test, where we pretty much dominated that game, in any other game we've got back to level, but never really got in front. Losing three tosses in a row, if you don't actually get yourself back in front after the first innings, it's very hard to win here." 
 
On the third day in Nagpur, with Australia resuming at 189 for 2, Ponting hoped his side could draw alongside India's first-innings 441, but they were unable to innovate against the negative bowling of the morning session and the hope of parity was soon extinguished. "Coming here on the third morning I was really positive about how the game was going," he said.

"India adopted a certain style of play that made it very difficult for us, they chipped in with a few wickets and the scoreboard was going nowhere. Being behind on first innings again wasn't ideal and chasing 380 today was exceptionally difficult."

Australia needed a miracle and it was not possible for this team. Waugh's side only collected a chase around that size once. How Ponting and his men recover will determine how far they fall. Spirit will have to be shown in stomachs and hearts rather than being something that is talked about in times of trouble.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/377736.html

[kban1]

No more spin-reliant

Cricinfo staff

November 10, 2008


Ishant Sharma has achieved what no Indian fast bowler has achieved since Kapil Dev in 1983 - he won a Player-of-the-Series award at home. The skill with which he and Zaheer Khan used the new, and particularly the old, ball ensured that pace played as crucial a role as spin did in regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from Australia.

Ishant finished the four Tests with 15 wickets at an average of 27 while Zaheer's 11 cost 43 each. They aren't outstanding stats but India's fast bowlers comprehensively out-bowled their Australian counterparts - who averaged nearly 47 per wicket - and played critical roles in both the victories that sealed a 2-0 series victory.

Ricky Ponting singled out the third day of the Nagpur Test as the passage during which the match turned in India's favour. Australia were 189 for 2 and looking to score quickly but Zaheer and Ishant bowled with tremendous discipline to back up Mahendra Singh Dhoni's restrictive eight-one field. Their lines seldom wavered from wide outside off stump and their lengths rarely allowed Australia the freedom to cut or drive. They sustained their accuracy and maintained high energy levels for long periods: Zaheer and Ishant bowled nine-over spells on the third morning and a total of 31 out of 53 overs in the first two sessions. Australia ended up scoring only 166 in 85.4 overs and lost eight wickets.

Zaheer's stock ball to the left-handers is the one that comes in, while Ishant attacks the batsman with pace and bounce. India's strategy on the day allowed neither of them to do either. "They curbed their natural instincts according to the requirements of the team," Dhoni said. "They didn't stop after four overs, usually you see fast bowlers stopping after four or five-over spells. They wanted to bowl more I think it was the fast bowlers that really did it for us."

They did in for India in Mohali too and helped their team take a 1-0 lead. They used the conditions at the PCA Stadium to telling effect and got the ball to reverse-swing as early as the tenth over, nearly 60 overs before the Australia's managed similar movement.

Ishant had shown the ability to adapt to conditions quickly in Bangalore where he used the slower ball on a sluggish pitch as a surprise weapon to pick up wickets. In Mohali he bowled cross seam with the new ball in order to roughen it up as soon as possible - the first step towards achieving reverse-swing. The deliveries with which Ishant bowled Ponting and trapped Shane Watson lbw in the second innings were among the best of the series. Zaheer used the movement with brutal effect on the final morning, when he bowled full-length deliveries to annihilate Australia's tail.

Perhaps Zaheer and Ishant's most significant contribution to India's campaign was the manner in which they neutralised the threat posed by Australia's two most dangerous batsmen. Matthew Hayden and Ponting had only two scores of above 50 in the series.

Zaheer troubled Hayden with several away-going deliveries before nipping one back into the left-hander, dismissing him early in the first three innings of the series. As a result, the visitors had only one 50-run opening stand in four Tests. Ponting wasn't allowed to orchestrate Australia's innings like he usually does at No 3. Ishant was often brought on when Ponting began his innings and he succeeded in either dismissing the Australian captain - on three occasions - or denying him the momentum with which he likes to start an innings.

