Australia in India

First topic message reminder :

Srinivasan stays....puts his own men is the big event that will have it's impact on Indian and global cricket.
meanwhile Indian squad for the ODIs vs. Aus is announced.

the only noteworthy change is the return of Yuvraj....who will most likely play instead of Dinesh Kaarthik....who should have no complains at being dropped.
he blew so many chances of establishing himself as an India regular......his international career is over  from what I can see.
Yadav is not in the squad...I hope he has not picked an injury....and it's a case of preserving him for test matches.....whihc would be a wise move.
Shami ahmed should be the first choice 3rd seamer in that case


Squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat

Seeing 300 repeatedly chased down is like seeing that cool Russian gymnast complete a corkscrew moonsault again and again and again... Eventually...

kingraf wrote:Seeing 300 repeatedly chased down is like seeing that cool Russian gymnast complete a corkscrew moonsault again and again and again... Eventually...

didn't this carnival start in SA in the A series triangular

yup flat pitches all throughout!

The A series in SA was 4th rate non-cricket. Kingraf and other friends of us from SA did hint that the weather played a part in the wickets acting the way they did then though.

Final ODI today. This time, it is Australia's turn to try and chase 300+ as they won the toss and put India in to bat. One change for Australia, Mitchell Johnson, released to prepare for the Ashes is replaced by Nathan Coulter-Nile. India, who, having rested Ravindra Jadeja for the West Indies test series due to a shoulder strain, have no issues whatsoever in playing him today. The demon fast bowler R Vinay Kumar, who bowls at a terrifying speed of 125 KPH is recalled!. I can hear the Australians quaking in their boots at hearing the news of his recall!. What a farce!!.

The 50 up for India in 7 overs. Dhawan on 29, Sharma on 16.

Lively start for India (surprise  )

Wonder how many they would need today to feel "safe" ? I reckon they would want north of 360...

India might be eyeing 400.

it's strage jadeja is deemed not fit for tests..but is still playing ODIs.....lopsided priorities

India 210-4 after 35. Sharma is batting on 96, but Australia have taken out Dhawan, Kohli, Raina and Yuvraj. Dhawan scored 60 but the others couldn't make a substantial contribution. This is Kohli's first failure in this series, and he was run-out.

India are crawling along in the powerplay. Only 7 runs so far in 2.4 powerplay overs. But Rohit Sharma has reached his hundred. After scoring none in 3 years, he has scored 2 in 2 weeks. Hopefully he'll be able to maintain this form on propper tracks as well.

Rohit was on 95 of 99 at one stage, the next 6 runs took 17 balls. But he brought up his 2nd 50 in 43 balls even then.

Saw the Kohli run out...and the shocked faces in the stands  

Probably the only way he could have been got out on this...

Still going to be a handy score if Dhoni gets going. At the moment he is happy to watch Rohit , who seems to have got going again.

Hard to see them getting near 350 though now , so Australia have done well to pull this back after the start. 320 ?

Ha ! What do I know  

The slaughter of the last eight overs has blown that apart...these poor bowlers are being made to look like a school team ! What an innings from Rohit...

Can't see Australia getting near this now.

Would like to see Australia get really close, and won't mind if they chase it down. All this is such a horrendous farce.

The early loss of Finch and Watson's injury means that Australia aren't getting any momentum at the start of their innings. Haddin and Bailey at the crease as Finch was out LBW to Shami for 5 and Hughes hit a simple catch to Yuvraj of Ashwin's first ball to depart for a 33 ball 23.
And now Haddin's run-out to make it 70-3 in the 16th over.

Maxwell enjoying himself  

Needs to keep this going for the rest of the innings...though in fact the Australians are ahead of India at this stage of the innings , in run rate. Shame about the wicket rate  

Shami has been impressive with the ball  

Afraid I jinxed Maxwell  

This won't go the distance now...well done India.

Faulkner today in at 7..There's a case to be made for him batting 7 in odi's permantely...he's good enough also means they can add some much needed variation into their bowling attack

Australia need another hundred with 2 wickets remaining. Faulkner is playing a lone hand, but it is certainly not beyond to pull this off on this ridiculous track under the present playing conditions. Hope he does pull it off for Australia and throw as much egg as possible on the faces of the administrators of the game.

