How India How??
(RANT ALERT)
I have been in hiding for the last 24 hours. I had to…after the hiding India got. So, the last 24 hours were spent in Denial. That was Stage 1.
This is Stage 2.
You wanna know why you lost the game yesterday, India? You wanna know why?? Here’s how it happened-
- Going in with 3 seamers when the pitch is declared to be a graveyard for fast bowlers? Bad idea. Leaving out Mishra in the bargain? Even worse.
- Dhoni said in the after-match interview “I have never seen so many runs scored backward of point.” (Malik scored a LOT of runs in that area) Really Dhoni? So it didn’t occur to you to put a fielder there for that?
- Yusuf Pathan -> 56/1 and 5 runs. ‘nuf said. Try Nayar. How much worse can it be? You might get a pleasant surprise due to his novelty factor.
- Harbhajan Singh -> 71/1 and 13 runs. Try Mishra. Seriously.
- Gambhir -> Did the groin inury affect your brain too, Gautam? Basics man, basics…
- Kohli/Raina -> Someone forgot to tell you I guess. You are playing in an ODI. That’s right. O-D-I. One Day International. Repeat after me….One…Day….International. There you go. Remember this for tommorow. Try and “construct” an innings. You cannot blast your way out of trouble here always.
-Dravid -> That was your chance to be the hero. The saviour. And you blew it! Repeat after me….One…Day….International. Geddit?
Losing to Pakistan in an ICC event…and now SA is out of the tournament…sheesh!!
Stage 3.
All is forgiven if you beat Australia tommorow. I’ll help you. I’ll stuff my fantasy team with Australians even if that means using up all my transfers.
Didn’t I say that I don’t think India will go far in this tournament in my last post? Well, I take it back. Now I want India to qualify for the finals. And Pakistan too. And I want India to win the Cup. So there.
Now I want India to qualify for the finals… And I want India to win the Cup.
I hope your wish comes true.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Thanks Leela.
Not even making it to the semis of 3 of the last 4 ICC tournaments would hurt a lot.
[Reply]
Leela
28 Sep 09 at 3:10 pm
3 out of the last 4 ICC tournaments… shoot hadn’t realized that!
[Reply]
Leela
28 Sep 09 at 5:09 pm
Best rant I’ve read so far
…
“- Dhoni said in the after-match interview “I have never seen so many runs scored backward of point.” (Malik scored a LOT of runs in that area) Really Dhoni? So it didn’t occur to you to put a fielder there for that?” – Beautiful. Guy’s too busy blaming the bowlers, should start wondering how much sense it makes to bowl 65kmph Virat Kohlia to Malik/MoYo after the quicks had them pinned down.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Thanks A
Hell hath no fury like an Indian fan betrayed I say
[Reply]
achettup
28 Sep 09 at 8:01 pm
dravid to repeat that is ODI game is brilliant… he too like others needs to understand that you can’t run a bike on 1 gear alone… or the engine would go burst…
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:27 am
SP….ummmm….I am having second thoughts on Dravid’s strike rate issue. Refer to my comment on Leela’s post.
[Reply]
straight point
28 Sep 09 at 10:49 pm
Dravid was doing his job!
i feel you were a bit harsh on him!
Anyhow Bhajji made sure that the margin of defeat was huge there by screwing up our net run rate by getting dravid out! If he would have been there till the end India would have lost by something like 15-25 runs..
and someone teach Ishant,RP and Nehra to bat a bit..
as Harsha Bhogle said we are batting with 3 number 11′s
I am with you on the final i want India to trash Pak !
p.s.: I have also stuffed my team with Australians !
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 3:32 am
Aditya
Yeah, I changed my mind about Dravid after publishing the post. I was in rant mode when I was writing
Thanks for the support.
AFA Dravid’s SR and how he wasn’t taking enough singles goes, I am reproducing part of my second comment @ Leela’s. It should appear there shortly once Leela is back online..
That should lessen the heat on him somewhat?
[Reply]
Aditya Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 1:55 am
RD’s detractors will find a way to undermine his contributions anyhow!
i still believe Dravid was the only batsman who wasn’t responsible for him getting out!He hadnt finished his innings yet! bhajji did!
Gambhir could have dived..
Raina was getting restless and i can go on and on.
If it was such a good batting pitch why did the other batsman get out to such reckless shots!?
rather than blaming dravid for all this wrt his strike rate why not point the finger on all the other batsman who failed!
[Reply]
Aditya Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 2:01 am
in continuation to the above comment
anyhow when the other batsman were going at a strike rate of 100+ what is the need of dravid going at 90 or even 80?
remember the target was still very easily achievable with 104 runs required from 17 overs that with 6 wickets in hand!(at that point of time dravid had a strike rate of 66.7)
now blame whomsoever you want!
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Cheers Aditya
104 runs required from 17 overs that with 6 wickets in hand!