Once upon a time Indian fast bowlers were used primarily to take the shine of the new ball in home Tests. On a Mumbai dust bowl in 2004, India named only one fast bowler in their XI against Australia. Those times have passed. Zaheer and Ishant are a force in varying conditions; Munaf Patel and RP Singh are awaiting their turn; and somewhere Sreesanth is striving to regain his fitness. India are not spin-reliant at home anymore

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/377757.html

[kban1]

India reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

The Bulletin by Jamie Alter

November 10, 2008


That it happened in the same city where Australia famously conquered the final frontier four years ago was poignant. India regained the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy, their first series win over Australia in eight years, after they bowled Australia out for 209 to win by 172 runs. It was a dramatic day, with an energetic India following up three early wickets with dropped catches to allow Matthew Hayden score a pugnacious 77 and give Australia a whiff of victory. India's spinners held their nerve, however, and relentlessly plugged away with precision and hostility to snuff out the seven wickets required to regain the trophy squandered in 2004. India confidently stepped into a new era with their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, winning his third Test in a row.

India began the day well. Simon Katich had played the horizontal shot a couple times, once connecting with a swing to the deep square-leg boundary, but trying to work a short ball across to the on side once too often, he skied Ishant Sharma into orbit. Dhoni didn't for a second take his eyes off the swirling ball - 29 for 1.

Zaheer Khan produced an edge from the first delivery bowled to Ponting, squared up on the back foot, but the ball didn't carry to Rahul Dravid at first slip. One classy on-drive later, Ponting was wastefully run out for 4. He dabbed and set off for an extremely ambitious single and Amit Mishra, screaming in from mid-off, threw down the stumps with a brilliant underarm pick-up and fling - 37 for 2.

Ishant couldn't believe Michael Clarke wasn't given lbw by the umpire Billy Bowden in the next over when the ball incriminatingly thudded into his left pad - replays showed it would have clipped leg stump - and Zaheer had to grit his teeth when the batsman twice edged wide of second slip in three balls. Hayden also chopped through the slips, looking to score off almost every delivery against the new ball. India missed a big opportunity when he was on 30. Harbhajan Singh came in after 12 overs and cursed under his breath when Dhoni dropped a regulation edge as Hayden tried to cut the second ball for four.

The dismissal of Clarke for 22, nibbling at a lovely delivery as Ishant plugged away on an exemplary length, seemed to have nailed it decisively India's way at 82 for 3. Then Dravid, at slip, dropped Hayden on 36 when the batsman went for another powerful reverse-sweep. To add to the mess, needless overthrows and misfields in the circle allowed Australia easy runs as they set about chasing a big score.

It was evident that Hayden had victory on his mind. Swatting away almost everything the spinners tossed him, Hayden rediscovered the rhythm that had eluded him for much of this series. He continued to pick his spots with powerful sweeps - the shot with which he made his name in 2001 - and some deft reverse-sweeps. Harbhajan was swept for consecutive boundaries, both shots bisecting two men in the deep, and a six off Virender Sehwag over mid-on set the pulses racing. The run-rate had now gone well past five an over.

Then Mishra struck with a superb piece of wrist spin to dismiss Michael Hussey. Mishra fizzed up a topspinner on nearly a perfect length and extracted bounce, which drew an edge to Dravid at slip. This time he held it cleanly and Mishra erupted.

The worst came four deliveries later for Australia. Harbhajan floated down an airy, turning delivery and Hayden, having just smashed a four through midwicket, shuffled across and was struck beneath the knee roll, plumb in front. A flatfooted Brad Haddin then scooped Mishra to mid-off, feeding Sachin Tendulkar his 100th catch in Test cricket, and the end was nigh. Shane Watson nibbled a cut off Harbhajan into Dhoni's gloves for 9, Jason Krejza was stumped when two-thirds down the track to Mishra, and Brett Lee edged Harbhajan to short leg.

