Sri Lanka in India

[ZoraxDoom]

Did you notice Bhajji took his first few wickets from over the wicket? It was Sehwag who told him to do so, you could hear him telling Harbhajan that when he brought him into the attack through the Stump Microphone. Not bad capitancy

Also, Agarkar scored a handy 26 and bowled 6 overs for only 18 runs. Doing a good supporting role to Pathan, Kumble and Harbhajan.

 

[aditya123]

Well for me he scores a match winning knock just in time to hold on to his place in the team. But then he has saved India quite a few times after that magical 281 at Kolkata

I would not be fair to Laxman if you say that he scores a match winning knock whenever his place is in doubt . For me his place in the Indian side should never be in doubt .
Laxman has played a big role in many of India`s successes other that the 281 .
His 75,148,178 against Australia in 2003 were sensational . He saved us a test against West Indies along with Sachin , a timely 100 against NZ to save us the Mohali test . A 75 at trinidad won us the test match .

He has always played under the shadow of Sachin,Rahul,Sehwag and Ganguly .
People tend to confuse his ODI performances with his tests and seem to think of every test series as Laxman`s comeback test series .

 

[cricket_lover]

I would not be fair to Laxman if you say that he scores a match winning knock whenever his place is in doubt . For me his place in the Indian side should never be in doubt .
Laxman has played a big role in many of India`s successes other that the 281 .
His 75,148,178 against Australia in 2003 were sensational . He saved us a test against West Indies along with Sachin , a timely 100 against NZ to save us the Mohali test . A 75 at trinidad won us the test match .

He has always played under the shadow of Sachin,Rahul,Sehwag and Ganguly .
People tend to confuse his ODI performances with his tests and seem to think of every test series as Laxman`s comeback test series .

Well said!
Laxman is or rather should be a permanent player in the test team, for the next three-four years. He plays well under pressure and has proved that many times. This knock may not be his best but a very gritty effort. It helped India post a good total and also a very good chance to wrap the series.

Credit should also go to Pathan and Harbhajan. Pathan played a very composed knock, something that is not very common among leading all-rounders today. Bhajji came back to his wicket-taking spells with 4-24 and i'm sure he is hungry for more.

 

[siddharth2002]

Hi, been a while since I posted here. I think India going great guns now, Laxman was never out of Test squad. he was always a permanant. Its just that he is not good enough for ODI's due to his slow running and lesser strike rate. Overall good performance by Indian Team and thankfully Ganguly is out for good and Indian team can move on with their plans.
But a word of caution though, those two SL batsmen are no mugs with bat and can take motivation from India's lower order and make India toil hard tomorrow.

 

[aditya123]

Also, Agarkar scored a handy 26 and bowled 6 overs for only 18 runs. Doing a good supporting role to Pathan, Kumble and Harbhajan.

I disagree with you .

I feel the need of a wicket-taker (which Agarkar is`nt in test cricket) in test match cricket.
You may not find it mattering too much in this series when Kumble and Bhajji will deliver the goods for you but there will be pitches where the spinners may not come into play till late Day 3 or Day 4 and there will be many of those pitches in Pakistan .

We need our new ball bowlers to pick up a few wickets to ease our spinners into a good situation .

Irfan is doing a great job with the new ball and invariably picks up wickets in his first spenn .
We need another bowler who can do that .

 

[siddharth2002]

I disagree with you .

Irfan is doing a great job with the new ball and invariably picks up wickets in his first spenn .
We need another bowler who can do that .

Thats actually correct. Agarkar is a hot and cold player. We need another strike bowler who can swing and seam the ball consistently and chip in with wickets with new ball.

 

[aditya123]

I feel Agarkar should be treated the way Kumble and Laxman are ! He should be made more or less a certainty in the ODI side and we should get Balaji,Zaheer or RP back in the test side as those 3 are genuine wicket takers .

