The Sangamesh Konaraddi column

shekar: dshekar@yahoo.com: The charts are a revelation. It clearly shows some glaring deficiences of the top Indian batsman, including Sachin's, outside the sub continent. But I think Sachin has the talent and determination to adjust to different playing conditions. And Its probably Dravid who is going to be the key to the Indian batting. But I don't agree with the author about India not progressing beyond the initial round of the Cup. You can't predict it with only the batting stats. We need to look at the bowling stats too, and we do seem to have a pretty good bowling line up which can do well under English conditions.

Nandu: kgnandu@hotmail.com: Good one, Thanks for the statistics and the interesting facts about world cups. My guess : If India beats SA in their opening tie then we might well be on our way. India seems to perform best when they are the underdogs and when there is no logical chance of them winning. Regards Nandu

Nandu: kgnandu@hotmail.com: Good one, Thanks for the statistics and the interesting facts about world cups. My guess : If India beats SA in their opening tie then we might well be on our way. India seems to perform best when they are the underdogs and when there is no logical chance of them winning. Regards Nandu

dhandpani senapathy: dhandapani_senapathy@atl.checkfree.com: while comparing home and away records of Kambli, there are three factors worth considering:
1) He has the lowest ratio of away/home matches (Kambli 18/70=0.26, Ganguly 36/56=0.64, Dravid 35/37=0.95, Jadeja 55/101=0.54, Tendulkar 71/140=0.51, Azhar 103/209=0.49). This results in a skewed home/away record.
2. Even most of those 18 matches were played when Kambli started playing international cricket much before his very good test run. During the period 93-95 (in which Kambli played most of his one dayers), India did not play too many ODIs away from home. Hence it is unfair to criticize his away record.
3) He was never part of a full (test and ODI) away tour.



Ravi: ravi@cs.umass.edu: I am curious to know how Sachin performed in/out of the subcontinent as an opener. It might tell a different tale.

Rahul: rahulsinghvi@hotmail.com: Phew !! Absolutely correct !! Have hopes on the Indian team and you are going to be admitted to the ICU at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai

surendranath R Bada: sbada@hotmail.com: The last but one para of this report perhaps the most realistic or most optimistic words that will come from AZHAR after the WC99, if he will be the captain. The board has still the chances of replacing him with JADEJA, if the BCCI can take the real daring decision and to trust the Jedeja. The board has to consult many great payers, who are commenting the cricket around the world to take this decision. I would not reconsider V.KAMBLI. I always say that INDIA has to play FOUR frontline consistant bowlers and FIVE batsmen to form the winning combination. That is all.

surendranath R Bada: sbada@hotmail.com: The last but one para of this report perhaps the most realistic or most optimistic words that will come from AZHAR after the WC99, if he will be the captain. The board has still the chances of replacing him with JADEJA, if the BCCI can take the real daring decision and to trust the Jedeja. The board has to consult many great players, who are commenting the cricket around the world to take this decision. I would not reconsider V.KAMBLI. I always say that INDIA has to play FOUR frontline consistant bowlers and FIVE batsmen to form the winning combination. That is all.

sameer: samk@cyberdude.com: There r three types of lies in the world, lies , damn lies and statistics. so, I dont care what the averages say to me. bcos, I judge the overall value of the person to the team. If u dont give kambli enough chance outside india (18) matches - great to prove oneself.. that too not continuous ones, mind u.. What kind of brains is this? hmmm, so according to u, tendulkar is better cricketer than Dravid? my foot. yucky pessimistic character dravid can nowhere reach close to tendulkar. pls. do not compare these two? dravid doesnt even stand a chance. pols stop putting up such lousy columns in here. I like rediff.com bcos of prem, harsha. pls donot publish such columns from now on.



The Sangamesh Konaraddi column:
Sridhar: sridhars1@vsnl.com: Good.

Hari Srinivasan: hari_srinivasan@hotmail.com: I think it should be his last column as well. A basic knowledge of statistics and law of averages would tell you that a comparison based on Kambli having played a total of 88 matches and Dravid having played 72 CANNOT be compared with say Azhar's 312 or Sachin's 211. Such comparisons are at best very specious and at worst totally wrong. If you do want to compare, compare in terms of %, not absolute numbers.

sanjeev kudesia: kuddu@rocketmail.com: Excellent! It has all what one would like to say in brief about the indian team's performance and its players. Our most wins are on our slow flat pitches. Almost every time we fail to deliver when we play others abroad. Indian cricket control board, just like our politicians, never realize to change things for good and that is the worst part of it. We have got used to such conditions that it hurts to be us and what more IT SUCKS TO BE US !!! Would their be any time when we'd initiate a chain of actions to bring major changes in our game, fitness and above all our attitude. I'd love to see that. Still I wish all the best! Sachin, you are the man who could change things...!

