***Official*** India in Pakistan

[C_C]

Actually as far as i can remember its just two times in 57 games that tendulkar scored heavly and india won .I know that people would say that Tendulkar has done his job and its up to rest of guys to carry on . But should'nt tendular at this stage of his carrier take up the responsibility to guide india to victories . They've got plenty of master blasters now .On the subcontinental piches anyway(Pathan,Dhoni,Sehwag and probably youraj too)

Well the guy scored 100 off 110 balls batting first....not unless Tendulkar turns into a brilliant bowler overnight that you could say 'he could've done more' to win this game.

Even the last time Tendulkar scored heavily against Pakistan, Pakistan won. India batted first, Tendulkar scored 123 off 130 balls that day, with the next highest being 47 from Dhoni.

He then bowled 6 overs for 36 runs and 1 wicket. Still India lost. What more could he have done ?
Tendulkar's hard work has too often been undone by fragile bowling performances...

He still remains an excellent chaser in ODIs though and i dont think any other opening batsman has lasted as often well into the 40th over as Tendulkas has...

 

[azshah]

ODI series started as expected both teams played good cricket at the end Pakistan pulled it off as usual ... it will be interesting to watch next ODIs the series can go either ways and I hope it goes to Pakistan's way... nice try India

 

[adharcric]

Sreesanth looked pretty impressive at times but once again Agarkar ended up with the better figures. I can see RP Singh coming in the next match, but I really hope it's in place of Zaheer or Agarkar. Even Holding and Dean Jones were saying that Sreesanth has the most potential of the Indian seamers, because of his pace and wrist position.

 

[Jono]

Tendulkar almost batted out 50 overs this game, and guided Pathan and Dhoni well. He paced his innings beautifully and was unlucky to get out in the end (though he was bowled off a no-ball earlier). How is he supposed to 'guide' India to victory batting first. Maybe he should have opened the bowling too? And bowled at the death as well, yes why not.

He played beautifully from what I've read, and I can't wait to see the highlights on Foxtel here in Australia!

And yes, RP Singh must play the next match. He is a brilliant ODI bowler who can actually keep it tight by bowling good lines. He doesn't bowl as many 4 balls as Pathan, Zaheer, AA, Sree Santh, Nehra etc. etc. etc.

 

[marc71178]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it is poor bowling either. Yes he did overstep and this against the laws, but it is not intentional and its not like he does it every ball.

If he doesn't do it every ball he should never do it.

 

[magsi23]

. Pakistan has NEVER chased 329 runs against India, or even against any team for that matter(not sure about this one though).

And this Indian attack is a good one with 5 specialist bowlers and an allrounder!

Pak gonna lose, they might not get crushed but will certainly lose.

India 1 up

You were saying something?

 

[adharcric]

You were saying something?

The fact that you're actually taking the time to respond to posts like that one scares me.

 

[magsi23]

The fact that you're actually taking the time to respond to posts like that one scares me.

nah im not one of those obssesive fans, just thought that was funny

 

[alternative]

i just say it was just luck for pakistan, they still had 18 runs to get.. and mind you that cricket is a funny game, anything could hav happened in dat 18 balls..

 

[Tony Blade]

It was really India's fault for not finishing the overs on time..

 

[adharcric]

Ramesh Powar drafted into Indian one-day squad

I think Harbhajan Singh's injury may prove to be a blessing in disguise for both Ramesh Powar (no disguise there) and India. First of all, Bhajji might be low on confidence after being brutally abused by Afridi and co. in the tests, but still he is a great competitor who would surely bounce back at some point. This will give him an opportunity to sort things out ahead of the crucial England tour. Powar is averaging 40+ with the bat and 22 with the ball as the leading wicket-taker in this Ranji Trophy season. Murali Kartik, as many have mentioned here, does not belong in the one-day side and his performance in Peshawar was yet another display of his lack of penetration and consistency. It seemed as if the selectors were hesitant to pick Powar over Kartik for some reason. But I'm pretty sure that if Powar performs here, Kartik will be banished for good from the ODI squad. Kartik can fend off the Powar threat in the eyes of the selectors, but Harbhajan Singh is the #1 option without doubt and if he's fit and Powar performs, say goodbye to Kartik. Let's hope Powar plays in Rawalpindi and makes a big contribution.

