MS Dhoni - The most successful captain of India

[ajaybaskar]

Harper slams Dhoni

Australian umpire Daryl Harper has blasted India for their behaviour in the first Test against the West Indies, but admits he made a few errors in the match.

India won the Test, beating West Indies by 63 runs in the Caribbean, but skipper MS Dhoni sarcastically said in a post-match press conference that he would have been in his hotel room by now had it not been for the umpiring decisions.

Most of the decisions Dhoni was referring to involved Harper, who in the wake of the criticism, withdrew from standing in the third Test that starts Wednesday, due to be his final game as an international umpire.

"I didn't have my best game of the year but match referee Jeff Crowe, who observed every ball, calculated that I had managed to get 94 percent of all my decisions correct. That analysis was confirmed from headquarters in our Dubai office," Harper said on Friday.

"There was one LBW against Harbhajan that would have been reversed had Decision Review System been available."

"I also failed to detect a no ball when West Indian Bishoo's back foot touched the side or return crease, [a mistake that's] about as common as Indians eating beef burgers."

The Australian said even the West Indies players were unhappy with the way the visitors behaved on the field.

"West Indies expressed concern over Indian players' habit of charging at umpires when appealing which is against the spirit of the game," Harper said.

"I should never have applied the laws of cricket to Indian players."

Harper also came down strongly on Dhoni, and added that technology could not prove that his decision to give Virat Kohli out was a wrong one.

"We [Dhoni and I] did not share many pleasantries in the match," he said.

"Another decision that was notable involved Virat Kohli. He flashed wide of his body at a short ball that passed well outside his body down the leg side."

"He clearly gloved the ball and was given out."

"Replays could not confirm that my decision was right and they could not confirm my decision was wrong."

[ajaybaskar]

Dhoni should have been pulled up for his remarks: Australian media

SYDNEY: The Australian media has come down hard on the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not taking any action against Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose criticism of umpire Daryl Harper's performance in the first Test against West Indies led to the withdrawal of the official from the third Test.

Harper was to retire from the elite panel after the third Test, but following the criticism he chose not to officiate in what would have been his farewell match.

"Indian harassment and the ICC's inaction have seen Australian umpire Daryl Harper pull out of his farewell Test in the West Indies," reported the Australian on Friday.

"While the ICC said it was unfair criticism and defended Harper's record, it has not taken any action against India's captain. And Harper, who was about to stand in his 300th international, walked away," the report said.

The report said that there were a number of disputed decisions that upset the Indians, but they were only in that position because the Indian players and board refused to countenance the use of the Decision Review System (DRS). "Match referee Jeff Crowe did not punish Dhoni for his outburst."

India won the first Test at Kingston by 63 runs and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: "If the correct decisions were made, the game would have finished much earlier and I would have been in the hotel by now."

The ICC's cricket manager, Dave Richardson, defended Harper's record.

"The reality of the situation is that Daryl's statistics show his correct decision percentage in Tests involving India is 96 per cent, which is considerably higher than the international average for top-level umpires," Richardson said.

Harper's former colleague Darrell Hair supported him. "You can't have players picking and choosing umpires," Hair was quoted as saying.

The 59-year-old Harper, who has stood in 95 Tests and 174 ODIs, is not the first umpire to feel poorly treated. In 2008, Steve Bucknor was sent home by the ICC after India complained about his performance in the controversial Sydney Test against Australia. Mark Benson also walked away amid controversy over the DRS in Australia two summers ago, citing ill health.

[ajaybaskar]

Wishing MSD and Mrs.MSD a very happy first wedding anniversary!!

[Plum]

idhellAm correctA gnAbagam vechuruppIngaLE...innEram indhi channelslAm Ranhci-la muRRugai ittiruppAngaLE

[scorpio]

Aishwarya Bachan pOla nalla news edhuvum illayaa?

[Plum]

Scorpio - avarukku engE vAippu kudukkaRAnga? Test Series, World Cup, Champions Trophy, Champions League, IPL - idhellAm pOga seekkiRam hotel Roomukkku pOgalAmnA, bad decision kodukkaRA Darryl HarpernAla extra time field-la.
eppO dhAn avarukku nEram kedaikkum?

[hamid]

Scorpio - avarukku engE vAippu kudukkaRAnga? Test Series, World Cup, Champions Trophy, Champions League, IPL - idhellAm pOga seekkiRam hotel Roomukkku pOgalAmnA, bad decision kodukkaRA Darryl HarpernAla extra time field-la.
eppO dhAn avarukku nEram kedaikkum?

.........

[hamid]

Harper slams Dhoni

Australian umpire Daryl Harper has blasted India for their behaviour in the first Test against the West Indies, but admits he made a few errors in the match.