In a touching tribute to Sourav Ganguly, who signed off in this Test, Dhoni let him captain the side as the final rites were being administered. When the last wicket fell just before tea, Mitchell Johnson trapped lbw by a Harbhajan doosra, Ganguly and Dhoni embraced at the centre of India's raucous celebrations. Ganguly had played a key role in shaping cricket's most enthralling current rivalry back in 2001, and he can leave the game knowing that it has been passed on into worthy hands. Dhoni led his team off in style, while people made room for Ganguly to say his final goodbyes. There was no overly emotional reaction from Ganguly; bar one fling at Lord's, his touch had always been too nuanced for that.

For Indian fans this win may not be as emotional or emphatic as Rawalpindi in 2004 or Jamaica in in 2006 - where India broke elusive and painstaking barriers - but there's no denying the significance of this Indian autumn.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Smart Stats
 
The last time Australia failed to win a Test in a series was against New Zealand in 2001-02, when all three Tests were drawn.
Australia lost by a difference of two Tests for the first time since their 3-1 defeat against West Indies in the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1988-89.
Sachin Tendulkar became the 27th player (apart from wicketkeepers) to take 100 catches in Tests.
Ishant Sharma, who took 15 wickets in the series, became the first Indian fast bowler to top the wickets tally for India in a Test series at home since Javagal Srinath's tally of 12 in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe in 2000-01.
Australia's aggressive intent today marked a turnaround from their performance on the third day, when they managed 166 runs. Their batsmen were constantly on the look out for runs leaving alone only 35 deliveries in over 48.5 overs, as opposed to 65 in a single session on the third day.
The Australians scored 27 runs off 20 balls with the sweep shot, and 27 off 25 with the cut.. With the leg glance, they scored 47 off 41.


http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/377631.html

[kban1]

Ian Chappell: 'Ponting is still the best captain for Australia'

November 10, 2008
 

India have comfortably won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning the series 2-0, with both the wins - in Mohali and Nagpur - quite comfortable in the end. A lot of people would not have been thrilled with the tactics used by India in this game and I thought there were some cynical moments in this Test. I think if players are going to be allowed to slow the over-rates down as a tactic, then administrators really need to step in. But they have had problems with over-rates for over 30 years now and they haven't done anything serious about it so you cannot be surprised if the players use them cynically.

But India were far and away the better side. The important difference between India and Australia was the bowling attack. India's attack had an answer to all the conditions whereas Australia didn't. The Man of the Series was Ishant Sharma and he certainly was the big difference between the two teams. The fact that India were able to get more wickets out of their faster bowlers made it easier for their spinners and they had by far the better spinners. Ishant has shown a huge improvement since he toured Australia not so long ago and he was the big difference. India also got away to a good start on most occasions thanks to Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. They were a dominant opening pair and they made a big difference for India.

It was an outside chance that the Australians, in the last innings of this Test, were ever going to win this Test because India were never really going to bowl enough balls to them to score the runs, for starters. Matthew Hayden, I thought, was quite controlled in his approach to the target on this occasion. Simon Katich, on the other hand, went a little berserk early on and paid the penalty for it. I thought it needed a bit more of a controlled approach if Australia were going to trouble India. Hayden, I thought played very well and there was perhaps a moment when Australia might have frightened India a little bit and that was when Hayden and Michael Hussey were together. Hayden was playing very powerfully at that stage, and Hussey as always was playing smartly, pushing the ball around. They complemented each other beautifully and things were going quite nicely for Australia. But Amit Mishra did a terrific job for India. First he got rid of Ricky Ponting with a smart under-arm throw and then he bowled a beautiful delivery - a subtle variation - to get rid of Hussey and that was really the end of it for Australia. They kept going for their target and this meant India could keep getting wickets and in the end they won by 172 runs.

