***Official*** South Africa in India

[Richard]

Why would you fear that?

Well, maybe because it might mean others didn't perform to the levels we hope for from them?

Obviously, there'd not be a lot else to complain about with such a thing.

 

[chalky]

It will be interesting to see what bowling line up the Indians select as they seem to have an embarrasment of riches at the moment.

I would go with: R P Singh
Zaheer
Ishant Sharma
Kumble

Sehwag can fill in with some offies if required (he looked better than Harbhajan at times in Australia) & India could always play Pathan as a 5th bowler if the pitch is extremely flat.

 

[Richard]

TBH, I see SA being worried far more by Harbhajan on a turner than Ishant on a green, bouncy surface.

And equally, South Africa's seam-attack remains more powerful than India's. India backing their seamers would be a dangerous move.

IMO, especially given Motera and The Chepauk Stadium tend to produce very nice, quick, bouncy turners, India would be mad to go for anything but spin.

And for mine, Zaheer and RP have to play. They are undoubtedly India's premier seam-bowlers in the longer form of the game currently.

The only other alternative would be having Dravid (or even Tendulkar or Ganguly) open, and picking 5 bowlers. But I hate the idea of any of the middle-order opening, personally, and Jaffer still has credit in the bank for my money, too. I want to see what he's really made of, I want conclusive evidence of whether he's Test-class or not. Facing Steyn with the new-ball would (hopefully) be another stern test.

 

[Laurrz]

will be interesting how Harris goes

iidr he owned the Indians last time

have a feeling i'll be going for Saffers..if they win, sets up ANOTHER cracking summer of cricket down under

 

[ret]

TBH, I see SA being worried far more by Harbhajan on a turner than Ishant on a green, bouncy surface.

And equally, South Africa's seam-attack remains more powerful than India's. India backing their seamers would be a dangerous move.

IMO, especially given Motera and The Chepauk Stadium tend to produce very nice, quick, bouncy turners, India would be mad to go for anything but spin.

And for mine, Zaheer and RP have to play. They are undoubtedly India's premier seam-bowlers in the longer form of the game currently.

The only other alternative would be having Dravid (or even Tendulkar or Ganguly) open, and picking 5 bowlers. But I hate the idea of any of the middle-order opening, personally, and Jaffer still has credit in the bank for my money, too. I want to see what he's really made of, I want conclusive evidence of whether he's Test-class or not. Facing Steyn with the new-ball would (hopefully) be another stern test.

1. r u sure abt Motera's ability to produce nice, quick and bouncy turners?

2. i guess, Zak is doubtful for the ISt test

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/story/341246.html

 

[ret]

btw, there is a thread on Ind vs RSA already, whats the point in having two threads for a series? .... it would be better, if the two threads get merged

 

[Richard]

1. r u sure abt Motera's ability to produce nice, quick and bouncy turners?

Well the most recent game there, against Sri Lanka in 2005\06, certainly seemed to offer such a thing. The only other game I've taken note of (watched, in fact) was against England in 2001\02, and this started with good bounce but disappointingly got lower and slower as the game progressed.

There's also a game against South Africa in 1996\97 that seems to have been of that ilk too.

As well as 2 games, both against New Zealand, which consisted of pitches that were absurdly flat.

 

[ret]

Well the most recent game there, against Sri Lanka in 2005\06, certainly seemed to offer such a thing. The only other game I've taken note of (watched, in fact) was against England in 2001\02, and this started with good bounce but disappointingly got lower and slower as the game progressed.

There's also a game against South Africa in 1996\97 that seems to have been of that ilk too.

As well as 2 games, both against New Zealand, which consisted of pitches that were absurdly flat.

in test matches, as the game progresses, the pitch has the tendency to get lower and slower .... which not only makes scoring difficult but also picking up wkts .... let's hope that the pitch turns out like you described in ur earlier post

usually, at Motera it's Indian victory or draw, I particularly liked the test [link below], where Laxman played superbly on his test debut, i i m not wrong, and then Srinath destroyed the opposition .... For me, it was the first time, i saw an Indian fast bowler destroy the oposition as usually it's the spinners who do that

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63724.html

 

[Richard]

in test matches, as the game progresses, the pitch has the tendency to get lower and slower .... which not only makes scoring difficult but also picking up wkts

Sometimes it happens that way, sometimes it becomes more uneven, with some keeping low and some popping up. The former makes scoring and picking-up wickets difficult; the latter makes scoring difficult and picking-up wickets easier.

usually, at Motera it's Indian victory or draw, I particularly liked the test [link here], where Laxman played superbly on his test debut, i i m not wrong, and then Srinath destroyed the opposition .... For me, it was the first time, i saw an Indian fast bowler destroy the oposition as usually it's the spinners who do that

Yeah, that was one of the games I mentioned.

 

[Jamee999]

Threads merged, allthough thanks to my awesomeness, we've kept the official title.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Threads merged, allthough thanks to my awesomeness, we've kept the official title.

Shame you can't spell though.

 

[adharcric]

Just to create some debate, let's assume that Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Ishant miss out along with Zaheer. What should the side look like?

