India in Sri Lanka, 2010 : tests and triseries

[Roshanrocks]

Well , well well, Sreeshant gets injured even before bowling a ball,, well heck.. even before bowling a ball on a practise pitch... (may be) Did this bloke attend Dhoni's wedding... Bhajji did ..didnt he? and now he has a fever. Wow... ha already has an excuse if he performs poorly this series... i got a fever na :dontknow: And the replacement is .... Munaf Patel Just a while back we had so many phast bowlers banging on the doors of Cheeka's house... like Sreeshant, Agarkar, RP SIngh, Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Balaji, Munaf Patel, Joginder Sharma :hmmmm2:, etc etc I guess all of them have realised that the monies lie in IPL and not in test / ODI kirkut, so conviniently get injured when effort needs to be put in :mad: ok ...may be i am being too pessimistic / negativistic / stone headed... anyways... so now we have a pace attack of Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel.... The last i saw these two play , they were carted all over the park ....quite easily by all and sundry... hope they have improved till now.. I havent seen Mithun so no clue... Unadkat is raw...young chap...better not let him waste his energy / talent on the flat tracks of Sri Lanka... So basically we have what??? A pedestrian pace attack and non threatening spin attack :nervous: I wonder how we are going to get 20 Sri Lankan wickets on this tour in a test match :hmmmm2:... I hope some miracle occurs and the bowlers grow some horns or something... Our batting looks good.. though i hope our team doesnt decide to give Murali a great and happy send off and gift him the 8 wickets he needs for his 800 haul. All in all ... looks like our team will be chasing leather this series :headshake: Lets c what happens in the one-off practise match :orderorder:

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Three centuries sink India on opening day of warm up game A strong Board President's XI gave the Indians a welcome as harsh as Colombo's humidity. Upul Tharanga ripped into all their bowlers, nearly reaching his century in the first session. More... Indian spinners targeted and dominated The match is not being televised, but Harbhajan Singh will know how desperately he is needed when he is told of how ineffective the bowling was Sidharth Monga in Colombo July 13, 2010 Indian batsmen have acquired a bit of a habit of going after visiting spinners in the side games. The Australians go after visiting captains, but the Indians - and often it's the unheralded batsmen - unsettle the spinners. In 1997-98 Amit Pagnis welcomed Shane Warne with a 60-ball 50, in 2008-09 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hit Jason Krejza out of the starting XI for three Tests, in 2009-10 Manish Pandey and Abhishek Nayar dismantled Paul Harris. Some of their own medicine was administered to them on the first day of this tour of Sri Lanka. Upul Tharanga nearly scored a century in the first session, three of the top four batsmen went past 100, and 432 runs came in the day, only 11 fewer than what India managed at the Brabourne Stadium when Virender Sehwag played the innings of the last year. At least two members of this attack, possibly three, and if Harbhajan Singh doesn't recover from his fever, maybe even all four, will be playing in the first Test. The No. 1 Test side in the world needs better. There is serious cause for concern, and India know it. It was just a tour game, but also a proper first-class game, not the kind where 11 field and everyone bats, which has become more of the norm nowadays. That there would be no favours was clear when Thilan Samaraweera chose to bat. This was not going to be some gentle batting practice. Soon Tharanga was driving the first ball of the day for four, soon the spinners were being hit around in their first overs, the no-balls came in abundance, maiden overs were almost non-existent, boundaries were hit almost at will, and wickets were more thrown away than they were earned. Only four maidens (two of them when batsmen slowed down approaching stumps), 22 no-balls (11 from Amit Mishra), and 264 runs in boundaries. The pitch was slow, but it offered turn. Mishra started with a long hop and kept giving at least one short delivery in almost every over. This was in addition to his no-ball habit. There was no control whatsoever, and had Mishra not bowled towards the end of the day, when the lower-middle order had slowed down, he would have come back with an economy-rate of more than six. Ojha was a bit better, a bit more accurate, a bit more testing, but nowhere near threatening. Of course there was a definite plan to unsettle India's spinners, of course their stock ball was always turning in towards their left-hand tormentors, but neither of them was convincing in his response. The match is not being televised, but Harbhajan will know how desperately he is needed when the team reaches the hotel and he is told of the happenings of the day. Ishant Sharma, who has the responsibility of leading the pace department, was the only one who could walk away with some credit. He did bowl seven no-balls, but he also beat the batsmen, both for pace and for movement. He had Tharanga missed in his third over -that wasn't the only edge he induced - and his pace didn't fall much in later spells either. He got a deserved pat on the back from bowling coach, Eric Simmons. Abhimanyu Mithun, who, after one superb domestic season, faces the prospect of taking the new ball in the first Test, was steady rather than threatening. There was an odd edge created too, but there never was a concentrated spell during which Mithun made it seem like a wicket might be around the corner. As far as poor first days of tours go, this one was as bad for India as their one-day defeat to Rest of South Africa and the 213 for 8 in Chittagong. When they walked off the field, the Indians didn't carry faces of grim, desperate concern, but ones indicating that knew they were in for a tough one here in Sri Lanka. What they won't give for an inspired spell of bowling, the kind Sreesanth produced in Kanpur.

