India in England/Ireland/Scotland

[Skater]

I was a bit disappointed with the way England bowled towards the end, it could have been so much more comfortable for us overnight.

Good to see Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar gone with still around 250 runs to win. If Sourav Ganguly is out in the morning session tomorrow, England should only have the rain in their way. As it stands, it could go in any of the three ways. I will not rest until Ganguly is out!

His wicket could spark a collapse in my opinion, only VVS Laxman is capable of knuckling down and chasing the total for me.

 

[zub2005]

India would need something special, to win this. Is it possible? Yes. Can they do it? Maybe, but clearly england are in the driving seat

 

[dhoni dhamaka]

well, 80% i think is englands chances of winning, but who knows, karthik looks in good touch, ganguly is still at the crease and laxman and dhoni still to come, all are capable of winning this match, but i doubt they will all perform.....

 

[evertonfan]

Yes, I would say England are in the driving seat but the vehicle they are driving is a nackered old Ford Fiesta which is very low on petrol with the nearest station only half a mile a way. They really should make it to the station, but there's every chance that the petrol could run out.

 

[Adarsh]

If it rains and reduces the amount of overs to about 60 or thereabouts, it'll only be to England's advantage. India will then have no chance of a win (realistically), and England would be all over them.

 

[ZexyZahid]

If Ganguly, Karthik and Laxman get out early then it's all over for India. I can't see the rest of the players making a difference, including Dhoni.

 

[Eddie]

if the forecast is anywhere near right..there won't be enuff overs for India to make 244 more..

might only get 40-60 overss

a couple of early wkts will be the order of the day..

 

[SaiSrini]

Tendulkar out

game set and match England

Its not those days when tendulkar used to be out, its game and match set opposition.

I wont discount Laxman out yet. If either of Karthik or Ganguly stay and Laxman can forge a good partnership with either of them, India can creep close to safety.

Ganguly and Laxman can make big hundreds so I wouldn't count out India.
Monty looked good as well with a bit of rough outside Ganguly's offstump.
If the weather holds off tommorrow we should see some good cricket.

Yes, I wouldnt mind India losing but I hope to see cricket tomorrow. Want to see what India can do when they faced with this sort of situation - draw it or win it. They've been bad at even drawing a game.

 

[irottev]

India can still win or draw this (if the weather is going to be bad). They have quite capable batsmen left.

One thing which kind of appalled me is the way Pietersen paraded around after the hundred. Does he think he;s the best human being on the planet. I don't think i've seen a celebration so long and unnecessary. Good hundred, but stop being so arrogant and get back to the game.

Bowlers arn't supposed to over-celebrate wickets.

 

[sohum]

All they have to do is avoid no-balls and Indian batters will themselves dig a hole, jump in it and shut themselves tight.

I'd like to think that the Indians would approach this differently for two reasons: 1. They've learned from the past that defensive batting is the surest way to lose test matches. 2. They have to chase at less than 3 an over.

The situation of the match is such that India do not have to do anything out of the ordinary to win. So really, I think if the English bowlers bowl well they'll win and if they don't they'll lose. Rain will obviously play spoilsport. The 3 wickets obviously put the English at a slight advantage. If we go by averages, India doesn't make it either:

Ganguly (7) + Laxman (45ish) + Dhoni (35ish) + Tail (40ish). That takes us about half the way. We need Ganguly to stay in as long as possible as he should be able to negate Panesar.

 

[sohum]

Ravi Shastri actually went as far as to suggest it was 65-35 in England's favour. I think he was being a little too optimistic, I would place it more at 80-20. There'll be no excuses at the end of the day, whatever the result. Both teams played decent enough cricket and it will actually be a case of where one team played just better enough than the other. Unless India are bowled out for 150.

 

[playkid12]

Man, people are so optimistic about India. In the past two years, I haven't seen a single performance that has told me to be optimistic about them. In my opinion, England have this bagged as long as it doesn't rain. I don't see Ganguly getting more than 20-30 runs tomorrow before edging something or pulling awkwardly giving a lollipop catch to a fielder. Karthik might do well, though. However, with only Laxman and Dhoni to follow, I really don't think they can get 250 more. I felt the match was over when England got India to chase more than 300. Also, Dravid hasn't scored a big score for a while. I read an article that said he's had two fifties in his last 12 matches or something (not sure on the number). It sucks though, he does tend to get out on really good balls or controversial decisions. As far as Tendulkar goes, no century at Lord's. In a way, it's good. I can imagine people saying 'oh, he's only playing for records' if he bagged another record. But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if people jump on him saying that he's not the same or something and that he sucks after this match. He can't win either way, so I'm not gonna criticize him. Zaheer and RP Singh have really pulled it off for India's bowling. Sreesanth is a good backup, and Kumble's always good - even though he didn't have the wickets this match to prove it. Nonetheless, I think both of the sides have bowled well. The batting's been good for England - especially KP, not so much for India.

Prediction:
59% Rain - Draw.
35% No rain - England win.
6% No rain - Indian win.

 

[sohum]

^ The Indian cricket fan is the eternal optimist. The more pessimistic they are outwardly, the more optimistic they are inwardly. This applies to me, too.

And one more thing, if we actually want to claim that we are one of the top test teams in the world, we should be able to chase this. England and Australia would both be able to chase this, in my opinion, given the start and the conditions.

 

[m_vaughan]

India can still win or draw this (if the weather is going to be bad). They have quite capable batsmen left.

One thing which kind of appalled me is the way Pietersen paraded around after the hundred. Does he think he;s the best human being on the planet. I don't think i've seen a celebration so long and unnecessary. Good hundred, but stop being so arrogant and get back to the game.

Bowlers arn't supposed to over-celebrate wickets.

He has every right to celebrate. It was a brilliant and crucial century and he is one of the best cricketers alive, so dont see why he cant celebrate.

Some for Monty. You dont get the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar everyday. I for one like the passionate and zealous displays from cricketers as besides making the game entertaining to watch, also shows that how much effort the lads are putting into the game. I really enjoy watching Nel and Sreesanth's ardor.

 

[sohum]

He has every right to celebrate. It was a brilliant and crucial century and he is one of the best cricketers alive, so dont see why he cant celebrate.

I agree. And of course the cameramen didn't miss the moment where Steve I'm-always-in-a-foul-mood Bucknor wagged his index finger at the batsmen and asked them to get back to their place.

Some for Monty. You dont get the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar everyday.

Well.... looks like Monty does.