Print

Please post once and this message will disappear! Introduce yourself, say hello, jump into a discussion...

[justforkix]

Sachin fighting a lone battle....

Vijay and Badri squandered their chances to displace Yuvi in tests !!!

[kban1]

Vijay played a terrible shot

As did Badri --he was fishing way outside

But once again, even without a Dale storm, SA have been able to choke the runs and consequently, take wickets.

Dhoni should understand the value of choking runs and how that helps his side rather than sit back under the assumption that "this is  a flat pitch, let them score 550, we will score 500 and draw the match."

[justforkix]

can we score more than Amla at least in 2nd innings

[WicketView]

Vijay played a terrible shot

As did Badri --he was fishing way outside

I did not watch Vijay ... only saw the replay of the ball when he lost his wicket ...which was a terrible shot. Badri, on the other hand, was fishing away from his body fairly often ... so it was more than a single terrible shot. Not only did he edge the previous delivery away from the body, he did this during the first innings as well. It does not seem to be a mistake but more likely a problem that he has been getting away with at the domestic level. He badly needs to correct that.

[justforkix]

17 runs in 13 overs post lun, with Harris bowling negative line, outside leg stump

[Blwe_torch]

SRT comes to  rescue India again

[justforkix]

100 no. 46     

Can he and team make it a match saving one for India 

[WicketView]

 
That would be much harder.

[WicketView]

Well he is gone.

[Blwe_torch]

It's over

[justforkix]

no hope left - innings defeat !!!

[dextrous]

the keeper bandhus will play out day 5

[WicketView]

Well, one of the keepers is out. And of course the result is inevitable. But we managed to surpass Amla's score

[justforkix]

Letz see if we can avoid innings defeat, although that means nothing. Maybe just play out the day and see what happens tomorrow. At elast go down with a fight !!!

[dhruvdeepak]

7) If you play a specialist keeper and you have got the chance to field first, why would you not let him keep, especially in light of the fact that you are playing a batsman short ? Wicket keeping is probably one skill that has a direct correlation with improvement in batting -- concentration, ball watching, vantage point, etc. Whats more, this was the ebst way to give  a nervous debutant (forked into the midst due to injuries and selectorial folly) a shot of confidence --have him excel in his speciality and have the confidence carry forward.

Absolutely! Dhoni could have truly demonstrated some leadership by assuming the mantle of a regular batsman and focussing on that, apart from the captaincy. Moreover, he could have done this mid-innings too, when it was clear that we were up against a mighty wall.

In addition to our fearless leader's numerous gaffes -- Why play Ishant ? Why not play Sreesanth ? or is SS injured ?

Yes, I believe Sreesanth too was injured.

agree with you.

and yes, sreesanth is not in the squad.

[dhruvdeepak]

BCCI needs to really do a better job of making pitches. I mean with all the money they have instead of using it for their own selfish parties, why not make two pitches for the game. Allow India to bat on a featherbed and give SA a different pitch to bat on ... one that maybe a bit of a crumbler.

By the way, seriously, hope the Bengalis are happy after spoiling Saha's career! This is what happens when you try to play politics. Things can backfire.

Why was Saha played as a specialist batsman and not a specialist keeper? As a result of this foolishness, Dhoni got out early in a tired looking fashion. Sanga averages 74 when he is not keeping, and 40 when he is keeping. Dhoni had no business wearing the gloves for 2 long days with a thin batting line up. To add to that, I can recall at least one edge that flew between Dhoni and first slip which a specialist keeper better than Dhoni (which I presume Saha is) might have snapped.

And, what, Dhoni is a makeshift keeper? I'm not sure why Saha, who is mainly here due to his batting exploits in the IPL, rather than his superior keeping, is somehow considered better than Dhoni.

no he batted quite poorly in the last IPL and in fact wasnt played much.

he has actually been picked because of his superior keeping

[dhruvdeepak]

Disagree. While MSD's build is not typical of past Indian keepers, and he may not appear natural, he's very effective and rarely drops easy catches which used to happen a lot with all the child prodigies that played for India after Mongia/Karim. Saha, may or may not be a better keeper, but I don't see that as an absolute.

I said tidy as in tidy glovework. MSD's glovework is not really tidy, and yes, he does drop a few catches -- you cant say he doesnt drop them.  he is def ahead of PP and at this point, KKD. The equation with WS is not as easy.

The one line of reasoning I can agree with is tha he should ahve asked Saha to keep so he could focus on his batting--I can see that. Although, one could argue that Dhoni, who is so used to keeping, could be a liability on the field.

