Brilliant: Same XI for 2nd TEST

[Bumper]

India obviously hasn't done any work on them and I wonder why their plan is so defensive. You can't compete with Australia being defensive. And if we know this, obviously our players must be knowing this too. Then?? What is the reason behind such a defensive start to the inning?? What the hell were India trying to do?

Kumble is an aggressive player. But am afraid, his moves as a captain are too conventional. He is doing it perhaps because we are playing Australia. But if we choke at Sydney, heads will roll for the 3rd test. Yuvraj's 169 meant we had to accomodate him. Jaffar's exploits at home, booked his spot as an opener. All this meant, Sehwag was kept out, who was our only hope in these conditions. Unless Ganguly or Sachin agrees to open, there is simply no other solution to this problem. We will be stuck with two one dimensional openers, who are also struggling for form. And if Kumble picks Bhajji again (which looks likely), god love this team! India has done well at Sydney in the last two series. This is really our best chance to come back into the series.

[talksport]

>>Yuvraj's 169 meant we had to accomodate him. We all talk about Aussie preparation and ruthlessness in selection etc.... But when it comes to that to India us fans ignore it.. 1.Katich was dropped after scoring a series saving century to save the series 2.India has no preparation at all and I give the benefit of that ( a big one) before slating them *** On another note how come Dravid is responsible for inspid performances by Ganguly after Tea ,Yuvraj and Dhoni .....when Aussies were moved to back foot by Tendu

[Rajan]

Chandan, If u recall, after the "shoulder before the wicket" dismissal of SRT, in that day's press conference, McGrath claimed that he had been practising that delivery in nets- a delivery which is pitched quite shortish on bouncer length but rising just stumps level when it reaches the batsman to decieve"- it was total BS.these are the mind games the aussie team plays with the indians. they did not have any answer when india beat them in india in 2001 at home. do u think they did not have plan a/b/c/d/e for every batsmen then? dont believe them. just hope our opening batsmen realise that there is another perspective to the art of batting- that is scoring more runs than the number of overs faced. once they do that , the middle order will breathe easy.

[beetle]

>>Yuvraj's 169 meant we had to accomodate him. We all talk about Aussie preparation and ruthlessness in selection etc.... But when it comes to that to India us fans ignore it.. 1.Katich was dropped after scoring a series saving century to save the series 2.India has no preparation at all and I give the benefit of that ( a big one) before slating them *** On another note how come Dravid is responsible for inspid performances by Ganguly after Tea ,Yuvraj and Dhoni .....when Aussies were moved to back foot by Tendu

Don't you know...dravid is the mumma duck and the rest are brainless ,helpless ducklings who follow him into a well.

[novpj]

I know that Gator--it was a rank bad ball, quite wide which should have been left alone by Sachin. But just see the two deliveries before that. Sachin missed to connect on both occasions and it is perhaps the mind set of the batsman that either he tries to play every ball on its merit, like Sachin was doing in England, or he tries to go after the bowler to knock him off his plans. Sachin was trying to go after Lee here, and perhaps Lee knew that Sachin would chase that wide ball. He slipped it there as a gamble where he could have been hammered or 4 or if the batsman beaten from the first two deliveries which were short, didn't get himself into position could edge behind. To Australia luck, the latter happened. I'd prefer that Sachin plays each ball on its merit instead of trying to dominate the bowlers.

You are reading too much in the dismissal. yes it was setup well but the main problem was not that Sachin was being agressive it was that he was not moving his feet. look at the dismissal - the ball was wide outside off but he doesnt move his backleg across at all - just reaches for it. The extra bounce is just an excuse frankly.

[fineleg]

Don't you know...dravid is the mumma duck and the rest are brainless ' date='helpless ducklings who follow him into a well.[/quote'] Good one Rads. :hysterical:

[Chandan]

..not sure if its posted already, juts saw on TV Same Team and YES, Rahul Dravid will open again, I hope he opens a lot this time