Sekhar Banerjee: smarty@hotmail.com: Hi, I am amazed that even after looking at all these statistics you still talk about the miracles of sachin to take India anywhere. All these statistics should atleast tell you that Sachin is just a player in the Indian Team and in no way is he the only one in the team to perform. We should quit dreaming about Sachin taking us places. It is high time that people realised that only when the Indian Team playes to its potential are we going to win ... and even Sachin cant stop India from losing if the others dont perform.

pratik vaishnav: pratikavita@hotmail.com: yes. u r right. and after one more shameful loss in the finals in sharjah, i think we should boycot cricket or else our cricketers should be sentenced for life. azharuddin has no place in the indian 11. how COME HE IS THE CAPTAIN??
AS LONG AS HE IS THERE IN THE INDIAN TEAM, AND IS THE CAPTAIN, WE CAN NEVER WIN. IT WAS BETTER IF ENGLAND WERE ALLOWED TO BE IN THE FINALS. OUR TEAM IS A ORN LOOSER UNDER AZHARUDDIN. ONLY IF JADEJA WAS THE CAPTAIN.
BUT OUR SELECTORS ARE A BUNCH OF JOKERS. I WISH INSTEAD OF TAKING OUT THE ANGER AND FRUSTRATION HERE, I HAD A GUN AND WAS ALLOWED TO SHOOT THE SELECTORS AND AZHARUDDIN, THE ULTIMATE STUPID MAN, I HAVE EVER SEEN.
WE WANT KAMBLI BACK IN PLACE OF AZHAR. ALSO RAMESH HAS NO PLACE IN THE FINAL 11. HOW CAN HE PLAY?? KAMBLI HAS BEEN DONE GROSS INJUSTICE. AND WHATIS KHURASIA DOING IN THE WORLD CIP TEAM??
IT IS HIGH TIME OUR SELECTORS WAKE UP.
BUT ONE THING IS SURE.
I BET MY WHOLE PROPERTY.INDIA WONT MAKE IT TO THE NEXT ROUNDS OF WORLD CUP, UNLESS SACHIN PERFORMS MIRACLES.

chandresh juthani: chandresh88@hotmail.com: the statistics are very helpful and it shows how good a player dravid is. he plays exquisitely well on bouncy pieces chandresh

Joy Vyloppully: jvyloppully@cinergy.com: Yes! Though humorous, the future comments of Azhar and the managers seem very true, ironically. My interest in this sport is waning over the period of time after the inconsistent performance of the Indian team. The only chance the Indian team can put a good show is by performing as a team. Blatant Individualism cannot get the team anywhere. Good article!.I presume the team reads it too. Hope you can get the idea across them to play for the country rather than for themselves. Joy, USA.

ven hari: vhari@sun.science.wayne.edu: Very interesting statistics. Now, why dont you also analyze the performance these same players in the last two years up to and including the recently concluded Coca Cola Sharja cup matches and see who comes ahead? Kambli did not play many matches and so he may be excluded, you may want to include Robin Singh in this analysis. I suggest this because it is current ( recent) performance not the past dating to 10yrs ago that should count in deciding who should be in the Indian Team. My guess is that Our Skipper who is often lovingly referred to as the winningest captain would come out last! I also wish that India would do well in the world cup but it is a vain hope since the team is led by the out of form and introverted Azhar. The only hope is that Azhar would resign on his own and let Jadeja skipper the side. Ven Hari

varad: varad66@hotmail.com: My Heart too says India for the World Cup.. But India's most vaunted batting, has been in a total disarray.. Loosing to teams is okie.. Like England lost two close games with us in Sharjah. Our team does not fight it out.. If three wickets falls early, the remaining batsman will crumble. If batsman play well, fielders will fumble or bowlers will be erratic. On a day when everything cllicks, it makes you wonder if the team wins because the opposition had a bad day rather than INdia playing well... That has been the fighting spirit of Indian batsman. I feel that more than winning tournaments, the Indians should feel the pride and honor in playing for the country. Unless that burning desire to win is not kindled ( not rekindled, coz I guess they never had it!) there is no panacea for Indian cricket.

Amit Kamat: kamit@cs.sunysb.edu: It would be impossible for anybody to play cricket in Toronto in April due to the cold. So BCCI would end up foolsx if they tried to organise the Coca Cola tournament in Canada.

Siddharth Bhatia: s3bhatia@engmail.uwaterloo.ca: I don't see how Kambli is "king on home soil" solely on the basis that he performs better in India than abroad. Kambli has a lower average in the subcontinent than Tendulkar and Ganguly, hence they are better than him at home.

Aditya Katkar: a_katkar@hotmail.com: I agree with you. I think Sachin should stop playing for India and join some other team. It would be better for him. We Indians are sissies.

Hemanr: hemant25671@hotmail.com: I particularly liked the last 4 paragraphs. You have voiced the exact same feeling that I had. I also wish my heart proves my head wrong, and that India does exceptionally well in this world cup

Srinivas Bolla: bollas@hotmail.com: A Nice article. Great comparision

Ashok: ashok2000@hotmail.com: Analysis is really good. But i could not understand why he has compared Combli with others. Leaving Combli out of the team is a good decision.



Ravi: ravi@cs.umass.edu: I am curious to know how Sachin performed in/out of the subcontinent as an opener. It might tell a different tale.

