It is a phase. U can't outright our cricketers for this. This happens in a game. In the past it was worse, Sri Lanka scored 900 runs in the nineties against us. We in the 2003 world cup our first defeat created a nationwide ruckus and then we went on to win 9 matches ina row, but on the day of the finals, Aussies got the better of us. So again, don't diminish your boys. It's a bad day in office.

a very good article.selectors should take note.who rates these articles?the man deseves more than the measly 0.05

It is not Dhoni or Shachin who
has been crowned by our ignorent spectetars becouse they must have no knowledhe about other great sports rather than one game called criket.

I am sorry...but ur article is completely crap....u only wake up when India or Indian players are at receiving end....U also wake up when u have to praise pakistan or pakistani player...Please change your mind set...one defeat is not going to ruiin everything...Its true that MSD team has shown inexperience in bowling but when these set of bowlers are winning matches u will not say anything..Please don't go for cheap publicity stunt....

dont make hue and cry after just one loss, its a game if murli wins sachin has to loose.... it does not mean that sachin is bad. any team is as good and bad is decided only by their last match...come on be sporty !! chill boys and do good in next game

Hi Avijit, you hit the nail right on the head.. Hope some of our esteemed selectors are reading your blog.. It is time for Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman to bow out gracefully.. In bowling, our cupboard is threadbare.. But what baffles me is , why Nehra, who bowled superbly in the Asia cup isin't in the squad given Zaheer's injury... Why are people like Raina not in the test team.. We should really be looking at the future.. For bowling we should really try out new IPL finds like Kamran Khan, Ashok Dinda etc.. Granted youngsters might falter in the first few steps, but we should be really looking into the future.. not just the present series

we should not start comparing & blaming the veterans just by one defeat... its the same team which defeated Australia in Australia, NewZealand in NewZealand.. Jst a game.. And who knows, we might see you writing the column after some days praising all about the same Indian Team & its veterans..

I totally disagree with you. WIth only these seniors we have come this far. FAB FIVE. they still have some cricket left in them. They can take call on themselves, i am sure of that. Just one bad performance cannot end the curtains. Youth should be bred, i agree, but any possible replacements you have i mind? Cheteshwar pujara will get his due soon as he has age in his side. He should seriously have been considered when Ganguly retired. But selecotrs kept faith on Yuvraj over and again only to see him fail. Viru, Gauti, Rahul, Sachin and Laxman are very inevitable in this line up. Youngsters can wait. Also in spite of losing the match, they have performed well. Dravid tried his heart out in blocking everything which came in to deny Lankans the victory. Sachin was his usual masterstroke, Laxman continue to be saviour and kept fighting till the end in 2nd innings. Viru slammed 100 in 1st innings.. What about the youngsters??????? Gautam, Dhoni failed both times. Yuvraj though got half century in 1st innings, he threw his wicket away. He was dismissed same fashion in both innings. can he atleast now learn to put heavy price on his wicket?
Talking about replacements, only Pujara you can find. What about other slots.? Rohit ? Raina? Yusuf pathan ? I still wonder why Pathan plays one dayers. He is fit only for t20s.

Pakistani (Proud)...

Pakistanis played well certainly the bowlers delivered goods though i agree that not a single batsman is a Test Great in the side right now but we have legends like Yousaf and Younis that sooner or later will be back. (This Test has few twists to be seen)

Indian Cricket: well every one knows at least here that they have not got any Bowler in their side, merely running in and throwing over one's shoulder does not make no one a bowler. There are better club bowlers here and I am sure there would be better bowlers there as well. I think it's time to make changes serious changes bring in new spirited youngsters.

I some how don't agree with the philosophy of playing an extra batsmen (Ganguly used to DO the same) cause your bowling is a weak link, rather the case should be vice versa. Play an extra Bowler when you have the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Laxman, Gambhir in your batting line up. Do you still need an extra batsman??

To me a more appropriate approach would be to push in few youngsters in the bowling as well as batting line up cause the time is near for the likes of middle order legends to retire or tire. Lastly selectors should find a spinner for Indian cricket.

One thing I have also felt is that the new comers are matched with legends like Tendulkar after playing a single crafty inning, they are over burdened, some are mentally not strong enough to take this pressure others start thinking they already are stars and later then get in to showbiz/commercials rather then spending time in extra net sessions.

