India tour of New Zealand 2014

[cricketman]

Look, let me preface this by saying i'm no Jadeja fan. I just think he is a useful player in our XI. Jadeja bats at number 7/8 and doesn't have the opportunities to come in and get big scores (in fact there have only been 10 centuries scored at number 7 in the history of ODI cricket - http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?batting_positionmax1=7;batting_positionmin1=7;batting_positionval1=batting_position;class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=hundreds;template=results;type=batting) And I think your last point is invalid because in this last game Jadeja did in fact come in at 170/6 or whatever and helped us get to 314.

[gattaca]

what a hypocrite. Wasn't he the one asking for green pitches earlier ?

[Lord]

what a hypocrite. Wasn't he the one asking for green pitches earlier ?

[Ultimate_Game]

Look, let me preface this by saying i'm no Jadeja fan. I just think he is a useful player in our XI. Jadeja bats at number 7/8 and doesn't have the opportunities to come in and get big scores (in fact there have only been 10 centuries scored at number 7 in the history of ODI cricket - http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?batting_positionmax1=7;batting_positionmin1=7;batting_positionval1=batting_position;class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=hundreds;template=results;type=batting) And I think your last point is invalid because in this last game Jadeja did in fact come in at 170/6 or whatever and helped us get to 314.

My point was that Jadeja bats at a higher spot in List A cricket and still his highest score is 78 so how can he take over the #7 spot? I don't expect a no. 7 to score a 100 but he should at least have the potential to do so and at the very least take the team to a respectable total if he comes in 120 or 130 odd for 5. I don't see Jadeja do that in the WC on Aus pitches. To me he's more a #8 and right now if I have to pick between Ashwin and Jadeja I would go with Jadeja coz he's a better bowler and a better fielder.

[ThePhenomenal1]

Considering all the discussion above, I still say that if BOTH Ashwin and Jadeja are to play in the ODI xi, then ashwin ought to bat at six, allowing a quality seam-allrounder if we find one, and jadeja, to bat at 7/8 depending. That gives us opportunity to have 4 seam options and 2 spin options. 4 seam options are a must in overseas conditions considering the wc. If ashwin can bat like he did the other day, he gives solidity and someone who can make the needed runs in partnership. Then u have 7/8 being hitters who can hopefully finish things. That doesn't even consider who the top 5 batsmen are which ought to be Dhawan, Rohit/Pujara, Kohli, Rayudu, Dhoni

[Ultimate_Game]

Considering all the discussion above, I still say that if BOTH Ashwin and Jadeja are to play in the ODI xi, then ashwin ought to bat at six, allowing a quality seam-allrounder if we find one, and jadeja, to bat at 7/8 depending. That gives us opportunity to have 4 seam options and 2 spin options. 4 seam options are a must in overseas conditions considering the wc. If ashwin can bat like he did the other day, he gives solidity and someone who can make the needed runs in partnership. Then u have 7/8 being hitters who can hopefully finish things. That doesn't even consider who the top 5 batsmen are which ought to be Dhawan, Rohit/Pujara, Kohli, Rayudu, Dhoni

1. The tail with Ashwin at 6 would be too long. 2. How Rayudu managed to get on the list of Top 5 batsmen is baffling to say the least given his domestic performances. Rayudu should not even be in the squad unless we are talking T20s.

[Pagalpanti]

Yeah well they beat us on flat decks 2-0 in 3 games, so he's out taking all the credit. If they had lost bet he'd have a whine about giving favours to visiting team while they don't get

[ThePhenomenal1]

1. The tail with Ashwin at 6 would be too long. 2. How Rayudu managed to get on the list of Top 5 batsmen is baffling to say the least given his domestic performances. Rayudu should not even be in the squad unless we are talking T20s.

Top 5 as in the top order, not top 5 batsmen in country. Don't wish to debate on that but i feel rayudu has earned a spot in the xi And ashwin, if he can bat like the other day, could justify his place there. But yeah, could be a long tail. Depends on who 7 and 8 are, need clean hitters. Jaddu could be 1, then maybe binny/rishi

[yoda]

As of two days ago Ashwin was a big part of the problem, after one game he has become THE solution to all our problems. :giggle:

[rkt.india]

"Eden Park does not look that green. Drop-in pitches are never green as it is and they always do something on their own. We don't give orders as such but we are pretty clear about what sort of pitches we want. But there is also a certain risk involved in that as well considering how good the Indian seamers are," said Hesson.

