Sri Lanka in India

[furyfoxx]

Dhoni's batting with his ODI cap on!

I don't think Yuvi deserves to be thrown out after this innings of maturity. About Ganguly, he seems to have realised again that his batting in test matches should be according to his position. He comes in and plays solidly to steady the ship after the fall of a wicket and then works on collecting runs.

I think Gambhir should be dropped becoz he has had a bad run since his ODI century. If the selectors prefer to keep him, then Sehwag should be asked to sit out. Perhaps he'll bat better after a break?

 

[cricket_lover]

What did they say?
I hope both Ganguly and Yuvi stay.

BTW, nice article! good to see positiveness in the camp.

India will declare after lunch, when they score 400+ runs. The pitch is slowing down, so only Kumble and Bhajji to some extent can get India home.

 

[SaiSrini]

What did they say?
I hope both Ganguly and Yuvi stay.

BTW, nice article! good to see positiveness in the camp.

India will declare after lunch, when they score 400+ runs. The pitch is slowing down, so only Kumble and Bhajji to some extent can get India home.

They wont voice out their views that easily. Exercised lot of caution! Sri says dropping Yuvraj would make it very hard for him (Yuvraj) to digest! Which says that Srinath wants Yuvraj to be in the team!

Shiva didnt say anything at all!

The pitch has uneven bounce (i.e.) some balls bounce pretty good and keep as low as an under arm delivery! So ideally a bowler who can bowl fast and fuller at the stumps making it hard for the batsman to react quickly would do very good on this wicket. And we have that type of bowler in Kumble! Sri Lanka too had Bandara & the commentators said he has been under-bowled which I also agree! Bandara has looked good in this innings posing questions!

Bhajji should ideally revert to ODI mode, bowling fast and flat to the batsmen and try to get some turn! That will do the trick on this wicket! No short balls at all here as its easier to play!

Costliest over by Bandara. 17 runs! Dhoni two boundaries and two boundaries off extras!

 

[cricket_lover]

Its upto the coach and the captain to decide and Gambhir might just face the axe. But the dilemma is who is going to open? We can't experiment too much with Pathan/ODI, Yuvraj is not very sure regarding that position. I'm sure Ganguly would not want to open the bowling. Interesting situation the selectors have.

 

[SaiSrini]

Its upto the coach and the captain to decide and Gambhir might just face the axe. But the dilemma is who is going to open? We can't experiment too much with Pathan/ODI, Yuvraj is not very sure regarding that position. I'm sure Ganguly would not want to open the bowling. Interesting situation the selectors have.

Dravid can open, Dhoni can open, Pathan can open.. Laxman came at an almost opening position in both innings (due to Gambhir's failure) and stood very well there. So he can also open! The wickets are not too tough for the necessity of specialist openers! We can do fine with a makeshift opener. And Sehwag is our regular opener now!

Entertainment from Dhoni! 40* and is quick time that too!

No chance for a win for the Sri Lankans now! They have to break the world record chase now to win here!

 

[ashu2411]

Dravid can open, Dhoni can open, Pathan can open.. Laxman came at an almost opening position in both innings (due to Gambhir's failure) and stood very well there. So he can also open! The wickets are not too tough for the necessity of specialist openers! We can do fine with a makeshift opener. And Sehwag is our regular opener now!

Entertainment from Dhoni! 40* and is quick time that too!

No chance for a win for the Sri Lankans now! They have to break the world record chase now to win here!

the SL defeat is unavoidable now.

 

[cricket_lover]

Dravid can open, Dhoni can open, Pathan can open.. Laxman came at an almost opening position in both innings (due to Gambhir's failure) and stood very well there. So he can also open! The wickets are not too tough for the necessity of specialist openers! We can do fine with a makeshift opener. And Sehwag is our regular opener now!

Entertainment from Dhoni! 40* and is quick time that too!

No chance for a win for the Sri Lankans now! They have to break the world record chase now to win here!

can can and can..
We can't rely on them so much. Dravid is a natural no.3, we all know VVS hates that position! I'm sure neither Ganguly nor Yuvi would want to open, but given no option...they might.
Pathan and Dhoni? like you said..they are make-shift openers. What we need is consistent, technical openers. Gambhir is definitely one. Few match failures mean nothing!
Gavaskar did not score a century for three years! his average dipped...and if Indian management kicked him out, we would have lost one of our greatest cricketers.