Vinay Kumar has splendid figures of 1-102 in 9 overs. The record is within his reach and Dhoni should let him bowl that last over.

a sham of series ends...and those who will show the double hundred of Rohit........look no further than the 66n.o and the 110 of Faulkner at 200% strike rate.......
when a good for 20-something batrsman like Faulkner starts scoring hundeds then all scores must be looked in the same perspective

a crazy series comes to an end. What a knock from Rohit and Dhawan! Maxwell played well briefly but run out of steam, and poor old Faulkner played the innings of his life and was on the losing side.

Thankfully its over. And that's the only positive at the end of this utter farce. The game they played wasn't cricket. Perhaps we can call it Tonkball? I had always thought that ODI cricket had a future. I am absolutely disappointed with the joke of a series, Its just not cricket. I really wanted Australia to chase down the score today, would have been an apt end to such an abomination of the game. What a farce. I just want to forget this as early as possible.

This series also proved that Harsha Bhogle is the only comentator worth just a little bit listening to in the Star panel. Shastri disgusts me, I hope Gavaskar retires from the commentary box at the earliest so that we can live with the passed on images of one of India's greatest batsmen. I had rated Matthew Heyden in the past, but I am very disappointed that he has come up with some twisted logic to defend the tonkball nonsense that is going on. Bhogle at least ask the right questions though he hasn't really comeout strongly against the farce as such. I was expecting a lot more from Sourav Ganguly.

My series ratings

INDIA

Shikar Dhawan- 8
Rohit- 10
Kohli- 8
Raina-4
Yuvraj- 0 (and thats being generous, has had a shocker)
Dhoni- 8
Jadeja-6
Ashwin-6
Bhunvehshar- 6
Ishant-1
Mishra-0 (10-0-0-77) enough said
Vinay- 4
Shami- 7

AUSTRALIA

Finch- 6
Hughes-5
Watson- 6
Bailey- 10
Voges-5
Maxwell- 6
Haddin- 4
Johnson-7
Faulkner- 5 (and thats for his batting, bowling was poor)
Coulter-Nile- 4
Doherty- 4
McKay-2

I'd rate all the bowlers 5+ to start with for turning up. That's all they were supposed to do and you can't fault them for a job well done!. Ravindra Jadeja and Shami Ahmed gets a 10 out of 10 as they managed some wickets and at times kept the runs down as well. Ishant and Vinay Kumar doesn't get anything more than 5. Mishra gets 6 as he turned a few balls in his initial overs and went for only 77 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin gets 7 for being India's best ball delivery man during the end overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets 8 for keeping a very mentionable economy rate in the slogfest.
MS Dhoni gets 10 out of 10 for trying to talk some sense during the series.
My man of the series is Mitchell Johnson for saving the bowlers from total humiliation.

msp83 wrote:I'd rate all the bowlers 5+ to start with for turning up. That's all they were supposed to do and you can't fault them for a job well done!. Ravindra Jadeja and Shami Ahmed gets a 10  out of 10 as they managed some wickets and at times kept the runs down as well. Ishant and Vinay Kumar doesn't get anything more than 5. Mishra gets 6 as he turned a few balls in his initial overs and went for only 77 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin gets 7 for being India's best ball delivery man during the end overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets 8 for keeping a very mentionable economy rate in the slogfest.
MS Dhoni gets 10 out of 10 for trying to talk some sense during the series.
My man of the series is Mitchell Johnson for saving the bowlers from total humiliation.

Perfect

In the end analyis...

--Yuvraj confirmed my observations ...his eyes aren't the same...and I doubt he would get anotehr series

--Raina is best left at No.6

--Pujara and Rahane will be back in contention

--it's amzing how jadeja on shoulder injury is rested from 2 tests but still played in the last 2 ODIs.

--Dhoni takes ODIs far too seriously compare to tests

Yup Yuvraj was absymal in this series, and it appears his time is up..Raina is too vulnerable at 4, and he still has real issues with short pitched bowling...I dont think Pujara will be in contention for odi cricket, but your right about Rahane. The jadeja thing baffles me and shows which form of the game India priortise.

CF wrote:Yup Yuvraj was absymal in this series, and it appears his time is up..Raina is too vulnerable at 4, and he still has real issues with short pitched bowling...I dont think Pujara will be in contention for odi cricket, but your right about Rahane. The jadeja thing baffles me and shows which form of the game India priortise.

Pujara has a better OD record domestically than Rahane, so I'm not really sure about the basis of your statement.

msp83 wrote:Australia need another hundred with 2 wickets remaining. Faulkner is playing a lone hand, but it is certainly not beyond to pull this off on this ridiculous track under the present playing conditions. Hope he does pull it off for Australia and throw as much egg as possible on the faces of the administrators of the game.

