test 2

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:42 am

seems like rather unbalanced team selection. three spinners and only one seamer; really? i know it's a slow indian wkt. still. doesn't make any sense.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:46 am

good to watch sky hd tv with no annoying indian ads.

by nevada Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:33 am

The duckster falls cheaply yet again! Looks like he is competing with Ponvict to see who can stay longer in the team before the selectors are forced to kick him out.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:59 am

nevada wrote:The duckster falls cheaply yet again! Looks like he is competing with Ponvict to see who can stay longer in the team before the selectors are forced to kick him out.

That great Indian trait - "loyalty to past glory" - will play TenDucker until he quits the game on his own . What is comical is the daily news article on the great skills of TenDucker by one and all....

Harbhajan? yet again... can't the Indian establishment let people die sportically when they are in coma... Desperate trying to resurrect (Harbhajan) or to keep them on ventilator (SRT) forever should be stopped.

by nevada Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:15 am

As AZ said some time ago, duckster will go out of the team only if injury forces him to. I hope it doesn't come to that.

by truthbetold Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:52 am

Pujara, panesar, Ashton- exceeded expectations
Kohli, yuvraj , gambhir- totally disappointing
Sehwag - as expected. We need to wait till his ass is on fire again.
Tendulkar, broad - wasted berths.

Dhoni got the pitcher wanted. Indian total at this point two hundred short unless trio pummels Brits 20 in 200.

by confuzzled dude Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:03 am

nevada wrote:As AZ said some time ago, duckster will go out of the team only if injury forces him to. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Ball of the day

Perhaps he is not the force he was in the past, but it was Sachin Tendulkar's
misfortune to be on the receiving end of an excellent ball from Monty
Panesar. Delivered from round the wicket, drifting towards leg stump,
but then pitching and turning sharply, it clipped the top of off as a
groping Tendulkar was bowled for the fourth time in his last five Test
innings. You have to go back to 2002, when he was bowled five times in
six innings, to find a comparable period in his career. The harsh may
criticise him for playing slightly across the line, but perhaps the
concern should be more that, for the second innings in succession, he
mis-read the flight. Maybe it is a sign of age; maybe it is a sign of
low confidence but, in his last six Tests and nine innings, Tendulkar is
now averaging just 16.11 with a highest score of 27. The silence that greeted his dismissal amply expressed the disappointment and, perhaps, the concern of his home crowd.

by confuzzled dude Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:15 am

truthbetold wrote:Pujara, panesar, Ashton- exceeded expectations
Kohli, yuvraj , gambhir- totally disappointing
Sehwag - as expected. We need to wait till his ass is on fire again.
Tendulkar, broad - wasted berths.

Dhoni got the pitcher wanted. Indian total at this point two hundred short unless trio pummels Brits 20 in 200.

I'm afraid both Singhs may prove useless. I don't have much expectations for Yuvraj on a turning track.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:21 am

confuzzled dude wrote:
nevada wrote:As AZ said some time ago, duckster will go out of the team only if injury forces him to. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Ball of the day

Perhaps he is not the force he was in the past, but it was Sachin Tendulkar's
misfortune to be on the receiving end of an excellent ball from Monty
Panesar. Delivered from round the wicket, drifting towards leg stump,
but then pitching and turning sharply, it clipped the top of off as a
groping Tendulkar was bowled for the fourth time in his last five Test
innings. You have to go back to 2002, when he was bowled five times in
six innings, to find a comparable period in his career. The harsh may
criticise him for playing slightly across the line, but perhaps the
concern should be more that, for the second innings in succession, he
mis-read the flight. Maybe it is a sign of age; maybe it is a sign of
low confidence but, in his last six Tests and nine innings, Tendulkar is
now averaging just 16.11 with a highest score of 27. The silence that greeted his dismissal amply expressed the disappointment and, perhaps, the concern of his home crowd.

nothing sadder than an aging colossus not knowing when to quit. ponting seems to be going through the same thing. i hope they come to their senses and retire. it is tough to watch them both deteriorate like this.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:26 am

harbhajan and yuvraj are both patronage hires. they are in the team for one reason and one reason only -- they apply the vacuum to dhoni like nobody else can.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:33 am

so this pujara is the real deal? i'd like to see him bat on a real green top, under english conditions, and the hard wickets of SA and australia before i make up my mind and start calling him silly things like the next coming of RD.

by confuzzled dude Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:42 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:so this pujara is the real deal? i'd like to see him bat on a real green top, under english conditions, and the hard wickets of SA and australia before i make up my mind and start calling him silly things like the next coming of RD.

