South Africa in India

[sohum]

Good thing I did not attempt to watch the final day.

 

[Leggie]

Good thing I did not attempt to watch the final day.

You would have died of boredom. The presentation was worth while watching though.....

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Good thing I did not attempt to watch the final day.

You have missed a Big day,Sohum!!..Lol..
That was some real test Cricket...

 

[SaiSrini]

One of the most boring tests in Chennai, I believe. Thank god, I missed the final day.

Kaif in for Tendya? What?!!!!!!

I would say good move. Kaif is a very energetic player, best fielder and a good batsman (he seems to be in good form these days). Seeing that Yuvraj failed badly in Australia, I am not too sure if Yuvraj will indeed play. I would say 'give kaif a chance' and see how he performs. If he does well, it will be a boon for our test team.

Ishant should be back in for RP Singh, and if Sree is not fit, Irfan should come in for him. Also Piyush can come in for, hmmmm, may be Laxman. Cant drop Ganguly especially when Sachin is not fit. Ganguly is the ideal No. 4 replacement (his double hundred came in that spot recently). Dravid wont be dropped, Sehwag wont be dropped, Jaffer also wont be dropped. Its only Laxman again on the firing line if we have to get 5 bowlers (which we critically have to coz the pitches are expected to be flat as hell).

 

[Cricketman]

What about Subramanium Badrinath!
Kaif has done NOTHING to earn this spot!! Badrinath deserves it!
Politics once again! Northern states get so much preference!

Also, you CANNOT drop Laxman. Stop this crap.

 

[Will_NA]

You are underrating Sehwag massively. Dravid was in a touch of bad form, but he was hardly in a massive rut; he faced some good bowling from the South Africans. Sehwag's innings, more than anything else, showed an innate ability to score off good deliveries. As the collapse from the rest of the Indian batsmen showed, the pitch was by no means a complete featherbed (although it was very flat) - flatter pitches have often been prepared at international level. Even Sehwag noted that Multan in 2004 was a flatter pitch than the Chennai pitch. Moreover, Dravid played a crucial role in keeping his wicket as it allowed Sehwag to bat swashbucklingly and play his shots without having to worry about what was occuring at the other end.

In no way did I undermine Sehwag's knock.

When you take into account the fact that Sehwag scored so freely, both teams scored over 500 and there were 5 centuries in that match (I believe), it was a very slow knock on a pitch that nearly everyone else found very batting-friendly.

There was no need to drop anchor with 9 wickets remaining. Dravid is in horrible touch and this innings emphasised it. It's as if he lacks the confidence to hit what he sees and is purely going by the logic of let the bowler get you out.

Sehwag's kock was brilliant but you don't get 300 on a minefield and this pitch was by no means a minefield. Therefore, Dravid should have been more comfortable.

 

[sohum]

You'd have to think Badri is out of the picture if he didn't get the pick up here.

 

[Cricketman]

Our selectors deserve a right kick in the ass.
Utter nonsense.

 

[0601731]

kaif just doesnt deserve it!!!!poor badrinath must not know what else he ll have to do.

 

[Leggie]

Badrinath TBH did deserve his place, Kaif has had so many chances and failed. At least give a youngster a chance...

 

[TruSachFan]

jsut wondering wat did kaif do to get dropped from the side in the first place??

 

[Cricketman]

jsut wondering wat did kaif do to get dropped from the side in the first place??

Repeated failures.
I've lost faith in the BCCI and the selectors. (Not that I had any faith in them in the first place).

 

[Leggie]

Repeated failures.
I've lost faith in the BCCI and the selectors. (Not that I had any faith in them in the first place).

Anyone can perform at Domestic level, its a matter of performing at international level and Kaif has clearly shown us that he cannot do this...:

 

[Cricketman]

Kaif averages in the low 30's in the first class level.
Badrinath almost averages 60.

Where's the logic.
Badri is an awesome fielder.
As is Kaif.

Badrinath is an awesome bowler as well.
Kaif isn't.
????

 

[SaiSrini]

What about Subramanium Badrinath!
Kaif has done NOTHING to earn this spot!! Badrinath deserves it!
Politics once again! Northern states get so much preference!

Also, you CANNOT drop Laxman. Stop this crap.

Just because Laxman is a good batsman, you dont play 5 bowlers at all and stick with 4 bowlers? Tell me who can you drop if you want a 5th bowler? Sehwag? Jaffer? Dravid? Ganguly? Dhoni?

May be Laxman can play if they decide not to select either Yuvraj or Kaif. But I hope they do not do that coz our fielding has hit really low standards and we need either of Yuvraj or Kaif to perk it up (Yuvraj off late has not been the great fielder that he is, but he is far better than any of the guys in the team right now). Same with Kaif. In fact, Kaif has been the fall guy even when he performs well. He doesnt have big support or anything within the board or the selectors.

Anyone can perform at Domestic level, its a matter of performing at international level and Kaif has clearly shown us that he cannot do this...:

Kaif doesnt have any other method to prove that he can correct his mistakes and play well for India. If you dont consider domestic cricket, what else will you consider? IPL? ICL?

Sachin being not available is a psychological blow. They are trying to offset that by bringing back a player who has done it in international cricket. Badrinath hasnt played an international game in his life. And its South Africa who are playing as well as any team in the world.