Rahul: rahulsinghvi@hotmail.com: Phew !! Absolutely correct !! Have hopes on the Indian team and you are going to be admitted to the ICU at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai

surendranath R Bada: sbada@hotmail.com: The last but one para of this report perhaps the most realistic or most optimistic words that will come from AZHAR after the WC99, if he will be the captain. The board has still the chances of replacing him with JADEJA, if the BCCI can take the real daring decision and to trust the Jedeja. The board has to consult many great payers, who are commenting the cricket around the world to take this decision. I would not reconsider V.KAMBLI. I always say that INDIA has to play FOUR frontline consistant bowlers and FIVE batsmen to form the winning combination. That is all.

surendranath R Bada: sbada@hotmail.com: The last but one para of this report perhaps the most realistic or most optimistic words that will come from AZHAR after the WC99, if he will be the captain. The board has still the chances of replacing him with JADEJA, if the BCCI can take the real daring decision and to trust the Jedeja. The board has to consult many great players, who are commenting the cricket around the world to take this decision. I would not reconsider V.KAMBLI. I always say that INDIA has to play FOUR frontline consistant bowlers and FIVE batsmen to form the winning combination. That is all.

sameer: samk@cyberdude.com: There r three types of lies in the world, lies , damn lies and statistics. so, I dont care what the averages say to me. bcos, I judge the overall value of the person to the team. If u dont give kambli enough chance outside india (18) matches - great to prove oneself.. that too not continuous ones, mind u.. What kind of brains is this? hmmm, so according to u, tendulkar is better cricketer than Dravid? my foot. yucky pessimistic character dravid can nowhere reach close to tendulkar. pls. do not compare these two? dravid doesnt even stand a chance. pols stop putting up such lousy columns in here. I like rediff.com bcos of prem, harsha. pls donot publish such columns from now on.

Sridhar: sridhars1@vsnl.com: Good.

Hari Srinivasan: hari_srinivasan@hotmail.com: I think it should be his last column as well. A basic knowledge of statistics and law of averages would tell you that a comparison based on Kambli having played a total of 88 matches and Dravid having played 72 CANNOT be compared with say Azhar's 312 or Sachin's 211. Such comparisons are at best very specious and at worst totally wrong. If you do want to compare, compare in terms of %, not absolute numbers.

sanjeev kudesia: kuddu@rocketmail.com: Excellent! It has all what one would like to say in brief about the indian team's performance and its players. Our most wins are on our slow flat pitches. Almost every time we fail to deliver when we play others abroad. Indian cricket control board, just like our politicians, never realize to change things for good and that is the worst part of it. We have got used to such conditions that it hurts to be us and what more IT SUCKS TO BE US !!! Would their be any time when we'd initiate a chain of actions to bring major changes in our game, fitness and above all our attitude. I'd love to see that. Still I wish all the best! Sachin, you are the man who could change things...!

Sekhar Banerjee: smarty@hotmail.com: Hi, I am amazed that even after looking at all these statistics you still talk about the miracles of sachin to take India anywhere. All these statistics should atleast tell you that Sachin is just a player in the Indian Team and in no way is he the only one in the team to perform. We should quit dreaming about Sachin taking us places. It is high time that people realised that only when the Indian Team playes to its potential are we going to win ... and even Sachin cant stop India from losing if the others dont perform.

pratik vaishnav: pratikavita@hotmail.com: yes. u r right. and after one more shameful loss in the finals in sharjah, i think we should boycot cricket or else our cricketers should be sentenced for life. azharuddin has no place in the indian 11. how COME HE IS THE CAPTAIN??
AS LONG AS HE IS THERE IN THE INDIAN TEAM, AND IS THE CAPTAIN, WE CAN NEVER WIN. IT WAS BETTER IF ENGLAND WERE ALLOWED TO BE IN THE FINALS. OUR TEAM IS A ORN LOOSER UNDER AZHARUDDIN. ONLY IF JADEJA WAS THE CAPTAIN.
BUT OUR SELECTORS ARE EUNUCHS, CHAKKAS AND A BUNCH OF JOKERS. I WISH INSTEAD OF TAKING OUT THE ANGER AND FRUSTRATION HERE, I HAD A GUN AND WAS ALLOWED TO SHOOT THE SELECTORS AND AZHARUDDIN, THE ULTIMATE STUPID MAN, I HAVE EVER SEEN.
WE WANT KAMBLI BACK IN PLACE OF AZHAR. ALSO RAMESH HAS NO PLACE IN THE FINAL 11. HOW CAN HE PLAY?? KAMBLI HAS BEEN DONE GROSS INJUSTICE. AND WHATIS KHURASIA DOING IN THE WORLD CIP TEAM??
IT IS HIGH TIME OUR SELECTORS WAKE UP.
BUT ONE THING IS SURE.
I BET MY WHOLE PROPERTY.INDIA WONT MAKE IT TO THE NEXT ROUNDS OF WORLD CUP, UNLESS SACHIN PERFORMS MIRACLES. WHATEVER WE DO, IT WILL BE BCOZ OF HIM ONLY. ALL OTHERS ARE CHAKKAS. EXCEPT KAMBLI, AS HE WONT BE THERE,.

chandresh juthani: chandresh88@hotmail.com: the statistics are very helpful and it shows how good a player dravid is. he plays exquisitely well on bouncy pieces chandresh

Joy Vyloppully: jvyloppully@cinergy.com: Yes! Though humorous, the future comments of Azhar and the managers seem very true, ironically. My interest in this sport is waning over the period of time after the inconsistent performance of the Indian team. The only chance the Indian team can put a good show is by performing as a team. Blatant Individualism cannot get the team anywhere. Good article!.I presume the team reads it too. Hope you can get the idea across them to play for the country rather than for themselves. Joy, USA.

