India in the West Indies

[cricket doctor]

Seems like Indians have forgotten how to set targets while batting first. :
Why the hell Venu is playing one day cricket?

 

[sid_19840]

Seems like Powar and Raina have been retained for the test team,and Agarkar seems to have been left out.I dont think thats fair to him as he has done pretty well so far in the ODI series and deserved a chance in the tests.

 

[Sureshot]

Agarkar has been the best Indian bowler in the first 3 ODIs, leaving him out is idiotic.

 

[puddleduck]

At the same time, the quicks who were playing in the test side previously all did a good job. So to drop them would be harsh.

About time Indian cricket showed a bit of faith in some of their players. Sreesanth, Patel and Pathan all took the bulk of the wickets against England, so to drop them would be harsh, even if Agarkar has had a good Odi series.

 

[sohum]

Good to see Sehwag finally hit some form. I hope it is a sign of things to come, rather than just a one off.

Our spinners need to hit it for us to win the series, and we need to play the West Indies off-spinners with more confidence.

 

[Sureshot]

At the same time, the quicks who were playing in the test side previously all did a good job. So to drop them would be harsh.

About time Indian cricket showed a bit of faith in some of their players. Sreesanth, Patel and Pathan all took the bulk of the wickets against England, so to drop them would be harsh, even if Agarkar has had a good Odi series.

VRV Singh was picked ahead of Agarkar.

VRV did aboslutely nothing vs us when we toured.

 

[Indiangod]

Congrats to the windies for winning the 3rd odi and taking a 2-1 lead in the odi series with 2 odis to go, all 3 games were close, I think India gifted the last 2 games away, the Windies just edged out the last two brillliant odis, credit all goes to Sarwan, Chanderpaul and the Windies spinners, they done a splended effort.

Its a good learning expierence for the new inexpierenced Indian bowlers, hopefully they can improve from their mistakes, the Indian seamers have done well in the odi series so far, just need to improve bowling at the death.

Its been a tense odi series for both side of the fans, we are enjoying it, I'm not dissapointed that the Windies have taken a 2-1 lead, I am happy for the Windies, lets see what can India do in the next 2 odis, I like it when India are put into pressure like this, it brings the best out of most players.

Its a good learning expierence for India, ahead of the world cup next year.

 

[cricket_lover]

nvm.

Agarkar's was a dissappointing exclusion. He knows the conditions well, and is the faster of the Indian bowlers. He has some good variations as well.

I don't think VRV will get that many chances, and in whatever he's given, he failed. He was impressive in domestic performances too.

No Zaheer Khan as well, that's the most surprising. He's getting good number of wickets in England, bowled impressively in his last test series.

 

[SaiSrini]

`INDIA REVIVE CARRIBBEAN CRICKET` : Aditya

and @ saisrini, these conditions are not too different from the ones back home. It is`nt as if the ball is bouncing and seaming all around. These are the typical `subcontinental slow turners`. There is no reason why we should be uncomfortable and that too against Gayle and Samuels bowling.

India will still win this one. We`ve just lost 2 ODIs which can happen to any side and we do have it in us to come back and bite them hard. I`ll still remain upbeat about our chances, especially with Sehwag amogst the runs. His last 4 scores have been 77,22,13,96 . decent for a man out of form. Hopefully, Yuvi will be back for the next game. And, are we missing a bloke named Sachin Tendulkar ??? Cricket really is unpredictable.

I too think we miss Sachin and as cricket_lover aptly says, his presence makes a difference when it comes to such contests where both teams are evenly matched!

We need Yuvraj in the next game. We missed him with the bat, ball and in the field. He is an all rounder who can contribute usefully everywhere!

A quick fire innings for Sehwag and the fact that he now has a platform for a fresh start is a positive for India to take out of the game, but judging from the scorecard, the middle order failed to establish themselves or support his efforts. The three run-outs suggest, I suppose, an energetic Windies outfit, but also irresponsibility and failure to execute the basics from India. A great ODI spectacle, once again, and it's great to see the Windies finding some form as a unit. Agreed, it was a great move by Chanderpaul to yield the captaincy- he's a class player with probably a great cricket brain, but not everyone has the ability to balance those two responsibilities effectively. Top stuff from Sarwan, I'd really like to see him fulfil his potential and find consistency with the bat in the near future, he's shown glimpses of it, but generally falls away again. Anyway, WI won!

