India's professional cop-out

I have followed Indian cricket since the early 70's and for the most part of it i was broken hearted with their failures after failures .The last few years we have won the World 20/20, Wkorld 50/50 , become & held onto 1st Test ranking & successfully run the amazing IPL that is the envy of all cricketing nations .I SEE THE GLASS AS HALF FULL . GO INDIA GO.

I AT ONE TIME THOUGHT THAT INDIA SHOULD HAVE GO AND GET THE RUNS IN THE LAST INNINGS AT THE WEST INDIES. BUT WHEN I CONSIDER WAHT HAD HAPPENED IN THAT SITUATION, I THINK "INDIA AND DHONI DID THE RIGHT THING. LOOK AT IT THIS AT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. ON THE WHOLE SERIES, ONLY DRAVID AND LAXMAN WITH RAINA REALY GET OF. INDIA DID MADE A TRY BUT LOOSING MUKUND FIRST BALL, THEN DRAVID,THEN RAINA, THE FAST SCORER IN THE GAME, ONLY LEFT HARBHAGAN TO GET THE RUNS ON A FAST SCORING RATE. THE WAY THE TWO SIDES WERE PLAYING THROUGH OUT THE SERIES, VERY SLOW SCORING AND WEST INDIES HITTING THE DOWN, ATTACKING THE INDIANS BODY. I THINK THEY DID THE RIGHT THING AND NOT TO GO AT THE BOWLING. IT WA A SERIES OF ATTACKING THE BATSMEN ON BOTH SIDES AND NOT ATTCKING THE WICKET? THE PROBLEM IN THE 2ND. AND 3RD. TEST INDIA DID NOT PLAY MISHRA, MISRA WHOULD HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE. THE WEST INDIES PLAYERS WERE GUSSING AT MISRAH BOWLING . THIS IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE WEST INDIES MADE TOO MUCH RUN

Nampally's comments are absolutely brilliant. I agree with him totally that if Mishra had played in lieu of Munaf, India would not have had to play the second innings and this silly debate would never have taken place though we won the series. In my opinion on the lines of Nampally's thoughts, Harbhajan was the villian of the piece even if he got his 400th wicket and looked as if he was Shane Warne himself and has even talked about being disappointed if he did not get to 600. Harbhajan is a big stumbling block and must go. In fact I thought Raina is good enough if Mishra also plays. Harbhajan should go back to the drawing board and see if he can get back the confidence to bowl at around 49/50 mph with flight and drift.Till that happens, he should be kept away. A match winner is one who can run through a batting not just boost his own life time tally. However, I think Munaf is coming back to his expected pace and that is good news. He can be a handful on wickets with some juice.

@ Ms. Sharda Ugra: I have two questions for u.. Have you swallowed a dictionary??.. Why do u have such a captious mind on Indian players/BCCI?? That was not a flat track to score easily and also u remember that it was not a T20 where the track was prepared freshly.. It was the '5th day West Indies pitch'.. By the by, u r a good writer though (if u avoid this 'pessimist' journalism)

I can't understand the Indian fans posting here who are satisfied with a mere series win. India lost 2 points in the Test rankings because they did not push for victory. And rightly so, since a series against the 8th ranked side should have been won by more than a 1-0 margin. In the larger scheme of things, with a Test championship now in place, the Indian team needs to stop thinking about series wins and start maximizing the points they can earn. The only way to do that is to win as many Test matches as possible. For the Dominica Test, both Fletcher and Sharda are not correct - it was a draw neither due to weather nor timid batsmen. The chase was a tough one to begin with, but India got into that position due to toothless bowling that could not dislodge a number 10 batsman for a more than a session.

I really want to believe my own theory.the whole efforts were to allow West Indies to Draw. in order to promote cricket in Dominica & indirectly support growth of cricket/economy in west Indies. to make sure one of the oldest beauty in the cricketing world survives. wow I feel so good being an Indian. its impossible to believe, #1 Test ranked team, world cup winner, T20 champs, IPL folks habitual of carrying T20 hammer, Legends of test cricket on the crease, Best young talent, coolest captain & most destructive Oneday player, game changer Bhaji, formidable lower bat order (if Fidel can bat for 37 ovr),slow but batsmen friendly pitch.et al.. pls do not tell me any other reason for offering a draw. in total disbelief, I did not move away from the screen, untill they stopped transmission. then I question myself.. wasnt it the West Indies, who after their worldcup defeat came, demolished, demoralised & went back with 3-0 test & 5-0 ODI win. I will go with my first line & Shardas first para

Posted by   on (July 15, 2011, 14:20 GMT)

hardly convincing,,,,,,,just celebrate d rise of indian cricket sharda,,,,,even aussies in their prime played out 4 draws on the trott against a lowly ranked kiwis,,,,that too in their own backyard. Its too easy to criticize and write out flaws of a team while sitting cozily in an A.C. cabin but dont u think d captain of worlds no 1 test team deserves a little more respect....

Posted by   on (July 15, 2011, 10:01 GMT)

The fans were short-changed. The umpires should never have allowed the match to be called off with 1 hour left. On the one hand people scream and shout about test matches not attracting people, and on the other, when people do turn up or tune on their TVs, matches are called off by the players. This is ridiculous.

What's the point in continuing this endless debate?? Obviously there are 2 schools of thought here... one thought the best way was to play safe instead of going for glory by taking risk... other thinks being a champion one ought to behave like champion - belive in own abilities and keep trying to win in difficult situations... I think both lines of thinking are right in their own perspective.. whats the point in micro-analysing the decision for so long... I am not supporting Dhoni either but I can very well see the reasons behind his thinking... fair enough.. he is the captain and has acted what he thought was best in that situation.. to say the least I dont see this as obvious and biggest blunder by India...

Specially considering the fact if its a rule rather than an exception!!