***Official*** India in Pakistan

[pug]

Ya, adding 10 ks is something which every Indian bowler must aim to do, but Pathan more than the others. Good thing is that with his batting he'll still maintain his place as he works on his bowling. Now I don't feel that Pathan is a position too high, coming in at no 7 but rather Kumble is a position too high at no 8. What India needs for future series is another bowler who can bat a bit.

 

[Arjun]

Ya, adding 10 ks is something which every Indian bowler must aim to do, but Pathan more than the others. Good thing is that with his batting he'll still maintain his place as he works on his bowling. Now I don't feel that Pathan is a position too high, coming in at no 7 but rather Kumble is a position too high at no 8. What India needs for future series is another bowler who can bat a bit.

It's not that simple to add pace, but Irfan has bowled faster– and better– than he has in this series. As for the five-bowler combination, this is a good one, and it's worked a wee bit better than the previous one. That combo struggled to take 7 wickets for over 670, but this one bowled the Pakistanis out for 588. The two bowlers least likely to make a combination of four– Zaheer and RP Singh– took 7 wickets, while the three sure-shot selections took just three! This combo has to be backed and persisted with in future series.

Yes, there are options for that other bowler who can bat a bit. Not too long ago, I recommended Munaf Patel. It does not matter how fast he bowls (as long as it's not in the 120's), since he can also smash more than a few big shots, like Pietersen, Kemp or Afridi, and he has a useful second skill too. Wait till the ongoing Ranji Trophy gets over, and we may see Joginder Sharma or Pravin Kumar make the Indian side. There is a place open for one of them in the Test and ODI side.

 

[PAKMAN]

good show by the indians but not much time left in the game so looking like a draw but u never know in cricket

 

[Shujie]

Is Sachin now a burden?

For decades Sachin carried the hopes of millions single handedly but it now seems like the indian team management/selectors feel obligated to include him coz of his star status. Sometimes even a star that shone brightly burns out and maybe its time to seriously consider whether Sachin is still able to contribute a 40 plus score in every match. A century after every 10 innings is not good enough.

 

[Nate]

How unique.

 

[Shujie]

Past his best??

Will catch it in the highlights

I've been waiting a long time.......

 

[Pratters]

prabhakar could bowl...

Oh really?

Prabhakar has an average of 37.3 taking 96 wickets over his career. You over rate him when you say he could bowl and Pathan cannot.

 

[honestbharani]

"Can any of the balanced Pakistan fans here tell me how their domestic wickets are? Are such flat ones prepared there as well? That is what Rameez RAja was indicating in his comments."

Not sure I qualify as a balanced Pak fan but anyhow my two rupees worth is that generally wickets in Pak are flat and overused but you do get moisture in them with ball keeping low hence the dodgy techniques of Pak batters who do great domestically but as soon as the ball moves laterally with a hint of swing/seam they become undone. There are exceptions ofcourse. I blame PCB and lack of an effective domestic structure with coaching at grass roots level.

This is quite strange as we do manage to produce a fair number of medium pacers and quickies besides wickets not being conducive to seamers and pacers.

yeah, thanx for the explanation. We had this problem in the middle of the 90s, but thankfully, things were quickly done to eradicate that. We used to have Deodhar trophy games (The OD competition between the 5 zones) where one team would make 320 or 330 and the other team would either chase it down or get very close. It was ridiculous. And if these are the tracks that Pak have in domestic games as well, they need to sort things out soon. They are blessed with a lot of natural talent in Pakistan but they shouldn't take it for granted and ground out their talented bowlers on such tracks.

 

[Pratters]

I've been waiting a long time.......

Then a little more time shouldn't hurt.

 

[honestbharani]

actually i havent seen many domestic matches but I saw a five day match played between i think Sialkot and faisalabad in Lahore where the pitch was very lively... and as far as afridi is concerned he is a great asset.... any team in the world would love to have a player like him .... he is a decent batsman with great hitting abilities and is a very good bowler his bowling str rate is 61 which is very good for a spinner.... warne's strk rate is 58-59.....

It is good that such tracks are present. BTW, I am not discounting Afridi's development as a player, but I still don't think he will be all that successful coming in at 70/4 against a fired up English attack on a lively track on a rather cold English morning or afternoon. It is not like these guys CANNOT bat in those tracks, but it is just that they are not USED to bat in those tracks because of over exposure to such flat tracks and under exposure to tougher pitches.

 

[honestbharani]

AFAIK, isn't that only if the field umpires were unsighted?

even if they have a clear view and they still have doubts, they can refer. Obviously, Rudi didn't have much doubt, but after such a vociferous and confident appeal, he could have atleast checked it out with the 3rd ump. Would have taken only as long as a normal run out takes.

 

[honestbharani]

Getting bad now. Tendulkar is the last hope as I still don't consider Dhoni and Pathan to be of the same calibre as any other top order batsman.

u mean like they are better?


Hindsight is so cool.

 

[honestbharani]

AFRIDI: ???
IRFAN (unhappy face): ???
IRFAN (to umpire): ???
AFRIDI (stepping forward): ???
RUDI (to Afridi): Now I don't want one more word out of your mouth. Go back
RUDI (to Irfan): You go back

A short while later, Akhtar was warned for running on the pitch by Taufel.

I think Rudi actually said "keep your mouth shut" to Afridi, but whatever.


As good and entertaining as Afridi is, his character leaves a lot to be desired. He certainly isn't the best advertisement for the "Gentlemen's game" and I don't think he is far off from being the worst.

 

[Sanz]

Oh really?
Prabhakar has an average of 37.3 taking 96 wickets over his career. You over rate him when you say he could bowl and Pathan cannot.

I would pick Prabhakar any day over Pathan, Zaheer, Agarkar, Singh.

 

[pug]

I think Rudi actually said "keep your mouth shut" to Afridi, but whatever.

No, I think it was more like what Arjun said.

 

[honestbharani]

No, I think it was more like what Arjun said.

lol, I was trying to be funny there. sorry for not including a proper smiley.

 

[pug]

u mean like they are better?


Hindsight is so cool.

Eating half my words cuz I still think Dhoni and Pathan need to perform a few more times before I'll be comfortable seeing them at no 6 and 7.

 

[nikhil1772]

I would pick Prabhakar any day over Pathan, Zaheer, Agarkar, Singh

Yeah...right you are - one match-fixer is better than four of the best cricketers India got in pace department today.

 

[Sanz]

Yeah...right you are - one match-fixer is better than four of the best cricketers India got in pace department today.

It should have been obvious that I was talking about cricketing skills. As for four of the best cricketers...well.

 

[Anil]

cricbuzz ball by ball commentary team had this to say



On a different note, too much of blame is being put on umpires these days. Cricbuzz actually does a creditable thing by explaining Taufel having little choice.

Its not the umpire's fault that the technology is better than the past. Also they travel an extra ordinary amount of time which doesn't make their task easier. Blame the ICC for not implementing technology where its conclusive and the ICC for not appointing at least a few more umpires than they do currently. The ICC panel of umpires has gone down to 7 from 12 when it started off if I am not mistaken.

Make the job more lucrative and make their schedules less hectic.

...but why did tendulkar walk??? he should have known after 16 years of international cricket that he was not out...right???