Indian tour of South Africa, December-January 2010/11

[stefan]

I don't think he'll feature in the playing 11 though.

Smith
Peterson
Kallis
Amla
Devillers
Prince/Duminy
Boucher
Harris
Parnell
Morkel
Steyn

VS

Sehwag
Gambhir
Dravid
Sachin
Laxman
Raina( If he fails in the 1st test, I'm pretty sure he'll be replaced by Pujara)
Dhoni
Harbhajan
ZAK
Ishant
Sree

Mouthwatering contest

Can't wait

Depends on the pitch if we get the same pitch as the last one vs england then SA will play 4 seamers plus kallis and no spinner. Current tsotsobe is likely to play ahead of parnell. Wayne is lacking form and match fitness.

 

[icyman]

I'd rather have Pujara in for the first Test. He brings more stability to the team and seems a better option than Raina, who will be required for the ODIs.

 

[sami ullah khan]

^The way he washes the bowlers world over, its not that far fetched to call him Dhobi (hindi word for cloth washer)

 

[relentless_rock]

I'd rather have Pujara in for the first Test. He brings more stability to the team and seems a better option than Raina, who will be required for the ODIs.

I like how lately the team and selectors have been patient with players out of form. Would have been a very easy call to "rest" Gambhir and have Vijay play the 2nd and 3rd test vs NZ but the team backed their first choice and see what that has done to Gambhir's drastic change of form
By putting Pujara up in 1st or 2nd test on immediate failures of Raina would not bode well for either Raina or Pujara. Look at what Australia has done in Ashes from 1st test match to 2nd their bowling line up has changed but not the result.

If however Raina fails to impress in both 1st and 2nd test, then definetely we should give Pujara the opportunity and then he should be persisted for the next few games irrespective of immediate results.

I like the idea of Ojha getting a nod if Bhajji fails in the 1st test.

 

[SaiSrini]

They will persist with Raina for sometime now. Dhoni and Raina are CSK mates, and I am pretty sure Dhoni will place more faith in his CSK mate more than anyone else. But Raina has to show that the faith in him is not misplaced. If he fails on Indian wickets, what will he do on SA wickets with bounce and pace?

 

[relentless_rock]

Very right, but Raina is young too, and as you said he needs to prove that the faith in him is not misplaced, he needs to overcome his weakness against short-pitched bowling. I myself am not a big fan of how both his feet are up in air when he tries to defend short stuff. But hasty decision will only put added pressure on Pujara, where then if he fails in few innings people would write him off too.
One thing is for sure, we have no dearth of batsmen!!!

 

[War]

I don't think he'll feature in the playing 11 though.

Smith
Peterson
Kallis
Amla
Devillers
Prince/Duminy
Boucher
Harris
Parnell
Morkel
Steyn

He should though. He is far more solid option than either of Parnell & Tsotsobe currently.

But as S African poster said, the pitches will also influence selection. If they prepare reall typical S African bowling pitches like this test vs England last winter:

4th Test: South Africa v England at Johannesburg, Jan 14-17, 2010 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

5 quicks could play for S Africa also.

 

[Smith5619]

Based on form Tsotsobe should be in ahead of Parnell. But I see Parnell playing due to his better ability to take wickets rather than bowl economically.
Going to be a tight series

 

[TruSachFan]

He should though. He is far more solid option than either of Parnell & Tsotsobe currently.

But as S African poster said, the pitches will also influence selection. If they prepare reall typical S African bowling pitches like this test vs England last winter:

4th Test: South Africa v England at Johannesburg, Jan 14-17, 2010 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

5 quicks could play for S Africa also.

Unfortunately, we're not playing at Joburg this time. It's Centurion, Durban, and then Cape Town. I haven't seen much of Durban, but from what I saw, it's not as lively as Joburg and well the likes of Sachin, Dravid, and Laxman should really enjoy it. Cape Town is by far the flattest pitch in SAF. The only reason India lost time was because of the pathetic partnership between Dravid and Sachin. We were 100 + odd with 8 wickets remaining and with these two at the crease, the lead never increased and we ended up setting SAF to get only 190 odd runs with a cameo from DK. The Indian bowling will certainly struggle at Durban though. Sreesanth hardly does good on bouncy pitches. Zaheer Khan also tends to struggle a bit there. The X Factor will be Ishant vs Morkel. Whoever does better, their team will probably win at Durban. In the last match against NZ, IS cut down on bowling no balls and looked like getting his form back that won him the player of the series against AUS at home in 2008.

P.S Can't wait for this series

 

[SaiSrini]

Isnt Durban a lively wicket? I still remember that '96 game when India were bowled out for 66 and 100 in that test match. I watched it, and darn, I didnt sleep properly that night, having been in tears (I was a kid back then, and it was among my first introduction to Indian cricket)

 

[icyman]

Yes Sai, you are right. Durban has been a problematic zone for Team India in Test matches. It is a very lively wicket and the batsmen will definitely find it tough out there. Centurion could be our best chance to win a Test. At Durban, if the batters do apply themselves, then things could be different. However, the Test is scheduled on Boxing Day and of late we have lost matches on that day. Not being superstitious but thats the way it is.

And regd the 66 and 100 all out. Oh Yes, I remember. It was a bad bad day for us. But then, the African was one of the best in the world.

 

[relentless_rock]

It was not a pleasant sight for Indian fans to see Allan Donald running in with that sun-cream applied face and aggro meter on full.
We like him better in analysts panel

 

[AkshayS]

One thing is for sure, Gary Kirsten will go down as the one most successful and one of the best coach ever. We couldn't have find a better one than him
He's working his butts off with the players and his plans is to prepare on every type of pitch.

Also that match of 66 & 100, I saw it's highlights somewhere and that was a very tricky wicket for the batsmen, especially Indian batsmen.

 

[stefan]

Durban is the track with the most bounce in SA. Recent pitches haver varried from helping the bowlers throughout the game to a wicket were its nice for bowling first two days and then flattens out. Genereally doesn't help the average finger spinners, wrist spinners enjoy it though. Mustaq ahmed had a great test there,warne also enjoyed it and imran tahir has a great record for the dolphins.

Centurion is genereally a good cricket wicket that is fair to both sides. But it can be a seamer track as what happended to new zealand a few seasons back when steyn skittled them.

Capetown is genereally a good batting pitch , turns the most of all three pitches.

 

[pcfan123]

Last few years Durban has been the fastest wicket in the world