 

[adharcric]

Here's my lineup for the 2nd ODI at Rawalpindi.

India
Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Mohammad Kaif
Rahul Dravid
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Irfan Pathan
Ramesh Powar
Zaheer Khan (possibly Agarkar, but Zaheer is actually the better batsmen right now)
RP Singh
Sreesanth
Supersub: Suresh Raina

Pathan is the strike bowler who can deceive batsmen with his swing early on. RP Singh is the only bowler of the bunch who consistently generates pressure and takes wickets by sticking to a good line and length. Sreesanth is our only pacy option and MUST be played. We only have room for 1 underachieving, wayward, medium-fast bowler with a good ODI record, and I feel that spot belongs to Zaheer Khan for this match.

 

[Deja moo]

There was nothing in the pitch for spinners. I doubt Kumble or Harbhajan could have made any difference.

 

[Arumpnoo]

Pakistan winning the first odi and Sout Africa loss to Srilanka today will put Pakistan at no 2 spot in ODI rankings. I think the ranking will change tomorrow. Congras and hope it is not short lived. Guys, I am making a calculated guess here, so please don't curse me tomorrow if nothing changes but I am pretty sure by looking on the points table.

 

[TIF]

Line-up for the next ODI -

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Pathan
Kaif
Dravid
Yuvraj
Raina
Dhoni(w)
Powar
Zaheer
Sree Santh
Super-sub: RP Singh

 

[aussie]

Here's my lineup for the 2nd ODI at Rawalpindi.

India
Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Mohammad Kaif
Rahul Dravid
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Irfan Pathan
Ramesh Powar
Zaheer Khan (possibly Agarkar, but Zaheer is actually the better batsmen right now)
RP Singh
Sreesanth
Supersub: Suresh Raina

at last India's OD team looks to have a good balance, just through Harbhajan in place of a seamer & India have a possible OD side that could challenge at the WC.

 

[adharcric]

There was nothing in the pitch for spinners. I doubt Kumble or Harbhajan could have made any difference.

It's not just about this match. Kartik has a terrible one-day record, see it for yourself. If he gets plenty of wickets in his next match, that won't prove me wrong. It's the inconsistency I'm annoyed with.

 

[adharcric]

at last India's OD team looks to have a good balance, just through Harbhajan in place of a seamer & India have a possible OD side that could challenge at the WC.

yeah i think that's what the wc side will look up, except piyush chawla may find a place and vr singh or munaf patel may come in for sreesanth or zaheer/agarkar.

 

[honestbharani]

Kartik is not a bad second spinner, but he should never play as the lone spinner for India. He can easily be targetted. With a decent spinner at the other end, though, he becomes a good option because he can then become a wicket taker.

 

[Jono]

I am absolutely delighted that Ramesh Powar has been brought into India's squad. He's always in my squad, and sometimes my team when I play as India in International Cricket Captain

Good move selectors. My ODI XI (from the squad selected):

1.Tendulkar
2.Sehwag
3.Kaif
4.Dravid
5.Yuvraj
6.+MS Dhoni
7.Irfan Pathan
8. Powar
9.Zaheer Khan
10.Rudra Pratap Singh
11.Sreesanth
Super-Sub: Raina or Gambhir (Preferably Raina for his excellent fielding. If India do bat first and they don't need to super-sub Raina in to bat, they can super-sub him on in the field anyway to replace someone.)

Obviously the batting order can switch, and Pathan and Dhoni can be elevated up the order when desired. I think the time has come though that India no longer need to select 6 specialist batsman and a keeper/batsman. 5 specialist batsmen, a keeper/batsman and Pathan and Powar as the allrounders or bowlers that can bat/batsman that can bowl (whichever way you want to look at them ) is enough batting. And if India do have an unfortunate batting collapse, Raina/Gambhir can be subbed on as the batsman anyway and replace a bowler, because there are plenty of bowling options in that team already.

Edit: Just realised I have the same team as adharcric