I made similar comments after first test, but at least he seems to have the right mental makeup to become a successful test bat, especially at #3 position. I take that as a positive and would persist with him when things go wrong, in other words don't dump him when he fails in 3 or 4 successive test matches.

by nevada Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:57 am

Real deal or not, he is the best we have. He wants to bat all day and values his wicket - a rare species in these IPL infested times. He will struggle abroad at least initially but seems like the type who will learn and adapt.

by confuzzled dude Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:59 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
nothing sadder than an aging colossus not knowing when to quit. ponting seems to be going through the same thing. i hope they come to their senses and retire. it is tough to watch them both deteriorate like this.

Ponting scored a double & a ton, and a couple of fifties this year and averages pretty good, OTOH, Sachin looks completely jaded, perhaps still missing his longtime teammates and having tough time adjusting.

by nevada Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:34 pm

Dhobi's spin from day one formula hasn't worked out too well it seems. England hasn't rolled over and only Ojha is sticking to the plan of taking wickets. Too many "incumbents" in this team - Gambhir, 10dulkar, Yuvraj, Bhajji to name a few.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:40 pm

nevada wrote:Dhobi's spin from day one formula hasn't worked out too well it seems. England hasn't rolled over and only Ojha is sticking to the plan of taking wickets. Too many "incumbents" in this team - Gambhir, 10dulkar, Yuvraj, Bhajji to name a few.

What TenDucker scores ANYONE can score - Manoj Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Robin Bist, and heck...even Murali Vijay, Nohit Sharma, or Ravindra Jadeja.

It is high time this "Courtesy batsman" is dropped unceremoniously (will never happen tho').

This man "Cook" is scoring centuries at such a rate (22 centuries by age 26 in just 5 years), he is well on his way to score more than 50 by age 35. At that time, Tendulkar will be 48 and hope he will score in double digits once in a while.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:45 pm

ashwin has great potential but has no patience. he has to learn the virtues of landing the ball at the same spot over after over, nagging the batsman until he makes a mistake and yields. i feel his bowling has been vitiated by t20.

by confuzzled dude Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:49 pm

nevada wrote:Dhobi's spin from day one formula hasn't worked out too well it seems. England hasn't rolled over and only Ojha is sticking to the plan of taking wickets. Too many "incumbents" in this team - Gambhir, 10dulkar, Yuvraj, Bhajji to name a few.

Damn it! this is so disappointing, sure Indian team has not learned to be ruthless. Aside, Cook has played almost as many tests as KP!

by Merlot Daruwala Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:58 pm

All you devotees of test cricket, rejoice. At least in Mumbai, there are thousands of people willing to shell out good money to queue up for the tickets, queue up some more to enter and then sit in the open with the hot sun beating down all day to watch a bunch of grown men in white loitering on the green.

Watching the drip-drip-drip of a leaky faucet at home might have been more entertaining. And free.

So how did I survive? Airconditioning, lots of chilled (lawnmower) beer and great conversation.

by confuzzled dude Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:40 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:All you devotees of test cricket, rejoice. At least in Mumbai, there are thousands of people willing to shell out good money to queue up for the tickets, queue up some more to enter and then sit in the open with the hot sun beating down all day to watch a bunch of grown men in white loitering on the green.

Watching the drip-drip-drip of a leaky faucet at home might have been more entertaining. And free.

So how did I survive? Airconditioning, lots of chilled (lawnmower) beer and great conversation.

So they have club seats at Wankhede and they sell beer too. That's great.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:16 am

Gavaskar is all upset with Sehwag's stance at slip position.

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:32 am

He should be upset with duckster showing up on the field instead of the commentary box.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:39 am

i note that the break from test cricket has done nothing to blunt bhajji's coruscating ineffectiveness. warms the cockles of one's heart.

by truthbetold Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:43 am

England is gaining control over the test after firmly neutralizing India's main weapons. Dhoni did not show any inclination to take risks to break partnerships. Once the opposing team establishes command he just waits for the divine break.
India could still make a match of it unless England makes some 500 plus.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:46 am

the problem is not with dhoni. the problem is t20 cricket robbing our spinners of their most precious organ -- their brains.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:58 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i note that the break from test cricket has done nothing to blunt bhajji's coruscating ineffectiveness. warms the cockles of one's heart.

