What a match it was. A Tie, Under Dhoni, ties have become frequent. India scored 236-9 in reply to Sri Lanka's 236-9. MS Dhoni again showed his match finishing abilities but this time failed to secure a win. India were cruising with Dhoni and Gambhir set but suddenly a run out signaled Gambhir's end and with it India's match winning hopes were dashed until Dhoni saved the day for India yet again. But run outs have been a feature in this tournament. Matches have turned on their heads due to run outs getting crucial players out at crucial stages.
Starting with the first ODI between India and Australia it featured just 1 run out. The India-Sri Lanka encounter at Perth saw 2 run outs and 2 stumpings. The Australia-Sri Lanka 3rd ODI had a stumping and run out each. The 4th India-Australia ODI saw as many as 3 run outs and finally this 5th ODI between India and SL again witnessed a staggering 6 run outs. So that makes it a total of 13 run outs and 3 stumpings. Compare it to Vinay Kumar's 9 wickets who is the leading wicket taker in the tournament.
Fielding standards of all the 3 teams have been top class with India surprisingly matching up with the Australians and the Lankans. India had always been a poor fielding side but the young legs have definitely upped India's fielding standards. In the Australia-Lanka match, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty at 80 odd runs for 1 with Sangakkara looking good. But just then Sangakkara got run out and the Lankan innings fell apart. On a good batting pitch like Adelaide where nothing was happening off the pitch, India affected 5 run outs across the 2 matches. In today's match itself, Sri Lanka were looking set for a big score with Chandimal playing on 81. But just then a brilliant run out by Rohit Sharma ended his innings and thus Sri Lanka could only manage 237 what could have been 270-280 had Chandimal been there.
There have been a fair share of mix ups too contributing to so many run outs but more than the mix ups it was the fielding effort. The ground fielding too deserves a special mention and the 3 teams have been simply brilliant. Countless no. of runs have been saved by the 3 teams in the field and the prime example was the boundary saved on the last ball of the match today between India-Sri Lanka.
Run-outs and stumpings have become a very important part of cricket nowadays. Players nowadays get as much disappointed by dropped catches as by missed run out chances. Instead of bowlers, fielders are getting the important breakthroughs. Quality of fielding has the power to decide the outcome of a match. India have shown improvement in the fielding department but there needs to be more emphasis on fielding than what is shown by the Indian players. Indians practice bowling and batting in the nets for as much as 3 hours but for fielding they reserve only half an hour or so. More importance must be given to fielding and players should remember to enjoy their fielding.
And most importantly players must remember fielding CAN and DOES change the outcome of a match.
Starting with the first ODI between India and Australia it featured just 1 run out. The India-Sri Lanka encounter at Perth saw 2 run outs and 2 stumpings. The Australia-Sri Lanka 3rd ODI had a stumping and run out each. The 4th India-Australia ODI saw as many as 3 run outs and finally this 5th ODI between India and SL again witnessed a staggering 6 run outs. So that makes it a total of 13 run outs and 3 stumpings. Compare it to Vinay Kumar's 9 wickets who is the leading wicket taker in the tournament.
Fielding standards of all the 3 teams have been top class with India surprisingly matching up with the Australians and the Lankans. India had always been a poor fielding side but the young legs have definitely upped India's fielding standards. In the Australia-Lanka match, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty at 80 odd runs for 1 with Sangakkara looking good. But just then Sangakkara got run out and the Lankan innings fell apart. On a good batting pitch like Adelaide where nothing was happening off the pitch, India affected 5 run outs across the 2 matches. In today's match itself, Sri Lanka were looking set for a big score with Chandimal playing on 81. But just then a brilliant run out by Rohit Sharma ended his innings and thus Sri Lanka could only manage 237 what could have been 270-280 had Chandimal been there.
There have been a fair share of mix ups too contributing to so many run outs but more than the mix ups it was the fielding effort. The ground fielding too deserves a special mention and the 3 teams have been simply brilliant. Countless no. of runs have been saved by the 3 teams in the field and the prime example was the boundary saved on the last ball of the match today between India-Sri Lanka.
Run-outs and stumpings have become a very important part of cricket nowadays. Players nowadays get as much disappointed by dropped catches as by missed run out chances. Instead of bowlers, fielders are getting the important breakthroughs. Quality of fielding has the power to decide the outcome of a match. India have shown improvement in the fielding department but there needs to be more emphasis on fielding than what is shown by the Indian players. Indians practice bowling and batting in the nets for as much as 3 hours but for fielding they reserve only half an hour or so. More importance must be given to fielding and players should remember to enjoy their fielding.
And most importantly players must remember fielding CAN and DOES change the outcome of a match.
Wow this is the gr8 but how can I see more photos of team
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ReplyDeleteoh buddy, you do not know how I felt when I read this post, especially when you said what a game it was...I unfortunately missed that game because I had to work that day :(
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