[Roshanrocks]

After day 2 of the play off game against BP11, i must say our team doesnt look much good. Gambhir n Yuvraj played well and the rest couldnt read Mendis ...again, SO i guess Mendis must be back in form. This doesnt bode well for our team. The opposition will now have a much better spin attack than ours and also home grown Flat track bullies who are as good or better than our batsmen on thei home ground. The toss would be the key for the first test.. if we could win that and bat first and Sehwag plays one of his high scoring super fat innings then we may have some advantage... other wise if Lankans bat first we could see a repeat of this BP11 game :headshake: more thoughts later... Khatmal just got out and The Freedi is at the crease :D

[karthik31313]

i agree with you.......

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Mendis spins out India for 291 in warm-up match More... Mendis spins out India for 291 in warm-up match Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Colombo, July 15, 2010 In great teams, when the bowling has an off day, the batting usually comes through to make up, or vice versa. In India’s case, though, the batsmen, barring Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order and Yuvraj Singh low down, simply carried on the mediocre work done by the bowlers. Yuvraj Singh (118) and Gautam Gambhir’s (89) added 143 for the fifth wicket, but India still fell well short of the follow-on mark of 364 to fold up for 291. The SL President’s XI added 82 runs to their first-innings lead before declaring their innings at 514 for nine. As was the case during India’s Test series in Sri Lanka two years ago, Ajantha Mendis (6-67) was the chief wrecker, destroying the middle order. When skipper Thilan Samaraweera threw the ball to Mendis in the 15th over, India were 67 for 2, with Virender Sehwag (18) and Rahul Dravid (11) wasting an opportunity to spend some valuable time at the crease before the first Test. Both succumbed to the swing of Chanaka Welegedara, who put himself ahead of his new-ball partner Dilhara Fernando for the second seamer’s slot in Galle. Mendis got lucky off the second ball he bowled. It was his trademark carrom ball which rapped Sachin Tendulkar’s back leg after the master failed to read it. Though the ball was clearly going to miss the off stump, the umpire upheld the appeal to boost Mendis’s chances of forcing his way into the squad for the second Test after being left out for the first. In came VVS Laxman, who couldn’t stem the rot either, edging two of the first four balls he faced. Since Laxman had played them with soft hands, both landed well ahead of the first slip. But Laxman ran out of luck in Mendis’ third over when he edged one straight into Prasanna Jayawardene’s gloves behind the wicket. Then came the brightest patch for the Indian team as Yuvraj and Gambhir put together a solid partnership. Though Gambhir was timing the ball soundly, he was lucky to have survived early on as he was given lives on 17, 22 and 36. Yuvraj, however, lofted Mendis over the long-on boundary on to the street soon after he took guard. From there on, the southpaw did not look back till he missed a slog sweep off offie Sachithra Senanayake. The knock confirmed that the No 6 slot belonged to Yuvraj, who was dropped from last month’s Asia Cup on disciplinary grounds. However, just when Yuvraj and Gambhir were set to bat on till the end of day’s play, Gambhir threw it away. Despite misreading the flight of a Mendis delivery, the opener went through with an on-drive. Upul Tharanga ran a few steps back to complete a neat catch. Soon after, Mahendra Singh Dhoni glanced Senanayake straight into Thilina Kandamby’s palms at leg gully. And once Yuvraj perished, all hopes of a respectable Indian total went up in the air.

