***Official*** India in South Africa 2013/14

[JontyPanesar]

You can't show due respect when you're chasing 358 like he was in the first ODI.

This game he just prodded outside off. He's KP-esque, likes bat on ball. Will always be a flaw in him I fear.

Should have focused on just getting as many balls as he could out there in the middle. No way was SA ever going to concede 358

 

[Jono]

Should have focused on just getting as many balls as he could out there in the middle. No way was SA ever going to concede 358

Nah, his "try to win and don't just play for yourself" attitude is what resulted in his epic ton at Hobart in 2012. Play for the win. If you want warm-ups for tests, actually schedule warm-ups.

 

[JontyPanesar]

Nah, his "try to win and don't just play for yourself" attitude is what resulted in his epic ton at Hobart in 2012. Play for the win. If you want warm-ups for tests, actually schedule warm-ups.

I'm biased cuz I don't care much for the odis on their own.

But even if you're playing yourself, you really need to get in and see off the best bowlers' initial spells. Neither of these pitches were comparable to the road in Hobart, and even then, I doubt Kohli could have pulled off that Hobart knock if it was the first real match he was playing on that tour

 

[Jono]

Fair enough, that's a good point.

 

[smash84]

Not saying India are going to be amazing, but way too much pessimism here. There are a couple of worrying signs, but I wouldn't go crazy. I expected two losses here.

Awta. Although the bowling would now worry me much more than I thought it would. Will this bowling line up be able to get 20 wickets in the test matches? It looks tough at this point in time.

I also think that the batting will do better in the test matches. Since there were no warm ups so I think playing ODIs before the tests is a good idea.

 

[Jono]

That pitch yesterday was not that hard to bat on. Slow outfield but that's about it. Didn't have too big an issue with India's bowling yesterday barring some poor **** here and there. 280 was gettable, even against SA's bowling. They batted like ****.

 

[Daemon]

Yeah I'm really worried about the bowling too. I think there's a chance Bhuvi won't play, and I'd agree with the decision.

 

[Jono]

no point just picking one really. both bowling and batting right now is a concern, but only one has sucked big time on both occasions in the ODIs so far.

 

[JontyPanesar]

I hate being the optimist here since I'm generally quite the pessimist about India in overseas tests, especially with Dhoni at the helm. But think about this:

If it's flat and some pace is necessary, what is Philander to do? He's obviously a far better bowler than Bhuvneshwar, but both need the same sets of conditions to perform at their peak. (And if you remember, Big Vern did not have a fun time on the flat bouncy wickets of Australia until Perth served up some lateral movement).

I say go with Shami, Zak, and Bhuvi until Umesh can prove that he'll hit the right lengths often enough. In that case, and only that case, Umesh should come in for Bhuvi. And if Bhuvi is going to be totally out of his depth, and so too Umesh, don't hesitate to play two spinners even on a seamer's pitch. At least spinners can bowl darts and keep the runs down.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Philander bowled well in the UAE, though. He's really not that dependant on conditions as you think... His basics are so good that if he bowls well, he'll get wickets no matter what the surface. Imo, Shami-Umesh-Bhuvi should be our attack. I don't care if he didn't do that well in the ODI, Bhuvi should get the chance to bowl in swinging conditions with the red cherry in tests. If he doesn't do well with the new ball in the Test, then drop him but he deserves a chance at what his strength is

 

[OverratedSanity]

I see no reason to our too much about the bowling. The bowlers did OK in this match... Pitch wasn't that helpful and they did well to restrict them to 280. Batting has been absolutely awful and us the real worry, because it's supposed to be our strength. Getting 20 wickets really shouldn't be a priority, it should be to get a good total on the board to put scoreboard pressure on SA. That's the only way we'll avoid humiliation

 

[kykweer.proteas]

South africa are lucky that when bowling to india a good tactic is always to bowl full and wide as their batsmen wont easily leave 6 balls in a row. India should bounce back, but doing so in Centurion will be extremely tough.

I fully expect india to have one really good innings on this tour, which is pretty ridiculous that it could help them save the series.

Gosh Steyn is bowling so well, just when people decided for him that he uas reached his peak then he just lifts his game. in the last two games he must have bowled over 70 dot balls out of 17 overs and the indian tail after ashwin by the looks of things wont string together 20 runs.

 

[hendrix]

re: Philander; Perth wasn't exactly a green seamer, was it? And yeah, there's the UAE too. The guy is just a superb bowler. He might do better on seaming wickets but if there's bounce I think he'll find the small amount of movement he needs to get wickets.

 

[OverratedSanity]

re: Philander; Perth wasn't exactly a green seamer, was it? And yeah, there's the UAE too. The guy is just a superb bowler. He might do better on seaming wickets but if there's bounce I think he'll find the small amount of movement he needs to get wickets.

Yeah Philander extracts some unreal bounce on occasion from a length sometimes. Still remember his crazy quick 5-fer against NZ... Couple of times he got the ball to move away and just shoot up off a good length. He doesn't need much movement at all... Just a couple of inches either way is enough for him

 

[kykweer.proteas]

re: Philander; Perth wasn't exactly a green seamer, was it? And yeah, there's the UAE too. The guy is just a superb bowler. He might do better on seaming wickets but if there's bounce I think he'll find the small amount of movement he needs to get wickets.

He set such a high standard at the start of his career, even if he looks more human now he is still one of the best in the world.

 

[Ray.]

India is **** away from home it's been ages there's no changing on that. SA will <removed> em pretty hard on tests aswell. Their bunch of FTB's just can't play away from home.

 

[Jono]

India is **** away from home it's been ages there's no changing on that. SA will <removed> em pretty hard on tests aswell. Their bunch of FTB's just can't play away from home.

Last time in South Africa 1-1.

Current lot are crap away from home though, true.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Last time in South Africa 1-1.

Current lot are crap away from home though, true.

Very few of the current crop have even played abroad yet. The most anyone I'm the batting lineup has ever played abroad is 1-2 series.

They most probably will be crap, though, atleast for a while

 

[Jono]

Very few of the current crop have even played abroad yet.

Which is why they'll be crap away from home.

You can't just walk into South Africa and succeed. No one expects India to do what they did in 2010/11.

This makes Dhoni's captaincy in the third test that much more frustrating. India should have won that third test and series which would have been historic. It was our best chance with our best team ever. Instead Dhoni was mega ***** in the 3rd innings and let Boucher get a start with no pressure. Ensured the best India could do was draw that test (which they easily did).

 

[OverratedSanity]

Which is why they'll be crap away from home.

You can't just walk into South Africa and succeed. No one expects India to do what they did in 2010/11.

This makes Dhoni's captaincy in the third test that much more frustrating. India should have won that third test and series which would have been historic. It was our best chance with our best team ever. Instead Dhoni was mega ***** in the 3rd innings and let Boucher get a start with no pressure. Ensured the best India could do was draw that test (which they easily did).

Don't remind me of that Test. Makes me want to decapitate a puppy