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[surendar]

L I V E ​

India In Australia
CommonWealth Bank Series 07
First Match : India Vs England
Pitch,Weather Report & Toss
Live From Hobart.

India Vs England.

​

Hello and Welcome back to StarSports for the live coverage of the first match of the CommonWealth Bank series which is, India Vs England from Hobart. So the competition has finally began and this series is definitely going to be a good warm up one for the world cup for all these three teams. Without wasting any further time, let us have a look at the weather report from the stadium.

Weather Report.

Not a very good sign from the weather report!​

Well, its very cool atmosphere at Hobart. But the bad news for all the cricket fans is, we can expect rain at any time. Yes, overcast conditions exist here and as per the weather forecast here, its raining now and then for last two days and the same conditions would exist for next 3-4 days too. This means, we may not get a full day's play. May be overs could be limited if there are any rain interruptions.

Its completely a frustrating thing for cricket fans. All we can hope is, atleast for next 6-7 hours rain should not interrupt so that we will have a result out of this very big clash between India and England. Thats all from the weather report, Lets go and look how the pitch is for today's game.

Pitch Report.

UnPredictable Pitch ~ Contest ON!​

Well the pitch here should be very interesting and tricky one to play on. Because of the bad weather over past few days, this looks like to contain moisture over the surface of the pitch. In other words, looks like a bit wet pitch.

At the same time, from the middle of the pitch to batting crease, there are few cracks that have opened up. This could be dangerous for the batsmen right from the word, " GO! ". Batsmen need to maintain their atmost patience to keep the scorecard moving. Even a minor lack of concentration for the batsman could prove costly for the team.

In short, this pitch is definitely going to favor the low scoring game. Its better if the Captain winning the toss opts for bowling to utilize the overcasting conditions. Thats the story from pitch report and we will now go to the Toss directly.

Toss with Ravi Shastri.
​

RS : Good morning everybody.. We have with us, the two captains.. Andrew Flintoff, captaining for England side and MS Dhoni, the new captain of Indian side.

RS : Flintoff has the coin.. Dhoni to call... And Dhoni goes for 'Heads' but it's 'TAILS'!

RS : So Flintoff, you have won the toss and what you are going to do?

: Well, we are going to bowl first! Looking at the conditions here, I feel it's going to be a bowler friendly day.

RS : So like Dhoni, You are also being selected as the new captain of England after M.Vaughan who has been injured after Ashes. What's your expectations on your team as a new captain?

: Captaining a side is never going to be an easy side. Our boys have been working hard for this series and I am confident that they give their best to battle this time! Hopefully our plan goes right

RS : Thank you, Flintoff and Good luck for the game.

RS : Well, Dhoni... You have lost the toss.. Are you satisfied with the decision of being put into bat first on these conditions?

: Definitely not Ravi.. The conditions look very supportive for the bowlers during early stages of the game. But we have good batting lineup and it's going to be a real test for our batsmen.

RS : Also, first game as the captain.. What do you feel?

: well, its really a big test for me.. that too in Australian conditions! Hopefully our plans go right.

RS : Good luck for the new captaincy and for this match, Dhoni.

: Thanks, Ravi!

RS : So, thats the news from the pitch report. England have won the toss and elected to bowl first. Back to the studio now.

So, England captain, Flintoff without any hesitation has put India into bat first. Have to wait and see how this decision turns out to be. Lets have a look at the teams now!

India

1) S.Tendulkar(VC)
2) V. Sehwag
3) V.Kohli ( Debut )
4) S.Raina
5) S.Dhawan ( Debut )
6) Yuvraj Singh
7) MS Dhoni(Captain/WK)
8) I.Pathan
9) Harbhajan Singh
10) Munaf Patel
11) I.Sharma ( Debut )



England

1) A.Strauss
2) A.Cook
3) I.Bell
4) K.Pieterson
5) A.Flintoff(Captain)
6) P.Collingwood
7) C.Read(WK)
8) M.Hoggard
9) S.Mahmood
10) L.Plunkett
11) MS Panesar
​

Both the teams are looking very competitive. But the real test is going to be on Indian side. New coach.. New captain... and 3 debutants all the way into team XI for this match. This is looking like Steve Waugh's idea who has said already in one of the press meetings like, " Performing Youngsters is what India needed at this time! ".