 

[siddharth2002]

I feel Agarkar should be treated the way Kumble and Laxman are ! He should be made more or less a certainty in the ODI side and we should get Balaji,Zaheer or RP back in the test side as those 3 are genuine wicket takers .

I think Agarkar is pretty good ODI player but can be rested from Test side and othes need to be given chances although Agarkar has been India's best pace bowler on AUS pitches.

 

[Indiangod]

India batted well to get to 398, despite being in trouble at 95/5 Laxman once agian scores a match-saving 100, Pathan yet again missed out on a 100. Sri Lanka are in a spot of bother at 131/5 Bhajji taking 4 wickets. I think Zaheer should be in the test team.

 

[Adarsh]

Also, Agarkar scored a handy 26 and bowled 6 overs for only 18 runs. Doing a good supporting role to Pathan, Kumble and Harbhajan.

He recovered after a horrible first spell, where he bowled 4 noballs in his first over. He really is annoying. Pathan bowls beautifully at one end and he invariably lets go all the pressure. He should learn from H.Singh and Kumble. They are, in my opinion, the greatest test spin-twins in history.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I disagree with you .

I feel the need of a wicket-taker (which Agarkar is`nt in test cricket) in test match cricket.
You may not find it mattering too much in this series when Kumble and Bhajji will deliver the goods for you but there will be pitches where the spinners may not come into play till late Day 3 or Day 4 and there will be many of those pitches in Pakistan .

We need our new ball bowlers to pick up a few wickets to ease our spinners into a good situation .

Irfan is doing a great job with the new ball and invariably picks up wickets in his first spenn .
We need another bowler who can do that .

Actually, when we have three wicket takers, we definately need someone who can apply the brakes to scoring. Who can apply pressure but need not rip through lineups. Take the Aussies, for example. McGrath doesn't aim for wickets, just keeps things tight. Even when he doesn't pick wickets, he is economical, and that is crucial. Similarly Ashley Giles slow-medium pacers are used to tie up an end against free scoring batsmen. Agarkar provides a good foil for Pathan, and lets Pathan bowl his natural game without worrying about runs conceded by his partner.

He is also a valuable lower order batsman.

 

[Indiangod]

I think Agarkar is pretty good ODI player but can be rested from Test side and othes need to be given chances although Agarkar has been India's best pace bowler on AUS pitches.

I really do think that Zaheer should make a comeback into the test team.......I wonder if Balaji will be picked in the test squad tourning Pakistan....he did very well in Pakistan last time around.

 

[SaiSrini]

I disagree with you .

I feel the need of a wicket-taker (which Agarkar is`nt in test cricket) in test match cricket.
You may not find it mattering too much in this series when Kumble and Bhajji will deliver the goods for you but there will be pitches where the spinners may not come into play till late Day 3 or Day 4 and there will be many of those pitches in Pakistan .

We need our new ball bowlers to pick up a few wickets to ease our spinners into a good situation .

Irfan is doing a great job with the new ball and invariably picks up wickets in his first spenn .
We need another bowler who can do that .

Agarkar should be reserved for the ODI's and may be either Zaheer or Balaji should be brought on for Pakistan (remember, Balaji is hugely popular in Pakistan with his towering sixes off Akthar! ).

Agarkar did well with the bat though today! He shows lot of improvement in his game! He has made a sincere attempt to correct himself. He should be persisted with in the ODI's. If he can bat like this in the ODI's and get a 30-odd score, India are much better served!

 

[cricket_lover]

Zaheer will make a comeback. For now, Agarkar is simply ineffective on Indian soil. Zaheer or Balaji or even Nehra would be a good option.

 

[ashu2411]

Day 2 proved to be a great day for Indian team and all the time India looked in complete control. Laxman played beautifullly for his century, Pathan once again showed his batting potential, good support by Indian tail in batting, Pathan got a wicket early on, a great spell from Harbhajan to finish the day. Everything went perfect to india and now they are in complete control of the match. Day 3 should be a tough trying day for Lankans.