The African Safari: Make or break test series

[ravishingravi]

I won't pick Raina for SA. He seems like a sitting duck for those conditions esp. considering that he has been unable to play shot ball on Indian pitches. Tendulkar sehwag gambhir dravid laxman Pujara Kohli/Vijay Dhoni Karthik Zaheer Ishant Sree Bhajji Nehra ( considering the conditions ) Ojha

[Chandan]

I won't pick Raina for SA. He seems like a sitting duck for those conditions esp. considering that he has been unable to play shot ball on Indian pitches. Tendulkar sehwag gambhir dravid laxman Pujara Kohli/Vijay Dhoni KarthikZaheer Ishant Sree Bhajji Nehra ( considering the conditions ) Ojha

Which world are you living in? These guys are not even in the squad! This is the test squad we are discussing in this thread which will play three tests in SA. Did you even see what the squad is?

[vaibhav_delhi]

Sresanth is in superb form these day. Got to say, when he gets it right, its great to watch him bowl.

[vayuu1]

The African Safari: Make or break test series as the first huge challenge awaits india in the form of africa,one has to realise the difficult task ahead for this no 1 team and how important it is to conquer the mighty africans in their own backyard for the undisputed tag,that is for every to see,i know threads had been made about predications and individual performance, but like lord krishna says u can't change past,u can't look into future,what u can change is present and cricket afterall is a team game,so if india has to defeat one of their worst fear ,the tendulkar's, the dravid's the sehwag's and gambhir's ,bhajji's and zak's have to take back seat and team india has to lead from the front ,this is as important as world cup ,so let the battle begain its time to make or break,like thakur said "loha garam hai mar do hathoda".

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Biswal to manage Team India in South Africa Former national selector and first class cricketer Ranjib Biswal has been appointed as the manager of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming tour of South Africa starting December 16. More...

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Kirsten, four players leave for SA Five members of the Indian cricket team for South Africa, including dashing opener Virender Sehwag, left in advance for the tour. More... Monday 6th December 2010 Kirsten, four players leave for SA Five members of the Indian cricket team for South Africa, including dashing opener Virender Sehwag, left in advance for the tour. "Virender Sehwag, Umesh Yadav, Jaidev Unadkat, Cheteshwar Pujara and coach Gary Kirsten departed to South Africa by an early morning flight," a BCCI source told PTI. The next group, which is expected to include captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, might depart on December 8, the source added. India is scheduled to play a three-match Test series commencing on December 16 followed by a One-Day International series against the host there.

[Ram]

Cant wait. This is probably our best team, with our best coach, in the best frame of mind the players have been in, as a group. The Saffies are really good team though and they especially raise their game against us.

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"It's big to bowl to Tendulkar" : Paul Harris South African spinner Paul Harris is looking forward to bowl to Tendulkar during the Test series starting December 16 at Centurion. More... Thursday 9th December 2010 "It's big to bowl to Tendulkar" South African spinner Paul Harris is looking forward to bowl to Tendulkar during the Test series starting December 16 at Centurion. Harris dismissed Tendulkar twice out of three times in the two-Test series in India earlier this year. "It's a really big thing for me to bowl at him because who would have thought a boy from Kommetjie (near Cape Town) would bowl against Tendulkar," Harris told ESPNcricinfo. "What's even better is that I think the score between us is quite even: I've got him out a few times and he's scored a few runs against me," he said. Harris said his primary job would be to contain the big hitters but hoped that the Indian batsmen would go after him as it would increase his chances of bagging a wicket. "I'm comfortable in a holding role. If Dale (Steyn) and Morne (Morkel) are getting us wickets and winning the match then I'm ok with keeping things tight at the other end. In Durban, in particular, that will be my job," Harris said. "The Indian batsmen have done well against spin which means I will probably have to set more defensive fields for them. "I hope they attack me. It was very frustrating against Pakistan when they didn't play a shot against me. If they take me on, there's more chance that I'll get a wicket," he added. Harris made his Test debut against India in 2007 in Cape Town. He has played 34 Tests so far and has taken 99 wickets at an average of 36.8.

[Fontaine]

Bear Baiting at it's dumbest.

