It’s been a while since since we’ve watched India play, so the Compaq cup was rather inviting. Though a mostly inconsequential tournament, it seems to provide feed to the bored.
While India bowled and fielded well against New Zealand, given our reputation in those areas, but did not bat like the #1 ODI team they became following that victory. I have issues with the ICC ranking system which seems to be playing catch up rather than paint a picture. If you ask me, India were peaking as an ODI side, just after IPL 2008 and started the downward trend perhaps just after IPL 2009. Australia, on the other hand, have been slumping since late 2007, following the World Cup. That the ratings have taken this long to reflect the fortunes of two teams – India and Australia – seems mocking.
As for the second ODI against, Sri Lanka, India played like a side not interested in the proceedings, barring Tendulkar, Dravid and Harbhajan. The bowlers were straying and spraying. Ashish Nehra’s first over set the tone. Though early in road were made with the wickets of Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardena, Kandamby was allowed to cut loose and cause havoc. Batting woes were bound to follow. Dinesh Karthik promised, but perished and there was no real batting after Tendulkar and Dravid, both of whom looked resolute to prove that they were still as good as one can get. Perhaps it wasn’t a backward move after all to recall Dravid.
The only solace from the loss to Sri Lanka in the 2nd match is the statistics. More often than not, if India won the match leading up the finals (baring semi-finals), they went on to lose the finals. One cannot resist but hope that maybe this is a good omen.
VM\'s Random Ramblings 
Hopefully there isn’t any rain tomorrow and your intuition holds true.
I have issues with the ICC ranking system which seems to be playing catch up rather than paint a picture.
Tend to agree with that…felt the same way…kinda out of sync.
And good to see you back on the board.
Welcome back. ICC rankings rank nowhere. And I’m also banking on that good omen, can’t bank on the players actually:)
Good omen indeed. They won though they were total rubbish. Sachin saves the day again. Cheers
india won the tri series mainly thanks to umpire asoka de silva.he refused a lbw decision of yuvraj singh when he was in 2 or something near.(bowling of ajantha mendis).but we never lost like indians .we gave a good fightback.india slip down to no3 spot from no1 spot within 24 hours.it is a big achievement of sri lanka.
ishant sharma.harbahjan singh they don’t know how to behave in a cricket match.every time ishant sharma got a wicket he was shouted to the batsman and he always has something to tell to the dismissed batsman.Be polite.
@SB, Som, thanks! Abt time to rev up the ICC rankings.
@Scorpy, seriously. I was reminded of the 90s Indian cricket team. The fielding was that bad!
@Kamal, welcome! I see you’re a SL fan. True it was a good fightback, and until Kandamby was out, there was still hope for Sri Lanka. As for the politeness, I empathize with you on it. India have been on the receiving end from the Aussies for a rather long time. The new generation is rather rude. While I don’t condemn it too much, I don’t think such is required either.