India tour of South Africa

[Mijurkat]

There is nothing wrong with Rohit's technique. He's one of the few blokes who like AB can pull on the front foot. His issue is his temperament and game sense. He's finally become a force in limited overs, but it took him 7-8 years to master that. We can't waste another 7-8 years waiting for him to get his test game sorted. He was not even himself in the first test. He forgot he's a stroke maker and not a Pujara kind solid bat.

Yes!
He need to talk with selectors about his test game.

 

[Helpman]

Didn’t watch a lot of the test but from what I did watch it’s so great to see Maharaj playing in the side. Quality find by the selectors and looks to keep getting better. 60 odd wickets after 15 matches is very impressive considering those 15 include a tour down under. With him in the side I feel that we should play 7 batsmen now with Steyns injury. I would bring De Bruyn in but we all know it will be Bavuma

Interesting points Markkkkk. I think they'll bring in the bowling allrounder for Steyn (Phehlukwayo or Morris), most likely Phehlukwayo as he has overs under his belt from the Zim test.

 

[namin96]

There's no need to fix an issue that isn't there. Ashwin's biggest critic here is me but he was one of the few shining lights of the first test and never really got to bowl. Bumrah should be replaced with Ishant and if Shami can run in then he should be there else Yadav. Our issue is the batting.

Dhawan is in the team because he's a lefty. That's the IQ of our coach and captain.

I think to further disturb the line and length of the bowlers we must alternate between lefties and righties. Dhawan/Vijay followed by Pujara. Then Suresh Raina at 4. Kohli at 5 and bring back a retired Ganguly at 6. Ashwin at 7 and Vinod Kambli at 8. Bhuvi 9, Barinder Sran at 10 and then have no one at 11 so that this order doesn't get disturbed.

I know Ashwin did well, but you can look at it this way. If you bring in Rahul and Rahane for Dhawan and Rohit then you have two batsman who can possibly score so then there wouldn't be that much of a need for Ashwin to contribute at the bottom. Of course his contribution would be great with the bat, but if the pitch is going to have more pace and bounce than this Cape Town pitch then I'd go in with another fast bowler, most likely Umesh because he can help clean up their tail which we had an issue with in the first innings and he can get it to reverse. And no I don't agree with leaving Bumrah out, he bowled really well in the 2nd innings and through out the match considering it was his first test match. You can't just ruin his confidence like that, he'll be pretty confident about his game and he should be included again. We've done that in the past against others on a few occasions, when a new guy performs he's thrown out for another guy when he fails one time. That's just ruining talent. Also, I understand the left-right combination, but how much sense does it make to keep persisting with it when it hasn't worked at all (maybe once out of like 20 matches) in any overseas tour yet, he keeps getting out within the first few overs overseas. And plus their bowlers are very disciplined that they can adjust their lines and lengths accordingly, we need to focus on the attributes Rahul and Rahane bring in which are perfect for test matches. Dhawan dropped catches (1 or 2?) and he got out the same way in both innings, Rahul is much better in all facets and more suited for tests.

 

[SaiSrini]

I would not do the mistake of dropping Ashwin, especially after he batted that well in the 2nd innings at Newlands. When our obvious weak link is batting, you just cannot drop a batsman who has shown in the first test that he can face the conditions and take on the seamers, survive and come out successful. Purely for his batting skills (I vouched for his batting skills even before the tour started, and the first test just further nailed it in), Ashwin has to play in Centurion.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I know Ashwin did well, but you can look at it this way. If you bring in Rahul and Rahane for Dhawan and Rohit then you have two batsman who can possibly score so then there wouldn't be that much of a need for Ashwin to contribute at the bottom. Of course his contribution would be great with the bat, but if the pitch is going to have more pace and bounce than this Cape Town pitch then I'd go in with another fast bowler, most likely Umesh because he can help clean up their tail which we had an issue with in the first innings and he can get it to reverse. And no I don't agree with leaving Bumrah out, he bowled really well in the 2nd innings and through out the match considering it was his first test match. You can't just ruin his confidence like that, he'll be pretty confident about his game and he should be included again. We've done that in the past against others on a few occasions, when a new guy performs he's thrown out for another guy when he fails one time. That's just ruining talent. Also, I understand the left-right combination, but how much sense does it make to keep persisting with it when it hasn't worked at all (maybe once out of like 20 matches) in any overseas tour yet, he keeps getting out within the first few overs overseas. And plus their bowlers are very disciplined that they can adjust their lines and lengths accordingly, we need to focus on the attributes Rahul and Rahane bring in which are perfect for test matches. Dhawan dropped catches (1 or 2?) and he got out the same way in both innings, Rahul is much better in all facets and more suited for tests.

I just stopped reading after that. Ruin confidence? Ajinkya Rahane has been treated like a Ranji reject. A world class batsman who could bat in all conditions against any attack, the vice captain of the Indian cricket team has become a mere puppet in the hands of a MENTAL captain and coach.

What was the basis of Bumrah's selection? He had not played a domestic game in over a year. I am sorry, but I have become averse and incompetent to hear anything positive about this support staff and Mr.Kohli. There is simply no barometer for fair selection anymore, a yardstick that was established in earnest by a certain Mr.Kumble. The very fact that a 30+ batsman who's been tried to death in test cricket repeatedly keeps getting picked ahead of a triple centurion in his 20's and the vice captain of the team shows that there is no 'mindset' or parameter to playing for India.

Who knows? Tomorrow Kohli's dog might bark at Bhuvi and he might be dropped.

