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[poondu]

India aim to capitalise on hosts' concerns

Sriram Veera

March 5, 2009

The Big Picture

   
Suresh Raina needs to follow up on his blistering innings in Napier with greater consistency © AFP
 

As expected, India shrugged off the Twenty20 aberration to hand New Zealand a heavy defeat in the first ODI. The hosts have to do all the running now. The pitch looks slow and is not expected to assist seam movement. Virender Sehwag has already said that if India's batting clicks, they can score 300 in every game. Even so, New Zealand couldn't have chosen a better venue to level the series. It's their favourite venue and Daniel Vettori said his players feel very comfortable playing here.

However, they have a key injury worry ahead of the game. Brendon McCullum has a thumb injury and Peter McGlashan has been called up to the squad in case McCullum doesn't recover in time. If McCullum doesn't play then Martin Guptill will open. Without McCullum, New Zealand might struggle to get someone to guide the inexperienced batting line-up.

India will again be without the injured Ishant Sharma. But it is their batting that hurt New Zealand in the first game. As they did in Sri Lanka, India have continued to shuffle the batting order. Dhoni came in at No 3 in the last game and if you believe Sehwag, New Zealand were caught unawares wondering if Dhoni had come to pinch hit or bat as a regular No. 3. The Indians are incredibly confident but occasionally, as happened during the Twenty20, they become complacent. The twin losses may actually have done India a lot of good.

ODI form guide
(last five matches, most recent first)

India - WLWWW

New Zealand - LNLLW

Watch out for ...

Jesse Ryder: He has already become one of New Zealand's key batsmen. He has a healthy strike rate of 80.61 but is yet to successfully convert his starts. New Zealand would hope that Ryder can improve on his average of 31.

Suresh Raina: This series offers Raina another chance to display his consistency. He has begun well; can he carry on? During his injury and absence from the Indian team, Rohit Sharma got a chance but contrived to waste it. In Sri Lanka, Mahendra Singh Dhoni said publicly that Raina is ahead in the pecking order and will get to stake his claim. So far he has done well.

Team news

If McCullum plays, Neil Broom is most likely to miss out. Allrounder Grant Elliott, who replaced Nathan McCullum at No 7, and Kyle Mills, who returned from injury, didn't have a great first game but are expected to bounce back strongly. Mills had a good tour of Australia, picking nine wickets at 20.

New Zealand: 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Neil Broom, 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Ian Bulter/Tim Southee, 11 Iain O'Brien, 12 Peter McGlashan

India are not expected to take any risks with Ishant Sharma. Praveen Kumar, the man who replaced Ishant, had a stellar first game but Munaf Patel will have to step up.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Pitch & conditions

The teams haven't managed to get used to the conditions yet since they practised at the Basin Reserve. The wicket is supposed to be similar to the Twenty20 game - slow and not much seam movement on offer. Rain is expected; watch out for Messrs Duckworth and Lewis to get into the equation at some point.

Stats and trivia

New Zealand have a good record at the Westpac Stadium, winning ten ODIs and losing five. They have won the last five contests at the ground

The team winning the toss has opted to bat first on nine occasions in 16 ODIs at the venue.

Quotes

"In a five-match series, you need to be at least 1-1 at this point. So we realise how important it is. I suppose we do have a little bit of reputation coming into Wellington for these sorts of games and playing reasonably well. So we are confident that we can bounce back pretty quickly. The position we put ourselves against England when we lost the T20s pretty comprehensively and came back here and played well. It's a ground we enjoy playing at and hopefully all those things move towards a win for us."
Vettori was hopeful ahead of the second ODI

"If we don't lose wickets early,we can easily score 300 in every game [of this series]. New ball is important for us. In the last game we scored 273 off 38 overs, we could have gone on to 350-360 if it had been a 50-over game. Our batting is our strength, and if we can play the new ball well we invariably manage 280-290 at least.
Sehwag echoes a confident India

Sriram Veera is a staff writer at Cricinfo

© Cricinfo
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/nzvind2009/content/current/story/393492.html

[12th_Man]

Now that MSD has listened to K3's advice of becoming no3 bat. I was asking to myself. Should he continue to come as no3 bat?