ven hari: vhari@sun.science.wayne.edu: Very interesting statistics. Now, why dont you also analyze the performance these same players in the last two years up to and including the recently concluded Coca Cola Sharja cup matches and see who comes ahead? Kambli did not play many matches and so he may be excluded, you may want to include Robin Singh in this analysis. I suggest this because it is current ( recent) performance not the past dating to 10yrs ago that should count in deciding who should be in the Indian Team. My guess is that Our Skipper who is often lovingly referred to as the winningest captain would come out last! I also wish that India would do well in the world cup but it is a vain hope since the team is led by the out of form and introverted Azhar. The only hope is that Azhar would resign on his own and let Jadeja skipper the side. Ven Hari

varad: varad66@hotmail.com: My Heart too says India for the World Cup.. But India's most vaunted batting, has been in a total disarray.. Loosing to teams is okie.. Like England lost two close games with us in Sharjah. Our team does not fight it out.. If three wickets falls early, the remaining batsman will crumble. If batsman play well, fielders will fumble or bowlers will be erratic. On a day when everything cllicks, it makes you wonder if the team wins because the opposition had a bad day rather than INdia playing well... That has been the fighting spirit of Indian batsman. I feel that more than winning tournaments, the Indians should feel the pride and honor in playing for the country. Unless that burning desire to win is not kindled ( not rekindled, coz I guess they never had it!) there is no panacea for Indian cricket.

Amit Kamat: kamit@cs.sunysb.edu: It would be impossible for anybody to play cricket in Toronto in April due to the cold. So BCCI would end up foolsx if they tried to organise the Coca Cola tournament in Canada.

Siddharth Bhatia: s3bhatia@engmail.uwaterloo.ca: I don't see how Kambli is "king on home soil" solely on the basis that he performs better in India than abroad. Kambli has a lower average in the subcontinent than Tendulkar and Ganguly, hence they are better than him at home.

Aditya Katkar: a_katkar@hotmail.com: I agree with you. I think Sachin should stop playing for India and join some other team. It would be better for him. We Indians are sissies.

Hemanr: hemant25671@hotmail.com: I particularly liked the last 4 paragraphs. You have voiced the exact same feeling that I had. I also wish my heart proves my head wrong, and that India does exceptionally well in this world cup

Srinivas Bolla: bollas@hotmail.com: A Nice article. Great comparision

Ashok: ashok2000@hotmail.com: Analysis is really good. But i could not understand why he has compared Combli with others. Leaving Combli out of the team is a good decision.

I TOLD UUUUU....: : Hello Team,
1)Hearty Congrats to our team, It lost again, to Pakistan, in the Final.. damit, I love u, u r sooo adept at losing..
2)Hearty Congrats to the " most successful Captain India ever had", who displayed excellent batting skills and captaincy to give away the match.. shame....shame..
3)As the Captain and coach say " Let's put everything behind us, and go for the world cup" WHAT A JOKE....hey..one request.. Don't even think of puting your hands on it..U r unfit for that....
4) Don't fool yourself that U guys can actually do well in the world cup..and please don't fool us..
5) We had enough of U Mr.Captain, SIR, WILL U PLEASE RETIRE NOW..ITS NICE WORKING WITH U..
Remorse, Shame, Fightback, Skill...all these words never seem to appear in our dictionary..
THE HELL, LESS SAID THE BETTER..... P.S : I am planning to gift the team with "bangles", Saries, Haldi, and flowers......any Donations ?

Sathish: skumard@hotmail.com: This is good. Your analysis is good. I liked your last paragraph. If you compare the Sachin's performance in and out of sub-continent. His performance outside is not as good as in the subcontinent. But The only one who looks good now than Sachin out side sub-continent is Dravid. And about the favourites no knows, Newzealand may also win the cup.

Davis Varghese: davis_varghese@hotmail.com: you are absolutely right . AZahr is a luggage to the team, other than saying " we batted badly, we bowled badly, we fielded badly" what else he is capable of. If that is the duty of captain, India can have 900 million such captains (after all we are not lagging behind anyone as far as population is concerned ).The problem with azhar is that , he does not know the meaning of the word "dignity" . He very well know that he got captaincy for the world cup , just because tendulakar refused it , not because of his batting skills or "Positive attitude" ( If Azhar counter argue with his famous saying." Each team member know what he is supposed to do", then my humble question " what is the use of captain". Let the coach says what he is expecting from each guy . Then they can kick out this luggage from the team and include someone in the team who is performing well with the bat or ball) then what is the point in hanging around there. Better leave the captain post to those who deserve it. We are not bothered that you are neither winning matches for India nor inspiring the team memebers . But if you can step down yourself, that will be the greatest thing you can do the future of Indian cricket.