Yes, that’s what I want to stress too. The game was there to be won. A little bit of patience on Raina’s part could have helped. But if we are bent on panning every player for this loss, then sure, Dravid’s SR is an easy target.
[Reply]
Aditya
29 Sep 09 at 2:23 am
The only Aussies I didn’t pick are the ones that didn’t get picked.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 5:48 am
cool NC…so you think we stand a chance today??
[Reply]
Naked Cricket
29 Sep 09 at 5:33 am
No words for Sachin? Or have you given up on him?
Nice blog by the way..
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Thanks dear
You know what….someone else asked me the same question on Sachin on gtalk earlier today. I guess why I did not think of him was because though he is an imp part of the chase, he got out quite early. So whatever impact he had to have had on the chase was known pretty early on and had been countered well (We scored more than 6 an over in the first 15 ovs and had to score 100 in the lat 16…pretty gettable). Plus he did not “lose” it like Gambhir or Raina or Kohli. Shayad isliye dhyaan me bhi nahi aaya ki Sachin par bhi gussa nikalna chahiye
[Reply]
Anusha
29 Sep 09 at 12:07 pm
Well I did not see the match..I followed the commentary on cricinfo…Maybe that had something to do with it, but I felt Sachin failing still has an impact on this team. I agree that we did reasonable well after his wicket fell, but I also think that openers should consistently contribute 20 odd runs even if we do not expect them to be in a century stand every time..Sachin is becoming unpredictable and I do not like that..
As Aditya quoted Harsha Bhogle, we are playing with 3 number 11′s. Add to that a wary Tendulkar, I think the batting line up only becomes more vulnerable…
Consistency is a big issue with this Indian outfit..
And are you moderating comments? Been bugged by spams?
[Reply]
Anusha
29 Sep 09 at 12:50 pm
Oops..I take back my comment on moderation..
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Anusha,
Technically, I’m not moderating comments per se. I’ve left the default setting on wordpress that says a comment has to be approved explictly in the first instance of a new commentator. If you use the same email id as before in your next comment, it will appear immediately (which explains why ur yahoo id one went into the moderation Q) Sorry, I’m still learning the ways of WordPress! Some changes are still in order
A flaky Sachin is not in India’s interest obviously. And now that I think of it, I havent really bagged Sachin since I started blogging. I’ll make amends when he fails the next time round
But in all seriousness, what I said earlier is the only reason why he wasnt in the “ripping apart” list..and boy, you put it mildly when you said Sachin failing still has an impact on this team. It is true that we do not depend on him like we used to in the 90s. But his departure is always a big blow, specially for a big chase!
[Reply]
Anusha
29 Sep 09 at 12:51 pm
“I’ll make amends when he fails the next time round ”
I am afraid that won’t be long..And I say that with a lot of sadness..
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Now, now. I know everything looks bleak b’coz India is almost out of the tournament. But Tendulkar has actually had a really good year so far. Last 12 matches, 2 50s and 2 100s with an average of 49 (almost 5 points more than his career average) And that’s inspite of a horrible series in SL earlier this year
[Reply]
Anusha
29 Sep 09 at 1:24 pm
hehe, the frustration is reeking through every single sweat pore!!!
Am I the only one who felt a little better that teh Aussie vs BCCI game got abandoned? With our “Vaunted” death-over bowling (read: death for our bowling at the last few overs), and fearsome batting (read: fear for us fans), we’re better off with 1 point, and praying to all gods for Pak to try to defeat Aussies, and us playing WI .
I am sick to death of Bhajji. The looney’s gotten a free pass for too long now , and still laying the turd most of the time.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Well, I’m not feeling better. If India would have won, that would have meant that they would qualify on their merit. And if they would have lost to Australia then everyone would have been relaxed that India is not going anywhere. Now there are a few anxious ever-the-optimists who are doing all sorts of calculations on how India can get through, while deep in their hearts everyone knows ki hona-jana kuch nahi hai Such waste of time and precious hope
And yes…Ojha, Chawla, Mishra…anyone but Bhajji. How much worse can it get??
[Reply]
MTJAG
29 Sep 09 at 11:49 pm
They are coming home. And then the champions leagues distraction will start and all will be forgiven. Same ol story.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Obviously Ghajini wasn’t a superhit for nothing. It struck a chord somewhere in the Indian public’s heart
[Reply]
scorpicity
30 Sep 09 at 9:15 am
So would you like Pakistan to win against Aussies today and be thankful ? It might give you a chance to meet Pakistan again ?
but excuse me Pakistan gonna beat it again that day, possibly, hopefully, hell yea
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 12:50 am
Welcome Reverse Swing
Of course, if India qualify for the semis, I will be thankful. As for your finals prediction, well, we’ll have to see about that
[Reply]
Reverse Swing
30 Sep 09 at 3:48 pm