**Official** India v Pakistan

[Dasa]

abt saqlain in his last 10 tests he took 55 wickets at an average of 20 point proven...5-0 to me

Going back to this, it might be wiser to look at Saqlain's last 5 Tests to see how far he has fallen.
20 wickets at 39.65...taking out wickets against Zimbabwe, it falls (or rises) to 10 wickets at 63.80 - at an e/r of 3.95... with spells of 3/237 vs South Africa and 1/204 against India. Looking at that, you can't say Saqlain is the brilliant bowler he once was.

 

[wahindiawah]

Is it just me or does this series seem a bit dull for starters? I have not been too enthusiastic about the series which is in contrast to my usual reaction to an indo-pak series.

Maybe the disappointment of the Indians playing poorly right from when the Indian team won in Pakistan and the lack of bowling fire power in the Pakistani team apart from the quality of Kaneria has a role to play in that.

How can this series be of much interst to us? Indo-Pak series have usually been of a contest between awesome Pakistani bowlers and Classic Indian batsmen.

Remember the duels between Akhtar and Dravid, between Sachin and Akram, between Sachin and Saqlain , Akram and Srikanth !!!

This time around Pakistan team will be without any of those greats.True Pakistan have a household hero in Rana-Naveed who would provide good batting practice to Indian batsmen, they have Sami who will fasten Sehwag's hundred by 20-30 less balls, and have Razzak who will find his rhythm after the test series is over.But those blokes doesn't have the skill to actually challenge Indian batsmen, and without a real challenge its not odd to lose the usual hype.

 

[wahindiawah]

Going back to this, it might be wiser to look at Saqlain's last 5 Tests to see how far he has fallen.
20 wickets at 39.65...taking out wickets against Zimbabwe, it falls (or rises) to 10 wickets at 63.80 - at an e/r of 3.95... with spells of 3/237 vs South Africa and 1/204 against India. Looking at that, you can't say Saqlain is the brilliant bowler he once was.

Saqlain was a great bowler, thats not the case anymore. In the last test match he looked totally out of the blue.I think it will be good for Saqlain to announce his retirement from test cricket as he's not likely to get selected for Pakistan team again.

 

[wahindiawah]

I would like to see Afridi in Pak side in the test series, he's kind of a wild horse and can actually surprise the Indians with either his bowling or batting.Would be a bit of a gamble having him in the side but i'll have him in the side at the expense of either Razzak or Younis

 

[nikhil1772]

i think he can do a good thing that is to hang up his boots

You Wish!!!

 

[Arjun]

A lot is being said of Balaji's performances with the ball, where he and Pathan 'comprehensively outbowled' the Pakistanis. Do they know what they're talking about? Against a team that's often skittled out for scores of less than 200, Pathan averaged 28.8, while Balaji averaged over 30, which is not good at all. In comparison, Kumble and the nuch-maligned Nehra got good averges for strike bowlers. What great thing has Balaji done against Pakistan, or at any stage of his career, for so many to be so proud of him?

 

[nikhil1772]

A lot is being said of Balaji's performances with the ball, where he and Pathan 'comprehensively outbowled' the Pakistanis. Do they know what they're talking about? Against a team that's often skittled out for scores of less than 200, Pathan averaged 28.8, while Balaji averaged over 30, which is not good at all. In comparison, Kumble and the nuch-maligned Nehra got good averges for strike bowlers. What great thing has Balaji done against Pakistan, or at any stage of his career, for so many to be so proud of him?

Not to mention the attention he gets and seperate articles dedicated to him in newspapers...Same goes for Nehra...Also Zaheer & Irfan are not proven greats which is the way the media here project them as.

Now that is getting on my nerves.

 

[nikhil1772]

Is it just me or does this series seem a bit dull for starters? I have not been too enthusiastic about the series which is in contrast to my usual reaction to an indo-pak series.

Maybe the disappointment of the Indians playing poorly right from when the Indian team won in Pakistan and the lack of bowling fire power in the Pakistani team apart from the quality of Kaneria has a role to play in that.

The only thing I am excited abt watching is Rahul Dravid's batting...and how funny will be Sachin's fall of wicket?Jumping around on the wicket,ducking at wrong balls or just plainly throwing his wicket to a rookie?

 

[Arjun]

The only thing I am excited abt watching is Rahul Dravid's batting...

He may be a defensive batsman, but when he starts attacking, he can take the match away from the opposition. Makes Sehwag look slow.

 

[nikhil1772]

He may be a defensive batsman, but when he starts attacking, he can take the match away from the opposition. Makes Sehwag look slow.

All hail the true champ - RD

 

[Arjun]

If Balaji plays, his batting will be more relevant than his bowling- he's a clean hitter, and batting below 6 batsmen, he can freely swing the bat and look for as many shots as possible. He should bat after Pathan and above KKD, where he will be most effective.

 

[bhajji24]

Just to bore you

India :
Sehwag
Gambhir
Dravid
Sachin
Laxman
Ganguly
Karthik
Pathan
Kumble
Balaji/Zaheer
Harbhajan

Pakistan
Salman
Hameed
Youhanna
Inzemaam
Younis
Razzaq
Akmal
Afridi
Sami
Kaneria
Rana

cmon mate there is no way there's gonna be 2 spinners on this track its gonna be zaheer,pathan & balaji,the only question is which of bhajji or kumble will be picked .It's gonna be a really tough one for saurav & I myself dunno but still if I had to make a choice right now i'd probably say kumble,nebody feels it should be bhajji??

 

[mofo123]

Number seven is the allrounder spot

And what good would i guy be if he hits miles to Hong Kong? all you need to do is clear the ropes, obviously you are clueless about that.



