***Official*** India in South Africa

[adharcric]

BUTTTTTTTTT there is good news. VVS Laxman is back in the squad, so thats something to cheer about. No doubt he will play with Dravid being ruled out.

Not so much huge blow in regard to the ODI, Dravid was only keeping the Indians heads above water anyhow. Could also do the world of good for Sehwag and be the kick up the ass he needs. But if Dravid does not recovery in time and misses the tests then India will be in a world of ****.

Dravid getting injured is good news as long as he's back for the tests. We really weren't going to beat South Africa the way things were, but this might be a wake-up call now that everyone is writing off the team's chances. Sehwag especially might decide to bat with more responsibility. If Laxman doesn't play the next match, we'll have a middle-order of Kaif, Mongia and Raina - that's easily the worst 3-4-5 we've fielded in a long time. These three will definitely have something to prove; there's no guarantee that they'll do it but they are pretty much on the brink of extinction now.

The biggest reason that Dravid's injury (assuming it's short-term) is a good thing is that it brings Laxman into the fray. Laxman needs to be in the middle-order and now we can be sure that he will be there. Raina is on his way out so Badrinath may get a spot after this tour as well.

 

[Turbinator]

I was thinking... without Injuries this side would be pretty good... if in form...

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Laxman
Dravid
Yuvraj
Kaif
Dhoni
Harbhajan/Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth
Munaf Patel

 

[adharcric]

I was thinking... without Injuries this side would be pretty good... if in form...

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Laxman
Dravid
Yuvraj
Kaif
Dhoni
Harbhajan/Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth
Munaf Patel

Switch Kaif for Mongia because you only have 4 bowlers. Kumble should be the #1 spinner.

 

[Turbinator]

Switch Kaif for Mongia because you only have 4 bowlers. Kumble should be the #1 spinner.

Well we always have Sehwag and Tendu...anyways yea Mongia and Kaif could fight for that spot......other than that I think that's the way to go.

I mean with that line-up, our batting looks pretty strong.

 

[Anil]

I was thinking... without Injuries this side would be pretty good... if in form...

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Laxman
Dravid
Yuvraj
Kaif
Dhoni
Harbhajan/Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth
Munaf Patel

..and the pitch is pretty flat....and the bowling is not very good....

just completing your sentence for you...

 

[silentstriker]

..and the pitch is pretty flat....and the bowling is not very good....

...and there are no endorsement commercials to shoot...and the bowler isn't mean and doesn't bowl many bouncers

 

[Turbinator]

..and the pitch is pretty flat....and the bowling is not very good....

just completing your sentence for you...

...and there are no endorsement commercials to shoot...and the bowler isn't mean and doesn't bowl many bouncers

Yes exactly the way Pakistan's Akhtar and Waqar and Wasim did in the 2003 WC, boy did they certainly destroy Sehwag and Sachin. And don't forget Australia's crappy bowling against Laxman.

Notice I said when in form!

 

[silentstriker]

Yes exactly the way Pakistan's Akhtar and Waqar and Wasim did in the 2003 WC, boy did they certainly destroy Sehwag and Sachin. And don't forget Australia's crappy bowling against Laxman.

A) Aussie pitches are not exactly bounce fests, and if you notice in almost all games against them, a lot of runs were scored all around.

B) Waqar and Wasim were way past it in 2003, and the Saffie pitches in 2003 reminded me of Indian pitches, nothing like the ones served up now. Why do you think India did so well in SA, after getting destroyed in NZ? Or did you forget that amazing NZ tour where we got annihilated worse than Britney Spears' career.

 

[Turbinator]

A) Aussie pitches are not exactly bounce fests, and if you notice in almost all games against them, a lot of runs were scored all around.

B) Waqar and Wasim were way past it in 2003, and the Saffie pitches in 2003 reminded me of Indian pitches, nothing like the ones served up now. Why do you think India did so well in SA, after getting destroyed in NZ? Or did you forget that amazing NZ tour where we got annihilated worse than Britney Spears' career.

A) That's what they wanted you to think (couldn't come up with a better counter attack).

B) The way we got destroyed in NZ, we're gonna get destroyed in SA this year. But guess what after NZ we did superb in SA, and after getting destroyed in SA, we're gonna do superb in WI.

 

[haroon510]

sechin's performance is disappointing. i havn't seen a good innings from him for along time now. his last six innings are 4, 35, 29 , 10 , 35 and 2.

 

[silentstriker]

A) That's what they wanted you to think (couldn't come up with a better counter attack).

B) The way we got destroyed in NZ, we're gonna get destroyed in SA this year. But guess what after NZ we did superb in SA, and after getting destroyed in SA, we're gonna do superb in WI.

But we don't play any test matches in WI this time around, so it will be irrelevant. And if by superb, you mean lose another final, then sure.

 

[silentstriker]

sechin's performance is disappointing. i havn't seen a good innings from him for along time now. his last six innings are 4, 35, 29 , 10 , 35 and 2.

Yea, unfortunately, bar Dravid, this is true for every one of our batsmen though. I shudder to think what will happen to us with Sehwag leading and without a Dravid to hold the fort. And though it looks like he will be well for the Tests, if he is not, this will be more one sided than a test against Bangladesh.

 

[Turbinator]

sechin's performance is disappointing. i havn't seen a good innings from him for along time now. his last six innings are 4, 35, 29 , 10 , 35 and 2.

He's following in Inzi's footsteps...

 

[Turbinator]

But we don't play any test matches in WI this time around, so it will be irrelevant. And if by superb, you mean lose another final, then sure.

Atleast we made it to the final, unlike the other 14 teams or so....

 

[silentstriker]

Atleast we made it to the final,

And lost yet another final. To me, you either win or you don't.

 

[haroon510]

hope ful sechen would make some runs this time. i think if sechen plays well in the next match india has 75 percent chance of wining the match.

about inzi i was afriad that there will be a day he would be out of form. almost all the great batsman who have captained there teams have gone through the same situation that inzi is going through and he knews it. that is why he spent alot of time in crease in his last innings. unfurtunt for him he end up playing such a stuped and unnecesary shot.

 

[Turbinator]

And lost yet another final. To me, you either win or you don't.

And they did, against EVERY other team, except Australia... anyways to me, the way I look at it is you either win or let the other team win.

 

[Turbinator]

hope ful sechen would make some runs this time. i think if sechen plays well in the next match india has 75 percent chance of wining the match.

about inzi i was afriad that there will be a day he would be out of form. almost all the great batsman who have captained there teams have gone through the same situation that inzi is going through and he knews it. that is why he spent alot of time in crease in his last innings. unfurtunt for him he end up playing such a stuped and unnecesary shot.

Yup, but just don't let that "play well" = into a century for him, or else that 75 percent chance will turn into a 7.5 chance.

 

[Turbinator]

Imagine this line-up for ODIs on flat Indian pitches, all in form and with no injuries in the peak of their careers...

Sehwag (Multan every day)
Tendulkar (Back to being the Master Blaster)
Ganguly (Back to being the "God" of off-side)
Laxman
Dravid (As he is now)
Yuvraj (Has moulded into an excellent finisher)
Dhoni (Has grown into an exceptional wicket-keeper)
Pathan (Swing Bowling at 135 kph)
Harbhajan Singh / Kumble
Zaheer Khan (140 kph average with a hint of swing)
Munaf Patel (Reverse swing at an average of 145 kph)

 

[Perm]

With that team I would drop Sehwag, put everyone else up a place and include Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Sehwag is a poor ODI batsman and you have more than enough batting depth if all these batsman are at the peak of their careers.