Madan Gopal: Madan.Gopal-1@ou.edu: An extremely thought provoking article (for all indians except for the indian "cricket" players- i guess by now they've gotten used to this) we need to realign our "thought process"....weed out players like azharuddin ( who lacks determination and bring in players like robin singh ( whoz got loads of determination)
PLEASE DO US ALL A FAVOR... MAKE SURE THESE ARTICLES REACH THE LIKES OF AZHARUDDIN & Co

ramprasad: rpmvadi@hotmail.com: another of those junk articles with a self-appointed administrator's role criticizing left and right driving home no point. dravid hardly played in matches in subcontinent till recent times. kambli hardly played any matches outside india. tendulkar is a regular player in the team and our team hardly plays any ODI matches outside the subcontinent. so naturallly stats show a good performance at home compared to those abroad. there is hardly any point in this article worth a nickel. this is some fancy ananlysis. Rediff guys : "do something better than this"

Presley: presley_antony@rocketmail.com: I think we should not depend too much on a single players. And I hope players like Dravid, Robin Singh, Ganguly and Prasad would come up well in the world cup.

Kish: kishlovesfun@hotmail.com: I sincerly hope and pray to Lord Vigneshavara, the annihalator of all obstacles, for that miracle to happen and it shall be great achievement if our highly over paid and hyped, self respect less Uttara Kumaras, whose man hood is only in TV ads and in movies , whom i have to support only because they are the official indian team, go to super six league Because i believe making them win the World Cup is even beyond what the gods can grant them for their abilities.

Ravi Yigalapati: Ravi_Yigalapati@hotmail.com: Thought statistics are only for people like Varsha Bhosle to prove that pinkos are dumbos, Sangamesh did a nice analysis here. But you don't have to look at these figures that India doesn't even have an outside chance of winning the world cup.

redifffan: rediff_fan@hotmail.com: It is interesting analysis and presents some facts that are not too encouraging for indian fans.. but I think, one component that is missed out is psychological. If there is similar analysis done for averages in WC and otherwise ..then tendulkar would be right there at the top considering he was highest run getter for india in last two WCs. (major handicap for this analysis is the fact that Dravid,Ganguly have not played in WC sofar..but then their averages in England are good enough to hope something positive)

yogi: ypjoshi@hotmail.com: GOOD GUESS WORK!!! FYI: Cricket is not played on past records and tables...but on current conditions and environment, otherwise Zimbabwe would have never beat Pakistan in their home!!

shrikant dharap: shrikant.dharap@usop.com: I think this is a classic case of how statistics can fool you. One thing for sure is the unit of measure itself is wrong. What matters over such long careers is the Strike Rate and not averages, unless now One Dayers are being played over 5 days and I am not aware of it.

Sid: siddiq@aero.tamu.edu: The last four paragraphs are right on!

RP: ra444@hotmail.com: "in fact, it will be a huge surprise if India progresses into the Super Six stage." - what does this really mean!!! Some one should really be out of their mind while stating this!! - no offence.
I would like to add some more to this - with Srilanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya, England (leave aside S. Africa) in our group to play against, we do have a better chance and ability to beat all of them. If you go back and look at the world cup history: all matches played between India and England produced a last over result and the runs margin was neither too much (just less than 20 runs). Which means that we can beat England (don't you think even after the Sharjah tournament) right at their home ground. Who in the real world have Sri Lankans as their favourites?? Do you think that the Jaya Suyra/kaluwatharna batting style has any impact in England pitches....nope!! We're not in those fast pitch tracks like Austrailia/S. Africa. A total of 240 should give a victory for the side batting first....so here you're not looking at scores above/around 300. Keep guessing the result between India-S. Africa for the 1999 World Cup.
One more thing, why is it that it's only with we Indians who have this attitude to start talking all this kinda stuff. I don't find it happening in any other country....what I mean is when you wrote this "in fact, it will be a huge surprise if India progresses into the Super Six stage." In you inner heart you really wanted India to come out as winners but you don't speak it aloud.....why???? why???? Not only you every other guy/gal I meet has the same damn attitude. Let's tell our players that we are there with them....let's ask them to win....don't discourage the players and fans with such pessimistic remarks!! Let's tell them "You better win"!!. Do you think the 11 Pakistani players out there in the 1992 world cup won the final.....nooo!! It was Pakistan as a country behind them cheering/encouraging!! And more over they were the least favoutrites to win that year's World Cup. SAme the case with Sri Lanka - did anyone on earth think that Sri Lanka could produce such an amount of cricket...as far as my memory lasts....we used to look upon Sri Lanka (5 years back!!) just as Zimbabwe/Bangla Desh/Scotland is being looked upon now. Again I'm not picking at anyone.....I very well understand your mental feelings - but hello!! it's high time let's try thinking something different. We are almost into the twenty firts century....and still stuck with our old thinking .....huh!! Let's take a breah guys!! cheers... P.S. REDIFF's my most favourite place to come to........for cricket!! Not only for me but for many others.

Krishnan: lakshmanankrish@hotmail.com: Good work by both your head and mind. Infact every Indian has the same kind of feeling after India lost cheaply to Pakistan. God wouldn't be great if wee see India with the World Cup!!!

Krishnan: lakshmanankrish@hotmail.com: Good work by both your head and mind. Infact every Indian has the same kind of feeling after India lost cheaply to Pakistan. God wouldn't be great if wee see India with the World Cup!!!

