India in the West Indies

[Kshitiz_Indian]

So the bottomline, will this match be a draw?

 

[bharat]

How come Lara was let off free.
He must have been fined for misbihaviour.

 

[Sureshot]

Is that 'sarcasm' to my post that Dravid and Laxman can bowl tomorrow??? If it is, quite STUPID!

I said that because Laxman and Dravid are off spinners, and with the pitch offering some turn and bounce, I think India need to use as much spinners possible to see if they can extract a victory here!

Edit: I just noticed in the ICC test championship table that India gain only 1 point if they win 4-0 this test series? Why the hell? They havent won a test series in the Windies for 35 years and they lost the last one 2-1. Why the hell does the table not credit India well if they win the current series?

It's to do with the fact West Indies have about 80 points and have rarely troubled teams.

I agree only 1 point is harsh, but I think for a 4-0 whitewash they should gain about 5.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Sreesanth can do all that and much more but he just cant take wickets and restrict runs.

Good speeds ???????? Optimism at its very best.

Sreesanth can take wickets and restrict runs. It isn't possible, however, when an entire batting lineup is targeting you. And yes, good speeeds. 85 MPH is a very good speed. Faster than Pathan.

Bowlers who could do all that :
Sreenath,Agarkar,Zaheer,Kuruvilla (did that for 3 years),Pathan and now Munaf.

Agarkar: No arguement there. I feel he is currently India's best paceman for those reasons
Zaheer: He was a jack of all trades. He had a good yorker and slower ball. He attempted the rest, but has fallen away of late. Was really good when he came in, but has faded out.
Kuruvilla: Seriously? You must be kidding.
Pathan: Again, yea right. His bouncer was good in the first few years, but has become less threatining with his drop in pace. He can't swing the new ball both ways (One is an in-swinger, and one is a no-swinger), and is just learning reverse swing. He doesn't use different angles.
Munaf: All I've seen from him is reverse swing, and a good yorker. He may be able to do all this stuff, but he definately hasn't. Must not be confident enough, Sreesanth is.

See those things which you said ,contradictions are :

1)Angles. Munaf uses it the best and no one can deny that. (Remember Cook)

Wha? Haven't seen him try wide of the crease, then come in close to the stumps the next ball.

2)Well disguised slower ball which is usually blasted in the ODI's ?????

Umm...no. He got 4 out of his six wickets in his 6/55 from the slower ball.

3)Bouncer ???????? How many wickets has he taken with bouncer or even ruffled the batsman ????

I remeber atleast one mistimed hook which was caught, and several Pakistani and English batsman (Prior, for instance) who didn't see it coming.

4)Swing ????????Pathan and Agarkar get it in much more magnitude than him for sure .

Yes, they do. But he can swing it too, at shar pace. I remeber him swinging it all over against Inzi.

5)Reverse ????Couldnt remove the last England wickets in the 1st TEst even when it was reversing.

Could anyone? He reverses it well, whether or not they brought him wickets is out of contxt.

6)Yorker ????If he would have had a good yorker his death bowling would have been much better than it is what now.

So what, it is bad? His death bowling has been excellent from what I recall.

Say whatever but there are atleast 4 guys who should have been in the team ahead of Sreesanth (Pathan,Agarkar,Harbhajan,Zaheer)

Pahtan was in poor form.
Agarkar, yes.
Harbhajan is a spinner, no point in comparing a spinner with a paceman.
Zaheer, no. He is too old, and has disciplinary problems. If he roars back into form, maybe. But we only need one experienced spearhead, and that is Agarkar.

Coming over to Michael Clarke well he wudnt be picked over a genuine bowler but surely he would be considered for the allrounders slot ahead of Watson on a dust bowl .

He is not even considered an allrounder at domestic level!! He has barely bowled in tests since that, and hardly bowls in ODIs anymore!!

 

[sohum]

I just watched the highlights of the fiasco at the end. Earlier, I thought Lara should be fined or disciplined, but in the end he did help things out. The umpires did not want to make a decision and it would be useless for everyone sitting around and waiting for someone else to do something.

 

[SaiSrini]

West Indies 47/0

So far, the Windies have gone really slow and it seems that they are waiting to stabilize in the first session and may be go hammer tongs in the sessions to come.

Apart from a few deliveries, the game today has been very quiet from the Indian players! Doesnt look like this match will see a result, which is what the prediction was before the match started!

I hope something turns around here and India get on the move here at Antigua!

Its now 62-38 to India now (It was 70-30 to India at the end of Day 4)

I just watched the highlights of the fiasco at the end. Earlier, I thought Lara should be fined or disciplined, but in the end he did help things out. The umpires did not want to make a decision and it would be useless for everyone sitting around and waiting for someone else to do something.

but the commentary was saying that everytime the umpire decided to let dhoni bat on, lara intervened and was arguing with the umpires over the decision, and on one occasion, even snatched the ball from them!

So the bottomline, will this match be a draw?

As of now, looks like a draw. The game needs something from the West Indies side to happen for this game to come alive (it will also allow the Indians to look for wickets)

 

[cricket_lover]

Munaf Patel sometimes bowls from a wider angle, its quite effective. He has a bright start to his career.

Sreesanth bowled quite well in the first spell, but VRV continues to dissappoint. He isn't consistent with the line or the length, and most of his bouncers are mis-directed.

I think Kumble and Munaf patel should bowl in tandem, and change SS for Munaf Patel and VRV for Kumble (when he's tired).

and just as i type, Kumble bags the first one. Important breakthrough as Ganga was looking good.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Jumbo strikes!! Bu-bye Ganga!

And yea, it appears Munaf has a wide angle as well. My bad.

 

[hondeyho]

Well 71 overs with 9 wickets still left in-tact, West Indies will look to bat the day out and get a draw - India will certainly want the win after the ODI series defeat.

Getting off to a good start is most important.

 

[cricket_lover]

Zaheer, no. He is too old, and has disciplinary problems. If he roars back into form, maybe. But we only need one experienced spearhead, and that is Agarkar.

Is 27 that old for you?

Who told you that he has disciplinary problems? If he had such thing, i don't think he will be doing that well for Worcs. He performed admirably well in Pakistan tests but kicked out for no reason...

Strange decisions....

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Is 27 that old for you?

Who told you that he has disciplinary problems? If he had such thing, i don't think he will be doing that well for Worcs. He performed admirably well in Pakistan tests but kicked out for no reason...

Strange decisions....

He was kicked out because of disciplinary problems. I remeber reading that in my newspaper.
And yes, I feel 27 is old to make a comeback. No need to bring him back, as a a paceman he will last probably no longer than 5-6 more years. I also didn't want Jaffer to come back though...

Sreesanth strikes!! Sarwan gone!!!

 

[sohum]

Gayle was probably out, too, but a tough decision for the umpire. Also, Taufel hasn't made a mistake in this match, so one can let him off the hook.

I feel VRV is a little afraid to pitch it up because he doesn't want to get smacked. Which is bad, because some of the yorkers he bowled during the Abu Dhabi series were beauties.

Sreesanth! Zorax, you're probably about ready to gloat, now.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Sreesanth strikes again!! Lara out LBW!!!

 

[cricket_lover]

27 is the age you start maturing as a bowler, like McGrath and other stalwarts. Its the ideal time for him to make a come-back.

Lara gone! SS on a roll, redeeming himself after wayward spells in the first innings.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Sreesanth! Zorax, you're probably about ready to gloat, now.

Like you never imagined

And that's lunch. 72/3. India are in a very strong position here...