"Good thing is people won't moan now when matches in India get over in 2.5 days" : Ravi Shastri

[Abdullah719]

"Good thing is people won't moan now when matches in India get over in 2.5 days" : Ravi Shastri

India vs South Africa: Early Arrival in South Africa Would Have Made a Lot of Difference, Says Shastri

Johannesburg: India coach Ravi Shastri said that his team will not complain about the pitch and the conditions which they have been offered but said that in hindsight, another 10 days of practice would have made a lot of difference.

"We are not here to moan about the tracks because like I said at the start of the game both teams play on the same surface. The good thing though is people wont crib and moan when matches in India get over in two and a half days. Neither will they ask me what kind of track are you playing on. In hindsight, I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference. But that’s no excuse. The pitch we play on, it’s the same for both sides and I would rather focus on the 20 wickets we have taken. That has given us a chance in both test matches to win games. Yes our top order, if we can fire, it will be a good test match." said Shastri, addressing the media on Monday.

Shastri added that it is something which will be taken care of in the future tours, "Unfortunately, the schedule was such that you had matches. But am sure henceforth in the future when itineraries are made that will be taken into account, there is absolutely no doubt about that. You get there couple of weeks earlier and prepare." he added.

The Indian coach rued his team's missed opportunities where they let the chance to put South Africa under pressure slip but was hopeful of a good showing in the final Test.

"They have had chances in both test matches but they didn’t make the most of it, so when you believe you have a chance to win then you look forward to a test match. when you don’t believe you can win you don’t look forward to a test match, as simple as that."

Shastri defended the decisions made by the team management, saying the team sticks by the decision it makes.

"Chopping and changing overseas is easier. In India, you don’t need to chop and change because you know what the conditions are. Overseas, you go on current form and you go on conditions and you see which player can adapt to certain conditions quicker than the other. What are the overhead conditions for which bowler to play as opposed to what kind of track you will get, where you need a bowler with bounce or you need a bowler with swing. So that’s where the chopping and changing starts"

"That will always be the case. If Ajinkya had played first, and not done well, you would have asked me the same question, why Rohit hasn’t played. Rohit played, he didn’t do well, you are asking me Ajinkya didn’t play. the same would have happened with the fast bowlers. So when you have choices, the team management has discussed what is the best option and they stick by it they go by it." Shastri added, when asked about the decision to drop Rahane and pick Rohit in the middle order.

He heaped praise on the performance of the bowlers and said that they were many times when his team looked like the no.1 team,

"Our bowlers did a great job. I mean no one expected our bowlers to fire the way they did and take 20 wickets so I rather harp on that because for me that’s the biggest positive that has come out of this tour. We are here to live and learn from our mistakes and like I said that is the most positive. Even our top order, we go in with six batsmen, five batsmen and an all-rounder, so it means that responsibility on both sides on the top order is that much more. so you have to gust it out, it wont be easy." Shastri said.

http://www.news18.com/cricketnext/n...a-lot-of-difference-says-shastri-1638829.html

 

[Pete Rose]

its surreal almost to discuss an indian performance abroad where the bowlers did everything right and the batsmen messed it up.
this was a lot closer series than ppl give credit to india for.

 

[Sherlock]

But I thought playing against SL, on the pitches that were were supposedly akin to playing on SA pitches, was more than enough?

 

[Varun]

About time this walkie-talkie was shut down for good.

 

[Ab Fan]

Rohit shouldn't have been selected on basis of 2 matches vs SL in a high profile overseas tour to SA given you know how good A Rahane is against quality pace.

Performance is important but you have to value that with context.

 

[GrandMaster]

This is what happens when you don’t plan and don’t take your opposition seriously. SA is no SL.

India deserve to lose and rightly so.

 

[DHONI_FAN]

I hope India gets whitewashed in every format and we get rid of this clown Shastri

 

[Ab Fan]

There shouldn't have been a discussion related to pitch at the first place. Dont know why they are making an argument. The pitches were really fantastic.

It wasn't a case where Simon Harmer and Dean Elgar were running through a strong batting lineup in their home. And neither was any pitch as bad to be declared as "poor".

As far as result is concerned, this is India's worst result in SA ever on paper which only proves how poor the team management and their leader have been in terms of getting their tactics right.

A 2-0 loss with 3rd to play has never happened with them in their tour to SA barring once in history.