Wishes Prayers
Be Blessed

Sick, One defeat and similar story unfolds in the blog...
By the way, even after only 88 runs, Australia is one of the best teams in world and so is India. Pakistan has flashes of brilliance which on somedays win them world cups.

First of all, if these players have any morality they should return the pay that they get from BCCI for their dismal performances. Besides why it is only with Indian team it keeps happening so often...? Why not with Australia? Either no one is sincere enuf to care how they bring shame to country or they do not have in them..! It is about time media stops gagaing these f***ers.. and move onto other games like soccer or haocky..! I wish I could say I have lost my interest in cricket but at least team has done enuf to kill the passion for the game . Thanks for that otherwise by now I would have killed myself over these bunch of self serving individuals... Kudos to Murali..! Thoroughly deserves it!

I think it's unfair to compare India with Pakistan. They are an unpredictable and inconsistent team that explodes one day and implodes the next. As for Lanka, instead of blaming the veterans, who seem to be the only good players fit for Test cricket in India, the blame lies more on the bowlers. Sehwag tried, Sachin tried and so did Yuvi and Laxman. It's our toothless bowling attack that allowed Lankans to pile up 500plus. With this sad attack, there's no chance we can stay in world top 3, forget number one.

India's performance in the
first test has been pathetic.
Our bowlers were just pedes-
trians who could not take
wickets. The Sri Lankan bats=
men scored runs freely in the
first innings. I quite agree
that we should now go in for
youth in test cricket also.
How long would we depend
upon Laxman and Dravid to
score runs? Even Harbajhan
Singh of whom much was expe-
cted has failed as a star
bowler for India. Murali
Murlitharan, on the other
hand, has established a rec-
ord which is not going to
be broken so easily in the
near maybe distant future.
He has proved to be the
greatest spin bowler of the
world. It is commitment
that brings rewards and not
ads and dancing after the
matches. Pakistani youth
brigade also is doing well
but Pak cricket as a whole
is in disarray. It cannot
revive itself unless there
are cricket matches in the
country. India needs to
pull her socks to wipe out
the ignominy of losing by
ten wickets in the first
test. Let us wait and watch.

Sir ... did u just blog and go or do you come and see peoples response? You are a man of confusions, you say its because of Pakistan younsters they could bowl out Aus for 88 ... sir things like this happen once in a life time ... like Kenya reaching Semi's of 2003 World Cup .... can u bet on this same team to give this consistant performance? And you compare this with indian team ... what a height of stupidity .... because we too had younsters in our team for bowling ..... and Just look at our batting ... only seniors have respectable score .... Another comedy u have written is ... you have admitted that we dont have any youngster to name that they will be in the team for next 10 years like Akmal ... then again u are asking Seniors to retire .... what a crap .... Sachin knows when to retire and you dont advice him what to do .... I pity ur kids ... they fail in one exam and you will name them loser ..... hope u read this

Sir conditions in England and SL are diff sir

You are right in saying 'Pakistan has opted for youth; we have settled for veterans'. Unfortunately our veterans happend to be middle aged, out of form, greedy, refusing to retire (shameless) bunch of cricketers with lot of political clout and heavy backing from their sponsors who are capable of influencing the selectors. I suggest the cricket lovers in India should teach them a lesson by boycotting all the products these veterans endorse and stop watching any cricket matches when these players are included. Even if we had lost the match with youngsters, there would not have been any disppointment. Atleast the young cricketers would have got some experience playing test cricket and would have build confidence. Besides, if the young cricketers are not good in playing test maches, BCCI should be blamed for the reason they brought the basterdized version of 1 day cricket into IPL 20/20.

Here we go again... one more crappy article when India loses... gosh, you guys don't have anything else... I mean this was heights... Mr. Author, why didn't you write an article when Pakistan lost in the first test?

This is really unfair to judge a team by one match. As the article is basking on youth talent of Indian cricket but just look at the score card and tell who is more stable and consistent still. There is no match of Dravid and Laxman in Test. Young player dont understand the meaning of Tet match. Its not abt hitting fastest century in Test match infact it is to tst your mettle, ur conviction, ur stabilty, ur consistency. Can u give me one player except MS Dhoni who has benn as consistent as Drvaid, Laxman,Sachin and Ganguly. The young player are so much fond of 20 20 format that they even dontwanna play 50 over match.I strongly feel these three pillar should remain in Test match so that these spoiled brats of MS Dhoni could learn something.

