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[prfsr]

India will win this one in a canter. Kohli to wow everyone. &^%$ cricinfo is pushing Ganguly now and trashing the future captain of India. I think they sense that Kohli is on the threshold of greatness.

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http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/slvind/content/current/story/365485.html


India need to fix opening problem

Jamie Alter in Dambulla

August 19, 2008

Injuries to Sachin Tendulkar, during the third Test, and Virender Sehwag, during training on the eve of the five-ODI series, have given India a major headache ahead of the remaining four matches - that of finding a solid opening combination.

Tendulkar's 13,245 runs and 38 centuries as opener is beyond compare, while Sehwag's ability to provide explosive starts and tackle Sri Lanka's spinners was paramount. With the BCCI deciding not to send a replacement for Sehwag - how this team could do with a Sourav Ganguly now - India are left with only one specialist opener in Gautam Gambhir.

India's predicament was obvious in game one. In 70 domestic limited-overs matches Subramaniam Badrinath has never opened, and so India felt they had no option but young Virat Kohli. It put a lot of pressure on Kohli, and it showed. Kohli has spent most of his domestic career in the middle order, but was preferred for this match because of his success in the recent Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. Yet it was extremely difficult for him to assume the responsibility of opening the innings. He didn't look the part in the warm-up match either.

The only others in the squad who have opened at the international level are Parthiv Patel (53 runs from four games in 2004,) and Irfan Pathan. In terms of team composition Pathan appears the best option; he is technically accomplished and can score quickly.

The first time he was sent in at No. 3, against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in 2005, Pathan hit 83 from 70 balls. He had further success against Pakistan in Peshawar and Kuala Lumpur. The thinking on those occasions was to try to utilise the early overs. In Sri Lanka once the ball becomes old and soft, it will not be easy to play shots - something that is particularly crucial in this series, given the Mendis-and-Murali threat which follows. Sending him up the order will take the pressure off the middle order. Maybe Pathan could even be asked to go after the new-ball bowlers, with a target of scoring around 100 in the first 12 overs.

The problem was not just at the top yesterday. What was disappointing was the irresponsible shots played. Gambhir played down the wrong line to the second ball of the match, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma threw away their wickets without even facing the spinners, while Yuvraj Singh left a gaping hole between bat and pad against Ajantha Mendis. Mahendra Singh Dhoni also fell attempting a cute cut.

If a few batsmen had chosen to dig deep, the script might have been different. A target of 200 would have been tough on this track. It seemed everyone was trying to do a Virender Sehwag, when what was needed was preservation. India's highest partnership was 37 between Rohit and Yuvraj, followed by the 29 that the last pair of Pragyan Ojha and Munaf Patel put on. Like Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma at the PSS, Harbhajan Singh, Ojha and Munaf batted time against the spinners.

Since India's premature elimination from the World Cup, this side has been in transition. Senior batsmen like Ganguly and Rahul Dravid - both members of the 10,000 club - have been dropped and Dhoni's method of experimenting has yielded both good results (the decision to play five bowlers at Hobart earlier this year keeping in mind ground conditions, entrusting Praveen Kumar with the new ball) and bad (playing the extra batsman in the Asia Cup final).

This is a motivated side with an inspirational leader. You can argue that too much self-analysis can obstruct the creativity of this youthful team. There is a feeling that India's one-day team is more likely to succeed because of the youth factor and the exuberance it brings. It may well succeed because of its inexperience.

In the past, Indian teams haven't been allowed enough leeway in testing times. There have been too many young players drafted in as lambs to the slaughter, with inadequate returns marring the blueprints. There is plenty of one-day cricket coming up and Dhoni and the selectors have identified this as the core group for the immediate future. The talent of the side is not in doubt, the preparation and applications is.

India are known to be slow starters in any series, and they have the ability to bounce back in the remaining matches. But some serious introspection is needed if India aim to leave Sri Lanka unscathed. They can start by thinking out of the box.

