England in India - Oct to Jan 2012/13

[playkid12]

that "one of" I usually put before describing cook as one of the best batsmen in the in world is beginning to look pretty precarious.

Amla and Clarke are on par with him. Maybe Chanderpaul. Maybe De Villiers. Maybe Kallis. Maybe Sangakkara.

But he's been on quite a purple patch.

 

[barmyarmy]

Chanderpaul, Kallis and Sangakarra are on the decline. Hard to look beyond Amla, Clarke, Cook at the moment.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Cook is absolutely killing it! It's so saddening to see India do poor at home.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Teams with good spinners will always be hard to beat in sub continent conditions. Presence of bowlers with ability to reverse swing is also very handy. England are rightly equipped to challenge India in their own backyard. Pakistan gave them a hard time because of the mystery factor of Saeed Ajmal who bamboozled them to the extent that they could not even handle the orthodox left arm spin of Abdul Rehman. Indian bowling is very ordinary and they have an unsettled batting line up at the moment. Yadav's injury is a big blow as well.
England are well settled to go one up in the series.

 

[barmyarmy]

I think the result in England last summer is quite important psychologically. India were smashed mentally by that series and it gave England real belief they could beat India. It's taken 2 tests to believe they can beat them in these conditions but England are looking really strong now.

 

[Owzat]

I think the result in England last summer is quite important psychologically. India were smashed mentally by that series and it gave England real belief they could beat India. It's taken 2 tests to believe they can beat them in these conditions but England are looking really strong now.

Makes you wonder, although again it is one or two individuals piling on the runs and a big score always helps.

 

[MUFC1987]

I think getting the right bowling attack has been a major difference. Having two spinners shows that even when it's not turning a lot, we have a guy like Panesar who can keep it really tight and keep chipping away with the odd wicket or two.

Cook has been superb again though. A word for Compton though, I think he's on the toughest tour he can be on as a batsman and he's doing alright. Promising signs for the series after this one really. Trott also digging in and facing a lot of balls is a good sign, as the order looks worrying after KP and before Prior.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

this last few years must produce a sea change in the way india handle their bowlers. too many quicks have started brightly and then declined in pace and accuracy and too many spinners have turned from attacking players to blunt restricting style bowlers.

once or twice it's bad luck but the list is getting very long.

 

[SaiSrini]

Pretty much summed up!!

That dropped catch off Cook should be attributed to poor captaincy from Dhoni. Pujara is not a regular slipper at all. He has fielded a lot till now at short leg. You can't keep switching him from slip to short leg to slip and so on (as the commentators too said). Sehwag is more reliable in the slips and has even taken some blinders there (they showed that blinder he took against NZ behind Dhoni). Dravid was a great first slipper, but that doesn't mean his replacements should be the same.... Hard luck to Pujara! At this level, he should take it but the captain has to place the right fielders at the right spot.

I still have a feeling that with this pitch being of the slow and low type, England would need a 200+ lead (like barmyarmy said) to rest more easier. But if they go like this, they will get there by the end of Day 3 itself. And then India have to bat out of their skins to save the match.

 

[Params7]

India went to England and got destroyed. England go to India and win matches. Its easy to say which is obviously the better team.

India test cricket is in a pathetic state. Hard to believe we were No.1 once but I at least thought India could whitewash any team at home. Well played England, admiring Cook as always.

 

[cerande]

England have absolutely dominated Indian bowling.There is still hope though,as Edens is the place of miracles.The shameless optimist in me thinks England would be bowled out by 300.

 

[Satan666]

I think the result in England last summer is quite important psychologically. India were smashed mentally by that series and it gave England real belief they could beat India. It's taken 2 tests to believe they can beat them in these conditions but England are looking really strong now.

I beg to differ, the Indians seem quite confident at the start of the series for a probable clean sweep of England, traditionally they have been strong at home and England had all the issues with spin bowling.

The plain fact is that England have a much better bowling lineup, most of their batsman are inform whereas coming in this series India had Tendulkar/Sehwag/Gambhir struggling for runs and without Dravid/Laxman.

 

[shravi]

If India can get England for under 420-430, they are still very much in this.

 

[vorgaphe]

If Cook and Trott wipe off the last 100 runs together I predict that KP, Bell and Prior will be more than able to add plenty of quick runs. I would hope that England end up with a lead of 200-250 by the end of the day and then give themselves time to bowl India out.

 

[shravi]

Hmm, so England will be batting last on the weekend if India can set a decent target. It's an often understated influence but a packed Eden Gardens has often pushed Indian bowlers to give that bit extra and really played on the minds of the batsmen.