India v Pakistan, 1st Test, Delhi, 22-26 Nov

Now we know the real reason why Imran Khan was arrested- He has always rated Sami and predicted he would be Pakistan's next great fast bowler.

I read somewhere that according to Imran Sami would be next Marshall.

Marshall Mathers? Marshall Sami of the Tennessee State Highway Patrol?

If he meant Malcolm Marshall the Pakistan Military should throw away the key.

SG wrote:

Josh Carney wrote:Tricky 4 th inning target for India on the cards. The usual suspects will be tested again, not that the selectors would be taking note.

Usual suspects have indeed been found out in this tricky 4th innings target.

Selectors please take note of that.

PS: How good it would be if you say such things prior to every such run chase India has to make. May be your anti-Tendulkar ramblings are good for India.

To be fair to SRT, he is making a determined effort to prove his detractors wrong. The way he handled Shoaib on the 4th day was a lesson for the youngsters like Yuvraj, Rohit and some of the pakistan batsmen too. He swallowed his pride and cut out the risky shots and played pure percentage game. he was well aware that shoaib would tire and wud be replaced by other bowlers. there was no time pressure. it was a calculated innings under enormous pressure.

his last 24 runs came off in 24 balls on the 5th day morning. he played very decisively instead of succumbing to pressure after Saurav got out. the chennai debacle of losing 4 wickets for 10 runs was at the back of my mind, but i think this team is vastly different and has more self belief than the earlier teams which lost Barbados test and even bangalore test against Inzy's side last time.

i am happy in the sense that, with neutral umpires, a weak second seamer, some what weak second opener, if we can do this against a Pakistan on a 'not good" pitch, we can hope for good cricket against the world champions Australia later this year, if we include Virender sehwag and have all seamers fit.

Henry wrote:Marshall Mathers? Marshall Sami of the Tennessee State Highway Patrol?

If he meant Malcolm Marshall the Pakistan Military should throw away the key.

Noice

I for one, do not believe this Pakistan team is weak. I am sure they will bounce back pretty strongly with good performances in the next 2 tests. Moyo and YK are arguably the best batsmen in pakistan.they are simply world class. Misbah is coming up very nicely despite his hara-kiri tendencies. Malik is at least good enough for a 50 each in the next 2 tests. Yasir and Salman proved they are on their way to better starts indeed.

probably I am the only one who feels Sami bowled 3 good balls and only one bad ball every over. he is sure to get results in the next test. he was instrumental in pak winning last time in bangalore.

Danish is better than a lot of spinners, but indians play leg spin better.Shoaib is sure to get better rewards.

all in all i think it will be an interesting time for indian cricket, u may be surprised.

It will really be surprising if Pakistan win any of the next two tests against this Indian team. Don't see it happening.

Thought Malik's captaincy was a bit stupid in not bowling himself in a 4th day Kotla pitch. Kaneria alone couldn't have done anything and the rest of the pacers bar Shoaib and Zak looked crap in the second innings.

doremi wrote:It will really be surprising if Pakistan win any of the next two tests against this Indian team. Don't see it happening.

Thought Malik's captaincy was a bit stupid in not bowling himself in a 4th day Kotla pitch. Kaneria alone couldn't have done anything and the rest of the pacers bar Shoaib and Zak looked crap in the second innings.

He told in an interview recently that he had a surgery on his collar bone and also on right shoulder, after these, he feels pain when he bowls. seems he is not very comfortable bowling.

if he does not recover in time from his ankle injury sustained yesterday, may be YK would lead the team in the second test. he seems to be pretty involved in the game when he is leading. i expect him to lead from the front with a good innings.

i would like to have Pathan in place of munaf patel. pathan has been bowling well and his batting and fielding are added advantages. he would not be , any way, worse than munaf.

i agree with rajan - pak will come back strong. their 2 main batsmen didnt click in this test.

TBF, neither did ours.

Yep, Tendulkar once and Dravid failed twice in this test.