Nov 3, 2005

Congrats, Team India !!

India has thrashed Srilanka in all the first four matches of the 7-match Videocon cup series and thus won the cup.. They played very well in all the matches and deserved to be the winners. Both the teams were in full strength and factors such as toss, weather and playing conditions played minimal role to the fortunes of both teams.


My Heartfelt Congrats to them and wish they win the series 7-0 !!
Some points to ponder:
* After 3 1/2 years, India has won a one-day series at home. The last one was vs Zim, early 2002; they lost to WI in 2002 and Pak early this year.
* Batting first or second doesnt make any difference to this team; 3 of 4 victories came while chasing.
* Pretty much everyone has contributed to the victories though stand-out batsmen were Dhoni, Dravid and Sachin while bowlers were Agarkar, Irfan and Harbhajan.
* The body language of Indian players is soo different and positive.. I am hopeful of brighter time ahead for this team.
* All the batsmen are shot-makers (with 80+ strike rate), which ensures that never run-rate drops alarmingly; this ensures constant pressure on the Lankan bowlers.
* Thanks to the four consecutive victories, India and Srilanka have equal share of victories in the Ind v SL matches for the past 10 years.
* If one looks closely in terms of domination of one team over the other in the last 11 years, this is how it is:
India - '94, '95, '98, '99, '02, '03;
Srilanka - '96, '97, 2000, '01, '04.
If we win atleast 2 of the remaining matches, then this year would go to us; if not, I would give it to Srilanka, since they defeated in a triangular series in July.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

raju, r they still goin to play the rest of the odis even though india has won the series? I heard Agarkar became a dad recently, so he went to visit his wife in mumbai.

Ram C said...

R u watching it live or thru net reports? It would be worthwhile to watch them live, isn't t??

Raju said...

Nitin, yeah, they will play the remaining ODIs too, since it is a ODI series. About Agarkar, yeah, his wife Fatima gave birth to a baby boy but he would be playing the forthcoming matches.
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Ram, yes. I watch it LIVE.. During Srilankan Innings, I went to sleep; got up at 3 AM to watch the Indian innings.. I watched Sachin's previous two innings and Dhoni's 183.. :-) It is surely worth watching them..

NaiKutti said...

this team is just rising and its just all positive vibes around... looks like chappell and dravid combo would do the trick... but lets not get carried away... a win against SouthAfrica in ODIs and a test win against Srilanka would set things up for the ind-pak series...

Anonymous said...

so far the progress is good, but they need to rise even more,and try to beat Aus in some odis, and test. then only they will be fit for world cup 07.

Siddharth said...

yes..its been so exciting to see the revival of the indian team..full credit 2 chappell and the selectors..i think some of the bold decisions taken of late will pay off in the long run 2..dhoni is going 2 b d next gilchrist..i dont remember india winning 4 matches in a row!

rahul dravid valgha!

Raju said...

Karthik, yeah.. 'rising' is a right word for our team's performance. Arjuna Ranatunga also said India is raising the bar in each game.. Chappell-Dravid combination is indeed working wonders.. hope it continues... If I am allowed to, I would bet for Indian wins in the ODIs vs SA and tests vs SL heavily.. I am pretty optimistic about it.. :-)
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Nitin, yeah, 'rise more' they should do.. There is no contest coming up against Aus before the world cup, except if we meet them in the ICC Champions Trophy later next year..
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Sid, yes, really exciting.. Gone are the depressing thoughts on a forthcoming match... Now, each match is eagerly awaited.. We keep guessing who the next hero would be.. How many more wounds we are gonna inflict on the opposition.. If you read this interview by Rahul Dravid, it is pretty clear that lots of preparations have gone into moulding this team.. thats good. For India's winning four matches in a row, plz. check out here. I too remembered most of the 4-match winning streaks.. And add to that the 8-match winning streak in the World cup 2003.

Narayanan Venkitu said...

Good for India, Good for Indian Cricket.!! I am glad they came out in flying colors. Let's hope the trend continues.

Good to see youngsters like Dhoni, Raina and Sree Santh.!

Raju said...

Narayanan, the performance of our team is really surprising, isnt it? After a long time, they are playing to their full potential and that shows in the resuts.. I too wish they continue performing this way.

