*Official* New Zealand in India Thread

[Tim]

NZ Herald writer Richard Boock who is in India said Munaf was unorthodox but definately not an extremely quick bowler.

 

[Top_Cat]

Boock was a Test player too, wasn't he? You figure that he'd have some idea when it came to bowlers then.

 

[V Reddy]

Munaf has a round arm action and his action is a bit like Akthar. I think he was hyped. There was no speedgun during the match but he looked like bowling in the 130's and nothing more than that. But he has the ability to make the ball swing-in to the right handers. He was wayward at the start but settled down later. He looked good when he maintained a decent line.

He does not seem to have express pace but can become a good bowler if worked on as he has the ability to swing the ball. Pretty good performance for a first match.

 

[Tim]

there are 3 Boock brothers aren't there? I definately know that Stephen Boock played for NZ..I have a feeling Richard didn't..but he's got a fairly good cricketing background in which to base his comments on.

 

[Tim]

There's no doubt that Munaf produced some good spells against NZ & good on him in what was technically his 1st first class match.

But I think the talk about his pace was seriously over-hyped, although until he gets tracked by a speed-gun there will only be debate.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Indian team for First Test

Akash Chopra
Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Parthiv Patel
Harbhajan Singh
Anil Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Lakshmipathy Balaji

Yuvraj Singh, Aavishkar Salvi and Sairaj Bahutule miss out.

 

[masterblaster]

Very interesting to see Salvi miss out...its a bit unfortuante, i rate him much higher than Balaji.

But hopefully for Balaji, his test debut is a bit sweeter than his ODI debut.

 

[Craig]

Did he get a good seam position?

 

[esgallindeion]

Indian team for First Test

1.Akash Chopra - Obvious choice

2.Virender Sehwag - Since its a home series, I don't mind him opening tests.

3.Rahul Dravid - The Rock still can't be moved.

4.Sachin Tendulkar - Oh well... next please.

5.Sourav Ganguly - He should remain captain but needs to perform really well.

6.VVS Laxman - Same with him. But if this fellow fails, Yuvraj Singh will get the nod.

7.Parthiv Patel - I think this kid has tremendous potential.

8.Harbhajan Singh - Turbanator's back. Beware Kiwis. He turbanated the Aussies and now he's aiming at you.

9.Anil Kumble - Pity he had to miss the WC matches. But he's good for a few years.

10.Zaheer Khan - Needs to get back to rhythm. Was sloppy in the Challenger series.

11.Lakshmipathy Balaji - Must perform well or his place will be taken by Salvi.

 

[V Reddy]

Did he get a good seam position?

Didn't notice that part.

 

[gibbsnsmith]

bah still not upto to the standards of even Marc...

anyway, i dont see why Akash Chopra was a obvious choice...

and once again let me gloat about the exclusion of 'aa' [not worthy of capital letters] from not only the test side but also from the whole squad..

AA IS OVERRATED:P [well by certain members in this forum..you know who you are :!( ]

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Parthiv Patel

where do you see potential in his batting ? apart from his great keeping ability.. he needs to really work on his batting..

and i really dont know why Balaji was given a go instead of Salvi.. i thought Salvi was the indian McGrath :P

NZ Herald writer Richard Boock who is in India said Munaf was unorthodox but definately not an extremely quick bowler.

oh ye .. read that in the paper aswell.. but didnt know if it was exclusive..

so what was all the pre hype about...?LOL

 

[masterblaster]

Parthiv is a decent batsman, he's only 18 so he will improve, but the talent is there. We saw it in England where he batted out so many overs to ensure an Indian draw.

Also in domestic cricket, he has been quite explosive with the bat.

 

[Craig]

bah still not upto to the standards of even Marc...

anyway, i dont see why Akash Chopra was a obvious choice...

and once again let me gloat about the exclusion of 'aa' [not worthy of capital letters] from not only the test side but also from the whole squad..

AA IS OVERRATED:P [well by certain members in this forum..you know who you are :!( ]

Put that in "Over-rated XI" thread then.

 

[Choora]

and i really dont know why Balaji was given a go instead of Salvi.. i thought Salvi was the indian McGrath :P

Salvi will get chance in future, Balaji's selection is on merit as his performance at domestic level has been wonderful.
Balaji will have the honour of sharing the new ball with Khan, hopefully Balaji will live upto reputation.I think his inswing delieveries is going to cause kiwi's batsmen some problem.

As for the series, i think NZ bowling lineup is too weak to trouble the great Indian batting lineup!

 

[Choora]

India wins the toss and opts to bat first, Balaji gets a test cap and so does Chopra.

Looking at Indian batting lineup, India should post a total of 400 + runs in the first innings!

 

[Tim]

As much as I dislike Choora's arrogance, he's correct about the fact that India will have no problems with NZ's bowling attack..I mean Oram, Tuffey & Styris all barely break 135 km's, and what the hell is the point of picking Wiseman if you're not going to bowl him?

 

[Andre]

Agreed with Tim regarding Wiseman.

On to the debutant Chopra: looked quite a good prospect to me. Could possibly turn out as the best Indian opener since Sidhu.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Chorpa/Ghambir opening pair in the future. Sehwag just doesn't do it for me at the top of the order in Test matches.

 

[Anil]

Sachin failed - too bad, but the Wall and "Very Very Special" Laxman came through for India. They should be able to post a good 1st innings total from here on....touch wood....

Akash Chopra looks really hungry for success and that's a good thing....

 

[gibbsnsmith]

well, 249/3

hmm..well, its hardly a lot of runs scored in a WHOLE days play..

But the loss of only 3 wickets mean that they can surely make it to around 400!