Before going to the Ball 1 of this match, Star Sports is introducing a new contest for all the viewers. It is Predict and Play contest! ( credits : vcricketpl@net )

Just Predict & Play!

All you need to do is, Predict & Win $VCASH!​

--> Predict @ Toss

For this, Viewers are supposed to predict the match winner from the toss! i.e, like a side playing first is going to win or playing second is going to win.

For example >>>> for this game, side playing first will be India and side playing second is England. It's simple as that.

--> Predict @ First Innings Interval

For this, Viewers are supposed to predict the match winner by recognizing the match position at the end of first innings! For example >>>> for this match, viewers can predict India or England after India's innings is over.

--> Predict @ End Of the Match

For this, viewers are supposed to predict the Man of The Match at the end of the entire match.

For each answer, Vcash of 200 will be given to the members answering correctly! Reps will be also be given at the end of entire game for the winners of all the three questions.

So lets start playing this contest beginning with,

Predict @ Toss​

Who is going to win this match?
1) Side batting first - India
2) Side batting second - England​

Thats all from the studio! We will take a short break now. And while coming back, we will be bringing you the LIVE coverage of the ball 1 straight from the stadium.Till then,Stay Tuned




India : 0/0( 0 Overs, Run Rate : -- R/O )
Sachin Tendulkar : 0*(0)
V.Sehwag : 0*(0)

India Put Into Bat!

Prediction Will be Updated Here,

For England :
For India :
MOTM : Question Yet to be Asked.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I'm going with an England win here. There are some cracks in the pitch to make the ball do all sorts of stuff so it'll be tough for India to bat in these conditions. England also have time to assess the pitch and how to play it.

 

[treva]

Great to see this back Suren and I'm really looking forward to this series. I'm going to go for an England win because of the poor series against South Africa that India have just played.

 

[saladguy]

England will win!

 

[Highlander999]

Great staff Suren, great to have this back. I'm going for an India win, to be different

 

[Karachi Xpress]

Nice update! The predict and win comp looks good.

My prediction for "Predict @ Toss" is India.

India have a good side and have good chances of winning this. Can't wait for your match updates to start

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow!!! thats a brilliant update Surender. Well thats a good decision by Freddie to bowl first. I go for Indian win...Loved the toss as usual and it looks really exciting....

 

[Pakistani Army]

Very nicely compelled pre-match show Suren. It is a poor pitch and Flintoff made the correct decsion in bowling first.
For the "Predicta at Toss", I think it will be 1) The side batting first - India will win.

 

[navin-boss]

England are lucky to win the toss.Both the team looks strong but i will go with India.

 

[Punk_Sk8r]

England will win hopefully, KUTGW with the updates suren!

 

[Amiya]

Nice detailed presentation there. I would go with India win

 

[Kiko_97]

England ftw!

 

[surendar]

All I can say now is, I have played till 30 overs.. Have to agree, that the pitch was very very poor It surprised me a lots! But lets see.. And ya, am preparing screenies. Let me see, if i can update today.. else I need some time for preparing screenies for next update.

Keep guessing the situation of India now It may be expected or unexpected from Indian side.

 

[Pakistani Army]

All I can say now is, I have played till 30 overs.. Have to agree, that the pitch was very very poor It surprised me a lots! But lets see.. And ya, am preparing screenies. Let me see, if i can update today.. else I need some time for preparing screenies for next update.

Keep guessing the situation of India now It may be expected or unexpected from Indian side.

Yes I could expect this of a Wet Pitch. Damn you Suren! Keeping us in suspense. The good old Suren coming back.

 

[Amiya]

That's not good suren. Keeping us in suspence.