Not a SINGLE word of appreciation for Rohit? I know its a flat track and short boundaries but come on!!!!

KP_fan wrote:India might be eyeing 400.

it's strage jadeja is deemed not fit for tests..but is still playing ODIs.....lopsided priorities

Not really. The selectors have probably (rightly) realised that he is not the right horse for the overseas Tests lying ahead and have picked those, who are likely to play a part on those tours. Not sure I'd have picked Ashwin or Mishra ahead of him though. Would've rather had Bhajji and Jadeja.

You can't pick a side to play in Indian conditions based on conditions in South Africa. Jadeja should have played and would have done so had he been fully fit. It doesn't seem like a major injury, but might not be good to go in with the demands of test cricket. But by playing him in the stupid Tonkball calamity, the powers that be gave out absolutely the wrong message.
As for Rohit, yeah it was a good innings and good to see him showing some consistency and I did mention that. But I would reserve judgement for later when they play more of a proper game of cricket where there is some semblance of a role for bowlers in the game beyond just delivering them up only to be smashed around. The likes of James Faulkner who hasn't done a lot remarkable with the bat in his OD career on a consistent basis, and George Bailey who's technique seems suspect for many Australians had brilliant series with the bat. Rohit has a decent technique, but when he is forced to work hard for his runs, when batting demands intense focus, I want to see how he reacts. The accumulated baggage of 6 years can't be wiped away so easily. But this series has converted a decent year to a very good one for Sharma, lets see how he goes in South Africa as I hold no hope for the 3 tonkball farces schedule for later this month.
Rohit's 209 should give him a test debut by the look of things. Rohit might just be the biggest beneficiary of Jadeja being strangely rested.

ShankyCricket wrote:

KP_fan wrote:India might be eyeing 400.

it's strage jadeja is deemed not fit for tests..but is still playing ODIs.....lopsided priorities

Not really. The selectors have probably (rightly) realised that he is not the right horse for the overseas Tests lying ahead and have picked those, who are likely to play a part on those tours. Not sure I'd have picked Ashwin or Mishra ahead of him though. Would've rather had Bhajji and Jadeja.

he had a great series in Champions Trrophy in non Indian conditions......so I see no basis for that conclusion or even assumption by selectors

The calamitous curator of Eden Gardens has already made his intentions clear of extending the farce to test cricket as well. He said that cricket is a game of batsmanship and that a bowler's wicket is an underprepared one. So expect a slow and low track and a horrible draw if Gayle or Samuels manage to get their act together along with Chanderpaul, whom the Indian's couldn't dislodge easily even on minefields in the past. A good chance for Rohit to make an easy debut in test cricket, if the top 5 lets him have a crack with the bat that is.........

msp83 wrote: Rohit's 209 should give him a test debut by the look of things. Rohit might just be the biggest beneficiary of Jadeja being strangely rested.

that is indeed the brilliant plan

KP_fan wrote:

ShankyCricket wrote:

KP_fan wrote:India might be eyeing 400.

it's strage jadeja is deemed not fit for tests..but is still playing ODIs.....lopsided priorities

Not really. The selectors have probably (rightly) realised that he is not the right horse for the overseas Tests lying ahead and have picked those, who are likely to play a part on those tours. Not sure I'd have picked Ashwin or Mishra ahead of him though. Would've rather had Bhajji and Jadeja.

he had a great series in Champions Trrophy in non Indian conditions......so I see no basis for that conclusion or even assumption by selectors

That was in ODIs and the conditions were actually quite similar to the subcontinent. I'd have picked him though.

msp83 wrote:You can't pick a side to play in Indian conditions based on conditions in South Africa. Jadeja should have played and would have done so had he been fully fit. It doesn't seem like a major injury, but might not be good to go in with the demands of test cricket. But by playing him in the stupid Tonkball calamity, the powers that be gave out absolutely the wrong message.
As for Rohit, yeah it was a good innings and good to see him showing some consistency and I did mention that. But I would reserve judgement for later when they play more of a proper game of cricket where there is some semblance of a role for bowlers in the game beyond just delivering them up only to be smashed around. The likes of James Faulkner who hasn't done a lot remarkable with the bat in his OD career on a consistent basis, and George Bailey who's technique seems suspect for many Australians had brilliant series with the bat. Rohit has a decent technique, but when he is forced to work hard for his runs, when batting demands intense focus, I want to see how he reacts. The accumulated baggage of 6 years can't be wiped away so easily. But this series has converted a decent year to a very good one for Sharma, lets see how he goes in South Africa as I hold no hope for the 3 tonkball farces schedule for later this month.
Rohit's 209 should give him a test debut by the look of things. Rohit might just be the biggest beneficiary of Jadeja being strangely rested.