In favor:
1. Quick runner
2. Has remained not out in quite few innings (pls. check the CI stats)
3. Responsible (kindaa goes with the above point)
4. Can hit if need be.
5. Strike Rate is excellent and so is avg, considering he has been playing late in game.
6. Seems, Currently the team is missing a reliable anchor (RD type) , He seems to fit that role better than others in the lot( funny i am comparing  MSD with RD).
7. Earlier he was considered to be the best hitter in team, today, I would rate all the other bats as better hitter than him.

Against:
1. What is that MSD can do and GG can’t? Why not GG
2. Usually his starts are slow and then accelerates. What if he makes a 25 ball 11 and gets out.
3. I feel NZ have sorted out his length. He was not given enough options to play the kind of shots he likes.
4. Use of PP's : IMO PP's need a bat who can stand and clear the infield. MSD usually has two kind of shots either very soft hands ( 10 KMPS) or 130KMPH. There is no driving at 70 KMPH. I guess i am not to sure, if he can use the PP's as effectively as GG.


---------------
Why is GG and VS pair broken asn SRT not as No3? I don't have an answer. Would love to read anybody's opinion on it

In the last match, IMO , Had VS lost his wicket, GG or YS had been next guy in. This also lets me believe that SRT has to play an anchor role for most of the time.

[justforkix]

Why is GG and VS pair broken asn SRT not as No3? I don't have an answer. Would love to read anybody's opinion on it

what a silly Q. Sachin wants to open. Thatz all - MSD has the option of either moving GG at #3 or Veeru at #3....

[12th_Man]

I thought after the departure of certain great players, The team has finally moved to the "TEAM" tag. but does not seem so. I don;t mind SRT as opener, but a LH RH can also work better, considering VS and GG have played a lot of cricket together and have very good understaning amonst each other. GG also typically plays an SRT styled inngs. Provide consistency to the side and then the long handles. I think SRT at no 3 will be in better interest of team.

[poondu]

SRT should be the 12th man. Seriously,what is he trying to acheive in ODIs. Concentrate on test tricket.

[12th_Man]

SRT should be the 12th man. Seriously,what is he trying to acheive in ODIs. Concentrate on test tricket.

I take offense to it 

[justforkix]

I thought after the departure of certain great players, The team has finally moved to the "TEAM" tag. but does not seem so. I don;t mind SRT as opener, but a LH RH can also work better, considering VS and GG have played a lot of cricket together and have very good understaning amonst each other. GG also typically plays an SRT styled inngs. Provide consistency to the side and then the long handles. I think SRT at no 3 will be in better interest of team.

Let us not forget that the C&B series was just the last but one series played by Sachin where Sachin's batting almost singlehandedly won us the 2 finals. Even today, I trust SRT more than GG/VS to set up the game for us.

[justforkix]

SRT should be the 12th man. Seriously,what is he trying to acheive in ODIs. Concentrate on test tricket.

of course - he can easily extend his career by 3-4 years by doing this. But as long as he plays in ODIs, he should open IMO.

[k-slice]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

[ramshorns]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

[LosingNow]

Now that MSD has listened to K3's advice of becoming no3 bat. I was asking to myself. Should he continue to come as no3 bat?

In favor:
1. Quick runner
2. Has remained not out in quite few innings (pls. check the CI stats)
3. Responsible (kindaa goes with the above point)
4. Can hit if need be.
5. Strike Rate is excellent and so is avg, considering he has been playing late in game.
6. Seems, Currently the team is missing a reliable anchor (RD type) , He seems to fit that role better than others in the lot( funny i am comparing  MSD with RD).
7. Earlier he was considered to be the best hitter in team, today, I would rate all the other bats as better hitter than him.

Against:
1. What is that MSD can do and GG can’t? Why not GG
2. Usually his starts are slow and then accelerates. What if he makes a 25 ball 11 and gets out.
3. I feel NZ have sorted out his length. He was not given enough options to play the kind of shots he likes.
4. Use of PP's : IMO PP's need a bat who can stand and clear the infield. MSD usually has two kind of shots either very soft hands ( 10 KMPS) or 130KMPH. There is no driving at 70 KMPH. I guess i am not to sure, if he can use the PP's as effectively as GG.


---------------
Why is GG and VS pair broken asn SRT not as No3? I don't have an answer. Would love to read anybody's opinion on it

In the last match, IMO , Had VS lost his wicket, GG or YS had been next guy in. This also lets me believe that SRT has to play an anchor role for most of the time.