 

[barah_admi]

Not really. The bowlers have done well but much like the Ashes (England's performance), India have only had moments while SA have played more consistently and mostly looked in control. Both defeats have been thumping and arriving in SA early wouldn't change that.

What do they think would happen? They would have played first class teams? Those teams would have put out their 3rd XI lol It would have been no help.

 

[syed abbas]

I think that India have done well in the series-better than what I had expected.Their bowlers have bowled well and made both the matches quite interesting.The decision to play Ishant instead of Bhuvi backfired and have cost India the game.

This test series shows that test format is very much alive and needs pitches which have something for bowlers.

 

[Proactive_]

Many fans had already pointed this out when the SL series was announced. Maybe Shastri was too overburdened carrying Kohli's bags then.

 

[soso_killer]

its surreal almost to discuss an indian performance abroad where the bowlers did everything right and the batsmen messed it up.
this was a lot closer series than ppl give credit to india for.

India were 90/7 in three out of four innings. That doesn't constitute a close series. I shudder to think what will happen if India lose the toss and bat first at the Wanderers. The groundsman has left a lot of grass in the wicket.

 

[Syed1]

Too much crying going on.

 

[Varun]

India were 90/7 in three out of four innings. That doesn't constitute a close series. I shudder to think what will happen if India lose the toss and bat first at the Wanderers. The groundsman has left a lot of grass in the wicket.

Those are typically the pitches we actually win on. Refer Lords 2014, Durban 2010, Jo'burg 2006, etc.

 

[MMHS]

Guy should have started opening mouth few weeks later - still LO series left. I understand the disappointment, but they can't complain much about wicket or condition. At Cape Town, IND had the better fortune of weather interruption, while outside Asia, that Centurian track was probably the closest any Asian team can expect. And, that Test wasn't the 1st game of series.

 

[Bilal7]

What a clown. The only reason you haven't moaned about the pitches is because you got an Indian pitch in the second test and your captain got some runs in the account.

In 2019, give South Africa a pitch similar to the one given to Sri Lanka is a recent test and they won't moan about the pitches either.

 

[CadPakFan]

Now they're using the same excuse as Pakistan.

 

[Sam99]

The decision to play Ishant instead of Bhuvi backfired and have cost India the game.

Lol bhuvi played in first test on green pitch and got 4 wickets but also gave 80 odd runs. He would have been pretty avg in 2nd test as pitch was not of his kind. And bhuvi only plays when pitch has help for him else he warms bench.

 

[Abdullah]

its surreal almost to discuss an indian performance abroad where the bowlers did everything right and the batsmen messed it up.
this was a lot closer series than ppl give credit to india for.

Only because SA got the toss call wrong in game 1. I would have loved to see the Indians in on that on the first morning against theb4 quicks.
And the pitch in game 2 was such that ashwin bowled 31 overs on day 1 ( despite having 3.5 quicks available)
Yeah u read it right. He bowled 31 overs on day 1 in South Africa despite having pandya shami jasprit and ishant all fit and playing.

India royally screwed this up. The stars aligned for them and they still didn't make the most of it. As well as the above the rain for a full day in game 1, juiced up the pitch for a few hours where they came and rolled SA and then Steyn was out of the chase but they didn't get close in either game.
A massive opportunity missed

 

[soso_killer]

Those are typically the pitches we actually win on. Refer Lords 2014, Durban 2010, Jo'burg 2006, etc.

Actually this is a myth, I've seen India being bowled out for 66 or so on similar pitches. An odd win here or there doesn't make India good on green wickets.

 

[Savak]

A loss at the end of the day is a loss. Indian's boasting about taking 20 wickets should understand this is no guarantee they will take 20 wickets in the 3rd test match or 20 wickets cheaply and that South Africans will not bring their A game in the 3rd test match.

 

[soso_killer]

What a clown. The only reason you haven't moaned about the pitches is because you got an Indian pitch in the second test and your captain got some runs in the account.

In 2019, give South Africa a pitch similar to the one given to Sri Lanka is a recent test and they won't moan about the pitches either.

About 2019, how reliable is the FTP?
According to the FTP SA are playing 4 Tests in India. But I'm more interested in the five Tests at home against England (as per FTP). Is it legally binding? I've seen series against SA truncated before.

 

[Bewal Express]

The Indians have underperformed with one of their best teams to go overseas. Shastri is getting paid millions but nobody is sure what he does. Would the Indians be any worse without Shastri?

