NZ vs. India at Hyderabad

First topic message reminder :

--So tomorrow starts more test match cricket.....
NZ hit some highs by drawing a series in Aus and holding SA to a creditable draw batting out 4 sessions.....
and then they hot a low losing rather tamely to WI in WI.....
the diffrence I believe between the high and the low was John Wright who they sacked.....
I saw they have some good left arm seamers, and Bracewell is a poor man's Vernon Philander with bat and ball.
In the absence of Vettori....Patel gets a break
Ross Taylor and McCullum are IPL stars and amply familiar with India.

--India is India......back to tigers at home and lambs abroad status after their dabble with status on top on the bac¨k of some overseas wins...courtey Ganguly and Gary Kirsten.

We have to see if even their tigers at home status is unchallenged with VVSL and Dravid gone , Sehwag slowed and Tendulkar not so profilic any more.

England should be monitoring India's new middle order batters very very closely.....who are likely to be Pujara, Kohli and Rahane....exposing these will be Eng's best chance towards a battle of equality later.

What few notice but Kirsten remarked.....India's ascent was on the back of celver use and almost an equal contribution from their seamers, even in home conditions.

Zaheer is the best exponent of reverse after Wasim Akram....and Yadav is as fast as any one in the world on his day......produces half a dozen wicket taking balls...inspite of being expensive.

Indian spinners are not in the quality of Kumble and Harbhajan ( at his prime) anymore......but the pitches will ensure thay are a handful.

The Indian XI will be following.....i do not know enouhg about the NZ team to list the possible XI.

1) Sehwag
2) Gambhir
3) Rahane...althouhg a school of thouhg believes hanae should open and Sehwag to bat in the middle order
4) Tendulkar
5) Pujara
6) Kohli
7) Dhoni
8) Ashwin
9) Zaheer
10) Ojha
11) Yadav

Kartik is a good thinker of the game.

pitch looks like having slowed down...with some more help from wether....draw may be an option

India wins Under19 World Cup!. Captain Unmukt Chand with a superb hundred to lead his side to victory

Unmukt Chand played with immense maturity to anchor and steer the chase...acelerated at the end woith SIXES.....evertime the RRR went up too much....

Rose to the ocassion....captain's knock and sealed the deal

Chand looks like anotehr Kohli lie in temperament....and his runs came in Aus and not on a flat subcontinent pitch.

Ian Chappell writes...Harmeet and Chand are ready for big league

Hopefully he'll convert this into good first class form and then to the national test side. Hopefully the 6 hitting ability wouldn't end up limiting his focus to the IPL.

msp83 wrote:Hopefully he'll convert this into good first class form and then to the national test side. Hopefully the 6 hitting ability wouldn't end up limiting his focus to the IPL.

He is in the A tour to NZ...so we will see him immediately against higher quality bowling and more important difficult conditios.

Chappell is right...these two need to be thrown in the higher level...and we might see Chand fast-tracked if he does well in NZ.

I don't think he should be fasttracked to the national side as yet. Sehwag may not be available for more than 3-4 years at the most and by the time Chand should be ready. But before we get ahead of ourselves, he should have a couple of solid Ranji season. With the restructured format and stuff, Ranji runs are going to be more valuable.

msp83 wrote:I don't think he should be fasttracked to the national side as yet. Sehwag may not be available for more than 3-4 years at the most and by the time Chand should be ready. But before we get ahead of ourselves, he should have a couple of solid Ranji season. With the restructured format and stuff, Ranji runs are going to be more valuable.

I agree and am a a believer two Ranji seasons are necessary to allow for maturation of a cricketer.
However since they struck gold with Tendulkar...Indians are perpetually looking at finding the next teenage prodigy.....and in doing so fast-track performers from u-19 level.

Kaif, Yuvraj, Reetinder sodhi, Pathan, Rohit, Kohli are all in the same category......and they didn't produce test match cricketer from this route...except perhaps Kohli.
And Yuvraj is as agood an ODI player anyone can find.....

The crop of test cricketers is still coming from maturation in the grind of first class cricket.

Chand has played one season of FC crikcet...and at best he can go the Kohli route.

The new batsman to watch out for in the NZ-A tour is S. Yadav from Mumbai...had a bumper Ranji season with the bat and those who have watched him like G. Vishwanath believe he has electrifying reflexes and stroke play.

This is been a lot more determined and stubborn effort from the New Zealand batsmen. McCullum has really stuck it out, put his flashy shots to one side and has successfully denied the Indian bowlers so far.
Kane Williamson has shown a decent technique playing the spin. India will have to stay focused and patient, shouldn't think too much about the rain, all it takes is one wicket.

Of course Suryakumar Yadav is someone to look forward to.

