India loses ~ losses like this hurts Indian fans - does anybody care ????

Do you know – what brackets together – ML Lewis, Bhuvanes Kumar, Martin Snedden, Tim Southee, BV Vitori, Jason Holder, R Vinay Kumar, Dawlar Zadran …

I remember seeing him score runs at Marina, turning out for Mafatlal – Parthasarathi Sharma, a right hander made many runs in domestic and made his debut at Delhi [Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards were playing their second Test] – scored 54 & 49; in the 3rd test he scored 6 & 9 – and was dropped … on the tour of New Zealand and West Indies, an year later, he was pitch-forked as an Opener and slowly withered away. 

At Lancaster Park, Christchurch in Feb 1976 [ODI 35] – Sharma, Vengsarkar, Kirmani and Jock Edwards made their debut.  Batting first Indians made 154; Gundappa Viswanath top scoring with 56.  Collinge took 5 wickets. NZ chased it rather easily losing a solitary wicket – it was 8 balls per over those days.

Wonder why reading this now ~ the die-hard Indian fan has been following the fortunes of Indian Cricket team and losses are nothing new – though a performance like today badly hurts.  

Indian businesses in Newcastle, Isipingo, oThongathi (Tongaat), KwaDukuza (Stanger), Pietermaritzburg and elsewhere are in the crosshairs of a new radical group that has accused them of a host of “violations”, including physical and sexual abuse of workers – reports www.iol.co.za/ - While the iNjeje yamaNguni was set up in May, its head is no stranger to controversy. Phumlani Mfeka’s anti-Indian sentiments, particularly an explosive SMS he sent out on Friday, prompted the KwaZulu-Natal government to seek and obtain an urgent court interdict against him at the weekend, to prevent bloodshed. But the 26-year-old former member of the Mazibuye African Forum, who claims to have a following of like-minded Africans, has vowed to not rest until errant Indian business owners are held to account for their actions. Mfeka said the “struggle” was not targeted at the Indian working class, but rather Indian businessmen.

Back home, India suffered one of its worst defeats in One dayers.  Way back in Oct 2000 – Sri Lanka scored 299 and bowled out India for 54 – the loss margin was 245 runs.  At Sydney in Feb 2004,  Australia made 359  in VB Series finals – India lost that match by 208 runs

Today’s margin of 214  will rank in between those two and is the biggest win for South Africa in an ODI against India (in terms of runs). It's their sixth-largest win in all ODIs, and India's second-largest defeat ever.

~ ~ the list at the start is : bowlers who have conceded more than 100 runs in One day Cricket.  Bhuvaneshwar Kumar conceded 106, the 2nd highest in ODI after Mick Lewis’s 113.  Mohit Sharma’s economy rate of 12 per over 84 in 7) is the worst by any Indian bowler [with a minium of 7 overs !] … Among the 7 bowlers, Raina had economy rate of 6.33  ~ he bowled 3 overs for 19 with wicket of  Quinton de Kock.

This match has once again exposed Indian vulnerability  -  tomorrow all fans would ask why Bhuvi and Mohit are still playing ….. then after sometime, another opponent – everything will be forgotten and we will again stand in the Queue to buy tickets [at high price] for another match – perhaps the same players will play again !!

Sad fan – S. Sampathkumar.

25th Oct 2015.