Rhodes backs Indian batsmen to fire in SA

[Bleed-Blue]

Jonty Rhodes, the former South Africa cricketer, has backed India’s batsmen to counter the vaunted South African pace attack when India tour that country at the end of the year. India are scheduled to play three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals during their tour of South Africa, which begins with a warm-up match against a South African Invitation XI side on November 18. South Africa are currently the highest-ranked side in Test cricket and in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, they boast arguably the best pace attack in the world. With the Indian batsmen expected to put through an acid test, Rhodes said the longevity of their duration at the crease was key. “Playing a Test series in South Africa is always difficult for a team from the subcontinent,†Rhodes told Press Trust of India. “South Africa are the No. 1 ranked Test team currently. India have struggled a bit in the last year and a half. “The key to doing well in South Africa is to bat long. There is bounce in the wicket. Even if you win the first session of the day, you could still be bowled out at the end of the day. You have to bat well in all three sessions.†But Rhodes believed Indian batsmen had the quality to do just that. “India has a team that is capable,†he said. “Shikhar (Dhawan), Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, all these guys are used to batting for long periods of time. That will be the key when they tour South Africa.†The Indian Premier League (IPL) has exposed the Indian batsmen to searing pace, and Rhodes said that would prove significant during the tour. “In the IPL, they are playing against the South Africans and Australians,†he said. “They have a lot more confidence playing against them. They have the ability and the skill and are not afraid of the pace. “Dale Steyn is fast but he is not going to kill you. Vernon Philander bowls 130 kmph but he bowls in good areas and Morne Morkel gets bounce. It needs different skills to face those three different bowlers, but the Indian line-up certainly has the ability to outclass the South African pace attack if they put their minds to it.†Rhodes heaped praise on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India captain, and Kohli, saying they were vital to the team’s hopes. “Kohli is a very strong player and he accumulates runs very quickly,†said Rhodes. “He will be a real dangerman in South Africa and don’t forget the captain batting down the order. He scores runs at a fast rate and is not afraid of the short ball. “That is going to be another key in South Africa, the guys who pull and cut. Kohli and Dhoni play very well off the back foot. I have only watched Dhoni during IPL and watched how smart he is. He has got a great record in winning matches and tough contests. He is street smart. His batting is definitely not traditional. “Every time he brings in a bowler, every time a new batsman comes to the crease, he has got a specific plan for that. I have great respect for the way he has led the team in the last four seasons.â€

[Detonator]

Is that a provocation?

[b555]

call what you may bro

[MCcricket]

Dhawan , Virat, Rohit, Pujara, have the means to be successful in SA, IF SELECTORS MAKE THE RIGHT MOVE, WE CAN DRAW OR WIN A TEST OR SERIES, KEY IS FITNESS OF OUR BOWLERS, will be a test for Vijay and what about Sachin if he is out who will play.

[vamos_rafa]

Dhawan ' date=' Virat, Rohit, Pujara, have the means to be successful in SA, IF SELECTORS MAKE THE RIGHT MOVE, WE CAN DRAW OR WIN A TEST OR SERIES, KEY IS FITNESS OF OUR BOWLERS, will be a test for Vijay and what about Sachin if he is out who will play.[/quote'] Sachin is definitely going to play bro.

[SLICKR392]

Is that a provocation?

Not in my caste. :vroam: @Topic On a swinging wicket last year in IPL against MI (the one where he bowled Levi 1st ball), Steyn was unplayable to both Sachin and Rohit. Rohit looked clueless against him. Conditions are going to be the same in SA.

[kubrickian]

Not in my caste. :vroam: @Topic On a swinging wicket last year in IPL against MI (the one where he bowled Levi 1st ball), Steyn was unplayable to both Sachin and Rohit. Rohit looked clueless against him. Conditions are going to be the same in SA.

Comparing T20 to Tests ? :wall: In T20, you just have to swing at every ball. No time to settle in and judge the wicket. That's why wickets are flat. If ball is swinging, do you expect batsmen to bat 20 overs and score 60 for no loss ?

[Detonator]

Not in my caste. :vroam:

:bumsmack:

[SLICKR392]

Comparing T20 to Tests ? :wall: In T20' date=' you just have to swing at every ball. No time to settle in and judge the wicket. That's why wickets are flat. If ball is swinging, do you expect batsmen to bat 20 overs and score 60 for no loss ?[/quote'] Where did I compare? Rohit couldn't put bat to ball to save his life. IIRC, it wasn't a big score and they were looking to play out Steyn. Vijay went the first or second ball after Starc started swinging it in with the new ball and a collapse followed with Siddle being the leader of it. Cape Town's our best shot to level the series. I wouldn't say our batting line up can't stand up to their pace attack. Young Pak batsmen managed to score 100s (Azhar and Shezad, I'm not sure), why can't we?