Good points..

I think VS/SRT opening and GG at #3 .. should be the long-term stable option for India. VS will hit or miss..but GG can play a stable innings. The problem off late has been SRT..he can be the best anchor .. he is getting out early though (sometimes due to ump's fault)

[k-slice]

sg was dropped unfairly. i think he had another 2 years left in the odi side of things except for his fielding which pulled him down. RD was a little too slow and just did not make the cut i my view. SRT is a good fielder, scores runs and has experience. i think this will only help indias new players instead of hampering their growth.

[gouravk]

ppl still believe VS is hit/miss ... chk chk chk ...

its like poker .. those who cant play it continue to believe it is luck ...

[12th_Man]

I think WN meant, "Hit" from the batting side, "miss" from the fielding side. The fielding team has to miss VS hits for him to score ...   

[ramshorns]

sg was dropped unfairly. i think he had another 2 years left in the odi side of things except for his fielding which pulled him down. RD was a little too slow and just did not make the cut i my view.

I do not think SG was dropped unfairly in ODI's and niether was RD and dropping SRT would not have been either after the WC debacle.  All are past their sell by date for them to make any impact on the team results.  WC was a great barometer to make that call.

SRT is a good fielder, scores runs and has experience.

You got to be kidding me that Tendulkar is a good fielder.  He cannot even throw these days because of a bad shoulder and hence is hiding in the inner circle for most part. As for scoring runs and experience any one who played upwards of 10 years in international cricket and in decent form has that.  It is just not confined to Tendulkar alone and that should not be the reason alone to select a player when team needs and results are taken into consideration.

[ramshorns]

ppl still believe VS is hit/miss ... chk chk chk ...

I do. He is hit/miss of Indian cricket.  He himself said that many times.  He will not change his game no matter what and what the situation is.  A maverick loosely using the term.  Such a player should never be let any where close to a leadership role IMO unless it it is a 20-20 IPL game which is right up his alley.

its like poker .. those who cant play it continue to believe it is luck ...

I do play it and it is not luck unlike VS's batting for most part.

[12th_Man]

Looks like  the maharathi discussions are back.
Here are my two cents:
I never wanted SRT to be out of team, I don't think Poondu either(the remark was made in jovial mode). I think he is in good knick and did not look rusty to me. IMO, as Kslice put it, he does not needs to prove anything anymore to anybody. I still feel he is an asset to the team and is miles ahead then the other option RS at this time.
JFK : As per SRT winning us C&B finals, you can find winning contributions from VS and GG as well.
I was only debating with an openieng pair like VS and GG in the team , Who play Delhi,TT,ODI,TM together most of the time, is having SRT to open really the wise move?

[12th_Man]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10560273

Cricket: Vettori keeps faith with his bowlers 
4:00AM Friday Mar 06, 2009
By David Leggat


Cricket: Vettori leaves tour decision to the players

New Zealand are preparing to stick with the bowling attack who took a flogging when the ODI series began in Napier this week for today's second match in Wellington.

India rattled up 273 for four in just 38 overs in winning the Napier match, with usually reliable operators such as Kyle Mills and Iain O'Brien well off their game.

But captain Dan Vettori is taking the view that Napier was an aberration.

"We are trying to find that balance between being tough on them and realising they have done a pretty good job for a while now," Vettori said yesterday. "I think they understand what went wrong and how to rectify it. So we hope Napier is an aberration but we need some guys to step up and replicate the form they've had previous to that game."

But even if the bowling attack is unchanged, there will be a new face in the New Zealand side today.

Northern Districts wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan will make his ODI debut, to go with a couple of Twenty20 matches in December 2006, after regular gloveman Brendon McCullum took a heavy blow on his right thumb in Napier. McCullum's thumb is badly bruised but he hopes to play as a specialist batsman.



He had a bat at practice yesterday and is likely to take his place opening the innings. That will mean one other batsman dropping out, most likely middle order player Neil Broom.

An ODI preceded by an injury worry for McCullum is becoming a common occurrence, but being, in Vettori's words, "a belligerent guy", Vettori's gut feeling was that McCullum would play.

"He seems to have a lot of fitness tests and comes through them all," Vettori said.

