Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Chokers R Us

What else is left to be said?

Posted by Homer at 5/06/2009 01:47:00 PM

14 comments:

Tifosi Guy said...

No predos on 8 out of 8, eazy doozy ?? :)

This the choke of all chokes - I can't believe I've jinxed the team to this extent! Sorry mate

Who know maybe they've hit the bottom of the trough and only way is up from here. Good luck !

2:06 PM, May 06, 2009
Homer said...

We are not out of it yet TG... 6 games to go before the semis.. 6 wins will see us through.

Cheers,

2:44 PM, May 06, 2009
Anonymous said...

I don't think MI can reach semis because they lack inspriing leader. Sachin's body language is very poor and he lacks motivation skills. Jayasurya is not in his usual frame of mind. Their bowling also lacks depth. surely MI is not going to reach semis.

3:09 PM, May 06, 2009
Homer said...

Anonymous,

I agree to Sachin and Jaya and the rest of the team being out of sorts.. But there is such a thing called hope. And it will be a very brave person to bet against Mumbai, for all its faults.

Thanks for your comments and welcome to the blog.

Cheers,

3:23 PM, May 06, 2009
Pontings_baldspot said...

chokers?!?!?! arent u being a little harsh?? maybe they're not as good as u think they are!!! :-)

3:50 PM, May 06, 2009
Homer said...

Pontings,

If they were not good enough ( by whatever yardstick), they would not be competitive for 3/4th of the game only to lose in the final fourth.

The talent is there, the application is missing.

Cheers,

9:12 PM, May 06, 2009
raj said...

Homer, do you think Bhajji needs to be kicked out of the team? If you need a pinch hitter who can dart the ball across, why not use Ashraful? I am not saying this becausee of Bhajji's failure in this IPL, but in general, his style of darting on the pads was always going to end tragically like this. Look at young spinners using flight, guile and imagination and look at this temperamental sardar trying to coast through by darting fast ones on the pads. No wonder the crafty youngsters are succeeding while the jaded, brainless Bhajji fails when it matters. I am sure he will get a 5 wkt haul in one of the matches and then ride on it for another 10 matches. If you are talking of application and proper usage of talent, then this is the guy to go after. In jrod's words, tremendous waste of sperm :-)

3:14 AM, May 07, 2009
Homer said...

Maybe so Raj, but there is a limit of 4 foreign players per side. Which rules Ashraful out.

Is Bhajji unimaginative? Probably.But show me another off spinner in the IPL who isnt a dart thrower. Even Murali bowls faster and flatter in the air.

Cheers,

8:22 AM, May 07, 2009
raj said...

Why dont you try Chetanya Nanda? You've got nothing to lose, have you? I think Sachin will suffer for his Harbhajan-affliction, just like he did for his Agarkar-affliction during his stint as captain. This is where Dhoni excels. He had his Joginder-affliction but woke up just in time to find a new object of affection.

9:44 AM, May 07, 2009
raj said...

To answer your question, Ramesh Powar. Who is also from Mumbai. Ofcourse, his results arent that great, though :-).
The fact that Bhajji has 330 test wickets is a testimony to the poor ability of International batsmen(especially an all-time great batsman from Australia) to play a half-decent spinner, who doesnt even possess guile and imagination.
Bhajji is supposed to be a pinch hitter. And what did he do yesterday? If you are picked for your economic bowling and decen tbatting skills, justify it by delivering in situations like yesterday. Instead, he crumbled when faced with pressure while batting - I think, that makes his pinch hitting superfluous. It is not of much use. So, i'd say, stop justifying his place by saying he provides batting strength. He doesnt. In a critical situation, he is bound to do daft things and perish as a batsman, That leaves his bowling which has been poor anyway. A daring captain will drop him if only to kick him and make him feel insulted so next match he'll come back with a point to prove. Sachin isnt that daring I guess.
Compare with Dhoni who dared to drop Murali when he was cosating mediocrely.(Last year)

9:49 AM, May 07, 2009
Homer said...

I agree about playing Nanda.. will be an interesting punt for the second half of the tourney.

Also, since Powar hasnt relly set the IPL on fire, I will reserve judgement on the ability of off spinners in T20.

And Bhajji has delivered in crunch situations, especially as a batsman, in recent times. Let us not forget the 5 fifties he got against the Aussies, all in times when the team needed him to put his hand up. Or his 63 against New Zealand in New Zealand, again in a crunch situation.

Is Bhajji our best off spinner? Not by a long shot. But he has worked on his game and while his spin bowling may not be right up there, he makes up for it with his batting and fielding.

And he didnt bowl all that badly in NZ, did he?

Cheers,

10:06 AM, May 07, 2009
raj said...

Homer, thats the point. Once in 5 series, he does well, and kind of shuts us up. We must raise the bar for him. And kick him if he doesnt meet the higher standards. Just so he realises his full potential. Mollycoddling him is only bringing out the mediocrity in him. I mean, cant someone tell him "bete, dart fire karna thoda kam karo. Bowling bhi karo, tum kar sakte ho, 2001 mein kiya tha na, bhool gaya kya?". Cant Sachin say this to him?

10:22 AM, May 07, 2009
Homer said...

Raj,

The problem with "us" raising the bar for him is that there is no limit to our expectations.

Remember Sachin in the 90s and everyone expecting him to hit a 100 every time he stepped out to bat? And remember the disappointment on Sachin not getting more double tons?

Bhajji has shown ability - vide the improvement in his batting and also his ability to raise his bowling game when required.

Thats what we can ask for - 100% effort. Everything else is unreasonable imho.

Cheers,

10:32 AM, May 07, 2009
Anonymous said...

Anonymous, Sachin's body language isnt poor, may be team he has got is poor. The great man cannot play the role of 10 ther men. they gotta stand up and perform.

Hate to see Sachin being termed as bad body language guy. Dare not say that in India!!!

2:43 PM, May 07, 2009

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