There were plenty of lessons for England in India's heavy defeat. Asked to chase 607, they were bowled out for 265 yesterday, losing the third Test and with it the series 1-0. In less than a month they take on England in a Test at Nagpur, and there is much their opponents will be able to use against them.India's batting is vulnerable if the openers are out early. Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag fell in the first two overs of the fourth day, and the game was effectively over. Dravid and Sehwag have been India's two critical batsmen over the past few years, and the side depend on them in different ways. Dravid's decision to open gives the opposition a chance to get both batsmen out early, and puts huge pressure on the rest of the side. That is exactly what Pakistan exploited.
What do you think ? Do you agree ? I personally don't think Amit Varma is right on any of those accounts.
- Harmisson is not as fast as Shoib Akthar and anyway we all know that he suffers from homesicknees when touring.!
- Sachin has not lost it, not yet! The square drive and the pull shot he executed against Shoib Akthar in second innings were as good as any one can see.
- India is likely to play a regular opener against England in India. I think we should define a new role for Sachin and ask him to open .
Your comments please!
Guardian Unlimited Sport | Cricket | Cricket: England can take heart from India's collapse
2 comments:
Sachin to open! maybe, but remember Jones will join England. I think anyways, its India's bowling that needs to be looked at. The scores against India in this series have been 679, 588, and 593. You cannot win any matches with bowling like that. Zaheer Khan is ok, Pathan needs to add 5-6 mph. We should bring in Munaf Patel or the guy who won 10 lakhs on the speed competition. I firmly believe bowlers are born and not coached.
Who's keeping Sachin in the side is besides me - after his last so many non-performances in Test matches. The series in Pakistan being a case in hand, 26 being his highest score yet the Selection Panel is conspiring to remove Ganguly - what a pity.
England doesn't have to take heart from India's loss I'm sure they know that Ashes was no flash in pan and India's recent Home performances have made the 'Last Frontier' so non-intimidating, so not the graveyard for the travelling International teams, that it once was.
Eventually it will come down to who wins the Toss on the day though
http://wrongcricket.blogspot.com/
- that's what decided the Karachi game and the Pakistan series
Post a Comment