*Official* South Africa in India

[ret]

Laxman and Dhoni are at the crease so hopefully they will look to build a partnership and take Ind over 500 .... One of them has to stick out there and bat through the end

 

[silentstriker]

125 lead up, so that's not bad. I would have taken that at one point. 200 would be an ideal lead though, so hopefully these two can keep it going into the second session.

 

[Zinzan]

Will a drawn series be enough for India to hold on to the no.1 test spot anyone ?

 

[silentstriker]

Yes, it will.

 

[social]

Not really a fan of Dhoni's batting - good eye/temperament but ****house technique

Having said that he'll probably ton up

 

[social]

Will a drawn series be enough for India to hold on to the no.1 test spot anyone ?

"Officially"

 

[silentstriker]

Right, so it was a problem when they win and draw a series on a dustbowl last time, and if they win and draw a series on a flat wicket, it's still a problem.

Where's that pitch chart?

 

[social]

Right, so it was a problem when they win and draw a series on a dustbowl last time, and if they win and draw a series on a flat wicket, it's still a problem.

Where's that pitch chart?

Just dont think that they are a particularly good team

ATM, there are holes at 3 (still not convinced that Dravid is really "back"), 6, and with 2/4 bowlers plus a number of their players are getting on and the backup hasnt proven itself

 

[silentstriker]

So what's it say about the other teams then? Best of a bad bunch is still the best.

And that's like saying Australia in 2007 wasn't the best team because a bunch of their players were getting on and the backups hadn't proven themselves. See the flaw in that logic?

 

[Ausage]

And that's like saying Australia in 2007 wasn't the best team because a bunch of their players were getting on and the backups hadn't proven themselves. See the flaw in that logic?

If he hadn't mentioned he thought they were weak at 3, 6 with 2/4 bowlers that would be a fair comparison.

 

[silentstriker]

No, it would not. The prospect that they may not be good a year from now is irrelevent to the fact whether they are good today.

 

[social]

So what's it say about the other teams then? Best of a bad bunch is still the best.
And that's like saying Australia in 2007 wasn't the best team because a bunch of their players were getting on and the backups hadn't proven themselves. See the flaw in that logic?

Oz were still no.1 in late 2007 because of points accrued by a team that bore virtually no relation to the one that took the paddock at that time

They were no. 1 in the rankings but not the best team in world imo

 

[Prince EWS]

So what's it say about the other teams then? Best of a bad bunch is still the best.

And that's like saying Australia in 2007 wasn't the best team because a bunch of their players were getting on and the backups hadn't proven themselves. See the flaw in that logic?

Yeah, AWTA.

India are flawed but so are all the other teams. Most of them definitively moreso than India, with the exceptions (Australia and South Africa) not definitively less flawed.

Looking at this sample:

ATM, there are holes at 3 (still not convinced that Dravid is really "back"), 6 and with 2/4 bowlers

I could just as easily say that South Africa have holes at 1 and 6 and with 3/4 bowlers. Morkel seems to be rated a lot higher than the likes of Sharma but I see them as very similar so far - they both look like they could be a good bowlers and have produced some really good spells amidst a whole lot of crap as well. Essentially they've both proven two fifths of **** all other than that they can bowl well sometimes. Parnell's proven even less that that and Harris is mediocre. Steyn's a lot better than Zaheer and Harbhajan which makes up for all that to a large extent but to say India aren't number one because they have X issue and Y hole ignores the fact that South Africa and Australia have their fair share of problems too. You can't just have no team at number one because none of them meet the standards of previous number ones.

 

[silentstriker]

Oz were still no.1 in late 2007 because of points accrued by a team that bore virtually no relation to the one that took the paddock at that time

Difference being that this Indian team is pretty much the same team that accrued the points...

 

[biased indian]

Just dont think that they are a particularly good team

ATM, there are holes at 3 (still not convinced that Dravid is really "back"), 6, and with 2/4 bowlers plus a number of their players are getting on and the backup hasnt proven itself

but the simple fact is there no other team better than us rite now.. if we have those mentioned problem other teams have more problems

 

[Cruxdude]

It would be a good job if India wins this test. A follow up good performance in SA will be great and will add some weight to the team. Looking forward to that tour. But one thing that is necessary is immediate blooding of guys who are going to come in for Dravid and Laxman. Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli should be regulars in the ODI team. This will let them face their share of international quality bowling before getting into the test team.

 

[silentstriker]

Dumino drops another one! Ouch.

 

[silentstriker]

Great 50, if he can make a 100, India will be in a commanding position.

 

[Briony]

Duminy is a liability for the saffers. Why do they keep selecting him?

 

[Ikki]

Flat track