Rahul will open again but the XI won't be the same probably because Zaheer doubtful starter after a muscle pull Sydney (PTI): India were dealt a big blow ahead of the second cricket Test against Australia with pace spearhead Zaheer Khan rendered a doubtful starter following a muscle pull during net practice here on Tuesday. Team sources said that Zaheer picked up the injury during practice session and was taken to hospital for a scan. The team management will wait till Wednesday to take a final decision on his inclusion for the crucial Test at the SCG. "We will get a clear indication on how serious is the injury after the scan report comes. We will take a decision later on," the sources said. The team management has sounded out Irfan Pathan to be mentally prepared to take the field in case Zaheer fails to recover fully for the game. ---------------------------------------------- Pathan and RPS will open the bowling??? We'll be blown away by the Aussie batters this time!!And on top of that: Sehwag left out of the 13 players named for Sydney test Sydney (PTI): India have decided to persist with Rahul Dravid as opener despite his poor form as they go into the second cricket Test against Australia here on Wednesday with a question mark on the avaibility of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. Zaheer, a vital cog in India's bowling attack, suffered a muscle pull during the net session forcing the team management to wait till Wednesday to take a decision on his inclusion for the crucial game. Unfazed by Dravid's flop show in Melbourne where India crashed to one of their biggest Test defeats, the think tank has decided to persist with him as an opener by leaving out Virender Sehwag from the playing eleven. Many former cricketers had called for Sehwag's inclusion in the team but the Indians apparently are in no hurry to tinker with the batting line-up on a SCG track which was expected to provide some assistance to the quick bowlers. While the injury to Zaheer has come as a big blow for the jittery Indians, there was at least some good news for the visitors with Sourav Ganguly, who was down with high fever, having recovered fully. In case Zaheer does not recover, Irfan Pathan was likely to take his place in the playing eleven with the team management having sounded out the Baroda paceman to be mentally ready to take the field. The crushing 337-run defeat in the opening Test will no doubt have a demoralising effect on the visitors who need to put up an inspired show to stop Australia from equalling a record-breaking sequence of 16 consecutive Test wins. The Australians have opted to retain the same team that did duty in Melbourne, which means that the talented Shaun Tait will have to wait for his chance. Indian Skipper Anil Kumble stressed the need for his batsmen to break the shackles and play freely in the game. "It's very important to get partnerships. When we had that 60-70 run stand (between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly) it was fine. When we have a partnership, it's important to go on and make a big score," Kumble said. "I thought our batters were very uptight in Melbourne. They needed to play their natural game," he said. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, sounded confident and said his team had the momentum going into the match after the huge vicctory in Melbourne. "We have the momentum going but if we just sit back and expect it to happen, India is a good enough side to let the momentum going. It could cause us a headache," he cautioned. The Australian captain felt too much was being made about India's lack of preparation for this series having been granted just a solitary first class game. "I think too much is being made of it. They came after a three-Test series against Pakistan. They played on a track which was more suited to their style of playing," he said. "A lot is being made of India's batting but it was to the credit of our bowlers that we didn't let them have a lot of scoring opportunities," he added. Ricky Ponting's men have tasted blood and are chasing their 16th successive Test win which would put them at par with Steve Waugh's record shattering Australians of early 2000. All the batsmen, barring captain Ricky Ponting, ran themselves into some sort of form at the MCG but it was their bowling which caught the eye. Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson have made it an almost seamless transition in the post Glenn McGrath-Shane Warne era and are now quite adept at delivering blows even on pitches which are more like sub-continental tracks. Curator Tom Parker has predicted that the pitch would be more favourable for fast bowlers than it has ever been in the past. "I think we will see a lot of bounce and good carry in it. I do not see any gremlins in it. I expect it to be a very similar to the Ashes deck last year," Parker said. Teams Australia : Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Phil Jacques, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Hogg. India (from): Anil Kumble (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahinder Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma. Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson Match Referee: Mike Procter Hours of play (IST) : 5.00 am to 7.00 am, 7.40 am to 9.40 am, 10.00 am to 12.00 pm.

[Grim Reaper]

Why can't Sachin and Ganguly open?

[beetle]

Kumble will go down as the skipper who cut short the career of his long time teammate Rahul Dravid. If he doesn't care about dravid...dravid should tell him to take a hike.None of them need to do each other any friendly favours.

[beetle]

Why can't Sachin and Ganguly open?

When did they ever put up their hands in the past?

[Grim Reaper]

If they did, would they be good openers?

[beetle]

Sachin would be.....technically he is as good as dravid...in good form and would have been the aggressive partner to jaffer.

[The Outsider]

Please drop Yuvraj and play our middle order in their comfortable slots. They are our only hope of salvaging something from the series, so give them their preferred positions.

[Anakin]

When did they ever put up their hands in the past?

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: It was SCG who insisted on opening on possibly the flattest track in the planet, but of course RD didn't let him. Now that the opponents have changed, so has the tune it seems.

[jai_brooklyn]

As usual all the talk is about the batting. Understandable, considering the debacle that happened at the MCG. But what about the bowling? Yes, they bowled well for a mediocre bowling side. Now, with Zaheer probably not playing will it be Irfan? Great, Irfan and RPS. I'm sure the Aussies are shaking in their boots. RP is only a 4th seamer on any other team. And what's with Sreesanth undergoing Ayurvedic treatment? I have nothing against Ayurveda, but I don't think that's the best treatment for an elite athlete. What a joke.