 

[Markhor]

Cheer up Ravi - "cricket is the winner here".

 

[Chrish]

Wicket in 1st game was overly bowling friendly. SA were all out in 130 in 2nd inning as well.

 

[Bubby]

India were 90/7 in three out of four innings. That doesn't constitute a close series. I shudder to think what will happen if India lose the toss and bat first at the Wanderers. The groundsman has left a lot of grass in the wicket.

On the contrary, what would have happened if India had batted first in first 2 matches.

 

[troodon]

Indian bowling was up to the task. Batting let them down. Everytime the top order was skittled out, the lower order gave the score some respect.

If India's top 4 can score 150 runs between them, they would win the Test series. The lower order can chip in with another 150 and 300 is enough to beat SA in their own home.

Shastri should address the inept and timid batting of Vijay/Rahul. They were in survival mode right from Ball-1. Can't fight like a chicken and expect to beat a lion.

That interview reeks of sour grapes. Somebody should tell him that Indian fans do not want excuses and tell that what would happen if the same 2 teams played in India. We all know what the result would be. What we want is results in SA/Aus/Eng/NZ. Otherwise, we will always be Ghar Ka Sher. Something most teams are good at.

 

[indipper]

At least he's not blaming it on league cricket. Difference of attitude. They're owning the responsibility while Pakistan's excuses are its their home ground.

 

[Suleiman]

Shastri phir ro raha hai

 

[Slog]

What is Shastri playing at? Does he live in an alternate reality?


Pitches have been fine

The pitch in second match was a dream pitch for any subcontinent team

 

[Sachin136]

What is Shastri playing at? Does he live in an alternate reality?


Pitches have been fine

The pitch in second match was a dream pitch for any subcontinent team

Did you watch the match? The second pitch was not batting friendly at all. South Africa's scores this series: 286, 130, 335, 258. The home team hasn't crossed 350 even once.

But he isn't talking about the second match. The first match ended in 3 days. If that happened in India (which it did), we know what the reaction was. The point he's making is that India doesn't complain about the pitches anywhere else, so other people should do the same.

 

[Sachin136]

What a clown. The only reason you haven't moaned about the pitches is because you got an Indian pitch in the second test and your captain got some runs in the account.

In 2019, give South Africa a pitch similar to the one given to Sri Lanka is a recent test and they won't moan about the pitches either.

The second match was "an Indian pitch"? Did you watch the match, or are you just conjecturing?

 

[Slog]

Did you watch the match? The second pitch was not batting friendly at all. South Africa's scores this series: 286, 130, 335, 258. The home team hasn't crossed 350 even once.

But he isn't talking about the second match. The first match ended in 3 days. If that happened in India (which it did), we know what the reaction was. The point he's making is that India doesn't complain about the pitches anywhere else, so other people should do the same.

yep i did

as for bolded part. Isnt he complaining right now lol

 

[Sachin136]

yep i did

as for bolded part. Isnt he complaining right now lol

No. In fact, he's saying the opposite by encouraging others not to complain either.

"We are not here to moan about the tracks because like I said at the start of the game both teams play on the same surface. The good thing though is people wont crib and moan when matches in India get over in two and a half days. Neither will they ask me what kind of track are you playing on. In hindsight, I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference. But that’s no excuse. The pitch we play on, it’s the same for both sides and I would rather focus on the 20 wickets we have taken. That has given us a chance in both test matches to win games. Yes our top order, if we can fire, it will be a good test match." said Shastri, addressing the media on Monday.

 

[BaankeJi]

India were 90/7 in three out of four innings. That doesn't constitute a close series. I shudder to think what will happen if India lose the toss and bat first at the Wanderers. The groundsman has left a lot of grass in the wicket.

What matters is whether India were in a position to win those games or not. They were. In both games.
If India had not made unforced errors, India would have won.

 

[big_gamer007]

With mindset’s such as these no wonder we suck.. We will never reach the level of dominance in cricket which we should have.. 1.3bill mediocre people here.

 

[Chrish]

With mindset’s such as these no wonder we suck.. We will never reach the level of dominance in cricket which we should have.. 1.3bill mediocre people here.

Well Saffers did moan about having unfair wickets last time around. Shastri is just pointing at the the hypocrisy of how it’s okay to create pace friendly wickets that end the game in 3 days but as soon as it’s spin, all the hell breaks loose.

