South Africa's tour of India - October/December 2015

[grkrama]

must watch

Nothing Wrogn about that: When Kohli stumped fans - starsports.com

 

[War]

Since Re-Admission S Africa batsman have played spin consistently better than any non-asian side in the sub-continent - don't expect that trend to change in this series unless they have a massive injury causalities the to main batsmen in the team.

 

[abhi_jacko]

must watch

Nothing Wrogn about that: When Kohli stumped fans - starsports.com

That was fun [DOUBLEPOST=1442243147][/DOUBLEPOST]

by Shastri:
"When you have everyone fit and ready, the guys will be back in their normal positions. All the chop and change happened because we were encountered with so many injuries right through the series. What do you do then? You have to be flexible and people have to be prepared to do that."

Another hint that Pujara might sit out for Ro?

 

[PokerAce]

^ Nah, there is no way Rohit gets in ahead of Pujara after Pujara's 145.

 

[Markkkkk]

South Africa Test squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.

ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.

T20 squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese, Khaya Zondo

Test squad is alright, would have liked Dane Paterson in it but that wont happen, Bavuma should be swapped with Stephen Cook aswell

de Kock shouldnt be in the ODI based on form but we do need him, why Behardien is there amazes me but atleast Wiese got dropped...

T20 is well, 'Targets'. Zondo, Behardien and even Leie shouldnt be there. Why Delport has not been included once again amazes me...

 

[War]

South Africa Test squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.

ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.

T20 squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese, Khaya Zondo

Test squad is alright, would have liked Dane Paterson in it but that wont happen, Bavuma should be swapped with Stephen Cook aswell

de Kock shouldnt be in the ODI based on form but we do need him, why Behardien is there amazes me but atleast Wiese got dropped...

T20 is well, 'Targets'. Zondo, Behardien and even Leie shouldnt be there. Why Delport has not been included once again amazes me...

Ye fair point on Cook, it does seem odd that S Africa trying to turn Van Zyl into an opener when you have a season domestic option in Cook. Does seem again like they compromising team balance to include a "target" player in Bavuma. Wan't aware of Dane Paterson's rise but he seems interesting based on this article -
http://www.sacricketmag.com/paterson-rise/. What your view on Hardus Viljeon?

Indeed Zondo, Behardien and Leie smell like "target choices" - not sure how Rossow can't make T20 team, Behardien really is nothing player and why have two leg spinners in team? I thought this left-arm chinamen bowler Tabriaz Shamsi in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) who looked fairly impressive - thought he would get a look him before Leie. Delport though didn't impress much in CPL, have the proteas forgot about Richard Levi as the T20 option?

Otherwise interesting early bowling tactics revealed here by SAs bowling coach - SA's pace trio likely to delay Rabada's Test debut | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[SaiSrini]

I differ here. I think ODIs are real cricket. Tests ofcourse the definitive form of cricket, but ODI cricket has a lot going for it. 50 overs is a decent no. of overs, and the batsmen have the pressure to score quickly while the bowlers still get a reasonably fair shot at the batsmen. Bowlers still get 5-6 over spells to expose a batsman, and work him over. An out of form batsman still has time to work and play himself in. He cannot just hit a senseless shot and get out. In T20s a batsman out of form can just lash out at the first ball he faces and if he gets out its still fine. Not the case in ODIs.

Also in ODIs there is more collective team planning than in any form. What score to get, there is a strategy for each 5 - 10 overs. These are the overs to build an innings, now lets hit out. You can see how the team build their innings to a big score, I really like that aspect in ODIs. Consequently the teams then plan to counter that. In T20s its different, there is really no real planning, all you are hoping for is that the big hitter you have pays off.

There is on disputing the status of test cricket as the greatest form, but there are elements of tactics in ODIs that I enjoy watching. However even so, a bilateral series is not that great to watch.

Sorry for replying very late to this -

I too like ODI cricket more than T20 cricket. It has the balance between both T20's and test cricket. It requires patience to build innings, but also has the good acceleration that gets you finish games within a day.

I sarcastically wonder how certain people are OK with watching these boring and dull periods of play in test matches, but make so much of a fuss about the slow paced middle overs of an ODI game. Even at that slow pace, the middle overs of an ODI game will comfortably be more fast paced than a dull period in test cricket. But if you ask them, they will say "that's because its a test of patience and skill". Why then can't you use the same argument for the middle overs of an ODI game, that "its a test of patience and skill"?

 

[SaiSrini]

[QUOTE="aditya123, post: 2986928, member: 2094"]I think SA will start slight favorites in the ODIs and the tests as I see it. The SA batting has a lot of firepower and most of them are used to playing short form cricket in India. The tests would depend on how Steyn goes and the nature of the tracks. Mohali and Ahmedabad could be real dead tracks and one or both of those could end up being draws. Delhi has the potential to be a dustbowl while Bangalore has been traditionally a very sporting wicket. Recent tests in Bangalore have even had something to offer for the seamers. I see SA taking the ODIs 4-1 and either of the sides winning the tests 2-1.

To be very honest, if the evidence of what SA did in B'desh is anything to go by, I would not bet on it. The slow bowlers had SA in a spin and India will have plenty of those to throw at SA. I am not saying India are going to wallop SA or anything like that, or that it is going to be a cakewalk or something.

But I haven't seen SA play spin convincingly enough. SA in B'desh apart from AB were a full strength batting unit, and they really found it hard to get the slow bowlers away. That is where the ODIs will hinge, just like tests. Could SA deal with the spinners? Going by what they did in B'desh, I would say things looking good for India in that dept.[/QUOTE]

I have a feeling India will do better in tests than in ODI's. I am not sure how the change of guard (Dhoni back as captain for the shorter formats) will work for a team that's historically not so used to the multi-captain structure. Also SA have some real match winners for the shorter formats like AB, Faf, etc.