No, Dhoni wouldnt be a liability on the field --he is the strongest and fastest of the Indian players.

agree with you on the skills analysis.

but this is negated by the experience and nerves factor. i think the best dhoni could have done is give up the gloves when they were 300-2 so as to rest

[WicketView]

Zaheer loses his mind. They were going pretty well till then.

[kban1]

but this is negated by the experience and nerves factor. i think the best dhoni could have done is give up the gloves when they were 300-2 so as to rest

What is more nervy for a debutant who has been told he will  play as a specialist bat 30 minutes before the toss ?


Doing something that he knows how to do (wicketkeeping) ? or batting, knowing he is selected as a sepcialist bat.

The point is you calm down his batting nerves by allowing him some confidence doing what he does best.

Whether you do it right at the beginning or at 100/2 or 200/2 is a matter of conjecture.

Bottomline is that Dhoni's thinking has been muddled.

[justforkix]

going to the wire now - 7 runs more needed !!!

[WicketView]

Steyn picks up the last wicket.

[broadbat]

going to the wire now - 7 runs more needed !!!

ha ha

[broadbat]

Now for a 3 day wicket at the gardens.

[justforkix]

hehe, we could have safely remained #1 for a bit longer. stupid BCCI converted some ODIs to tests 

[Cernunnos]

Badrinath & Vijay (seeing him the first time) are not that impressive. Did not catch the eye the way SG, RD and VVS did in their debuts.
 
Saha batted usefully and was growing in confidence. As for his keeping, a SA'n commentator said that the word is that he's the best glovesman in India. Should be the second keeper on away test tours.

[flashpan]

Politics at its worst , Ishanth retains his place in the test squad whereas poor Mithun gets dropped without being given a chance.

[ramshorns]

I know we are always into discussing the batsman and the stats here for most part and overanalysing them.

Couple of thoughts here.

1) Remember when on Harsha's program when Ian Chappell after India was elevated to No.1 in the ICC ranking's noted and observed that India cannot be a long term Test No.1 primarily owing to the fact that they lack a champion bowler in the side.  That could not have been more true and apparent than in this Test when one saw what kind of wicket taking balls Steyn produced on a track like this in comparison to Zaheer Khan.   While ZK is a real good bowler he is no where close to the class of a Steyn and cannot be that champion bowler when they are expected to just get that wicket of a well set batsman through that one great ball on a consistent basis.   As MSD eluded to in the post match conference he had 7 such balls.  I have seen Hadlee and Donald do that along with Marshall on Indian pitches when they looked a different bowler in comparison to other pacers operating in the same game i.e being real incisive.

2) I do not think even if RD and VVS played it could have mattered that much the way Steyn bowled and was backed up well by the rest of his bowlers.   Steyn could have still been that successful with the kind of zone he was in and SA could have won as easily.  All said and done I think SA on paper and in action has a better bowling attack to thrive in varying conditions while India with ZK and a brigade of talented young pacers are not that versatile and we all know after AK's retirement there is not much to ride home when it comes to the spin department.

3) I think this Test loss should awaken the curators and force them to make a rank turner at Kolkata and play both Mishra and Ojha somehow and hope Steyn cannot come up with so many great balls in one spell and even the series by posting a huge 1st inning total and churn out a win thus avoiding the embarrassing 0-2 series defeat at home to a team that is 2nd in ranking to them on the ICC list.  That would be a real shame.

[Cernunnos]

We should have saved the test. I am reasonably certain had RD & VVS been there, we could have done it. India are poor starters to a series, in that context I am not surprised by the 1st innings capitulation. However the second innings batting was not excusable. The prime reason was the silly batting against the negative Harris, playing him stuck to the crease instead of regularly stepping out. VVS is one who can do that very well (Kallis used his footwork to great effect to negate our spinners). By letting Harris throttle the run rate, we gave the game away. I think India otherwise did an ok job of negating Steyn in the second innings.

[12th_Man]

The old horses VS and SRT got away with a century each, thus i am pretty confident RD and VVS even SG would have approached the game in a conventional test cricket way.
This was more tailored for RD's style of play, Hang in there, leave anything not on wicket, get the bowlers tired and the remainig would fall in place by self.

[dhruvdeepak]

hehe, we could have safely remained #1 for a bit longer. stupid BCCI converted some ODIs to tests 

welcome back!

[ramshorns]

This from a rediff poster.

--
by Medulla Oblangta on Feb 09, 2010 08:44 PM 

This idea may look funny to most of you but I would prefer to recall Dada from his retirement to save series and Kolkata test. First thing, he has been in great form in recent domestic season. Second thing, his comeback could pull massive crowds in Kolkata and that could eventually turn out as morale booster for the side loosing at all fronts.