[prfsr]

Now Virat will not get a chance to bat at all


http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/slvind/content/current/story/365500.html

India's batting under scrutiny again

The preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran

August 19, 2008


Match facts

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Start time 10am (local time) 0430 (GMT) 
 
Big Picture

Since the Asia Cup final, India's acclaimed batsmen have had to endure a dreadful ego hammering. There seems no quick solution in sight and time is certainly not at India's disposal with just a day's gap between the first two games. Traditionally sound players of spin, the Test and ODI specialists are still groping for answers when Ajantha Mendis comes on to bowl, and an eight-wicket drubbing at the same venue on Monday only reinforced his threat after the two defeats in the Tests.

The woeful situation is compounded by Virender Sehwag's departure after twisting his ankle at practice. His double-century was the key to India's victory in Galle and the two captains were only stating the obvious yesterday by stating his absence would be a big blow. That puts additional pressure on Gautam Gambhir as the man in form at the top, and it's anybody's guess as to who his opening partner will be. No replacement has been sought for Sehwag and questions will be raised over the omission of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have no such issues and will go in as firm favourites. The decision to play five specialist bowlers worked for them and not one bowler looked like a weak link.


Form guide (last 5 ODIs)

Sri Lanka WWLWW
India LLWLW


Watch out for

Gautam Gambhir: His second-ball duck notwithstanding, Gambhir is India's form batsman after Sehwag - his 310 runs was the second-highest aggregate in the Tests among batsmen of both teams. His ploy of walking down the pitch before a delivery may have an element of risk, but it only speaks of his confidence and intention of putting the bowler off his rhythm. Dhoni spoke about the importance of getting good starts, so it would fall upon Gambhir to bat responsibly without getting bogged down. With the limited resources available, Gambhir is probably India's best bet at the moment.

Munaf Patel v Sri Lanka's top order: The only saving grace for India on Monday was Munaf's ability to keep Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in check. He repeatedly got the ball to either cut back in or shape away from the off stump. In a match dominated by spinners, Munaf did the best he could in the conditions on offer, picking up the only wickets to fall in the chase.


Team news

India would be forced to re-assess their combination after the drubbing on Monday, especially at the top of the order with Sehwag's departure. Experimenting with Virat Kohli as an opener didn't work so it's likely he will swap places with Irfan Pathan who has been successful in the past as a pinch-hitter. With Rohit Sharma struggling for runs, Mahendra Singh Dhoni might promote himself to No. 5.

India (likely) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Irfan Pathan, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Virat Kohli, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Munaf Patel.

After the first ODI Mahela Jayawardene said Sri Lanka would retain the winning combination.

Sri Lanka (from) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.



Pitch & conditions

The conditions are expected to be similar to the first one-dayer, so batting could get difficult once the spinners operate.


Stats & Trivia

Chaminda Vaas is only one wicket away from the 400-wicket club in ODIs. He will be the fourth after Wasim Akram, Muralitharan and Waqar Younis.


Mahela Jayawardene has been dismissed only once by India at this ground in four matches and his average stands at an astronomical 228.


Dambulla is India's least favourite venue in Sri Lanka against the hosts, having lost all four matches to them.


Since January 2007, India have tried out 11 opening combinations in 57 innings. Only two of those pairs have batted together more than six times.


Quotes

"They will definitely come back strongly. They have a very good side and a lot of talented individual players who can change the match for them."
Mahela Jayawardene isn't getting too carried away after coasting home by eight wickets and expects a backlash from the Indians.

"The only option right now is to play more and more of him and that's the only way of getting better. You can see a thousand videos but it doesn't matter until you go out there and play him off the track from 20 yards."
Mahendra Singh Dhoni says it's just not possible to be an overnight success against Ajantha Mendis.

[ganavk]

Rohit Sharma struggling for runs ? As if he has been scoring heavily since his debut !

[prfsr]

Complete record:


Career averages  Mat Inns NO Runs HS  Ave    BF   SR   100 50 0 4s 6s 
overall                24   23    5 490   70* 27.22 673 72.80 0    4 1 38 4 