Here is a green drop in pitch.

[rkt.india]

Ashwin and Jdeja are no. 8s. Just because they scored in the previous game doesn't make them specialist batsmen. Even likes of Kumble & Srinath had a magic partnership in 90s against Aus where they won a lost game for us' date=' and even likes of Bhajji & Zaheer have occasionally managed a match altering partnership but it doesn't make them specialist batsmen or even all-rounders.[/quote'] Did anyone of them have 2 test 100s, one 90 in their first 20 tests batting at #8?

[Detonator]

Drop ashwin in ODI's. If he improves his bowling, he can win matches more often with the ball than with his bat.

[rkt.india]

Drop ashwin in ODI's. If he improves his bowling' date=' he can win matches more often with the ball than with his bat.[/quote'] His bowling is innocuous and doubt it will improve much it until he starts turning his off spinner. To me, he is one of the best batsman we have right now after Kohli and Pujara and can easily take Raina's spot who is failing to bat for longer periods.

[Switchblade]

I'm in best frame of mind: Ravichandran Ashwin http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/india-in-new-zealand-2014/top-stories/Im-in-best-frame-of-mind-Ravichandran-Ashwin/articleshow/29441137.cms He might be going through a lean patch with the ball but Ravichandran Ashwin contributed with the bat in Auckland and the Indian all-rounder said he is very comfortable with his cricket right now and is in best frame of mind ahead of the fourth ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday. Ashwin's maiden ODI half-century, which came while batting at number seven along with Ravindra Jadeja, helped India snatch a tie at Eden Park in the third ODI to stay alive in the five-match series. "It was a good opportunity presented to me in terms of batting higher up the order. You do not often get so many overs to bat in the current Indian line-up. They always do the job of getting the runs. I got enough overs that day and I thought to just bat the way I bat in a Test match and look for runs all the time. It helped me out in the end," said Ashwin. "This is probably the best frame of mind I have been in," he added, negating a lack of wickets in recent times. "I have locked away a few things. I am not reading articles or listening to what people are saying about me. It doesn't make sense. I had a tour of South Africa which was quite a learning curve for me. I have decided if I am giving my best that is all I can do. I just locked myself out. "I spoke to (MS) Dhoni about a couple of things, to the coach and had chats with a few people I trust. I thought things were going alright. It can happen, you cannot keep taking wickets or making runs all the time. The frame of mind I was in helped me perform the way I did," Ashwin said. Ashwin bowled Corey Anderson in that third ODI in Auckland, and that was his first wicket in 78.3 lean overs across all formats of international cricket. His last wicket prior to this had come in the Durban ODI against South Africa, wherein he had dismissed Quinton de Kock. "I am satisfied with how I am bowling. I have sorted out what length and what kind of bowling needs to be done. There are certain ways you need to construct a spell abroad away from India. I have learnt that and put that into practice," said Ashwin when asked about his lean patch with the ball. "You definitely tend to be targeted as a spinner away from home," Ashwin said about his role in the attack, talking about the impact of new fielding rules in ODIs. "With the five-fielder (in the circle) rule you can only look to give a single. You cannot err on both lengths. The batsman knows if you have your sweeper up, you are not going to err on the shorter side so you are giving away some clues to the batsman in terms of what field you are setting, and you cannot be foolish enough to try and fool the batsman. They are going to look for boundaries. You have to be really smart and try and make sure you do what the team requires." In the last couple of seasons, Ashwin has become a valuable asset with bat and ball. Despite a lean phase in terms of wickets, he has become an important member of the side especially when they are under pressure. It was amply demonstrated by the way Ashwin batted in the third one-dayer in Auckland. Ashwin said he has put in a lot of hard work on his batting. "I bat in both formats of the game in much the same way, taking into consideration the situation every time I go out to bat. In a Test it is different - you either walk into a tough situation or 300 for 6. It is the situation I play and it is not very different in ODIs," he said. "It is easier to get runs in a one-day game, you do not have many men behind the bat, you have spread out fields. You can always compensate in a one-day game as you do not have five fielders outside the circle. "I was used to batting up the order, taking my time, playing shots along the ground. But definitely over the last year or so I have put in a lot of effort I have made a few technical changes. It is coming out really well. I wasn't surprised with the way I batted in Auckland, because I was hitting a few in practice sessions as well," he explained. Focus now shifts to the penultimate match of the series, again at Hamilton, wherein India will be keen to win their first game of the tour. "There was a bit of rain around here for the second ODI. The ball was sticking around more than other places. By far Auckland has been the best batting wicket, along with Napier. Hamilton was a little bit slow, but we do not expect it to be slow this time," Ashwin said, of his team's expectations for the upcoming ODI. "We have just not been at the best of our games, yet they have all been very close. In Hamilton we were struggling, we were up against it, the D/L method did not help us but we still managed to pull off a game that was quite close. "We have been fighting hard till the end and things have not gone our way. That is the best point we can take forward from this in terms of saying we have not struck our best game yet," he signed off.