Dhoni has now the got the side that he wants. He was the acting-captain in Mohali and so he was involved in both the Test victories though they saw two totally different performances from him as a captain. What he showed in Nagpur was that he was going to do it his way. He has not bothered about what the world has to say about his tactics. He has shown he is there to win and that is all that matters to him. It was a big turning point in the game when he closed the Australians down when they had started so well in the first innings and so he can turn around and say, "You all can go jump in the lake, my tactics worked." I don't like the idea of bowling to an 8-1 field. I think its rubbish cricket and I think they have to get in a rule which says that you cannot do better than a 6-3 field either way, but I wouldn't like to hang by the neck waiting for the administrators to make that change.     
 
The Australians will be disappointed by what happened. But in essence they never had an attack that was going to work enough for them to work in India. You can't blame Ponting totally for the loss. Obviously a captain gets some of the blame but you can't give him the total blame. But his tactics after tea on the fourth day - particularly because it was such a significant moment - will always remain a query. He will certainly be questioned quite severely about it when he goes back home.

But Ponting is still the best bet as captain for Australia. I think he is a good captain but for god's sake, he has got to stop getting himself into trouble with the over-rates and putting himself in a position where he cannot bowl the bowlers that he wants. He has got the advantage that on going back home he has to front up against New Zealand in a week's time. New Zealand are a very ordinary side at the moment and they will be further hampered by the loss of Jacob Oram and Australia will win the two Tests pretty comfortably unless they are badly affected by weather. And that will settle down any of the critics back and home and will also give Ponting some time to settle back into the job. But Australia's big Test will come when they meet South Arica later in the summer and it will be interesting to see what happens then. Certainly Australia's attack is better suited to their conditions than it was to India.

But in the end the Border-Gavaskar Trophy went to the right team: India were superior to Australia.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/377652.html?view=transcript

[dextrous]

"Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo"

sub-editor?!

[kban1]

Ponting hits back as India take series

Chloe Saltau in Nagpur

November 11, 2008


A DAY after losing the plot in Nagpur, Australia have lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and some of their lustre as the rulers of the Test world.

But as India's players were showered in champagne last night, Australian captain Ricky Ponting defended his decision to bowl his part-timers in an effort to pull back a nine-over deficit after tea on the fourth day, with a quick breakthrough crucial to his side's chances of victory.

"I'm disappointed with some of the criticism, particularly from former Australian captains and Cricket Australia board members," Ponting said after strident criticism from CA director Allan Border in his role as a television commentator whose name adorns the silverware.

"As captain of the Australian cricket team, I feel I have a responsibility to play the game in the right spirit. I have an obligation to bowl 90 overs in a day's play and the way we were heading, if the quicks had continued we would have been maybe 12 overs down.

"Everyone has an opinion on the way I captain the team or the way the team plays, but the thing I am most disappointed about is this inference out there that I put myself totally ahead of the team. Anybody who knows me or the way I play my cricket or how I operate around the Australian team would hopefully not say that is the case."

Ponting said he did not regard Cameron White or Michael Clarke, who bowled Australia to victory at the SCG in January, as defensive options, but acknowledged Australia had to fix their continually slack over rate to avoid being placed in this position. "It [a slow over rate] absolutely can hurt you. We have to look at every possible way to make sure we don't get to an unacceptable level again, and nine overs [down] is totally unacceptable. There is a lesson in it for every one of us."

Australia will have to learn a few more lessons in the nine days before their next Test, against New Zealand, after Mahendra Dhoni led India to a decisive and historic 2-0 series win, leaving Ponting's sick and sorry side to contemplate Australia's first series defeat since the 2005 Ashes, and the biggest of that scale in the two decades since the West Indies thumped Border's men 3-1 in 1988-89.

It was a lamentable end for Ponting, who, as captain, was responsible for the slow over rate on Sunday that cost Australia a chance to push for a win, and yesterday was run out for eight in his team's frantic pursuit of the improbable victory target of 382.

The tourists had to win the fourth Test to square the series and retain the coveted trophy, but on a wearing wicket against an inspired spin attack, the chase was beyond them, and they succumbed for 209 to hand the Indians a 172-run win, sealed with a Harbhajan Singh doosra.

