Bangladesh-A and South Africa in India

by KP_fan Tue 08 Sep 2015, 1:54 pm

First topic message reminder :

In preparation for the South Africans, BCCI has invited BD-A.

and banglas have reciprocated "the honor" of being invited to India finally, the only country where they have not played a test match.....by sending a full strength international side as their A side.

It is being reported Kohli and Dhoni will play the ODIs vs BD-A , which are likely to be serious games...
and we are likely to see most of India ODI and test players warm up in these 5 games vs, BD-A

also India plays 5 ODIs/ T20s vs SA before the tests start...so there will be ample of orientation time.
Good Move by BCCI

Bangladesh A in India 2015 September 8, 2015 Mominul to lead strong Bangladesh A squadMOHAMMAD ISAM 14 Facebook Twitter 34 shares
14

File photo: Mominul Haque will captain a 15-man Bangladesh A team, 14 of whom have played international cricket

AFP
Mominul Haque will lead a strong Bangladesh A team for their tour to India later this month. The 15-member squad consists of 14 internationals including Al-Amin Hossain, who has been out of representative cricket since the World Cup.

"Its my first tour abroad as a captain so looking ahead to make it memorable," Mominul told ESPNcricinfo. "It wont be easy considering we will be playing against the Indians at their own backyard but I am confident that we can put up a good show considering our strength. I think we have got an experienced squad and it will be good for our preparation ahead of the series against Australia."

Saqlain Sajib, the left-arm spinner, is the only uncapped player in the squad and it is learned that he was picked as cover for Taijul Islam, who has been given two weeks' rest to recover from jaundice.

Bangladesh A tour of India
Sept 16 - 1st one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 18 - 2nd one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 20 - 3rd one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 22-24 - Three-day match v Karnataka, Mysore
Sept 27-29 - Three day match v India A, Bangalore
Al-Amin, who was sent home from Australia in February after a disciplinary breach, is one of four seamers in the team. Taskin Ahmed has been passed fit and will likely play multi-day cricket for the first time in over two years when Bangladesh A meet India A and Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka in Bangalore and Mysore. Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam complete the quartet.

Anamul Haque, who lost his place in the senior side after injuring his shoulder in the World Cup, has been included in the A team while Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das and Sabbir Rahman are some of the other upcoming batsmen who have played international cricket in this team.

Nasir Hossain and Mominul are the senior batsmen in the side, and Shuvagata Hom, who last played the solitary Test against India, is one of the batting allrounders in the side.

Bangladesh A squad: Anamul Haque, Rony Talukdar, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarker, Mominul Hoque (capt), Nasir Hossain, Saqlain Sajib, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shuvagata Hom, Jubair Hossain.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

More from the Web

by KP_fan Mon 21 Sep 2015, 6:27 am

"On a more serious note, their inclusions in the national side have one common thread - solid performances at the domestic level.

Gurkeerat was Punjab's highest scorer in the last Ranji Trophy, with 677 runs from 14 innings at an average of 56.41 and Aravind, six years senior at 31, was Karnataka's second-highest wicket-taker with 42 scalps at 17.42. Both players also found the IPL to be an important step towards national contention." extract from CI on Aravind and gurkeerat

by KP_fan Mon 21 Sep 2015, 1:58 pm

Wow!
Just Wow
he is truly talented....to become a seam bowler at this age? It would be hard to find anotehr one in the world who can bowl seam, spin and bat like Tendulkar.

Only real Tendulkar was more talented......could bowl leg spin, off spin , seam up and off-course bat like real Tendulkar

Rohit Sharma Wants to Become Allrounder, Practising Seam Bowling
Rohit Sharma says he wants to play the role of third or fourth seamer in the Indian team with the South Africa series just round the corner.

