5th ODI vs Sri Lanka : News and discussion

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More... Dhoni returns, Ishant dropped The selectors picked the squad for the final ODI in Delhi. Interestingly they chose Pragyan Ojha for Sunday’s game, but preferred Amit Mishra for the Bangladesh ODIs. Ishant Sharma finds no place in either squad. Sreesanth makes a comeback and Ashok Dinda also features. Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for the Bangladesh ODIs, upon his request. Ishant, who was dropped for the first two ODIs against Sri lanka, failed to impress on his return - thanks to Sreesanth's illness - for the later half of the series. In 14 overs in those two matches, he went for 130 runs, and failed to keep up the pressure along with Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. He managed just two wickets at an average of 65.00 and an economy rate of 9.28. Before that, during the series against Australia at home, he managed five wickets in four matches at 30.00 each. Praveen, who played the first two matches of the Sri Lanka series, managed just one wicket and went at 6.76 runs per over. MS Dhoni, who missed the last two matches due to ban over slow over-rates, has returned alongside Dinda for the last game. Virender Sehwag, who stood in for Dhoni and oversaw two consecutive wins, has been named vice-captain. He has earlier stressed on the need for the selectors to groom a younger leader. Squad for final ODI v Sri Lanka: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Dinesh Karthik, Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha.

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Kotla wicket changes colour; surprise awaits India's stand-in skipper Sehwag already expressed happiness - not at the pitch, but at the fact that it wouldn't matter. More... Kotla wicket changes colour; surprise awaits Subhash Rajta NEW DELHI: A pleasant surprise awaits bowlers at the Ferozeshah Kotla -- the venue for the last ODI between India and Sri Lanka. The square is awash with green, and the wicket, too, is not the standard brown strip. Interestingly, the green tinge is actually much more than the curator would have wanted. "We are now actually struggling to tone down the green to brown. Anyhow, the wicket would be far better than it had been during the Champions League and the India-Australia ODI," said BCCI's Pitches and Grounds committee chairman Daljit Singh. Ironically, while this pitch copped a lot of criticism for being low and slow and not producing big scores, the wickets on which totals in excess of 300 have been scored with ease in the current series have been criticised for making the contest between bat and ball hopelessly lop-sided. "I don't understand it. A good ODI wicket is one that allows the team bating second a good chance to chase down the target, so that there's a keen contest. And we have seen the team batting second chasing down 300 plus target twice and almost knocking down 400-plus in this series. So, it's quite cynical to criticise these wickets," said Daljit. "Besides, the game where South Africa chased down 434 set by Australia is termed a modern classic, and a similar match at Rajkot is ridiculed for killing the contest. Isn't that double speak?" he asks. The veteran curator also stressed that it wasn't just featherbeds that were making batting look easy. "Look at the modern equipment, powerful bats, the fitness regimen of players and PowerPlays." All this has pushed the par score up in ODIs. Moreover, the advent of T20 has completely changed the approach of batsmen. They have become far more attacking and are bringing new strokes to the game." But isn't there any way to offer bowlers more assistance from the turf in the ODIs? "One need to allow the wicket to seam or spin, but in that scenario the toss will become crucial and one team would benefit more than the other. The best way is to have a wicket with good bounce and little seam or spin."

[PotterManiac]

I still remember the tactic used by Cameron White and his team in the CT--- Bowl stump to stump and it worked too. But now its green.. would that mean a bowling paradise atlast?

[Block hole]

Can India win this Dead Rubber ? India has played four dead rubber's under Dhoni Captaincy and they lose all four of them . Can they win this one ??????

[Macj]

Theyll be complacent as usual and wont

[Nova]

:two_thumbs_up:

[urbestfriend]

of course they can But will they? wait n watch

[Lord]

the 4th ODI in SL series in Jan was a dead rubber too n we won it

[saneindian]

9 am start in Delhi, expect the ball to swing miles at least for first 60-75 minutes. I have a feeling like the match against the Aussies in Guwahati, this one too could be over in the first 30-45 minutes. Hopefully MSD will opt to field and not bat if he wins the toss this time.

[DomainK]

9 am start in Delhi' date=' expect the ball to swing miles at least for first 60-75 minutes. I have a feeling like the match against the Aussies in Guwahati, this one too could be over in the first 30-45 minutes. [b']Hopefully MSD will opt to field and not bat if he wins the toss this time.

It will be fun if Sanga wins the toss and choses to bat first.

[Sachinism]

I hope some changes are made and some new blood is given a chance

[Laaloo]

I hope some changes are made and some new blood is given a chance

And I hope Dhoni chooses to opt out.

