Bounce Spells Doom for India, Yet Again!

If batting legends like Tendulkar and Dravid bat like ammeters the way they did against the Proteas in the second ODI then why are players like Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman kept out of the squad? If performance in domestic cricket is the mere criterion for selection - then suffice the pitches with all condition availability.

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There is only one word for the Indian performance yesterday - humiliating!! The Indian batting line-up is considered the best in the World and so does it look on paper, but what happens to these names when they have to implement. None of the batting greats looked comfortable with the bouncing ball, the pitch was the same for both the sides then why a team scoring 248 and the other slumping at 91 - Yes, South Africa was playing in their home conditions which could have been an additional advantage, but with the amount of international cricket played these days this could be no excuse.

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He is subdued but definitely the most influential player- Jacques Kallis is one player, who may not enjoy the iconic status of Andrew Flintoff but is undoubtedly the best All-rounder in the modern game, his well grafted knock of 119 not out under pressure will mark the aforesaid affirmative.

Why can't the Indian Batsman perform on wickets outside the sub-continent? Why is playing on bouncy tracks a problem for them? The bowlers struggle to extract pace and bounce from the wicket and the batsman -runs... Lately it was seen in the Dulip trophy that the ball was hardly rising above the knee, the bowlers demanding the pitch curators to come-up with some bowler friendly tracks - the Indian domestic cricket is dominated by batsman and the slow and low pitches are the reason. I think it is high time for the BCCI to come about with tracks in the domestic circuit that are similar to the once outside the sub continent. In a country where cricket is religion and the game is given importance over the rest still all the aspects of it remain untouched... why?

The cause for this humiliating defeat is not only the player's poor performance - the three main explanations to the source of Indian defeat are poor selection (when player who is surprised on his selection in the team opens the innings then all's understood), the countries unfortunate domestic state and the Inexperience in the Leadership.

I think its high-time for the selectors to consider experience a criterion and Ganguly, Kumble and Laxman deserve a place in the starting line-up to lift-up the team morale.