India's Tour to South Africa, 2013

[ruchi49]

India should bat first and bowlers have to do work hard dhoni have to show his power

[ruchi49]

i think batting order does not matter we have play good shots and score big

[I6MTW]

First of all it's raining hard. So there won't likely be a match.

[vvvslaxman]

Makes sure we score atleast one run more than them

[tweaker]

Team for the 3rd odi Batting Dhawan Rohit Kohli Rahane Raina Rayuddu Dhoni Mohit Shami Ishant Yadav Bowling Yadav Shami Mohit Ishant Raina Kohli

[StriKe]

SA conditions not a problem for us: Rohit Sharma

CENTURION: Indian batsmen have been reeling under the onslaught of South African bowlers on bouncy wickets in the ongoing ODI series here but opener Rohit Sharma today dismissed talks of lack of technique and blamed the debacle to want of application. Rohit said the South African conditions were not a problem for his side's batsmen and the fault lay mainly in the lack of big partnerships, which he said has resulted in the visitors already losing the three-match series after back-to-back defeats. "Last game in Durban, the conditions were pretty much similar to what we get in India. There was a bit of bounce, but as a batsman you need to understand that you are playing in South Africa. It is really up to each individual how they tackle it, understand their game and adjust accordingly and know what shots to be played on these kind of pitches," said Rohit at the match-eve press conference ahead of the third and final ODI here tomorrow. "What are missing are partnerships. Over the last year, we have maintained good partnerships and it is not happening here. We need to get one 100-run partnership and a couple of 50-run partnerships. That is not happening, but I am sure we have one more game and hopefully the batsmen will step up and take the responsibility," he said. Rohit said the team was looking for a better show in the third ODI here tomorrow. "The ball swings here more than in India. But we have played in England and in West Indies. Coach Duncan Fletcher has been telling us that this is the best to bat, once you are in. It is about understanding what shots you need to play," Rohit said. "We are here to compete and not have fun and just look around South Africa. Since the day we arrived here, we have wanted to prove a point. We tried our best, but unfortunately it did not work out. Tomorrow's game will give us an ideal opportunity. The bowlers will have to step up, and the batsmen will have to step up. We need to get together", he said. "The Test series will be a different ball game. We are not actually thinking about it right now. We are all focused on how to win this game," Rohit said. In the beginning, all the talk was about Indian bowling adjusting to the conditions and then trying to challenge the South African batsmen. Over the course of two ODIs, the focus has shifted from bowlers to the batsmen. While the bowlers redeemed themselves by restricting the Proteas to 280 in 49 overs in second ODI in Durban, the batsmen came a cropper even on a slower pitch than that at the Wanderers. "In Durban, the bowlers bowled really well, bowling good spells, both spinners and fast bowlers. We were supposed to chase 280. Our drawback in this series was we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, which is not going to help when chasing such targets. I feel those partnerships are crucial. If you keep losing wickets, there is not much you can do," Rohit said. "There is no excuse of being short on match practice. We have been playing continuously in the last three months or so," said Sharma, negating the favoured line of defence of the squad so far. "We just need to be aware of our shot selection, nothing else." Perhaps he has hit the nail on its head. India's best partnerships have come from lower down the order. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja added 50 runs for the sixth wicket at Wanderers. Dhoni put up 40 runs for the fifth wicket with Suresh Raina in Durban. In both instances, it was a case of too little too late, as the top-order collapse put chasing totals out of the question. But there was an argument in favour of the top-order trio of Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. They have been India's in-form batsmen over the past year and as such the middle order comprising of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh (and Ajinkya Rahane in Durban) has not scored the desired runs. "It is not that they are out of form. They are batting well whenever they have got changes. It is just that off late, our middle order hasn't got much time to bat in the middle," Rohit said, referring to the two ODI series at home, against Australia and West Indies. "Moreover, it is the responsibility of each and every individual, whoever is in needs to make sure he gets the team into a good position whether it is a top-order batsman or a middle-order batsman," he added.

Toi

[Yoda-esque]

Strange,He did not criticize the bowling

[vvvslaxman]

Wish you guys good luck. A long road ahead of you guys. There is no better place to learn things than in SA against angry south african fsat bowlers on green tops.

[King Tendulkar]

Funny things was in last odi all the batters looked comfortable and then from no were got out

[ThePhenomenal1]

I agree with Rohit. Look, this team is much better than what has been shown. They have their strengths and weaknesses and as long as they work on those and improve, we shouldn't be too worried. Rohit and Dhawan can get us a good partnership if they play GOOD shots and play out the new ball. Batting gets easier as shown by the lower order. Rahane needs a number of games, as does rayudu but i suspect raina will stay. Honestly speaking, i would get rayudu in place of raina because i don't think rayudu will get a test match and he's better than raina Bowlers: Umesh, shami, bhuvi/ishant. I thought ishant bowled decently well aside from a few bad balls. He bowled some good yorkers and we need that. We should bat first, set 250-300 and try to bowl them out. I felt sick watching dhoni use raina and kohli when SA were 70-0, he has no instincts or desire to attack and take wickets. That is one of our biggest problems. Good luck team india!

[Stuge]

lets hope whatever he is talking materialize somehow else as usual people will say "THEY FEAR SHORT ball "

[vvvslaxman]

lets hope whatever he is talking materialize somehow else as usual people will say "THEY FEAR SHORT ball "

Nasser Hussain won't be one of them anymore :cantstop:

[MCcricket]

In the second odi the batters looked good n then threw away the wicket well it is a fine line I liked it they were aggressive, it is our bowling that needs to be threatening and more tighter, I am sure on a longer tour we can match the SAFFERS and also win ODI SERIES, TEST MATCHES ARE A DIFFERNT THING THOUGH, BUT THIS IS THE BEST TALENT AROUND , AND I HAVE FAITH IN THE GUYS, DHONI IS MAKING THE RIGHT CHANGES AND TRYING TO CORRECT THINGS SO NO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SECOND ODI, Rohit, Dhawan, Pujara, Virat are world class and can bat anywhere in the world, it is a matter of time, just hope Umesh is persisted with and Ishant told to stop bowling like a medium pacer and amp it up to 140 plus

[CG]

We are here to compete and not have fun and just look around South Africa. Since the day we arrived here, we have wanted to prove a point. We tried our best, but unfortunately it did not work out. Tomorrow's game will give us an ideal opportunity. The bowlers will have to step up, and the batsmen will have to step up. We need to get together", he said.

Jibe at somebody:hehe:

[King Tendulkar]

you dare not criticise Dhoni or BCCI.. if you do' date=' you get pulled out of the commentary team .. Ask Danny Morrrison/Ian Chappell[/quote'] Its disgusting but no one seems to care much. If in a free media, dhoni would be getting raped for his stupidity and for his corrupt conflict of interests which may well be effecting team selction and tactics

[surajmal]

If they can split the test series, then I don't mind losing this ODI series 3-nil. Young Blood needed some experience. Blame BCCI, if you want to blame anyone, for a poorly scheduled series.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

Srini needs to be out of BCCI. He has already lost KSCA suppport after Kumble and co. left KSCA. He may llose RCA if Lalit Modi is elected President next week.

[skindia]

Margin of SA Victory in 3rd odi?? Ur views

[Pagalpanti]

150+ runs

[gslv]

150+