*** Official *** Pakistan in India

[nightprowler10]

i could careless if musharf gets shot in the head, or benazir get shot in the head.. what i am concern about is the civilian people there in pakistan.. i hope they are ok and they get through this safely.. i personally don't like any politicians and i don't trust them.. i would be happy if all these politicians were put in the car and explode the car with a bomb... this includes the likes of Bush, osama, masharaf, karzi, nawaz sharif, benazir and soo on..

I could care less if civilians die, the cricket must go on!

 

[shortpitched713]

And Obviously bowling only includes fast bowlers, isn't it ? Ever thought of Anil Kumble and Dinesh Kaneria ?

Not Saying Indian bowling is better but saying that Pakistani bowling is 'miles ahead' is taking it too far.

Don't think anyone would really press such a point, because it collapses under scrutiny. Even now, I'd say Pakistan's fast bowling is better because despite losing Asif, we have Iftikhar who can bowl just as, if not more accurately than him in the one day game. Your spinners are a little bit better though, so overall there isn't that much between the sides in terms of bowling.

 

[shortpitched713]

Younis Khan bowling seam-up?

Out bowled Shoaib Akhtar tbh. Wait... WTF?!?

 

[AKkAz]

According to me whether or not Harbhajan finds form will be crucial to India's bowling attack...What happened to the doosra?

(...*and on a similar matter what happened to dhoni's hair?? )

 

[speedy]

The pre-drop Pathan, even on his good days, seemed to rely heavily on the swing from a new ball. The post-drop Pathan, seems to be far less prone to good days/bad days so far (hope this post doesnt jinx him) and even when bowling first or second change - still able to take wickets and keep the runs down.

Whether you thought or not that he should've been dropped - its done him good. And whether you think or not that he is now fast/accurate/good/worthy. his results speak for themselves across a tough ODI series and the T20I competition. Not a star but holds his end as a part of his pack and his batting is worthy of being at #7 in case you wanted 5 bowlers and terrific at #8.

Well said. I think in Pathan we found a bowler who can bat as well and since he is a slow/medium bowler batsman will find it hard to hit him out of the park. This is not only true true in T20 but also in 50 overs when coming on at 30-45 over mark. If he keeps his line and length then he could be a very good first/second change bowler and all-rounder. A bit like Ganguly in his young days but may be he was a batsman first, a bowler second....

 

[Manee]

Well said. I think in Pathan we found a bowler who can bat as well and since he is a slow/medium bowler batsman will find it hard to hit him out of the park.

DWTA. Pathan is not a slow/medium bowler, fact is that he can bowl at 135kph if he wished and does bowl the odd quicker ball around that pace but chooses to vary the pace from 110-130kph to keep the batsmen guessing so they can't just swing through the line of the ball.

 

[Jono]

Yeah and that's handy in ODI cricket. You need something more in the longer form though.

That's the thing with Irfan. What he's shown since he's come back is really promising for his limited overs career, but he's almost taken a step backwards regarding his test prospects if he's going to bowl like that when wearing the whites.

 

[alternative]

Yeah and that's handy in ODI cricket. You need something more in the longer form though.

That's the thing with Irfan. What he's shown since he's come back is really promising for his limited overs career, but he's almost taken a step backwards regarding his test prospects if he's going to bowl like that when wearing the whites.

Agreed here with Pathan, with OD career he is almost a perfect player, but when it comes to longer version he just needs a bit more pace for my liking.

 

[Raghav]

It will be cracker of a game tomorrow! Waiting for it....Would love watching another Yousuf ton at Guwahati

 

[anoop4real]

It will be cracker of a game tomorrow! Waiting for it....Would love watching another Yousuf ton at Guwahati

No way......it will be another great partnership from Sachin and Ganguly........

 

[SJS]

No way......it will be another great partnership from Sachin and Ganguly........

Nostradamus versus Nostradamus

 

[jeevan]

Yeah and that's handy in ODI cricket. You need something more in the longer form though.

That's the thing with Irfan. What he's shown since he's come back is really promising for his limited overs career, but he's almost taken a step backwards regarding his test prospects if he's going to bowl like that when wearing the whites.

Except for the spectacular first over hat trick in Pakistan, Pathan's other standout test bowling exploits are against the minnows (is how I recall, can be wrong).

In tests his value in tests will primarily be to strike with massive new ball swing the hat trick type bowling) and then be a stock bowler to complement more lethal bowlers like Zaheer and Sreesanth. When the batsmen are in a rhythm, maybe the variations can be useful (ie how Tendulkar turns out to be a partnership breaker at times bowling anything from legspin to medium pacers).

 

[shortpitched713]

My Pakistan XI for the first ODI:

Yasir Hameed
Kamran Akmal+
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Shoaib Malik*
Salman Butt
Shahid Afridi
Iftikhar Anjum
Shoaib Akhtar
Abdur Rehman
Umar Gul

Salman Butt is in as the in form middle order batsman. Seriously though, I don't rate Misbah at all as a long term middle order option, especially considering hes over 33 years old. Butt just needs to regain his confidence at the international level, and if that means playing him in the middle order then so be it. Also Akmal is probably a better option to pair Hameed up the order, as he can maintain the run rate while consistently making decent scores.

Our bowling looks weakened with the absence of Asif though, so our other bowlers are going to have to step up. Rao especially will have to be as effective as he was against South Africa, because hes easily the most effective out of our seamers at strangling the runs. Hope Gul can return to form as well, because with the return of Asif he will no longer be an automatic selection in our ODI side.

 

[Turbinator]

5.5 hours left!!!

So excited!!!

Yes!!!

It's finally starting!!!

Go India!!!

 

[Jono]

STFU Turb I'll be doing an exam at the time







Just playing, I'm excited too despite the exam..

but still, STFU I don't want to be in an exam whilst cricket is on for the second year in a row

 

[Turbinator]

STFU Turb I'll be doing an exam at the time







Just playing, I'm excited too despite the exam..

but still, STFU I don't want to be in an exam whilst cricket is on for the second year in a row

Haha, is Diretel even showing it to you guys?

 

[alternative]

Haha, is Diretel even showing it to you guys?

Nope .

 

[Turbinator]

Nope .

 

[alternative]

**** off .

 

[Turbinator]

Hehe just pissed off two Indo-Australians in a span of 3 hours. Not a good sign.

EDIT: Btw, I am not getting coverage either, but I'll still be watching it . I'll be on msn in a while .