Mr Gosh,
Go and Get some life instead of writing crap everytime ... I dont knw how TOI allows u to write DOUBLE STANDARD ARTICLES.

I think author over critized indian team ,it is true that our bowling side is
comparable to that of Pakistan but if you will compare batting line there
is no comparison .When you say "have we produced a single batsman or bowler of
real class in the past five years", I will say we have produced Raina and
Gambhir outstanding batsman .I think author has too much negative thinking
about indian cricket that's why he is only looking toward negative side but let's
see Indian cricket from this way ,Today Indian team has no place for a palyer
who doesn't performe for a long time ,if player wants to stay in team he has to perform, such as
Yuvraj,who didn't perform and now he is out of one day team .It is true that Indian
selector are still biased for their selection but it is only for one or two
position ,not for all postion and I hope in near future we will have that
correction also .But I don't think one defeat give us anything to say against
senior like Sachin or Sahwaag .

A fitting wedding gift from team india. rightly said individual performance to secure place for the series.No joint effort to save the match. May be one of those matches where regulars 2 spinners went wicket less , as always Harbajan is one match away from striking how Often & when? SL capt makes a Ton , Team Indian capt.clueless to perform, probably enjoying honeymoon at BCCi cost.Well done boys 3-0 will be the outcome shortly Bravo.

2 good days for Pakistan and you shower accolades to them :). You are the Sanjay Manjrekar or cricket writers...without Manjrekar's batting skills, of course :)
To snap you out of your idiotic rant, Mr. Ghosh,
here's something:

Pakistan last won a Test match against Australia in 1995. Since then and as of today, your favoured Pakistan has lost 14 of 16, and 13 SUCCESSIVE Tests to Australia. Of these 14, they have been beaten by an inings 4 times, by 10 wickets once, and 4 times by a margin of over 150 runs.

India lost a match to Sri Lanka. Fine. But to compare India in the same frame as Pakistan who is having one FLUKE of a match at Leeds against Australia after 15 years, is, simply speaking, stupid.

Wake up dude.

When Railway Clerks pretend to be Cricket writers, this is what you get.

I think this article does not reflect a matured thinking at all. Its too easy to write off a team after a bad performance , don't forget the so called seniors being referred here are responsible for India's #1 ranking and yes that is the current ranking. Every match is important , you cannot leave out a player if he will not be playing for the country after 2-3 years. If he commands his place in the team today , he should be playing in the team , is he suggesting Sachin and Dravid do not deserve a place in the team , must be out of his mind 1

though cricket is a game of uncertaintity we are unpredictable.in this test we failed in all depts and our players were careless.though sehwag played very well but see how carelessly he threw his wicket in both innings.sachin and luxman played very well but we were disappointed by our bowlers who allowed s/l to pile such a big score thus pressuring on batsmen.actually match was finished in 3 1/2 days.it is pitiable but hope india will do better.see harbhajan and yuvraj were unwell but played.we lack bowlers and it should be taken care off.congratulation to murli so it is cricket.things will be ok in next test hope so.for completing 800 wkts in his last match.though we all are disappointed but should not be disheartened.once we bowled out australia for 83.

In test match you are asking for youth, you forgot what happened in one day series in Zimbabwe, if youth can't bear the pressure in One Day, how come they can perform in real cricket, that is Test. Its true we need to give chances to youth, but whenever chances are given they are not performing, they only perform in IPL or at the most in 20-20, thats not enough... Please don't judge these things with one match only...

This column is a waste of paper and of kilobyte storage space.

Yes, Pujara probably needs to be given a chance and Yuvraj needs to be rested and our bowling needs to improve, but it's a ridiculous assertion to make that we should opt for Pakistan-style youth rather than rely on seniors, even when those seniors are performing well.

Test cricket is real cricket. It calls upon technique and dedication, but also experience. It is quite different from the 20 over nonsense that simply calls for batsmen to come in and slog.

Yes, Pakistan pulled off a spectacular performance against Australia in the first innings. But what is happening in the second. Their bowlers are too inexperienced and impatient and with the Aussies playing the Pakistanis cautiously, the Pakistani bowlers have given up on line and length and are trying new things, which rarely works in a Test match.

