1-0 and i have high hopes , not for nothing but just because the way we shape up , there was always a bit of arroagnce missing from Indian cricket team and i always felt elated when Zaheer would shout back at the batsmen , or when Irfan cleaned up Hayden in Australia in an one dayer and jump very high or when Yuvi or Bhajji would do something that shows the fire they have.
That fire is very important for the team because it makes everyone give their 100%. One can't do any better!
Dhoni has g iven the team a silent and controlled arrogance and confidence , no point Dhoni seems rattled and always seems like he can win from any situation. Thats a great quality to posess.
Dhoni might not be gifted but he is street smart and thats very important , and r egarding the posts on the t hread on the selection of few players , i have no issues with that , i think the selection is going good , opportunities are provided to youngsters and thats good!
Balaji was a force last time when he was fully fit , deserves a chance , Munaf might not be as pacy as he was , but i have seen him bowl line , length and accurate , remember McGrath never touched the high 130s.
Karthik is not a hitter but then so is not Parthiv , Karthik is a better batsmen than Parthiv i guess.
I have seen Dhoni betting on his players and backing them up , that is also very important , Yuvi was in dreaded form before England came up and he literally dstroyed England single handedly! Tendulkar is off color these days but then he is a great! Bhajji is coming off from injury but is doing good!
Emergence of Dhoni has led some seniors to back out themselves , Dhoni has an invisible hand in that and i guess thats good for indian cricket , unless you groom the Raina's , the Pathan's , you dont expect them to perform straight in World cup matches , do you !
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Regarding Test matches , my hope still lies on the Gambhir's , Sehwag's and the Tendulkar's , Dravid is an excellent player , but at times pitches in NZ finish test matches in 3 days and you need to score thick and fast rather than accumulate!

I wish the pitches are better and the better they are , the more is the difference we will see between the class of the Tendulkar's , Dravid's and the bits and pieces cricketers of NZ.
Regar ding Laxman in particular , i am a big fan of him , but he has always been strange in his own ways , he can play in the toughest of the conditions with the most exquisite of timings and class one can show or he can get bowled by a full toss and then react **with his eyes wide open** as if something totally unplayable came his way!
Keep your fingers crossed , this is going to be exciting as per me!