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

[hendrix]

I think "flat" in South Africa still has bounce. That's the key. They don't need to make massive seamers.

And I'm not talking about peppering the Indian batsmen with short balls. The point about bounce is that so that the Indian batsmen cannot drive good length balls on the up.

 

[Jono]

I think "flat" in South Africa still has bounce. That's the key. They don't need to make massive seamers.

And I'm not talking about peppering the Indian batsmen with short balls. The point about bounce is that so that the Indian batsmen cannot drive good length balls on the up.

Yes and yes. Great post.

Distinctly remember South Africa losing to India at Jo'burg in 06 because they bowled far too short whereas Sreesanth bowled a full length.

 

[JontyPanesar]

I think "flat" in South Africa still has bounce. That's the key. They don't need to make massive seamers.

And I'm not talking about peppering the Indian batsmen with short balls. The point about bounce is that so that the Indian batsmen cannot drive good length balls on the up.

Especially when there are certain players in the Indian team "who only know how to play one way" by throwing their hands at length and driving on the up....sorry, just had to get that in there.

I don't think India will win, but given the expected makeup of the squad, I anticipate a reasonable showing and a decent contest

 

[Jono]

Neil Manthorp goes bang!

Dear Mr Dhoni - SuperSport - Cricket

 

[Shri]

Would be better if he grew some actual balls and rips into him real good to spice things up.

 

[harsh.ag]

Neil Manthorp goes bang!

Dear Mr Dhoni - SuperSport - Cricket

Condescending piece full of ****.

 

[Arjun]

Pankaj Singh or Ishwar Pandey (or Shrikant Wagh, by a long shot) would be a lot more useful here than some of the bowlers picked for India. They are tall, fit, and can use the bounce to good effect. The shorter Shami and Bucky will struggle to cope with the bounce. If it's a flat deck with plenty for the batsmen, they're sitting ducks. We're looking at a trio of Zaheer, Bucky and Shami here, with spin support from Ashwin. I'm not so sure this is enough to take 20 wickets unless the pitch favours the bowlers a great deal, but taking 20 wickets should be a priority.

 

[harsh.ag]

Good point. We could try replacing one of the three with Umesh. Some extra pace and bounce would be a nice variation to have in the attack.

 

[Shri]

Nostrils should replace whoever does badly in the 1st test for the 2nd test.

 

[Ray.]

Shami can bowl as quick as Yadav, so there's no having Yadav since he'll go for plenty. The only doubt I've got is in Bhuveneswar Kumar he's too slow and can't swing old ball.

 

[Daemon]

Shami can't bowl as quick as Yadav. I'm still not sure whether Bhuvi can reverse the old ball, but I agree his usefulness after the new ball can be pretty limited.

 

[Ray.]

Shami can bowl pretty quick (140-145kph) from what I've seen so far.

 

[JontyPanesar]

Shami's quicker than he gets credit for but Umesh's top speed is still faster. Umesh leaking as many runs as he has in Ranji is the worrying sign.
I don't mind going with three medium-fast swing bowlers in South Africa. If they can take care of the ball well, they should be able to get some swing, conventional or reverse, on whatever pitch is presented. Regardless, I can see them attacking well with the new ball while keeping it reasonably tight with the old ball.

But now to the bizarreness of this:
"Gambhir is still our reserve opener"

Then why pick Rayudu ahead of Gambhir? If Vijay or Dhawan gets injured, does Gambhir get flown out to SA for the second test?

Also, while maybe nothing more than talk, Pujara and Dhawan's words are encouraging. I'm glad they care about doing well overseas on faster, bouncier pitches. Never got that impression from Dhoni or Sehwag.

 

[ankitj]

This is such an important series for India's future in test cricket. Visiting world's best test team in their backyard. So much new talent, and for first time completely on its own, without any supervision or guidance from India's old guard. Can't wait for it to start (but wtf, it's only 2 tests)

 

[karan316]

I think this was the right time to get someone like Rishi Dhawan in the team.

Just look at his overall record and his form in the last few FC matches.

Rishi Dhawan | India Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

In overseas conditions, we need a bowling all rounder so that we can go with 5 bowlers(1 spinner+4 pacers). I think that would be our best bet, so that none of the pacers get overused, they can bowl short but aggressive spells and keep looking for wickets.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Personally i see India struggling to be honest!!..their main strength at home has been Ashwin and Ohja!!..that won't be a factor in South Africa!!..Shami to me looks like he struggles against left-handers!!..against us most of his wickets were the right-handers and most of our right-handers were in the tail.

We all saw how Rampaul had Sharma's number in the ODI series aswell!!..a nagging line just moving away from him gives him issues!!..while Vijay and Dhawan weren't impressive against us either despite the scorelines of the two tests!!..

But yes it's gonna be very interesting!!..i just think Sa's attack will be too much for this young indian top order and it could get ugly if SA get on top early.

 

[Marius]

South Africa should take the Tests, one dayers could be closer.

I hope we beat India by an innings in both Tests.

It is an absolute joke that there are only two Tests. The BCCI is destroying world cricket.

If things carry on as they are, in 20 years world cricket will be IPL teams playing one-over knockouts against each other.

 

[Maximas]

it's kinda bull**** how busy the international schedule is atm, I'm excited about 4 test series' right now - upcoming or ongoing

 

[JontyPanesar]

Personally i see India struggling to be honest!!..their main strength at home has been Ashwin and Ohja!!..that won't be a factor in South Africa!!..Shami to me looks like he struggles against left-handers!!..against us most of his wickets were the right-handers and most of our right-handers were in the tail.

We all saw how Rampaul had Sharma's number in the ODI series aswell!!..a nagging line just moving away from him gives him issues!!..while Vijay and Dhawan weren't impressive against us either despite the scorelines of the two tests!!..

But yes it's gonna be very interesting!!..i just think Sa's attack will be too much for this young indian top order and it could get ugly if SA get on top early.

Lol a nagging line just moving away gives Rohit trouble. As if most batsmen find that easy pickings. I mean really Rampaul is this utter crap bowler, so if he can take care of Rohit, Rohit must be really ****house, right? Seriously, give your fatass bowler a little credit. Ravi Roundpaul is a very good bowler IMO. Just needs to lay off the pies

South Africa should win this series 2-0. I just want India to compete. But let's see what sort of pitches are presented

 

[Marius]

SA should also be careful about having pitches that seam about, we've shown we can be vulnerable on seaming pitches.