so the distraction from IPL is over now...
i heard murmurs about pitch and how the pitch was the reason for the defeat of saffers...
lets have a look...
if you collapse from 151-1 to 265 out on first day will you blame pitch...then how you were at 150 odd for a loss of single wicket...good batting?
if you field like you did...on second day...dropping catches like hot potatoes...infact dropping gangly when he was around 40...who later went on to become highest scorer of the match...
even after so much of generosity...you came close to bowling opposition out without much of a lead...good bowling?
you allow tailenders to weave a partnership of around 50...on the same damn pitch...carrying on with the generosity you showed previous day...bad bowling? fielding?
then you allow that last wicket partnership to screw your head so much that there was nothing left in it...collective brain numbing and you all simply freeze...
see i didn't even used the word c-h-o-k-e-d...
so you batted badly...bowled badly and fielded badly...why?
oh...i remember...that damn pitch...
But for that DAMN Pitch...
shared by straight point on Monday, April 14, 2008
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35 comments:
Nice post, SP.
Just curious, you still reckon Yuvi and Dhoni were careless with their attitude? I actually think their attitude thru their innings was a big contributory factor for the win....
welcome and thanks sfx...
consider this...
sa gets tailenders out very cheaply with lead of only about 30 odd...
then they somehow bat good and give india 180 odd target...which india does not make it...and loose the match and series 2-0...
would you still regards those shots in same esteem?
the point is that when you have opposition on mat with what you are doing...why try extra or out of ordinary and open even a slight possibility...or window for them to step in...
infact i also have grudge against sehwag...
apart from 309 he barely scored 100 in next 4 innings...what we are supposed to make out of this???
Well, my view is that a player has to know what he can do. There have been a number of cases in the not so distant past when Dhoni has made his own aggression subservient to the team cause. Yuvraj's playing for his place.
In this case, waiting for a loose delivery was a lower odds chance as opposed to getting a (sometimes unintended) snorter.
I think its unfair to criticise shots with a purpose as poor - Dada was playing the same shots - Sehwag plays them often (at crucial junctures).
The crux was that we were meandering along but that positive intent through those innings (VVS, Yuv, MSD and Dada) gave us the initiative and put the Saffers on the back foot. Thats where they stayed for the rest of the game...
to this is the difference between good and great player...
specially yuvraj...coz he is with team for past 8 years and yet finds no place in test team...the reasons can be many...but most significant one is that he never ceased the moment when opportunity presented itself...
his could have been hailed as one of the great innings on crumbling pitch but now its mere a good one...
I am agree SP. How can pitch be blamed when we have seen different type of deliveries. Neither we have seen every time extra bounce on the pitch nor low deliveries. There was lot of good timing shots, shots, good catches...Talenders made good lead.. When Indian can take lead why SA not? It was bad day for SA thats it.
agree with you SA with minor correction...there were bad days for SA in this test...
cheers!!
The points you have raised are valid... it was a terrible pitch in terms of standards but it had something for everyone including the SA fast bowlers... they choked. But am not rejoicing about India either.
scorpy...
i just wanted to highlight how conveniently the pitch was blamed as a cover of non-performance...
SP,
Wonderful post and I agree that too much is being made of the wicket.
This was no Sabina Park where the game was abandond after the first hour because of danger to life and limb of the batsman.
And the argument that a square turner is somehow inferior to a green top does not add up.
And the Proteas had the biggest advantage to negate the vagaries of the wicket - they got first use of it :)
Cheers
thanks homer :)
you captured the essence of this post beautifully...
infact homer, they had as much chance of winning the test match going on 3rd day as india had...Soulberry even stated its advantage saffers!!
SP, you have posted it all. Now I need not post one along similar lines for my impressions are same.
152-1...Kallis and Prince, and to an extent, Harris, were the reasons SA failed to clinch the series. The catching of course as well.
There was nothing much wrong with the wicket, lots of test matches used to be played on that sort of surface and they usually produce exciting matches. I don't recall SA complaining when they put England in on an absolute green top a few years ago with Donald and Pollock roaring in...
They batted crap and then compounded it by forgetting to score runs in the second innings.
9Well said, SP. Way to give it back in Greame Smith style! :)
Hey there,
Just been browsing through some cricket blogsites I thought yours was a very good read and like the original content you have on here as well.
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Cheers!
The pitch was a stinker, no question about that. But it was not a dustbowl of a turner that India (justifiably and traditionally) rolls out to visitors. It was a grossly underprepared track and more than the turn, it was the uneven bounce that was the worry. So both teams played on an (un)even playing field and you can't really say that pitch influenced result. South Africa won a crucial toss and had India batting on this minefield in the fourth innnings, what else you want? It was their second innings misadventure that cost them the match. If they can't oplish the Indian tail and set them a target atleast somewhere near 200, the demon was clearly in their mind and not in the track.
I thought South Africa were the 2nd best Test Team in the world, now they are getting annilated by a very good Indian Side, South Africa have got to get out of their slump to gain and salvage some pride. Every team at some stage goes through numerous highs and lows in their history, its how they get through them and learn from their triumphs and failures that will make the team/s a unique side.
SB, thanks mate!
as you rightly pointed out collective failres of kallis, harris...and de-villier's too...
Thanks rob for dropping by...
its also nice to know that for a change some one from non-subcontinent is not blaming pitch blindly...
:)
VM, yes...for a change it worked...
warm welcome wildkiwi23...
how dare i not follow thy command with fbi t-shirts on... ;-))
you are blogrolled...keep coming...
som
exactly...the demons were in their minds...
Good post. You were waiting to write that, weren't you? :)
Hi
I want to link exchange with u i am adding ur blog to my blog in hot links.
http://www.cricketone.blogspot.com
please u also add my link to ur blog
Cricket one
Please inform me.
Email : MianFaizanRasool@gmail.com
CG...
you caught me... :)
hi faizan
a warm welcome and thanks for dropping by...
i have blog rolled you..
If they were drug abusing rockers, the proteas would choke on their own vomit.
As cricketers, they just choke at the sight of a big win.
Cracker write SP. Regret the damned team didn't get a damn pitch.
Hi
Thanks for adding my blog!
But Please remove Faizan's From my link text!
Faizan is my name not my blog name :)
Only Add " Cricket one "
Thank u
thanks NC!!
i think more than us they need paddy upton...
Faizan
as you please sir!!
very soon, paddy upton might need to use paddy upton
:)) NC!!
Hi Straightpoint..
Nice post... i wud like to add that now ppl shud stop cribbing about spinning tracks n learn on how to play on them.. i dont see anything wrong in preparing a spinning track when that is our strenght.. esp against teams like SA, Eng, etc...
about the sehwag grudge.. well i feel we shud play sehwag only once in 10-11 matches.. his performance in one.. will be compensated in the other 10 matches in which he wud be absent.. ;) :P
exactly trideep...
you have cracked the code for sehwag... ;-))
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