Virender Gupta: vireng@hotmail.com: With today's performance against Pakistan under Azhar(Whome we defeated under Jadeja 3 days back) and the great decisions like batting order of Srinath and Agarkar I don't think that we should "think" about top six

Sunny: lal@hotmail.com: I think India needs to wake up, It is a dismay that we cannot play on our own grounds.One cause could be the selection committee and managers. Chairman does not have any knowledge of cricket nor played any cricket. Manager is a slow paced rabbit in terms of improvement in a world of lions. Suggestion: Get some good cricketers to lead india(Kapil Dev, srikant etc.., where they can share their knowledge and experience. I am sure you can find thousands of top class batsmen and bowlers in india.. given a chance to play, if they can cut the beauracracy.

Narayanan: nara_t@hotmail.com: Pretty cool and provides really interesting stats!! Just hoping Sachin kinda pulls it off especially after the dismal shows in Pepsi & Coca-Cola cups.

Karunakaran : pkaruna@hotmail.com: After India defeated Pakistan in the 2nd round, my confidence on Indian team surged up. But after watching their worst performance in final, my confidence went down like Indian economy. I don't think Indian team can beat NZ or ZIM with this consistency.
Azhar should be thrown out of the team immediately after the world cup. He is no more capable of scoring runs and taking India to success.

srao: shivanand_r@hotmail.com: Hit the nail on the head! I too want that india should do well, but dont have much hope after watching recent matches.It is time they got more aggresive instead of trying to "give credit" to the opposition in defeat.

Amar Gunda: amarng@hotmail.com: Excellent Composition. I really liked the way you combined 1st and 2nd tables in the 3rd table.

Amar Gunda: amarng@hotmail.com: Excellent Composition. I really liked the Summary table

Pritam Datta: pritamdatta@worldnet.att.net: Sangamesh, It was a very good effort to put our gladiators in perpestive, but as you rightly pointed out, figures don't seem to do justice with the truth . . . Allow me to say this. "Figures are like bikini bathing costumes . . . what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal is more vital" Lastly, my heart also joins yours in wishing that what your head thinks will prove wrong. Regards Pritam

Anand Rao: anand.rao@vodafone.com.au: I am sure India can win the World Cup ... if played between Afro - European countries or USA.

kRISHNAKUMAR: r_bambi@yahoo.com: what u have mentioned is correct. I don't think india will cross super six stage

kRISHNAKUMAR: r_bambi@yahoo.com: what u have mentioned is correct. I don't think india will cross super six stage

Partha Sarathy: ksar111@a-znet.com: An excellent article. Why dont they make Jadeja the captain and keep Ramesh and Kurasiya in the side as much as possible, and then they have a good chance. Best wishes

mahesh: bhagava@yahoo.com: One of the best analysis in recent years. Kudos Sangamesh. Keep it up. I too am skeptical about India's entry into Super Six given our group and the players current form in India as well as in Sharjah. It would definitely require a miracle.

Anand A Karyekar: karyeka@email.uc.edu: When would have BCCC organized a tournament in Toronto ? before the World Cup ? Its cold and unplayable at Toronto now, man !!! Anyways, yeah a tournament in England-like conditions would have definitely helped But the World Cup is just at start of summer, ruling this out ! The head thinks that Indian team has no chances while the heart thinks they can pull off ! Let the heart rule over the head (this time).

Singh Gurucharan: Gucha23@rocketmail.com: Too pessimistic.......

Sridhar: sridhar.pulikonda@fibre.com: Good Article! Based on facts and reasoning. Hopefully our hearts will win against our heads, atleast in this case.

Krishnan: krish_venkat@yahoo.com: Sir, I totally agree with your point that India will not qualify for the Super six stage. However true an Indian fan you and i may be, it's hard to say India is the best team with the current showing, both on the morbid Indian and Sharja tracks. With the ball seaming and moving around in England, i am more than sure India will battle for the last couple of spots. More than anything, i feel the Indian team is going through an attitude problem. Everyone in the team takes their position for granted. I also feel that the captain should lead from the front, rather than giving lame excuses. Azar though not shining with his bat is certainly setting the centre stage for unthought excuses. Whatever said and done, i still wish the Indian team A VERY GOOD LUCK. Krishnan.

Krishnan: krish_venkat@yahoo.com: Sir, I totally agree with your point that India will not qualify for the Super six stage. However true an Indian fan you and i may be, it's hard to say India is the best team with the current showing, both on the morbid Indian and Sharja tracks. With the ball seaming and moving around in England, i am more than sure India will battle for the last couple of spots. More than anything, i feel the Indian team is going through an attitude problem. Everyone in the team takes their position for granted. I also feel that the captain should lead from the front, rather than giving lame excuses. Azar though not shining with his bat is certainly setting the centre stage for unthought excuses. Whatever said and done, i still wish the Indian team A VERY GOOD LUCK. Krishnan.

harish: harishv@netscape.net: i totally agree to the post match comments to be made by Gaekwad & Azhar. this time around, Indian fans do not have any hopes for thier guys. I would not in fact be shocked, not surprised if they reach the SS. Last but not the least, y not try out Jaddu as captain !!??

k.ramarao: ramaraoz@hotmail.com: congrats to sangamesh for your predictions.i agree with you

Ketan Panse: ketan_panse@yahoo.com: "Promising start but not a good finish". The statistical analysis doesn't compare performance of players from other countries. What is the difference in domestic average and outside average for example of Anwar, Waugh brothers, Lara, Cullinan? That would be nice to include in a future article.