As Dravid mentioned about the 'future of Indian cricket', the < 23 year old guys like those you mentioned, if nurtured properly and given chances, will form the backbone of Indian cricket for the next decade.. thats very pleasing.. :-)

tt_giant said...

i was fortunate to see all the 4 matches we won!.

in my opinion, yuvraj is struggling.. mainly against spin. i think he would probably give way to kaif once he comes back.

7-0 ellam panna, srilanka thooku maatta vendiyadhu dhaan.

Raju said...

Deepak, nice to see you back here again..

just like you, I was also fortunate to see all the four matches.. Usually when the opposition bats, I would go off to sleep but, except in the last game (when I slept after 15th over in SL innings), I saw all of the action..:-) It was very satisfying..

I too agree about Yuvraj.. Kaif would replace him or JPY.. If the selectors push for Ganguly, then again only Yuvraj would become the scapegoat.. I have a gut feeling that he would come out good today.. since he is cornered.

Anonymous said...

Yuvraj Singh didn't do that good on the 5th odi. Wat happened to Sachin? It wasn't a bad loss for INdia, Gambhir and Dravid's century was good, although the team lost. Some of the other team members should have contributed a little more with the bat.

Me said...

i stopped following cricket few years back....except india vs pak or aus matches & world cup....but i dont think i would have enuf drive to wake up @ 3 and watch india playing.....u r a big fan...

Anonymous said...

heh, i agree with me. I consider myself unlucky when i see matches. Like, the world cup for instance, India played so well, so I though you know what, I should pay for the finals, and watch it on my dishtv, so i got up at 2am, and i saw the worst game i have ever seen australia killed india. then, i paid and was watchin the ind vs.pak series, where india lost. but watchin cricket is itself great, whether India wins or loses. Raju, is there a cricket team for UF, i heard UF used to have one.

Ram C said...

What about Sunday's loss? Whether key players absence played a part here??? Eventhen, it was good that they scored 280+....

Raju said...

Nitin, yeah.. Yuvraj continues to disappoint.. Greg Chappell wanted to give rest to Sachin, which is OK but when he dropped Irfan and Harbhajan also, the team got really weak.. IMHO, Sachin has some magical presene. I have seen the team lose to even Bangladesh when he doesnt play... I think he should be playing the next two matches.

Gambhir did very well, as did Dravid.. and I agree. other batsmen should have contributed more//. it was a good batting track..

And, about watching games, I am mad enough to watch any game.. I was watching even the WI-Aus game while at home on saturday.. :-) When our team loses, it hurts, of course..
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Me Welcome here.. yeah I know I am a big cricket fan.. cant help it.. :-)
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Ram, sunday's match was an aberration.. IMHO, with three matches to 'experiment', they shouldn't/needn't have rested three vital players. And, when Dravid could not come to the field due to the cramps, the team that fielded could have easily been the 'most junior' of the teams on field.. not a single 'senior'. Stil, Sehwag did a good job as captain.. The Wet outfield (dew) didnt help either.. Lots of positives to be taken from our performance still..As you mentioned, the score of 280+ and the way the match went (almost) to the wire..

Raju said...

Nitin, no no.. dont ever think about 'luck' factor at all while watching cricket.. I know it happens but, we, as educated people, shouldn't make too much about superstition, should we? World cup disaster was partly due to Ganguly's decision to field first and also due to our bowlers' insipid performance. It happens at times that our team performs as a dud when we expect the most.. but I feel the future of this team is promising. I would strongly advise you to remove this 'unlucky' thing from you...

I dont know/havent heard of a cricket team in UF.. but my friends do play cricket on some weekends.

Anonymous said...

yeah,thats true to not get into those superstitions. So GP, ru goin to post a happy birthday Kamal?

Raju said...

Nitin, me too used to be a lot superstitious.. During several games, I wouldnt move from one place.. And at times when we lost, I used to wonder, "I wish I hadnt seen the match; may be they would have won'. But, nowadays I dont think so.

Would have written a detailed post dedicating to Kamal's birthday but with the too-recent posts on Asin and SRK, i would just stop with a PS note. May be next year I will write a dedicated post.