Yes. NZ is no match if they decide to go for spin tracks. Their best bet is to prepare seaming wickets and expect India to repeat Ahmedabad 2008 when they got all out for 70 odd against Steyn and Co. But I don't think it will happen this time around. And I predict Sehwag to have a terrible tour, if NZ bowlers bowl full and wide outside off stump, and swing it away.
You don't have other options at present. Irfan hasn't played enough for an emphatic return to form. Yusuf has barely played a season. Besides, Jadeja has had a great season with bat and ball, and it makes sense to take full advantage of it. He won't bat anywhere above six or seven, just like other batting prospects, so deep down there, he's a lot better than in the frontline at four. There may be other options around, but when you have someone dominating the batting and bowling figures of a domestic season, you can't miss that someone so easily- though he's better off in the longer version of the game. Besides, if the pitch isn't heavily in favour of the bowlers, he can do quite well.
Why would they go in for spinning tracks? A lot of their top bowlers are pacers- maybe four out of five. Besides, this Kiwi attack will need a very favourable wicket to pose a real threat to the Indians- Sehwag is, anyway, smart enough to spot the plan, and may just keep pinching singles with Gambhir.
Yusuf didnt play the season because he was in the ODI squad.
Hopefully he will.
Hi Precambrian you owe me an avatar for one week, and Voltman for two.
I have forgotten. Could you please provide a link to the avatar bet?Hi Precambrian you owe me an avatar for one week, and Voltman for two.
Here's mine:
Let's get to it!
I'm game for Yusuf as a frontline option, and I believe he should be a full-time all-rounder, and the ODI spot may be his. However, it's still wide open for the Test all-rounder spot, which has been vacant. We keep talking up Pujara, Rahane, Sharma, Yuvraj and of course Badrinath, but that won't help win matches consistently. The immediate benchmark is Team South Africa. They've challenged the Australians so often because they have at least one full-fledged all-rounder in their team. Likewise, even Lankan and Kiwi teams of the recent past have been quite a force to reckon with because of their all-rounders. That's a bit difficult because you don't have Irfan (not played enough), you can't choose Yusuf (not played more than a match), can't pick Sharma (not played for very long), or even Kumar or Powar (batting gone to sleep) or Chawla (bowling not up to the mark). The only option at present is Jadeja- while I agree it isn't much of an option, that's the best for the time being.
You're wrong, and I'm correcting you.
It'll be Munaf Patel who I personally back to flourish.
Hmm, not convinced by Munaf at all. On this particular tour I'd take Praveen Kumar, but the selectors don't seem to like him. Hopefully he tears himself a place in the side in the ODIs.
Unless Precambrian has suddenly become West Indian, I don't think so...Hi Precambrian you owe me an avatar for one week, and Voltman for two.
Here's mine:
Let's get to it!
No Problem with that ..
Yeah AWTA. India are favourites but it'll be a really awkward one for them.
You really think they're favourites? I fully expect them to capitulate with one win at best.
Currently they remain favourites. But a couple of ODI capitulations could change that.
On a player-by-player basis they most certainly are favorites. It's almost a mismatch, IMO. But knowing how the Indian team has played in NZ in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a scare or even a defeat. But conditions and player form are not quantitative things we can use to compare two teams. It's basically an immeasurable statistic on whether or not any given player can rise to the occasion when presented with a hard task.