Rohit Sharma says he wants to help the Indian team by any means possible.
© PTI
New Delhi: Rohit Sharma is "practising seam bowling" to add to his aggressive brand of batsmanship, which he feels can be a vital asset in the days to come, at a time when India is struggling to churn out quality all-rounders. (India's squad for South Africa series announced; Gurkeerat Singh earns maiden call-up)
"I have started practising seam bowling at the nets. It's not an old thing as I started bowling seam-up stuff recently at the nets during our Test series in Sri Lanka. I am just bowling seamers and I need to speak to our bowling coach Bharath Arun to see how I can further improve," Rohit said, ahead of South Africa series.
"My idea is to add value to the side. If I can bowl 10 to 12 overs per day and could be that third or fourth seamer of the side according to the conditions, my captain could be relieved. It is just that you need to constantly grow and add things in your armoury."
While critics have panned him for not converting promising starts in the Sri Lanka Test series, the 28-year-old believes that his performance was satisfying considering that his twin half-centuries came in a winning cause.
"I am satisfied with my performance in the Test matches. I know there was a chance to score a big hundred but my 50 in the third Test was satisfying. But I am not sitting on my laurels and would like to improve on it," said Rohit, who has scored 4,312 ODI and 870 Test runs, apart from 739 in T20Is.
There had been times his dismissals invited criticism, with some attributing it to his lazy elegance, but Rohit believes that it is not easy to tweak someone's natural game.
"People can say whatever they like but I can't change my natural game that has been there for 10 years. It's not going to change overnight. May be my stance, head position, some little things I might be able to improvise. I understand how people and media react. They watch the match only and come to a conclusion about a player's approach.
"But very few people seldom know what goes at the nets while preparing for a particular shot. If I am playing the pull shot in the match, I have practised it in the nets. There will be times when it won't come off but that does not mean you stop playing it. If there are technical difficulties, there is Sanjay Bangar (batting coach) to help us."

by msp83 Mon 21 Sep 2015, 7:27 pm

KP_fan wrote:Jadeja's problem is his batting....absolutely pathetic...came in as a batsman who could bowl....and has been both found out as well as regressed to the extent that ....clearly Ashwin & Mishra are better batters...and if survival only was a criteria, even Ishant stands a better chance at survival.

I have a feeling thouhg he must go back to Ranji , picket bucketful of wickets and if he comes back under Kohli......he will perform better....if asked to play more aggressively and naturally.

Though risk is if the Unknown Gurkeerat performs in ODIs

Jadeja's overall ODI batting record isn't bad at all. It is in the more challenging environment of tests that he got found out with the bat. But then, he played more than half of the tests that he has played so far in South Africa, New Zealand and England. Even Pujara and Kohli did struggle in some of those tours, in England Jadeja was better with the bat than even Kohli was!
But his bowling is a fulltime regular option for the skipper. An attacking and containing 2-in-1 option in spinning conditions, a pretty handy holding bowler in away conditions.
Jadeja's test runs of substance came when he played the risky, attacking game, (the 45 against Australia in Delhi and the 68 against England in England, both decisive performances in the outcome of the match)but I think he needs to work on his defensive game a bit, and learn to trust his defense a bit more, otherwise it will be difficult. He's a better batsman than his test batting record suggests, think his ODI record, over a substantial number of games, is a fairer indication I feel.
But his primary strength in international cricket is his bowling, and that is where he has lost touch after the surgery.

by ShankyCricket Mon 21 Sep 2015, 8:03 pm

Thoughts on Rahane as an ODI batsman, msp? I know you despise Rohit but he is doing much better than Rahane in ODIs. Rahane did absolute nothing in the WC aside from the knock vs SA and played momentum-killing knocks in both the knock out matches, one of which largely salvaged by Rohit's brilliant hundred and the other one lost. Then he failed in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the latter despite opening the batting in a 2nd string side. The likes of Rayudu, Pandey and Jadhav emphatically outperformed him.

And his overall ODI batting record sucks too. And his recent series, as stated above, suggest whatever little improvement he had last year, seems to have dissipated too. And Rohit is certainly doing more than "ok". After that double hundred vs SL at home, he has scored 2 hundreds in Aus both at the MCG, one vs Australia in the tri series and the other in a WC quarter final, where he alongwith Raina, singlehandedly rescued an innings that was going nowhere after Rahane's innings (and those 2 are supposed to be dropped with Rahane being an cast iron certainty in the side according to KPF's incredibly blinkered format-conflating vision. Rahane is a brilliant Test batsman but in ODIs??? Please.....

