India in South Africa

Originally posted by Sledger Originally posted by sam_ahmed As for India, guys, India in the WC will surely be difficult to beat, what I fear for them is that they may do exceedingly well in the round robin games and then (just a gut feeling) flounder in the Knock Out stages (either QF or SF). I don't know but I really feel this is likely.   Replace India with South Africa in the first sentence and the statement still holds up !

 

India in trouble again getting bowled out for 190 and RSA at the moment 77/3. India are fighting but RSA still look well on course.

This is getting a bit scary to me, just yesterday Sachin getting injured crossed my mind many a times.Maybe not seeing Gambir & Shewag in the line, and talks about Rohit sharma opening the batting might have led me think in that terms. Infact I was kind of praying like if at some injury happens to key players , let that happen before the world cup so that none of our key players miss. Looking at sachin's news felt like a Deja Vu. The only good thing from yesterday's thoughts was , I felt even if unfortunately sachin or other key players miss we will still win the world cup somehow.Real bizzaire when such thoughts cross your mind and it happens. One more thing I am feeling is , it will be Yuvraj who might play very important role this World Cup.

Without doubt , Sachin is very very important.Not only him but all the exp guys Shewag,gambir,dhoni and yuvraj are very important. They can't be replaced by Raina, Rohit or Virat.These youngsters have lot to leran before they can slip in their shoes. Anyway this seems a Golden opportunity for Rohit to open the innings and belt few centuries and prove me right.Regarding Munaf and Tsotsobe , they bowled great but I doubt their ability in subcontinent.It is a tricky situation now, munaf or Nehra (under lights).looks like SA purposely going after him as he looks rusty. Who will partner Zak,Pravee & bhajji.

Yes SW , they blew it yet again!  The locals here weren't happy campers yesterday - I had a ball! ;)   Unfortunately Watson ruined a good day , but tomorrow will probably cheer up the locals - they usually do well at Newlands.

Originally posted by spin wizard Careful they deport you from SA Sledger.

      They daren't mate - the average IQ would drop by about 40% !!

Not having Kallis leaves a big hole in the team balance. I am dying to see Tahir - hope he gets a couple of games later in the series. Is he a decent bat too?

I don't think smith will fancy playing him against Indians.It won't do any good for Tahir's confidence aswell. No matter how good player is, any debutant will be nervous in the first match.With Styen,Morkel and Tsotsobe bowling so well , Indians might target Tahir... Pathan might eat him up.
                     If I were the coach or captain I would play him against lesser teams who don't play spin that well. Not against India for sure.

South Africa's tail is causing untold problems , they simply didn't put their foot down in that batting powerplay because they haven't the right type of player !  Pathan against Botha at 7 is a no contest and now that his doosra's illegal , his bowling's ineffective!  Tahir topped the wicket taking this season and must play in the next game.  AB's keeping is very average and it seems to be affecting his batting as well. Let van Wyk take the gloves and free AB up to strengthen the fielding and just let him bat as we know he can.  That's a double whammy because van Wyk bats as well (usually opens!) and then the tail is shorter. That means someone misses out and that should be Botha - but it won'e be!  Ingram is finding it tough , but he's there to bat , so dropping him  leaves a long tail again. When Kallis returns , they'll be a whole lot better and it shows just what a mess they'll be in in all forms of the game when he retires.
                   India were missing Sachin and Sehwag and still won comfortably - SA didn't clear the rope once and hit just 11 boundaries - that's dire ,especially at a small ground.  They're in trouble and don't seem to know their best line up . Add to that , that spell by Khan to Smith where he beat the bat NINE times in just 11 balls and you'll see Smith could well be in for a torrid time in India.
                 SA have gone to the last 4 world cups as one (if not the) favourites and they've blown it.  Maybe because they're taking  a lot of stick here , the expectation being pretty luke warm , they'll go on and win this one - but I won't bet on them!



Edited by Sledger - 19 January 2011 at 6:40am

No Theron , they've gone for Robin Peterson , Faf du Plessis , Johan Botha and Imran Tahir.  Botha's the captain in waiting when Smith gives it up after the WC , so his place seems secure.  If Tahir does the business and Peterson performs like he can when given a go , Botha could be in trouble.  
           Tahir's 31 and very experienced - he knows his game and won't be your typical debutant - I think you'll rate him zuhair.

Interesting comments , but we know that legspin is the most difficult art in the game and takes time to master.  He could be the sensation of the competition and credit to the SA selectors for taking him.
               Maybe he won't play in any of the India/SA series so no-one gets to see him. I hope that's wrong , he needs to play with the side and Smith must give him the right fields !

Saw couple of his vid, the bloke's gets good sharp and quick turn.Simple,quick and nice clean action, I must admit. Step out and hit would not be a good idea as it increases stumping chances for RHBs.LHBs strong on their pads might find it easy against him.

I was thinking to myself that one of the main reason India are finding it more easier against SA is because AB is not making any runs.  De Villers don't mess around when he's at the crease, the wicket can be difficult but if he's making runs, the opposition will suffer with the run rate.  If taking away the keeping from him will get him back in form, then SA has to do that. 

No doubt about that. Shillingford was not worse than Botha but they banned him. Bhajji, Ajmal, Botha, Ashwin they all chuck in my view.

Yep, quite some chuckers around.