Gambhir may not be a Gavaskar but seeing his talent, he's a promising opener. We cannot afford to make too many experiments. We've done it enough in the past.

Update:
India declare 375/6. Yuvraj Singh 77 and Dhoni 51, a good 100 odd run partnership.
Sri Lanka need 435 to win with 4 1/2 sessions! and India require 10 wickets!

 

[SaiSrini]

can can and can..
We can't rely on them so much. Dravid is a natural no.3, we all know VVS hates that position! I'm sure neither Ganguly nor Yuvi would want to open, but given no option...they might.
Pathan and Dhoni? like you said..they are make-shift openers. What we need is consistent, technical openers. Gambhir is definitely one. Few match failures mean nothing!
Gavaskar did not score a century for three years! his average dipped...and if Indian management kicked him out, we would have lost one of our greatest cricketers.

Gambhir may not be a Gavaskar but seeing his talent, he's a promising opener. We cannot afford to make too many experiments. We've done it enough in the past.

But did Gavaskar have competition from other batsmen for his spot in the team? Gambhir has! Every batsman barring him have succeeded in this match! Gambhir has failed in three innings - 1 at Chennai and 2 in his hometown Delhi!

India declare at 375/6! Sri Lanka have a target of 436 runs to win

 

[aditya123]

436 to win !
Dhoni played an ideal innings in the situation .
At least a 135 overs of play will be possible .
141 overs if light permits .
A lot of work to be done by SRl . On a last day wicket keeping low against a rampaging Anil Kumble !
I won`t be surprised if they lose 5 or more wickets today itself .
Expect some magic by Bhajji .

also, to pick up 10 wickets , you need just 10 balls ! Tht is what an optimist would suggest .

India have 840 deliveries to bowl and ned to get 10 wickets from them ! i.e 1 wicket in 84 balls .
Sounds easy if we look at it tht way .

 

[SaiSrini]

436 to win !
Dhoni played an ideal innings in the situation .
At least a 135 overs of play will be possible .
141 overs if light permits .
A lot of work to be done by SRl . On a last day wicket keeping low against a rampaging Anil Kumble !
I won`t be surprised if they lose 5 or more wickets today itself .
Expect some magic by Bhajji .

Ideally what Sri Lanka should do is come out positive and keep scoring runs at a fairly good clip! Thats what will help them at this moment! They will only delay the inevitable by defending! Kumble will prise them out. He doesnt need too much help from the wicket. Already its turning and with Kumble, it can be a nightmare!

Realistically I would look at 125 overs but if Kumble gets 3-4 wickets tonight, we might not go into the final session tomorrow!

 

[cricket_lover]

We'll need atleast two wickets early. Atapattu and Gunawardhane will be looking to score and play cautiously as well. We need agarkar to click, can he pick up a wicket?

 

[SaiSrini]

We'll need atleast two wickets early. Atapattu and Gunawardhane will be looking to score and play cautiously as well. We need agarkar to click, can he pick up a wicket?

Pathan is bowling as usual - beautifully!

Agarkar bowls as he normally uses to bowl - two overs for 8 runs with a boundary each over!

Sri Lanka scoring at 4.5 runs per over! Are they looking for a win? I think yes! 30 off 6 overs now!

 

[SaiSrini]

Gunawardhane gone!
30/1. LBW to Pathan.

Sangakarra in, lets see if he can score some.

He is scoring pretty fast! 10 runs off 6 balls already!

They have come out with the positive intent of scoring runs! Very good ploy by Sri Lanka!

Easy pickings for Sri Lanka here! If they dont lose at least 2 more wickets today, this match is wide open!

At Tea - 62/1 looking very good Sri Lanka!

 

[jdbais]

103/1 now. I think India are starting to get very worried here.

 

[aditya123]

Sangakara goes ! And a wicet finally to Agarkar ,
I think he has read what we`ve been saying about him here on PC !