On to the Tests ..

[cowboysfan]

i hope there is no misreading of pitches in the 1st test-teams(last 3 tests) generally bat 1st at hamilton.kirsten should know the pitch well as he hit a century last time he played here.ofcourse if the pitch is like that of 2002 we should have a bowl first.

[DomainK]

The test batting lineup is a bit different from the ODI batting lineup. Laxman and Dravid dont have much match practice. I hope Yuvraj keeps a cool head and scores some runs. But Sachin and Sehwag are going to be key if we have to win the test series. And of course ZAK, Ishant and Bhajji.

[Show_stopper]

Ishant's bowling is bit of a concern..hasn't shown any signs of dominating so far..

[DomainK]

Ishant's bowling is bit of a concern..hasn't shown any signs of dominating so far..

He will be different in tests I am sure. May be Dhoni should show him a photograph of Ponting before each spell.:D

[cowboysfan]

lol-any information on our 4th bowler?.i really hope they pick munaf .it will be a make or break test for him.

[Shane]

He will be different in tests I am sure. May be Dhoni should show him a photograph of Ponting before each spell.:D

lolz Dom, that should help, its a tip the Saffies can use for the ODI's, Ishant hasnt been effective yet, infact hez been the worst out of the lot when it comes to economy But the Tests are a totally different ball game, i for one believe he will come up trumps in the Tests :nice:

[Ram]

Once again, our fortunes will rise and fall with this man;

[Shane]

Once again, our fortunes will rise and fall with this man;

n

[Sachinism]

Once again, our fortunes will rise and fall with this man;

yup, Sehwag will set the tone

[King]

The pitches will still offer assistance to bowlers early on. India should be able to dominate the test series but you never know. NZ batting is looking ok at the moment. Can't be said the same about the NZ bowling, it's definitely not capable of bowling India out twice. The tempo in test cricket will be different and India's batting is solid. There is good mix of aggresive batsmen and the ones capable of staying at the wicket long. Expect a test match to be called of due to rain. The other two will also be marred by weather conditions but we should have at least one test match that will be played fully. I expect the Napier to be a road, Hamilton to produce a result meanwhile the Wellington test match curtailed due to rain.

[fineleg]

^ yes, wellington will mostly be rained away. people are saying sehwag is key. yes, he will set the tempo, but more importantly i feel SRT, RD, VVS - these three and how they do will make or mar the series.

[cowboysfan]

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/C9E168C54DE3C8366525757B003269D6?OpenDocument Joseph Hoover Hamilton, Mar 16 (PTI) A bouncy track with a good sprinkling of grass awaits India in the first Test of the three-match cricket series against New Zealand starting here on Wednesday, casting the die for a veritable war of attrition between bat and ball. One look at the wicket would convince anyone that the Kiwis, who had the Indians in a spot of bother on a lively Eden Park deck in the last ODI at Auckland, would use swing and seam to arrest the Indian batsmen who have been on a rampage on this tour. Though curator Karl Jackson said he would eventually shear the pitch of its "excess" grass, there should be appreciable assistance for seamers, who could be lethal if the conditions are overcast. The conditions would demand great discipline from the Indian batsmen to collar a seam attack, spearheaded by Franklyn James, an ace at swinging the ball. Kyle Mills, who on his day can trouble established batsmen, Iain O'Brien and either Chris Martin or new-find Brent Arnel could form the seam quartet. The wily Daniel Vettori (286 wickets in 89 Tests) could provide fizz and turn in case the quicks fail

[cowboysfan]

for this kind of wicket it is imperative that ishant get back into his groove.I just wish that our 3rd seamer postion was not so unsettled or devoid of proper options.

[cowboysfan]

Guptill McIntosh Flynn Taylor Ryder McCullum Franklin Vettori Mills martin O'Brien thats a good team with a good batting lineup.frnaklin is a bit of an all-rounder now and Ryder can bowl as we have seen.I am looking forward to a great contest.

[Lord]

actually this kind of a wicket would be shot in the foot for kiwis.i think there is hardly any way they can pick 20 indian test wickets.but by preparing these track,they are giving opportunity to Zak,Ishant to finish them early .

[cowboysfan]

actually this kind of a wicket would be shot in the foot for kiwis.i think there is hardly any way they can pick 20 indian test wickets.but by preparing these track' date='they are giving opportunity to Zak,Ishant to finish them early .[/quote'] I diasgree.these kind of pitches are their only shot at winning the test match and they will be foolish not to take it.

[Ram]

We’re generally slow starters. Except for the Pakistan series in late ’07, we’ve either drawn or lost the first test match of almost all our series in the last 24 months. I just wish that slow-starter syndrome does not afflict us in this series too. If it does, then there’s very little hope of coming back. NZ is very much a momentum side, once they’re on top, its quite hard to dislodge them (In cricketing terms, that is..:D)

[zubinpepsi]

lets see wat our middle order can do here..

[Chandan]

lets see wat our middle order can do here..

Why only middle order? Why not the top six or seven or the entire batting line-up? Or you expect the opener, keeper and the tail to fail completely? Why are you looking forward to see what our bowlers can do here?

[cowboysfan]

my difference makers will be bhajji and ishant.zak will get his wickets but if ishant and bhajji can give us a solid contribution with the ball then we wil not feel the decreased production from the 3rd seamer .