In the same Indian town where Australia famously conquered its final frontier four years ago, the harsh reality of life without three of the champions who orchestrated that triumph - Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist - hit home for an Australian team that is entering an uncertain and rugged new era.

"We have just been totally outplayed with the exception of the first Test," Ponting said. "I gave us a rough chance of [chasing the target] … but we were far from perfect."

In fact, Australia was shut out of the series from the time their bowlers were unable to break a defiant lower-order partnership between Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan in Bangalore, where India salvaged a draw.

The wheels fell off in Mohali, where the Australians were thrashed by 320 runs, and despite a better performance in Delhi it was only the astounding debut of Jason Krejza, named man of the match for his 12 wickets, that kept their hopes alive in Nagpur. There were 369 runs still to get on the fifth day and Matthew Hayden found his rhythm and showed he still could rattle India, causing some panic by attacking the spinners, lifting the run rate and powering to 77. Harbhajan got him in the end, and from there the result was inevitable.

The Australians were deserted by luck - Ponting lost the last three tosses - and stricken by illnesses to strike bowler Brett Lee and vice-captain Michael Clarke, but enormous credit must go to India's outstanding 20-year-old fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who worried the Australian captain and claimed 15 wickets to be named player of the series.

With one last wicket needed for India to reclaim the precious trophy after seven years in Australian clutches, Dhoni poignantly handed the captaincy duties to the retiring Sourav Ganguly.

It was the perfect ending for India's most successful captain, and he was chaired from the field by V.V.S. Laxman and Harbhajan after the off-spinner dismissed Mitchell Johnson to seal the victory.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/11/10/1226165470467.html

[kban1]

[cricinfo]

"Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo"

sub-editor?!

I guess they means sub-standard-editor

[dhruvdeepak]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

[dhruvdeepak]

woohoo ... where are all the pessimists and the conservatives ?

they are still scoring at a very fast clip. 62/2 in 11 overs. As the overs shorten, it becomes easier to achieve 4 runs per over.... Game is far from over as long as Hayden/Pup/Hussey are still there....

JFK is just making sure we all remain tense and not post irrelevant threads

jfk is ravi shastri - trying to keep interest in te game

[LosingNow]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

makes sense. interesting sub-plot though

[dhruvdeepak]

an aside: ravi shastri has shaved off his moustache

nah just finely trimmed it.

PS he was the only )*%)^*)((&er who gave me attitude at the bar i met all the comm team. a hole. then again he was the center of attention. (beats me how...archana was in the bar and looking SMOKING. she was also smoking cigarettes)

[gouravk]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

makes sense. interesting sub-plot though

does not make sense. agreed security and logistics are important. but if you cannot handle that you dont deserve to host a test match. cannot sacrifice the spirit of cricket for the greed of hosting a test match.

[dhruvdeepak]

Some words of praise for the ground are in order.

An excellent stadium - SRT is of the opinion that they should have stayed at the ground's club house rather than in their five star hotel. Everyone else has been praising it to the skies. Most importantly, excellent facilities for the paying spectators - I think the more established venues should take a leaf from the VCA's books. There are some issues with accessibility (lack of public transport) & a funny ticketing scheme (have to buy tickets for all five days) - but those should not take as much time to address. Hope the authorities take care of this asap.

An excellent pitch - Had something in it for everyone and never turned significantly one sided on any day - either towards the batsmen or the bowlers. The toss did not necessarily make that big a difference as the team batting second had a good shot at the game as well. I would venture to say that this was the best pitch among all the four test matches that we played this series.

BEAUTIFUL stadium...brand new. i think it would be hard pressed if the stadium were full though (toilets etc)

they SHOULD have stayed at the club - magnificent. instead they stayed at some dilapidated Pride hotel near the airport.

in fact all the media....comms, photographers, writers...stayed at Trully International, which looked excellent. much better than Pride. at least the exterior and the lobby etc.

