Thoughts leading upto the first India vs SA Test - Future Cup
March 27th 2008 14:55
India lose a crucial toss and SA chose to bat. No surprises there. Conditions back to typical Chennai type - hot and humid with no respite for the fielding team.
India have a 2-2 seam-spin attack. R.P.Singh and Sreesanth to open the attack backed up by Kumble and Harbhajan and I guess Sehwag too can roll his arm over if needed.
South Africa's makeshift opening pair of Smith and Mckenzie have tasted great success at Bangladesh. How would they go here?
Everbody has been going on and on about how Chennai is a wicket with good pace and bounce. I dont know what they are talking about actually. Chennai has never been a wicket with great pace or bounce. It is easy paced. It is a batsman's delight. And we saw this right from the first over - balls keeping ankle high or going through in 2 bounces to the keeper.
R.P. Singh, in his first 2 overs has looked well below par. Wrong line most of the time - on the pads of the batsmen. One would have to be crazy not to bowl at Graeme Smith outside the off stump. He is the only opening batsman in the world without a bonafide cover drive. If we dont make him play through the off side then nobody can save us. With the bat coming down for Smith almost between point and 3rd man, he has unique problems playing through the offside. Most of the time, his game is to simply push through the onside. Cannot feed his strengths because his weaknesses are massive.
Sreesanth has been bowling very well in his first 2 overs. Generating good pace - touching the 140s. The line has been good too and he has had Smith in trouble - relatively speaking - on a couple of occasions. But the runs are coming without much ado. And I really dont see the fast bowlers staying in operation too long after 10 overs in this innings.
Also we had a big blooper by Sehwag at fine leg in the 3rd over I think. Very poor effort at playing football by Sehwag. What should have been 2 runs became a boundary. He had no excuse because it was so early on in the match. Very poor effort.
Mckenzie is in an attacking mood here and he is pretty much going after balls in his zone. He just chiselled an exquisite cover drive off R.P. Singh - a stroke his captain at the other end can marvel but not execute. And as I come towards the end of this post, Mckenzie pulls out, well, the pull stroke. He is a very good puller, Mckenzie and R.P has been attempting some bouncers in his short spell. This time, it only resulted in a resounding stroke. Rus are flowing easily. And already Kumble is resorting to defensive tactics with R.P. Singh. How long can he afford to stick on? Will he try Ganguly's medium pace? It must be said that Sreesanth is doing a good job in keeping up the pressure at the other end.
This pitch does not have too much of bounce or pace. And India has a rough time ahead. A lot rests on the spinners, I would say. I am also hopeful that Sreesanth can do something with his higher pace and more consistent movement. R.P. Singh somehow seems very ginger in his approach.
One final thought about the team selection. India, I believe, have got it right with no Pathan or Yuvraj. We have got the strongest batting and strongest bowling lineups. But what is worrying is R.P. Singh. Hopefully he can pick his game up soon. South Africa have a predictable squad - leaving Monde Zondeki out. If I may venture a guess, I expect Smith and Arthur to be consistent in leaving Zondeki out.
India have a 2-2 seam-spin attack. R.P.Singh and Sreesanth to open the attack backed up by Kumble and Harbhajan and I guess Sehwag too can roll his arm over if needed.
South Africa's makeshift opening pair of Smith and Mckenzie have tasted great success at Bangladesh. How would they go here?
Everbody has been going on and on about how Chennai is a wicket with good pace and bounce. I dont know what they are talking about actually. Chennai has never been a wicket with great pace or bounce. It is easy paced. It is a batsman's delight. And we saw this right from the first over - balls keeping ankle high or going through in 2 bounces to the keeper.
R.P. Singh, in his first 2 overs has looked well below par. Wrong line most of the time - on the pads of the batsmen. One would have to be crazy not to bowl at Graeme Smith outside the off stump. He is the only opening batsman in the world without a bonafide cover drive. If we dont make him play through the off side then nobody can save us. With the bat coming down for Smith almost between point and 3rd man, he has unique problems playing through the offside. Most of the time, his game is to simply push through the onside. Cannot feed his strengths because his weaknesses are massive.
Sreesanth has been bowling very well in his first 2 overs. Generating good pace - touching the 140s. The line has been good too and he has had Smith in trouble - relatively speaking - on a couple of occasions. But the runs are coming without much ado. And I really dont see the fast bowlers staying in operation too long after 10 overs in this innings.
Also we had a big blooper by Sehwag at fine leg in the 3rd over I think. Very poor effort at playing football by Sehwag. What should have been 2 runs became a boundary. He had no excuse because it was so early on in the match. Very poor effort.
Mckenzie is in an attacking mood here and he is pretty much going after balls in his zone. He just chiselled an exquisite cover drive off R.P. Singh - a stroke his captain at the other end can marvel but not execute. And as I come towards the end of this post, Mckenzie pulls out, well, the pull stroke. He is a very good puller, Mckenzie and R.P has been attempting some bouncers in his short spell. This time, it only resulted in a resounding stroke. Rus are flowing easily. And already Kumble is resorting to defensive tactics with R.P. Singh. How long can he afford to stick on? Will he try Ganguly's medium pace? It must be said that Sreesanth is doing a good job in keeping up the pressure at the other end.
This pitch does not have too much of bounce or pace. And India has a rough time ahead. A lot rests on the spinners, I would say. I am also hopeful that Sreesanth can do something with his higher pace and more consistent movement. R.P. Singh somehow seems very ginger in his approach.
One final thought about the team selection. India, I believe, have got it right with no Pathan or Yuvraj. We have got the strongest batting and strongest bowling lineups. But what is worrying is R.P. Singh. Hopefully he can pick his game up soon. South Africa have a predictable squad - leaving Monde Zondeki out. If I may venture a guess, I expect Smith and Arthur to be consistent in leaving Zondeki out.
| 64 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