[rkt.india]

Where did I compare? Rohit couldn't put bat to ball to save his life. IIRC, it wasn't a big score and they were looking to play out Steyn. Vijay went the first or second ball after Starc started swinging it in with the new ball and a collapse followed with Siddle being the leader of it. Cape Town's our best shot to level the series. I wouldn't say our batting line up can't stand up to their pace attack. Young Pak batsmen managed to score 100s (Azhar and Shezad, I'm not sure), why can't we?

You dont need to put bat to ball in tests on every ball. You can leave and Rohit has done well even more difficult wickets than that recently in that regard.

[SLICKR392]

You dont need to put bat to ball in tests on every ball. You can leave and Rohit has done well even more difficult wickets than that recently in that regard.

He was beaten 4-5 times in a row against Steyn. It was the same story against Zimbabwe yesterday, beaten a lot of times and ended up nicking one. Barely looks confident with all those runs behind him.

[kubrickian]

He was beaten 4-5 times in a row against Steyn. It was the same story against Zimbabwe yesterday' date=' beaten a lot of times and ended up nicking one. Barely looks confident with all those runs behind him.[/quote'] Why do you keep bringing back that T20 game ? Do you take T20 and IPL that seriously ? What about all the innings he played in CT and West Indies tri series ? I dont understand the point you're trying to make. He more than deserves a place in test side. Do you expect someone like Bradman or Wally Hammond with the most perfect technique and skills to come from our domestic cricket and walk into the side and score centuries upon centuries ?

[SLICKR392]

Why do you keep bringing back that T20 game ? Do you take T20 and IPL that seriously ? What about all the innings he played in CT and West Indies tri series ? I dont understand the point you're trying to make. He more than deserves a place in test side. Do you expect someone like Bradman or Wally Hammond with the most perfect technique and skills to come from our domestic cricket and walk into the side and score centuries upon centuries ?

Is T20 some sort of grade 2 cricket? Its turning out to be a bit of cliche, when you point out a player's performance against a certain bowler in T20, the counter usually is- why take it seriously? How about stopping the 500M dash because it is too short compared to the 1000 M. I'm not comparing T20 with any format here but how vaguely he played Steyn. That's what the whole topic is about. Jhonty was picking out our batsmen's performance in IPL and judging them based on that for the SA series. So am I. I agee he did well in tough conditions and performed well in the CT but that guy is not sure yet about himself. Something that Rahane lacks as well, confidence. He isn't going to make any big scores and neither is he going to score runs in Test cricket with this sort of game.

[G_B_]

more than cape town, for some reason we always do well in durban

[kubrickian]

Is T20 some sort of grade 2 cricket? Its turning out to be a bit of cliche, when you point out a player's performance against a certain bowler in T20, the counter usually is- why take it seriously? How about stopping the 500M dash because it is too short compared to the 1000 M. I'm not comparing T20 with any format here but how vaguely he played Steyn. That's what the whole topic is about. Jhonty was picking out our batsmen's performance in IPL and judging them based on that for the SA series. So am I. I agee he did well in tough conditions and performed well in the CT but that guy is not sure yet about himself. Something that Rahane lacks as well, confidence. He isn't going to make any big scores and neither is he going to score runs in Test cricket with this sort of game.

Let's wait and see how he does when he gets the opportunity in tests, shall we ? You are just assuming a lot of things and aiming to discredit someone without any real basis.

[SLICKR392]

Let's wait and see how he does when he gets the opportunity in tests' date=' shall we ? You are just assuming a lot of things and aiming to discredit someone without any real basis.[/quote'] I am not discreditting him and have always felt he will do well in Test but he is got to be more sure about himself and his game.

[rkt.india]

He was beaten 4-5 times in a row against Steyn. It was the same story against Zimbabwe yesterday' date=' beaten a lot of times and ended up nicking one. Barely looks confident with all those runs behind him.[/quote'] Every batsman gets beaten when ball starts swinging or seaming that is not a big deal. Thing is how do you grind and make sure you stay there and try to play less risky shots and he is doing that since he has started opening. He has looked scratchy bu that because pitches have had something in them for seamer early on and his job has been to see the new ball off which he has done till now. Even yesterday though I was unhappy the way he batted and got out but it can happen. One cannot score in every innings. He needs to show a bit more intent in scoring runs.

[SLICKR392]

Every batsman gets beaten when ball starts swinging or seaming that is not a big deal. Thing is how do you grind and make sure you stay there and try to play less risky shots and he is doing that since he has started opening. He has looked scratchy bu that because pitches have had something in them for seamer early on and his job has been to see the new ball off which he has done till now. Even yesterday though I was unhappy the way he batted and got out but it can happen. One cannot score in every innings. He needs to show a bit more intent in scoring runs.

Agreed. He needs to show some intent. That 80 odd against England was brilliant and the new ball was doing a bit. He is versatile in stroke making but that could be executed only if he has some intent in scoring runs. Matter of fact, he was beaten by some good deliveries against Zimbabwe.

[KFC_Zinger]

Can we make 270+ consistently and keep taking 15+ wickets in every test.... Thats a bare minimum but can we do it ????

[G_B_]

270 is not going to be enough. Way i see it we need to make 600 over 2 innings and we will be competitive.