Quote:
> >The problem with the Indian team was the complacent attitude
Laxman was reported by Heath Streak, a being complacent, where he
referred to Das's grittyness quite effective. After winning the first Test,
we decided to drop Ramesh and also were not serious about winning
it 2-0. The Zimbabwe team is known for tenacity and they showed
by taking the Indians by surprise. Some of the shots played by the
Indian batsmen were cricticized.
Quote:
> >Another problem we had was the juggling of openers in the series.
> >Ramesh was simply dropped, Ganguly after that decided to give
> >Ramesh a longer run in SL and this seems to have paid off.
> and facing Sri Lanka is so much like facing a decent seam attack on
> faster wickets....
Vaas and Dilawaro are a good pair and the pitch was not all that
bad. I am seeing a marked improvement in them for being given
a longer run.
Quote:
> >Overall we have now have a good balance to keep the ODI and
> >Test series close. I don't think this series is going to be a whitewash.
> >Also Allan Donald is not as sharp as he used to be.
> Donald may not be as sharp as he used to be but Pollock is up there in
> bowling ability and the new quicks are meant to be fairly sharp.
> Note speed <> ability as a quick bowler.
Agree, not to understimate the SA opening bowlers. When Rathore
was touring SA he struggled last time, and exposed the middle order,
I see the Ramesh, Das pair well balanced. We have seen in the past
where Gavaskar and Sidhu were > some makeshift or not so good
openers. This balance is restored for opening pairs because to some
extent they can use up the hot water which is available in plenty in
Test matches before they expose the middle order. Our strength
has been the middle order and we can take better advantage of
this new pair that is development, thanks to Ganguly for having the
foresight to give them a longer run.
Quote:
> > I remember
> >how Dravid and Ganguly were new and struggled in that tour, I
> >think Ganguly and Dravid should be more positive and mature in
> >this tour than the previous one as well.
> Ganguly has done so well against top pace attacks in the past after
> all....and he has been in such sparkling form with the bat since he
> took over the captaincy...
Agreed, I think that will change,
Quote:
> >> >- Agarkar and Srinath are solid
> >> neither have been overly successful outside India in the past.
> >Agarkar matured quite a bit
> based on what?
> >and Srinath is getting his 3rd chance to SA.
> and exactly what evidence has he shown that he's improved his bowling?
> > We also have planned the tour in such a way that
> >Das is going to get used to the conditions early. That will be
> >a big plus for us to prevent the crucial batting collapse.
> exactly how is he being prepared to face Pollock?
With the experience and the mental feedback of having
several Tests in succession, which Ganguly made sure
both Ramesh and Das had gotten. The SL tour was an
example of the training and discipline required to be
opening partners.
Quote:
> >> >and both Kumble and
> >> > Harbhajan will be able to exploit the slow pitches in
> >> > SA.
> >> SA pitches aren't that slow. They aren't Perth but they're not slow.
> >> > Report is that there could be some help to the
> >> > spinners.
> >> What's that got to do with Kumble?
> >> Kumble in RSA
> >> 7 409.5 851 26 6/53 8/113 32.73 2.07 94.5 1 0
> >> his last tour
> >> SA 3 155.2 384 8 3/40 4/103 48.00 2.47 116.5 0 0
> >With better support from Srinath, Agarkar and Harbhajan along
> >with Nehra and Khan, we should have a formidable attack. I think
> >the problem in the past was both Srinath and Kumble did not have
> >a solid support. The Indian bowling attack was not capable of
> >keeping a fresh batsmen at the crease and Johnson and
> >Ganesh had difficulty taking wickets.
> None of the Indian quick bowlers have shown the ability to take
> wickets consistantly outside India. Ditto for the spinners.
> >> >- SA traditionally have been problematic when they face
> >> > spin bowlers. Hopefully Harbhajan and Kumble can be
> >> > a good pair.
> >> Um, RSA has had problems against Warne.
> >> They've done pretty well against most other spinners.
> >> Muralidharan has done pretty well against them too, but he's more
> >> effective than Kumble in general and has a lot more experience than
> >> Singh.
> >> >- The Ramesh/Das pair is looking solid and I expect Sachin
> >> > to be well protected from a top order batting collapse.
> >> Ramesh & Das have not faced anything like Pollock outside of India.
I am not expecting Ramesh and Das to score big century, even a 10-15
wicketless partnership do the job. The Tests matches are low scoring
anyway.
Quote:
> >I am not expecting Ramesh and Das to score centuries, but even if they
> >use up 20-25 overs and score a opening partnership of 50-75, that will be
> >a big plus. In the past, Gandhi, Laxman, Rathore have simply failed to
> >hold on. Sidhu if I can recall did not tour SA, which was a very crucial
> >absence.
> Well Sidhu never played against RSA
> He did only average 33 away from home though...
> Ramesh is averaging 27 over his past 10 tests.
> Das has played against 1 decent attack and failed.
Overall quite happy with the situation.
Nikhil [should be a absorbing tour] Shah