India v New Zealand, 1st ODI at Dambulla: Plays of the day
New Zealand overcame India by 200 runs in the first ODI at Dambulla. Here are the plays of the day that defined the game.
And he loses another toss:
This must be getting to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028. Game after game, series after series, Dhoni seems to be fast getting the reputation of losing the toss and providing no advantage to his team. Yet again, in this first ODI of the Micromax Cup, he called it wrong, and that meant that he was left with no option but to chase under lights.
As he himself said during the press conference after the game, probably in half-jest-half-sarcasm, it was time for him to start practicing tossing the coin as well.
Captain Grumpy?
Losses do no captain any good. But Dhoni has always seemed to be one of those captains who can take wins and losses equally well. This habit seems to be eroding fast. At the end of the previous Test match against Sri Lanka, which India won, Dhoni had a few choice words against the critics who had panned the side. Now, after this loss, seemed to be at his aggressive best.
When asked whether http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid was needed to counter these conditions Dhoni flatly refused to answer the question, while blaming the hectic schedule for the tiredness and fatigue. He also said that given that the side had lost, the media would be able to say anything that they wanted, especially on the issues related to selection and form.
Worst defeats for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750:
This was India’s 749th ODI and only their fourth loss by 200 runs or more. This speaks volumes about how badly the side had played and against an opposition which had come into the tournament as underdogs.
India’s worst ever defeat was against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 then crushed them by 208 runs at Sydney in 2004, whereas the first game of the first ever World Cup in 1975 had seen India lose to England by 202 runs. This was the fourth.
Speaking of which, this was obviously their worst-ever loss to New Zealand as well, beating the previous record of the 108-run loss that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 had inflicted on them in 1990. Apart from that, there have been no 100-plus defeats to the Kiwis, before this game.
Lowest totals for India:
This was India’s fifth-lowest total ever in ODIs. Their lowest score is 54 that they had registered in that same game that they lost to Sri Lanka by 245 runs at Sharjah. This is followed by scores of 63,78 and 79. Before this game, India’s lowest score against New Zealand was 108, that they had got twice in the same series in 2003. At least there, the Indians had the excuse of playing on a surface where it was difficult to distinguish between the pitch and the outfield.
Speaking of lowest totals, India’s lowest total while batting first, that resulted in a win, is 125 that they had scored against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Sharjah.
Antagonism against Jadeja:
For some reason, the Indian fans do not like Jadeja too much. There is a lot of talk about how he is touted as an all-rounder but rarely delivers with the bat at the number seven batsman. Unfortunately for the player, his batting is not up to the scratch, and it is a surprise that he is even played as an all-rounder. At best, he is a bowler who can bat a bit better than most bowlers. In this game, he top-scored for India with 20, but the sad bit was that in the nine overs that he bowled, he conceded 63 runs and picked up no wicket. The pressure is squarely on him.
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