India won the Test, beating West Indies by 63 runs in the Caribbean, but skipper MS Dhoni sarcastically said in a post-match press conference that he would have been in his hotel room by now had it not been for the umpiring decisions.

Most of the decisions Dhoni was referring to involved Harper, who in the wake of the criticism, withdrew from standing in the third Test that starts Wednesday, due to be his final game as an international umpire.

"I didn't have my best game of the year but match referee Jeff Crowe, who observed every ball, calculated that I had managed to get 94 percent of all my decisions correct. That analysis was confirmed from headquarters in our Dubai office," Harper said on Friday.

"There was one LBW against Harbhajan that would have been reversed had Decision Review System been available."

"I also failed to detect a no ball when West Indian Bishoo's back foot touched the side or return crease, [a mistake that's] about as common as Indians eating beef burgers."

The Australian said even the West Indies players were unhappy with the way the visitors behaved on the field.

"West Indies expressed concern over Indian players' habit of charging at umpires when appealing which is against the spirit of the game," Harper said.

"I should never have applied the laws of cricket to Indian players."

Harper also came down strongly on Dhoni, and added that technology could not prove that his decision to give Virat Kohli out was a wrong one.

"We [Dhoni and I] did not share many pleasantries in the match," he said.

"Another decision that was notable involved Virat Kohli. He flashed wide of his body at a short ball that passed well outside his body down the leg side."

"He clearly gloved the ball and was given out."

"Replays could not confirm that my decision was right and they could not confirm my decision was wrong."

what does this mean? He gave correct boundaries, sixes, leg byes, runs etc. and only made 4% errors?

[Plum]

I should never have applied the laws of cricket to Indian players

adhAN laws-ai madhikkAma Appu vekka muyaRchchi paNNingaLE Harperu? You already didnt apply Cricket laws to Indian players, Mr Harper.

94% ellAm sari - there is such a thing as the crucialness of the decision. If your 94% includes decisions in favour of Ishant Sharma(batting), Virat Kohli(Bowling), and the 6% includes dismissing Dhoni when he was not out, reprieving Chanders and Darren Bravo when they finally got out - then your numeric 94% doesnt matter.

Harper has been slammed even by English media - because he has costed them at times - which normally stands behind Anglo Saxon umpires. I am sure he'll now become a hero to them now that he has spoken against India and Dhoni but they will be tempered by their own previous writings against him.

Harper is the new Bucknor. Hating India, and boldly declaring that he was tempted to go against law to punish Indian players. idhai ellAm kandikkAdha ICC, encourage paNdra anglo-saxon media, BCCI-ai edhirkkaNumnu orE kAraNathukkAga, idhukkellAm othu oodhaRa Indian innocent fublic.

[ajaybaskar]

MS Dhoni: The man and the legend

Some say he has a charmed life. Some sigh and call it destiny. While many would choose to credit or blame fate, depending on perspectives, for his success, there is no denying that fortune favours the brave is an apt saying when it comes to a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

In his 30 years, which he completes on Thursday, Mahendra has touched upon and seized every accolade that could possibly ever come a cricketers way and though his team-mate in Sachin Tendulkar could rightfully boast of more laurels, this lad-from-Ranchi-turned-global-star-cricketer has every reason to be as proud.

The thing with comparisons are that they are mostly never fair and this is surely not one either. Instead, this is about a man who was given a bunch of hungry boys to lead and how he fed them with trophies and success galore. Cricket pundits, a few at least, regard the team that Dhoni inherited in 2007 was already fine-tuned to race to victory. The race itself was yet to begin.

Whether the ICC World T20 Trophy or the flagship tournament itself, the journey of the Indian team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been a whirlwind that has basked in more glory, arguably, than any other before it. Eleven make a team, one and only one will ever make a leader of it. Dhoni has been that driving force who has made gold off whatever he has touched.

While his biography may not be the rags-to-riches anecdotes exactly, for a young boy with long flowing brown hair - born in a middle class family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi - to firmly etch his name in the cricketing hall of fame requires luck and hardwork. Dhoni has had both for him, along with a certain demeanour that reflects utmost confidence.

Dhoni's life chart once he made it to the national side has grown by leaps and bounds. So while he failed to make an impact in his ODI debut in 2004, the graph has since not dipped the slightest. What has changed though, apart from his most-watched hairstyle- over the years is his approach to the game. No cricket pundit is needed here to ascertain how as a batsman, MS has capped his raw and brutal aggression in a bid to play responsible knocks. Between his 183* off 145 against Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2005 and 91 off 79 against Sri Lanka again in Mumbai 2011, the difference is not just of 6 years. The contrast lies in the stature.

So like Tendulkar, detailing much of his achievement would not be a first on his birthday, for the contemporary cricketing world has mostly been witness to this legend. Instead, on this day, here is wishing Mahi continuing success and a continuing blessed life.