*Official* India in Australia Thread

[The Argonaut]

It's hard to say whether this is the best Indian side ever. The openers are a real weakness. I would even Sehwag to be a weakness. A good opener doesn't just bludgeon to 40 and then play a reckless shot. No 3 to 6 are probably the best in world cricket at the moment. Brilliant to watch.

Patel is not great but will be one day I think.

The bowling attack is pretty ordinary. Agarkar had his once in a career day on Monday. Pathan may be good in the future. Kumble is past his best and Nehra can be hot and cold. The inclusion of Zaheer will be great for them. He is the best of the Indian bowlers by some margin. I will be interested to watch Kartik this weekend.

I also worry about the quality of tactics used by Ganguly while in the field. His plans don't seem to work so well especially if you look at the first innings. (same could be said for Waugh and his plans for Dravid and Laxman I suppose)

What sets this team apart from previous ones is belief in their ability. They are performing at a high level so kudos must also go to John Wright and Ganguly for firing them up to play so well.

 

[Salamuddin]

Half Way Report card

Some valid points Argonaut.

Yeah I don't know whether this Indian side is the best that nation has produced. India has not been a traditional powerhouse in test cricket -- like Australia or the Windies and have produced few world class sides. I suppose Wadekar's side of 70-71 is probably the best so far because it notched up series wins in England and the Carribean.

But Ganguly's team is certainly improving away from home.

I agree about Patel -- the lad's only 18, he's bound to make a few mistakes -- overall, I'm quite impressed with him; he will become a fine keeper-batsman for India.
Kumble -- I actually thought Kumble bowled quite well at Adelaide;
he's obviously got limitations to his bowling but I think he'll enjoy bowling at Sydney. The six wicket haul in Adelaide has probably saved his test career for the time being.
I am really looking forward to see Kartik bowl this weekend though.
Agarkar -- he's gotta be one of the most enigmatic cricketers in the world -- very good one day awful the next.
I'm still not convinced whether he can a be a long term new ball partner for Zaheer (personally I think the injured Salvi would be a better option).
Nehra -- Nehra has bowled well in patches on the tour. He's looked a little flat at times -- maybe understandable given his long injury break.
He's capable of bowling with more pace and venom though-- India will be looking for him to recapture his World Cup form in the latter half of the tour.
Pathan -- Hard to judge him on the basis of one match. He does look as one to watch out for in the future though.
The openers -- you have a good point about the openers.
Sehwag has not failed miserably on the tour so far as some people thought he would. However he seems unable to convert his starts into anything big. Ditto with Akash Chopra.
And that's bad for an opener.
Ramesh has been in fair form in the tour games -- if he can score a big hundred against Australia A, he may give the tour selectors thoughts about opening with him. However you would expect Sehwag and Chopra to play in Melbourne at least.

 

[krkode]

I, personally, wait to see the day when India can field the same 11 guys in an ODI and a test match and still be a competitive team. IMO, that's the sign of a great team - to be able to field identical teams in any form of the game.

Australia do it, with the sole exception of Langer, who they don't seem to like in the ODIs, where they pick Lehmann or Symonds instead.

 

[anzac]

well done India!!!!!!!

Tremondous result and not only good for Indian cricket, but for cricket in general (including the Aussies)........

a pity perhaps that the Aussie attack was basically 2 down on the final day with Bichel the only fit seam bowler......

yet again the partnership between Dravid & Laxman haunts the Aussies, and Agarkar went some way to erasing the horrors of the last tour out here (granted that was concerning his batting)....

I wonder if India will contemplate changing the batting order to promote Laxman as they did in the TVS Cup???

I'm pleased to see my faith in Dravid being borne out - sets the rest of the series up nicely.....

 

[Mister Wright]

With injuries to alot of Australian bowlers I think Kasprowicz will be a big chance of playing on Boxing Day. Alot will depend on how he performs against South Australia this weekend but with injuries to Gillespie, McGrath & Williams he has to be a big chance. If Australia were 1-0 up they perhaps would go with Bracken or a bowler who does well for Aus A but because we are 1-0 behind we need expereince. Kaspa has been the leading wicket taker the last 2 years in Pura Cup and is always up there.

My side fore Dec 26:

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Martyn
Waugh
Katich
Gilchrist
Bichel
Lee
Kasprowicz
MacGill

 

[The Argonaut]

I don't think that Kasprowicz has a snowballs chance in hell of playing the next test. We will have to wait and see if Gillespie's injury is bad enough to rule him out. Bracken will deserve another chance and will be next in line.

My XI would be
Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, Waugh, Katich, Gilchrist, Bichel, Lee, Gillespie(Bracken), MacGill

MacGill's form is worrying me at the moment. He bowled some terrible longhops yesterday and looking at the figures he was outbowled by Katich. He just didn't look the goods. I suppose it was a flat pitch and everyone bar Agarkar on day 4 struggled.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Congrats to the indian team on a good win.. but overall congrats to both teams for an awesome test match...

It was thrilling right from day 1 .. when australia amassed 400 on day 1 itself and went on to score a mamoth total.. and see india follow that up.. and australia struggle a bit in the 2nd innings and india when chasing were given a good fight by australia right till the very end of the test match..