McCullum goes LBW of an inside edge.....
wtach out if it happens to the likes of Swann and Prior.........when they tour.....there will be entertainement via fireworks of comments in the media

Oh a poor call does McCullum in. He edged Yadav's incoming ball on to his pad and the umpire gave it out. Terrible.

on replays I wonder if that one might just have flicked the pad first before he got bat on it. Very very close certainly. Still you can't argue that India have had the rub of the green with umpiring decisions in this test, and unfortunately questions about their stance on the DRS will be raised once more.

I think anyone who would have things to say about such dismissals are justified to a point. BCCI's position on DRS isn't of much help. But then the ECB or any other board can take the stand that we aren't playing without the DRS. But never going to happen, they didn't even go for a vote on the issue at the ICC.

msp83 wrote:Of course Suryakumar Yadav is someone to look forward to.

as is left handed Robin Bisht of Rajastahn...two seasons highest Ranji scorer....more than a 1000 runs.....a plodder, grafter cut out in the Trott mould.....went to WI on the A tour but unfortunately broke his hand when he got a break.....and misses the A tour to NZ.

Rajasthan's consecutive Ranji wins were based on Trott like batting culture and not surprisingly inspite of being national champions they have no one in the IPL.

msp83 wrote:I think anyone who would have things to say about such dismissals are justified to a point. BCCI's position on DRS isn't of much help. But then the ECB or any other board can take the stand that we aren't playing without the DRS. But never going to happen, they didn't even go for a vote on the issue at the ICC.

I think BCCI have a point but they do not know how to make their point to the cricketing community....
They come across as bullies...
though their points are valid...and not so much about the DRS itself but the lack of standards/ consistency by the 3rd umpires when using all the DRS tools.

anyway we don't want anotehr DRS debate to take over the match thread

scratch that last thought, it's bat first definately, and McCullum is very unlucky. Don't much like the reaction though it's understandable. Chris Broad the match referee will be having a look at it no doubt.

I thought full implementation of DRS is on the agenda of the next ICC meeting? It all comes back to "who wants to pay for it?" The ICC doesn't want to, not all the boards can afford it, while BCCI doesn't want it. A bit of a mess really. The boards won't take your stance msp as it would bankrupt most of them. Interestingly the inside word is that senior figures in the Indian team (Tendulkar especially) don't like the DRS, hence the stance. Will it change when he retires?

Taylor with a dreadful leave and is bowled, Ashwin has his first wicket.

if he had the benefit of review ashwin might have had Flynn LBW first ball.
not that India gets any extra advantage by not using DRS....

ICC is toothless...they talked big and failed to take action at the last ICC meet.....when they had an opportunitiy.

Flynn survives a decent shout for LBW first ball. Maybe just sliding down the leg side, maybe clipping the leg stump, decent decision I think, didn't quite straighten enough.

MFC, finance isn't the issue with ECB, CA or the UCB when it comes to the DRS.
That unfortunate wicket of McCullum have opened up a path for India, and Taylor looked a touch foolish getting out the way he did.

They say it all even out at the end of the day. I have always believed its not a very sensible thing to say. Think about that caught behind that wasn't given of Pujara in the first innings. Had he been given out, R Ashwin would have had a pretty tough time with the 2nd new ball at the end of the day and perhaps India wouldn't have gone on to score beyond 400. Such moments do not always repeat themselves to even things out for sides. So the game will have to ensure the bad decisions are taken out as much as possible. The DRS can be of help in that regard and so it has to be there. There certainly are finer points about the nature and standards of the system that need further debate, but a policy of absolute rijection for me is not something that can be justified. But at the same time I am not willing to conveniently put all the blaim on the BCCI, the ICC board members are all responsible with the BCCI even more so.

The ball's 50 overs old, worth a try with Zaheer to see if there is some reverse on offer. Williamson is playing the spin alright.

msp83 wrote:They say it all even out at the end of the day. I have always believed its not a very sensible thing to say. Think about that caught behind that wasn't given of Pujara in the first innings. Had he been given out, R Ashwin would have had a pretty tough time with the 2nd new ball at the end of the day and perhaps India wouldn't have gone on to score beyond 400. Such moments do not always repeat themselves to even things out for sides. So the game will have to ensure the bad decisions are taken out as much as possible. The DRS can be of help in that regard and so it has to be there. There certainly are finer points about the nature and standards of the system that need further debate, but a policy of absolute rijection for me is not something that can be justified. But at the same time I am not willing to conveniently put all the blaim on the BCCI, the ICC board members are all responsible with the BCCI even more so.

excellent post I agree with pretty much all of it (except the spelling of "blame" )

Yadav bowling a really good spell here, he's fast, he's pretty accurate and he's getting the ball to reverse.

ojha really needs a lot more in the pitch to. get wickets..comparitively ashwin gets more bite off the pitch

Yes, Zaheer is back on. Think Ojha should also have a bit of a bowl. Flynn was taking too many chances against him in the first innings before he eventually got out to Ashwin.

