*Official* India in Pakistan Thread

[masterblaster]

Looks like a pretty good side, although Id just go in with the one spinner, because Zaheer has looked okay in the last two ODI's.

Perhaps he's getting his momentum back?

My side:

Chopra
Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly/Yuvraj (depending on fitness of Ganguly)
Patel (w/k)
Agarkar
Irfan Pathan
Anil Kumble
Zaheer Khan

Although I would drop Zaheer if he had a 'dismal' game and then bring in Murali Kartik who will do much better in Pakistan.

In my opinion Powar's bowling isnt good enough for test cricket, he's like a Andrew Symonds/Ian Harvey type cricketer. However if he plays, I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[Craig]

What are the chances of Balaji playing?

 

[tooextracool]

saqlain mushtaq now claims he has a "teesra". wonder what that does

 

[vandemataram]

I think Saqlain won't get a chance to play in the fist match because Pak selectors & management are biased towards Danish Kaneria, as such he might be the lone spinner in the playing 11.

Saqi was best under Akram, a captain's support is vital for a spinner to succeed, unfortunately for Saqlain the captains after Akram didn't showed much confidence in him.

 

[Choora]

My Indian 11 would be,

Sehwag'
Chopra
Dravid(c)
Tend
Yuvraj
Laxman
Patel
Pathan
Ajit
Kumble
Khan



Ganguly is out with injury so Yuvraj should get the nod.Even though my hero" Balaji" has impressed everyone, but still i would prefe to go with ZK for the first test match.

Hope India beat Pak at Multan, they do have the psych edge over Pak.If India do beat Pak in Multan, then i don't see how Pak is going to make a comeback in the series.

 

[Armadillo]

Irfan Pathan is a really good player, he has to become a regular
for india

 

[Arjun]

The top 6 picks itself, but as for the bowling, I would pick either Zaheer or Agarkar, with Pathan to open. Then play Kumble and Powar. My plans also play Sehwag as a regular bowler. Contrary to opinions expressed, Powar is good for Test cricket and he has a good FC record. Besides, he's a far better batsman than most of the bowlers in this team-Agarkar and Karthik included. With Kumble as the main spinner, I would play Powar and Sehwag as support bowlers. Agarkar is not the best choice for Test cricket- the little one has a big bowling average of 44- YOU CAN'T WIN TEST MATCHES with such bowling, so playing a youngster won't make a difference.

As for the batting, I would play Sehwag and Chopra as openers, the Yuvraj, then Sachin, then Dravid and Laxman. Yuvraj should bat against the seamers, while Dravid is a better player of spinners. Then bat Powar, then Pathan, then Patel. The best batsmen and bowlers should play. Spin may be the Indians' advantage.

 

[masterblaster]

Sehwag is useful at best, he is not a regular bowler by any means. He shouldnt be used for more than 15 overs in a test match, and thats pushing it as well.

Yuvraj is not a number three batsman, while Dravid is the best number three (along with Ponting) in the world today.

Why change such a solid steady and working batting order?

Yuvraj cannot handle the responsibility of a number three batsman. He is best at either 5 or 6.

The more Yuvraj is exposed to spin and top quality spin, the better he will get. In International Cricket you cannot afford to avoid particular bowlers.

Its all a wonderful learning curve for Yuvraj Singh. I personally wouldn't want Dravid at 5 or 6 in a test match. In an ODI its alright, but the number 3 spot is Dravid's own in test cricket.

 

[Craig]

Looks like Yuvraj will play this tomorrow.

 

[luckyeddie]

Regarding Agarkar and 'that average' (44) - there's no disputing the fact that it is very sub-standard.

Then there is a certain matter of 6-41.

Ah, statistics.

 

[Jono]

Sehwag
Chopra
Dravid (c)
Tendulkar
Laxman
Yuvraj
Patel+
Pathan
Agarkar
Kumble
Zaheer

I'll give Zaheer the nod and hope he plays well. If he doesn't I'd play Kartik or Powar the next game, but I haven't seen enough of Powar and its his bowling im interested in. With a top 6 like that, Powar's batting shouldn't be a big influence in the game.

