India tour of Australia Nov'20-Jan'21

[NILAYSHAH60]

Very unfortunately Natarajan will have to sit out since he doesn't have the batting to deliver.

I definitely regret this statement of mine. The guy is a gem and deserves to be there. Having figures of 2/20 in 4 overs where other bowlers were going well over 10 is a great achievement. I just get a feeling that Natarajan is going to be one of our most important bowlers in the side going forward in the years to come.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

There should be zero excuse for us to not win the T20 world cups.

Today will go down as a W in Kohli's captaincy column but he had a shocker today and if we are saying he had a shocker, one can imagine the horror show that went on.

We have two amazing death bowlers when teams find it hard to get one and one of them is a left hander to boot. We have two new ball bowlers of whom one will play and could easily be the lead death bowler for most teams in world cricket. We have an unbelievable orthodox finger spinner, the best leg spinner after Rashid Khan in the format and the best chinaman bowler. Behind Ben Stokes, we have the two best all rounders of each variety.

As far as the batting goes, the list is endless and most of our batters can be back up keepers.

If this team is led well and managed properly, we should really win both world cups. Okay, England's batting might be more dynamic but Archer aside, our bowling is vastly superior and our batting is not that much behind if the right side is picked. Rohit and KL need to open and England can have anyone else in the world they like to open for them let alone just England and we will still be superior.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

If this team is led well and managed properly, we should really win both world cups. Okay, England's batting might be more dynamic but Archer aside, our bowling is vastly superior and our batting is not that much behind if the right side is picked. Rohit and KL need to open and England can have anyone else in the world they like to open for them let alone just England and we will still be superior.

I would also like to add to the openers argument a bit. If Rohit couldn't make up the squad due to some injury in future we also have someone like Mayank Agarwal who can prove to be world class batsman as an Opener. Yes, there is Dhawan but I think that guy is just special and definitely deserves opportunities. I have nothing against Dhawan since he is a very good option as a back up but Mayank looks better at present.

 

[Yash.]

BTW, How big is the ground actually, and with how much power did Iyer hit his only six? The Instagram post from Indian Cricket Team mentions it to be 111m while it seemed to be a mishit-ish shot to me.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

BTW, How big is the ground actually, and with how much power did Iyer hit his only six? The Instagram post from Indian Cricket Team mentions it to be 111m while it seemed to be a mishit-ish shot to me.

Mis- hit ? He nailed that shot.

Iyer was just waiting for that ball in the slot.

 

[Yash.]

Mis- hit ? He nailed that shot.

Iyer was just waiting for that ball in the slot.

I meant that it didn’t look like a shot that would go 111m

 

[SaiSrini]

You have to be a screw loose to be suggesting that Gill/Shaw will play ahead of KL.[DOUBLEPOST=1607245009][/DOUBLEPOST]India's fielding has gone three steps back in the lockdown.

I did not suggest that Gill/Shaw will play ahead of KL. I said that "unless they play a blinder in the 2nd innings, they cannot think of replacing KL in the XI for the test series".

Honestly its just my opinion - but I haven't yet seen the re-work from Rahul after he was dropped from the test side for bad returns, for him to convince me that he is ready to be back in the test XI. He is extremely lucky to be playing in this era where IPL performances get you test opening spots and Rohit Sharma and the likes are being made to open the batting in test cricket. Its a crazy era, one that (according to my opinion again!) the purists will keep cringing about.

Seeing how Gill and Shaw have done, Rahul is the best option to open along with Mayank at Adelaide for the first test. But if you ask me whether am I happy with Rahul opening in test cricket - I will touch my heart and say "NO". But if he does well on the chance that he's given, I will only be happy.

 

[SaiSrini]

A very satisfying win for India! Especially very excited to see the rise of T Natarajan! To bowl like that when your team mates are going for many runs, is EXCEPTIONAL! 5 wickets in 2 games and that too with the kind of economy that he achieved today, what a start to his international career! Sufficient to say that he has leapfrogged the likes of Saini and Deepak Chahar in the pecking order for T20's. It is going to be lip smacking to see Bumrah and Natarajan man the death overs for India in T20's. Fingers crossed for the T20 World Cup.