[dhruvdeepak]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

makes sense. interesting sub-plot though

does not make sense. agreed security and logistics are important. but if you cannot handle that you dont deserve to host a test match. cannot sacrifice the spirit of cricket for the greed of hosting a test match.

yeah agree with you...but obviously it is politics at play and they made a compromise

[LosingNow]

an aside: ravi shastri has shaved off his moustache

nah just finely trimmed it.

PS he was the only )*%)^*)((&er who gave me attitude at the bar i met all the comm team. a hole. then again he was the center of attention. (beats me how...archana was in the bar and looking SMOKING. she was also smoking cigarettes)

btw, who are Archana and  RK that kic keeps referring to

[prfsr]

an aside: ravi shastri has shaved off his moustache

nah just finely trimmed it.

PS he was the only )*%)^*)((&er who gave me attitude at the bar i met all the comm team. a hole. then again he was the center of attention. (beats me how...archana was in the bar and looking SMOKING. she was also smoking cigarettes)

btw, who are Archana and  RK that kic keeps referring to

Archana Joglekar? Do a google images search

[kban1]

India reverse roles with Test win over Australia

Mihir Bose
BBC Sport blog editor
10 Nov 08, 03:13 PM


A Test series win, even one as emphatic as India's over Australia, does not change the cricket world.

Yet this series has exploded so many cricketing myths that it has resonance beyond the actual results on the field of play.

The first question to be asked is does this result mean that the near 20-year dominance of cricket by Australia is coming to an end?

I am aware similar predictions were made after England's Ashes victory of 2005, and we all know how absurd they were soon made to look.

However, the case in recent decades has been, if you want to know where Australia is going look to India not England. This has often been quite a pointer to the future direction of Australian cricket.



Back in 1987 when Australia went to the subcontinent for the first World Cup to be held outside England its cricket was at a very low ebb, not only far behind the West Indies, then the masters of cricket, but repeatedly thrashed by England.

Then having surprised everyone by beating Pakistan in Pakistan and getting to the final - England had also done equally well beating India in India - they probably surprised themselves by beating England and taking home the World Cup for the first time.

In 1989 they won back the Ashes and, though beating the West Indies took time, they were on their way to constructing the dynasty that has dominated cricket under captains Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting.

This is not only Australia's first series defeat since 2005 but the first by a 2-0 Test margin since Vivian Richards led the mighty West Indians.

What made this series remarkable is how often Australia played like India and India played like Australia.

Australia specialised in letting India off the hook. The script when playing Australia is not meant to be like this.

However, right from the first Test in Bangalore, the only one Australia looked like winning, there were several occasions when Australia had India on the ropes but seemed reluctant to finish them off.

This was again demonstrated after tea on the Sunday of the fourth and final Test. And it was India who displayed an almost Australian-style resilience.
This will please the Indians mightily.

Ever since I can remember the agonising debate in India has been, why don't Indians have a sporting killer instinct?

India may be an underperforming sporting nation, but there is no dearth of fine individual sportsmen and women produced by the country.

However for Indians the angst has been that these fine players never had the sort of killer instinct that would make them champions. The most potent example of this was the wonderfully gifted Vijay Amritraj, compared to the less talented but more gutsy Jimmy Connors. While Connors was a great winner, Vijay made the Indians sigh and wonder and think of what might have been.

Indian cricket under Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to at be at last acquiring a 'they shall not pass' attitude that has more often been the hallmark of the truly great sportsmen and sports teams.

Indians have always admired the Australians and their winning spirit and this series suggests Dhoni has something of the Australian in him.

Dhoni, of course, is part of that modern era of Indians, born long after India secured her freedom and with virtually no colonial hangover.
This sprit was also evident in Sourav Ganguly.

I was surprised when Ganguly was described as Lord Snotty. I must say I always found him a very pleasant, charming man.
Yes he did not take prisoners, his clashes with Steve Waugh were epic, but he was the first generation of Indian cricketers who did not feel Indians had to apologise for being Indians.