For the tests, we will most likely do well under Kohli. We are slowly developing a potent spin combination with Ashwin and Mishra, more so in subcontinent conditions. If we can find a better spinner than Harbhajan to be the backup, we should be even better. Not worrying much about our fast bowlers because the tracks should be spin or batting friendly that our fast bowlers just need to ensure that the spinners stay fresh. In such a scenario, I would play Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (more so with Ishant missing the Mohali test). Shami would be the other guy if he is fit enough for the first test. Or else, it would be Yadav. I am not starting the Rohit vs Pujara debate. The media is already getting hot onto it.

 

[Aalay]

India pick Gurkeerat for ODIs, Aravind for T20Is | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Amit Mishra



T20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra

Oh god Binny is still there in both the squads and still no Rishi Dhawan.

 

[stefan]

To be very honest, if the evidence of what SA did in B'desh is anything to go by, I would not bet on it. The slow bowlers had SA in a spin and India will have plenty of those to throw at SA. I am not saying India are going to wallop SA or anything like that, or that it is going to be a cakewalk or something.

But I haven't seen SA play spin convincingly enough. SA in B'desh apart from AB were a full strength batting unit, and they really found it hard to get the slow bowlers away. That is where the ODIs will hinge, just like tests. Could SA deal with the spinners? Going by what they did in B'desh, I would say things looking good for India in that dept.

I have a feeling India will do better in tests than in ODI's. I am not sure how the change of guard (Dhoni back as captain for the shorter formats) will work for a team that's historically not so used to the multi-captain structure. Also SA have some real match winners for the shorter formats like AB, Faf, etc.

For the tests, we will most likely do well under Kohli. We are slowly developing a potent spin combination with Ashwin and Mishra, more so in subcontinent conditions. If we can find a better spinner than Harbhajan to be the backup, we should be even better. Not worrying much about our fast bowlers because the tracks should be spin or batting friendly that our fast bowlers just need to ensure that the spinners stay fresh. In such a scenario, I would play Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (more so with Ishant missing the Mohali test). Shami would be the other guy if he is fit enough for the first test. Or else, it would be Yadav. I am not starting the Rohit vs Pujara debate. The media is already getting hot onto it.

The SA side hadn't played for 6 months any international cricket and even longer test cricket. We are really going to use a test series that was mostly washed out as a fair comparison compared to their overall records in india.

AB averages 53 in india,Amla averages 102 and Steyn takes his wickets @ 20 in india. We will be competitive.

 

[PokerAce]

I have a feeling India will do better in tests than in ODI's. I am not sure how the change of guard (Dhoni back as captain for the shorter formats) will work for a team that's historically not so used to the multi-captain structure. Also SA have some real match winners for the shorter formats like AB, Faf, etc.

The SA side hadn't played for 6 months any international cricket and even longer test cricket. We are really going to use a test series that was mostly washed out as a fair comparison compared to their overall records in india.

AB averages 53 in india,Amla averages 102 and Steyn takes his wickets @ 20 in india. We will be competitive.

I think all three T20s (which don't really matter for this tour anyway), ODIs and Tests will be between sides very evenly matched. Both sides have batting good enough to score heaps of runs on the flat sub-continent wickets ODIs in India are usually played on. I think the ODIs will hinge around the Indian slow bowlers, and Ashwin ofcourse. If SA negotiate the slow orthodox spinners that usually tie down the batsmen in the middle overs then SA could end up taking the ODI series.

As for tests, I think the plan SA have to work on is not the outswingers, but the inswingers. Thats how AUs finally conquered India way back, and even in SL I saw India batsmen not play the inswingers too convincingly.

Rahul kept missing the line and leaving balls crashing into his offstump upon moving in. Pujara too has had issues with incoming ball, and most India batsmen looked LBW candidates to the inswing.

I think over all in tests, Ashwin and Mishra, should have enough to win India the series. If India can get SA to be upset Ishant about something, and he gets into the rythm he was in, in the final SL test, then India would like it a lot.

 

[PokerAce]

SA lost the first T20 practice game to India A by 8 wickets. SA batting first put up a stiff target of 190 for India A to chase. Duminy got a fine unbeaten 68 off just 32 balls. Du Plessis is said to have retired hurt on the scorecard for 42. Exactly what that injury is, I don't know.

India A got off to a blistering start through Manan Vohra and Mayank Agarwal, who put up a fine opening stand of 119. Vohra fell for 56, and then Agarwal put up another useful stand of 52 with Sanju Samson. Agarwal fell for 87 of 47 balls, and then Samson and Mandeep Singh fell finished the chase with two balls to spare.

Given the high scoring nature of the game, no bowler on either side stood out. Imran Tahir likely to be the main SA threat on the spinning tracks, went for 26 off his 3 overs and with no wickets.

 

[abhi_jacko]

No one watching the game ? or following it ?

Looks like its an absolute flat deck!! I really wish they had started off with Tests though

 

[PokerAce]

Rohit only the second Indian to get International 100s in Tests, ODIs and T20s. I could be wrong be I think he is the second ever across all nations to have International 100s in all formats.

 

[Aalay]

Rohit only the second Indian to get International 100s in Tests, ODIs and T20s. I could be wrong be I think he is the second ever across all nations to have International 100s in all formats.

Gayle, B Mac, Faf du Plessis and Raina are the ones I can remember who have tons in all formats.