Experience is critical to a Test match and India did not reach the number 1 position by fluke. Only a rank idiot would argue that we would be better off with a Pakistan-style team (6 Test captains in less than two years) than with the one we have now.

i dont know what is happening in indian selection and why they are not selecting irfan pathan?? he`s the best allrounder,who can replace even his brother yusuf pathan(who is playing one day game without doing much)

Every time India loses a match, there are people like this who would write that the selectors selected veterans only. this is cricket, and anything can happen. Besides, the team is nothing like the pakistanis. Each team is different. We had tried sending a team of youth to Zimbabwe before and we all know what happened. Now it is not because the team is old that they did not win the match. It is because Lankans played better. Next test, we will win. And how did Pakistanis win? They played well. They might lose the next game.
This is cricket . Anything can happen.

agree to the fact that we lost more so because of the lack of quality bowlers then the batsman here....

Dear mates, pls dont misunderstand me... I am not panic with current defeat, its part of the game...but I have only one objection... why our cricketers are named "LIONS" and that too for ...Decades?? Recall your memories, before 1983 nobody considered "LION" but in 1983 after winning world cup under captainship of Kapil Dev this word "LION" was pasted / superimposed on Indian cricketers without considering whether they deserve this or not?? Pls remember the total no of cricket world cups and our performance to justify as "LIONS" ?? ... Will "PETA" or some similar organisations will sue a case against these "PAPER TIGERS" to ruin the image of "LIONS" ????? ....wait..wait...I should make it clear that my reaction is not based on this test only....it is based on last 3-4 decades data.... DO THEY REALLY DESERVED TO BE NAMED AS LION???

Crap article by crap biased author.
TOI wake up :)

Please do not be in a hurry to praise pakistan. yes their effort was good but we are discussing australia here. they will still win this test match

Author,So where were hiding after Indo-Pak Asia Cup Match?
Also no comment about Sehwag's performance? :P
Such a "Barsati Mendak" u r..
Shame on u..

India tried youngsters in Indo-SA series and after their performance,all were telling we cant perform well in test without VVS n Dravid(Who were missing that time).

And as u r praising Pakistan's young team means YOU KNOW NOTHING IN CRICKET and I hope u r aware about Pakistan's recent performances.They are missing both Y's badly.
And this match is not over yet.

The height of illiteracy shown by this author.
Oh man,this person is super biased and still writing article for India's best newspaper. Cant believe.
It's high time for us to move to newspapers like Hindu.

You have some personal grudge against Sachin and it is evident in all your cricket blogs

Enough is enough .. A CBI enquiry should be doneinto the debacle.. After all it is a matter of national shame and insult.. All those guilty should be dismissed from the team (including selection committee)and fined ..The current team should be disbanded and a new team should be constituted from ground up in its place.. Only players should be selected on merit.. These jokers have made our heads hang in shame.. Today I don't feel proud as an Indian.. Send those IPL idiots , Lalit Modei, Shilpa Shetty, Sharukh and others to the wicket to face Malinga and Murali in full flow.. Don't give them any helmet and ask Malinga to bowl bouncers at them ..That is the only way they will stay away from cricket

Us emotional fools....we keep harping on old vs new..youth vs the decadents..! Folks ..lets keep out of all this crap for a minute...perhaps when this article was being published..the Aussies had taken the upper hand on Pakistan..In all likelihood on its way to win the test match !! Ponting flashing his blade when needed the most..the skipper performing at the most crucial juncture of the match !!! This is what one would term as CHARACTER ! Save Laxman who gives a semblance of grit , there is no one else in the Indian squad who is as tenacious and wins a game for the nation when most needed !!....As I had earlier mentioned in many of the blogs..India never is number one material ..yes..recent results not-withstanding. !! I always admire Srilanka as they show the most collective approach (amongst the sub-continent teams) towards the game without any ostentatious display and 'bogus' stardom !...They stick to their roles professionally and get the job done for the country ! Indian players could easily learn a lesson or two from their insular counterparts ( whether they would is a different proposition :)

Last but not least, don't even think about the pillars to retire rightaway...coz if they do... it would just take a blink of an eye before they go to 'numero zero' from 'numero uno' :))

lol nice comparision

INDIA HAS ONLY LOST ITS SECOND MATCH IN LAST 17 TEST MATCHES

AND

PAKISTAN HAS WON ONLY ‘SINGLE’ TEST MATCH IN LAST 18

Here you go again Avijit! I have been reading your blogs for sometime now.. Seems you are an ardent Pakistani fan (remember how you decided Pakistan "deserved" to win the T20 WC two years ago even before the cup began?).. However, that does not mean you have to deride India everytime.. And seems like you wrote a bit too soon.. Look what has happened on the second day! Pakistan will have streaks of brilliance but then it is sustenance that wins tests! And what has your dear Umar Akmal accomplished till now?? What talent are you talking about? Did you see his temperament and shot selection on the second day of the test? Well, I hope you see the point.. If only hitting a few shots were the benchmark then Afridi would have been an alltime cricketing great..

