*Official* Match 42 - India v West Indies

[vcs]

Thing with Pathan is that he is failing to do what he is in the team for - late acceleration. With Yuvraj bowling so well, how many overs we need to get out of Raina or Pathan anyways? 3-4 at max. Might just be a good thing to include Raina who is more than a uni-dimensional batsman that Pathan is.

This is an option worth considering seriously. I had forgotten just how much Raina adds in the field as well. Brilliant today. Though I'm sure Dhoni will probably replace Sachin with him anyway when we're fielding, even if he's only picked as 12th man.

 

[smash84]

You have just been brainwashed by the experts. Lucky for me that I always wear a tin foil hat during the pre/post game analysis segments.

I think that might be because it is usually difficult to find more than one quality spinner. Fast bowlers are a less rarer breed

 

[vcs]

That is simply untrue. He varies his pace greatly and uses both off cutters and leg cutters to do this.

Yeah, I was exaggerating there. Still, feel he's cannon-fodder for set batsmen on these wickets as long as they don't do anything silly. Maybe not cannon-fodder in the sense that they'll take him for 85 off his 10 because he doesn't bowl too many loose deliveries, but he's like a steady 10-0-65-0 or 10-0-58-1 guy that the opposition doesn't have to really worry about.

 

[Manee]

Yeah, I was exaggerating there. Still, feel he's cannon-fodder for set batsmen on these wickets as long as they don't do anything silly. Maybe not cannon-fodder in the sense that they'll take him for 85 off his 10 because he doesn't bowl too many loose deliveries, but he's like a steady 10-0-65-0 or 10-0-58-1 guy that the opposition doesn't have to really worry about.

Something steady is valuable when we have plenty of spin options and we are playing inside the subcontinent. Moreover, it is not as if he is incapable of picking up wickets, note his four wicket haul against Bangladesh.

 

[Shri]

I think that might be because it is usually difficult to find more than one quality spinner. Fast bowlers are a less rarer breed

Tell me about it.

 

[smash84]

Something steady is valuable when we have plenty of spin options and we are playing inside the subcontinent. Moreover, it is not as if he is incapable of picking up wickets, note his four wicket haul against Bangladesh.

4 wickets against the bangers????

That doesn't mean anything tbh

 

[Manee]

4 wickets against the bangers????

That doesn't mean anything tbh

Took that match winning 4 wicket haul against South Africa too, fwiw.

 

[smash84]

Took that match winning 4 wicket haul against South Africa too, fwiw.

you mean in the series before the WC?

 

[Manee]

Yes.

 

[smash84]

but he doesn't look that great in this WC. TBF a better option than Nehra atm

 

[Blaze 18]

Phew, a reasonably good win at long last. Good to see Ashwin performing well with the ball. The big question is this : who is Sehwag going to replace in the next match? Virat Kohli is probably safe, although I'd still have Raina over him (just for this World Cup, that is. I appreciate Virat Kohli is a much better batsman. It's just that Raina fits into this team better, all things considered). But yes, I am quite sure Dhoni will either drop Yousuf or Raina - probably Raina.

I heard Zaheer's now the second leading wicket-taker in this World Cup, just two behind Afridi's seventeen. Well done to him, he is our most important player by some distance.

 

[honestbharani]

Yuvraj is hilarious against anything above his waist.

lol.. spot the man who has never seen him bat much.. Yuvi is one of our better ones against the short pitched stuff...

 

[smash84]

I heard Zaheer's now the second leading wicket-taker in this World Cup, just two behind Afridi's seventeen. Well done to him, he is our most important player by some distance.

After his first 13 wickets or so Afridi has been quite ordinary in the last 2 matches.......the wickets seem to have dried up for him

 

[Himannv]

Cant believe people are debating Pathan. He saved the day in SA and has obvious talents that its impossible to see why its realastic that he is dropped. I mean who are you going to replace him with? Ineffective spinner X, Ineffective pacer Y or overrated batsman Z?

 

[Blaze 18]

Cant believe people are debating Pathan. He saved the day in SA and has obvious talents that its impossible to see why its realastic that he is dropped. I mean who are you going to replace him with? Ineffective spinner X, Ineffective pacer Y or overrated batsman Z?

I agree with what you're saying, but I don't think Dhoni sees it that way. I reckon Yousuf wouldn't have played if Sehwag had been fit.

 

[ankitj]

Cant believe people are debating Pathan. He saved the day in SA and has obvious talents that its impossible to see why its realastic that he is dropped. I mean who are you going to replace him with? Ineffective spinner X, Ineffective pacer Y or overrated batsman Z?

I know it is going to be difficult decision to remove Pathan, if at all the decision is taken. But there is good argument. Raina is a game changer too and shows little nerves. And he can do what Kohli does as well as what Pathan does (strictly speaking about sub-continent conditions). His bowling is pretty much at par with Pathan. And as I said, Pathan/Raina would not be needed to bowl more than 3-4 overs anyways. And Raina is a live wire in the field.

It's a tough call and may come down to Dhoni's judgement on who has better momentum or better fits in the side.

 

[Himannv]

I know it is going to be difficult decision to remove Pathan, if at all the decision is taken. But there is good argument. Raina is a game changer too and shows little nerves. And he can do what Kohli does as well as what Pathan does (strictly speaking about sub-continent conditions). His bowling is pretty much at par with Pathan. And as I said, Pathan/Raina would not be needed to bowl more than 3-4 overs anyways. And Raina is a live wire in the field.

It's a tough call and may come down to Dhoni's judgement on who has better momentum or better fits in the side.

Comes down to whether India need a pure hitter at 7 or a guy who can build partnerships and go after spinners on occasion at 7. Considering the quality of the batsmen in the top 6, the former seems like a fair option.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Shambolic end for West Indies. Sums up their tournament really, impressed with the ball but not with bat. They need the big guns to fire against Pakistan or they will be on early flight home.

India, still don't know what to make of them, they looked so flat until WI threw match away and a good side would take advantage. They are at home in a world cup for christs sake, at least look like you are enjoying it.

 

[jeevan]

Comes down to whether India need a pure hitter at 7 or a guy who can build partnerships and go after spinners on occasion at 7. Considering the quality of the batsmen in the top 6, the former seems like a fair option.

This is how India's innings have been ending once #6,7,8 are in ...

Vs Eng: 7 wickets for ~45 runs in ~ 6 overs
Vs SA: 9 wickets for 29 runs in ~10 overs
Vs WI: 7 wickets for ~ 52 runs in ~9 overs

says that the big-hitting-towards-the-end plan is not working for India. I might continue with Yusuf Pathan, only because I don't know that Raina will be any better at stemming this rot and because Yusuf appears to be a reasonably containing bowler - good for a few to make up for whichever bowler was having a bad day (Sree, Chawla, Nehra).

By now, Yuvraj is almost expected to bowl as a regular and finish most of his overs,,,

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I don't understand why all the teams seem to think that trying to hit big at the end is a good strategy. All they need to do is put away the bad balls and they will get a decent total.