***Official*** India in England

[PhoenixFire]

Dravid should open, Karthik should be dropped and Yuvraj should go in the middle order.

 

[Turbinator]

Dravid should open, Karthik should be dropped and Yuvraj should go in the middle order.

You just want us to lose .

 

[Pratters]

Dravid should open, Karthik should be dropped and Yuvraj should go in the middle order.

I have been saying this for years but sadly, it doesn't happen. I would not drop Karthik and choose him ahead of Dhoni right now though.

For me, the test XI should look like this:

Jaffer
Dravid
Laxman
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Either keeper
the same bowlers

 

[Turbinator]

I have been saying this for years but sadly, it doesn't happen.

For me, the test XI should look like this:

Jaffer
Dravid
Laxman
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Dhoni
the same bowlers

Tbh, you're just going by reputation and past performances. Karthik is much more likely to score runs than Laxman atm.

 

[Shaggy Alfresco]

I still stand by my 1-0 India prediction no matter what people say.

hmmm

Well the last time England lost a series in England was in 2001 against the Australians...

 

[silentstriker]

That's basically what Michael Holding was saying.

Basically, if Dhoni is anything like me, then he is more likely to get out when he is just defending and defending, IMO, I am much more confident that I will hit the ball if I am going for it, rather than just standing there blocking it.

Again, its not about blocking every ball. It's about playing shots, but not playing reckless shots. Surely, a player at the Test level knows that it is not a percentage shot to expose your stumps to a good spinner on a fifth day pitch with you trying to save the game and only one wicket left?

There is no logical reason for him to play shots like that. If you get a bad ball, hit it. Play your natural game. But your natural game doesn't involve having to run a single on the first ball of the over. That's stupidity (or selfishness).

 

[Pratters]

Turbs, I edited to say either keeper. Choose whoever you want. I don't have a strong opinion on whom I would prefer.

Is Karthik more likely to score than Laxman? Nopes.

 

[silentstriker]

Dravid should open, Karthik should be dropped and Yuvraj should go in the middle order.

I have been saying this for years but sadly, it doesn't happen. I would not drop Karthik and choose him ahead of Dhoni right now though.

For me, the test XI should look like this:

Jaffer
Dravid
Laxman
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Either keeper
the same bowlers

Except Dravid hates opening and has said as much. He has opened because the team needed him, but why would you sacrifice your best player to a position he finds uncomfortable?

It's like asking Bradman to go at #5. Can he do it? Yea, but why lose the best player you have to an unknown?

 

[adharcric]

No. I applauded him when he played shots, as long as he played the right kind of shots. There is no excuse, none, for exposing your stumps like he did against Panesar. You can't tell me that it was a good shot. You can't tell me it was a good thing as he kept on going for the heave against Panesar when he was bowling from the rough. Even if he hits it, he'll be caught. That shot should not even be played under normal circumstances (except in desperation when you need to accelerate the run rate or something), let alone in this situation.

No one is telling him to block, but what possible benefit is there to a shot when you back off and show all your stumps. You miss that ball, and it hits the stumps. You hit that ball, and it can still edge and hit the stumps, or glove to keeper.

I really don't care what people say after the fact. I watched every ball of that knock live. That was a massively irresponsible innings. Taking a single off the first ball? Going all out on a stroke and then not running? Why would you hit the ball with all your power if you aren't going to run anyway? This wasn't classical shot making off bad balls. Dhoni was trying to hit the good balls out of the park, for which there is no excuse in this situation. You can't play Test cricket like that, not if you are playing for your team. I hope someone has a recording of the whole innings...watch it ball by ball especially after Kumble fell. It was massively irresponsible.

He made the most runs of anyone in the side, and good for him. But he was either selfish, or stupid. I don't know which, and frankly, considering he has done it before, it doesn't really matter.

Fair enough. He did a poor job of keeping the tail off strike and he was hitting the ball too hard perhaps. Leaving his stumps exposed and playing Panesar is more effective for him and none of those balls were jaffas - many of them were on the short side. You think Dhoni would have survive playing pure front-foot defense with the ball turning away from him and all those close-in fielders? Don't know tbh. Dhoni has work to do but I still rate that innings considering he hung on despite his lack of experience in these conditions.

