India in NZ, 2009 : What do you think?

[Mr. Wicket]

but DK sucks he drops catches and all he iz ridiculous' date=' parthiv can play his strokes and can be fluent in his strokeplay !!! :--D[/quote'] Parthiv's batting is also pretty solid. He's also just coming off a century in the Duleep final, and he at least doesn't bring brilliant batting tactics with him like trying to reverse sweep or slog sweep Murali in a test where Murali and Mendis are moving through India like Mexican water. I don't see why amits is so cold to the idea of Parthiv. If we pick Parthiv, then Dhoni can also have the freedom to not keep as well as bat and captain. And he can also bowl himself so we get another 130-135 kmh bowler reverse swinging it.

[Fontaine]

Cold, wind, and rain. That's what I think. Swing bowlers will be the key as the batting evens out in these type of conditions. ZK, Ishant, Pathan, Sreesanth for the tests. Zaheer has been there before and I think picked up a 5 for in his first tour there so he'll be needed to guide the young bowlers. If the weathers really bad then it's almost impossible to bowl from one end because the winds can come at you head on. I'm confident that our bowlers will do well as long as they pick up the right lengths, not as full as other places because the ball tends to naturally swing there.

[Predator_05]

Zaheer and Praveen should be India's opening bowlers in the tests. Praveen is someone i'd pick just because he can be deadly with the new ball when conditions suit. A quick two or three wicket opening burst in his first spell would set things up nicely for India. Zaheer and Ishant can take care of the rest and they would be so much more effective if they are able to attack from the beginning, which they can definitely do if Praveen makes those early breakthroughs with the new ball.

[riya]

Ishant will be the man of the series . I believe.

[flamy]

Weather will play a part, this is NZ in March/April. Expect rain. Expect cold.

http://indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=140027 :nice:

[Feed]

Munaf, R.P. Singh’s fitness test today Bangalore: In the run-up to the Indian team selection at Chennai on Friday for the forthcoming ODI series in New Zealand, injured seamers Munaf Patel and R.P. Singh are busy fine-tuning their fitness levels at the National Cricket Academy. The ... More... Munaf, R.P. Singh’s fitness test today Bangalore: In the run-up to the Indian team selection at Chennai on Friday for the forthcoming ODI series in New Zealand, injured seamers Munaf Patel and R.P. Singh are busy fine-tuning their fitness levels at the National Cricket Academy. The duo is expected to be subjected to a final fitness test here on Thursday and the academy director Dav Whatmore will file their recovery-status report to the BCCI. Meanwhile, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has reportedly told the media at Jalandhar that he has recovered and is fit to tour New Zealand. However he is yet to report to the NCA for a final appraisal as prescribed by the Board and it remains to be seen whether he is in contention for the ODI series in New Zealand or whether he will come into the picture for the later three-Test series.

[Laaloo]

I dont think the pitches will be the same ones that we got last time against Bond and Tuffey. It will be much flatter this time against a weak bowling attack and our boys will prevail. India will thrash NZ.

[fineleg]

I dont think the pitches will be the same ones that we got last time against Bond and Tuffey. It will be much flatter this time against a weak bowling attack and our boys will prevail. India will thrash NZ.

why will they make flat pitches? they know that will give a distinct advtg to india. They'll make greenish ones. Sure we have ZK, Ishant, but thats the only hope of NZ - to trouble our batsmen. Among the two options, flat pitch will clearly favor India.

[hassan_113]

If the weather holds up, then 2-1 India in tests...they've too much quality and NZ don't have any pace. Southee could be dangerous. In ODIs, it's gonna be very close. On those pitches and conditions, I prob say 3-2 either way. I jus dnt think I trust India enough in those conditions against a resurgent NZ..i hope India do it, but gonna go 3-2 NZ.

[EnterTheVoid]

finally, some decent competition this tour should test the prowess of Dhoni's men

[Sooda]

No warm up matches in NZ NO WARM UP MATCHES How insane is that. So really the first time Some of them will see action there is in a proper match. Balaji for instance will (should) NOT play t20's- he might be in the test 11 though- thats going to be the first time he will bowl there. Insane. Dravid to mention another- will see his first action in a test. NO getting used to the conditions at all. They need to play warm up matches. We have done the same thing in the past and been punished. SL last tour springs to mind (IIRC). Shoe horn some meaningless T20 matches at the expense of practice. DAFT

[Feed]

Munaf concludes rehabilitation More... Munaf concludes rehabilitation Bangalore: Munaf Patel, who has recovered from a groin injury, concluded his rehabilitation stint at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), here on Friday. The seamer left for home on a short break before leaving for New Zealand with the Indian squad. Meanwhile, R.P. Singh, nursing a sore shoulder, will finish his training at the NCA on Saturday. The left-arm seamer will fly to Indore ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy limited-overs tournament commencing on February 15 in a bid to prove his match fitness and rhythm.

[cowboysfan]

groin injuries tend to linger so i will believe it when i see him perform .

[fineleg]

Daadaji Patel has a history of injuries cropping up suddenly. Will he last the NZ tour?

[DomainK]

I think we need to look beyond him now. He is a nervous bowler, bowls too many bad deliveries and is a very bad fielder.