Bhargav: mumbai57@hotmail.com: My head says that is what will happen( Finals between India and Pakistan in Sahrjah), my heart wishes the team will prove me wrong. But that will take a miracle -- and it will probably have to come from the bat of Sachin Tendulkar.

premjit: premjit@satyam.net.in: Kambli must be in the world cup team.he is sure to set a record in one of the matches

2)Hearty Congrats to the " most successful Captain India ever had", who displayed excellent batting skills and captaincy to give away the match.. shame....shame..
3)As the Captain and coach say " Let's put everything behind us, and go for the world cup" WHAT A JOKE....hey..one request.. Don't even think of puting your hands on it..U r unfit for that....
4) Don't fool yourself that U guys can actually do well in the world cup..and please don't fool us..
5) We had enough of U Mr.Captain, SIR, WILL U PLEASE RETIRE NOW..ITS NICE WORKING WITH U.. Remorse, Shame, Fightback, Skill...all these words never seem to appear in our dictionary..
THE HELL, LESS SAID THE BETTER..... P.S : I am planning to gift the team with "bangles", Saries, Haldi, and flowers......any Donations ?

Sathish: skumard@hotmail.com: This is good. Your analysis is good. I liked your last paragraph. If you compare the Sachin's performance in and out of sub-continent. His performance outside is not as good as in the subcontinent. But The only one who looks good now than Sachin out side sub-continent is Dravid. And about the favourites no knows, Newzealand may also win the cup.

Davis Varghese: davis_varghese@hotmail.com: you are absolutely right . AZahr is a luggage to the team, other than saying " we batted badly, we bowled badly, we fielded badly" what else he is capable of. If that is the duty of captain, India can have 900 million such captains (after all we are not lagging behind anyone as far as population is concerned ).The problem with azhar is that , he does not know the meaning of the word "dignity" . He very well know that he got captaincy for the world cup , just because tendulakar refused it , not because of his batting skills or "Positive attitude" ( If Azhar counter argue with his famous saying." Each team member know what he is supposed to do", then my humble question " what is the use of captain". Let the coach says what he is expecting from each guy . Then they can kick out this luggage from the team and include someone in the team who is performing well with the bat or ball) then what is the point in hanging around there. Better leave the captain post to those who deserve it. We are not bothered that you are neither winning matches for India nor inspiring the team memebers . But if you can step down yourself, that will be the greatest thing you can do the future of Indian cricket.

Madan Gopal: Madan.Gopal-1@ou.edu: An extremely thought provoking article (for all indians except for the indian "cricket" players- i guess by now they've gotten used to this) we need to realign our "thought process"....weed out players like azharuddin ( who lacks determination and bring in players like robin singh ( whoz got loads of determination) PLEASE DO US ALL A FAVOR... MAKE SURE THESE ARTICLES REACH THE LIKES OF AZHARUDDIN & Co

ramprasad: rpmvadi@hotmail.com: another of those junk articles with a self-appointed administrator's role criticizing left and right driving home no point. dravid hardly played in matches in subcontinent till recent times. kambli hardly played any matches outside india. tendulkar is a regular player in the team and our team hardly plays any ODI matches outside the subcontinent. so naturallly stats show a good performance at home compared to those abroad. there is hardly any point in this article worth a nickel. this is some fancy ananlysis. Rediff guys : "do something better than this"

Presley: presley_antony@rocketmail.com: I think we should not depend too much on a single players. And I hope players like Dravid, Robin Singh, Ganguly and Prasad would come up well in the world cup.

Kish: kishlovesfun@hotmail.com: I sincerly hope and pray to Lord Vigneshavara, the annihalator of all obstacles, for that miracle to happen and it shall be great achievement if our highly over paid and hyped, self respect less Uttara Kumaras, whose man hood is only in TV ads and in movies , whom i have to support only because they are the official indian team, go to super six league Because i believe making them win the World Cup is even beyond what the gods can grant them for their abilities.

Ravi Yigalapati: Ravi_Yigalapati@hotmail.com: Thought statistics are only for people like Varsha Bhosle to prove that pinkos are dumbos, Sangamesh did a nice analysis here. But you don't have to look at these figures that India doesn't even have an outside chance of winning the world cup.

redifffan: rediff_fan@hotmail.com: It is interesting analysis and presents some facts that are not too encouraging for indian fans.. but I think, one component that is missed out is psychological. If there is similar analysis done for averages in WC and otherwise ..then tendulkar would be right there at the top considering he was highest run getter for india in last two WCs. (major handicap for this analysis is the fact that Dravid,Ganguly have not played in WC sofar..but then their averages in England are good enough to hope something positive)

yogi: ypjoshi@hotmail.com: GOOD GUESS WORK!!! FYI: Cricket is not played on past records and tables...but on current conditions and environment, otherwise Zimbabwe would have never beat Pakistan in their home!!

shrikant dharap: shrikant.dharap@usop.com: I think this is a classic case of how statistics can fool you. One thing for sure is the unit of measure itself is wrong. What matters over such long careers is the Strike Rate and not averages, unless now One Dayers are being played over 5 days and I am not aware of it.

Sid: siddiq@aero.tamu.edu: The last four paragraphs are right on!

