***Official India in New Zealand***

[_Ed_]

Guptill currently average 54 in one-day cricket. Great start!

Yeah, fantastic. And such maturity from a guy with only 12 games under his belt. Very classy knock, this.

 

[Precambrian]

Jeez... All I said was that NZ were not as far off our side as it seemed in the last two games and that it was a case of most things going right for us and few things going wrong for them... How is that even a criticism of the Indian team???



And FTR, I do think the comparisons with 80s Windies and 2000s Australia are premature...

I agree the comparisons with WI and Aus were indeed premature. But again, the batting lineup is so solid that it could give any ODI team a run for its money.

And just consider this, India since 2008 has beaten Aus in Aus. SL in SL, Eng in Ind, SL in SL (again), and now NZ in NZ. That's just absolutely amazing.

 

[Precambrian]

Yeah, fantastic. And such maturity from a guy with only 12 games under his belt. Very classy knock, this.

Agree, Gupty is class. But how many of them have been in matchwinning cases? Arguably his effort at Hamilton cost NZ a fair bit of momentum too.

Glad to see so many NZ batsmen averaging above 40, Ryder, Taylor, Guppy, Elliot etc. But what people tend to forget is that how many of them have been genuine matchwinners?

 

[SJS]

lol.. so much for playing the "best" side.


I think it is obvious that in dead rubbers it is much better to play as many of the bench guys as possible, unless the gap in class is too huge, as they will definitely be more hungry to do well.
.

HB, you know this has nothing to do with this being a dead rubber. Its just poor batting.

I think India did the right thing by playing to win the rubber outright. Its just that they were done in by conditions that helped bowlers and they were not equipped to cope with them.

I know you dont mean it but when we talk of dead rubber in this situation it gives the impression that w are making an excuse for the loss. There IS no excuse just an explanation which is what I have written about earlier.

As for the bench doing better because they are hungry, well it is the batting that has failed us here and we have only one proper batsman sitting outside and that is Dinesh Karthik. It is highly unlikely that if Dinesh had replaced any of the batsmen on view (chances are that they may have rested Sehwag since he has had maximum exposure and needs a rest the most or Dhoni), that one change would have dramatically altered what happened.

 

[_Ed_]

Glad to see so many NZ batsmen averaging above 40, Ryder, Taylor, Guppy, Elliot etc. But what people tend to forget is that how many of them have been genuine matchwinners?

Two of Taylor's ODI centuries have been in wins (including in a chase of 330), and in at least 3 of his 50s he saw us home in run chases. He averages 52.38 in ODIs NZ have won.

Ryder's 79* against England in Hamilton was, IMO, a matchwinner.

Elliott's innings at Melbourne won us the game and should have won him the MOTM.

And IMO Guptill's 64* at Brisbane would have won us the game if it hadn't rained.

 

[silentstriker]

Very clinical performance here by New Zealand, hopefully this gives some of the curators a bit of a clue on at least trying to prepare seam-friendly pitches for the series.

I get annoyed whenever India prepare a non-spinning track in India, and I'd be very annoyed as a NZ fan if they didn't prepare the right sort of pitches. And even as an Indian fan, it's more fun to watch players play on all the surfaces of the world. Hopefully this continues.

 

[Jono]

Okay I've watched most of the 2nd dig.

Now I know NZ batted well, and India probably didn't bowl the best, but was this pitch actually THAT bowler-friendly? It obviously moved a bit from what the commentators have said, but its far from a green top.

Perhaps NZ just outclassed India?

 

[G.I.Joe]

Would have been interesting if India had batted second having taken a look at the pitch over 50 overs.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

3-1 in the end.
I wonder who will take out MOTS?

NZ still can take something out of the series, Guptill and Ryder have looked good.
Hopefully they can carry that through into the Test series, as we will need some batting strength to avoid a hammering.

 

[_Ed_]

Would have been interesting if India had batted second having taken a look at the pitch over 50 overs.

I don't believe it changed that much over the course of the game.

 

[Bahnz]

It was nice to see a proper New Zealand wicket prepared, with slowish bounce and a bit of early seam movement. The surfaces in the first four games were ridiculous.

Ryder looked classy and Guptill looked imperious at times. McCullum is going to have keep scoring heaps of runs over the next few years if he wants to hang onto his opening spot.

Hope that's the last of the roads, but I'm not holding my breath. If it is, we should be in for a fun test series.

 

[Manee]

Ok, first Test on Tuesday, here is my playing XI...

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. VVS Laxman
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. MS Dhoni
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel

Had Balaji taken more wickets in his NZ domestic game, I would have him in for Munaf.

 

[silentstriker]

I know this isn't happening, but on pitches like NZ, I'd perhaps have Mishra over Bhajji. And I am not a fan of Munaf Patel, at all. But neither am I a fan of Balaji or Irfan Pathan. Is Sreeesanth still injured? I know he is not in the squad, but I'd have him as the third seamer.

 

[Manee]

I know this isn't happening, but on pitches like NZ, I'd perhaps have Mishra over Bhajji. And I am not a fan of Munaf Patel, at all. But neither am I a fan of Balaji or Irfan Pathan. Is Sreeesanth still injured? I know he is not in the squad, but I'd have him as the third seamer.

Mishra over Bhajji will not happen, as Bhajji has been in good Test form recently, but I do understand the assessment that leg spin may be a stronger approach on NZ wickets.

I am one of Munaf's biggest fans and his underperformances are infuriating. However, watching him bowl in the Pakistan series in 2007 showed that he has a lot to give as a Test bowler. Sreesanth injured himself early in the Ranji OD Trophy, I believe, and anyway, has not proved his fitness in matches, which means he should not and was not considered for selection. I think Irfan Pathan could be a good option in New Zealand, as he was in Australia, where he bowled splendidly but I don't think he is in the Test squad.

 

[Xuhaib]

Balaji is back?

awesome news

 

[Manee]

Balaji is back?

awesome news

He's in the squad but is unlikely to play.

 

[NZ4life!]

Okay I've watched most of the 2nd dig.

Now I know NZ batted well, and India probably didn't bowl the best, but was this pitch actually THAT bowler-friendly? It obviously moved a bit from what the commentators have said, but its far from a green top.

Perhaps NZ just outclassed India?

Yeah, good to see NZ bounce back. I thought it was a case of NZ bowling well, hitting the right lines and taking important wickets early. Not to mention good batting. now looking forward to what should be (weather permitting) a great test series.

Oh yeah, and saw Sehwags quote saying we can't take twenty wickets on a good pitch in a test match.... Not impressed.

 

[Nutter]

To be honest I think both sides might struggle to take 20 wickets if the pitches are as good as they were in Christchurch, Napier, Hamilton...

Regardless, Sehwag is going to flay our bowlers everywhere. It's gonna be a tough series.

 

[adharcric]

Kulkarni may be the surprise of the tour if he gets a shot on a decent pitch, but I won't be surprised if Munaf performs well despite the criticism he's received lately.

 

[SJS]

Kulkarni may be the surprise of the tour if he gets a shot on a decent pitch, but I won't be surprised if Munaf performs well despite the criticism he's received lately.

The criticism is mainly of his attitude and his mental strength. I doubt he is going to improve in those aspects. He may still put in the odd good performance because he is a good bowler all right.