[Roshanrocks]

SO many posts for one warm up match....? Mendis seems to be back in the groove once again... or our indian batsmen were so confident of playing him they idnt bother to prepare for him...

[The Dark Horse]

One innings from Sehwag and Mendis will be history.

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Ind-SL series : Autographs galore as fans get up, close and personal Whenever popular cricketers play at a venue like the Colts Cricket Club, where there isn't any gallery for the spectators to sit, the fans enjoy it the most. More... Autographs galore as fans get up, close and personal Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Colombo, July 15, 2010 Whenever popular cricketers play at a venue like the Colts Cricket Club, where there isn't any gallery for the spectators to sit, the fans enjoy it the most. Not only can they watch their favourite cricketers from a close distance, they can easily get their autographs and click pictures with some of them. So, to watch 100-odd spectators sitting just tside the fence all around wasn't a surprise on the first two days of India's warm-up tie against Sri Lanka President's XI. What was startling was the ease with which school kids were running in when the play was on to get their star player's autographs. While Yuvraj Singh obliged a kid who came in running more than 20 yards in the middle of an over during the first day's play, Dilhara Fernando did the same on Tuesday when the Lankan speedster was fielding at the other end of the ground. Be reserve, have fun India have arrived in Sri Lanka with a squad of 16 for the Test series. Add to it the two additional net bowlers and the eight-member support staff, and you have more people in the dressing room than on the field. But the reserves are making the most of the time. Half an hour after India resumed their grind against Sri Lanka President's XI on Tuesday, Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay left for a practice session at the Nondescripts Cricket Club. Accompanying them were net bowlers Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav and bowling coach Eric Simons. Wriddhiman Saha and Munaf Patel fulfilled the role of helping out the men in the middle. Later in the afternoon, after the Big Three in India's batting line-up - Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were dismissed early - they also left for NCC where Munaf and Harbhajan had their first spell of the tour.

[lethal_raina]

Indian lineup for the First Test Match Possible XI: Virender Sehwag Gautam Gambhir Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar VVS Laxman Yuvraj Singh MS Dhoni Harbhajan Singh Pragyan Ojha Ishant Sharma Munaf Patel Most likely no Abhimanyu Mithun because he conceded 141 runs for only one wicket in the warm up match. Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat are only in Sri Lanka as net bowlers and not squad members so they cannot be selected.

[hatja_tau]

Yeah agree with your selection. P.S. - You really like that smiley don't you? Are you a member of the 'Husband kaam pe Mai jaam pe' kitty party club?

[Sid]

We can go with munaf,ishant or mithun,all are same,bottom line is none of them are world class wicket takers and also we are going to pwned 3-0 in this series unless our batsmen and rains can help us

[Clarke]

Depends on the wicket. There is no point playing Ojha ahead of Mithun if it offers seam movement and no assistance to spinners. Edit: Ishant and Bhajji are certain and so is Munaf in my book by virtue of experience. the debate if u ask me is Ojha/Mishra vs Mithun, and that is dependent on the wicket. Ofcourse, a dustbowl would be great for Ishant and all three spinners to play.