 

[marc71178]

Ganguly is out with injury so Yuvraj should get the nod.

I note you put him at 5 ahead of VVS - would that be his best position?

My thoughts are that with the big 3 in there, they could be persuaded to work around Yuvraj and let him bat where he's best suited?

 

[Arjun]

Then there is a certain matter of 6-41.

The one and only. There is no 'one and only' for a McGrath or a Pollock. Even Sachin Tendulkar would have managed that, so why not play him as a strike bowler?

Sehwag is useful at best, he is not a regular bowler by any means. He shouldnt be used for more than 15 overs in a test match, and thats pushing it as well.

He will get better with practice. Besides, he's the best of the lot. He's also the best long term option. Besides, who are the great bowlers in this team? Might as well play him as a regular bowler, there's little or nothing to lose.

Yuvraj cannot handle the responsibility of a number three batsman. He is best at either 5 or 6.

The more Yuvraj is exposed to spin and top quality spin, the better he will get. In International Cricket you cannot afford to avoid particular bowlers.

The reason why Yuvraj is better for 3 is that he's better against seamers than spinners. Besides, if he fails in the 5/6 position against the spinners, he may never get the nod again, for a good long time, though he is Test material.

Anyway, since Dravid is one who thinks before making decisions and looks to try something different, I won't be surprised if Powar gets a long spell- and he should.

 

[shankar]

The reason why Yuvraj is better for 3 is that he's better against seamers than spinners. Besides, if he fails in the 5/6 position against the spinners, he may never get the nod again, for a good long time, though he is Test material.

When you have a perfect no.3 in tests in Rahul ,why would you want to put somebody else there.

Also, I don't think he has the technique to play at no.3 in tests yet. He's played the quick stuff well in the ODI's.But in a test match when an early wicket falls,with the ball moving around and 3 slips waiting for an edge the situation is totally different. The no.3 has to survive that and drop anchor for the rest of the team to rally around him. That's not his game.

Besides,he's perfect at no.6 where he'll mostly have to make quick runs for a declaration or bat with the tail.

 

[Armadillo]

India desperately need a top quality all rounder, otherwise theyll always have a four man tail, I suppose you could argue that their batting up top is so good that they dont need one but what about when the top six fail

 

[nehrafan]

India desperately need a top quality all rounder, otherwise theyll always have a four man tail, I suppose you could argue that their batting up top is so good that they dont need one but what about when the top six fail

Irafan Pathan is shaping up well, and i believe in two years time he will become the top allrounder in the world. Imran Khan and Waseem Akram rates him highly, indeed he's all class.

I think Indian doesn't have a long tail, Patel is a good batter, Pathan is getting better with bat everyday, Ajit does wonders when he's in mood while Khan & Kumble are no bunny with bat either!

 

[nehrafan]

I read a nice banner , it was something like,

""khan has the pace,Pathan and Ajit has the swing and Kuble has the spin, so India will win"

 

[marc71178]

Irafan Pathan is shaping up well, and i believe in two years time he will become the top allrounder in the world.

Right...

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

Irafan Pathan is shaping up well, and i believe in two years time he will become the top allrounder in the world. !

Hmmm ..For that he will have to battle it out with Ajit Agarkar.

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

I think the test series starting from tomorrow will be extremely interesting. Interesting battle will be between,

Inzi, Hameed and Youhanna against the likes of Ajit Agarkar, Pathan and Kumble.

Inzi and Hameed are in good form, Youhanna is a good batsman but is out of form right now. I think the Indian bowlers can get them out cheaply provided Ajit and Kumble are in good form (comming back from injuries).

Another battle will be between ,

Akhter and the top six batting Gods.

In onedayers Akhter failed badly, now he has one last chance to prove his critics wrong, but can he get all six top order Indian batsmen out cheaply? 9 out of 10 times i would say
NO

There isn't much to choose from Pak bowling lineup.Sami and Shabbir aren't worth mentioning, Saqlain was a class spinner, but i think he's not that good anymore (?), as for Danish, leggies are successful against India, if Warne wasn't able to do much against India, then what would Danish be able to achieve??.


My prediction, India wins the Multan test and go 1 up in series!