It’s the Asian inferiority complex. But I am glad now teams like SL and Bangladesh are also stepping up in making wickets that suites home advantage without fearing criticism.

 

[Darkrai]

IDK about you guys but i like these kinds of pitches. Matches on fat tracks like Australian pitches are so boring-Ashes was atrocious. I think a very good pitch is where 250-400 runs are scored-healthy competition between bat and ball. At least we aren't bored out of our minds with scores like 250/3, 300/4.

 

[soso_killer]

What matters is whether India were in a position to win those games or not. They were. In both games.
If India had not made unforced errors, India would have won.

At what stage was India in a winning position? 90/7?
SA made unforced errors themselves.

 

[soso_killer]

With mindset’s such as these no wonder we suck.. We will never reach the level of dominance in cricket which we should have.. 1.3bill mediocre people here.

Yep, moaning about good batting conditions is ridiculous really. What's funny is comparing these wickets to the ones were Elgar takes 4/22. India should sack Shastri and reinstate Kumble. He is a Kohli puppet really.

 

[soso_killer]

Well Saffers did moan about having unfair wickets last time around. Shastri is just pointing at the the hypocrisy of how it’s okay to create pace friendly wickets that end the game in 3 days but as soon as it’s spin, all the hell breaks loose.

It’s the Asian inferiority complex. But I am glad now teams like SL and Bangladesh are also stepping up in making wickets that suites home advantage without fearing criticism.

Shastri is moaning by pretending not to. It's called being passive aggressive. He knows what rubbish they served us over there, and SA haven't even returned the favour, not even close. He's got no leg to stand on really, he has to get on with it. We even served an Indian wicket. I don't remember seeing a green wicket in 2015.

He's probably a goner at the end of the tour to England in any case.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

"We are not here to moan about the tracks because like I said at the start of the game both teams play on the same surface. The good thing though is people wont crib and moan when matches in India get over in two and a half days. Neither will they ask me what kind of track are you playing on. In hindsight, I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference. But that’s no excuse. The pitch we play on, it’s the same for both sides and I would rather focus on the 20 wickets we have taken. That has given us a chance in both test matches to win games. Yes our top order, if we can fire, it will be a good test match." said Shastri, addressing the media on Monday.

"We are not here to moan..." --> Then proceeds to moan

"I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference" --> Makes an excuse and the proceeds to say we don't make excuses

This guy is a gem

Anyways, as someone said above it's been a hard fought series and India should've won the 2nd game.

The good news is, ODI series will be a cracker and a treat for neutral fans
(goes without saying, I am supporting SA )

 

[big_gamer007]

Well Saffers did moan about having unfair wickets last time around. Shastri is just pointing at the the hypocrisy of how it’s okay to create pace friendly wickets that end the game in 3 days but as soon as it’s spin, all the hell breaks loose.

It’s the Asian inferiority complex. But I am glad now teams like SL and Bangladesh are also stepping up in making wickets that suites home advantage without fearing criticism.

Yep, moaning about good batting conditions is ridiculous really. What's funny is comparing these wickets to the ones were Elgar takes 4/22. India should sack Shastri and reinstate Kumble. He is a Kohli puppet really.

What Asian complex are we now gonna look upto saffers? Cricket is the third sport there after rugby and football probably any only the elite play in India cricket is the only sport played by majority of the population.. And still we are happy to win at home and when we lose we have idiots like kohli and Shastri pointing out that other teams don’t win in India?

No wonder we suck with such attitude.. Indian’s should think of dominating cricket it’s the least demanding physical sport and even in that we are aiming to be mediocre..

 

[Usman Chadda]

The India narrative is getting tiresome now. Someone tell Shastri and Kohli that its only India that is really good at home, most other teams are too. Its not such a big deal anymore.

 

[Oligochaetes]

I hope India gets whitewashed in every format and we get rid of this clown Shastri

Nice! We prefer India get whitewashed too

 

[Bilal7]

The second match was "an Indian pitch"? Did you watch the match, or are you just conjecturing?

I watched the match. Furthermore, the term "Indian pitch" or some variation of it has been used so frequently to describe that pitch by experts and former and current players that anyone who still believes that it was a traditional Centurion pitch should not be taken seriously at all.

 

[Bilal7]

About 2019, how reliable is the FTP?
According to the FTP SA are playing 4 Tests in India. But I'm more interested in the five Tests at home against England (as per FTP). Is it legally binding? I've seen series against SA truncated before.