Awesome overall..not once have i been so thrilled for 5 days in a row in a test match !

and now that its 1-0 to india im sure australia will fight harder to win the 3rd test 1-1 meaning its all guns blazing on the final test Wicked

 

[warrioryohannan]

My XI would be
Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, Waugh, Katich, Gilchrist, Bichel, Lee, Gillespie(Bracken), MacGill

MacGill's form is worrying me at the moment. He bowled some terrible longhops yesterday and looking at the figures he was outbowled by Katich. He just didn't look the goods. I suppose it was a flat pitch and everyone bar Agarkar on day 4 struggled.

And thats why i think it will be better if Aus replaces McGill with some other spinner.Which bring me to mind a young offspinner (can't remember his name) who can also bat a bit, i think he could be a good choice.

 

[Craig]

Good to see everybody has calmed down and we dont need to pass the peace pipe around just yet ( have always wanted to say that).

For India I expect them to look like this: Chopra, Shewag, Ramesh, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Pate/Dasguptal, Karthik, Nehra/Kumble, Pathan, Balaji, Zaheer Khan.

Patel bats at 6 so India can play 5 bowlers. I expect Dravid and Laxman have earnt the weekend off. All of their quicks will probably play and they may choose to give Dasgupta a chance ahead of Patel.

Tendulkar showed glimpes of return to form in his 37 and all he needs is time.

 

[warrioryohannan]

Yes,. this Indian team
with the current form and detrmination,
with an attacking/dependable keeper(like Gilly),
with a good allrounder like Kapil,
with good openers like Grienidge & Haynes ,
with a good swing-clever bowler like Wasim Akram( no need of Brtt lee, Shoib,...even McGrath),
with a prolific spinner like Murali
and with the consistency of Steve's Aus( prior to this series)
can make the Best Test Team in the world.....:wow:

Patel is promissing but is no where near Gilli.

Indian team currently has no genuine allrounder.

Zaheer Khan is really good but there isn't any need to compare him to a legend.

A tearaway genuine quick is ALWAYS needful, thats why Indian selectors are taking special interest in young Munaf Patel.

Harbhajan did little to earn such high praise, even Ganguly was dissapointed.

Gordon and Haynes were the STRENGTH of the Great WI's team of the '80(perhaps the best test team ever). Chopra and Sehwag are the weakness in this Indian team lineup,therefore i find the comparison rather funny!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Patel is promissing but is no where near Gilli.

Indian team currently has no genuine allrounder.

Zaheer Khan is really good but there isn't any need to compare him to a legend.

A tearaway genuine quick is ALWAYS needful, thats why Indian selectors are taking special interest in young Munaf Patel.

Harbhajan did little to earn such high praise, even Ganguly was dissapointed.

Gordon and Haynes were the STRENGTH of the Great WI's team of the '80(perhaps the best test team ever). Chopra and Sehwag are the weakness in this Indian team lineup,therefore i find the comparison rather funny!

He was not comparing Zaheer to Wasim or any of the such.

He was saying that India would have a very good team if they had those elements.

 

[warrioryohannan]

Oic, so i stood incorrect:saint:

 

[Kenny]

And thats why i think it will be better if Aus replaces McGill with some other spinner.Which bring me to mind a young offspinner (can't remember his name) who can also bat a bit, i think he could be a good choice.

Hauritz?

 

[Gaijin-san]

That'd be him, the 'potential allrounder' as some have named him.

Tell you what though, he's not a half bad spinner.

 

[The Argonaut]

Hauritz is good but will need to leave Queensland to become a top class spinner. I like his temperament in particular. The pre-occupation with wrist spinners has meant that there aren't too many finger spinners around. He is young and needs a couple of good years and maybe some county experience before he will be good enough. The wickets in Queensland don't suit him so he will not get the long spells he needs.

 

[Salamuddin]

I doubt if MacGill will be dropped though.
Who else have Australia got in the spin department ?

Casson ? India 's probably not the ideal opposition to blood a young spinner against in a test match -- at least not at this point in the series.

 

[Gaijin-san]

Do you know of any team that would want him? I suppose if he wanted to move then South Australia would be the best place to go. He'd never make it in NSW.

 

[Craig]

Craig's Stat fact

Any milestone's or anything I have missed please let me know.

Any errors please let me know so I can fix it

 

[Gaijin-san]

Casson? India 's probably not the ideal opposition to blood a young spinner against in a test match -- at least not at this point in the series.

I wouldn't take Casson either. He looks like he could be a good test spinner one day but certainly not yet. I suppose if worst comes to worst they'll call up Brad Hogg. At the moment though I do rate Casson higher than Hogg. Casson can spray them around a bit, and Hogg has this seemingly unpickable wrong 'un, but on the whole Casson still looks a little better.

So if Warne's not there, and MacGill is dropped, then we have:
Hogg
Hauritz
Casson
White

There are other spinners around Australia of course, but none worth mentioning for a test spot (Casson and White are pushing it as it is). I'd still go with Hauritz.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Craig's Stat fact

Any milestone's or anything I have missed please let me know.

Any errors please let me know so I can fix it

It should be posted under Australia and India rather than Rest of the World.

Also...

* Dravid's 242 brought up 6000 Test runs.

Dravid got 233.