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[fineleg]

By Prem Panicker  20:17 | 16/May/2006 |

 The dark and the light

For the last three days, I've been following via scorecards and reports the first England-Sri Lanka Test, at Lord's. And the final scorecard makes me mad, as it will you, if you view it against this other scorecard.

Between them, Vaas and Kulasekhara batted out 53.5 overs -- which is five overs more than Jaffer, Pathan, Kumble, Dravid, Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Sreesanth and Munaf managed, on a benign pitch.

And that is why I'm still mad -- not because the team miserably lost a Test I could have sworn it had a chance of winning, but because that particular performance was more of an abdication than anything else. And hence a pity -- had India done, on that final day, half of what Sri Lanka managed over two days, its results would have been substantially different. And better.
 
 
 

[justforkix]

I'm not mad because this is not a new phenomenon. Indian team has done it time and again that it no longer surprises me. If the scenario is saving a game on the final day, our batting starts and ends with Dravid. Dravid was the difference between Nagpur's draw and Mumbai's and Bangalore's losses. We have lost so many games like this in the last 20 years, why single out the Mumbai loss and get worked up about it....

[fineleg]

I'm not mad because this is not a new phenomenon. Indian team has done it time and again that it no longer surprises me. If the scenario is saving a game on the final day, our batting starts and ends with Dravid. Dravid was the difference between Nagpur's draw and Mumbai's and Bangalore's losses. We have lost so many games like this in the last 20 years, why single out the Mumbai loss and get worked up about it....

Not sure if PP is singling this out or using it as an example.

[prfsr]

What is so surprising? For the last 5-10 years we (BCCI) have focused more on OD's and GC has focused solely on OD's. So batsmen do not know how to bat in tests.

We gave away our disdain for this form of the game by sending IP out to open (yes I know VS was unavailable). Surely Mr. "I will open so that nobody can accuse me of ruining SG's career" Dravid could have opened?
Or he could have sent SRT or YS? Both have opened before. Or is he more concerned about his own legacy than India winning?

-P

[amit]

It does not matter if it happened before or not. The fact that it has happened 1000 times does not mean we feel less outrage at the 1001th case.

Also look at how Shoib Malik put out a tent against SL how vaas did day before and compare that with Banglore karachi, mumbai (the list is on and on)

[Libran]

It does not matter if it happened before or not. The fact that it has happened 1000 times does not mean we feel less outrage at the 1001th case.

Also look at how Shoib Malik put out a tent against SL how vaas did day before and compare that with Banglore karachi, mumbai (the list is on and on)

And the indignation increases when one realizes that SL did in foreig soil and India lost its matches in "known home conditions" ......Karachi excepted...

India has done this time and again...against Australia, Against RSA, against Pak in Kolkata....

yes ...the list goes on

[gouravk]

But it is not as if we have not done it ... remember we had a fantastic draw in Port Elizabeth when Dasgupta and Dravid held fort. In Nottingham in 2002 when Dravid scored a 100, Tendulkar 92 and Ganguly 99.

SO it is just a question of how often.

[Blwe_torch]

shortage of Godspeak!

[cricinfo]

totally out of the track question....how does the run thing below karma works sorry for the ignorance

[Libran]

totally out of the track question....how does the run thing below karma works sorry for the ignorance

Was wanting to ask the same question....Also the DG seems to be batsmen favoring...no catches / wickets / runouts...only runs 

[prfsr]

totally out of the track question....how does the run thing below karma works sorry for the ignorance

I think you get some runs (2?) per post, but posts made before this was started were not
used.

-P

[prfsr]

But it is not as if we have not done it ... remember we had a fantastic draw in Port Elizabeth when Dasgupta and Dravid held fort. In Nottingham in 2002 when Dravid scored a 100, Tendulkar 92 and Ganguly 99.

SO it is just a question of how often.

Very true. In general we tend to remember losses more than draws and so the cases where we failed stand out in memory.

Related question: do you think Indians fans (in general) expect too much from the team? Or is it that the team usually underperforms, and we should really have the high expectations?

-P

[fineleg]

But it is not as if we have not done it ... remember we had a fantastic draw in Port Elizabeth when Dasgupta and Dravid held fort. In Nottingham in 2002 when Dravid scored a 100, Tendulkar 92 and Ganguly 99.

SO it is just a question of how often.

Very true. In general we tend to remember losses more than draws and so the cases where we failed stand out in memory.

Related question: do you think Indians fans (in general) expect too much from the team? Or is it that the team usually underperforms, and we should really have the high expectations?

-P

both happens.

[flute202020]

But it is not as if we have not done it ... remember we had a fantastic draw in Port Elizabeth when Dasgupta and Dravid held fort. In Nottingham in 2002 when Dravid scored a 100, Tendulkar 92 and Ganguly 99.

SO it is just a question of how often.

Very true. In general we tend to remember losses more than draws and so the cases where we failed stand out in memory.

Related question: do you think Indians fans (in general) expect too much from the team? Or is it that the team usually underperforms, and we should really have the high expectations?

-P

prfsr , going by a cross section of cricket fans here and also my other by friends, I think Indian cricket fans are very reasonable. They never complain about well fought losses. It really pisses when we loose without fight making a mockery of our support like our loss in Banglore to Pak, in Pak recently and in Mumbai against Eng etc. Say if Indian team fought very well in Mumbai and managed to bring it out to atleast until lunch on fifth day, onone would have complained so much.

[poondu]

Flute,
Agree with u. Fans were not that pissed when we lost the Chennai test against Pakistan.

[fineleg]

Flute,
Agree with u. Fans were not that pissed when we lost the Chennai test against Pakistan.

sachin was pissed!

[toney]

Flute,
Agree with u. Fans were not that pissed when we lost the Chennai test against Pakistan.

sachin was pissed!

The reason was Mongia

[poondu]

It was one helluva fight though.