by msp83 Mon 21 Sep 2015, 8:48 pm

Rahane never really got a proper run in ODIs earlier and he was shuttled up and down the order, but even after finding a reasonably consistent run in the middle order he hasn't really taken his chances. Being outperformed by the Wonderboy suggests a problem for sure, and if Rahane doesn't find himself in the 11, don't think he can complain too much.
And I wouldn't pick him for my 11 from the chosen squad, would go for Rohit and Dhawan at the top, Kohli will have to be back at 3 now that the confidence is back, Dhoni at 4, Raina at 5. Since they haven't picked a genuine 5th bowler option, think both young Gurkirat and Roger's son will have to play. The former is a proper batsman, and in my view a good bet for the number 6 slot as he can be innovative and play the big shots. Don't see Manish Pandey as a 6 hitter from ball 1 though I am disappointed that he is not in the squad. Rayudu has a pretty solid average, but again, I am not sure he's the right material for 5 or 6. If Rayudu plays ahead of Gurkirat, think MS will have to come down the order. But
in that case, I hope he bats 5 and Raina at 6.......
The problem with that though is that Raina will have to do a lot of bowling, may be even Kohli and Wonderboy too, as Binny is a rather mediocre parttimer masquerading as an all-rounder.

by msp83 Sat 26 Sep 2015, 7:00 pm

The 3 -dayer between the A sides of India and Bangladesh to get underway tomorrow. Will be a big game for the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Naman Ojha and even Varun Aaron. Jadeja on form has to be India's 3rd spinner, on a turning track he's absolutely lethal....... Have to find some form though, he hasn't been the same bowler after his shoulder surgery.
Ojha showed during his test debut that besides being a decent wicketkeeper, he has a decent range of shots as a wicketkeeper batsman and he is not afraid to play them. But Wriddhiman Saha is just ahead of him in the pecking order as of now, and they both haven't really established themselves. A solid performance might give Ojha the opening for the first test.......
With Ishan Sharma not available for the first test, there is an opening in the seam bowling department. With Umesh Yadav at the other end, the management might prefer the steadier option of Bhuvneshwar Kumar unless Varun Aaron can make a convincing case that he can mix accuracy with pace rather than spraying it all over the place.

by KP_fan Sun 27 Sep 2015, 8:05 am

Aaron rips out the top order with assistance from ishwar and mithun.....and reduces BD to50-5...before they recover to 100 odd for 5

by KP_fan Sun 27 Sep 2015, 8:06 am

I don't think India needs 3 spinners.they will go with 6 batsmen....with Rohit acting like the 3rd seamer cum 3rd spinner

by msp83 Sun 27 Sep 2015, 9:28 am

Rohit as the 3rd spinner? I remember you thought that was a joke when Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated so on Raina and I thought you were right. Now Raina is much better than Wonderboy with the ball, and you are talking up Rohit as the 3rd spinner?
Pujara has put Shastri in an impossible position, he has to be picked now over Rohit after that ton, and they have to have the Mumbai Wonder as the first name on the team sheet come what may. All these talk of flexibility that Shastri is doing of late is just about that. Entire 'Flexibility Strategy is oriented around 1 player and that is Rohit Sharma. They would even sacrifice the 5th bowler to accommodate Rohit. The 5th bowler, in this case the 3rd spinner Ravindra Jadeja was absolutely crucial to India's first ever whitewash of a side in a 4 test series when the Australians came calling. And Shastri-Kohli claimed that the 5 bowler strategy was crucial in Sri Lanka too.

by msp83 Sun 27 Sep 2015, 9:41 am

Bangladesh A 193-6. Sabir Rahman, who has a bit of a reputation of a limited overs specialist, is closing in on a hundred.
Aaron has taken 4 of the 6 wickets, no wickets yet for Jadeja, in fact all 6 wickets going to the seamers.

by msp83 Sun 27 Sep 2015, 1:55 pm

Bangladesh A bowled out for 228. Jayant Yadav, who had figures of none for 28 in his6 overs finished with 4 wickets in the next 10 balls.
Then Shikhar Dhawan responded with a rapid unbeaten ton to guide his side to 161-1 at stumps. Abhinav Mukund made 34 before getting out to Shuvagata Hom.

by KP_fan Sun 27 Sep 2015, 2:15 pm

Yup perfect day for India..Aaron ripped out the top order and finished with 4-fer
and Yadav showing some degree of consistency in these A games....and picking wickets
Jadeja didn't help his case.

and then Dhawan smashed a 90 ball 100 to ease the concerns about his fitness and form.

only worry the Indian bowlers all went around 4rpo letting BD get those 220 runs in 52 overs.