And SA happens to be the best team in the world , aren't they?? why can't you take the example of Australia (ever heard of them???) They always play with 4 specialist bowlers.
And on SA, Kallis is true allrounder that is a match winner with both and ball.Such allrounders deserve a place in test team. But players that can bowl a bit and bat a bit aren't good enough to be considered for test matches.



Better learn to speak and write quickly, will you?



Get it straight , Malik is NO Kallis. Allrounders like Kallis, Imran,Flintoff,Bothom and others should always be a part of test team.These players were/are champions with bat and champion with ball. Malik on the other hand is a mediocre test batsman and can just turn his arm a bit (if allowed) SEE THE DIFFERENCE??



Who said that Kaif can replace Tendulkar?? No he can't BUT he can do a decent job. And Yuvraj,Mongia and others too can easily establish themselves. As for Laxman, he might be 30 but he still have good 6-7 years in him.



When was those test matches happened to have been played?? Why has been Saqlain been ignored by Pakistan Selection committee?? Don't say that he was injured coz even when he wasn't injured he wasn't being considered for selection.
If you actually think that Saqlain is still good, then you are a fool.

And lastly you will do a better job as a joker in a circus than in trying to be a judge and giving verdict on ur own statement!

i see ur not one to accept defeat, but picking up on spelling and grammer to argue is very dissapointing i dont seen any sibstance in ur points, saqlain in his last 5 test may not be wot he was thats y he had an operation on his knee...he will b avaliable for the next tour hopefully ill let his bowling do the talking, he had a row with the selection commitee after the india tour and was dropped which was then followed by his operation. there is no question he is still the same bowler. not for me anyway his name is still saqlain and his action is still the same maybe u shud wait b4 making accusation against bowlers and batsmen.

im confused i dont understand the point of ur first sentence? im clueless abt wot? sorry i think i missed sumthing there.

about asutralia playing with 4 specialist bowlers, so wot i was giving u an example of a successful team with that set up in question and i proved my point and very well evidently as u admited they r one of the best teams in the world.

"Better learn to speak and write quickly, will you?"

i think u shud take ur own advise my friend.

malik is no kallis did i say he was? i was again giving u an example to back my point of all rounders being useful, u dont understand the concept of discussions do u, u have to say a point then back it up with proof, i am doing all im gettin gfrom u is blind aligations.

abt yuvraj and kaif the discussion started off by saying that they r the next line to replace tendulker and co, so therefore i presumed u meant replace them man for man, and sure they can do a decent job, but nothing more till they r nurtured. they r very good no doubt but dont b comparing them to the class of ur current team.

and once again calling me a fool coz i think a bowler is good, very immature. and have u seen him to b able to prove that he is not the bowler he used to b? if u have present it yes i have seen the evidence from the post abt his last 5 tests. they were test we lost how many times have u seen good bowling figures from a test match which the team was hammered? and in those test we were hammered. but that doesnt prove he has lost it. wait till he is back

"And lastly you will do a better job as a joker in a circus than in trying to be a judge and giving verdict on ur own statement!"...will i? u see i backed up all my points and it seems to me and most other ppl who have read it that i backed them up sufficently to prove my point therefore i dont see y i cant judge, when u start backing up ur points ill start listening u, and then u can also judge ur statements till then try to be a little more civilised in conversation and try to talk on some1 else level rather then talking down to them it does help, and stops u from looking like an arrogant so and so..good bye. and abt the respect i have for u still is unmeasureable(not in a good way)..

 

[marc71178]

If Balaji plays, his batting will be more relevant than his bowling- he's a clean hitter, and batting below 6 batsmen, he can freely swing the bat and look for as many shots as possible. He should bat after Pathan and above KKD, where he will be most effective.

I assume KKD is Karthik?

You would put Pathan and Balaji ahead of him in the order, even though he averages more than the 2 of them put together in FC Cricket?

 

[shankar]

I assume KKD is Karthik?

You would put Pathan and Balaji ahead of him in the order, even though he averages more than the 2 of them put together in FC Cricket?

Ahh But you forget that both them can swing their bats harder and create bigger drafts when they are at the crease than Karthick, which is all that counts

 

[SJS]

cmon mate there is no way there's gonna be 2 spinners on this track its gonna be zaheer,pathan & balaji,the only question is which of bhajji or kumble will be picked .It's gonna be a really tough one for saurav & I myself dunno but still if I had to make a choice right now i'd probably say kumble,nebody feels it should be bhajji??

You may be right. Cant be sure. But if they have to pick one spinner, I would pick Harbhajan . Its a tough one but just a hunch plus its in Punjab remember and Bhajji is very much an emotional man.

 

[garage flower]

I assume KKD is Karthik?

You would put Pathan and Balaji ahead of him in the order, even though he averages more than the 2 of them put together in FC Cricket?

Arjun seems to veer between deluded and misguided when assessing the batting ability (and importance of said ability) of Indian bowlers.

 

[bhajji24]

yea

You may be right. Cant be sure. But if they have to pick one spinner, I would pick Harbhajan . Its a tough one but just a hunch plus its in Punjab remember and Bhajji is very much an emotional man.

well yea i too was feelin bhajji until yesterday but dunno just felt today maybe on a pitch offerin bounce & havin more grass maybe kumble's variety over bhajji's turn might do the trick like it did vs the aussies in chennai,but still its a tough call watever the decision i hope it turns out to be the right one

 

[bhajji24]

thats ********.....

If Balaji plays, his batting will be more relevant than his bowling- he's a clean hitter, and batting below 6 batsmen, he can freely swing the bat and look for as many shots as possible. He should bat after Pathan and above KKD, where he will be most effective.

now now now thats a load of ********

 

[SJS]

now now now thats a load of ********

sunde jao (keep listening) paa jee this is nothing.