SA or India : The Real Challengers To Australia`s Throne.

[King Cricket]

India is now in no.2 in Test after winning from England so I think India can give real challenge to australia

It is too early to say anything. Dhoni is yet to prove overseas as a test captain. And as you see, very soon some of our star players will retire from the tests and what will happen then? Yes, we have some really talented youngsters to fit in their shoes but most of them are yet to play a test. No one knows how they will perform in the five day games. Let's wait and see how well Dhoni tackles this situation. And besides don't write off the Aussies completely. You never know- the team is Australia, a team which has ruled the game for about 18 years. They had to face the same criticisms back at home after losing to New Zealand and England before the start of the 07 WC. What happened next is history.

 

[aditya123]

All I can say is...

Dale Steyn, 5-23 against India in India - First innings of the Test Match

India got pwned.

I reckon Chris Gayle would average 50 or close to it if Gayle got to bat on Indian pitches with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman.

So what do you want us to say? `India is a crappy side which does not deserve to be anywhere near the top 3 in tests right now.`
Sehwag can only do what he is asked to do.If batting in India was that easy,why does every batsman who tours India not churn out 100s in every innings.For that matter, the Australian pitches are actually one of the truest in the world and very good to bat on.Sehwag has scored runs at Adelaide/MCG/Perth as well.Sehwag`s batting has nothing to do with who he has in the batting lineup.His attitude remains the same, irrespective of the match situation and team composition.

And what are you trying to suggest with the 5/23 stat? Sreesanth got similar figures (a 6-fer) to bowl SA out for 84,just like Steyn did to bowl India out for 76.That for me,shows very little.Does it take anything away from the fact that Ishant Sharma is special or the way he has bowled to top batsmen?

Why do people here seem to be unwilling to accept that Sehwag is a special talent ? Is`nt that a sign of bias ?

aditya123 added 7 Minutes and 4 Seconds later...

Another thing which nobody seems to consider here is that India have done well against Australia consistently over the past decade which no other side has done.SA have only won a test match after losing about 10 straight tests to Australia(home and away included).India have a head to head record against Australia over the past 15 tests which is level with Australia and this includes Aussie sides at their peak.Does that not deserve a mention ?

aditya123 added 2 Minutes and 6 Seconds later...

The attitude towards posts here is that any post which is in favour of India or an Indian player is biased (even if it is supported by facts or performances) ! Is a post neutral only if it is posted by an Indian in favor of a SA player in this case?
People are going on and on about all my posts in this thread being `ridiculously biased` without stating why it is so ?

 

[Shri]

So what do you want us to say? `India is a crappy side which does not deserve to be anywhere near the top 3 in tests right now.`
Sehwag can only do what he is asked to do.If batting in India was that easy,why does every batsman who tours India not churn out 100s in every innings.For that matter, the Australian pitches are actually one of the truest in the world and very good to bat on.Sehwag has scored runs at Adelaide/MCG/Perth as well.Sehwag`s batting has nothing to do with who he has in the batting lineup.His attitude remains the same, irrespective of the match situation and team composition.

And what are you trying to suggest with the 5/23 stat? Sreesanth got similar figures (a 6-fer) to bowl SA out for 84,just like Steyn did to bowl India out for 76.That for me,shows very little.Does it take anything away from the fact that Ishant Sharma is special or the way he has bowled to top batsmen?

Why do people here seem to be unwilling to accept that Sehwag is a special talent ? Is`nt that a sign of bias ?

aditya123 added 7 Minutes and 4 Seconds later...

Another thing which nobody seems to consider here is that India have done well against Australia consistently over the past decade which no other side has done.SA have only won a test match after losing about 10 straight tests to Australia(home and away included).India have a head to head record against Australia over the past 15 tests which is level with Australia and this includes Aussie sides at their peak.Does that not deserve a mention ?

aditya123 added 2 Minutes and 6 Seconds later...

The attitude towards posts here is that any post which is in favour of India or an Indian player is biased (even if it is supported by facts or performances) ! Is a post neutral only if it is posted by an Indian in favor of a SA player in this case?
People are going on and on about all my posts in this thread being `ridiculously biased` without stating why it is so ?

Some are just sore losers mate.

 

[0601731]

well if gayle would avg 50,zak and ishant would avg less than 20 with the ball if they always played in bowler friendly conditions.

 

[Shri]

I reckon Chris Gayle would average 50 or close to it if Gayle got to bat on Indian pitches with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman.

And I reckon Bradman would have taken 500 wickets as a spinner if he had played in Indian pitches.

Its not about what might have been. Its about what has actually happened mate.

 

[Sureshot]

Very different teams. We've played both recently, personally, I'd rather play South Africa than India. There's more to India's attack than there is to South Africa's, though SA have the better bowler in Steyn. No contest in a discussion on fielding comparisons, South Africa win hands down.

Batting?

Interesting, not a lot between them. Both have very strong batsman in differing positions. Kallis, Smith, De Villiers, Prince and McKenzie (of late) for SA. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar & Dhoni for India. Both have promising players, or players with potential.

India's biggest test will be when Sachin and Dravid hang up their boots. I know Dravid has had a poor run of late, but he's still a class batsman. World Cricket is very good at the moment.

