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India A tour of zimbabwe and kenya

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Secondly, what makes you think it is the latter and not the former? He has been kept around A tours to let him know he's still in reckoning if he finds his feet again and he's been named in preliminary squads. I'm sure he'll be recalled if he performs consistently in domestic cricket (in fact, he'll probably get recalled too soon if he puts two or three performances together at the right time) - he just hasn't done that yet. His performances against dire opposition lately are perfect testament to the fact that he simply isn't bowling well enough at the moment to justify selection in the team at this time.
We've seen how Dilip Vengsarkar is trying to nudge him out of contention for the national team. First, he started calling the shots by landing in South Africa, and then sent Irfan back midway through the tour. He's been a counter coach of sorts, following the team everywhere and even having a hand in what happens on field. After that dreadful tour, Irfan got a single, solitary one-dayer, bowling second-change, when he's a new-ball bowler. Even when they were facing Bangladesh, when he could have got a chance to return to form, he was dropped, while Agarkar and Karthik made merry and hung on in the team. In the ongoing tour, he was played as a second-change bowler at times, following lesser accomplished bowlers.

He may not be bowling well these days, but-
  • There is no alternative that the selectors can find, for the kind of value he adds to the team. If not Irfan, then suggest someone. Maybe Sanjay Bangar or Praveen Kumar, but it's up to the people in charge.
  • He was once the leading ODI bowler for his team, and still has good ODI figures. None of the other Indian seamers look assured in ODIs- Sreesanth's dropped again, RP Singh just makes up the numbers and Munaf has fitness issues.
  • In comparison, Dinesh Karthik should never have been recalled. Yet, Colonel saw something in him that would help the team, and the management persisted with him despite the obvious lack of runs in the run-up to the World Cup, and now he too is among the runs. If a one-day misfit with batting issues can make a place for himself in Tests and ODIs, why not India's best ODI bowler in recent times?
 

Chemosit

First Class Debutant
Tikolo and Collins Obuya both out of game 2 for Kenya. :( A big blow, though at least Odoyo comes back in which should make a big difference to the bowling. Elijah Otieno is still believed to be in doubt at well.

India A lose Chawla, Sharma and Uthappa to their full ODI side.

Hopefully the second game will be closer fought and Kenya can pull off an upset...
 

Chemosit

First Class Debutant
Second 3 day game under way in Mombasa:
Kenya all out for 218 having been put in. Odoyo made 51 and Odhiambo 41.
Singh, Pathan and Ojha all took 3-for.

Several starts, but no one going on to really dominate the ball. Still an improvement on the first innings in game one and Odhiambo gets 2 wickets in his first over to set the chase back.

So far it is looking like a better match than the last one anyway. :)
 

adharcric

International Coach
Good to see Pathan take some wickets. Hopefully he can work his way back into form by the end of the year. That said, we're not that desperate to have him back anymore.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
Yes, he has clearly not been forgotten about, he is only 22, his batting is coming along brilliantly and the bowling is coming along slowly and steadily. Maybe some more training in the MRF Pace Foundation if possible, just iron out all the flaws before returning to international cricket. Plenty of time for him yet.

In the tour so far:

Code:
[B]Overs      Maidens      Runs      Wickets[/B]
90           20          300        11
Average: 27.27
Econ: 3.33
SR: 49.09

Good, not great.
 

shankar

International Debutant
Yes, he has clearly not been forgotten about, he is only 22, his batting is coming along brilliantly and the bowling is coming along slowly and steadily. Maybe some more training in the MRF Pace Foundation if possible, just iron out all the flaws before returning to international cricket. Plenty of time for him yet.

In the tour so far:

Code:
[B]Overs      Maidens      Runs      Wickets[/B]
90           20          300        11
Average: 27.27
Econ: 3.33
SR: 49.09

Good, not great.
In his interviews at the MRF foundation, he said that although they'd identified the problem with his action, he hadnt gotten used to his new action and that it was causing him some pain. So I would give him some time.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
Fair enough, he has got two wickets in his first two overs of the Kenyan innings, I am still optimistic...
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
How quick is this Praveen Kumar?

7.4 Kumar to Suji, OUT, beaten by the pace
AO Suji b Kumar 5 (12b 0x4 0x6) SR: 41.66
India A are destroying Kenya who are 27/4 with Kumar and Singh each doing brilliantly with the new ball.

EDIT: Here are some ratings I made for the 4 day section of the Africa Tour.

India A First Class Tour of Africa: India Player Ratings

Piyush Chawla: 10: From the first innings of the first match, he made his impact, scoring 58 off 87 balls. With the ball, he preceded to take 4 for 40 in a wicket-taking and economical spell. 4 for 30 followed as Zimbabwe Select followed on. 10 for 58 match figures in the following match and match figures of 6 for 45 in the first game against Kenya. Another fifty in the second match against Zimbabwe Select gave Chawla an outstanding series with the ball and the bat.

Parthiv Patel: 9: With the bat, the baby-faced youngster has done everything possible to warrant future selection for the India team. With three hundreds (peaking at 160 against Kenya) and a fifty, all scored at over a run per two balls, he will be pushing the selectors very hard, for a place in the team. The only worry may be the rise in class that would be brought about by international bowlers. In his previous test stint in 2002-2004, he seemed outclassed by international bowlers and yet still grinded four test match fifties. Seemingly more matured and still with the determination to grind out innings, he could be one threatening to take the disputed number seven spot, currently occupied by the exciting MS Dhoni. His keeping was tidy too, letting through minimal byes and taking the catches which came his way.