Nothing major from Zaheer in that first over.

Ashwin continues.

Interestingly, of the 13 NZ wickets that have fallen in the match so far, Zaheer Khan hasn't taken even one. Not very often that he would go without a wicket even on a spinning sub-continent track. Not that he bowled badly, in fact he had McCullum bowled in his very first over of the match, only for the bails to stay put.

Flynn unlike in the first innings is trying to leave as much as possible. Hopefully he won't be taking after his captain, or even Guptill for that matter.

Williamson reaches fifty

but gets out straight after. Lovely bowling from Ohja, turn and bounce, catches the edge and it just carries to slip.

Williamson goes after scoring a well fought out 50 to a lovely ball from Ojha. New Zealand needed a lot more from him though, than the 52 he managed.

and Flynn follows, another poor sweep shot I'm afraid, shouldn't be playing that shot against AShwin, plumb LBW. NZ slipping towards an innings defeat...

I think New Zealand will have to give James Franklin an extended run at 6. His batting has improved a lot, and although he no longer is the same force with the ball that he was at the time of his arrival at the international seen, he could still do a decent job as a 4th seamer. When Vetori eventually come back, they will at least have an extended batting lineup, and main bowlers can go all out as Franklin and even Williamson can chip in with a few overs and even a wicket or 2 from time to time. If Ryder could sort himself out and come back then that would have the outline of a pretty decent side.

The sweep has been the undoing of Flynn in the first innings as well. He had resisted the temptation till now, but right after Williamson got out and NZ needed consolidation he gave it away. I remember he ones getting knocked out by a James Anderson bouncer, those days he used to be a plucky customer always willing to tough it out. Ryder for Flynn?

Ashwin has another, Franklin goes, to a superb catch from Virender Sehwag.

can't help but feel NZ have been a bit too defensive in this innings. Not so much the big shots but haven't been able to rotate the strike enough. This has allowed India to get into a rhythm and really squeeze the pressure on. RR just above two runs per over.

That's the 3rd for Ojha, Bracewell goes caught by Kohli and NZ slip further.

wasn't a clean catch actually looking at the replays, but Bracewell seemed happy with it and walked off. Scarcely matters anyway...

There are some doubts about that last catch of Bracewell, from one angle it looks like the ball had contact with the ground. But the batsman had no doubt whatsoever neither did the umpire.

Ashwin gets his tenth for the match

Ashwin's turning them big and he gets another. 10 for Ashwin in the match!. His best match figures so far.

Watch out England, the Indian spinners, although they aren't named Anil Kumble, shouldn't be underestimated in these conditions.

That's 5 for Ashwin, and now its Fantom time!!!.

Ashwin is a real handful in home conditions. He doesn't get through his action which is why he'll struggle overseas, but with a crumbling pitch he gets bounce and turn, and can beat the batsman on both sides. England certainly will have to try and counter him.

It is certainly thought that India's opposition to DRS comes from their senior players, who don't trust the technology, and also believe that they get the rub of decisions at home (that would be an interesting study - my guess is they probably do, but that's because they're so dominant at home that they create a lot more decisions and thus a lot more pressure).

6 for Ashwin and not much entertainment from Martin. India win by an innings and 115 runs

Martine as plumb LBW as you'll ever see. India win by an innings, an absolute thrashing. Ashwin runs through the tail to finish with 12-85. NZ have a lot of thinking to do...

Ashwin has 34 wickets from 4 home test matches so far. Admitedly they came against West Indies and New Zealand, not the greatest batting lineups and not the best against spin, but even the English aren't champions of playing spin, and if the BCCI stays sensible we'll have such good pitches and not roads for that series as well.

The pitch showed once you get set and score...it's OK....not a minefiled......but one goes and a procession follows.

the most difficult part of such a piitch is to get set and get into 20s and 30s......once that big hurdle is crossed the batsman's gotta make it count and get a big one.

NZ has to get in a second spinner...in place of maybe Martin...and use Franklin a lot more as the 3rd seamer in the next test.

you cannot...just cannot play in India with only one spinner

You can't play a 2nd spinner for the sake of that. I don't think Nethula, who's ODI career hasn't promissed anything huge up to now can be thrusted into such a high pressure situation. Don't think James Franklin is the bowler that he ones was, he's more of a batsman who bowls these days. Without Vetori that New Zealand bowling unit is without much experience, and if Martin also is not there then that might just be asking too much of the youngsters.