You say we havent produced a good batsman in the past five years.. Well then, either Gambhir isnt a batsman or he isnt good enough!! We know what your answer would be..

All said and done, just remember, India hasnt risen to the No. 1 rankings by sitting on its hind legs.. Stop being overly critical of the Indian team and more importantly stop praising your dear Pakistan at every available opportunity..

it is absolutely wrong to blame a talented test team like India. Younger players are finding their places in shorter version of the sport, both in ODI and T20, seniors themselves rejected to play T20 so that they dont want to hamper the young talent. now u r saying they r blocking the places for the younger cricketers. Test matches need patience which they will gain by maturity, like Gambhir showed and now he's back, players like Yuvraj who was given plenty of chances still not comfortable in this form of the game. So please do not blame the seniors who has given or still giving their 100% for the country. Dont worry Team India, I know ull come back.

The Indian team is a fake no.1 in the world. Really...the last innings when the SL openers carted nearly 100 runs in 14 overs whereas the highly idolised Indian batsmen struggled like crazy in both innings said it all. No other team with any self-respect would have allowed Murali to get the record against them; and so many Indians are feeling proud about Murali's achievement without an iota of shame. Also, I wonder how long Ishant Sharma will keep the "inexperienced" tag - I mean he has been playing in tests for more than 5-6 years now, and still bowls like a baby; bowlers of his calibre will not even get into the Victoria side in my country. Indians should stick what they are good at, i.e. to corruption, Naxalism and making babies.

Hi Avijit,
Are you made or TOI pay for writing such crap things. what a pathetic blog u had written, make way for youngsters.. I dont know by writing youngsters whom u wanna give chance as half of the Indians knw that these Seniors are far better thn ur so called youngsters and jus see the second innings Score Card , ur so called youngsters Gambhir,Yuvraj n Dhnoi all gotta out in a single digit.

Ohhh sorry i forgotten u want India to score less than 100 in each test match tats y u want youngsters in ur team, due to these youngsters only we cant able to take 10 wkt in a innings..

i dont knw y TOI paying so such mad ppl to writing such crap things which are totally meaningless and out of box, u himself contradicting ur words....

As u want youngsters in ur team but u knw tat in last 10 years India haven't produced a good youngster..

so finaly i wanna say..

"WAH TOI AND YE KYA AVIJIT" thoda soch samajh kar likha karoge nahi to mamu TOI paisa dena band kar dega....

this is the landmark where no bowler can reach well don e murli congrats

pakis bowlers have done fare job

but the batsman can not resist ausis and fell to very cheep otherwise it could have been a match winning lead any way still nothing lost

avijit i also think that toi should opt for youth instead of you...
your blogs are totally crap
it looks like u keep on praying tht indian team gets defeated so that u can take a jibe at them...

but like always our team will make u bite the dust..
and u better leave india..doesnt need people like you...

u r and ur stupid blog...were u sleeping when
we won Asia cup ?

Mr Ghosh, please stop writing, seriously....one day you praise India, the next day you fault them. You cannot win all the time. MSD has had a phenomenal record as captain and this is his 2nd defeat. Somedays you're gonna get outplayed. Case Closed. About building youngsters, I say first the media and people should choose, Do you want the No.1 Ranking or a good future....YOU CANNOT, I REPEAT CANNOT HAVE BOTH...Its almost impossible....India will come back & come back strongly. If India squares the series or wins it, for all those haters, get the hell outta here and that goes for you too Mr Ghosh...Over & Out...

It's unfortunate for India that people like Avijit Ghosh write like this, one who has never stand on a cricket pitch, leave alone facing a ball. It's imperative of him to write for indian team who lost to Sri Lanka in the Galle Test.
No team plays to lose, but the sick mentality of writers like him does not gel well with an established daily like Times Of India.