Innings by innings list
Runs Mins BF 4s 6s SR Pos Dismissal Inns  Opposition Ground Start Date 
DNB - - - - - - - 2  v Ireland Belfast 23 Jun 2007 ODI # 2590
8 13 9 0 0 88.88 7 bowled 1  v South Africa Belfast 26 Jun 2007 ODI # 2592
1 3 4 0 0 25.00 7 caught 2  v Australia Hyderabad (Decc) 5 Oct 2007 ODI # 2625
52 82 61 3 1 85.24 5 caught 2  v Pakistan Jaipur 18 Nov 2007 ODI # 2647
29 68 43 5 0 67.44 4 caught 1  v Australia Brisbane 3 Feb 2008 ODI # 2670
0 1 2 0 0 0.00 5 caught 1  v Sri Lanka Brisbane 5 Feb 2008 ODI # 2672
39* 86 61 2 0 63.93 6 not out 2  v Australia Melbourne 10 Feb 2008 ODI # 2675
70* 93 64 6 1 109.37 4 not out 1  v Sri Lanka Canberra 12 Feb 2008 ODI # 2676
1 12 3 0 0 33.33 4 caught 2  v Australia Adelaide 17 Feb 2008 ODI # 2680
24 74 36 1 0 66.66 4 caught 2  v Sri Lanka Adelaide 19 Feb 2008 ODI # 2681
1 3 3 0 0 33.33 4 caught 2  v Australia Sydney 24 Feb 2008 ODI # 2685
3* 8 7 0 0 42.85 5 not out 2  v Sri Lanka Hobart 26 Feb 2008 ODI # 2686
66 108 87 6 0 75.86 5 bowled 2  v Australia Sydney 2 Mar 2008 ODI # 2688
2 6 5 0 0 40.00 6 caught 1  v Australia Brisbane 4 Mar 2008 ODI # 2689
9 28 27 0 0 33.33 5 bowled 1  v Pakistan Dhaka (SBNS) 10 Jun 2008 ODI # 2705
26 50 43 1 1 60.46 3 caught 2  v Bangladesh Dhaka (SBNS) 12 Jun 2008 ODI # 2706
24 43 27 5 0 88.88 3 caught 2  v Pakistan Dhaka (SBNS) 14 Jun 2008 ODI # 2707
11 37 29 0 0 37.93 3 run out 1  v Hong Kong Karachi 25 Jun 2008 ODI # 2716
0* 3 1 0 0 0.00 6 not out 2  v Pakistan Karachi 26 Jun 2008 ODI # 2717
22 28 23 2 0 95.65 3 caught 2  v Bangladesh Karachi 28 Jun 2008 ODI # 2721
58 81 71 4 0 81.69 6 caught 1  v Pakistan Karachi 2 Jul 2008 ODI # 2730
22* 37 28 2 0 78.57 6 not out 2  v Sri Lanka Karachi 3 Jul 2008 ODI # 2732
3 8 8 0 0 37.50 6 lbw 2  v Sri Lanka Karachi 6 Jul 2008 ODI # 2735
19 46 31 1 1 61.29 5 caught 1  v Sri Lanka Dambulla 18 Aug 2008 ODI # 2742


   

[OldPal]

Reading  these, looks like Donny will go with same team.
Not sure what will he achieve  unless he tries something different, either order or players.
3M's have shown after fighting for 3 tests that one can be consistent against M2. I think MSD take a leaf out it and not take M2 lightly. Getting Badri in may be a good Idea. Pathan's bowling is ineffective , but is a crucial allrounder . Thus i foresee one change, but don't believe MSD would do it.
Now that the losing trend has started, we can at least sleep in nights.

 

[prfsr]

Now that the losing trend has started, we can at least sleep in nights.

 

[gouravk]

pah ! who sacrifises sleep for meaningless odis ?

[justforkix]

Rohit Sharma struggling for runs ? As if he has been scoring heavily since his debut !

relatively, yes.

ignore his 3 games which were 3 1-off games in 3 series = 20 in 3 games

Aus series = 34 in 10 games

Kitply, Asia Cup and 1st SL ODI = 24 in 10 games

So, 24 vs. 34 is a struggle

[justforkix]

India's predicament was obvious in game one. In 70 domestic limited-overs matches Subramaniam Badrinath has never opened, and so India felt they had no option but young Virat Kohli. Kohli has spent most of his domestic career in the middle order, but was preferred for this match because of his success in the recent Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. 

what sort of idiotic logic is this !!!

but was preferred for this match because of his success in the recent Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. 

didn't Badri score more than Kohli in the Emerging players tourney 

[ramshorns]

Rohit Sharma struggling for runs ? As if he has been scoring heavily since his debut !

relatively, yes.

ignore his 3 games which were 3 1-off games in 3 series = 20 in 3 games

Aus series = 34 in 10 games

Kitply, Asia Cup and 1st SL ODI = 24 in 10 games

So, 24 vs. 34 is a struggle

So JFK as per your statistical study when would be a time to drop Rohit.  Mind you he had a pivitol role to play in a game or two that won the Tri-series in Australia.