Sarwan is captaincy material, look at how cool he is when burdened with pressure. He is ideal to take over once Lara quits!

Well, that was a great match! This is a hat-trick of 99.5 over games! But still, we can win the series!

As for Rao, we often say that Kaif is not good in the slog overs & his talent is wasted down the order, but Rao is even worse than him! There is no place for him except No.3, which is why he shouldn't play ODIs! But, who knows, Rao could improve & maybe he could become one of those players that do not give away their wickets & yet score runs quickly, like Dravid is now!

You're wrong. Yuvraj was OUT off the 4th ball of the last over off the bowling of Dwayne Bravo! So that match was played to the 99.4th over, not 99.5!

 

[Abhas]

this series has been a turnaround (of what i had thought)...
too bad i'll lose vcash if india loses...

 

[SaiSrini]

Agarkar has been the best Indian bowler in the first 3 ODIs, leaving him out is idiotic.

Disappointing yaar! Our best bowler so far in the Windies is dropped. Cant get worse than this! But dont blame it on the zonal bias (Agarkar hails from the same state as the chairman of selectors and the BCCI Chairman does).

Good that Raina is retained.

Kaif - I think he will make way once 'someone' goes to Northamptonshire and blasts away runs and forces the bunch of jokers to make contradicting statements!

Dinesh Kaarthick deserves another chance and he is a better backup than Parthiv 'buttergloved' Patel! Surprising that Powar is retained. I didnt expect that. But anyways, its a good decision because Powar is a better bowler for the test format and a handy batsman too.

At the same time, the quicks who were playing in the test side previously all did a good job. So to drop them would be harsh.

About time Indian cricket showed a bit of faith in some of their players. Sreesanth, Patel and Pathan all took the bulk of the wickets against England, so to drop them would be harsh, even if Agarkar has had a good Odi series.

But what was the need for VRV? He hasnt made the promise in the ODI's that he played so far, to graduate to test cricket!

Good to see Sehwag finally hit some form. I hope it is a sign of things to come, rather than just a one off.

Our spinners need to hit it for us to win the series, and we need to play the West Indies off-spinners with more confidence.

Again for that to happen, we must send non-hitters like Kaif up the order and reserve the big hitters for the final overs. Raina can come lower than Kaif. We should send Kaif ahead and use him when the big hitting is not needed. Raina is a big hitter, he can be used below Kaif!

 

[puddleduck]

The reason they have taken VRV is to give him some experience. With Munaf, Sreesanth and Pathan and then Kumble and Bhaji the attack pretty much picks itself. So to take Agarkar as backup would be fairly pointless. I think it makes sense to take a young bowler who they can have a good look at in the nets and hopefully improve whilst he is there. If anyone of them get injured, or fail in this series, Agarkar will always be able to slot in as he is hardly inexperienced. For this reason he wouldn't really benefit from spending time as 12th man.

 

[cricket_lover]

Why Agarkar as a back-up? He's way more experienced than MP and SS, and has more variations.
I also fail to understand why Powar was included. He isn't a full-fledged spinner, he's more like that part-time who can pick a wicket or two in ODI's and support the bowlers. In test matches, you do not want a "supporting" bowler, you have Yuvraj and Sehwag to do that. YOu'll need someone who can pick up 5 wickets in an innings, and Powar is definitely not one.

 

[BigCrickNan]

Why Agarkar as a back-up? He's way more experienced than MP and SS, and has more variations.
I also fail to understand why Powar was included. He isn't a full-fledged spinner, he's more like that part-time who can pick a wicket or two in ODI's and support the bowlers. In test matches, you do not want a "supporting" bowler, you have Yuvraj and Sehwag to do that. YOu'll need someone who can pick up 5 wickets in an innings, and Powar is definitely not one.

Powar is more than a supporting bowler, he had a very good series against England and can bat a bit. He probably won't play though unless Kumble or Harbhajan get injured. On the other hand, the Windies are turning into a decent team, finally getting their batting together and bowling with more control. They also have 3 decent spinners in Gayle, Sarwan and Samuels meaning there isn't any need for a main spinner at the moment. I also think that Baugh should play instead of Dinesh Ramdin.

 

[cricket_lover]

He's not a future Indian test bowler, he's more likely to be part of the ODI squad rather than test. India requires genuine spinner, not a part-time test spinner. Why not Piyush Chawla or someother up-coming spin bowler.