Maybe just maybe India has found the best combination

[ravishingravi]

53 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

Our main concern is getting out-batted by the likes of England and Australia, who have a higher ceiling than us in terms of batting potential. New Zealand are also always there to piss on our parade. Yesterday was a step in the right direction though.

 

I dont think we will match England in Batting tbh. I think the best shot for India is its spin bowling. If Kuldeep, Ashwin, Jadeja can make the difference. India will be 330-350 batting side at best.

[ravishingravi]

With Washington Sundar, the team looks even more balanced. 3 All-rounder. 3 bowlers. 5 batsmen

[Lord]

3 minutes ago, ravishingravi said:

With Washington Sundar, the team looks even more balanced. 3 All-rounder. 3 bowlers. 5 batsmen

he replaced Thakur/Axar so balance was the same.

[ravishingravi]

6 minutes ago, Lord said:

he replaced Thakur/Axar so balance was the same.

 

Well he is an off spinner and left hander. I think he brings more variety in Indian conditions. 

[Lord]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:59 PM, jalebi_bhai said:

Our main concern is getting out-batted by the likes of England and Australia, who have a higher ceiling than us in terms of batting potential. New Zealand are also always there to piss on our parade. Yesterday was a step in the right direction though.

 

Can't give them pattas. We are playing England in Ekana lol.

 

Hopefully pitches are spin friendly and not flat pattas

[Nikhil_cric]

IMO the most balanced World Cup squad would have 

 

7 batters

- with 2 batters who can bowl 4 overs of part time spin each.

- 2 wicket keeping options

 

3 all-rounders

 

- 2 seam all-rounders

- spin allrounder

 

5 pure bowlers

 

- 1 wrist spinner

- 4 pace bowlers

 

In the final XI,

 

6 batters + 2 all-rounders + 3 bowlers. 

 

Within this squad , if you can enough RHB-LHB combination batters and you can get 4 unique fast bowlers ( left arm, high release, 90 mph bowler, accurate new ball seamer), that'd be beyond perfect. 

 

 

If you don't have high quality all-rounders, you can do what the Saffers have done.

 

7 batters + Jansen + 7 bowlers.  Jansen is a good hitter but makes it as a pure bowler anymore. 

 

So you'll get 50 overs of high quality bowling no matter what even if Jansen is out and they play another bowler. 

 

If Jansen is out and they want more batting for done reason , they can all play all 7 batters , get Markram to bowl 10 and compromise bowling strength. 

 

 

Australia took 9 batters( only 1 keeper, 2 batting all-rounders bowling seam - Watson, Marsh and 1 batter bowling spin - Maxwell) 

 

+Faulkner(genuine allrounder)

 

+ 5 bowlers 

 

But in the final XI , it was always

 

7 batters + Faulkner + 3 bowlers. 

 

They never compromised on 7 batters.

 

 

India's combination is one of the worst.

 

We have 7 batters(2 WK and no part time option)

 

1 genuine allrounder  + 2 spin all-rounders + 1 seam allrounder

 

+ 3 pacers  + 1 wrist spinner. 

 

 

This means that we can only play 5 batsmen( sometimes 2 keepers with Kishan and Rahul and Kishan out of place at 5)

 

 

This is neither the ideal balanced XI not the bowling heavy balance nor the ultra batting heavy balance of Australia. 

 

 

There is no balance that can be had with at least 1 batter contributing with part time spin. 

 

Also in al cases, they were either genuine all-rounders like Faulkner 

 

or guys  who were making the XI on primary skill alone (Jansen - bowling, Maxwell -batting, Watson - batting)

 

We have 1 genuine allrounder

 

With the other 3,

 

Shardul is a decent seamer . There are probably better seamers but if there's no one to tonk the ball among the rest, he has his uses. 

 

Axar can tonk the ball at 7 and at 8 and while his bowling is not the best , that's a compromise that can be made in case you need in certain situations - Axar at 7 if Pandya out, Axar at 8 if Kuldeep out. 

 

Now Jadeja - he cannot hit the ball at all. So he has no other choice to make the squad as a wicket taking bowler.

 

But 2 things , 3rd spinner is useless on any pitch . Even then , his bowling is not impressive on its own .

 

We saw even in SL that apart from Kuldeep , it was pace that won matches, so we can pick the extra pacer for rotation instead of Jadeja.

 

 

Just get overs from the batters .  

 

The arguments about our bowlers not being able to bat are disingenuous when our #7 cant bat currently. 

 

Playing 4 bowlers is absolutely OK as long as we play 6 batters + Pandya at 7.  

 

Bumrah has anyway  batted better than Jadeja.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[First class]

India is truly peaking at rt time and Pakistan is regressing at the worst possible time . Indian team not only has good balance but all of the players are in good touch. 

England is still my top ranked side for the WC but India is very close 2nd now . 

 

1-England 

2-India 

3-Austraia

4-SA

5-Pakistan

6-NZ

7-SL

8-BD

9-Afghanistan 

10-ND 

[Strangering]

India is always inconsistent. First round exit at WC wouldn't necessarily surprise me. Bumrah and Kuldeep give me hope, tho. 

[Strangering]

26 minutes ago, First class said:

India is truly peaking at rt time and Pakistan is regressing at the worst possible time . Indian team not only has good balance but all of the players are in good touch. 

England is still my top ranked side for the WC but India is very close 2nd now . 

 

1-England 

2-India 

3-Austraia

4-SA

5-Pakistan

6-NZ

7-SL

8-BD

9-Afghanistan 

10-ND 

Never count out NZ ... 

Top 5 are 

 

England 
Australia

NZ

India
SA

 

in that order. 

[mani sha]

On 9/12/2023 at 3:10 AM, Swag said:

Sadly the Asia cup teams are not a barometer. 

Pak is all hype but not a real test for us in ODIs.

Real test is Australia, England, NZ and SA. 

By the time we realise that (probably in a knockout) it will be too late.

 

We are the champion of minnows . @lord is gloating over it , 

[Number]

Honestly was never worried about bowling. I knew our bowling is a potent force if Siraj, Boom, Kuldeep and Pandya all are fit. Even Jadeja is someone who will not let the team down with the ball. 

The worry is batting at times when we collapse like a heap. KL was back to his tentative, defensive best after being 63 off 64 balls against Pakistan. Jadeja's batting at 7 doesn't inspire any confidence. 

[Majestic]

India's bowling looks at its all time best.

 

Bumrah

Siraj

Kuldeep

Pandya

 

4 guys at their peak. Jadeja bowling in favourable conditions where he is better than what he actually is.

 

Only concern is #8 but India do have enough options to look at in form of Shardul, Axar, Sundar and Ashwin. They all have their positives and negatives and it is a matter of how well can you utilise them.

[ravishingravi]

Yesterday I saw an Indian team playing with 6 full time bowlers. I honestly dont recall when was the last time I have seen this. 

 

We maybe a batter short. Picking Shardul in Indian conditions doesn't make sense unless we see real risk of injury. 

 

Shreyas Iyer for me is still not there at this level. But okay. Especially because he is suspect against short ball. 

 

Overall I give credit to Dravid and Rohit for preparation for this WC. It certainly looks best prepared team I can think of in terms different players and options. Honestly this was my only expectation from Dravid and he has achieved this as coach. 

 

From semis it's anyone's game. It comes down to winning specific moments which is down to the players. But the team is well positioned. 

[ravishingravi]

Sundar in place of Shreyas is still a better option.