what is the NEW EXCUSE???

Obstruction 1

Why would David Hussey spend those precious moments watching the ball? Alternatively he could have used up those valuable seconds in sprinting to the danger end. Shouldn’t he? So, having watched the ball, his instincts instructed him to prevent the ball from hurting him or the wickets. Any case, the attempt was deliberate and he should have been ruled out.

Obstruction 2

When Gambir and Tendulkar attempted a sharp single, Brett Lee (bowler) impulsively attempted to stop it. In this process, he crossed and ran ahead of running Tendulkar only to pick the ball. Soon he realized the close in fielder had far more probability of inflicting the damage. So he stopped straight away to watch the action that obstructed Tendulkar from reaching the crease. In this case the obstruction wasn’t deliberate. So Tendulkar is (rightfully ruled) out.

This is my take on the controversial decisions.

However, when Dhoni blames the obstructions that possibly changed the outcome of the game, I’m dead against. Come on Dhoni, umpiring errors are part and parcel of the game. It is you who want to play without DRS as you were willing to accept the game gracefully with umpiring errors. Today, what made you to attack umpiring mistakes? Because, it isn’t DRS fault?

In any case, minus inform Clarke plus rookie Captain (making his way into the side after a long injury layoff) meant “Game presented to India in Silver Plate”. To some extent India cashed on the opportunity by pushing Aussies on the wall at 57/3(or 107/4). When India should have seized the moment, the bowlers started spraying all over (bowling down the legs, bowling short) thus allowing the batsman to sneak back. Adding to the woes, Dhoni in his customary style ran slow on over rate. If Dhoni had avoided his usual routine of every ball field change, India would have been better off bowling Yadav his full quota of overs. Even first timers demonstrate more control on field placements. Anyways, it was Sehwag’s turn to bail Dhoni from yet another poor over rate saga. Usually Dhoni would have avoided Sehwag (in other words asked Raina to do the dirty job) but public stunt and patch up job were the need of the hour. After all, the captain surely knows to play the game politically correct. But, asking lame excuses are poor cover up for the loss.

I honestly expected Dhoni to drop Jadeja when he said “There is no room for Experimentation”. Jadeja and Kohli are the two cricketers who did not sit a single match in this entire series. 2 wickets and 100 runs in 7 matches is all Jadeja could contribute to India thus far. How does this performance qualify him a spot in a must win match? By all means the trio of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Sehwag would have easily over compensated the half baked all rounder. On the other note, Manoj Tiwary and Rahul Sharma deserved a match ahead of Jadeja.

If Dhoni carry any anticipation of upsetting in-form Sri Lanka with bonus points – it is nothing but chasing Fools Gold. However if Dhoni make any of the following comments it is a public abuse.

1.      We will be playing for pride.

2.      We did not play to our potential.

3.      Umpiring errors cost the game dearly

4.      Luck was not in our favor with toss

5.      Our openers did not fire today

6.      We are a talented side, however the talent could not translate into performance

Tired of hearing these brick load of bullshits. Without reading too much into the final game India should field all the water boys. After all, what we did not do in 7 matches we are not going to do in the 8^th.

Epilogue

Having watched India’s tour of Australia for the past 2 months, I infer, the fans had more share of pressure than the players involved. Look at it this way. Despite watching non-stop cricket for more than year, we still held ourselves to witness one more pathetic display. Adding fuel to the fire, the games were played in the odd hours causing sleep disorder. Then add up the time spent on following buildup shows, expert comments, discussing strategies etc made us look insane. Eventually, supporting a politically polluted team is always going to yield poor return on investment.  

Dinesh

Cricket Lover