Didn't quite understand all the hoopla about spinning track, and playing 3 spinners; Umesh Yadav wouldn't have been any worse, Eng beating us at our own game. We can't bat on green tops, can't bowl on turning tracks.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:01 am

78 runs scored in 16 overs.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:04 am

bhajji combines idiocy with ineffectiveness while diminishing neither.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:10 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:bhajji combines idiocy with ineffectiveness while diminishing neither.

He is expensive of all the bowlers.

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:11 am

confuzzled dude wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i note that the break from test cricket has done nothing to blunt bhajji's coruscating ineffectiveness. warms the cockles of one's heart.

Didn't quite understand all the hoopla about spinning track, and playing 3 spinners; Umesh Yadav wouldn't have been any worse, Eng beating us at our own game. We can't bat on green tops, can't bowl on turning tracks.

Umesh Yadav was injured or else he would have been picked. Dhobi the gambler rolled the dice with Bhajji and lost big time. TBH I myself thought Bhajji would do well since he is coming back after a long break but he has been a big disappointment.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:15 am

nevada wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i note that the break from test cricket has done nothing to blunt bhajji's coruscating ineffectiveness. warms the cockles of one's heart.

Didn't quite understand all the hoopla about spinning track, and playing 3 spinners; Umesh Yadav wouldn't have been any worse, Eng beating us at our own game. We can't bat on green tops, can't bowl on turning tracks.

Umesh Yadav was injured or else he would have been picked. Dhobi the gambler rolled the dice with Bhajji and lost big time. TBH I myself thought Bhajji would do well since he is coming back after a long break but he has been a big disappointment.

Ishanth is in the squad right. I don't really like this spin strategy as if top talent is at our disposal.

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:20 am

confuzzled dude wrote:
nevada wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i note that the break from test cricket has done nothing to blunt bhajji's coruscating ineffectiveness. warms the cockles of one's heart.

Didn't quite understand all the hoopla about spinning track, and playing 3 spinners; Umesh Yadav wouldn't have been any worse, Eng beating us at our own game. We can't bat on green tops, can't bowl on turning tracks.

Umesh Yadav was injured or else he would have been picked. Dhobi the gambler rolled the dice with Bhajji and lost big time. TBH I myself thought Bhajji would do well since he is coming back after a long break but he has been a big disappointment.

Ishanth is in the squad right. I don't really like this spin strategy as if top talent is at our disposal.

Bhajji and Ishanth are close competitors for the most ineffective bowler title. Atleast Bhajji can bowl the overs quickly and save some time.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:25 am

nevada wrote:

Bhajji and Ishanth are close competitors for the most ineffective bowler title. Atleast Bhajji can bowl the overs quickly and save some time.

My point is you have Yuvi and Sehwag who can contribute so what's the need for a 3rd spinner. Why is friggin Dhoni not giving ball to Zaheer, is he not fit enough? finally we get the much needed break

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:36 am

Saffies folding fast, 48/4

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:39 am

Saffers are done. Giving up so many many runs on day 1 cost them big time.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:59 am

Ohja gets the new guy, Eng 298/4

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:00 am

ojha is the only guy with some guile.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:02 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:ojha is the only guy with some guile.

agree.

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:06 am

During the lunch break one of the commentators(sounded like Manjrekar) perhaps not realizing that he is still on air, said "Not such a great captain is he? Dhoni"
That was hilarious.

by truthbetold Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:39 am

Max or some one said harbhajan was a patronage hire. Bajji did not learn a thing in the whole year. Proved his ineffectiveness in ranji. May be he will take all 16 wickets to follow. But a professional team has to have objective basis for selection.

India still has a chace if they can get england to fold for less than a 50 lead. Gambhir, tendulkar and kohli got to show some batting in second effort.

England win 70% probable at this time.

by truthbetold Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:07 am

Dhoni was prophetic. He said making a pitch that turns from the first day
takes toss away. It did. He also predicted that such turning pitches could finish matches in three or four days. This test is likely to be over by lunch or shortly after.

Dhoni obviously did not consult his batsmen who don't like green tops. Turns out they also can't play on turning pitches. They are strictly slow low bounce flat track ninjas.