[lethal_raina]

>>>hatja_tau lol, we're just discussing the possible line up that's why i put that gossip symbol smiley

[koksmayu]

sehwag gambhir dravid sachin laxman dhoni harbhajan p ojha amit ishant munaf

[Sir john]

dhoni favourite is mishra

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India head to Galle under pressure Once the Sri Lanka President’s XI had made it clear that they would opt to have batting practice instead of asking the Indians to follow on, the last day’s play of the warm-up match was always going to be a dull affair, reports Amol Karhadkar. More... India head to Galle under pressure Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Colombo, July 16, 2010 Once the Sri Lanka President’s XI had made it clear that they would opt to have batting practice instead of asking the Indians to follow on, the last day’s play of the warm-up match was always going to be a dull affair. And that’s exactly how Thursday panned out at the Colts Cricket Club. A light drizzle just before tea forced both the captains, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Thilan Samaraweera to engage in a brief discussion. Simultaneously, India coach Gary Kirsten had a word with his counterpart Stuart Law. Then the skippers consulted match referee Graeme Labrooy and the match was called off. While Pragyan Ojha added three wickets to his five-for in the first innings, Sri Lanka’s reserve opener for the Galle Test, Lahiru Thirimanne, made a case for a call-up into the team with a fluent century. SLP XI, who started the day with a 223-run lead in the first innings, were 261 for six at close. Since the Indian team and six members of the SLP XI had to leave for Galle for the first Test, the decision did appear logical. “It’s commonsensical. We could have stayed here till five o’clock, but it wouldn’t have been much use,” Law, who is the assistant coach of Sri Lanka’s national team, said after the game. But he admitted that had he been playing in Australia in such a situation, he would have opted to put India in to bat again instead of depriving them of batting practice. “It’s entirely different where I grew up and the way we go about our cricket where it’s not so much about wearing the opposition down. It’s about beating them hands down,” Law said. “But (since) I am with Sri Lanka, I have to do it the Sri Lankan way. I was speaking to Gary and he said if we would have been in India, they would have done exactly the same. We understand what’s going on. A Test tour is not just 15 days of cricket.” While Thirimanne made his case for selection, Abhimanyu Mithun and Amit Mishra could not impress with the ball in the second successive innings. While Mithun failed to make use of the red cherry and conceded 42 runs in his first six overs, leggie Mishra consistently missed the good-length spot. No wonder he was plundered for 46 runs in his first spell of six overs as SLP XI raced to 164 for two off just 26 overs at lunch. Law was obviously pleased as his team had achieved their objective of putting India under pressure ahead of the Test series. “What we did was we came in and decided if we were going to bat, we would take them on. We won’t get intimidated. And I think that’s the way you have to play against the No. 1 team in the world,” Law said. “If you can bat against them aggressively and if you can bowl to them aggressively, am not trying to highlight their weaknesses, but you can put them under pressure. That’s exactly what we have done.” While Law will hope the Sri Lankan team will take a cue from their fringe players, India would be hoping otherwise. Over to Galle.

[Lord]

i dont wanna see Munaf,Mithun should play instead,from wat i heard,he bowls at pace n an trouble batsmen if the wicket is conducive.

[ZodiaC]

Very tricky actually.. 2 spinners 2 seamers combination would be fine, but who'd be ideal as the second spinner? Of course Ojha should do fine, but then we'll have too many offies, even our part timers are offies. Still I'd persist with Ojha as he's in better form than Mishra.

[Lord]

Very tricky actually.. 2 spinners 2 seamers combination would be fine' date=' but who'd be ideal as the second spinner? Of course Ojha should do fine, but then we'll have too many offies, even our part timers are offies. Still I'd persist with Ojha as he's in better form than Mishra.[/quote'] agree.i would've liked to play Mishra,since he brings variation in the attack.but Ojha did well n should play.thats one positive hopefully of warmup game.if itwasnt there then Mishra was a certainty.hope it pays off

[diegovegaz]

where's the ishant, munaf, bhajji, mishra option?