+- Forums (http://india-forum.com)
+-- Forum: Archives (http://india-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=7)
+--- Forum: Trash Can (http://india-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=20)
+--- Thread: Cricket Thread III (/showthread.php?tid=816)
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-07-2006
Sidhu gets 3-year jail
Cricket Thread III - gangajal - 12-08-2006
Ganguly seems to have proved his critics wrong! He together with Pathan stabilized the Indian innings.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-10-2006
Guruji
I would wait till the tests before I give any verdict.
BTW I have never watched Jaffer play. Is he leftie ?
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-11-2006
Jaffer turns out to be a rightie too - maybe the SA bowlers couldnt figure out lefties very well. Did anybody watch the match ?
Meanwhile this is Saurav's problem..
<img src='http://specials.rediff.com/cricket/2006/dec/09sld6.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-12-2006
<!--QuoteBegin-rajesh_g+Dec 11 2006, 06:25 AM-->QUOTE(rajesh_g @ Dec 11 2006, 06:25 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jaffer turns out to be a rightie too - maybe the SA bowlers couldnt figure out lefties very well. Did anybody watch the match ?
Meanwhile this is Saurav's problem..
<img src='http://specials.rediff.com/cricket/2006/dec/09sld6.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
[right][snapback]61982[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
point taken, he still has his weaknesses which can be exposed but with all that he still managed to score a half century in his first international outing in 8 months (that too in alien conditions), while others who have had already a lot of time to acclimatize themselves, don't have such glaring weaknesses as Ganguly, hardly showed any spunk.
Without sounding patronizing or pedantic would like to say that a man's character is more than just the sum of his strengths and weaknesses and Ganguly is a good example of this. Ah.. that sounds like a good quote.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-13-2006
Kartik
I actually read somewhere that his posture has changed, he doesnt lean much on the frontfoot , so maybe this was momentary lapse. Lets hope that is the case. Maybe somebody who has watched him play recently can comment.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-13-2006
<!--QuoteBegin-rajesh_g+Dec 13 2006, 12:24 AM-->QUOTE(rajesh_g @ Dec 13 2006, 12:24 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kartik
I actually read somewhere that his posture has changed, he doesnt lean much on the frontfoot , so maybe this was momentary lapse. Lets hope that is the case. Maybe somebody who has watched him play recently can comment.
[right][snapback]62059[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah I read that too, but I don't know what is its implication and effect on his batsmanship??
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-13-2006
Some pointers on what has changed in his technique. Nice article for a die hard Ganguly fan to read.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/cont...ory/272255.html
Exorcising the demons
Jamie Alter
December 13, 2006
Sourav Ganguly played with confidence and an air of calmness © Getty Images
Straight off the bat, this is not just about the runs he scored. This is about a man who came, saw and conquered - if only for the moment - the demons in his head, the ghosts in his past. This is about a man with so much to prove, recalled to his country's cause not so much because he was in form but because the so called 'marquee' players had all but lost themselves to the Indian management's faith; a former captain let down by his own board, yet who had done little to suggest over the past ten months that he had the cojones to play Test cricket again.
This is about Sourav Ganguly and his 141-ball, 224-minute 83 against the Rest of South Africa at Potchefstroom, as strong a statement of intent as there can be. When he walked in, the Indians had lost Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with just 37 on the board. When Ganguly left, they had crossed 200, 115 splendid runs had been added with Irfan Pathan, and had taken a huge step towards securing a morale-boosting tour win.
And a man with reason to feel embittered had done enough to show his detractors that he belonged there at that very moment.
This was an innings of so many dimensions and emotions. He was wary about the balls he played, he arched his back, he watched his back lift, he cover drove, he edged, he was dropped, and he copped a nasty Nantie Hayward lifter smack above the right ear.
Given all that had transpired over the past year, given the conditions of his selection, and given the situation the Indians were in, Ganguly walked out to the middle at Potchefstroom on December 7 with a fathomable amount of pressure on his shoulders.