Krishnan: lakshmanankrish@hotmail.com: Good work by both your head and mind. Infact every Indian has the same kind of feeling after India lost cheaply to Pakistan. God wouldn't be great if wee see India with the World Cup!!!

Virender Gupta: vireng@hotmail.com: With today's performance against Pakistan under Azhar(Whome we defeated under Jadeja 3 days back) and the great decisions like batting order of Srinath and Agarkar I don't think that we should "think" about top six

Sunny: lal@hotmail.com: I think India needs to wake up, It is a dismay that we cannot play on our own grounds.One cause could be the selection committee and managers. Chairman does not have any knowledge of cricket nor played any cricket. Manager is a slow paced rabbit in terms of improvement in a world of lions. Suggestion: Get some good cricketers to lead india(Kapil Dev, srikant etc.., where they can share their knowledge and experience. I am sure you can find thousands of top class batsmen and bowlers in india.. given a chance to play, if they can cut the beauracracy.

Narayanan: nara_t@hotmail.com: Pretty cool and provides really interesting stats!! Just hoping Sachin kinda pulls it off especially after the dismal shows in Pepsi & Coca-Cola cups.

Karunakaran : pkaruna@hotmail.com: After India defeated Pakistan in the 2nd round, my confidence on Indian team surged up. But after watching their worst performance in final, my confidence went down like Indian economy. I don't think Indian team can beat NZ or ZIM with this consistency. Azhar should be thrown out of the team immediately after the world cup. He is no more capable of scoring runs and taking India to success.

srao: shivanand_r@hotmail.com: Hit the nail on the head! I too want that india should do well, but dont have much hope after watching recent matches.It is time they got more aggresive instead of trying to "give credit" to the opposition in defeat.

Amar Gunda: amarng@hotmail.com: Excellent Composition. I really liked the way you combined 1st and 2nd tables in the 3rd table.

Amar Gunda: amarng@hotmail.com: Excellent Composition. I really liked the Summary table

Pritam Datta: pritamdatta@worldnet.att.net: Sangamesh, It was a very good effort to put our gladiators in perpestive, but as you rightly pointed out, figures don't seem to do justice with the truth . . . Allow me to say this. "Figures are like bikini bathing costumes . . . what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal is more vital" Lastly, my heart also joins yours in wishing that what your head thinks will prove wrong. Regards Pritam

Anand Rao: anand.rao@vodafone.com.au: I am sure India can win the World Cup ... if played between Afro - European countries or USA.

kRISHNAKUMAR: r_bambi@yahoo.com: what u have mentioned is correct. I don't think india will cross super six stage

Partha Sarathy: ksar111@a-znet.com: An excellent article. Why dont they make Jadeja the captain and keep Ramesh and Kurasiya in the side as much as possible, and then they have a good chance. Best wishes

mahesh: bhagava@yahoo.com: One of the best analysis in recent years. Kudos Sangamesh. Keep it up. I too am skeptical about India's entry into Super Six given our group and the players current form in India as well as in Sharjah. It would definitely require a miracle.

Anand A Karyekar: karyeka@email.uc.edu: When would have BCCC organized a tournament in Toronto ? before the World Cup ? Its cold and unplayable at Toronto now, man !!! Anyways, yeah a tournament in England-like conditions would have definitely helped But the World Cup is just at start of summer, ruling this out ! The head thinks that Indian team has no chances while the heart thinks they can pull off ! Let the heart rule over the head (this time).

Singh Gurucharan: Gucha23@rocketmail.com: Too pessimistic.......

Sridhar: sridhar.pulikonda@fibre.com: Good Article! Based on facts and reasoning. Hopefully our hearts will win against our heads, atleast in this case.

Krishnan: krish_venkat@yahoo.com: Sir, I totally agree with your point that India will not qualify for the Super six stage. However true an Indian fan you and i may be, it's hard to say India is the best team with the current showing, both on the morbid Indian and Sharja tracks. With the ball seaming and moving around in England, i am more than sure India will battle for the last couple of spots. More than anything, i feel the Indian team is going through an attitude problem. Everyone in the team takes their position for granted. I also feel that the captain should lead from the front, rather than giving lame excuses. Azar though not shining with his bat is certainly setting the centre stage for unthought excuses. Whatever said and done, i still wish the Indian team A VERY GOOD LUCK. Krishnan.

harish: harishv@netscape.net: i totally agree to the post match comments to be made by Gaekwad & Azhar. this time around, Indian fans do not have any hopes for thier guys. I would not in fact be shocked, not surprised if they reach the SS. Last but not the least, y not try out Jaddu as captain !!??

k.ramarao: ramaraoz@hotmail.com: congrats to sangamesh for your predictions.i agree with you

Ketan Panse: ketan_panse@yahoo.com: "Promising start but not a good finish". The statistical analysis doesn't compare performance of players from other countries. What is the difference in domestic average and outside average for example of Anwar, Waugh brothers, Lara, Cullinan? That would be nice to include in a future article.

Bhargav: mumbai57@hotmail.com: My head says that is what will happen( Finals between India and Pakistan in Sahrjah), my heart wishes the team will prove me wrong. But that will take a miracle -- and it will probably have to come from the bat of Sachin Tendulkar.

premjit: premjit@satyam.net.in: Kambli must be in the world cup team.he is sure to set a record in one of the matches