It's a useful guide and most boards try to follow it the best they can, with some changes here and there.

 

[Chrish]

What Asian complex are we now gonna look upto saffers? Cricket is the third sport there after rugby and football probably any only the elite play in India cricket is the only sport played by majority of the population.. And still we are happy to win at home and when we lose we have idiots like kohli and Shastri pointing out that other teams don’t win in India?

No wonder we suck with such attitude.. Indian’s should think of dominating cricket it’s the least demanding physical sport and even in that we are aiming to be mediocre..

Kohli has never complained about “unfair” wickets. And currently every side is loosing away series. India will of course will face more scrutiny cause of no 1 title and all.

 

[dani2k]

Guy should have started opening mouth few weeks later - still LO series left. I understand the disappointment, but they can't complain much about wicket or condition. At Cape Town, IND had the better fortune of weather interruption, while outside Asia, that Centurian track was probably the closest any Asian team can expect. And, that Test wasn't the 1st game of series.

This..India had luck going their way in the first test with respect to the rain disruption and competed well in the second test if only in the first innings.

The batsmen left us completely down and there is no harm in congratulating an opponent who wanted to do well and proved it on the ground despite conditions not to their liking in the second test.

India should have played better and since they didnt there is no point now uttering huge statements. The least they should be looking for is to play for pride in the next test and try to do well in the LO series. That is the least they could do for their fans...shut up and perform.

 

[Buffet]

This dude shouldn't be managing Indian team. With his mentality, team will under-perform.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Wow. What a statement by a so called tough man of indian cricket. He is getting more than a crore for doing nothing and being a ******* of Kohli.

 

[Pete Rose]

I am not sure about this Shastri Kohli combo. Way too many opportunities for idiotic soundbites.

 

[Madplayer]

Quite a strange statement.

Matches in this series have been fairly competitive in terms of time taken to finish. Entering the 4th and 5th day.

So why would anyone be okay of a test match finishes in 2.5 days in India?

Or is he saying India is a home track bully?

Or SA doesnt compete in India?

 

[Sachin136]

Quite a strange statement.

Matches in this series have been fairly competitive in terms of time taken to finish. Entering the 4th and 5th day.

So why would anyone be okay of a test match finishes in 2.5 days in India?

Or is he saying India is a home track bully?

Or SA doesnt compete in India?

The first test was finished in 3 days, not counting the washed out one.

He's saying neither of those things. Perhaps reading the article will help.

 

[Abdullah719]

India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli Contradicts Coach Ravi Shastri On Preparation For SA Tour

Contradicting coach Ravi Shastri's views that Team India should have spent more time preparing ahead of the South Africa series, captain Virat Kohli insisted his team didn't come under prepared against the Proteas. "I personally don't feel that we didn't feel prepared starting this series. I won't sit here and point that out after losing a Test series. We had a week to prepare ourselves, five days because one day we were travelling," Kohli said ahead of the third Test starting on Wednesday. Shastri had said that India should arrive ten days early on overseas tours in order to prepare better after the visitors lost the opening two Tests by 72 runs and 135 runs respectively at Cape Town and Centurion.

"So we had that and we went ahead with that. As I said, we are not going to sit and think of outside factors that made us lose. It was our errors, our mistakes of not capitalising on situations that led us to the result being 2-0 so far," Kohli said.

"Responsibility isn't just one-sided. I think it's a collective responsibility of every one and those aspects (of preparing early) are and have been a point of consideration for a while," said the skipper.

Kohli said he is learning everyday as a captain and would like to handle the match situations better in future.

"As a captain as well, you want to proudly do better in situations when the game has gone away from you at times. So, I have thought about those things as well - how you can still keep the pressure on and not let the game slip away in very quick time," he said.

"I always keep thinking about my game, how I can learn as a captain and get better in every aspect of what I do. Even focusing on the positives, you need to be able to still work on your positives to be able to be a consistent international player over a period of time. I have never stopped learning and I will never stop learning."

A lot of Indian batsmen including Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul have had double sessions in the nets during the three days leading up to the match.

Talking about the Indian batsmen, who have come up short in this series, Kohli said: "We are looking to correcting our mistakes in these two games and intent is going to be a big part of it. Intent can be leaving the ball or defending the ball as well. With your body language you can get to know how a person is feeling. That's precisely what I meant.

