Fighting Spirit of Aussies

[sanketh84]

what a match it was...low scoring but exciting!!! i wouldn't have imagined any other team come out and give the opposition such a tough time defending 160 on a decent batting track. really this reflects the mental make up of the aussie team. kudos to both teams for a wonderful performance. india with a slight edge was the better team. i expect the aussie team to come back strongly next match. i think the make-up of the finals is almost a forgone conclusion with sri lanka looking terribly out of sorts.

[batoutofhell]

i would not agree with you that srilanka will be walkover for india/australia
its just one win that india has registered and they need to win more than that to qualify for the finals
srilanka is as good as india on its day so don't write them off too soon in the tournament

[sanketh84]

i wont say that sri lanka are a walkover but they haven't done anything in this series to match the kind of standards india and australia are setting in this series, having a side at 80 odd for 4 and allowing them to score 267, and being shot out for 158 by australia hasn't made me believe they are upto the task right now. most players look woefully out of form and match practice which is surprising coz they did play england not so long ago, vaas seems very ineffective and his way past his prime and they r missing dilhara fernando, maharoof big time. they are the runners up at the previous world cup but they need to start adapting to the conditions quickly if they have to make an impact against two good teams. agreed srilanka comes out strongly on its day of glory but has just lacklustre performances against england and australia behind them right now.

[Nostromo]

Sri Lanka have an odd approach to the game, not dissimilar to that of India. Usually, if they have a good start the others carry on and they come out winnners. On the other hand, they can get quickly disheartened by early loss of wickets and tumble like dominoes. The one exception to that seems to be T Dilshan, who trues to show a fighting spirit all the time.

[sanketh84]

that is true...that srilanka's approach to the game is similar to india. i certainly think that was the case a year back. but if u see we have come out of tricky situations on the england tour, tests and ODI's. remember the 7th ODI where a freak partnership between zaheer and murali karthik bailed us out. even as recent as the pak series we were four wickets down in the last test when dravid and yuvraj bailed us out with a 300 run partnership. even in the test series against australia sydney, perth adelaide saw some remarkable recoveries from being down and out and coming back from behind. i felt even the MCG ODI was a tricky one at 102-5 where the composure of sharma and dhoni won the game. i felt that srilanka are still searching for that one good performance from someone to guide themselves to win. the hallmark of a good team is allround effort, i felt india lacked it before and is now slowly developing it and it was showcased in the perth win where it was hard to find a 'man of the match'. isn't it good team effort which gives south africa that edge even though they lack champion performers except maybe pollock. and i thought that same team effort was what took srilanka to the finals of WC 2007.its hard to believe its the same team playing this tri-series when they look so dis-oriented except maybe that their fielding is better than the indians.

[batoutofhell]

Hi sanketh
Have you seen today's match between india and srilanka?

srilanka is not as disoriented as they look

the series is going to be full of tight contests from here on

The Teams for the finals still anybody's guess

[Seamer]

India seem a very hot and cold team. When they are on fire they are awesome, but they seem to lose their spirit when things are not going so well.

India were a bit unlucky today with the rain though. Losing to the D/L system is not what anyone likes to see, but it does make the series particularly interesting now.

[sanketh84]

yes batoutof hell i did unfortunately see te match until jayasurya clobbered the ball all over the park, thats when i decided it was all over.boy oh boy srilanka did make me eat my words....just when u thought it was two way contest....bolt out of the blue!!! Seamer ur right on the money when u say India look very hot and cold...consistency is the name of the game which india lacks. but to take 10 wickets in 21 overs with a meagre total was never going to be sufficient on a good batting track. at one stage i felt as though india could even concede a bonus point.i guess no1 likes to see people lose with D/L system but it does make for more exciting times in the tri series as a loss for the srilankan side would put them out of the contest. i'm looking forward to another massacre by aussies in perth!!!!