Ghosh babu, kubh bhalo.. If India had won and Pakistan had lost, your blog would have said victory of experience over youth. You would have then criticized Pakistan for exposing a young and inexperienced team and lauded the Indians for having right mix of youth and experience..

This indian team is known for being slow starters...atleast wait until the end of the series before unleashing your wrath...i think its too early to write off indians or glorify paks...

I think you are in a great hurry Mr.Avijit.Don't you know that Pakistan has lost 12 tests in a row to Australia & I have a feeling they will lose 13th very shortly.

Mr Avijit, you have written the "Bitter" truth which is not digestible to many of readers (only flaw was comparing India's complete test performance with Pakistan's INCOMPLETE test performance, which was not needed here)...surprise to see the comments from Arti and Rishav that only a player can write blogs on cricket?? As per Rishav, either you criticize or praise PERMANENTLY LIKE A SLAVE without considering "Win or Loss"?? ... Every one enjoy the win and criticize the defeat but Rishav's slavery thoughts don't allow to do so.... Mr Avijit, I consider only present and your present blog is really praiseworthy (whatever you have written in past is not to be related with your current article ....It is not Ekta Kapoor's endless TV serials....every blog is independent and different than other)...Thanks

How easy it gets for people like us to turn our laptops on and write our mind in them..

Does it require stamina? No..
Does it require technique? No..
Does it require saving yourself from media frenzies? No..
Does it require saving yourself from the burden of super-heavy expectations of a country with 2nd largest population? No..

I hope we all have got the point (if you are reading my post by now.)

I am sure Author has stopped reading posts or may be he never even started reading them. But somewhere I guess he is reading, because I still see someone pressing AGREE on posts favoring him.. :D

I am not a big cricket fan, and eversince people like Modi and assrgay have started ruining our beloved game by their puppet show of T20, i have stopped watching it at all. Though, i like watching one dayers and still get all updates on test matches.

I read all the posts on this page and some people have shown a very logical and valid attitude by talking about facts. I appreciate pakistani cricket, i feel they have immense talent, just shadowed under cheap internal politics.

As far as Indian cricket team is concerned, It deserves it first spot, and it is a result of hard work put in by people like Sachin, Rahul, & VVS. Show me one youngster from a present lot, who has the willpower like VVS and Rahul to win an almost lost match against Aussies in Kolkata..Trust me, i will write a piece of land for you Mr. Ghosh.

Just one defeat and people who never even handled a bat themselves started their ranting for some cheap publicity, and TOI very politely accepted their rant just for the greed of some clicks. No one even bothered to double check the logic and authenticity of the article and author.

Media is indeed a strong force, but it gets dangerous when used by illiterate people.

I am in favor of nourishing youngsters, but atleast give us some talented youngsters like Gambhir first...Why to create an unnecessary chaos by writing these articles?

Why such negativity?

Indian players do not want to call it a day even when they are past their prime because of the cash that is brought in once a player is in the team whether he performs or not. The money that some youngsters got from IPL and overrated performance in that tamasha cricket
made everybody forget talent and nurturing of the same. When Murali at 38 can get 8 wickets our Harbhajan could not manage anything on the same pitch even on the 5th day! Let us forget about our so called medium pacers! Once they are in the team only thing they do is losing what ever swing and pace they had when entering the term!

How can you pass entire judgments on two, immensely unpredictable cricket teams on just one day of play? Pakistan is known to be amongst the most inconsistent teams, and have pulled up stunning performances when least expected before, but that doesn't make them great, does it? Just see what happened in the subsequent days in the test match for proof.

Similarly, one defeat does not spell doom for the Indian cricket team, as your blog suggests. And honestly, PAK has produced better cricketers in the past 5 years than India? Seriously?

Also, didn't you decry the performance of India's youngsters in this very blog when they lost in Zimbabwe?

So, if we chuck the youth out,and phase out the veterans, who do we play with?

