India v Pak, 2nd Test, Eden Gardens, 30-Nov - 04-Dec

India would hope to emulate '05 when they defeated Pak in the 2nd test of that test series.

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

Karthik will retain his place in the side on the basis of all the runs he has made this year.

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

I thought Munaf bowled quite well in the first Test on a pitch that had nothing in it for the quicks. After a slow start, his pace was quite good (135-140 kph) and his fielding also showed spirit.

If Kartik fails again in the second Test, then his place will come under serious scrutiny, but will it be Sehwag who replaces him? Fine player, but he's hardly scored a run for almost a year now. Gambhir has made runs for Delhi in the last few days, and although I think he has a few technical faults, the selectors seem to rate him highly and he could get the nod as Karthik's replacement.

Henry wrote:

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

I thought Munaf bowled quite well in the first Test on a pitch that had nothing in it for the quicks.

He bowled well only in the first innings. In the second innings, he was way below par.

And its simply not correct to say that Kotla had nothing for fast bowlers. Efforts of Shoaib, Zaheer (in both innings) and Tanvir would suggest otherwise.

He seemed listless, I suspect that was due to his not getting any initial breakthrough.

Also bouncers seemed absent from his arsenal, which made him quite considerate to the opposition.

Henry wrote:If Kartik fails again in the second Test, then his place will come under serious scrutiny, but will it be Sehwag who replaces him? Fine player, but he's hardly scored a run for almost a year now. Gambhir has made runs for Delhi in the last few days, and although I think he has a few technical faults, the selectors seem to rate him highly and he could get the nod as Karthik's replacement.

Sehwag made a sum total of 16 runs for his FC side in Ranji super league. No way he is going to play in this series atleast unless something drastic happens. And as things stand atm he may not even go to Australia.

I read somewhere that Sree too could be out of Australian tour if his shoulder requires surgery. He is asked to be present for one final test on 5-Dec before team physio, the day on which India's team for Australian tour is to be announced.

SG wrote:India would hope to emulate '05 when they defeated Pak in the 2nd test of that test series.

And Pakistan would wish to stop that!

Henry wrote:

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

I thought Munaf bowled quite well in the first Test on a pitch that had nothing in it for the quicks. After a slow start, his pace was quite good (135-140 kph) and his fielding also showed spirit.

Righto. 1-61 and 0-48 in a low scoring match. But hey, eventually he got the ball down in the mid to late 80's. Keep him in.

SG wrote:I read somewhere that Sree too could be out of Australian tour if his shoulder requires surgery.

You guys will be lucky then. Feel sorry for the aussie fans. The main attraction of the zoo is gone.

If Sreesanth plays all 4 tests, he will take 20+ wickets.

I hope Sreesanth isnt ruled out of the whole Aussie tour. I think he could be successful in Australia if he gets the ball to swing.

He's got the potential to be the new LB for the Aussies.

E-mail threatens to disrupt match.

Henry wrote:

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

I thought Munaf bowled quite well in the first Test on a pitch that had nothing in it for the quicks. After a slow start, his pace was quite good (135-140 kph) and his fielding also showed spirit.

If Kartik fails again in the second Test, then his place will come under serious scrutiny, but will it be Sehwag who replaces him? Fine player, but he's hardly scored a run for almost a year now. Gambhir has made runs for Delhi in the last few days, and although I think he has a few technical faults, the selectors seem to rate him highly and he could get the nod as Karthik's replacement.

i agree munaf bowled well. if at all harbhajan will be under pressure. misbah totally has his number and keeps smacking him for six over his head and he doesnt seem to have the ability to run through sides anymore.

laxman, jaffer and ganguly have (unfortunately for yuvraj) ensured their place in the side til the oz series so only karthik facing the axe - sincerely hope they dont turn to gambhir, i dont care how many runs he scores in domestic cricket he doesnt have the technique or temperament for a test opener.

conversely i dont care how many low scores sehwags getting for delhi - the man has proven himself as a test class batsman and should get back his place in the side.

30-04 Dec?

Is this the first Test that's ever gone backwards in time?

And lasts 26 days too! Actually, does time scale uniformly when going backwards?

Shikhar Dhawan as an outside chance to replace Karthik at the top of the order by the third Test? He's always had the talent, and he's started this season pretty well. A gamble, yes, but what other specialist openers are there apart from him, Sehwag, and Gambhir?

Jaffer?

Since first test against Banglas in Apr, Indian team is following a pattern in tests, which is

Draw, Win, Draw, Win, Draw, Win, ?

Will we get another draw at Eden Gardens?

SG wrote:

Henry wrote:

I think there would be no change in Indian lineup for this test, though Munaf might be under the scanner.

I thought Munaf bowled quite well in the first Test on a pitch that had nothing in it for the quicks.

He bowled well only in the first innings. In the second innings, he was way below par.

And its simply not correct to say that Kotla had nothing for fast bowlers. Efforts of Shoaib, Zaheer (in both innings) and Tanvir would suggest otherwise.

Shoaib and Zaheer did bowl well in the second innings, but Munaf bowled better than Zak in the first innings IMO. Ands Tanvir was ordinary in the 2nd innings as well.

Parthiv Patel should be higher in the pecking order than Dhawan or Gambhir.

doremi wrote:Parthiv Patel should be higher in the pecking order than Dhawan or Gambhir.

True. He has been raking tons for fun in this season.

Yeah, but it's replacing one stop gap opener(Who is first and foremost a 'keeper) with another, isnt it. Parthiv's batting has obviously improved in the last few months, but his India 'A' runs came against piss weak teams like Kenya, and now his runs for Gujarat are coming in the plate league. If he makes big runs in the zonal games, then consider him.

His batting was always extremely impressive when he played for India. And he has been playing as an opener for his team for some time, something Karthik didn't do before.

Sehwag should be in. Like Dravid, his runs or the lack of them don't really matter in domestic cricket. Dhawan isn't ready, looks good and then just throws his wicket out of laziness. Pujara is untested, Gambhir is, er, Gambhir, and not many others are good enough.