England in India

[FishBowlMan]

I think I can if we are saying England had the moral advantage after the first test.

Don't get them started on this one again

Belated congrats to Kumble for 500 wickets. An excellent achievement.

Nicely poised test match at the moment. If there are no more weather interventions, this one could still be entertaining.

 

[hondeyho]

Entertaining maybe but the result is still gonna be a draw no matter what happens. It's nice to see that Panesar has popped in with another big wicket again today, in his whole tour of India including the warm-up matches he has taken at least one wicket in each innings - that's good for a debutant.

Personally I don't see why Liam Plunkett is on the tour, he is a pretty rubbish batsman and bowler.

 

[BigCrickNan]

It might not be a draw, England have a good chance of winning. i agree with you about Plunkett though, i don't know what anyone see in him.

 

[FishBowlMan]

Can't see England being able to win this, but I would say that India have a chance. If they bat well tomorrow and get a lead, they will have a chance to bowl England out. Agree that a draw is the most likely result though.

 

[hondeyho]

Well it will be a draw unless England get India all out in less than 10 overs tommorow with a lead of about 130, then get a score of about 300 in the remaining overs and then try and get India all out on Day 5, but the chances of that happening are very slim. England though have the greater chance of winning the match at the moment though - like they did in the 1st Test.

 

[FishBowlMan]

Had India not batted so slowly until tea on the final day - and I'm only talking by an extra run an over, they would have had an excellent chance to have won the 1st test. England did not look like bowling India out until they came out chasing 10 or so per over.

I can't see us bowling India out quickly enough, and scoring enough runs (again quickly) to put us in a position to win this match. I can, however, see India batting well tomorrow. Then it will depend on how the pitch behaves when we are batting.

IMO, Drawn match, India win, England win in that order. With a large gap after the draw.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Plunkett is in the team because he is quick and can bat. The world now a days feels a bowler has to be able to bat or bowl fast in order to be considered good. Also, wicketkeepers are required to be batters over keepers.

 

[SaiSrini]

If a single full day's play can do this, what might have happened had weather not intervened!

I am sorry Dravid! He is our useful team man unlike others! When Dravid came into bat, I went to sleep because I wanted entertainment (i.e. quicker pace of runs) which Dravid doesnt provide. But if Dravid can hold an end up and fight like a maniac for the team, I prefer him anyday over our great superstar strokemakers who come and go so easily!

Dhoni still there and Pathan to come! Some one said its either draw or England win. I never rule out an Indian win here. If Dhoni keeps batting along with Dravid, India can score at 4 runs per over quite easily. Pathan is also a big hitter and he can keep up the scoring rate. We need to get a lead of 150 by the end of tomorrow and then look to bowl out England.

Very unlikely though! We have wasted our opportunity here. Its going to be a draw. England winning is a possibility. If they can bowl out india by the first session tomorrow and bat positively in the final two sessions, they can set India a target of 300+ on the final day.

 

[barmyarmy]

Dravid is such an incredible player. He just scores runs non-stop. For me he is the best batsman in the world at the moment.
England winning this match and/or series depends on us finding a way of getting him out rather than just tying him up for runs.

 

[cricket doctor]

Dravid is such an incredible player. He just scores runs non-stop. For me he is the best batsman in the world at the moment.
England winning this match and/or series depends on us finding a way of getting him out rather than just tying him up for runs.

quite true. He is unbelievably tough mentally with not a single weakness in his batting. Superb... :hpraise :hpraise

 

[Stephen Bailey]

Personally I don't see why Liam Plunkett is on the tour, he is a pretty rubbish batsman and bowler.

Because he's young, he's got potential and is gaining valuable experience from this tour as well as the Pakistan tour. Sure he can be expensive but you have to look at what he's shown us so far. During the ODI's in Pakistan he bowled well at times and he wasn't bad at the death when he was asked to bowl. Remember the 50 he scored to get us up to a competitive total with Solanki in another ODI? To say he's rubbish isn't very clever.

 

[sohum]

There was a comment made earlier about Chawla being given a couple of test matches and then being relegated to the domestic level. If this is how he is treated, I feel our selectors are a bunch of idiots. The test match level is not something you come and try out. If the selectors aren't confident of his ability yet, they shouldn't have tried him out in the first place.

Secondly, I think we haven't seen the best of Chawla yet. He bowled only 9 overs and he was unlucky enough to bowl to Pietersen and Flintoff. All credit to the duo for treating the debutant bowler like they should have. And like India didn't do with Panesar. At this point, this match hangs in the balance, favoring England.

 

[waqar younis]

sehwag is havig good series with the bat

 

[hondeyho]

sehwag is havig good series with the bat

ARE YOU NUTS! Sehwag is so far having one of his worst series with the bat, surely you must of meant that? His highest score so far with the bat in three innings in 11.

 

[JamesyJames3]

There was a comment made earlier about Chawla being given a couple of test matches and then being relegated to the domestic level. If this is how he is treated, I feel our selectors are a bunch of idiots. The test match level is not something you come and try out. If the selectors aren't confident of his ability yet, they shouldn't have tried him out in the first place.

Secondly, I think we haven't seen the best of Chawla yet. He bowled only 9 overs and he was unlucky enough to bowl to Pietersen and Flintoff. All credit to the duo for treating the debutant bowler like they should have. And like India didn't do with Panesar. At this point, this match hangs in the balance, favoring England.

I think you are being a bit unfair on Panesar there. He bowled well and restricted the Indians. Its not that the Indians sat back and showed him too much respect. Panesar forced them too.

On the other hand when the tables were turned with Chawla. Flintoff and Pieterson simply played it how they saw it, like all good batsmen showed. Punished the bad balls.