[Rebel Agent]

Rohit, Raina need to be dropped, can't believe Raina is still in the team, the guy gets scared when the ball bounces about the knees. Rohit has no clue when it comes to batting overseas when he bats overseas it looks like all his shots are rushed or he does not know what to do and just slogs. Or how about Rahane opening, Ashwin at 4?

[adi B]

Thank God the Lankan selectors did not apply the same yardstick after Marvan Atapattu's start to his test career. Here were his first 6 scores in test cricket - 0,0,0,1,0&0. :phehehe: Shikhar is an attacking batsmen. He's going to have some extremely good days and some extremely bad days. Gotto perserve though.

lol attapattu was not that special,he had an avg of 38 odd iirc so its not like he fully justified the selectors..regarding the one,he surely deserves more chances in tests

[SLICKR392]

I heard someone pointing out that Raina could bowl Ashwin's quota and play as an all rounder, but as RKT said the same could be done with Ashwin. Ashwin could bat at #5-#6 and have a Rahul.S or Rasool as a primary spinner.

[diga]

Sunil Subramaniam, who coaches R Ashwin, on his pupil

"There is no body in his action," Sunil almost shrieks in pain. "He is just bowling from his hands. This guy is putting absolutely no body into his bowling. How can you expect to take wickets? He has lost his way a bit." What does using the body during the release mean? Sunil breaks it down further. "The right leg has to come side-on and the distance between both the legs should be the extent of his shoulders. And once he gets into that position, he then has to make vigorous use of the trunk of his body. His core. The body has to go through vigorously through the action. It's such a vital thing." And what does it exactly do? "If you use the body, the trajectory of the ball varies a bit. There is a nice parabola to it." What if, like Ashwin now, one doesn't get that body into the action? "If you don't use the body, the ball will still fall in the same place (as when you are using the body) but see it's all about how the ball arrives at the other end." The phone crackles with Sunil's excitement. "The parabola will make the batsman think. The arc of the ball - from down to up and then the dip - is what gets the batsman. He then can't just pick it off the hand - as batsmen are now doing it with Ashwin - and just get ready to smash. He has to clearly watch the trajectory of the ball and then there is the chance of getting out." What is Ashwin doing now? "Now he is all about just Newton's law!" Er... explain. "If you release it from here it's going to fall here. It's one straight flat trajectory - there is no loop - and the batsmen do not have to worry about getting beaten in the air. The problem has always been the body into action. He is now just dependent on the strength of his shoulders and fingers. The body isn't there at all in his action." Sunil is also upset at Ashwin's roundthe-stumps tactics these days. "He is just going round the stumps and firing it. That's not going to help him. He has his reasons but I am convinced if you are going around the stumps, then you have to get it out side off and turn it in from there. You have to get it across the body of the batsman. But you can't just fire it in - it comes in the way of rhythm. And it's not as if he is stopping the runs, is he?"

:--D

[King Tendulkar]

I remeber when we used to play 7 front line batters and only 4 bowlers. 5th bowler allocation taken up by part timers. We still conceded less runs:hysterical:

[Old guy]

I remeber when we used to play 7 front line batters and only 4 bowlers. 5th bowler allocation taken up by part timers. We still conceded less runs:hysterical:

Totally different rules back then now u need proper 5 bowlers