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Morkel to spice it up for India More... Morkel to spice it up for India 2010-12-14 Centurion - South African fast bowler Morne Morkel said on Tuesday that he was looking forward to bowling against India's star-studded batting line-up on his home ground when the first Test starts at Centurion on Thursday. Morkel said he and new ball partner Dale Steyn had both played most of their first-class cricket at the SuperSport Park ground. With cloud and some rain expected over the next few days they were anticipating helpful, overcast conditions in the clash between the top two ranked Test nations. "Dale learnt his trade here and it is going to be special to be bowling with him on our home ground." Morkel said the South Africans had huge respect for India's batsmen, with openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag forming a "very dangerous" combination. "Not long ago Gautam was the number one batsman in the world and we all know how destructive Virender can be against the new ball," he said. Morkel acknowledged that most of the top Indians had become accustomed to playing in South African conditions because of their involvement in Indian Premier League and Champions League tournaments in the country. He also said the involvement of former South African batsman Gary Kirsten as India's coach was a big benefit for the tourists. "He's got all the insights in how to play on South African wickets, and Gary being with them preparing for the past week will have been a great help for them." But he warned that it would still be much tougher for India's batsmen than when they played at home. "It's a contest we are looking forward to. We all know that on South African wickets the ball tends to bounce a little bit longer where in India we only have five overs or so (to strike) with the new ball." Although the Centurion pitch has not been as helpful to fast bowlers in recent years as it was before, Morkel cited his only domestic first-class match for the Titans this season. "We asked for a nice quick wicket and we bowled out the Warriors for 70. The pace and bounce was very good for the first three days, but later it became a good deck." Batsman Ashwell Prince agreed with Morkel that conditions were likely to be helpful for fast bowlers. "The weather forecast is not good and as long as there is rain about there will be moisture in the pitch. We are expecting the ball to do a bit." Prince said the South Africans respected the Indian bowling unit. "Their fast bowlers normally do very well in the sub-continent, which doesn't support fast bowling, so we expect them to do well in conditions that help them." He said off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was likely to take encouragement from the fact that England's Graeme Swann had done well in a series in South Africa last season. "Swann is now ranked the number one spinner in the world and I am sure Harbhajan will want to say something about that." The fact that India were ranked number one and South Africa were second "builds the game up", Prince said. He said that although batsmen might have to work hard for their runs, he said it was better for the team to be playing in conditions where the bowlers had a good chance to take 20 wickets.

[Roshanrocks]

Looks like all media reporters are camped outside the hotel rooms of the Saffers

[jusarrived]

"Their fast bowlers normally do very well in the sub-continent, which doesn't support fast bowling, so we expect them to do well in conditions that help them." rare , but nice to see some credit given to our pace bowlers

[Ramzz]

The Saffers, in trying to appear confident are putting pressure on themselves with these statements. We all know how well they choke..err..I mean perform under pressure! Glad to see the Indian contingent not saying much. Just focusing on the preparations.

[jibranpatel15]

good to see South African players showing respect to the opposition and accepting the fact that Indianbowlers are also capable of bowling well under these condotions.

[achilles]

They should simply let the ball do the talking. By constantly mouthing against Virender Sehwag and the Indian batters, they are actually providing some extra motivation to our boys.

[fineleg]

Teams likely to win Toss and Bowl First at Centurion (overcast weather, rains) http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-india-2010/content/current/story/492782.html Rain has been a constant this week at Centurion Match may start late It seems certain that the match will get underway though. Fans may just have to wait a little longer than they initially thought. Overcast and rainy conditions have had many locals wondering who the Grinch who stole the Gauteng summer is, and why he has replaced it with a Cape Town winter. It has rained every day for the past week, some of the time in typical Highveld thunderstorm fashion, and at other times in drizzly, damp, depressing London-style. :cantstop: Whoever wins the toss is likely to bowl first if play is possible early on day one. Thursday's forecast is more of the same, but it is expected to clear by the evening. Friday and the weekend are predicted to be clear, sunny and beautiful, with the rain returning on Sunday evening, but making way for summer on Monday.

[fineleg]

If the pitch is a green style, pacy and moisture/cloud cover most of the time, not much for spinners, can India drop Bhajji and play with 4 seamers (due to the absence of ZK, otherwise ok to play 3+1spinner). Use Sehwag + Raina for spin relief and play SS+IS+UY+JU That way hopefully between UY+JU - there is some cover for ZK injury. Most likely we wont do this, because: 1. Bhajji may be able to utilize the bounce and can be useful in 2nd Inn 2. Bhajji can swing his bat 3. Sehwag does not bowl much (shoulder injury) 4. India traditionally goes in with one main spinner at least. But just throwing the thought out, in the panic of ZK injury :(( Pardon me if it sounds too out of the norm, but the thought came across!

[Bublu Bhuyan]