Dropping Zaheer is ok. He was injured. Replacing him with a rookie was laughable. Should have included Nehra or Patel or RP Singh. Nehra and Patel are better one day bowlers. RP Singh is a left hander and a better choice.
Neither Sreesanth or Ishant are ready to lead a bowling attack. A senior bowlers presence is essential.
Raina should be dropped from the test side. They should include a bowler instead of him or better a all-rounder. Yuvraj,Yusuf Pathan or Jadeja should be given a chance. A medium pacer like Irfan Pathan/Dhawal Kulkarni would be better.
Either Dravid or Laxman should be "rested". Pujara should be included instead of them and play at no 3. Make way for future.
Harbhajan should be dropped. Ojha,Chawla or Misra should be considered. They are better bowlers. Make way for the future.
If gambhir's misery continues he should be dropped from the test side. Vijay , Sharma or Kohli should be brought in.
Dhoni should bat at no 6. Below that he is a waste.
India should go in with 5 batsman and 5 bowlers with a wicketkeeper. 4 bowlers which includes a rookie and out of form spinner is lousy.
Re: Re: Decent Analysis
by EDWIN EDWIN on Dec 22, 2010 01:24 PM
Irfan pathan should be included in the side to support pace bowling on a fast like South Africa. He is an asset to the team, do not understand why he is being sidelined.dhoni is favoring RP Singh over Irfan which is wrong, dhoni do not favor any one player over others.
Re: Decent Analysis
by incredibleindia on Dec 22, 2010 01:40 PM
team like this Dhoni C Sehwag Gambhir Laxman Pujara Kohali Praveen Pragyan Nehara/RP Zaheer Amit
India never deserved to be the number one team simply because they were purely riding on the back of good performances at home but had faltered on numerous occassions abroad. Even in Sri Lanka they could not win a test series in the last 15 years let alone Australia and South Africa. Even if you look at the current performance the only country where they have won a test series in the last 3 years are England, West Indies and New Zealand while they have lost series in Sri lanka, Australia and South Africa. It's a pure combination of some mathematical luck and some excellent performances at home combined with some ordinary performances by other teams that saw India go to the number one spot. But soon they are going to come crashing down like a ton of bricks when they get whitewashed 3-0 in SA. People who thought that India deserved to be at the top were only living in a fool's paradise and it was inevitable that they would get thrashed as usual when they go to the bouncy pitches in SA. The only question that is left to be answered is if India can avoid an innings defeat in the remaining 2 matches or they would go down the predicted path like they did in 1997 in Durban where they were bowled out for 100 & 66 respectively in the first and second innings. Looking at the current state of affairs this looks more probable than a spirited fightback.
Re: Definitely not the number one team
by India on Dec 22, 2010 06:41 AM
A team with mediocre bowling and fielding does not deserve #1 tag. But in batting India is way up, no question. But it is too early to write off Dhoni & Co so quickly, so early in the series.
Re: Definitely not the number one team
by priya on Dec 22, 2010 12:23 PM
Good Analysis, but is it team India's fault that they played and won at home? If you think other team (aus/SA) desrves no 1 spot than even they have not beaten India in India then how they can b no.1?
Gambhir Sehwag Dravid Tendulkar Laxman Yuvraj / Pujara / Kohli Dhoni Harbhajan I Sharma / R P Singh M Patel Z Khan / P Kumar
And India Needs to Bowl First, That means Dhoni Needs to win toss, Every time it will be same condition in SA for first innings and they will choose Bowling, That for sure. India has always a great records in chassing and hence needs to bowl first and can really make difference.
Re: For Durban
by usha sundaram on Dec 22, 2010 02:01 AM
The success of India either in India or abroad has been mostly relied on India's batting talent. Bowling has been a weak point for quiet some time. Unless we have strike bowlers like Srinath/Venkatesh and very good spinner like Kumble the bowling will continue to be a question mark. When the batting fails like the first innings of the first test, which is bound to happen once in a while the result will be not a favourable one for Indian fans. Bottomline the bowling must greatly improve;otherwise the result we saw in the first test are bound to be repeated.
2nd innings was like an unprovoked shelling by pak at the loc. no strtegy no commitment no planning. evn in the worst conditions strategy shud b in the correct place. der r so many historic draws. v shud have tried to eat away the time evn whn v know that it is almost impossible. dhoni/kirsten has no control ovr guys like sewag. a team without strategy does not deserve to b no 1. SA will prove it. and whn will they recognise pujara
When two main SA'can pace bowlers could take 14 wickets compared to Indian main pace bowlers tally of 2, it obviously tells the picture about our bowling strength. India could best save their face in strategically plan the remaining two test matches by batting to their potential. else all possibilities of 3-0 white wash looms large.
Re: No practice matches
by usha sundaram on Dec 22, 2010 02:07 AM
How many BCCI members have played International cricket? Most of them are business bandicoots or those that enjoy the blessings of business/politician nexus. When the primary aim is to loot the treasure trove of BCCI and hence the management is controlled by this business/politican nexus, India's ascendency is a matter of chance and not a deliberate thought out strategy to nurture and develop batting/bowling talent pool of cricketers. I dread to imagine retirement of Tendulkar/Dravid/Laxman. There will be a giant vaccum. Poor Shewag and Dhoni will be blamed and hounded out of the team.
Re: Re: No practice matches
by Sasanka Mahapatra on Dec 22, 2010 09:53 PM
I agree w/u on this. But one thing has heppened in the team nowadays - for whioch some credit should go to each team member - we have a tough team now, hungry for success, and ruthless. Guess Dhoni will take more than some credit for this.
We always had good players but rarely a good captain to band it together, that Dhoni seems to have done. Mind you, I am not belittling the contributions of anyone, just stating facts. I feel that his super cool temperament has helped.
VVS Laxman's innings always play pivotal role and lays great impact in India's victory or losses. As he failed in Ist test, India lost it badly. Hope he blasts a commanding hundred in next test and India wins.
Good analysis. Completely agree selection should have been better. Why not Virat Kohli for test cricket? Where is RP singh, Munaf and PRaveen. Raina is giving slip catching practice which was pathetic.
Re: Good analysis
by pradeep katiyar on Dec 21, 2010 07:14 PM
its good to give a chance to a batsman or a baller but you forget to give a chance to allrounder like Irfan Pathan. Every one deserves a second chance and he too
Re: Re: Good analysis
by Bhasmasur on Dec 21, 2010 08:02 PM
Sure, everyone deserves a second chance..... Why didn't they select Irfan, eventhough Irfan hasn't played any sort of serious cricket since last IPL. He isn't even playing for Baroda. He is busy with his business and building his new house