He was the leading runscorer in the WI tri series in tough conditions in a low scoring series but nothing will satisfy you I guess.

That was in ODIs and the conditions were actually quite similar to the subcontinent. I'd have picked him though

is that why Bhuvnesh was swinging it with a banana trajectory ?

KP_fan wrote:

That was in ODIs and the conditions were actually quite similar to the subcontinent. I'd have picked him though

is that why Bhuvnesh was swinging it with a banana trajectory ?

What has swing got to do with the pitch? I can't help you if you don't think the pitches for the CT were drier than normal and assisted spin bowlers. Anyways, this isn't a knock on Jadeja, who was fantastic and I'd have personally picked him for the Tests.

Shanky, 6 long years of nothingness as I said, need a lot more work to undo all that.......

No mention of Suresh "CSK" Raina struggling even on these flat monsters?

KP_fan wrote:In the end analyis...

--Yuvraj confirmed my observations ...his eyes aren't the same...and I doubt he would get anotehr series

--Raina is best left at No.6

--Pujara and Rahane will be back in contention

--it's amzing how jadeja on shoulder injury is rested from 2 tests but still played in the last 2 ODIs.

--Dhoni takes ODIs far too seriously compare to tests

Even at No.6, he has a shocking record outside Asia. Stop trying to defend him.

raina is one of the best finishers in odis.
that never gets reflected in a record

I was never too obtimistic about Raina's abilities at number 4 and he really did struggle against Mitchell Johnson in a series where the bowlers had to do very little and that is a reason for concern. But I think he should be left alone to bat at 5 or 6 depending on the situation, as Yuvraj too is in even greater difficulties, I don't think dropping Raina is an option, as we don't have a ready replacement who can do a similar job. Karthik isn't cut out for international cricket on a sustainable basis, Pujara, Rahane and Rayudu are not quite the finisher type batsmen. And with the way the Indian bowling is going, Raina's secondary skills might also come hand, and when thinking of a replacement, that too has to be factored in. Perhaps they should give the likes of young Rishi Dhawan a bit of a run in the ODI side? A proper regular bowling option, and he averages 40+ in first class cricket and his state home ground is one of the rare tracks in India that has a little bit of life for the bowlers.

Rayadu can be a Raina replacement.....but again that falls in the category of wishes....cause "bhai" is never gonna let Raina go.

But Raina is a lesser of a problem to lose sleep over......when coming with 10 to 15 overs he is doing a good job.

Raina can do a job at 6, but he doesn't look a number 4. Doubt whether Rayudu is the kind of player who'd go after the bowling from ball one. And he doesn't bowl much. So they've to look elsewhere, particularly if Yuvraj continues to struggle.

Its amazing that people don't think dropping Raina is even an "option" esp with the WC to be held in Aus. MSD is not moving anywhere from 6, so if Raina is dropped, replacement would need to bat at 5. Why can't Rayudu bat at 5? Thats his natural position anyway. Or do you think the rules of performance apply only to Rohit and Raina has a right to be in the team irrespective of performances just because he has a reputation of being able to smash it even though it has never ever materialized in conditions outside the subcontinent?

ShankyCricket wrote:Its amazing that people don't think dropping Raina is even an "option" esp with the WC to be held in Aus. MSD is not moving anywhere from 6, so if Raina is dropped, replacement would need to bat at 5. Why can't Rayudu bat at 5? Thats his natural position anyway. Or do you think the rules of performance apply only to Rohit and Raina has a right to be in the team irrespective of performances just because he has a reputation of being able to smash it even though it has never ever materialized in conditions outside the subcontinent?

dhoni will comitt suicide if Raina is even touched so not point even discussing Raina

Rohit didn't perform in or away from the subcontinent for 6 years!. He was always selected on potential rather than performance, for 6 long years. A pretty poor example to ask a question that is rather valid..... Raina has performed in the subcontinent at least and his overall record is creditable. But I agree, he has to produce the goods consistently away from home as well, and his position has to be looked into......
But as I mentioned, the replacement should be a handy bowling option and would be great if he could field as well.