India in South Africa

[Cricketman]

Dhoni you definitely need in the ODIs as hes such a good striker of the ball as his SR in ODI cricket shows. Also his average is up there with the best ODI players so at worst play him as a batter.

Right on the money with what i was saying.
But Dhoni is down in the order classified as an in the Death "slogger"
While both of his HUGE centuries have come at number 3
Why can't Dhoni, the pure batsman not wicketkeeper, bat at 3, KKD who can slog quite a bit at sixish...
Dravid needs to stabilize in the middle order like at 4 or 5, Kaif over Ganguly-takes the spot dravid is not at. Yuvi-dropped. I hate him :P
Openers, I might consider dropping Sehwag, he's been nothing but a waste.
With less then a 100 days to go for the world cup, we've got to try thinking. Dhoni plays alot like Adam Gilchrist of Australia, he opens, he keeps. So, why can't Dhoni open? He's aggressive, like Sehwag, can be desicive in the first power plays, and has shown he can carry his bat while still scoring at a good rate.
Then the number 3 slot opens up for my man VVS Dravid Next, Ganguly after, the KKD, then maybe Kaif....

Probables are out from Cricinfo:
1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Dinesh Karthik, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Sreesanth.

nice to see KKD slotted ahead of MSD.

 

[aussie1st]

Well Dhoni was tried as opener and that didn't work too well. But at 3 he could do just fine as he seems to have learnt to stay in there if needed. Hes got all the characteristics of a 3 as he can counter attack if required and should be able to stay in there if an early wicket falls.

Karthik down the order looks like it would work too as India still have a late hitter in him if needed.

 

[SaiSrini]

Ganguly, he is MY HERO. He let the world know that we are not push overs who rely on the one man, Sachin Tendulkar. He made it so that people wouldn't turn off their TV's just because ST got out. He told the world in his awesome in-your-face attitude that we can too, challenge the best of the best. And he's doing it again. in a time of trouble, when the whole world was against him, he has pulled it off. He is back in the side, slamming a ranji century.
COMING SOON: Ganguly Sig,
Sai, bring back the Ganguly Fanclub? and in its new correspondence with the newly revived Indian Team Fanclub?

OH yeah yeah man! Since I have started it once, why not you start it????? Lets support Ganguly!

 

[RoboRocks]

Hmm this may of been posted but why have India got Karthik and Dhoni in the same team.
Get rid or Karthik and put a specialist batsmen in.
Sorry if this has been posted.

 

[Cricketman]

Well Dhoni was tried as opener and that didn't work too well. But at 3 he could do just fine as he seems to have learnt to stay in there if needed. Hes got all the characteristics of a 3 as he can counter attack if required and should be able to stay in there if an early wicket falls.

Karthik down the order looks like it would work too as India still have a late hitter in him if needed.

He played like 1 innings and got like 7.

Hmm this may of been posted but why have India got Karthik and Dhoni in the same team.
Get rid or Karthik and put a specialist batsmen in.
Sorry if this has been posted.

Basically, cuz Kaarthick is pwning Dhoni in every way, and the selectors are just too reluctant on Dropping Dhoni.

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/showthread.php?p=580608#post580608

link to ganguly fanclub V2, join please

 

[cricket_lover]

Dhoni has so far performed only in the sub-continent. He struggled even in WI. His technique will come into scrutiny when he plays more, outside India.

But his temperament is sound, and he's willing to take on challenge.

Even in tests, he can change a session with big hitting. But i feel Karthik will be more consistent.

 

[aussie1st]

He played like 1 innings and got like 7.


Basically, cuz Kaarthick is pwning Dhoni in every way, and the selectors are just too reluctant on Dropping Dhoni.

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/showthread.php?p=580608#post580608

link to ganguly fanclub V2, join please

I'm sure he played a bit more than that and he didn't go too well so India aborted that experiement cause they were pretty keen to get themselves a Gilchrist.

 

[Cricketman]

No, i doubt he's played more than 2 innings, hardly anything to judge on.

 

[borncricketer]

I think its right to have DHONI batting at 3, he has shown that he can apdapt to the situations and he can change his agressiveness when needed. Opening with Sachin n Sehwag i think is good and when any1 of them strike some sort of form we will be cruising. Dravid i think would do well at either 4 or 5, to steady the innings if anything happens, and then Yuvi when he comes bak either at 4 or 5, then Kaif at 6, Pathan at 7, Bajji at 8, Kumble at 9, Zaheer at 10, and Munaf/Sreesanth at 11.
Till Yuvi comes bak i guesss v can go with Raina or Mongia or even Karthik...

 

[aussie1st]

I see he made 96 while opening so might be alright there but he should definitely be at 3 as thats where he made his 183* which is some effort. Would be a dam explosive top order with Tendulkar, Sehwag and Dhoni with Dravid to steady the ship at 4.

 

[surendar]

I see he made 96 while opening so might be alright there but he should definitely be at 3 as thats where he made his 183* which is some effort. Would be a dam explosive top order with Tendulkar, Sehwag and Dhoni with Dravid to steady the ship at 4.

yes i agree! but still it depends on the situations! In batting first never mind to see Dhoni at 3! But while chasing, Dravid needs to be no3 to control the innings in some situations!

As far as opning dept is concerned, its not fair to send either Sachin or Sehwag down the order.. In other words, they shd open always! Both arent the type of batsmen coming down the order in the middle and adjusting accrdingly! Their main job is to dominate the new ball..... Sachin has done that so well for many many years ( infact he is the one of the best openers in cricket i have seen )!

Sehwag may struggle a bit but u never know when he will scare the bowler! ( its also to be noted that Sehwag is a natural palyer and expecting him to adapt himself to some strategy just equals making him to commit suicide )!


Edit:- If Sourav returns to ODIs, then it will be dilema, becos i feel Sourav can do well in opening slot along with Tendulkar!

 

[aussie1st]

That 183 he got was actually done when India was batting 2nd and chasing 298 so Dhoni isn't too bad at controlling the game either it seems Dravid at 4 means he can still control the game if needed as 2 down you still aren't in deep trouble just yet.

 

[Cricket_god]

Guys who tell me that karthick is a better batsman and keeper than dhoni need their head tested .you saw only dhoni was the batsman who scored a 50 in the series and looked the best indian batsman apart from dravid he was able to get in line of the ball while karthick got a 30 odd against south africa 2nd string attack and people go gaga.he was beaten for pace against south africa he was not able to cut as he was late.Dhoni keeping has improved a lot i think he is better to spinners than karthick.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

See, Dhoni is a hard hitter. Not a pure batsman. He struggles when bogged down, and can't play short bowling too well. He also struggles on slow low pitches. Either we let him loose at 3, or hold him back in 7. if India requires the keeper to bat anywhere else, then it should be Karthik. Simple as that.

Smith chooses to bat. Interesting.

 

[aussie_ben91]

India are batting aren't they? The scorecard reads Sachin Tendulkar 4 runs off 39 balls.