"That's always going to be a big factor. When you are playing in conditions that are not your own, your belief and your body language in each minute of a Test match matters. As a collective unit that is something we have discussed and that is something the guys are looking forward to embrace."

https://sports.ndtv.com/south-afric...vi-shastri-on-preparation-for-sa-tour-1803815

 

[JackTR]

What type of language is this idiot using? and what are his qualifications as a coach? barking while commentating? His appointment is on par with Waqar Younis becoming Pakistan coach

 

[ayemgilani86]

its surreal almost to discuss an indian performance abroad where the bowlers did everything right and the batsmen messed it up.
this was a lot closer series than ppl give credit to india for.

even if they lose 3 0 this could prepare them for the upcoming Eng Oz tours, and they did play better than our pathetic tours to NZ and Oz where we rolled over and didnt fight

 

[big_gamer007]

Kohli has never complained about “unfair” wickets. And currently every side is loosing away series. India will of course will face more scrutiny cause of no 1 title and all.

Kohli said in an interview that how many TimesNow SA win in India. My point is India should dominate cricket like America dominates basketball in olympics however it seems we just suck at sports in general even the less physically demanding sports like cricket we are content to be a mediocre team who wins at home and loses away..

Maybe we should just accept the fact God cheated with us in terms of sporting abilities..

 

[Pete Rose]

even if they lose 3 0 this could prepare them for the upcoming Eng Oz tours, and they did play better than our pathetic tours to NZ and Oz where we rolled over and didnt fight

Putting aside, the objective truth that India have competed much better Pakistan in Australia (not so NZ, thats a more recent phenomenon), Pakistan did far better on the previous Oz tour than they have done prior. They had an opener score over 400 runs in a test series in Australia since 1986. They put up higher aggregates than the past. While no one denies that our overall record in Australia is comically poor, I would say we competed this time vs. previous times. I would argue that we made a match of it in at least two games, vs say England in the Ashes who wilted completely in every game.

 

[MMHS]

This..India had luck going their way in the first test with respect to the rain disruption and competed well in the second test if only in the first innings.

The batsmen left us completely down and there is no harm in congratulating an opponent who wanted to do well and proved it on the ground despite conditions not to their liking in the second test.

India should have played better and since they didnt there is no point now uttering huge statements. The least they should be looking for is to play for pride in the next test and try to do well in the LO series. That is the least they could do for their fans...shut up and perform.

I think, Shastri is under extreme pressure from internal politics of Indian cricket. What little I understand, there are 4 major blocks tussling - Kumble was ousted from South block, Ganguly was the front runner from east & Ravi from Mumbai/Gurjrat. Now, Delhi boy Kohli had his blessings for Ravi and it became a win-win for both, scratching each others back and they are literally the God of Indian squad - picking/dropping players at will, running mouth randomly, defining career of players.

This was all good at home, but average Indian fan/media is quite aware and intelligent these days - they won't be fooled by the home dominance or bashing SRL. SAF was an acid test for V-R pair and they are failing in that measurably. Had it been BD or PAK, probably paid media would have balanced the act for them, but in IND it's impossible - you can't do it just by gagging Lahore, Dhaka media. Besides, I am sure at the hind side, most Indian fans do thinking indeed - it's just the start - SAF, then ENG, AUS, NZ

Ravi is just trying to create some space where he can breathe a bit better & longer. Virat will survive always, because of his own game, but this charming chap doesn't have much to offer for a million dollar job.

 

[ayemgilani86]

Putting aside, the objective truth that India have competed much better Pakistan in Australia (not so NZ, thats a more recent phenomenon), Pakistan did far better on the previous Oz tour than they have done prior. They had an opener score over 400 runs in a test series in Australia since 1986. They put up higher aggregates than the past. While no one denies that our overall record in Australia is comically poor, I would say we competed this time vs. previous times. I would argue that we made a match of it in at least two games, vs say England in the Ashes who wilted completely in every game.

well i dont agree, it was not an engaging series, the match in which Asad Shafiq scored a century only became interesting because Australia made a declaration when they were 5 down in the 2nd innings, remember Misbah's amazing fields, not even defensive low division club captains would set those kind of fields
2nd test we lost by an innings in a flat track, had to survive the last day and couldnt
3rd test we competed somewhat I guess

 

[Hasan123]

Shastri should be replaced. Should never have got the job. I think Kohli needs someone who will challenge him. This combination is a little comforting for Kohli. He's at his best when challenged.