 

[Gopal123]

Best lineup for second test: Rahul,parthiv,pujara,kohli,rahane,rohit,hardik,kumar,shami,ishant,bumrah.

 

[Yash.]

For the second test, We must and must get Rahul and Rahane in. Ishant is our best bowler to support Bhuvi according to these bouncy conditions. If Shami cant be consistent, Yadav must come back in.

Bumrah must be dropped.

That is the reason I dont rate Bumrah over Bhuvi or Hasan Ali, even though Bumrah has performed so well in LO. I dont see him bowling lines which can take wickets. He just bowls balls which are handy if batsmen try to hit him out of the park. If they see him out, he is hardly threatening. In Tests, that line is useless.

My lineup-

• KL Rahul
• Murali Vijay
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Virat Kohli
• Ajinkya Rahane
• Ravi Ashwin
• Wriddhiman Saha
• Hardik Pandya
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar
• Umesh Yadav / Shami
• Ishant Sharma

 

[LiveLoveABD]

For the second test, We must and must get Rahul and Rahane in. Ishant is our best bowler to support Bhuvi according to these bouncy conditions. If Shami cant be consistent, Yadav must come back in.

Bumrah must be dropped.


My lineup-

• KL Rahul
• Murali Vijay
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Virat Kohli
• Ajinkya Rahane
• Ravi Ashwin
• Wriddhiman Saha
• Hardik Pandya
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar
• Umesh Yadav / Shami
• Ishant Sharma

Spot on. I'd have Pandya @ 6, Ashwin 7.

 

[Ashutosh.]

My lineup-

KL Rahul
Murali Vijay
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Ravichandran Ashwin
Wriddhiman Saha
Hardik Pandya
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mohammed Shami
Umesh Yadav / Ishant Sharma

 

[namin96]

I just stopped reading after that. Ruin confidence? Ajinkya Rahane has been treated like a Ranji reject. A world class batsman who could bat in all conditions against any attack, the vice captain of the Indian cricket team has become a mere puppet in the hands of a MENTAL captain and coach.

What was the basis of Bumrah's selection? He had not played a domestic game in over a year. I am sorry, but I have become averse and incompetent to hear anything positive about this support staff and Mr.Kohli. There is simply no barometer for fair selection anymore, a yardstick that was established in earnest by a certain Mr.Kumble. The very fact that a 30+ batsman who's been tried to death in test cricket repeatedly keeps getting picked ahead of a triple centurion in his 20's and the vice captain of the team shows that there is no 'mindset' or parameter to playing for India.

Who knows? Tomorrow Kohli's dog might bark at Bhuvi and he might be dropped.

Yes you have a good point. Kohli makes a lot of surprising changes.

 

[namin96]

For the second test, We must and must get Rahul and Rahane in. Ishant is our best bowler to support Bhuvi according to these bouncy conditions. If Shami cant be consistent, Yadav must come back in.

Bumrah must be dropped.


My lineup-

• KL Rahul
• Murali Vijay
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Virat Kohli
• Ajinkya Rahane
• Ravi Ashwin
• Wriddhiman Saha
• Hardik Pandya
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar
• Umesh Yadav / Shami
• Ishant Sharma

He's not going to drop Bumrah 100%. The bowling wasn't the issue and plus if the Centurion pitch will have more bounce, Burmah could be a handful considering the way he bangs the bowl into the pitch, he can get more out of it. Ishant Sharma is a liability, he's either a hit or a miss. Whenever he gets his chances he bowls too short and doesn't use his brain, and his fielding is atrocious. Dhawan needs to be dropped, I just don't understand the logic of persisting with him when you've got a batsman in Rahul is more suited for Tests and has recently won you the test series against Australia at home by playing a lone hand while batting. Rahul and Vijay have the ability to grind out the initial overs, Dhawan will just lob catches up and will drop catches in the slip.

 

[SaiSrini]

Ishant has been doing very well recently in domestic cricket.

Ishant has picked up 20 wickets at an average of 12.80 from four matches this Ranji season, including a five-for against Assam, and if fit, would be a big boost to his side's chances of making the final
Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_...wriddhiman-saha-play-ranji-trophy-semi-finals

If Bumrah can get good bounce, Ishant can get bounce even more further with just his height.

 

[Gaurav_7]

From the news it seems Rahul is going to come in for Dhawan which is good but it also says Rohit can get another chance which is pathetic. So again it means no Rahane. They should even drop Pujara now and get some dasher out there and go all out aggressive. Indian test cricket isn't in safe hands anymore which is very sad.

 

[Mijurkat]

From the news it seems Rahul is going to come in for Dhawan which is good but it also says Rohit can get another chance which is pathetic. So again it means no Rahane. They should even drop Pujara now and get some dasher out there and go all out aggressive. Indian test cricket isn't in safe hands anymore which is very sad.

India will drop Ashwin & get Rahane in for 2nd Test.Not sure about KL.Rahul.India need separate coach for Test and LO.

 

[namin96]

India will drop Ashwin & get Rahane in for 2nd Test.Not sure about KL.Rahul.India need separate coach for Test and LO.

I think Rahul will come in for Dhawan, but we're also hearing Parthiv Patel? He's a short guy, how's he going to collect balls behind the stumps that come up at head height? Saha is taller than him. I'm not really sure about this, what are they actually thinking? Also, he's known as an opener, but if Rahul and Vijay open then would he bat after Rohit? This is ridiculous, Indian cricket is in the wrong hands. This guy Kohli can't be a captain, it seriously needs to be looked at after this series ends.