 

[Aalay]

Happy that Rahane got a century in the practice match. Even though he will captain once Virat leaves, his form with the bat wasn't too great. So, I am glad he has started the tour with a decent score. Pujara looked good while he was there and scored a good half-century. However, they did plan well against Pujara, and it paid off. Gill was a little unfortunate with his dismissal, but Shaw is showing some serious technical challenges. His feet just doesn't move, and if the ball is doing a bit initially, he is always in trouble.

Umesh Yadav is bowling seriously well here, and Siraj is doing well to support him. I still remember how well Yadav has bowled in some of the home tests but has never really found that rhythm abroad. This is his 4th trip to Australia, so I am really hoping that if he does get a chance as the third seamer in the absence of Ishant, he does justice to it.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Bowling with the older ball is the key to success in Australia. Over the years the teams that have done well in Australia picked up wickets with the older ball by making sure that the ball reverses once it loses its shine.

But with the whole covid situation you are not allowed to shine it with spit or saliva and the obvious sandpaper too it will be interesting to see how the team manages to come up with a plan to keep one side rough & other side shiny especially on those drop in wickets in Australia.

I remember Ishant Sharma mentioned in one of the interviews before the Start of last tour that picking up wickets once the ball gets older is crucial & he put an emphasis on how the bowling lineup struggled to pick wickets in the 2011/12 and then 14/15 tour. Teams do pick up wickets with the new Kookaburra ball even in those tours we picked up early wickets but struggled once the ball got older & batsmen piled on runs (Clarke in 2011/12) & (Smith in 2014/15) on contrary India piled on runs in 2014/15 with Kohli feasting on those wickets because we did not ended up losing way too many wickets with the newer ball unlike the 2011 tour.

We have our task cut out this year with Ishant not being there this time around who in the last 4 years looked a completely different & way improved bowler then he was in the vast majority of his career & Australia playing at full potential this time around the onus will be around Bumrah, Shami , Umesh/Siraj to do well with the old Kookaburra ball or this could well turn out to be a long toiling time for the bowlers.

Edit - Ashwin's role is crucial as well.

P.S - This is my thoughts on matches that will be played with Red ball in traditional Day Test matches.

 

[Ashutosh.]

Anyone noticed Pandya was unable to hit on wide yorkers (in 2nd ODI and 2nd T20I)?

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I did not suggest that Gill/Shaw will play ahead of KL. I said that "unless they play a blinder in the 2nd innings, they cannot think of replacing KL in the XI for the test series".

Honestly its just my opinion - but I haven't yet seen the re-work from Rahul after he was dropped from the test side for bad returns, for him to convince me that he is ready to be back in the test XI. He is extremely lucky to be playing in this era where IPL performances get you test opening spots and Rohit Sharma and the likes are being made to open the batting in test cricket. Its a crazy era, one that (according to my opinion again!) the purists will keep cringing about.

Seeing how Gill and Shaw have done, Rahul is the best option to open along with Mayank at Adelaide for the first test. But if you ask me whether am I happy with Rahul opening in test cricket - I will touch my heart and say "NO". But if he does well on the chance that he's given, I will only be happy.

I wish your heart was as honest when discussing the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer ahead of Surya Kumar Yadav in the test side.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Anyone noticed Pandya was unable to hit on wide yorkers (in 2nd ODI and 2nd T20I)?

Hardik played a good innings yesterday but he was fed on his strengths. Sams bowling round the wicket and basically activating that mid wicket - long on arc where he's a beast was madness. I don't know what Langer told him, but they clearly don't see Pandya bat much and Sams might have even seen Pandya in the IPL. Brainless!

 

[SaiSrini]

I wish your heart was as honest when discussing the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer ahead of Surya Kumar Yadav in the test side.

My stance on the "Shreyas vs SKY for the test series" is purely because Shreyas is already on tour and does not have to restart quarantine protocols. If this COVID scenario was not there, I would actually bat for SKY to be included in the tests over Shreyas. I know SKY is more technically adept for test cricket than Shreyas

 

[Ashutosh.]

Agarwal should have given a chance in place of Rahul. It's sad he will be dropped in the next series without giving proper chances.