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

[USACricNerd]

WI letting this game wander a bit here in the afternoon session as usual. Only one slip in place for their best paceman (Gabriel) to Kohil when he's on 8 - tells me they're afraid of him. I love Jason Holder as a cricketer - think he's got a great heart - but too often I seem him captain defensively. Tell Virat that you think you're going to get him out and see if his emotions get the best of him. Lots of pressure on the Indian top order with shaky batsmen coming in at 6 - utilize that pressure to get a wicket!

 

[abhi_jacko]

Just saw Pujara's wicket - doesn't get uglier than that

He could have smashed that anywhere .. anywhere

 

[aditya123]

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.

I agree with the Dhawan part. Rahul is in the form of his life and deserves to be in the side. However, even if I agree with you on India not needing anything extraordinary to beat this WI side, it does no harm for a side to challenge itself before the tougher opponents that we will face soon. Also, on slow tracks like Antigua, sides have struggled to force a result. Just see how England struggled against the WI last year. I`d rather err on the side of 5 specialist bowlers than playing bits and pieces players like Binny in tests. On that front, this is a selection that is positive. Test cricket is all about specialists.

As I pointed out, as poor as they have been, WI haven`t quite been wiped out in home test series. If I remember correctly, all of SL, Pakistan, NZ and England could only draw their most recent test series to WI. It shows that it is not quite a cakewalk.

On another note, Gabriel has looked promising. WI missed a trick by not including Miguel Cummins. Jamaica would be pacier and we might see him there. This series will provide interesting cricket despite WI not being the strongest side. They seem to have a bit of steel about them these days.

 

[zwarrior]

Why ia Ashwin padded up ?

 

[aditya123]

Why ia Ashwin padded up ?

Actually I would`nt mind Ashwin batting ahead of Saha. He is more fluent as a batsman than Saha.

 

[abhi_jacko]

dammit !! just before tea

Very good knock by Dhawan though - fought it out in the tough period

 

[Aalay]

After a long time I have seen Dhawan play very well. He fought out against Gabriel who troubled him with short deliveries. However, he didn't throw away his wicket and fought throughout and then started getting runs. However, he just gave it away by not seeing off that last over. Hopefully he can build on this inning and can perform like this more consistently. Kohli has been amazing as soon as he has got to the crease. He has chased a couple of wide ones from Bratihwaite around that 5th stump line but other than that he has looked quite solid.

 

[aditya123]

After a long time I have seen Dhawan play very well. He fought out against Gabriel who troubled him with short deliveries. However, he didn't throw away his wicket and fought throughout and then started getting runs. However, he just gave it away by not seeing off that last over. Hopefully he can build on this inning and can perform like this more consistently. Kohli has been amazing as soon as he has got to the crease. He has chased a couple of wide ones from Bratihwaite around that 5th stump line but other than that he has looked quite solid.

Is it just me or does Dhawan actually have a really awkward and susceptible sweep shot. I remember the GABBA test where he had that wrist injury fiasco and came back to score that 80-odd. Just when he looked like getting India to a decent lead in that game, he got out to a really awkward sweep against Lyon. Dhawan, like all other contemporary Indian batsmen is suspect against spin.

 

[Aalay]

Is it just me or does Dhawan actually have a really awkward and susceptible sweep shot. I remember the GABBA test where he had that wrist injury fiasco and came back to score that 80-odd. Just when he looked like getting India to a decent lead in that game, he got out to a really awkward sweep against Lyon. Dhawan, like all other contemporary Indian batsmen is suspect against spin.

Dhawan does struggle against off spinners but I don't think it looks awkward because it comes to him quite naturally unlike Kohli who rarely plays that shot. Today, he wasn't getting anything in his strong zone which is driving on off side so he swept a lot against Bishoo. However, I felt it wasn't required in that over since it was the last over and almost a perfect session so it would have been better had he seen off that over. However, I think he was just trying to put more pressure on Bishoo.

Also I heard one of the commentator mentioning that Ashwin might come in before Saha since he is already padded up. Not a bad move at all I think.

 

[zwarrior]

That was a loose shot from Jinx.

 

[Aalay]

Are you tweaking kidding me?

 

[abhi_jacko]

WTF Rahane .. we must really like Bishoo to grant him gifts like these

 

[USACricNerd]

Wow - Pujara and Rahane will definitely both be regretting their dismissals in this innings. Always surprising to me - Gabriel is the only WI bowler who looks like getting someone out and the Windies have been struggling to take wickets for years now. Why help them out?

 

[aditya123]

Bishoo is our customary spin beneficiary for this series following the likes of Moeen Ali, Elgar, Lyon and Piedt. Two rank long-hops have fetched Bishoo wickets today. This has turned what could have been a total gun day into a 60-40 day now. Anything less than 400 and there could still be a contest on here. Ashwin ahead of Saha looks a good move on paper. If Ashwin can improve his batting, India would feel more confident going into future games with 5 bowlers.

 

[Aalay]

Well at least we have another Kohli hundred to help us get past that Rahane shot for a while.