 

[Lefthanded]

What's disappointing is that no one can seriously blame pitches or conditions. Indian batsmen were undone by arguably the best bowling attack at home. The catching, selections and so on were poor, but the men holding the bats didn't do enough at the right time.

And it's disappointing because out of Asian sides, this is the only I could seriously hope for their success.

Pakistan will be mauled this summer, which isn't a great thing to look forward to.

 

[Chrish]

Kohli said in an interview that how many TimesNow SA win in India. My point is India should dominate cricket like America dominates basketball in olympics however it seems we just suck at sports in general even the less physically demanding sports like cricket we are content to be a mediocre team who wins at home and loses away..

Maybe we should just accept the fact God cheated with us in terms of sporting abilities..

Lot of things should happen. Rugby is pretty popular in SA too but they can't beat NZ who have 10th of their population. And SA is pretty athletic nation.

Not sure if you are serious or trolling but if it's genuine then you are overreacting.

 

[Chrish]

Baseball is the main sport in America who have 325 million people but they still have won only 1 gold medal compared to Cuba who have won 3 gold medals despite their 8 million population.

And USA have state of the art coaching/ training facilities compared to anywhere in the world.

 

[Chrish]

Baseball is the main sport in America who have 325 million people but they still have won only 1 gold medal compared to Cuba who have won 3 gold medals despite their 8 million population.

And USA have state of the art coaching/ training facilities compared to anywhere in the world.

Correction: 11 million but still.

 

[giri26]

Teams have become increasingly incompetent when they tour abroad unless they are faced with familiar surfaces. SA have always complained and moaned about pitches in India. I am talking even as far back as 1996. People talk about the 2000 series win in India, those two surfaces were not Indian like wickets. Both the pitches SA played on had lots of bounce and pace. I remember watching the Mumbai game and feeling, this isn't an Indian type of wicket. SA flourished and good on them. But whenever SA played on a wicket which had a spin and bounce they always complained. In 1996 when the series was tied 1-1, the final test match was won by India in Kanpur, SA complained about substandard pitch, in spite of India scoring 400 odd in their second innings.

India get lots of flack for performing poorly overseas and rightfully so, but we never blame the pitches for our failures. We might have heard some idiotic comments like what Gambhir said during the England series etc...But we never use the pitch to justify our failure. SA have done that time and again in India while they have had wickets where a team like Australia was shot out for 47. Well obviously those are considered as great pitches because there wasn't an inch on spin on the wicket. Any wicket that spins should be bad and poor.

 

[soso_killer]

Lot of things should happen. Rugby is pretty popular in SA too but they can't beat NZ who have 10th of their population. And SA is pretty athletic nation.

Not sure if you are serious or trolling but if it's genuine then you are overreacting.

Have you seen the amount of funding that goes into NZ state schools? It's nowhere near South Africa. NZ have the economy to dominate the sport, South Africa doesn't. Comparison is not apt. NZ should be compared to Australia, England, France etc.

 

[soso_killer]

Teams have become increasingly incompetent when they tour abroad unless they are faced with familiar surfaces. SA have always complained and moaned about pitches in India. I am talking even as far back as 1996. People talk about the 2000 series win in India, those two surfaces were not Indian like wickets. Both the pitches SA played on had lots of bounce and pace. I remember watching the Mumbai game and feeling, this isn't an Indian type of wicket. SA flourished and good on them. But whenever SA played on a wicket which had a spin and bounce they always complained. In 1996 when the series was tied 1-1, the final test match was won by India in Kanpur, SA complained about substandard pitch, in spite of India scoring 400 odd in their second innings.

India get lots of flack for performing poorly overseas and rightfully so, but we never blame the pitches for our failures. We might have heard some idiotic comments like what Gambhir said during the England series etc...But we never use the pitch to justify our failure. SA have done that time and again in India while they have had wickets where a team like Australia was shot out for 47. Well obviously those are considered as great pitches because there wasn't an inch on spin on the wicket. Any wicket that spins should be bad and poor.

No, South Africa has always destroyed India in India. As result they'd stoop so low and prepare substandard pitches every time a series loose was on the line.

Lol at the green tracks in India. SA have played India in SA on slow wickets before and they've done nothing about it. Why do you think Tendulkar managed at least a hundred on each tour and go missing for the rest of the series? He never played an innings of substance on a proper SA decks. We even played India in Bloemfontein they couldn't win there as well. Why would they complain?

