***Official*** Sri Lanka in India

[superkingdave]

RD?

Dravid

"Irfan is a bowler who can bat. He made a good 80 today but I don't think people should be jumping around and calling him an allrounder. I don't think he thinks of himself as an allrounder. Flintoff is 28, and has been around a while. Irfan is just 21. He has got a long way to go, who knows where he will end up by the time he is 27-28 if he continues like this. But at the moment, he is a bowler who can bat a bit and let's not get carried away."

 

[ananms]

Anybody know how I can see the rest of these ODIs in the US (East Coast)...Is there any TV broadcast in the US?

I know about willow.tv and some of the free commentary sites but wanted to know if there is any TV channel/pay per view showing it...if so, what channel/provider?

Thanks

 

[Jono]

No-one can ever be classed as anything on the strength of one innings alone. Onc ehe does it two or three more times maybe - but for now he's still a bowler who can bat, rather than a fully-fledged all-rounder.

Whilst I agree with you that Pathan isn't an all-rounder yet, he's far from it, but you realise this isn't his first 'good' innings right? People haven't been touting about Pathan's potential batting because of this knock, its been evident for a few years now. Hopefully he can continue to improve.

 

[Sanz]

Anybody know how I can see the rest of these ODIs in the US (East Coast)...Is there any TV broadcast in the US?

I know about willow.tv and some of the free commentary sites but wanted to know if there is any TV channel/pay per view showing it...if so, what channel/provider?

Thanks

Only legal webcast in Northern America. :-

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packages/international_services_cricket.jsp

Rest of the world Willow.tv

 

[Deja moo]

I do hope you're not seriously comparing the 2.

No, I'm not. I'm just saying that the guy has enough potential and talent to be labelled as more than a bowler who occasionally has a muck around with the bat.

 

[cricketboy29]

that's the best thing i got from this match as well, india finally not wasting a good start and finishing strong. the deep batting lineup and flexibility we have now is a definite plus, and the level of fielding and fitness is evident (like in bhajji's dive in the field?). also, the aggressive running between the wickets led by sachin was a great sight, india has been weak there recently.

for the second match, i would replace agarkar with rp singh, and if neither impress, perhaps look into bringing back zaheer (if in form) for the 2nd stage of selection. sreesanth looks promising and should be retained as long as he performs decently. kartik might have to miss out at the expense of raina as super-sub, depending on the conditions and strategy. both deserve opportunities in this series.

zaheer again?, why do you want to go back to zaheer?. I much rather prefer this sree santh guy, from what ive heard, hes seems to be a pretty quick customer. you know what, frankly, i think if india want bowlers to bowl fast i reckon they should tell all these guys that have the potential that have the potential to bowl quick, to bowl as fast as they can, and not worry about the runs.

 

[DaBombayDuck]

No, I'm not. I'm just saying that the guy has enough potential and talent to be labelled as more than a bowler who occasionally has a muck around with the bat.

Pathan has a better ODI batting average than Jacob Oram and is close to Razzaq's batting average. He has a better strike rate than Razzaq though.

 

[SJS]

The commentators made this point as well and I dont agree with it for one reason alone. It suggests the gap has meant Tendulkar is hungry to play the game much more than before.

Tendulkar is one of the most eager players and I doubt if he had less pleasure while he was continuously playing cricket.

On ocassions he has been too eager in fact, making come backs to go back again to injury lay offs.

This time he has been wiser with delaying and taking it steady with regards to his return opting out of the Zimbabwe tour and then playing the Challenger instead of the super series.

I dont know what the commentators said but I do feel he batted with more freedom than one has seen for a long time. This was obvious.

What may have been lesss obvious but was there to see if one has followed his last couple of years performances was that there was no furrowing of the brow, no excessive thoughtfulness beofree almost every delivery and then there was that little biting of the lips as he smiled after the failed charge at Vaas which could have ended his innings yet he just smiled and finally not the slightest of regrets when he got out at 93. He just smiled and walked off.

 

[SJS]

Another thing I noticed was that as Sachin was returning and he crossed Dravid, Dravid stopped him and they talked a bit. It wasnt Dravid asking Sachin about the wicket or bowling. If one has to make a pure guess it looked more like Dravid saying to Sachin what to do in his (Dravid's) absence in the dressing room like changing the batting order in case a couple of wickets fell around Dravid quickly.

Whatever it was, it gave a sense of well-being to me personally to see that the new skipper has someone as big (in every concievable sense of the word) as Sachin to share responsibilities with.