Indian bowlers toil to break double century partnership but panesar restricts whole of indian team to less than double century.

One solution is dhoni to request dravid and laxman to comeback to help on turning tracks. While he is on the begging spree he should also enquire if anil kumble is available.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:41 am

truthbetold wrote:Dhoni was prophetic. He said making a pitch that turns from the first day
takes toss away. It did. He also predicted that such turning pitches could finish matches in three or four days. This test is likely to be over by lunch or shortly after.

Dhoni obviously did not consult his batsmen who don't like green tops. Turns out they also can't play on turning pitches. They are strictly slow low bounce flat track ninjas.

Indian bowlers toil to break double century partnership but panesar restricts whole of indian team to less than double century.

One solution is dhoni to request dravid and laxman to comeback to help on turning tracks. While he is on the begging spree he should also enquire if anil kumble is available.

yeah! pathetic. As many folks on this forum have been saying for years, our spin cupboard is empty, no point asking for spin tracks, wonder how Dhoni feels now.

On batting front, familiar middle order woes, We probably won't last another 17 overs.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:06 am

bwahahahahahaha @dhoni. he wanted turning pitches and he wanted the turbanator. yeah the turbanator did the job alright, just the wrong turbanator.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:14 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:bwahahahahahaha @dhoni. he wanted turning pitches and he wanted the turbanator. yeah the turbanator did the job alright, just the wrong turbanator.

This is what called adding insult to injury, isn't it. Collapsed in 3rd innings (on 3rd day) . Currently, Eng probably fields better spin talent than any other test playing nation.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:26 am

confuzzled dude wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:bwahahahahahaha @dhoni. he wanted turning pitches and he wanted the turbanator. yeah the turbanator did the job alright, just the wrong turbanator.

This is what called adding insult to injury, isn't it. Collapsed in 3rd innings (on 3rd day) . Currently, Eng probably fields better spin talent than any other test playing nation.

i'm more convinced than ever that the reason for the ineffectiveness of our spinners is t20 cricket. there is nothing to be done about it. it's a big money draw and no youngster in his right mind is going to give up the money for some noble goal of being effective in test cricket. panesar and swann don't play nearly as much t20 and it shows.

by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:32 am

i seriously think that sehwag might have been more effective than harbhajan, ashwin, and yuvraj. for some reason dhoni never gives him a bowl.

by confuzzled dude Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:09 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i seriously think that sehwag might have been more effective than harbhajan, ashwin, and yuvraj. for some reason dhoni never gives him a bowl.

That's a good point about t-20s, probably the same is true for fast bowlers as well, Dale Steyn appears to have declined since participating in IPL (though he never was a decent t-20 bowler).

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:13 am

I suspect that the Indian team suddenly went into tomty-tonty mode... 117 for 7 ???? on THIS spinning track ? The greatest players of spin against the english spinners on the home turf?

I never could figure out this great strategist Dhobi NOT using Yuvraj, Sehwag, TenDucker as stock bowlers to break big partnership. Why were not tried when Alastair- KP were batting.

Something is wring with this Dhobhi wala - the winner of 2008 T20 world cup. I suspect he is now getting into Bihari political mode of favoritism and protecting his own position. He is a batsman wasted (on top of it).

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:01 pm

Monty python devours Indian batting! Singh is king, spin = win!
I said after the first test that collapse against spin can happen for India too and it did happen. Big mouth dhobi should not have talked so much about spin from day 1, finish it in 3 days etc. He has an ostrich sized egg on his face now.
I hope England wins this series. Only then will Indian selectors be forced to throw out the dead weight.

by nevada Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:03 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:I suspect that the Indian team suddenly went into tomty-tonty mode... 117 for 7 ???? on THIS spinning track ? The greatest players of spin against the english spinners on the home turf?

I never could figure out this great strategist Dhobi NOT using Yuvraj, Sehwag, TenDucker as stock bowlers to break big partnership. Why were not tried when Alastair- KP were batting.

Something is wring with this Dhobhi wala - the winner of 2008 T20 world cup. I suspect he is now getting into Bihari political mode of favoritism and protecting his own position. He is a batsman wasted (on top of it).

I suspect that Dhobi is a facilitator for spot fixing. His stubborn, "inexplicable" moves might not be that inexplicable after all.

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