Posted by Sandhana on (March 14, 2011, 2:38 GMT)

I would say, the Dhoni's decision to take on the batting powerplay when sachin and Gambhir going on a good pace. No need for the powerpaly at that movement. Sachin's is always pick the bad ball for big scoring. But, this powerpaly force him to charge all the balls which is not really needed when we are in good position in terms of wickets and the runrate. If we have good score and well set batsman on the crease, we could go for the powerpaly for 45-50, especially with SA like good fielding team who saves lot of singles to put preasure on the batsman to go over the top. Dhoni should learn how to handle the batting powerpaly based on the situation.

Posted by   on (March 13, 2011, 18:01 GMT)

I didnt know it was the Legend's 99th International Century... Wow !!!

Posted by   on (March 13, 2011, 15:48 GMT)

Hello Harsha Do you not feel comments like "We play for the players and not for the fans" makes an average Indian cricket fan feel really bad. Cricket is a big thing in India not because of the educated young lot but because of the average Indian for whom the match means a lot. Dont you think these comments belittle the average fan for whom buying a tv to watch the world cup is a big investment in inteslf?

Posted by chatwithanil on (March 13, 2011, 15:34 GMT)

Dear Harsha, as one of the avid commentators has pointed out, India is not yet through to the quarter finals but most people, including, I suspect, the media and the Indian team, assume that we have already qualified. If they are so ignorant, then there may be a surprise in store for them. It is really strange how Dhoni, who is otherwise such a good captain, always manages to mess up in the World Cups. Remember his obsession with Ravindra Jadeja, which led to miserable performance by the team in two T20 World Cups? Dhoni and Kirsten need to get their act together fast - else India will exit from this World Cup quicker than expected. Things they can do [a] play Sreesanth & Ashwin in the remaining games, [b] allow Virat Kohli to bat at no. 4, and [c] include Suresh Raina. We can't go through a tournament of this magnitude in the hope that Pathan will one day do well. If I was the opposing captain, I would want Munaf, Nehra and Chawla to play all the games!!

Posted by chatwithanil on (March 13, 2011, 15:29 GMT)

Dear Harsha, I think Srikkanth, Dhoni and Kirsten have got it all wrong in this World Cup. Ashish Nehra & Munaf Patel are not fit to play ODI cricket which requires players who are adept in at least 2 aspects of the game but both are incapable of batting or fielding and they are not such good bowlers either so I wouldn't have picked them in the 15, forget about including them in the 11! Going into the World Cup, the playing XI should have been pretty clear but the team's think tank seems to be experimenting during the tournament itself, which is so ridiculous. Yesterday, Nehra was culpable of not only very poor bowling but also of some mindless batting which prevented Dhoni from getting the strike back. As far as our fielding goes, less said the better. Dravid used to say that our fielding cannot improve overnight. Four years later, Dhoni is singing the same tune. But does any one care? And how did Piyush Chawla come into contention? He hasn't even done well in domestic cricket.

Posted by selfless on (March 13, 2011, 14:42 GMT)

It was so iritating to listen u say "99th centry" so many times wen it actually did nothing to the teams cause. His second 50 took 50 balls wen actually he shud have been scring much quickly. His slow batiting is the trigger for all the colaps. Mention that

Posted by NavalPatel on (March 13, 2011, 12:47 GMT)

When criticising his lower order batsmen, with justification, Dhoni should also answer why he so frequently takes singles early in an over and exposes the feebly capable tailenders to the attack of opposing fast bowlers, instead of "farming" the strike as long as possible himself.

Posted by   on (March 13, 2011, 9:23 GMT)

harsha ur the best commentator and analyser of cricket in the world

Posted by JPoncricket on (March 13, 2011, 7:56 GMT)

2 points I want to make: 1) While everybody cant stop admiiring Tendulkar's centuries, one aspect that everybody seems to ignore is how the innings loses momentum when he nears the 100 mark. Opposing teams have seen this and repeatedly exploit it by bringing the field in. Both the England and the SA match show that after Tendulkar gets his century, if he does not manage to carry on in 4th gear for some time after that, it is difficult for batsmen who follow to come in and start hitting immeadiately. I do not understand why no commentator speaks about this? 2) If India learn their lessons from the Nagpur match, then the loss woudnt matter so much after all - if you look at Group A, among the top 4 there is very little to choose- I think India would want to avoid facing Aus or Pak in QFs(because of their stronger pace attacks), but at this stage it is very difficult to say how the top 4 in Group B would rank at the end of the group stage.

Posted by   on (March 13, 2011, 7:44 GMT)

Indians always lost when ever Tendulker made 100