india should have gone for a win...

shared by straight point on Monday, November 08, 2010

at the end of day four... india were reeling at 82 for six with a paltry lead of just 110 with all recognised batsmen gone but for VVS laxman... with irratic bhajji on crease with him...

now bhajji is no ishant... he is known more for the flamboyance than the assurity ishant exudes when he is at crease... not many gave team india a chance at the end of day four of even drawing this test let alone winning from that position considering the factors were stacked against team india...

india not only needed to score some runs to first achieve what they would have felt a safe total but in doing so needed to consume at least 40-45 overs out of 90 possible overs on final day... with only bowlers at other end of VVS... and make no mistake... no ishant to follow...

india managed to do exactly the same with bhajji century being icing on the cake... and of course we all know how VVS revel under these, now his patent, circumstances... shows a character of this team that invariably finds a player who puts his hand up and say 'i will do it'...

so basically india had about 45 overs to bowl out new zealand had they declared and considering the last hour is cut off to call a draw about 30 overs to be precise to make things happen on a track when no wicket fell in first session... knowing the fact that it was easy to shut the shop on this track which had no apparent demons in it... even on third session of the fifth day...

but we would take none of it... rather than applauding the fact that just in past three test matches india has come from the brink of an almost certain defeat twice... ended up winning one of them... we must criticise... question our team's intention... motive... character and take moralistic stands on things which are highly subjective...

if team india is special... we the fan are even more so...

so now, being the true fan of team india,  i too think that india should have gone for a win too, however improbable it might have been, and next time even if there are two overs left in the fifth day i would demand team india to declare and go for a win...

technically it takes just ten balls to achieve it...

16 comments:

Gaurav Sethi said...

I was all for an overnite declaration.

Balajhi said...

SP it's more about attitude to the game than taking any moralistic stand. At least that's my view.

I am not saying India had a great chance of winning. I am only saying it should have tried to see what's there for its bowlers if they are asked to bowl out the side in 45 overs? Pressure can do anything and few early wickets could have panicked Kiwis. Even if the end result turns out a draw, India would have dented Kiwi confidence that they would carry with the bat at Hyderabad. India may become victors there, but at this point Kiwis gained more and India lost a bit.

It's not a whine but a point of view that India should have gone for victory with about 45 overs. They may know a lot and the pitch may not be all that responsive but end of the day you should get out there, try and win. That's the attitude I like to see in this Indian side. That doesn't mean, I don't recognise its achievements over the years. By declaring earlier, India wouldn't have lost much, that they didn't already in this match. But they could have gained if not the victory.

straight point said...

that's even better NC... :)

straight point said...

NB...

don't go too far back... starting from sri lanka series till now we have not had chance to field our best xi... won in sri lanka and against india with just about two and a half bowlers at disposal... won more matches than any other team even after loss of toss... and as i said won at least a test from the bring of almost certain defeat... if this does not show you the character of team india then nothing will...

there is one thing about being blindly brave and aggressive for the sake of it and one thing knowing when to hold back... which is equally courageous in my point of view...

apparently india think tank which consist of more matches and collective experience than the experience of most teams... that has worked relentlessly to put team india where it is today... thought that it was futile to go for a win under the circumstances then we should at least show some respect and due consideration to the same... rather than calling team... pussies or oh we are so afraid of trying coz of our past...?

straight point said...

won in sri lanka and against india with just about two and a half bowlers at disposal...

oops... please read against india as against australia... :)

Balajhi said...

SP, I agree with you that this team has lot of character and that is visible in its performance when chips were down. Also this team rose to the occassion. No doubt even when regulars were absent.

I am also not advocating blind aggressiveness. But asking a team to chase down 250+ in 45 overs doesn't fall under that SP. There were instances of teams wilting under pressure even on flat tracks. We do not know what effect an early McIntosh wicket could have had if Kiwis had known that they would require to bat around 50 overs to save the match. Instead of judging the result by lunch they should have gone out to bowl with an hour to play before tea.

straight point said...

the possibilities could be endless NB...

what if players like mccullum, taylor, ryder gone after our bowling and dented the moral of our bowling even if the result would have been same...?

now what india did is to made them hop in field aimlessly... grind them to knees... frustrated them for knowing that they could not close the game even after having them at 15/5 and telling them in no uncertain terms that you won't be able to repeat it again... with still 2 more tests to go...

would you still call it india lost the ground and its advantage nz...?

Balajhi said...

Well SP, if you see the match from yesterday's position then yes India did well. But if you see it from '0' then definitely NZ gained. What gained is more shades to its character. That's the plus, as an Indian fan, I take from this match.

Golandaaz said...

fear of match fixing allegations are making test cricket dull

straight point said...

NB...

sleeping after fourth day with prayer at lips and watching india do almost turning the game on its head where we could even discuss the possibility of even a faint outside win is what this team is all about...

and we should admire this fact about this team which is doing a fab job despite obvious limitations... :)

straight point said...

sorry gol... i could not get the context of this comment viz a viz post... my tube light is still blinkering... :|

Golandaaz said...

firstly the position that India should have gone for a win from where they were on Day 4, is crazy.

But lets say Dhoni had become suicidal and declared and gone for the win. Lets further assume India would have lost. There would be match fixing allegations.

I actually checked the number of times a team has won after conceding 450+ in the first innings in the 2nd innings of a match. Its happened only a dozen times or so. And none of them involved a 3rd inning declaration.

The moment we let NZ to 459, the match was over from expecting an Indian win. Add to that 5/15...

straight point said...

thanks for the elaboration gol...

even if we put aside the probable fixing angle... this is where i feel that we don't have real and practical expectations from our team that is doing so well despite obvious limitations in bowling department... we are so obsessed with the WIN propaganda we fail to realise it...

as you said out of dozes wins none of that featured a third innings declaration and we are talking about entire cricket history here... if i am not wrong... but no... why bite any of it when we can sit in our couch potatoes and talk moralistic stand "if we won't try how we could do it?"

what this team has done is unprecedented in indian cricket history but we still question it's attitude, intentions and motives coz we can...

Golandaaz said...

Agree 100%. I started following cricket late 70s, 78-79 to be precise. I never dreamed of India ever becoming the team it has now become. May be my expectations are low but what is unfolding in the last 5-6 years, I just sit back and enjoy while it lasts.It feels great to be #1 in tests

A Bisht said...

Though I'm responding on this post very late, I agree with you on this. I was also thinking that India will declare around 180 or 200 and then push kiwis to try for a win.

This I think what makes Aussies different.

straight point said...

ab... only if you read the post again... you will come to know i was saying contrary to what you have concluded... i defended why india did not go for declaration... :)

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