 

[PhoenixFire]

You just want us to lose .

Never!!!

 

[Raghav]

hmmm

Well the last time England lost a series in England was in 2001 against the Australians...

What the begging is that to do now? This is IND vs ENG series and not ENG Vs AUS...
Do you think Eng will never lose series on their homesoil from now onwards!

 

[Turbinator]

Turbs, I edited to say either keeper. Choose whoever you want. I don't have a strong opinion on whom I would prefer.

Is Karthik more likely to score than Laxman? Nopes.

I would have an avatar bet with you about this, about who scores more runs in the next Test match; Laxman or Karthik... but I'm already busy with two.

But let's just have a friendly bet.

 

[silentstriker]

Fair enough. He did a poor job of keeping the tail off strike and he was hitting the ball too hard perhaps. Leaving his stumps exposed and playing Panesar is more effective for him and none of those balls were jaffas - many of them were on the short side. Dhoni has work to do but I still rate that innings considering he hung on despite his lack of experience in these conditions.

The fact that he got runs and was able to bat was great, in foreign conditions where his natural technique doesn't do him any favors. I am happy he did, and it is good for the series and will undoubtedly help India in the coming matches.

The way he batted, in terms of the team situation, was quite poor. And today, batting for the team was more important than trying to work out your personal game. That's why I am disappointed. We got away with it, but he needs to show a lot more responsibility.

 

[Pratters]

Except Dravid hates opening and has said as much. He has opened because the team needed him, but why would you sacrifice your best player to a position he finds uncomfortable?

All through his career, he has opened any way. An opener has got out so many times while the team is in single figures. It is just a psychological thing which he should have driven away ages ago IMO. When we can expect other players to shift places for the team - we asked Tendulkar to go down at 4, it should not be a big deal when it helps the balance of the team so much. Laxman comes into his own at 3. Look at his record at 3. An average of 48 if I am not wrong. Plus, it solves the huge opener problem 50% at least which is a BIG thing. The team would have been much better like this and we should have done it ages back.

We wont have it like that, we both know that. I shouldn't even have brought it up here really but did after PF read my mind on Dravid. .

 

[adharcric]

Is Karthik more likely to score than Laxman?

Perhaps. Unchanged lineup for mine - Tendulkar and Laxman were the big disappointments but I'll give them another shot to redeem themselves on this tour.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Cricket Web Report

Cricket, like almost every sport, can be desperately cruel at times. Today at Lord's, the cricketing gods were especially severe on England as bad light and showers brought an early end to the first Test with the home side just a single wicket away from clinching the match.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was India's hero, resisting for 203 minutes as he steadily ran out of partners, before the weather prevented any play after the tea interval. A gripping match stalled at its climatic point, like a bestselling thriller with its final chapter frustratingly lopped off.

Despite the dominance of bat over ball throughout much of the game, there was a genuine feeling at the beginning of play that India could still clinch an unprecedented victory. Although the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar had departed the previous evening, in Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, India had two batsmen whose careers are dotted with the Homeric epics of innings necessary to chase such a score as 380.

Those hopes all but vanished just 24 deliveries into the day's play. Ganguly, on 40, played inside the line to Ryan Sidebottom's signature inswinger and was trapped leg before. When Dinesh Karthik nicked James Anderson to Paul Collingwood at second slip after adding just the solitary cover-driven four to his overnight score of 56, India had slid to 145-5 and thoughts of sneaking a win had given way to those of grim survival.

However through Laxman and Dhoni, India ground their way through the remainder of the morning, a session punctuated by near-misses and the odd wristy flash of subcontinental brilliance. Laxman cut maharajah-like; Dhoni squirted a delivery over the slip cordon, played-and-missed on numerous occasions and was fortunate to survive a Panesar lbw shout minutes before lunch; yet India had consolidated at 207-5.

