Munaf Patel Out of Second Test

[Karan114]

Munaf likely to play second Test: Dhoni S. DINAKAR India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the team would seriously consider playing Munaf Patel as the third pacemen in the second Test. He said "3-1 (three pacemen and one spinner) does not look a bad option to be honest." Asked about India not winning a single Test at this venue, Dhoni said, "We will try to start something that has not been started. We will stick to the basics. We have been practising quite hard, putting in that extra effort." On the areas the team needs to improve upon, Dhoni said, "It is a longer format and you do not want to make too many errors on the field. We also need to get rid of the tail quickly. The last wicket pair batted for a longer period than what we would have liked on the fourth day of the first Test." The Indian skipper felt the pace bowlers might don a crucial role in the Test. "Adapting to these conditions will be the key. It’s believed that compared to other pitches in the Caribbean, this one has more bounce. So you have to bowl a fuller length if you want to have a batsman bowled or leg before wicket." He added, "Ishant has played a lot of Test matches and he’s got different ideas against different batsmen. He tries to put pressure on the opposition all the time. He and Praveen Kumar form an ideal combination. Because one is swinging the ball and the other is a back-of-the-length bowler." Dhoni was pleased with the performance of the youngsters. "The way the guys have conducted themselves on and off the field has been big positive. I think they are learning a lot out of these games. They should not put too much pressure on themselves because it is Test cricket. They should relax mentally and enjoy their cricket." He felt the scoring-rate could increase on a sporting track with true bounce. "The ball will be coming on the bat and the bowlers will need to bowl in the right areas. Otherwise, the game can get away from you in half-a-session. Scoring was a lot harder in the first Test where the surface had inconsistent bounce." On off-spinner Harbhajan Singh being just four short of the 400-wicket-mark in Tests, Dhoni said. "He has been the pick of our bowlers. He leads the spin department and is doing really well. And he is an aggressive character. Whenever you need a breakthrough or need someone to be aggressive on the field, you will always find Harbhajan very eager to go after the opposition." About his rapidly improving record as captain, Dhoni said, " I am fortunate to have a good bunch of players. Irrespective of of whether I am leading the Indian cricket team in any format or captaining my franchise in the IPL or the Champions League, how the players respond and adapt to your strategy is important. The players have always given more than 100 per cent on the field." http://www.thehindu.com/sport/article2138602.ece

[mishra]

3-1 means Mishra not in the team. Little harsh i guess

[Sidhoni]

Not a bad decision given the bounce of the pitch, My XI:- VJ/Patel Mukund Dravid Kohli/Badri Laxman Raina MSD Harby PK Munaf Ishu.

[asterix]

On off-spinner Harbhajan Singh being just four short of the 400-wicket-mark in Tests, Dhoni said. "He has been the pick of our bowlers. He leads the spin department and is doing really well. And he is an aggressive character. Whenever you need a breakthrough or need someone to be aggressive on the field, you will always find Harbhajan very eager to go after the opposition."

I agree with most of the things Dhoni says about Bhajji except few things..Whenever he needs a breackthrough, Raina is the man, not Bhajji..

[urbestfriend]

Dropping Mishy is very harsh...He never got a good run in the side , always plays one or two games and get dropped.

[Temujin Khaghan]

dropping a leggie for an extra offspinner? they could have taken ashwin instead, he has a shorter run up compared to munaf

[ganeshran]

Ashwin has to do more to be considered for tests. I say lets go with Mishra

[J P K]

I am fortunate to have a good bunch of players. :hatsoff: Dhoni said. "He has been the pick of our bowlers. He leads the spin department and is doing really well. why is he lying :wall::wall::wall:

[Fontaine]

Dropping Mishra is not harsh. He was lucky to even get the few measely tail enders out. His bowling was garbage.

[VRV Singh]

Must say I can't say I expected PK and Munna to lead our Test attack at any point..:woot: Expecting Nehra to make a comeback now.

[Stuge]

So ,we will see MUNNI KA jalwa again

[cowboysfan]

Must say I can't say I expected PK and Munna to lead our Test attack at any point..:woot: Expecting Nehra to make a comeback now.

He has given up on test cricket.

[J P K]

He has given up on test cricket.

http://www.crichotline.com/ashish-nehra-aims-for-test-cricket-comeback/ :hmmm:

[cowboysfan]

http://www.crichotline.com/ashish-nehra-aims-for-test-cricket-comeback/ :hmmm:

My bad,its unlikey he would even be in consideration.

[Karan114]

He hasn't even played an FC game in 2.5 years. At 32, he is nearing the end even in ODIs.

[Ram]

This change was a long time coming. In fact, but for Munna’s injury, the attack for the first test would have been Ishant+Munna+Mish+Bhajji. If we want to stretch this a little further, but for Mishra’s unexpected good showing in the ODIs, our first attack would have been the 3+1 combo (Ishant, Munna, PK and Bhajji) But the sheer ineptness of the Windies batsmen against Mishra in particular and the spinners in general (they looked absolutely clueless against Ajmal in the test series against Pakistan), meant the Indian think-tank had to try out Mishra in the tests. But the Windies batsmen have been surprisingly good against him. Lets not forget – Munna was one of our heroes of the landmark 2006 series win in the Windies. He bowled superbly in that series and was one of the main architects of our win.

[kabira]

Bit harsh on Mishra, he could easily got more wickets, he bowled better than Bhajji. and catches were dropped off him.

[ShebbySB]

Whoever thinks that Munaf is a spinner should think twice coz that means he's reffering McGrath,Pollock,Kapil Dev,Botham as spinners.I'm not saying Munna is in the same bracket with these legends but pacewise he's quite similar......Medium-Fast.We all know that when he 1st came in the scene he was fast,could easily bowl 140+ but he's body is not capable of bowling fast for a longer period of time so he has slowed down for his own good though still he can crank it upto high 130s.As long as he is effective & picking up wickets pace really doesn't matter.He is 6"3 so he can extract good bounce,he is very consistent with his line & length & he can move the ball both ways off the seam so he's got enough firepower in his arsenal to be a potent bowler.Those legends above have proved that for a long period of time that speed is not necessary to pick up wickets when u got the skill.(McGrath,Pollock,KapilPaji,Botham all were 125-130k bowler so they were also Medium-fast).

[deepak_sach]

Munaf Patel Out of Second Test In cricinfo the preview article confirmed that Munaf Patel is out of second test due to elbow injury and could not recover after bowling in the nets. So mithun is likely to play the match.

[Stuge]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/current/story/520988.html NO munni