Should McCullum be ruled out, Martin Guptill will move up to open with Jesse Ryder. That should not unduly unsettle things, given Guptill's form since making his New Zealand debut against the West Indies in January.

In eight ODIs, starting with his unbeaten 122 against the Windies at Eden Park, Guptill has averaged 60.83 and got a good look at the Indian attack in hitting 64 at Napier.

McGlashan was a significant contributor to ND's winning the one-day State Shield this season, hitting 272 runs at 45.33. He appears to have overtaken Auckland's Gareth Hopkins as McCullum's backup.

Hopkins run production in the domestic one-day series was poorer than McGlashan's and that won't have helped his case.

New Zealand know they cannot afford another loss today. If they trail 0-2, winning three on the bounce against the Indians will be a tall order.

"You need to be 1-1 at this point, so we realise how important it is and we do have a little bit of a reputation of coming to Wellington and playing well, so we are confident we can bounce back quickly," Vettori said.

India's tendency to shuffle their batting order at short notice will not catch New Zealand off guard.

India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, bumped himself up to No 3 in Napier, and hit a run-a-ball 84 not out to steer the tourists towards their substantial total.

"Our bowling plan stays pretty similar no matter where a batsman comes in," said Vettori. "It is up to us to make sure we execute them and that is all I can ask of the bowlers. We know what we should be doing."

India are likely to field the same combination, unless young fast bowler Ishant Sharma is ruled fit to play after bruising his right shoulder on the same ground in the Twenty20 clash last week.

[LosingNow]

ppl still believe VS is hit/miss ... chk chk chk ...

its like poker .. those who cant play it continue to believe it is luck ...

In ODIs (more than tests) he is a hit or miss.. also, no one in their right mind would think of VS as an anchor

[12th_Man]

ppl still believe VS is hit/miss ... chk chk chk ...

its like poker .. those who cant play it continue to believe it is luck ...

In ODIs (more than tests) he is a hit or miss.. also, no one in their right mind would think of VS as an anchor

ODI's are anyway useless games. So does not matter.( sorry Gov beat you there)

[justforkix]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

The big difference is RD and SG were poor runners, poor fielders and scored at lower S/R, i.e., no longer ODI-fit when dropped, while Sachin is still a good fielder, one of the best runners in the team and scores at nearly run a ball. And no, MSD does not need to say good things about Sachin to stay in the team - his on field performance are enough.

[justforkix]

sg was dropped unfairly. i think he had another 2 years left in the odi side of things except for his fielding which pulled him down. RD was a little too slow and just did not make the cut i my view.

I do not think SG was dropped unfairly in ODI's and niether was RD and dropping SRT would not have been either after the WC debacle.  All are past their sell by date for them to make any impact on the team results.  WC was a great barometer to make that call.

SRT is a good fielder, scores runs and has experience.

You got to be kidding me that Tendulkar is a good fielder.  He cannot even throw these days because of a bad shoulder and hence is hiding in the inner circle for most part. As for scoring runs and experience any one who played upwards of 10 years in international cricket and in decent form has that.  It is just not confined to Tendulkar alone and that should not be the reason alone to select a player when team needs and results are taken into consideration.

Yep, the same past sell by date guy won us the CB series, arguably our best toruney win since 1985. But I guess any X, Y, Z could have done that 

Reason to pick any player is performance and in ODIs fielding and running between wickets Sachin has been performing as well as any other player in the team....

[Cover Point]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

The big difference is RD and SG were poor runners, poor fielders and scored at lower S/R, i.e., no longer ODI-fit when dropped, while Sachin is still a good fielder, one of the best runners in the team and scores at nearly run a ball. And no, MSD does not need to say good things about Sachin to stay in the team - his on field performance are enough.

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

[justforkix]

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

RD is a better fielder and runner than SRT - JOKE OF THE CENTURY

[ramshorns]

sg was dropped unfairly. i think he had another 2 years left in the odi side of things except for his fielding which pulled him down. RD was a little too slow and just did not make the cut i my view.

I do not think SG was dropped unfairly in ODI's and niether was RD and dropping SRT would not have been either after the WC debacle.  All are past their sell by date for them to make any impact on the team results.  WC was a great barometer to make that call.

SRT is a good fielder, scores runs and has experience.

