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Discussing first test at Nagpur between India and SA, 2010


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Rains threaten Nagpur ahead of India-South Africa Test On a day of overcast sky and occasional rains in some places in city and adjoining areas, the temperature has dipped in Nagpur and the local Meterological Centre has predicted light rains likely to occur again tomorrow at isolated places in Vidarbha. More... Rains threaten Nagpur ahead of India-South Africa Test Press Trust Of India Nagpur, February 04, 2010 On a day of overcast sky and occasional rains in some places in city and adjoining areas on Thursday, the temperature has dipped in Nagpur and the local Meterological Centre has predicted light rains likely to occur again tomorrow at isolated places in Vidarbha. The weather has threatened the First Cricket Test between India and South Africa commencing at the new stadium of Vidarbha Cricket Association at Jamatha, about 15 kms near Nagpur on February 6. City experienced drizzle in the early hours and good amount of rainfall later in the day in some places. Though the VCA authorities had already taken all precautionary measures to cover the pitch and outfield, it only remains to seen the city gets over the cloudy weather and rains by Friday. Friday will be another day for nets for the teams.

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SA also claim they have very good pace attack' date='why cant do they do well on flat decks?why did they have to prepare a green track to beat England[/quote'] I could care less about what SA claim. To me it's about knowing what our batting can do. We know how good these guys are on flat tracks, but we also know that they were beaten by an ordinary Bangla attack when there was something in the wicket in the first day of the first test match.
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Morne Morkel: India will face our chin music Indians will face our chin music: Morkel Nagpur, Thu, Feb 04 2010 South Africa is set to unleash a barrage of short-pitched deliveries to unnerve the Indian batsmen in the two-Test series beginning at Nagpur on Saturday, speedster Morne Morkel said. "We have got bowlers who can bowl 145 kms plus an hour. One of the strengths of our fast bowlers is to run up and bowl short. Why not use it?" Morkel said when asked if they would continue dealing in short-pitch deliveries like they did in the practice match against the Board President XI. The gangling Morkel will share the new ball with Dale Steyn with rookie left-arm bowler Wayne Parnell completing the pace attack and Jacques Kallis providing the back-up support. Morkel said the job would not be easy against the Indians on spin-friendly pitches but the pacers can still do well because of the ball reversing and the up and down nature of the wickets. "Luckily it's not my first time in India. I know what I can expect. Conditions are not easy for a fast bowler but as long as you prepare yourself mentally, I think you will be fine." "The ball does reverse swing and sometimes the wickets go up and down. You just need to keep running and bowling fast and rewards will come," he said at a media interaction at the team hotel. Morkel said he enjoyed his bowling partnership with Dale Steyn and was looking forward to the battle against Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Morkel indicated that the bowlers would have to be patient while bowling in India. "In India you need to stress on the importance of patience in Test cricket even more. You need to have patience to dry up the runs. Main thing is to build pressure on the batsmen and wickets will come," he explained. On young teammate Parnell, Morkel said the left-armer was a very skillful customer who was quite willing to take up the challenge. "This tour will be a good experience for him. He's up to the challenge. He's a quality bowler with lot of skills. He's different from myself and Dale," he said. Morkel was also happy that all his team mates had a good outing in the two-day warm-up game. "The first warm-up game in Indian conditions went very well. Batsmen made runs and bowlers got wickets. It's good that senior and experienced players in our team like Boucher and Kallis, who have been playing for years, are helping younger players and giving us that confidence," he said. © PTI http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/23801/indians-will-face-our-chin-music-morkel