The critical blow came within half an hour of the restart. Chris Tremlett continued an impressive debut by jagging the ball back through Laxman's defences and England sensed an opening. From 231-5, India fell to 263-9 as England again ran through the tourists' fragile lower order. Anil Kumble was another victim of Sidebottom's booming in-ducker, while Zaheer Khan gloved a rising Tremlett delivery down the leg-side. Rudra Pratap Singh however can have no excuses: after a cameo as nigh****chman in the first innings, he missed a rather ambitious drive against Panesar and all of a sudden, India were in deep water.

In contrast, Dhoni continued to play with new found maturity. There were no mindless hoicks, as irresponsibly exhibited in Mumbai a year ago as India capitulated in similar circumstances, instead replaced by unforeseen steel. The runs naturally continued to flow - he was particularly tough on Michael Vaughan's part-time off-breaks as England sought to prolong the game with spin at both ends - but for once that was almost irrelevant. With the clouds closing in, Panesar appealed in vain as Sreesanth went agonisingly close to becoming the tenth man out and cheeky, child-like smiles began to creep onto the faces of the Indians.

When the players first came off for bad light at 3.34 pm, India's last pair had clung on for five overs to reach 282-9, Dhoni unbeaten on 76 from 159 balls. Intermittent rain delayed proceedings further, preventing play from restarting at 4.40 pm when the cloud had appeared to have lifted. After a further wait of an hour and a half, the day's play was officially called off and the match declared a draw.

This was a match that upset expectations, settled old arguments and opened up new questions. Both sides came into the match boasting distinctively top-heavy lineups: virtually the whole of England's seam attack was unavailable, while the performance of the Indian pace bowlers in the first hour on Thursday seemed to confirm their ineffectiveness. Now, from a supposed lack of any backup for England's first-choice seamers, there are faces capably of displacing the established stars. The success of Sidebottom, Zaheer and RP Singh led some pundits to suggest a rebirth of left-arm swing bowling. Dhoni shrugged off his critics to play the match-defining innings, while Rahul Dravid fell for single figures at both attempts. A potentially explosive series has begun in a fascinating manner, even if the touchpaper was ultimately too damp to light.

 

[adharcric]

The fact that he got runs and was able to bat was great, in foreign conditions where his natural technique doesn't do him any favors. I am happy he did, and it is good for the series and will undoubtedly help India in the coming matches.

The way he batted, in terms of the team situation, was quite poor. And today, batting for the team was more important than trying to work out your personal game. That's why I am disappointed. We got away with it, but he needs to show a lot more responsibility.

Agreed.

 

[Raghav]

I would like to see:

Karthick+
Jaffer
Laxman
Dravid*
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Zaheer
Kumble
RP Singh
Sreesanth

Dhoni out Yuvi in. More bowling options, more variety.

Laxman to his usual No.3 spot..

 

[Pratters]

I would have an avatar bet with you about this, about who scores more runs in the next Test match; Laxman or Karthik... but I'm already busy with two.

But let's just have a friendly bet.

Sure mate. The clause is that both of them play in that game and bat equall number of innings. Will be an unfair comparison if Karthik gets two innings while Laxman gets just one.

 

[silentstriker]

All through his career, he has opened any way. An opener has got out so many times while the team is in single figures. It is just a psychological thing which he should have driven away ages ago IMO. When we can expect other players to shift places for the team - we asked Tendulkar to go down at 4, it should not be a big deal when it helps the balance of the team so much. Laxman comes into his own at 3. Look at his record at 3. An average of 48 if I am not wrong. Plus, it solves the huge opener problem 50% at least which is a BIG thing. The team would have been much better like this and we should have done it ages back.

We wont have it like that, we both know that. I shouldn't even have brought it up here really but did after PF read my mind on Dravid. .

I am always in favor of a specialist opener. Just because Dravid can defend and leave doesn't mean he is comfortable going out there without seeing how the pitch and the bowlers behave first. Yes, if he has to we can expect for him to switch, and undoubtedly he would for the betterment of the team.

But he is your best player, why mess with the only thing in your entire lineup that is working? You will plug one hole but leave a bigger hole right below.