You got to be kidding me that Tendulkar is a good fielder.  He cannot even throw these days because of a bad shoulder and hence is hiding in the inner circle for most part. As for scoring runs and experience any one who played upwards of 10 years in international cricket and in decent form has that.  It is just not confined to Tendulkar alone and that should not be the reason alone to select a player when team needs and results are taken into consideration.

Yep, the same past sell by date guy won us the CB series, arguably our best toruney win since 1985. But I guess any X, Y, Z could have done that 

Yeah we all know how well he played in WC 2007 against BD and SL easily inarguably the most humiliating moment in Indian One day history and there is no way he should have continued after that. 

This team won without him 5-0 against England and that is besides the point I am trying to make since it is a given this team will win with or without Tendulkar.  IMO the exit point for all these guys was WC 2007 after the humiliation they brought to themselves and their fans.

[ramshorns]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

The big difference is RD and SG were poor runners, poor fielders and scored at lower S/R, i.e., no longer ODI-fit when dropped, while Sachin is still a good fielder, one of the best runners in the team and scores at nearly run a ball. And no, MSD does not need to say good things about Sachin to stay in the team - his on field performance are enough.

Being a better runner than SG or RD at this stage of Tendulkar's career is not a reason enough for him to be selected in ODI's.  They had their chance to come big in WC and together laid an egg.  Time for new era in Indian one day era sans SG/SRT/RD.  I am consistently saying that since the WC exit.

[WicketView]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

The big difference is RD and SG were poor runners, poor fielders and scored at lower S/R, i.e., no longer ODI-fit when dropped, while Sachin is still a good fielder, one of the best runners in the team and scores at nearly run a ball. And no, MSD does not need to say good things about Sachin to stay in the team - his on field performance are enough.

Being a better runner than SG or RD at this stage of Tendulkar's career is not a reason enough for him to be selected in ODI's.  They had their chance to come big in WC and together laid an egg.  Time for new era in Indian one day era sans SG/SRT/RD.  I am consistently saying that since the WC exit.

But some people care more about wins than defining player based eras.

[ramshorns]

i think srt should play. i read somewhere that msd loves having him around in the dressing room and on the field just because of the attitude he brings in.

That is because he has no choice as he did with RD and SG.  So he needs to say good things on Tendulkar for his own good and survival.   Also everyone who played for the country in 100 Tests or 300 ODI's will brings in a certain good attitude to the dressing room.  That is not just limited to Sachin alone.

poondu: i dont think he needs to prove his credetnials and what he is capable of any more. he is stil hungry as was eveident in the recent past before the lankan series.

Niether did SG and RD had to prove when they were dropped by MSD and they were hungry as well.  So nothing special there either.

The big difference is RD and SG were poor runners, poor fielders and scored at lower S/R, i.e., no longer ODI-fit when dropped, while Sachin is still a good fielder, one of the best runners in the team and scores at nearly run a ball. And no, MSD does not need to say good things about Sachin to stay in the team - his on field performance are enough.

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

Actually since these are very subjective criteria than measurable I can fully see why some people feel Tendulkar is not a good fielder.  I always liked his running between the wickets though for other's tastes he may not fit the bill.

[Cover Point]

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

RD is a better fielder and runner than SRT - JOKE OF THE CENTURY

how so? where is the PUNCH line?

What about  SRT's running or fielding is better? SRT maybe a better bowler .... granted but fielder and runner?

[WicketView]

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

RD is a better fielder and runner than SRT - JOKE OF THE CENTURY

how so? where is the PUNCH line?

What about  SRT's running or fielding is better? SRT maybe a better bowler .... granted but fielder and runner?

I suppose you feel that every time RD was runout, it was the other guy's fault by definition And when he started missing the dolly's in the last phase of his captaincy ... oh ... that must have been the batsman's fault.

[12th_Man]

RD a poor runner? wow!

among the maharathis he was/is the best runner between the wickets and possibly the best fielder. Its old gangulian trick to club RD with SG.

RD showed tremendous versatility in his batting to ensure that he could be a slogger as needed. He was the quickest runner among the three and a very decent fielder (did you watch his catch in the IPL last year).

RD is a better fielder and runner than SRT - JOKE OF THE CENTURY

how so? where is the PUNCH line?

What about  SRT's running or fielding is better? SRT maybe a better bowler .... granted but fielder and runner?