Countless television channels in India filled the airwaves with images of Ganguly batting for hours at the nets, running laps around the Eden Gardens, and stressing on how serious he was about making a comeback. For those who chuckled at the footage and Ganguly's quotes about sorting out technical difficulties, it is important to raise here the issue of his technique. After the first day's play, Ganguly revealed what had been noticed in his innings: "<b>In India, I take a leg-stump guard. Here, I decided to take a middle-stump guard. When you are out of the team, you get a lot more time to analyse your batting, otherwise you're just going from one series to another and you don't get much of a chance. I've had time on my hands and I've worked on certain things</b>."
Too true. He was no longer flip-flopping with a tentative front foot shuffle or just plain stuck in expectancy of the short ball. <b>Rather, he played with upright balance, distributing his body weight better, his shortened backlift allowing him to play much straighter. And his head was still. Absolutely still.</b> Where Jaffer misread the movement of the ball, Sehwag the pace and length, and Tendulkar and Laxman were drawn into tame prods outside off stump, <b>Ganguly got right behind the line, played with a full face of the bat, and soft hands, and kept the ball as close to the ground as he could.</b>
'I've had time on my hands and I've worked on certain things' © Getty Images
His first boundary was a glance down to third man, the second a four to the point fence via a misfield but, once in the 20s, he produced two shots that revived memories of the greatness he used to perch upon. First, Morne Morkel, the day's wrecker-in-chief, pitched ever so slightly on a full length and was driven through cover and mid-off. Hayward served up a half-volley outside off stump and was square-driven through point.
There was a moment of worry, and I'm sure scoffing in some corners, when he ducked into Hayward's next ball and had the medical staff out for an examination. But in the bowler's next over, Ganguly slapped consecutive fours through point and extra cover, one back-foot, the other elegantly off the front, to indicate that he was not in South Africa to be intimidated. The bouncers, ducking, and cover driving - and the odd word from Hayward - continued between Ganguly and the South African pacers all morning and afternoon, until he finally departed, edging an attempted cut off Friedel de Wet to the 'keeper.
What thoughts rested or raged in his head as he stepped over the ropes and made his way to the crease, only Ganguly will know. What he felt when he mistimed a drive to midwicket and picked up a single to get to 50, we can assume. What he felt when he walked back into the Indian dressing room, with 83 hard-earned runs to his name, the knowledge that he had done what a famed top-order hadn't, should not be surmised. Therein lies the beautiful complexity of an estranged individual. There was a bittersweet touch to his contribution following a second-innings duck, but for his unwavering focus, judicious shot selection, and resolve to get into perfect position, Ganguly's 83 should merit automatic selection for the first Test at Johannesburg.
He said - on his recall
"They [critics] told me that I had achieved everything in any case, played for the team for 11 years, been captain for five - what else did I want to get out of the game? But I just felt I still had it in me to play at the highest level for longer. At some level, <b>I felt my career will be incomplete if I simply give up now</b>."
They said - Greg Chappell on Ganguly's move to take middle-stump guard
"It was a smart move. It showed that he had applied his mind and come up with the right method to overcome the conditions. He looks calm, relaxed, very fit. He looks like he's worked hard on aspects of his game. <b>He's applying both mind and method and that's showing</b>."
Chappell speaks, in praise again, of Ganguly's footwork
"That was very important too [play off the front foot as much as possible]. It allowed him to take his decision just that much time later. By leaning forward, he was able to judge the length of the ball accurately, which also allowed him to leave the right balls. That's why he could also play his shots without too much of a problem."
From the inside - Dilip Vengsarkar, India's chairman of selectors
"It's good to score runs in the first match of a tour and it will stand him in good stead for the Tests, which are the ultimate. I hope he performs, I think he has it in him to score runs and it is good to see him back."