It is worth recalling that when he made his Test debut in 1996 Indian cricket seemed to be revisiting its own dreadful past. His roommate Navjot Singh Sidhu had walked out of the Indian tour of England claiming his honour had been sullied. It has never been made clear how this was done.

As for Ganguly's century at Lord's I well recall that on that Saturday afternoon, Lord's like the rest of England, was more preoccupied by events at Wembley where England were playing Spain in Euro 96.

Many in the Long Room that day had their eyes on the pictures from Wembley not what was going on in the middle.

Ganguly not only went on to become India's most successful captain but nurtured a whole generation of cricketers. It is not without significance that as Ganguly left the field after this Test for the last time Harbhajan Singh was the first to lift him up.

It was under Ganguly that India, so often lions at home, lambs abroad, started winning Tests on their travels on a regular basis.

However for all his spirit Ganguly's India did display a certain lack of ambition, for instance during the 2002 series in the West Indies and the 2004 in Australia, when having taking a lead, they squandered it.

Dhoni gives the impression he is ready to take Indian cricket to a new, higher, gear.

And while India remains the land of spin it is quite remarkable that the man of the series was the opening bowler Ishant Sharma.

Unlike Pakistan, where conditions are similar, India has not often produced many fast bowlers, but this seems to be changing and this series showed a more balanced attack than India has fielded for many a season: two pacers, two spinners.

Wickets in India show no signs of changing yet that pace now not only complements spin but even leads the attack.
Another lesson India could be said to have learnt from Australia. And just when Australia's attack has lost bite and balance.

But then that is the magic of sport. It changes when you least expect change.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/mihirbose/2008/11/india_reverse_roles_with_test.html

[kban1]

[poondu]

Australia was outplayed

What really disappointed me was the lack of spark in the Australian side, writes Steve Waugh

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy changed hands after being in the safekeeping of Australia for four years. India outplayed the visitors after being dominated in Bangalore, and under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this could just be the start of a great run for the Indians.

Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets in the first three Tests and the fact that nobody among Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke averaged near 50 is what cost Australia the series. As an Australian, what really disappointed me was the lack of spark in the Australian side right through this series.

There seemed to be a flatness that never left them, and the intent to win was somehow missing right from the moment they allowed Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to cobble together a match-saving partnership in Bangalore.

I never thought I would say a batting partnership between Zaheer and Harbhajan was the turning point of a series, but I feel that it was the moment when Ponting lost the opportunity to press for a win and the Indians gained the upper hand.

Plenty has been said about the opportunity lost after tea on the fourth day of the last Test, when Ponting was bowling the likes of Michael Hussey to catch up with bowling rates.

It was a very confusing decision by the senior members of the side, and it seems incomprehensible how any captain would want to play catch-up when he should be pressing for a win.

The other mistake the Australians made was not to play Jason Krejza earlier in the series. He was an attacking option. He should have been in the side from at least the second Test.

For the Indians, it was a case of everybody contributing to make this series a wonderful farewell gift to both Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.

The Indians have plenty to cheer about. Though two stalwarts are retiring, they have their succession plans in place with Amit Mishra looking promising, and young batsmen like Rohit Sharma and S. Badrinath showing potential. And if one adds into the mix Yuvraj Singh, the batting looks in very good shape.

In fact, I was also very impressed with M. Vijay who looked very assured and added a lot of energy to the fielding.

The captain also looks like a natural leader, and the team looks very comfortable with him at the helm.


Superstar in the making


However, the true superstar in the making is Ishant Sharma. India has unearthed a superb bowler in him. He has incredible accuracy, is fast, has height and is a quick learner. He reminds me of Glenn McGrath in his accuracy and of Jason Gillespie in his hand speed.

The series did not live up to its billing with a lot of defensive fields and safety-first strategy from both sides, at various points in the series.

India-Australia tussles over the last eight years have been very hard-fought, but these four Tests were not in that league because Australia were outplayed in Mohali, Delhi and Nagpur.

