India tour of South Africa - 2013/14

they'll still get beat by south africa, there's being a good batsman and then there's being able to out score amla/de villiers/kallis while facing Steyn and co. on their own turf, but I don't think people need to cover themselves too much worrying about their batting line up, they've clearly got enough talented batsmen to fill the gaps and stay very competitive.
 
Kudos to Dhawan, even if it is indeed a road, 248 at any level is pretty amazing!
 
If CSA was smart, they will make sure India-A don't play in bowler helpful pitches. Because the India-A side comprises of a big chunk of players (esp. batsmen) who are test certainities or who have a very strong possibility to be selected in the test side.

CSA will be stupid to give India bowler friendly pitches and let them get used. So expect high scores from India-A batters, but on flat pitches
 
It was just South Africa A team ! Condition probably would have been a lot different their international side was playing. Dhawan's knock was a result of outstanding effort which he put in ! Worth Commendable. Now please don't make it a hype ! Like people did back on Zimbabwe tour on Kohli's Captaincy :rolleyes
 
vaibhav said:
I think it is too early to say so, as others have pointed out, the teams are getting roads to play on.

I'll still wait for the unofficial test series to give my opinion in this regard, and obviously if the pitches are bowler friendly, it would be of much help.
Click to expand...

I agree that the Indians have to prove they are not just world champions but world beaters too and if they have to do it, this series will go a long way in making the point. That said, I still think they have went past their transition phase. They have not more than a couple of spots opened up for the players like Yuvraj, Raina (still), Sharma, Rayudu, Karthik, Vijay, Pujara and Rahane and we are not even counting the past heroes like Sehwag and Gambhir who would be itching to return to the side. The bowling is still in the phase of change but that has been the case with India most times. Not many fast bowlers have settled in the team for them. B. Kumar is a good prospect and I think Yadav can do good in seaming conditions but not much when there is no help. Ishant Sharma has had a good year but he is still the one of the most expensive bowlers in Test cricket. Wonder if Zaheer Khan will ever return to the international arena and if he does make a return, how long will he last with his ever brittle body. Ideally, it will be good for India if they start looking past Zaheer in test cricket as well but the problem I think is there haven't too many test match bowlers coming up for them like in ODIs or T20Is. Don't know what the problem is because as far as I know, India's domestic competition structure is highly dominated by the FC games. That should have helped them get good Test match players. Instead, they are getting players, especially bowlers for shorter formats.
 
^^I was reading on an Indian news website - Zaheer/Yuvraj were in France for regaining their fitness. They underwent rigorous training in what is called virtual-Shaolin monk camp. Clearly they have hopes that if they prove their fitness and form, they will be welcomed back in the team

Full article HERE

I really hope Zaheer makes a full recovery on both form and fitness, and is picked for SAfrica - a fully fit Zaheer gives the bowling attack a tremendous boost
 
Yes, as said above both Yuvraj SIngh and Zaheer khan have just finished some harcore training with their personal trainer in France. That clearly indicates that they still want to play for India. As I have said before, Yuvraj at his full fitness is a must in limited overs format for India. I agree on Zaheer part that India should look ahead of Zaheer now as he is already 34. I saw an interview of him in IPL 6 when he said he still has lots to contribute to Indian test team so he also wants to come back.

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On the thread topic, India has won the meaningless OD tri-series. The good news was that the pitch they played the final game on was not as flat as the ones before. I read that there was some movement which is a good news. Scorecard also clearly indicates that as well.

Aus A 193 (46.3 ov, GS Sandhu 21*, Mohammed Shami 2/30) - Match over | Live Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo
 
Its strange to see Indian cricket teams winning all these 'Finals' and delivering knockout punches - so refreshing to watch for someone who fed off Indian cricket in the 90s :)
 
As Samuels said, the batting for India is coming up pretty decently. We do have test quality batsmen waiting in the wings to prove themselves. Guys like Rayudu, Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Raina, etc with the old timers like Yuvraj, Sehwag and Gambhir raring to make their comebacks. Its the bowling that the selectors should focus on right now.

Initiate more A-tours and send our top domestic bowlers on those A tours. And pick the right bowlers for the national team even if they endure a few dull games in terms of performance, etc. The likes of Pankaj Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Ishwar Pandey, etc need to be nurtured. And the selectors need to pull up Varun Aaron and force him to rectify his mistakes in terms with his fitness. This kid has been injured for an eternal period of time. I would look past Zaheer for as long as possible. Even if that means we lose a few overseas tours.
 
SaiSrini said:
As Samuels said, the batting for India is coming up pretty decently. We do have test quality batsmen waiting in the wings to prove themselves. Guys like Rayudu, Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Raina, etc with the old timers like Yuvraj, Sehwag and Gambhir raring to make their comebacks. Its the bowling that the selectors should focus on right now.

Initiate more A-tours and send our top domestic bowlers on those A tours. And pick the right bowlers for the national team even if they endure a few dull games in terms of performance, etc. The likes of Pankaj Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Ishwar Pandey, etc need to be nurtured. And the selectors need to pull up Varun Aaron and force him to rectify his mistakes in terms with his fitness. This kid has been injured for an eternal period of time. I would look past Zaheer for as long as possible. Even if that means we lose a few overseas tours.
Click to expand...

In the last decade and a half the Indians have always had some excellent batsmen but the bowlers, as you've alluded to has always been weak, and this is due to the type of pitches these bowlers learn their trade on.

I like the idea of more 'A' team tours, all test teams should do this but due to the congested callendar and the BCCI continued awareness of T20 cricket to the fore this is impossible!
 
The A-tours in theory work, but if we get more pitches like the one at the LC DeVillers Oval in Pretoria (where Dhawan got his 248 and both teams scored a ridiculous number of runs), then it's pretty pointless from a preparing-the-batters-for-local-conditions point of view.
 
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