[justforkix]

Now Virat will not get a chance to bat at all

he'll get to bat - he's in the playing XI and bats at 7 - heck even Munaf will get to bat !!

[ramshorns]

In all seriousness it is unacceptable to not have Badri in the lineup after the Sehwag injury mishap.

[pipsqueak]

badri replacing ohja, gambhir injured and *may* miss out - so says SanjayM

now this will be India Ultra Progressive?

[pipsqueak]

no GG - pathan opens, badri in, PK instead of ohja.

india bowling first

no vaas/ fernando in

[Libran]

Another Injury Bombshell: We have got a buzzing news that Gambhir has been injured and he might not feature in today's game. We will have to wait and watch to see if it is true...

Two Dada boyz working overtime to get Dada back to the opening slot 

[justforkix]

Wow - Badri gets a game ahead of PaPa !!!

[justforkix]

"It's a more forced decision but we have lost Gambhir for this game. So we will bowl first. Irfan will open. We don't have a specialist opener."

 

No GG means they will bowl first ?!? why ?!? playing mendis and murali will be any easier batting 2nd than 1st  - what a weird decision and weirder logic to support that....

[Libran]

Wow - Badri gets a game ahead of PaPa !!!

Batting line up shows he will come in at #7  ...    may not have much to show ... 

[gouravk]

wtf ! just one day rest between games ! i was expecting the game to be tomorrow ...

on second thoughts ... blah !

[hastalavistababy]

KC Sangakkara b Khan 2(4/1)

[LosingNow]

Mahela gone.. Yuvraj takes a catch in slips!! what is he doing there..

10/2

[justforkix]

So JFK as per your statistical study when would be a time to drop Rohit.  Mind you he had a pivitol role to play in a game or two that won the Tri-series in Australia.

ODIs over a few games are a bit trickier to judge for lower order players - coming in at 5, 6, 7. Need a bit more analysis than just looking at scores. For e.g., 20-25 in the slog overs is as good as a 50 in the middle overs. So, have to think about a fair criteria. Will revisit this when I get some freetime.

[LosingNow]

Kapu gone too.. ZK on fire.. 10/3

[poondu]

3 DOWN

[justforkix]

Yuvraj takes a catch in slips!! what is he doing there..

after his knee injury, he no longer stands at backward point. So, slips is as good as any

And Kappu GONE for DUCK !!!! 

10/3 - Zaheer on FIRE !!!

[gouravk]

still ... blah ...

note the one man making an impact is the one who also plays test cricket ... 

[Libran]

Excellent start for India 

[pipsqueak]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

[LosingNow]

Siva gone too.. 11/4

[gouravk]

4 down now ... praveen takes a wicket ... the bangalore royal challengers making an impact  

[Libran]

get Jaya out..and you guys can hit the bed earlier than planned

top half gone.... leaves M&M to put on the runs and also take the wickets... not a good situation to be in for SL

[teamindia]

Hope our bowlers can pull this up for us.

[gouravk]

my hitting the bed depends not on jaya ... hehe ... depends on taking a break from the infinite loop of reviewing and editing my paper ...  

[justforkix]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

[pipsqueak]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

nah, this is beyond recovery.

1-1

[Libran]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

A low score is good for India...but will not help Badri display his batting skills   

[gouravk]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

i think 150 is sufficient to test us ...

[justforkix]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

A low score is good for India...but will not help Badri display his batting skills   

I don't have such high hopes on our top order 

[pipsqueak]

we are saved from M&M today ;-) thanks to the bowlers!

  - don't take anything for granted till sanath is around - remember asia cup finals !!

i think 150 is sufficient to test us ...

i don't see SL crossing 100 - i predict 85 all out.

[pipsqueak]

i win - i make it 65 now. a lucky wicket.

ZK saves india the blushes!