Jaffer, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, Dhoni, Pathan, Pathan, Kumble, Sreesanth, RP Singh

Or bring in Badrinath/Kaif/Raina and Kartik/Powar (even though YKP has outdone both with the ball in recent times) for the Pathan brothers. Thoughts?

 

[Richard]

Tendulkar? What's happened to him?!

 

[biased indian]

Tendulkar? What's happened to him?!

Nothing.... has been adviced 2 week rest...should be okay for the series

 

[honestbharani]

IMO his glovework in this series in Australia has been far superior to anything Kartik has shown so far. So he would automatically be in the team as the number 1 WK in India.
Unless he has injuries.

I guess you haven't seen too much of DK as a keeper........



Anyways, I said I don't mind Dhoni being our #1 keeper. EVen I would put him as #1, juz a couple of notches above DK, not more... But if he is carrying niggles which could potentially worsen into more serious stuff during the course of a test, why can't we drop him and play Karthik? As I said, I don't see why it is such a seriously bad thing.......

 

[TT Boy]

If the wickets are anything like the ones predicted then I don’t South Africa will be too disturbed. They are essentially pretty flat and South Africa are now more vulnerable to good pace bowling than there are to spinners or slow, low wickets. Pakistan thought they could beat them by preparing such tracks and they got beaten whilst Bangladesh keep thinking South Africans are not good players of spin and keep get humiliated.

India last won a test against South Africa’s thanks to their seamers on a greenish surface why not try the same tactic at home? For when they did play on a flat, low surface (Indian like) in Cape Town they lost.

Should be a good series. Although, India have a few injury concerns and South Africa have the problematic of transformation targets which will probably see Zondeki or Gibbs tour, though, the latter has said he would rather retire than be a political selection and drinks carry.

 

[jeevan]

Just to create some debate, let's assume that Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Ishant miss out along with Zaheer. What should the side look like?

Jaffer, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, Dhoni, Pathan, Pathan, Kumble, Sreesanth, RP Singh

Or bring in Badrinath/Kaif/Raina and Kartik/Powar (even though YKP has outdone both with the ball in recent times) for the Pathan brothers. Thoughts?

Making up creatively for the fact that neither Pathan would make it as a specialist bowler and that either Pathan + 1 Kumble + 3 bowlers are a weak batting order

With solid openers (and for mine, you've identified them correctly - Jaffer ahead of Chopra and Sehwag ahead of Gambhir), the middle order is in good enough form that Dravid/Laxman/Ganguly/Dhoni is adequate with that lower order. Solidity of openers, real or perceived, is the key to playing 5 batsmen or 6 batsmen - IMHO. And the first thing to be decided on, in selection.

 

[Cevno]

My team-

Chopra
Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Laxman
Dhoni
Mishra/H.singh/Pace bowler(conditions)
Kumble
Zaheer(if fit)/R.p singh
sharma

1)chopra has to be in the team as he is in the form of his life.After topping the test season top scorers charts,he has now scored three back to back hundreds for delhi In the odi ranji tournament unbeaten.Has a better technique than jaffer and has become more aggresive too.

2)Dhoni has not performed too well in tests recently and i think after continuosly playing cricket for so long now will probably need rest too.If he does not perform too well get karthik/patel to open and give him a break and play five bowlers.

3)Harbhajan has not performed well in tests for a while now and is getting into the team on the basis of his test form.In australia sehwag bowled better than him and against pak yuvraj bowled better in the last test.So i would really consider giving mishra a chance who would give SA all kind of trouble and is in good form.

4)No need to drop ganguly or bring any youngsters early into the team.The test team did well in australia and should be persisted with.

5)Badrinath should come into the squad instead of yuvraj ,even though sa's bowling attack is ideal for yuvraj.

 

[Richard]

If the wickets are anything like the ones predicted then I don’t South Africa will be too disturbed. They are essentially pretty flat and South Africa are now more vulnerable to good pace bowling than there are to spinners or slow, low wickets. Pakistan thought they could beat them by preparing such tracks and they got beaten whilst Bangladesh keep thinking South Africans are not good players of spin and keep get humiliating.

India last won a test against South Africa’s thanks to their seamers on a greenish surface why not try the same tactic at home? For when they did play on a flat, low surface (Indian like) in Cape Town they lost.

Flat and slow = not too problematic.

Flat and turning = plenty of problems, for my money. Especially if Kumble (as likely) and Harbhajan (as certainly possible) bowl well.

Also, let's not forget that the surfaces in Pakistan didn't turn as much as they perhaps should have done, and naturally Pakistan's abysmal catching disguised matters somewhat. India's catching can be expected to be rather better, with the likes of Dravid, Laxman and (hopefully) Jaffer.

 

[ret]

Just to create some debate, let's assume that Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Ishant miss out along with Zaheer. What should the side look like?

i guess, Ten is available for the Ist test .... any word on the availability of others?

on ur hypothetical situ, well, i wouldn't want Jaffar anywhere near the Ind team .... Ganguly avgs a poor 16 at Chennai

Ganguly at Chennai


below would be my X1 on the basis of that hypothetical situ

- Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid
- Rohit, Laxman, Dhoni, Pathan
- Kumble, Chawla, RP & Sree