I too fond of Cricket . But now seriously think to change the hobby . when nation expected team never perform , because our team never play jointly . every player have their own reservation they do politics . whereas other country play with team . Though it may be co incidence of Murali to touch magic score but out captain who newly married said in the interview that they can not allow him to touch the magic figure . I also appreciated his statement , but at the end of match the statement was look like street play who I will see . I must appreciate that Indian found good cause for defeat, captain said we did not had Zahir and Sree for bowling , but no one question what happened to our world class players Sachin Rahul Yuvaraj , Dhoni ( number 1 in ICC ranking & Laxman ( bold men ) . This was the time for Sehwag to repeat Pakistan inning but he established thereafter threw the wicket , our fielding never being the world class . I suggest an inquiry should be setup as to how Indian player get such injury , may be because of more cricket or any thing else . We never anticipated third world cup win . some one said that in betting in final play India was ratted 1 to 30 and Westindies 1 to 1.5 . India won , first 20 20 not one was seriously watching the cricket because there were no star player we won that was also by magic . I must say Indian team was never consistence in performance . India fielding is so poor that if to organise test with any local team you will see the same result . At the end I must say that we as India should now think for other play where there is less politics .

Mr. Avijit

You seem to be a good writer but what up with all the flip-flops... I remember you praising Dhoni heavily after Chennai winning IPL-3 but then India lost out in the WC and you were blaming the entire team and captain.

It seems you praise them when India wins and scour them when they lose. If you have such a big mouthpiece as a TOI blog, I would expect a bit more even handedness and a bit more sensibility befitting your age and experience as a online reporter.

Reply to Owais: Few added comments

I agree with legendary cricketers in the middle order of Team India but I strongly believe that when you have the likes of such greats in your team you should rely more on them and they ought to perform that’s what make them great/legends so make the weak link Bowling more strong rather then adding an extra batsman. The way Indian cricket is moving on they’ll soon reach to a point where they would have a good T20 and ODI team but Test team would be like Our’s (Pakistan’s). You need to inject new faces but a right blunt should be there agreed. Add a few youngsters performing well in Ranji Trophy some where in the middle of Dravid and Tendular/Laxman.

On some other comments:
Agreed that India has been doing really good of late and they have got top ranking currently but to sustain or to be on the top one needs to be proactive a step forward and that’s what I was referring to in my last comments. If Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman retire with no bowler in Team India you are left with the following statement to ponder upon.

(From the Article) Dhoni’s overpriced and overhyped men remind me of the English footballers.

For those who think that it was a bad day well if this satisfy you wait for the coming bad days.

I personally am a Fan of Indian class in the bating department but Bowling can’t find a bowler is the squad.

Lastly the article is a bit TOO hard on Team India but it shows some concerns that need to be addressed.

Wishes prayers

Mr. Ghosh please be mature.Dont play with the emotions of Indians by creating such comparative articles between India and Pakistan.Even in Cricket you always want to compare with Pakistan.
An example of below average journalism.

India needs to blood youngsters like Pakistan did! It’s about time that Sachin considered retirement from either test matches or One dayers because he's now just simply occupying his position in the team! I know people won’t agree with this and i know what his average is and all but he's getting old and one day he will have to retire and he should do this now! P.S can’t wait for the next india Vs Pakistan test series contest!

I just want to ask 1 qn to this author?
Where were you after India-Pak Asia Cup Match?
I know there are various reasons :))
If you really have some self-respect,unbiased and logical brain,then reply my qn :)

TOI,cant u guys appoint some neutral writer for articles?
This author has some personal grudge against Sachin and always criticizes him sarcastically.He was publishing his blogs after india-zim like matches? But didn't publish anything after Asia Cup and Sachin's 200. I seriously dnt want this crap author to praise/write for Sachin(coz millions peoples know what Sachin is), but really cant digest this person writing for TOI.From last 15 yrs I am always following TOI.
Please write some quality/logical articles rather than this type of brainless articles.thanks

I can't understand this obsession of yours with pakistan. most of ur articles are pro pakistani and u seem to wake up only when pakistan does well. why wasn't there any blog written when pakistan lost the first test match? and moreover, if u want to be unbiased by including news of other teams as well other than India, then let me tell u that Pakistan is not the only team that plays cricket other than India.

This Pakistani obsession is bound to raise a few eyebrows.

//Just think about this: have we produced a single batsman or bowler of real class in the past five years? Pakistan has. One look at Umar Akmal and you know he is there for the next 10 years. Which new Indian batsman gives you that confidence?//

Seriously?? No batsman of class produced by India in the past 5 years?? what about Dhoni then. And even Gambhir got his foothold in the team during those 5 years. And regarding Umar Akmal, do u really think he's a test material.??

Your articles r not only biased but to praise ur Pakistani fellas, u started writing nonsense as well.

Only if somebdy could read this blog now.. Shame on you Avijith..! Never judge by just one match.. >>PD<<