Karun Nair has a chance to cement his place as first in line of reserve middle order batters if he cracks a hundred tomm.

India will look to win by an inning in 3 days

by KP_fan Sun 27 Sep 2015, 2:18 pm

msp83 wrote: Rohit as the 3rd spinner? I remember you thought that was a joke when Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated so on Raina and I thought you were right. Now Raina is much better than Wonderboy with the ball, and you are talking up Rohit as the 3rd spinner?
Pujara has put Shastri in an impossible position, he has to be picked now over Rohit after that ton, and they have to have the Mumbai Wonder as the first name on the team sheet come what may. All these talk of flexibility that Shastri is doing of late is just about that. Entire 'Flexibility Strategy is oriented around 1 player and that is Rohit Sharma. They would even sacrifice the 5th bowler to accommodate Rohit. The 5th bowler, in this case the 3rd spinner Ravindra Jadeja was absolutely crucial to India's first ever whitewash of a side in a 4 test series when the Australians came calling. And Shastri-Kohli claimed that the 5 bowler strategy was crucial in Sri Lanka too.

msp...I am not wanting Rohit as a 3rd spinner
but telling you what management might announce to the media as a reason for selecting Rohit, now that they cannot drop Pujara.

I feel on home pitches that will assist spin, two spinners of the quality of Mishra and Ashwin are enough

by KP_fan Mon 28 Sep 2015, 10:32 am

Dhawan cracks a 150

and Nair would rue he fell for 70 odd and didn't convert it to a hundred.

This guy shanka bowls seam up and has pretty much scored runs in very A game he has played...not out on 48* now...and he averages a stupendous 58 FC.

I have a strong feeeling, he might replace Binny should the later not perform

by msp83 Mon 28 Sep 2015, 3:18 pm

Vijay Shankar went on to make 86 on top of the efforts of Dhawan and Nair. Naman Ojha remained not out on 25 and Jadeja didn't get a chance with the bat when India declared with a first innings lead of 183. Then Ishwar Pandey and Jayant Yadav send the Bangladesh A openers packing before stumps to reduce them to 36-2. An innings win is possible......
Vijay Shankar's 86 is a solid effort on top of his earlier performances. He hasn't played too many FC games as yet, but overall batting figures are impressive. However, he doesn't look like a genuine all-rounder, at least as yet. The bowling seems like more like military medium and it is pretty much a 2nd string at the moment. Strictly parttime at the moment. He's young, and hopefully will work on his bowling as well and would evolve into a credible option for that all-roundr spot. Think if they need a seam bowling all-rounder, then pick Rishi Dhawan, or may be even Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The former is a genuine all-rounder in domestic cricket, bats in the top 6 and takes the new ball and is the leading seamer. Has proved to be capable with bat and ball in the given chances with the A team in limited overs formats. The latter is a proven international class bowler, and has shown that he can bat at the highest level. He hasn't played with the pressures of a batsman and made his runs at 9. But those runs came in tough conditions against challenging bowling. Get him to bat like a proper batsman, the results could be positive I believe. Would be better than a half batsman half bowler combination masquerading as an all-rounder.......

by KP_fan Mon 28 Sep 2015, 9:51 pm

msp wrote:The bowling seems like more like military medium and it is pretty much a 2nd string at the moment. Strictly parttime at the moment. He's young, and hopefully will work on his bowling as well and would evolve into a credible option for that all-roundr spot. Think if they need a seam bowling all-rounder, then pick Rishi Dhawan, or may be even Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

I appreciate you driving your own view on this subject...but look at what team management wants?

they don't expect the 5th bowler to be a match winning bowler...but rather one who can bowl about 12 overs a day seam up generally for overseas conditions....and pick about one to one and a half wicket per test.
but more importantly he should be able to score an average of 35 odd with the bat...
and hence Binny has that slot
and hence they are looking at shankar as a possible replacement.

Re: Rishi dhawan ....he performs in C division...against services, tripura, assam type of sides......2nd division clubs in Mumbai & Bangalore have better standards.