I suppose you feel that every time RD was runout, it was the other guy's fault by definition And when he started missing the dolly's in the last phase of his captaincy ... oh ... that must have been the batsman's fault.

Oh ! That was masonary. Some one had posted and excellent picture of peach breaching wall.

[k-slice]

if you read john wrights indian summers he makes it quite clear that srt was the best runner in the team at that point. Just from observing cricket i think it is quite obvious that srt was and is a bteer runner between the wickets then rd. if i had to list them out according to their skills it would be so:
Batting:
1. SRT
2. RD/SG
Fielding:
1. RD/SRT in the slips, SRT outside the circle
2. SG
Running BTW:
1. SRT
2. RD
3. SG
Bowling:
1 SG
2. SRT

[Cover Point]

if you read john wrights indian summers he makes it quite clear that srt was the best runner in the team at that point. Just from observing cricket i think it is quite obvious that srt was and is a bteer runner between the wickets then rd. if i had to list them out according to their skills it would be so:
Batting:
1. SRT
2. RD/SG
Fielding:
1. RD/SRT in the slips, SRT outside the circle
2. SG
Running BTW:
1. SRT
2. RD
3. SG
Bowling:
1 SG
2. SRT

you lose all credibility when you rate RD/SG at par on batting. Of all jokes ever written this is the biggest of them all ....

[teamindia]

if you read john wrights indian summers he makes it quite clear that srt was the best runner in the team at that point. Just from observing cricket i think it is quite obvious that srt was and is a bteer runner between the wickets then rd. if i had to list them out according to their skills it would be so:
Batting:
1. SRT
2. RD/SG
Fielding:
1. RD/SRT in the slips, SRT outside the circle
2. SG
Running BTW:
1. SRT
2. RD
3. SG
Bowling:
1 SG
2. SRT

you lose all credibility when you rate RD/SG at par on batting. Of all jokes ever written this is the biggest of them all ....

Exactly. In ODIs SG should always be above RD. 

[willow]

coming back to the wellington discussion and who should be no.3. IMO it should be GG on paper.

GG himself admits he likes 3 better. I wouldnt mind GG and VS open and SRT at 3 but, it seems that SRT likes to open and GG prefers 3. anyway it should not make much difference either way.

I think it was a calculated and clever move by MSD to come in at 3 in the last match.

1. SRT got out, who was probably going to provide the holding role.
2. MSD at 3 probably confused the kiwis
3. MSD backed himself to provide the innings the think tank envisaged.
4. his innings allowed VS to carry on, till he got out, and the others to accelerate. Raina's career SR is 90 odd and he has only scored at a SR of 100+ twice in innings worth 50 or more. he scored @ 170. it points to good planning and also the plan coming off. MSD might have looked stupid if it didnt. GG would have been in but by that time YP was a better choice in the final overs.

having said that, the plan should still be SRT/VS/GG as 1/2/3 in which ever way the team/players feel comfortable. obviously things can change according to the situation. an early wicket may actually get YP in at 3 today.

PS: good post 12th man (reply #1)

[dextrous]

if you read john wrights indian summers he makes it quite clear that srt was the best runner in the team at that point. Just from observing cricket i think it is quite obvious that srt was and is a bteer runner between the wickets then rd. if i had to list them out according to their skills it would be so:
Batting:
1. SRT
2. RD/SG
Fielding:
1. RD/SRT in the slips, SRT outside the circle
2. SG
Running BTW:
1. SRT
2. RD
3. SG
Bowling:
1 SG
2. SRT

I think RD's fielding and running between the wickets in ODI should not be higher in ODI...in tests, I can see why his slip catching (at his prime) may have made him a better fielder than sg. but in odi, esp. in latter years, he's dropped quite a few sitters, which ganguly seldom did (the problem was with diving, running)

[k-slice]

nagma
i think rd and sg wer eon par as far as odi batting went. this is the latter avtar of rd not the superslow one. in test matches rd was superior in technique and hence in consistency as well.

[teamindia]

MSD won the toss.. We are batting.

[teamindia]

Vettori says he would have batted too.
McCullum is in but won't keep. Peter McGlashan makes debut Broom's out.

[ramshorns]

The right Pathan is again playing which is good and not the hyped one the worst bowler in this team.  No changes in the 11 which is expected after a win.