India's tour of West Indies - July/August 2016

[abhi_jacko]

Wow .. Did not see that coming. With such a short batting lineup, The batsmen have pretty much been asked to up their game and deliver instead of relying on the next man coming in.

When was the last time we played five genuine bowlers in a test or any format

 

[zwarrior]

Wow .. Did not see that coming. With such a short batting lineup, The batsmen have pretty much been asked to up their game and deliver instead of relying on the next man coming in.

When was the last time we played five genuine bowlers in a test or any format

Last year vs Bangladesh Cricket Scorecard -Bangladesh vs India, Only Test - June 10, 2015 - Cricket Archives - Cricbuzz | Cricbuzz.com

 

[aditya123]

Wow .. Did not see that coming. With such a short batting lineup, The batsmen have pretty much been asked to up their game and deliver instead of relying on the next man coming in.

When was the last time we played five genuine bowlers in a test or any format

If ever there is a time to do it, its the first test of a series. You still have three more tests to recover in case things go awry. Also asks the batsmen to up their game.

 

[Aalay]

Aggressive selection from Kohli once again by going with 5 proper bowlers and no bits and pieces cricketer in the line-up. However, our batting line-up will really need to step up if we want to do well. Dhawan is an impact player which is why he is getting the nod over KL Rahul but he needs to be more consistent because we are only going with 5 batsmen. Saha is someone who has never excited me because I still don't think he is an international quality player. He is simply not a batsman who can bat at 6 and his keeping is nothing exceptional for a person who is regarded as the best keeper in the country. Hopefully he proves me wrong this tour and does well because we don't have many option in terms of wicket keeper right now.

 

[aditya123]

Aggressive selection from Kohli once again by going with 5 proper bowlers and no bits and pieces cricketer in the line-up. However, our batting line-up will really need to step up if we want to do well. Dhawan is an impact player which is why he is getting the nod over KL Rahul but he needs to be more consistent because we are only going with 5 batsmen. Saha is someone who has never excited me because I still don't think he is an international quality player. He is simply not a batsman who can bat at 6 and his keeping is nothing exceptional for a person who is regarded as the best keeper in the country. Hopefully he proves me wrong this tour and does well because we don't have many option in terms of wicket keeper right now.

Naman Ojha has much more flair as a batsman.

 

[Aalay]

Naman Ojha has much more flair as a batsman.

He does but there is something that Virat and management has seen in Saha that makes them pick him automatically. I have heard in past in various interviews that he is a good player of spin and then he comes out and goes for a wild slog against Nathan Lyon in Adelaide in a game where he had to just provide support to Kohli to win the match. Whenever I have seen him keep, he has always missed a stumping or dropped a catch and there were very rare instance where I can say that he is the best keeper we have got.

 

[zwarrior]

Wth ? Dhawan is not learning. 3 short balls and 3 bad shots in an over.

 

[Aalay]

Dhawan is already in trouble with that short ball under his armpit. Gabirel will test him because he has this raw pace and Dhawan needs to find a way to take him on.[DOUBLEPOST=1469111658][/DOUBLEPOST]I am muting my tv if Jadeja says inexperiance one more time.

 

[zwarrior]

Gabriel was looking good and he got his prize. Sloppy work from Vijay.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Looks like its going to be a trial by bouncers !! Definitely doesn't look like a "slow pitch" based on what I have read so far[DOUBLEPOST=1469113008][/DOUBLEPOST]Seeing Pujara bat always makes me happy for some reason, even though he is not exactly a flashy batsman

Fingers crossed for him

 

[USACricNerd]

Very pacey pitch early in Antigua. With this much zip off the deck I'm surprised that Miguel Cummins didn't get a look. Seems like Sulieman Benn could have had fun with his left-arm orthodox from 2 meters tall. West Indies batsmen will have trouble with Ishant and Yadav bowling short on this track if it stays like this on day 2.

 

[USACricNerd]

I'm not really understanding this early spell of bowling for Roston Chase. Not enough turn to really justify him bowling with such a new ball when there's pace in the wicket. Would rather see Bishoo if you need to go to spin for whatever reason. Maybe with an older ball Chase can produce something interesting.

 

[Aalay]

That was absolutely horrible from Pujara.

 

[abhi_jacko]

3 more wickets, and the tail will start. 2 if we consider how unstable Saha is

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I`m happy with the team selection. It is positive and shows an intention to win. Bunny is never going to be an all-rounder for you. If you have to depend on Bunny`s batting abilities, you might have lost the game anyway. I`m glad we`ve gone in with 5 genuine bowlers. This is something you might have never seen with the Dhoni-style captaincy. Going in with 5 bowlers on a greenish track in the first test of an overseas tour.

Also, we tend to miss another fact regards the WI side. WI in home tests have`nt been hopeless. NZ, England, SL and Pakistan were all unable to win their most recent test series in the Carribean. WI seem to find a way to beat sides at home. We would be foolish to not keep that in mind.

It's a ridiculous team selection. India don't need to do anything 'extraordinary' to win against WI. And, this is not your 'overseas overseas' tour as conditions are very similar to home. I don't doubt that leaving Mishra out would have been tough, but Saha at 6 and Ashwin at 7 is hardly inspiring. Also, Dhawan's selection is pure BIASED. It will take a serious discussion to tell me Dhawan deserves to be our test opener after the season he's had. Rahul, who I'm not a fan of has worked his rear end off to be there and deserves it. Sure, Dhawan can make runs against a poor attack in hopeless batting conditions, but come England, Australia, SA and NZ against quality attacks and the ball is hooting around, it will require more than just a twirl of the moustache.