 

[Highlander999]

Aditya. I think that maybe some people have become fed up of constant bias posting by Indians recently and now naturally just call any post by an Indian, being pro-India, bias. Things were at a silly stage but they have improved so people will start posting valid reasons soon Just have to accept that this was the way things were. lots of patriotic Indians who firmly believed everything Indian was brilliant. It did hack people off (me included)

My only worry for India is what will happen to them when Dravid and Sachin retire (key players) A bunch of youngsters (even if they do have potential) will just not have the experience against people like Brett Lee or Dale Steyn. South Africa don't really have that many near retirement (except maybe Boucher) so I can see them taking over the No.1 spot in the long run.

 

[Cricketman]

India have about 20 batsman just waiting in the wings. We've got a more then fantastic replacement for Dravid in Badrinath, and for Tendulkar we have Pujara, Rahane, etc.

 

[aussie_ben91]

Still, averaging over 50 in Test Cricket is easier said then done.

 

[aditya123]

Very different teams. We've played both recently, personally, I'd rather play South Africa than India. There's more to India's attack than there is to South Africa's, though SA have the better bowler in Steyn. No contest in a discussion on fielding comparisons, South Africa win hands down.

Batting?

Interesting, not a lot between them. Both have very strong batsman in differing positions. Kallis, Smith, De Villiers, Prince and McKenzie (of late) for SA. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar & Dhoni for India. Both have promising players, or players with potential.

India's biggest test will be when Sachin and Dravid hang up their boots. I know Dravid has had a poor run of late, but he's still a class batsman. World Cricket is very good at the moment.

Guys, is this post any different to what I posted?Go ahead, call this biased or is this an extended form of the English solidarity to India!

The retirements are a valid issue which India might face in the near future but did anyone notice that two of the dubbed `Fab Four` in Kumble and Ganguly just retired and we have a couple of players who have quietly settled into the side.If you look at the ODI side to take clues about what might happen in the future to the test side,India have smoothly gone through the transition period and now Tendulkar is the only senior left in the ODI side.
Although Test cricket is a whole different ball game, we have guys in Rohit Sharma,Badri,Pujara,Raina and Vijay(who featured in a test against Australia) to hopefully ease through the transition period.

Another advantage which India have is that we have finished all our big test tours over the past 18 months.Starting from SA in early 07 to England in July 07 to Australia in 07/08,we have actually played the big three in tests home and away in the past 18 months.India has actually played the toughest sides home and away in the past 18 months.
So these guys won`t be immediately forced to undertake tough tours to Australia,England and SA which could work in their favor.They could all settle into the side before any big away assignments.I am quite confident that we`ll go through the transition period with the new bunch of seniors in Dhoni,Zaheer,Gambhir,Sehwag and Yuvraj taking us ahead.They will form the new core of the Indian side in the coming years.

Looking at the fixtures, India only have 5 test matches lined up in the next year! What a shame!

aditya123 added 2 Minutes and 29 Seconds later...

Just have to accept that this was the way things were. lots of patriotic Indians who firmly believed everything Indian was brilliant. It did hack people off (me included)

Iam not one of those who believe that everything the Indian side does is brilliant.You just have to read through my posts yesterday in the `England in India` thread to know that.

aditya123 added 3 Minutes and 13 Seconds later...

Still, averaging over 50 in Test Cricket is easier said then done.

We never said so.It was you who said that anybody could average fifty batting with guys like Laxman,Dravid and Tendulkar on Indian pitches.

 

[aussie_ben91]

We never said so.It was you who said that anybody could average fifty batting with guys like Laxman,Dravid and Tendulkar on Indian pitches.

Where did I say that?

I said that Chris Gayle could average close to 50 if he was in Sehwag's position. I don't there is much of a difference in quality when it comes to comparing Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag.

 

[SciD]

Australian pitches are more batting friendly than that in India. Batsman can still score runs on 5th day in Australia while in India after 2 days batsman find it hard to play. Its just myth that India has pure batting pitches. Its just that opposition dont have spinners to exploit Indian conditions which dont allow free flowing batting.

 

[Highlander999]

Australian pitches are more batting friendly than that in India. Batsman can still score runs on 5th day in Australia while in India after 2 days batsman find it hard to play. Its just myth that India has pure batting pitches. Its just that opposition dont have spinners to exploit Indian conditions which dont allow free flowing batting.

Warne, Murali, Vettori, Kaneria are just a few names that come to mind over recent years. Basically just England, South Africa and West Indies

 

[Chetan0304]

India washed out the Englishmen men even after such a tragedy in the country.

It's time to see the same Overseas :happy

 

[m_vaughan]

Well it is difficult to call, but I would go for South Africa by a slight margin. In any case, this discussion only holds merit because Australia themselves have dropped down a bit. I dont think either India and South Africa can ever match the invincibility of the Australian side of not that long ago. Neither of the two is anywhere near 'unbeatable', something the the Aussies were for so long.

Also while Sehwag has done well recently, Graeme Smith is clearly a far better batsman to have in your test team. He offers more reliability, balance and in the end the all important factor- consistency.

India have always had a good record against Australia though. But the comparisons should be universal, and not just how you perform against one team. India have improved a lot in this regard, with better results overseas such as in West Indies and England. South Africa have done it as well, and more convincingly than India.