Gameplan

http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/11/stories/2008111162041900.htm

[inoc]

KKK

by scoring 21 runs in 12 overs VVS-SRT yesterday had shown how old school cricket is to played and which they played for so many years. That is what our approach was in the past when we use to be too eager to drop shutters as early as possible. After good start by openers, RD failed and move of sending RD also failed. OK at least he had not spoiled time by sticking to the wkt. But then VVS-SRT !!!!!!!!! i failed to interpretate wht they were doing ( apart from knowing that they were doing what they always do ie to spoil the initiative) 21 runs in 12 overs after a good start and a semingly match winning situation on the cards, still rolling shutters !!! and in spite od a big kitty of runs with them ??
look at msd, when he came, things were even worst than for VVS-SRT. But managed to not only save but even accelerate as  needed. Is he not worth appreciating his consistent efforts to save india like this on several occassions in past as well?
u keep laughing when i praise him...........i  will keep laughing at u!!!

it is a bit ingenuous when you pick and choose matches and situations to try and prove your point.

let us start with this match, since you pointed it out:

we were 140 odd for 3 and lee and watson bowling and reverse swinging for the aussies for the first time in the series. last two recognised batsmen trying to weather the storm.

MSD and HS faced 25+ overs of JK, clarke, hussey (for whatever reason) and scored freely.
once watson came back into the attack we were all out in 6 overs.

you may not acknowledge the fact that the situation may have warranted the kind of batting on display but I think that VVS and SRT did what was expected of them in that scenario with a reverse swinging cricket ball.

rewind to bangalore we were 5 down for 150, MSD scored 9 of 51 balls @ a SR of 17. similar scenario, similar response. never saw you criticize MSD for that innings. there are many such examples and I think MSD plays according to the situation and so do the others. You pick and choose to highlight failures on one side and ignore the ones when MSD has 'failed' according to your SR formula in tests which I dont agree to.

the beauty of MSD is not that he can score freely, many batsmen can do that (maybe not as well as MSD), but his sense of timing, his ability to modify his game according to the need of the hour. His best test innings so far has a SR in the forties.

I dont blame you for such posts, it is either lack of pure cricketing knowledge (which I dont believe) or an attempt to elevate one and demote another for the sake of argument. take your pick.

[LosingNow]

czarina alert !

[pipsqueak]

czarina alert !

czarina is down with a 'flu and is also in mourning(SG's departure). she will just live and let dis error live.

(sreesanth mode)

[keep-it-cool]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

makes sense. interesting sub-plot though

how does it make sense? they should never have got the match if this was the case

[LosingNow]

czarina alert !

czarina is down with a 'flu and is also in mourning(SG's departure). she will just live and let dis error live.

(sreesanth mode)

hope you feel better..

[LosingNow]

the people i was staying with in nagpur - they also gave me the match tickets - the guy was the vp of vca in 1963. he is still pretty well connected and is on one of the commmittees.

he told me that they had an empty stadium on purpose for this match.

they did not have the security in order - neither the logistics nor the personnel. there was no way they could have managed a fuller stadium. so they did not sell daily tickets and played it safe....

makes sense. interesting sub-plot though

how does it make sense? they should never have got the match if this was the case

sorry.. i meant "VCA not offering daily tickets and therefore crowds not coming" now makes sense.. not the whole idea of staging it in Nagpur without the necessary checks for adequacy of security

[dhruvdeepak]

an aside: ravi shastri has shaved off his moustache

nah just finely trimmed it.

PS he was the only )*%)^*)((&er who gave me attitude at the bar i met all the comm team. a hole. then again he was the center of attention. (beats me how...archana was in the bar and looking SMOKING. she was also smoking cigarettes)

btw, who are Archana and  RK that kic keeps referring to

Archana Joglekar? Do a google images search

archana vijaya. mmm mm mmmmmmm

[Nima]

what is with Gavaskar and his akubra hat, a gift from AB maybe?