 

[Pratters]

I dont know what the commentators said but I do feel he batted with more freedom than one has seen for a long time. This was obvious.

What may have been lesss obvious but was there to see if one has followed his last couple of years performances was that there was no furrowing of the brow, no excessive thoughtfulness beofree almost every delivery and then there was that little biting of the lips as he smiled after the failed charge at Vaas which could have ended his innings yet he just smiled and finally not the slightest of regrets when he got out at 93. He just smiled and walked off.

The batting with freedom and long lay off meaning he had more hunger are different things.

Tendulkar always has had a lot of hunger. I dont think his hunger would have been less even earlier.

Regarding the free batting - remember World Cup 2003 where he just let lose. Tendulkar analyses the pitch and match situations, the way he would bat would help the team more. I doubt if it had any thing to do with the long lay off making him more hungry.

Yes, the lay off can help him strategise better, think more. He has said once that a lot of help he gets is not during nets but after nets.

The grimaces on his face and all were similar to his captaincy phase. Why? Tendulkar has a lot of expectation with himself. And when he is not able to match his own expectations it shows on his face.

 

[adharcric]

zaheer again?, why do you want to go back to zaheer?. I much rather prefer this sree santh guy, from what ive heard, hes seems to be a pretty quick customer. you know what, frankly, i think if india want bowlers to bowl fast i reckon they should tell all these guys that have the potential that have the potential to bowl quick, to bowl as fast as they can, and not worry about the runs.

what's wrong with zaheer? if he starts performing well again, he should be selected because he's dangerous when at his best. besides, i was raising the possibility of inserting zaheer for rp singh or agarkar (mainly agarkar, since he's not doing anything special), not so much sreesanth.

 

[Deja moo]

Pathan has a better ODI batting average than Jacob Oram and is close to Razzaq's batting average. He has a better strike rate than Razzaq though.

yeah, Razzaq is another one of those under-rated cricketers.

 

[GladiatrsInBlue]

Pathan has a better ODI batting average than Jacob Oram and is close to Razzaq's batting average. He has a better strike rate than Razzaq though.

Which proves what?? Nothing.PPl should always understand that stats aren't everything.

Its a fact that there are only a few genuine allrounders in the world, being an allrounder is one thing and being handy with bat is another thing.I wouldn't even label Shane Warne as an allrounder even though he has been batting brilliantly lately.IKP is certainly not an allrounder nor was his mentor, Waseem Akram, an allrounder.Akram despite having a test innings of 250+ was a brilliant bowler and a handy batsman.

IKP is a good hitter of the ball, if he works hard on his batting he might become an allrounder in future, but for now he's a bowler who can bat a bit.

 

[marc71178]

No, I'm not. I'm just saying that the guy has enough potential and talent to be labelled as more than a bowler who occasionally has a muck around with the bat.

Perhaops he could become a batsman who occasionally has a muck around with the ball then!

 

[Deja moo]

Perhaops he could become a batsman who occasionally has a muck around with the ball then!

I'll take a muck-around bowler who averages 26 with the ball in ODI cricket

 

[Shoaib]

He has a better strike rate than Razzaq though.

Thats because Abdul Razzaq is a kind of player who can be either extremly defensive or very aggressive according to the match situation.The can score 15 of 100 balls & also 100 of 70 balls where as IKP is only a good lower order pinch hitter who cannot bat defensivly at all.

 

[GladiatrsInBlue]

In any case a better strike rate doesn't imply a better batsman.

 

[Choora]

Lankans bowled extremely poor in the last onedayer, and India took full advantage of it. Pathan struck some good blows but people should really not jump to conclusion and start labelling him an AR, which he is certainly not.

IT was a good move to send Pathan as one down batsman on a belter, but i don't think such a move will be successful for long.

 

[Shoaib]

India are just spoiling Reetinder Sodhi who is a good all-rounder & its useless to hope that Pathan will become an all-rounder.Vijay Bharadvaj can also do a fine job as an all-rounder

 

[Choora]

India are waisting Reetinder Sodhi who is a good all-rounder & its useless to hope that Pathan will become an all-rounder.Vijay Bharadvaj can also do a fine job as an all-rounder

If this super sub thing continues then India wouldn't be needing an AR all that badly.

I really hate this super sub concept though, i think if it continues then we will see AR's like Afridi, Razzak etc (who aren't great but still very attractive ) losing their way from the game.