Comment on this article
Jamie Alter is editorial assistant of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-15-2006
From the report on cricinfo it seems like 300 would be a good total. VVSL was unlucky to get out. The stage is set for Saurav. If he can manage to get India to 300 then he will be a hero. Lets wish him the best.. <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-17-2006
Dada has answered his critics (like me ) !!! <!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->
VVSL should take the lead to 400 and put it out of reach of SA.. <!--emo&:rocker--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rocker.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rocker.gif' /><!--endemo-->
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/rsavind/co...ory/272996.html
Coach Arthur..
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sourav Ganguly was expected to be set up with the short ball, but he showed oodles of courage and application to make 51 not out and 25 over two innings. "We had our plans, but we couldn't execute them properly," said Arthur. "But hats off to Sourav, he came in and did a very good job."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<img src='http://specials.rediff.com/cricket/2006/dec/16pic3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-17-2006
Anybody seen Sreesanth's over the top reaction after hitting a sixer against Andre Nel. It's amazing to say the least and it also warmed my heart a lot. Sreesanth gave Nel back his own medicine and has probably quietened him for the rest of the series.
Kudos to Dada for being his own old self, but also for returning as a far more sober and more determined person.
Laxman has gained back his silken touch. Good omen for India.
Just hope we wrap it up quickly tomorrow to achieve an unexpected maiden Test win in SA.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-19-2006
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo--> India score maiden Test win in South Africa
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Anybody seen Sreesanth's over the top reaction after hitting a sixer against Andre Nel. It's amazing to say the least and it also warmed my heart a lot. Sreesanth gave Nel back his own medicine and has probably quietened him for the rest of the series. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Don't miss it: It's on web!!
Cricket Thread III - gangajal - 12-19-2006
Ganguly didn't just score some vital runs. He added some spine into this side.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-19-2006
Viren
Check this one out too.. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=84...174&q=sreesanth
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-19-2006
Rajesh:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sreesanth is known to be a self-taught expert in dance.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:bcow--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/b_cowboy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='b_cowboy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
link
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-19-2006
One of the greatest ever wins in the history of Indian cricket. And it was so comprehensive. Also it was supposedly on a pitch suited to our opponents strengths. Now others will think twice before making bouncy pitches. Thats what makes it a very significant win as it will set all other teams in the world to rethink their strategy against India. Its not as if we have defeated Zimbabwe on a bouncy pitch, but rather a full blown strong test side, which has just walked over us in the ODIs. On a bouncy pitch the greatest asset for a team is great wicket taking bowlers. Batsmanship is about doughtiness rather than flamboyance. And it was only a matter of time when, with the amazing amount and quality of fast bowling talent coming up in the country, that it developed and added teeth to our attack. I think looking at the future, we will struggle to win Test matches in Sri Lanka rather than in South Africa or New Zealand bcos apart from Sri Lanka becoming a stronger test side, we dont see any superb talent emerging in spinning. Apart from Harbhajan there is no other great young spinning talent. Anyway lets savour this win for the moment. Nothing has been sweeter than this.
Amazingly stats say that since 2000 this team ( or rather the core of it at least) has won the last 13 of India's 27 wins away from home. Imagine we have been playing since 1933 and half of our overseas wins have come from the present team in the last six or so years. That in itself is something significant.
Now that we have found a sweet spot and thrust the nail in, lets ram it home in the next two games and nail the series.
Cricket Thread III - Shambhu - 12-19-2006
Now India's challenge is to not be blown out in upcoming tests..
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-20-2006
The key is the openers (esp Viru). He has been in SA for long enough now. A big one is due.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-21-2006
Not directly related to desi cricket but Warnie and McGrath are retiring !! Within next 1-1.5 yrs Oz wont be the #1 team.
Cricket Thread III - Guest - 12-21-2006
Dont know if this is cricket or not - but a very interesting take on the new Kerala !
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content...ory/273399.html