Binny and Shankar perform in premium A div....and a lot of their good shows have come in QF, semis and finals of Ranji....
this major major difference cannot be discounted

by KP_fan Tue 29 Sep 2015, 8:16 am

Inspite of time lost in a 3day game India beats BD by an innings margin.
the positivity of intent is very strong......going for a win all the time...since shastri/ kohli era started....

Yadav comes into the reckoning with 7-fer for the game.....Jadeja will fall out of reckoning from here.
wonder why aaron bowled only 4 overs at the end?

by KP_fan Tue 29 Sep 2015, 8:55 am

SA set a target of 190 for India-A, that is nor more than a India-B side.
I see there are two Yadav off-spinners in India-A ranks one playing against SA called Kuldeep and the other took a 7-fer vs BD called Jayant.

Why is ABDV not even the T20 captain ?

by KP_fan Tue 29 Sep 2015, 10:06 am

India-A chase down 189 of SA and do a 193-2

What a heartening display of depth in Indian cricket......on the same day two India-A sides beat a near full strength BD and the full strength SA.

mayank Agarwal is due selection after a sustained display of good shows at India-A level....and samson is beginning to blossom.

a lot of pressure on Dhoni and his brigade of Rohit, Raina, Rahane, rayadu etal in limited over games

by msp83 Tue 29 Sep 2015, 8:19 pm

KP_fan wrote:
msp wrote:The bowling seems like more like military medium and it is pretty much a 2nd string at the moment. Strictly parttime at the moment. He's young, and hopefully will work on his bowling as well and would evolve into a credible option for that all-roundr spot. Think if they need a seam bowling all-rounder, then pick Rishi Dhawan, or may be even Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

I appreciate you driving your own view on this subject...but look at what team management wants?

they don't expect the 5th bowler to be a match winning bowler...but rather one who can bowl about 12 overs a day seam up generally for overseas conditions....and pick about one to one and a half wicket per test.
but more importantly he should be able to score an average of 35 odd with the bat...
and hence Binny has that slot
and hence they are looking at shankar as a possible replacement.

Re: Rishi dhawan ....he performs in C division...against services, tripura, assam type of sides......2nd division clubs in Mumbai & Bangalore have better standards.

Binny and Shankar perform in premium A div....and a lot of their good shows have come in QF, semis and finals of Ranji....
this major major difference cannot be discounted

Binny doesn't look the type who can average 35 with the bat in test cricket. Perhaps he could survive as a limited overs batsman for some time, but the way he looked so utterly clueless against the Lankan seamers, there is no chance of him consistently averaging 35ish in test cricket. He doesn't even average 35 in FC cricket.
As for Rishi Dhawan, he has performed in the limited opportunities he got with the A side. Some of the division C sides are pretty average, but sides like Jharkhand, Services and now Assam are quite competitive. The likes of Varun Aaron and Sanju Samson have come through Division C sides. Rajasthan used to be Div C for a long time.......
TN batsmen have been scoring tons of runs on flat roads, a lot of Div A games particularly at the beginning, are played on absolute roads where all these batsmen will make tons of runs, even Piyush Chawla was scoring plenty last season remember!.
Now that the internal struggles within the BCCI has resulted in the new point system not getting passed, we will have more of the same this time too.

by msp83 Tue 29 Sep 2015, 8:23 pm

Shikhar Dhawan proved his fitness with a big ton, Varun Aaron was among the wickets in the first innings. Jayant Yadav confirmed that he's an emerging prospect. Vijay Shankar and Karun Nair would need further A team opportunities and they have earned it.
Naman Ojha didn't have much time to bat himself into the test side, and Ravindra Jadeja had a rather underwhelming outing, Didn't get to bat, and got just the 1 wicket. He didn't have a lot of bowling to do as such, just about 16 overs throughout the game, but Yadav did outbowl him....... Both of them would be hoping for a good start to the Ranji season........

by KP_fan Tue 29 Sep 2015, 8:51 pm

msp wrote:Binny doesn't look the type who can average 35 with the bat in test cricket.

maybe. they will give him a couple of games more and if he doesn't cut it......maybe shankar will come in
that's why they are grooming shankar
I think he will cut it.....he has one match saving 78 and and another match winning 49

As for Rishi Dhawan, he has performed in the limited opportunities he got with the A side.