[champ]

i hope india bat and try to counter the difficult conditions and give an answer to ones who doubt our batting. anyways series in the bag ..

[Nova]

Runs to flow at Kotla again...wise words from the curator Ferozeshah Kotla chief curator Vijay Bahadur Mishra on Tuesday said the pitch for the upcoming fifth One-day International (ODI) between India and Sri Lanka would produce lots of runs, and would behave much better than it did during the ODI against Australia in October. New seeds were sown on the pitch last month and grass has grown on the surface, as was visible on Tuesday when groundsmen watered and rolled two pitches under Mishra's supervision. One of the two pitches would be used for the day match on Sunday. "This pitch will produce more than 270 runs in an innings, more than the score in the Australia ODI. This pitch is hard and will be much better than that one," Mishra told Mail Today, pointing to the pitch. "We sowed winter Bermuda seeds on the pitch on November 8. This grass easily grows in cold conditions. On November 30, we cut the grass for the first time and you can see how well it had grown," he said. A decision on which pitch would be used for the ODI will be taken on Thursday after ascertaining the bounce on the two pitches. "A few pace bowlers of the under- 22 and under- 19 teams would be called up to bowl on the two pitches to ascertain the bounce and accordingly we will decide on the pitch," Mishra said. "But most probably, the centre pitch, on which the first Champions League T20 match was played in October, would be chosen." Mishra said that the soil used for the pitch has 70 per cent clay content. He said 36 truckloads of soil were used when the square (containing eight pitches) was re-laid in April. The soil was checked at the Pusa Institute before it was used, he added. Daljit Singh, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) pitch and grounds committee, has also arrived to oversee the preparations, as is customary. He also said that the Kotla pitch would be better than the last time. "Pitches need time to settle down. No matter what anyone says, immediately after laying a pitch, it will play low and slow," Singh told Mail Today. "We have sown winter grass on the Kotla pitch and it will play well this time." A former first-class wicketkeeper for Punjab, Singh said the square was re-laid with an eye on the 2011 World Cup to be played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "It was re-laid keeping the World Cup in mind. But it had to host the Champions League Twenty20 also. Heavy rains in September also did not help matters as the curators did not get enough time to prepare the surface," he said. "I'm sure when the World Cup comes, Kotla will be among the best pitches in the country along with the likes of Mohali and Bangalore." Singh said that different formats of the game require different kinds of pitches. "In ODIs, people generally want to see high scores and pitches are made to suit that. But once in a while, a pitch which helps bowlers can provide an absorbing contest," he said. Speaking on the state of pitches in India, he said that for every 'dead' pitch, like the one that was prepared for the recent Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka and was roundly criticised, "we have two pitches like Kanpur and the Cricket Club of India (CCI)". "In fact, CCI was the best Test wicket seen in the country for a long time. The ball swung in Kanpur," he said. "Green Park (Kanpur) was almost full to capacity for the Test. After lukewarm attendance on the first day, crowds flocked to the Brabourne Stadium (CCI) also." Daljit said there was a need to train curators too. "Umpires have coaches during first-class matches now. Coaches have various levels of certification. Curators also need specialised training and equipment as preparing a pitch is a science," he opined. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/76149/Sports/Runs+to+flow+at+Kotla+again.html :((

[falconhawk]

Sri Lanka and India should play T20 in this situation. They should play fresh T20. I mean what the hell? Crowds came to watch. Players are being selfish and have no concerns for crowds who paid?

[PotterManiac]

Sri Lanka are 5 down and even if the match continues, the overs are going to be reduced and it wont be easy for our batsmen too.

[StriKe]

According to cricinfo

12.05 Still no word. This has gone on for a while. Javagal Srinath, himself a match referee, says on air that it is within the rules to start an entirely new match on an adjacent strip. But Sunil Gavaskar reckons that that pitch has even more grass. Shifting all the equipment, HawkEye etc, will take too much time, and what if even that pitch is dangerous too?

[akshayxyz]

pitch was bad, organizers are worse, they should at least keep ppl aware of what happens next. No one even knows when will be the post match/series presentation. pathetic to say the least.

[DomainK]

They should play fresh T20. I mean what the hell? Crowds came to watch. Players are being selfish and have no concerns for crowds who paid?

They are not obligated to, but that would be the right thing to do. A T20 with all spinners only. Cricketers play for fans and it's their duty to play something for the sake of those who have waited long and paid money to see them play.

[Rajiv]

you dont play with fire just coz the lighting device is difference, 1 ball of 1 t20 or 1 over of 50 over game - same thing