New Zealand Tour of India, November 2010/11

[Sureshot]

There's no reprieve when playing India. They don't have a bad batsman until you're past Dhoni, if you get there that is. Sigh.

Definition of a bad batsman, when playing in India and against your attack, is slightly different to a definition of a bad batsman in most other parts of the world.

 

[pcfan123]

Despite this being a pancake I'm guessing NZ will get run through when they bat tomorrow (if not on day 3)

 

[angryangy]

from the looks of it though sehwag once again responsible for taking the match to the opposition. Everyone else scoring quite slow while he just merrily hits away. he had the air of a 40 year old ex-test great batting in the counties today, not his most fluent but so relaxed and above the situation. hobbling about just completed the picture.

Yeah, exactly! Some of those shots late in the day, he wasn't cutting the ball so much as chopping it... and he did it because he could.

 

[shravi]

Definition of a bad batsman, when playing in India and against your attack, is slightly different to a definition of a bad batsman in most other parts of the world.

That's far too objective a statement. The scores we saw in the recently concluded Australia weren't too different from what you'd see in Australia. There are flat pitches, sure, but there are also competitive pitches in India. It wasn't all that easy on this pitch. It was a little two paced and had variable bounce. Dravid really had to grind out the spinners by stepping well back, for example. It required some very smart batting. There's a fine line between saying that India's dominance (so far) in this match is due to the pitch or due to New Zealand's poor bowling attack.

 

[Howsie]

Had New Zealand played another seamer instead of Patel the balance of this bowling attack would have been fine, both Williamson and Ryder are good enough 5th bowling options imo. What irks me is that everyone knew playing Patel was a mistake, yet he was picked anyway. He was carrying no form whatsoever into this test match and better spinners then himself have been hammered by this Indian lineup recently - I'd love to hear the reasoning behind his selection tbh, as well as why both Tim Southee and Brent Arnel were dropped after being New Zealand's best bowlers in the last test series.

 

[shravi]

Had New Zealand played another seamer instead of Patel the balance of this bowling attack would have been fine, both Williamson and Ryder are good enough 5th bowling options imo. What irks me is that everyone knew playing Patel was a mistake, yet he was picked anyway. He was carrying no form whatsoever into this test match and better spinners then himself have been hammered by this Indian lineup recently - I'd love to hear the reasoning behind his selection tbh, as well as why both Tim Southee and Brent Arnel were dropped after being New Zealand's best bowlers in the last test series.

I thought they were injured or something, that's why I didn't question their absence. But if they aren't, that is appalling from the NZC selectors. I also thought Ryder should have gotten a few more overs. He went for a few but the uneven bounce in the wicket made him a tough proposition. Dravid, in particular, wasn't very comfortable against him.

 

[pcfan123]

If England win the Ashes I think it's fair to say that India are the best team at home.

 

[CG123]

TBH I like the look of our line-up, except Patel of course.
Arnel was very impressive against Australia, but for some reason he's now been dropped.
Southee would more than likely get hammered just like Patel, so I don't mind him not playing.

 

[Chewie]

Still Southee would have been better than Martin surely? Martin's wicket was more luck than skill tbh

 

[CG123]

Martin's looked decent in patches, but as usual he's been plain awful at times.
I don't think there's much between them, Southee would bring in extra 5 km/h in pace, but I'd say Martin has more control on the roads in India.

Hopefully Bennett can get Tendulkar as his first test match wicket, as it's a bit harsh making him debut in India with only one other genuine pace bowler.

 

[ferg512]

Yeah if you were going to have someone instead of Patel it would of been Arnel. I dont really think Southee would've done any better than Martin. Although he might have swung it a bit his control can be bad sometimes. With Martin I just think he probably should have retired last year when O'Brien did. He was still doing ok then, but now I think the age is really creeping up on him. Its quite sad cause he is either going to be pushed or Vettori will keep playing him and he will continue to do worse.

 

[Chewie]

Southee does need to play to get experience though. Bennett and Southee are most likely going to be the future of our bowling attack for years to come, so it would make sense to play them so they can get experience. Arnel would probably be a better choice than Southee, but he's 31 or something.

Really, both Patel and Martin should have come out for Southee and Arnel.

 

[Howsie]

Haha, oh dear. Hamish Bennett is already injured.

 

[Iridium]

Haha, oh dear. Hamish Bennett is already injured.

And he was one of NZ's best bowlers yesterday. The misery is going to pile up.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Sachin to reach his 50th test ton on Diwali?

Would be epic if it does happen.