Really ?...when

Some of the division C sides are pretty average, but sides like Jharkhand, Services and now Assam are quite competitive.

Ha ha..they are worse than Mumbai club sides STILL
we have a bit of a socialist structure, else these sides don't even deserve to be given FC status

The likes of Varun Aaron and Sanju Samson have come through Division C sides. Rajasthan used to be Div C for a long time.......

Aaron bowled at 150kph...if dhawan can show that he will also cut it

.

by msp83 Wed 30 Sep 2015, 7:06 pm

Just reread this thread, you could see Rishi Dhawan has performed well with bat and ball for the A team in recent games itself. Did alright in Australia last year too. He has been given chances in the limited overs formats, and he has done well overall. I believe he's better as a long format player, but he has to earn his place by performing for the A team. In a way I agree about Div C performances, they are not really counted much, I doubt whether the selectors even watch or follow any of those games.
But players like Rishi Dhawan, Sanju Samson, (both in the selector's minds in some way), and others like Sworupam Purkayasta, Ankush Bains, Hanuma Vihari are some players who has to be watched out for, those tallents shouldn't be lost to international cricket.
Think the last usually Div C side player to have emerged to play a substantial amount of international cricket was S Sreesanth. Sides like Tripura and Goa are unlikely to go beyond Div C any time soon, but other sides can, and they have some quality players. Hope they'll all stand up and be counted this Ranji season.......

by KP_fan Wed 30 Sep 2015, 7:34 pm

the best bet for C division player is

1) To bowl fast.....then you will be noticed regardless of the Div.

At that time Sreesanth bowling 140+ was amonthst the fastest in the country..... and Aaron's 150 kph got him noticed

2) IPL

Jakati, Vihari, Dhawan,Samson whatever we noted of them was because of IPL shows.

and IPL scouts do go and look more closely at raw talent than Ranji selectors..and once these guys perform at IPL level then they do get their breaks

by msp83 Wed 30 Sep 2015, 7:42 pm

Rishi Dhawan is unlikely to bowl 150+, but I think he needs to work on his pace a bit more, has the physique, hopefully his India A exposure would have given him the confidence to strive for that extra yard or 2.......
By your assessment (the realism of which I don't dispute a lot), spinners and conventional batsmen will have a lot of disadvantage vs similar players in the other 2 division.
Think at the age group level, things are a lot better, Bains, Vihari, Samson, Menaria at that stage of his career, they all could make it to the national side. Is it because the selectors and coaches at those levels are doing a better job than the highly paid senior national selectors?

by msp83 Wed 30 Sep 2015, 7:45 pm

Rather than squabbling day in and out, wish the BCCI would invest more to help the state sides with facilities, coaches and other requirements so that domestic cricket can facilitate international cricket a lot more than it is currently doing. Think the players who are coming in and establishing themselves at the top are doing so despite the system, not because of it.

by KP_fan Wed 30 Sep 2015, 9:53 pm

BCCI has created one of the best set of facilities for Ranji
and a very good pay grade for the FC guys
under dalmiya, Pawar and Srini regimes.....cricket prospered big time.
they spend lavishly on FC cricket

by msp83 Thu 01 Oct 2015, 6:32 pm

Spending isn't alone, the state associations have to be held accountable. That's where there is a problem. They just look at votes, that's it. Particularly with Div C sides. And sides like Railways still struggle a lot. And the administrative mess afflicting sides like Delhi and Rajasthan are a total disgrace.......

by KP_fan Thu 01 Oct 2015, 6:41 pm

msp83 wrote: And the administrative mess afflicting sides like Delhi and Rajasthan are a total disgrace.......

that's an Indian problem......BCCI is but a subset of the Indian system

by msp83 Thu 01 Oct 2015, 7:00 pm

On the first day of Ranji 2015-16, a 91 for Ravindra Jadeja. Cheteshwar Pujara failed though. Jadeja would be hoping for a solid performance with the ball too, to make his case for a test recall.
A typical 92 from veteran Virender Sehwag, and more importantly, an unbeaten 138 from young Himanshu Rana who had a long partnership with Sehwag. Rana, all of 17, is considered an India prospect........