[12th_Man]

This from a rediff poster.

--
by Medulla Oblangta on Feb 09, 2010 08:44 PM 

This idea may look funny to most of you but I would prefer to recall Dada from his retirement to save series and Kolkata test. First thing, he has been in great form in recent domestic season. Second thing, his comeback could pull massive crowds in Kolkata and that could eventually turn out as morale booster for the side loosing at all fronts.

That is a knee jerk reaction.
Now that Badri is a intl match older will make a lot of difference in his confidence.
just by the feel of Laxman getting in will change the tempo of game.
We may not want to ignore the fact that we could only take six SAF wickets.

[gouravk]

actually saha axing gives plenty of opportunities for effigy-burning and green-pitch-making. 

[Cover Point]

Politics at its worst , Ishanth retains his place in the test squad whereas poor Mithun gets dropped without being given a chance.

did you see his bowling in the practice game? He needs to grow up a bit. Stop being like Gangulians and support someone just because he is from your state. The Dravidians are supposed to be better

[WicketView]

I know we are always into discussing the batsman and the stats here for most part and overanalysing them.

Couple of thoughts here.

1) Remember when on Harsha's program when Ian Chappell after India was elevated to No.1 in the ICC ranking's noted and observed that India cannot be a long term Test No.1 primarily owing to the fact that they lack a champion bowler in the side.  That could not have been more true and apparent than in this Test when one saw what kind of wicket taking balls Steyn produced on a track like this in comparison to Zaheer Khan.   While ZK is a real good bowler he is no where close to the class of a Steyn and cannot be that champion bowler when they are expected to just get that wicket of a well set batsman through that one great ball on a consistent basis.   As MSD eluded to in the post match conference he had 7 such balls.  I have seen Hadlee and Donald do that along with Marshall on Indian pitches when they looked a different bowler in comparison to other pacers operating in the same game i.e being real incisive.

2) I do not think even if RD and VVS played it could have mattered that much the way Steyn bowled and was backed up well by the rest of his bowlers.   Steyn could have still been that successful with the kind of zone he was in and SA could have won as easily.  All said and done I think SA on paper and in action has a better bowling attack to thrive in varying conditions while India with ZK and a brigade of talented young pacers are not that versatile and we all know after AK's retirement there is not much to ride home when it comes to the spin department.

I agree that the bowling was not (and for the most part cannot) be compared to the SAF attack. But it has often been our batting that has saved the day in such situations. Simply by keeping out the n excellent deliveries from bowlers like Steyn. It is entirely possible that they will not succeed everyday, but Dravid and Laxman could make quite a difference.

3) I think this Test loss should awaken the curators and force them to make a rank turner at Kolkata and play both Mishra and Ojha somehow and hope Steyn cannot come up with so many great balls in one spell and even the series by posting a huge 1st inning total and churn out a win thus avoiding the embarrassing 0-2 series defeat at home to a team that is 2nd in ranking to them on the ICC list.  That would be a real shame.

I hope they manage to square the series.

[dextrous]

let's get Ojha in to mix it up...and maybe ss

[gouravk]

my lineup for eden

gambhir
sehwag
vvs (got to bat at 3 to send out a signal to south africa)
sachin
vijay
badri
dhoni
zaheer
ojha
ishant
sreesanth

[justforkix]

well, raw pace is raw pace even on a rank turner 

Steyn bowled phenomenally even against Eng - I still remember his spell against Colly and Bell in the 3rd test, final day, pre lunch. COlly and Bell somehow managed to not get out to those peaches, other SA should have won that series 3-1. Steyn just rocks, my fav bowler now !!! Only Sachin and RD should have possibly negoitated him without losing their wicket

[dhruvdeepak]

well, raw pace is raw pace even on a rank turner 

Steyn bowled phenomenally even against Eng - I still remember his spell against Colly and Bell in the 3rd test, final day, pre lunch. COlly and Bell somehow managed to not get out to those peaches, other SA should have won that series 3-1. Steyn just rocks, my fav bowler now !!! Only Sachin and RD should have possibly negoitated him without losing their wicket

its called lack of skill to get an edge on the ball

[dextrous]

well, raw pace is raw pace even on a rank turner 

Steyn bowled phenomenally even against Eng - I still remember his spell against Colly and Bell in the 3rd test, final day, pre lunch. COlly and Bell somehow managed to not get out to those peaches, other SA should have won that series 3-1. Steyn just rocks, my fav bowler now !!! Only Sachin and RD should have possibly negoitated him without losing their wicket

its called lack of skill to get an edge on the ball

hahaha...good one dd