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Steyn and deliver: For the pacer, it’s all about skill and planning For many, this series was to be a showdown between India's famed batting line-up and South Africa's young and impressive pacemen, reports Kadambari Murali Wade. More... Steyn and deliver: For the pacer, it’s all about skill and planning Kadambari Murali Wade, Hindustan Times Nagpur, February 04, 2010 Dale Steyn does not look scary. Not off the field. Not if you're not the guy staring back at him from 22 yards, wielding what is probably suddenly a frail-seeming willow. He reportedly gets quite into the spirit of the game when he's on the field, lithely menacing as all top-notch fast bowlers can be. But off it, he seems a peach. Yet, no one hearing him talk 48 hours ahead of the first Test between India and South Africa, doubted that Steyn, currently the world's No. 1 Test bowler by a mile, was dangerous. Sample this. “The truth is that we are not going to get the movement and the bounce that we get at the Wanderers,” he said on Thursday, talking about the adjustment required to India's flatter, slower wickets. “That is the dead honest truth.” “However, the aggression and the way we bowl doesn't change. The bowler himself, his attitude towards the game, towards each and every delivery he bowls, doesn't change, regardless of the pitch. A 150 or 145 kms/hr yorker is absolutely no different whether you bowl it here in Nagpur, Chennai, Johannesburg or Perth. It's the skill behind the delivery, the planning behind the delivery that counts.” For many, this series was to be a showdown between India's famed batting line-up and South Africa's young and impressive pacemen. Steyn himself, at 26, the senior-most, Morne Morkel, 25 and Wayne Parnell, 20, the last a familiar name to Indians because the Delhi Daredevils believed he was worth dishing out $650,000 for at last month's IPL-III auction. However, India are probably three big names down — in addition to Dravid and Yuvraj being out, Rohit Sharma is standing by for VVS Laxman, reportedly not fit enough to take the field on Saturday. But Steyn said that while South Africa would be looking at two possible debutants (Sharma and Badrinath) as a slight edge, at the top level, it didn't matter. “At Test level, you never replace experienced player with someone who is average or borderline average. You always replace him with somebody that has got equal quality. Certainly that's what we try and do in South Africa. “I think from Number one to 11 is important. If you find someone like Sehwag or someone in the middle-order like Sachin Tendulkar batting with a No. 11 player and they are rotating the strike and Tendulkar is facing five of the six deliveries, you will find it pretty difficult to get the tailender out. Every single wicket to us is a major target.” He also threw down the gauntlet. “When you walk on to the field, holding the number one status or whatever it is, it doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. Being the number one Test side in the world, being number two that we are, means nothing come the challenge when the bowler has to release the ball and the batter has to face it.” And really, it's as simple as that. Rain threatens Test (PTI adds): The first India-South Africa Test faces rain threats after sporadic drizzle brought down the mercury and the local met office predicted light drizzle at isolated places in Vidarbha on Friday. The city experienced drizzle in the early hours and good amount of rainfall later in the day in some places. Though the Vidarbha Cricket Association has taken all precautionary measures to cover the pitch and outfield ahead of the match, rains remain a possibility.

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'Patience is the key to getting wickets in India' If his figures in the recent two-day game against the Board President's XI are an indicator, then Morne Morkel should excel with the ball and make life difficult for India in the upcoming series. More... 'Patience is the key to getting wickets in India' February 05, 2010 08:48 IST He impressed on his Test debut against India in the Boxing Day Test at Durban (2006), taking three wickets and helping his team win. On his first trip to India, when South Africa last toured in March 2008, he impressed again, capturing eight wickets in three Tests, a performance he now describes as a "learning curve". And if his figures (three for 24) in the recent two-day game against the Board President's XI are an indicator, then Morne Morkel should shine with ball again and make life difficult for the hosts. The 25-year-old is on his second trip to the subcontinent and on this occasion, unlike the previous ones, he comes into the series with an enhanced reputation. When South Africa recently played hosts to England in a four-Test series, Morkel stood apart by being the home team's highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets, including a majestic five for 75 at Newlands. The South African pundits in particular and cricket experts in general always had expectations from the tall fast bowler but Morkel hadn't quite lived up to it. In fact, he was dropped from the squad for the third and final Test against Australia at Newlands (Cape Town) last year having failed to impress selectors despite taking 15 wickets in five Tests. "Against the Australians I put a lot of pressure on myself. After I got dropped I worked on the mental aspect with Richard Pybus and ensured I came back stronger," explains Morkel, when asked about that phase. However, the series against England finally helped him prove his worth and allowed him to assume a new role -- as an ideal new-ball partner for Dale Steyn. Ask him about this and the reply is on expected lines. "I have always enjoyed bowling along with Steyn," explains Morkel. "We play for the same franchise team (Nashua Titans) back home and we have been playing so for the past five years. I think we support each other quite well." So what plans do South Africa's new ball bowlers have in store for the Indian batters in the upcoming series? "I can't tell you that," smiles Morkel, adding, "else our team meetings would come to a nought." The 25-year-old, however, is completely aware of the challenges ahead. "It's not easy to bowl here [india], for sometimes the wickets here behave in an erratic manner. But you have to prepare yourself mentally," he admits. "The wickets here are conducive for batting and wickets don't come easy here. But from a bowling point of view, we have done well in the final Test (against England) at Johannesburg and the warm-up game here and are looking forward to the challenge of bowling to the likes of (Virender) Sehwag and (Gautam) Gambhir," he adds. The Indian batsmen's discomfort with the short ball is now an open secret and Morkel admits his team is looking to exploit that weakness. "To bowl short is one of our strengths and we would be stupid not to use it to intimidate them," he explains. However, if the South African is to be believed, there are a couple of things that are more important than strategies and pace to get wickets on Indian conditions. "Patience is the key to getting wickets in India," observes Morkel. "For when a batsman like Sehwag gets going you can't really contain him. So the main thing is to stay patient and continue doing what you believe is right," he adds. And in conditions not too conducive for fast bowling, Morkel believes it is reverse swing that will do the trick. "In India there's not much seem movement anyways," he explains, adding, "so I think the main thing for both the teams will be to get the ball to reverse."

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