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 8:09 am

Have just put up a thread for India domestic season under the domes

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 10:08 am

Gurkirat opens the Ranji season with a ton. Came quickly too. Hope he's picked in the playing 11. Would prefer him over Rayudu, particularly if MS is batting up the order.

by KP_fan Fri 02 Oct 2015, 1:45 pm

he scored a run a ball double hundred...but given the amount of runs in the innimg ...it seemed like a patta pitch.

Uday Kaul got a hundred.....he is a keeper batsman and averags 48 aged 27....wonder why he is not considered ?

Jadeja got a 6-fer

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 1:49 pm

Gurkirat will hopefully show with the ball too, the double ton was special, but as KPF said it did give the impression, at least on text reading on cricinfo, of a flat pitch wherein everyone other than Yuvraj made it count....... So if Gurkirat can produce the goods with the ball on that track, that should count for even more.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 1:51 pm

India seamer Umesh Yadav meanwhile smashed a 119 ball 128 not out that included 7 6s. He would be thinking that if Stuart Binny can play as an international test all-rounder, even he might have a chance!!. Time for a #Yadavfornumber6 campaign?

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 4:39 pm

Rohit Sharma's 66 ball 106 helps India post 199-5 in their 20 overs as the series gets underway with the T-20I. Besides Rohit, Virat Kohli made 43 of 27 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, batting at 5 rather than 4 as expected made an unbeaten 20 of 12 balls.
But AB and Hashim Amla are making it look a silly total as they have gone flying to 34 without loss after 3 overs.
Srinath Aravind is making his international debut for India this game. Things haven't gone quite his way as yet as his opening over went for 14.......

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 4:42 pm

Aravind doesn't have the pace for consistent international success. AB was charging him like he was playing a little spinner. It is of course AB and he can do things that most other batsmen wouldn't even dream about doing, but still.......

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 4:44 pm

The spinners will have to do something special, otherwise this will be over rather quickly, may not even last the 20 overs. AB has already moved on to 27, and he hasn't looked anywhere near his best as yet!

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:01 pm

Spinners on and Akshar created a chance in the first over itself, but Dhoni failed to take the thick edge.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:04 pm

Relief for the Indian skipper the next over though, as Amla took on Mohit Sharma's arm and got run-out for 36.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:14 pm

Ashwin gets the big one as he cleans up AB!
JP Duminy in at 4, and Dhoni brings back Aravind. Think Raina should bowl an over or 2, the seamers aren't really doing the job.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:15 pm

Just as I was typing, Aravind gets his first international wickets as he bowls Faf du Plessis. South Africa in a bit of bother at 95-3.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:45 pm

Ashwin finished with 1-26 in his 4, but the others aren't backing him up, Akshar Patel going for 22 in an over as SA has regained control of the chase.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:46 pm

With 44 of 24 with 7 wickets in hand, and with the Indian seamers to face up to, it is South Africa's game to lose.

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:49 pm

Dreadful umpiring to add to India's problems, Duminy gets smashed on the boots absolutely plumb, as plumb as they get and isn't given. Bhuvneshwar is an angry man I tell you!!

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:50 pm

Now 35 of 3 overs, still SA in the driving seat

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 5:51 pm

And Mohit gets smashed first ball for 6. Just 29 of 17......

by msp83 Fri 02 Oct 2015, 6:12 pm

So first blood to South Africa. They winn the first t-20i by 7 wickets, with 2 balls remaining. Duminy and Berhadien with a hundred partnership after they lost the big 3 of Amla, Faf and AB.
Other than Ashwin, the Indian bowling wasn't up to the task.
And if the selectors go by their usual ways and make T-20 performances the yardstick for the test side, then this game is a greater calamity beyond the results, you know why!

by KP_fan Fri 02 Oct 2015, 6:33 pm

msp83 wrote:India seamer Umesh Yadav meanwhile smashed a 119 ball 128 not out that included 7 6s. He would be thinking that if Stuart Binny can play as an international test all-rounder, even he might have a chance!!. Time for a #Yadavfornumber6 campaign?

by KP_fan Fri 02 Oct 2015, 6:34 pm

Dhoni loses.....again Shocked

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