Subramaniam Badrinath: 9: Three and a half centuries from the First Class performer have staked his claim to potentially take over from one of the Big Four when the retire in the next half dozen years. At 26 he is in his prime and in fine form too, I think a test debut should be sooner rather than later.

Pankaj Singh: 8: A steady performance from the medium pacer. He took wickets consistently and began conceding under two runs per over in the matches against Kenya with immaculate line and length. A quick forty which he also struck on the tour won’t hurt him either.

Pragyan Ojha: 8: The leading contender in the race for the next Indian spinner has fallen behind the massively impressive Chawla, but a fantastic 6-for in the second innings against Kenya has ensured he remains in the hunt.

Irfan Pathan: 7: A disappointing performance from the man once touted as the next Wasim Akram. With 11 no balls and 2 wides, he started shoddily in his first game against Zimbabwe Select, but soon ironed out his flaws and seems to be getting used to his new action. With 14 wickets at 23.39, he has certainly been a useful member of the side, but still not the Irfan Pathan of old. His rather moot performances with the bat have also been poor but that is nothing to worry about at all as that will no doubt come with match practice. His 3 for 12 off 10 against Zimbabwe Select and 3 for 28 off 10 against Kenya (in what was an unlucky spell) have shown glimpses of brilliance but the consistency still evades the young Baroda star.

Rajesh Pawar: 7: Some handy contributions with the bat as well as some steady left arm orthadox spin gave him four wickets in the two games he has played on the tour.

Arjun Yadav: 7: The critics were hot on his case after he was selected for the tour after pretty ordinary domestic performances but in his sole game against Kenya, answered the critics with a fine fifty.

Rohit Sharma: 6: One fifty in three innings and a quick 35 is an adequate performance from the one day prospect. He was selected in the India ODI squad to face England.

Yo Mahesh: 6: Besides taking three in an over to wipe out the tail against Kenya, Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh has not stood out from the pack of medium pacers on show.

Robin Uthappa: 6: After smashing 88 off 85 against Zimbabwe Select in the first match, the intention was clear to play Sehwag-like knocks at the top of the order and bludgeon the new ball out of shape before it could cause much damage. Unfortunately, this ‘hit or miss’ tactic left him with three low scores throughout the series’ inter-spliced with two brisk fifties. His fluid strokeplay earned him a place in the Indian ODI squad to face England in seven ODIs in which no doubt, he will play a crucial role at the top of the order.

VRV Singh: 5: The man once touted at the fastest in India has not either stood out from the other medium pacers, taking 3 wickets at a economy of about 3 runs per over in his sole match on the tour.

Mohammad Kaif: 4: Starts but no finishes. Just one fifty in four innings, he would be disappointed with himself and must feel he has squandered his opportunity for a comeback.

Niraj Patel: 1: With just one innings which was a 1 off 10 balls, not much more can be given to the Gujarat batsman.

Mahesh Rawat: NA: Kept well but has not batted so cannot be rated accurately.
 
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TikoBestAssoPla

Cricket Spectator
wallopped!!! i cant remember when kenya have been beaten like this by an A team or even a full team in an ODI. This is as Lopsided a game as it gets. Where did the kenyan selectors get this people?!!! :@
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
You called it. India A take on good opposition, India A are then 7 down for 30 runs.

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/kenya/engine/current/match/302306.html
India managed to scrape 102 thanks to an Irfan Pathan 44. I have a feeling this is a poor pitch and Sri Lanka may too struggle with this score. Judging by cricinfo's commentary, there is uneven bounce.

Wickets are either: "Rising delivery edged to slips" or "Low on the stumps".

Irfan has a proper test against a proper team, lets see how he does...
 

Magrat Garlick

Global Moderator
I have a feeling this is a poor pitch and Sri Lanka may too struggle with this score.
Indeed. 38 for five now. Pathan two, Pankaj Singh two, Pravin Kumar one.

Mahela Udawatte putting in a decent application tho. 14 not out, has kept out 28 deliveries.
 

Nishan

U19 Cricketer
good performance by Lokurachi and wijekoon good to see the selectors picked form players for 20/20 world cup
 

adharcric

International Coach
Manee, Praveen Kumar did not have much pace when I saw him last season. Generally around 130 kph but he can swing it a bit and gives it his all. Big hitter as well.
 
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adharcric

International Coach
India A are playing Sri Lanka A again, right? Wouldn't be surprised if the Indians did poorly because they have been playing such crap opposition over the past few weeks.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
India A did not play poorly, they just played a shade worse than Sri Lanka A. Had India A taken that 7th wicket, it would have been very close. It was a rubbish pitch which did not seem to get any better judging by the dismissals, but setting on a horrible pitch is much harder than chasing 102 on one.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
I think this is conclusive proof that these pitches favour the team bowling first substantially.
 

Chemosit

First Class Debutant
I think this is conclusive proof that these pitches favour the team bowling first substantially.
It is not so much the pitch as the weather conditions in the morning. There is always a hell of a lot of movement in the early session, or has been whenever I have played/watched at Gymkhana. Generally by mid way through the morning, the air is clearer and the sun out and the pitch can be a pretty good track to bat on.

I would have thought that a 10:30 start would be more sensible if they were after better 1st innings scores and a more even toss, but this may be dictated by external factors.

As far as the Kenyan wickets go, it has also been more a case of poor shot selection than being undone by the pitch. Still, at least we are back winning again and maybe that is the corner turned. At least the series is now still wide open.:)
 

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