 

[CanadianG00se]

No, South Africa has always destroyed India in India. As result they'd stoop so low and prepare substandard pitches every time a series loose was on the line.

Lol at the green tracks in India. SA have played India in SA on slow wickets before and they've done nothing about it. Why do you think Tendulkar managed at least a hundred on each tour and go missing for the rest of the series? He never played an innings of substance on a proper SA decks. We even played India in Bloemfontein they couldn't win there as well. Why would they complain?

Last time i saw SA couldn’t even compete with India let alone destroy it.

 

[Chrish]

Have you seen the amount of funding that goes into NZ state schools? It's nowhere near South Africa. NZ have the economy to dominate the sport, South Africa doesn't. Comparison is not apt. NZ should be compared to Australia, England, France etc.

By the same token SC countries are some of the poorest and most corrupt in the world. Hence they don't produce the balanced team and can't dominate the sport despite the large population. They just don't seem to have enough facilities at the grassroots level that some of the developed countries do.

India did dominate Olympics in Field Hockey by the way between 1928 all the way till 1960s. So, their athletes aren't as useless as OP is making out to be.

 

[Sean143]

There is a difference between a true seaming wicket and rank turner with uneven bounce.The former test your skill while the latter tests your luck!

 

[Chrish]

There is a difference between a true seaming wicket and rank turner with uneven bounce.The former test your skill while the latter tests your luck!

Two games in that series had "doctored" wickets while other two were just typical slow SC wickets. One of these games was washed out due to rain where SA were all out for 214 despite batting first and India were at 80-0 and the last game where Rahane scored 100 in each inning while SA team total didn't cross 200 in either inning.

 

[Chrish]

Anyways I don't think Shastri is any good for Indian Cricket. Doubt he is even involved in any sort of meaningful coaching.

Kumble was let go because he refused to dance at the captain's tune which didn't go down well with Kohli. Kumble's treatment was disgraceful.

 

[soso_killer]

Last time i saw SA couldn’t even compete with India let alone destroy it.

Feel free to check South Africa's margin of victories in India, you'll be surprised.

 

[soso_killer]

By the same token SC countries are some of the poorest and most corrupt in the world. Hence they don't produce the balanced team and can't dominate the sport despite the large population. They just don't seem to have enough facilities at the grassroots level that some of the developed countries do.

India did dominate Olympics in Field Hockey by the way between 1928 all the way till 1960s. So, their athletes aren't as useless as OP is making out to be.

Rugby is a minority sport in SA. The white minority makes 4.5 million of our population. That's smaller than NZ population.

 

[soso_killer]

Two games in that series had "doctored" wickets while other two were just typical slow SC wickets. One of these games was washed out due to rain where SA were all out for 214 despite batting first and India were at 80-0 and the last game where Rahane scored 100 in each inning while SA team total didn't cross 200 in either inning.

We can never judge a pitch until both sets of innings have been completed. Australia were 156/0 trailing SA total of 226 by 70 odd runs. They were scoring at the rate of knots too.
There's no point speculating really.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Feel free to check South Africa's margin of victories in India, you'll be surprised.

I did and score line says 3-0 to India. It could’ve been 4-0 if it wasnt for rain.

 

[Lefthanded]

India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli Contradicts Coach Ravi Shastri On Preparation For SA Tour

Contradicting coach Ravi Shastri's views that Team India should have spent more time preparing ahead of the South Africa series, captain Virat Kohli insisted his team didn't come under prepared against the Proteas. "I personally don't feel that we didn't feel prepared starting this series. I won't sit here and point that out after losing a Test series. We had a week to prepare ourselves, five days because one day we were travelling,"

Not directed at anyone in particular:

Not everyone is Kohli, and even his runs were scored on an 'Indian pitch.' It was a brilliant innings, but it was more an Indian than a SA pitch.

People are saying that sometimes Kohli forgets that other players are not on his level. There are moments when he recognises that on the field, but he's shockingly mistaken that if you come to a country where you haven't played in several years, you need to prepare by showing up early. And his approach will not work for everyone. Making that decision for everyone is a mistake I hope he learns from.

 

[soso_killer]

I did and score line says 3-0 to India. It could’ve been 4-0 if it wasnt for rain.

We lost 3-0 in 1996? That's new to me. Check again, come back when you've cooled a bit. I'd be livid myself.