[Chandan]

An even more strange explanation for the strange selection of squads to NZ India put plan B in place India put plan B in place Sandeep Dwivedi Posted: Feb 14, 2009 at 0241 hrs IST Mumbai: The national selectors on Friday finalised India’s Plan B for the tour to New Zealand. With most of the frontline players successful all through last year and starting 2009 on a winning note, the meeting in Chennai was all about setting up a second line of defence before leaving to conquer the terrain famous for its unpredictable conditions. Be it Tests or the limited overs games, naming the playing XI is a no-brainer these days, and the selectors had to focus on putting in place contingency measures, accounting for injury, illness, or an unexpected run of poor form over the long tour. The Test squad of 16 includes names such as Murali Vijay, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Dhawal Kulkarni — five men certain to warm the bench at the start of the series. Opener Vijay, also capable of batting in the middle order, is the back-up for any emergency exit in the batting department. Leg-spinner Mishra is the second spinner, Karthik the second wicketkeeper, while Balaji and Kulkarni will be there to keep Munaf Patel on his toes. The ODI squad is virtually unchanged from the one that returned from Sri Lanka with a 4-1 series win under their belt. The return of Harbhajan Singh forced the only snip — the victim Ravindra Jadeja losing out to Pragyan Ojha. But there was some solace for Jadeja because he figured in the squad for the two T20 games that India will play at the start of the tour. Sachin Tendulkar’s reluctance to be a part of the game’s shortest format ensured Jadeja would get a feel of New Zealand, but he will still have to take an early flight back home. Domestic snub Since there aren’t many big names involved in the inclusion and reclusion of the New Zealand tour party, a raging selection debate won’t be triggered. But a close scrutiny of the names and a quick glance at the leading domestic performers gives a feeling that the fire-proofing that the selectors have done will leave some feeling wronged. Preferring Vijay over the likes of the four-digit Ranji Super League run-getters such as Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane and the two consistent batsmen of the season Cheteshwar Pujara and S Badrinath does raise a few eyebrows. For Vijay, it has been an amazing turn of fortunes. The Tamil Nadu opener elbowed into the Test team after in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir ran into Shane Watson and was banned for a game. He jumped at the opportunity by scoring 31 and 44 on a flat track. As it turned out, those scores have proven higher than the run-piles of Jaffer, Rahane, Pujara and Badrinath. No wild card The bowling department, too, has a few surprises. Missing from any of the three squads are pacemen S Sreesanth and RP Singh, both of whom have single-handedly won Tests for India in the past. Not belittling the performance of young Kulkarni and comeback-man Balaji, RP and particularly Sreesanth could have been wild cards worth gambling on in the game’s longest version. Both are fit, and while their recent games have shown that they are not in the best of rhythm, the seam-friendly conditions in New Zealand could’ve been the perfect catalyst for them to serve as potent back-up options for a clutch match. Neck-and-neck The second wicketkeeper’s nod went to Karthik in his neck-and-neck battle against Parthiv Patel, and it shows the changing hierarchy behind the stumps. Patel was the second-choice keeper when India last played an away Test but now Karthik has moved a step ahead in the queue. With Team India’s Plan A looking perfect at present, none of these decisions are going to be very hotly debated, and if there is any talk of regional bias from those who have been left out, it will die down soon. But the real test of the choices made by the selection committee will come in case the proven frontline falters. _________________________________________________________________ I think the selectors got it wrong on many fronts. Even if I had to put a plan B in plan, I'd have chosen a batsman who has potential to replace Dravid. I don't think M Vijay has that. I'll have chosen Rohit Sharma as the reserve MO batsman and would have dropped him from the ODI squad and would have included Ravinder Jadeja there. In the pace bowling department, I'll have chosen one of Sreesanth and RP Singh and one of Dhawal and Balaji to be ready for any consequences along with testing and giving exposure to the new pool. So the seamers list would have been: Zaheer Ishant Munaf Sree/RP Dhawal/Balaji I'm not convinced with the selection completely and if any of the reserve pacers HAVE to perform, Cheeka will be exposed badly.

[fineleg]

I think we need to look beyond him now. He is a nervous bowler' date=' bowls too many bad deliveries and[b'] is a very bad fielder.

and prolly the worst #11 bat too (just incase the match gets to the wire while we are batting)

[Cricketics]

If we have to given some a chance it a test line up, thne why not not just take Rahane who has been scoring runs rather then giving Sharma a chance in test. Regardless of what number he is coming on in ODI'S he has got enough chances in odi's where he was asked to simply play a helping role in partnerships which he hasn't managed. There were m any occasions when he was coming into bat where he had a good reliable batsman ont he other end, but his continous brainless shots have resulted in another wicket for oppositions at crucial juncture. i would have Rahane in test squad if we really have to replace M.Vijay. This guy has been scoring runs. and in odi's even before Jadeja and all, how can we forget Virat Kohli and Abhishek Nayar??? Nayar and Kohli are total ODI package.

[Chandan]

Rohit Sharma has done tremendously in the FC matches this year and that too against quality attack. He absolutely smashed the Australia bowlers, especially Krejza who took 11 wickets in the testy when he played the test side. He scored twin centuries in the Ranji finals against an attack of Praveen, RP Singh and Bhuvaneshwar kumar, the same bowler got handed Tendulkar his first duck of the FC season. You can go and check Rohit's scores in the FC matches this year, more importantly, his performance against quality attack.

Nayar and Kohli are total ODI package

Kohli is injured. And Jadeja is a better player than Nayar, Jadeja should have got a full series after doing well in the only chance that he got.

[Cricketics]

thats fine chandan. i followed all those games some through cricinfo and some i watched where Sharma scored runs. I know he blasted that century when he was involved int hat p'ship with Kohli against Australia in warm up game. But still I feel before him, it should be Ajinkya Rahane who should be given a chance at international level in test cricket Rahane has been averaging 65 now in F.C. He has been just great. Rohit on the other hand has been given getting his chances atleast in odi's. Rahane should be used when he is in great form.