***Official*** India in Sri Lanka

[adharcric]

Yuvraj playing on 86 from 84. Pretty sure he had 45 from 70 the last time I checked - somebody's definitely on crack, either Cricinfo or Yuvraj.

 

[adharcric]

Holy ****, completely destroyed the attack.

 

[Manee]

Looks like Munaf Patel has earnt his way into the team for the first ODI. His eight overs on the trot have gone: 8-1-26-0.

 

[Precambrian]

Yuvi has played his innings for the tour. Now for the telephone numbers.

 

[Perm]

Destructive innings from Yuvraj, 172 from 121 with 13 sixes. Good to see Harbhajan and Munaf returning good figures, hopefully both feature prominently in the ODI series.

Also interesting to see Chamara Kapugedara, at 21, captaining the Sri Lankan XI. Pity he couldn't make any runs.

 

[Precambrian]

Where is P Kumar?

 

[Manee]

I assume that they have already selected him for the first ODI so, resting.

 

[Lostman]

I wonder if Yuvraj would be moved up the order to 3 for the ODI series. Would be facing less of Murali and Mendis and more of Vaas and the second opening bowler

 

[Precambrian]

I wonder if Yuvraj would be moved up the order to 3 for the ODI series. Would be facing less of Murali and Mendis and more of Vaas and the second opening bowler

No use, Jaya will bring in Mendis the moment Yuvraj comes to the wicket, even if it is 5th over of the match.

We all saw how he was a cropper in picking the average Brad Hogg in Australia. Can we expect the same guy to do better against Mendis in Sri Lanka?

I expect Yuvi not to score beyond double figures for the entire series.

 

[Perm]

I wonder if Yuvraj would be moved up the order to 3 for the ODI series. Would be facing less of Murali and Mendis and more of Vaas and the second opening bowler

Judging from the match report Yuvraj didn't have any trouble dealing with the spinners during his knock today, but obviously Jehan Mubarak, Malinda Warnapura and Malinga Bandara aren't of the same standard as Murali and Mendis.

 

[Perm]

I wonder if Yuvraj would be moved up the order to 3 for the ODI series. Would be facing less of Murali and Mendis and more of Vaas and the second opening bowler

Judging from the match report Yuvraj didn't have any trouble dealing with the spinners during his knock today, but obviously Jehan Mubarak, Malinda Warnapura and Malinga Bandara aren't of the same standard as Murali and Mendis. Still, I can't see the sense in moving Suresh Raina away from the #3 position, especially when most of Yuvraj's success has come at #4. I'd prefer to keep it that way, with Dhoni and Rohit Sharma coming in after them. If the selectors opt to go with Badrinath he should bat above Dhoni.

 

[chaminda_00]

Also interesting to see Chamara Kapugedara, at 21, captaining the Sri Lankan XI. Pity he couldn't make any runs.

Been vice captain since he made his Test debut 2 years ago. Mubarak wants to concentrate on his batting, which is a waste of time as he can't bat. So I think Kapugedara and Tharanga are going to take over the captaincy of the As and SL XIs.

 

[Arjun]

Look at these figures: Ten overs, no maidens, no wicket for 75. That also includes three no-balls and ten wides. He's often played as Sri Lanka's strike pacer, especially because of his (now declined) pace. That's really sad, given how useful he is on a good day. Any chance of him getting a match?

Of course, Yuvraj is the talking point. I wonder how fit he is. He was struggling throughout the series in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and has struggled in his last 30 ODIs. Then he comes up with this innings, from the middle-order. He must be batting well, so we may see the Yuvraj we know and love in this series. We can't watch these warm-ups here in India, but I wonder how the innings was played- he hasn't been batting well in the last few series before this, getting out to part-timers and average medium-pacers as well. And he's been weak at mid-on, unlike the livewire of old at point.

 

[Migara]

Look at these figures: Ten overs, no maidens, no wicket for 75. That also includes three no-balls and ten wides. He's often played as Sri Lanka's strike pacer, especially because of his (now declined) pace. That's really sad, given how useful he is on a good day. Any chance of him getting a match?

Of course, Yuvraj is the talking point. I wonder how fit he is. He was struggling throughout the series in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and has struggled in his last 30 ODIs. Then he comes up with this innings, from the middle-order. He must be batting well, so we may see the Yuvraj we know and love in this series. We can't watch these warm-ups here in India, but I wonder how the innings was played- he hasn't been batting well in the last few series before this, getting out to part-timers and average medium-pacers as well. And he's been weak at mid-on, unlike the livewire of old at point.

Trust me, he'll have the most hellish series of his life facing two quality spinners, not one. He may get that odd fifty, but it will be a real tester for him. On the other hand Dhoni will play well, as his method against spinners are more suited playing spiners like Murali and Mendis.

 

[Arjun]

Reading the match report, I don't like the look of this- Dilhara Fernando, overstepping and bowling absolute rubbish, managed to get past Yuvraj's bat more than a few times, curbing his strokeplay a little. Not to mention, Jehan Mubarak, a rank part-timer, got ten overs. Moreover, a lot of his sixes came off both part-timers, and a few against possibly one of the worst pace combinations he's ever faced. More importantly, though, the report said he looked confident against spin- which wasn't seen against the likes of Brad Hogg, Shahid Afridi and the Lankan spinners.

Munaf and RP Singh gave away too much width in their opening overs, and got to come back only by some substandard batting by the Lankan XI. Harbhajan bowled well, and Ojha got a faint nick to get a wicket, but they were under no threat as the Lankan chase simply folded up too early. The Indians played five bowlers and each only got a wicket or two, with only six wickets taken. They're likely to play four bowlers, in which case, it looks rather scary.

 

[Arjun]

Will Badrinath get a match? In place of whom will he play?

 

[Manee]

Munaf and RP Singh gave away too much width in their opening overs,.

Munaf didn't go for too many in any of his overs though.

 

[masterblaster]

Will Badrinath get a match? In place of whom will he play?

Perhaps a similar team to this will take the park? Although I think Badrinath is wasted at number 7. He should be in at number 5 with Rohit Sharma coming in at number 6 and Dhoni coming in at 7.

Sehwag
Gambhir
Raina
Yuvraj
Rohit Sharma
Dhoni
Badrinath
Kumar/Pathan
Harbhajan
Zaheer
Munaf

 

[ret]

UV did well in the warm-up game but not sure how he would translate that performance in the ODIs considering his woos against quality spin bowling. playing UV anywhere lower than #3 may not be that effective but lets hope for the best

and with a guy like Pathan in the 11, you don't need a long batting line up as he is a good number 7 batsman. playing him at 7 would also provide more bowling options to India

a line up like the one below would make it interesting

- Sehwag
- Gambhir
- Badri / Yuvi
- Raina
- Dhoni
- Rohit
- Pathan
- Bhajji
- Zak
- Ojha
- Munaf

other options: RP and Kumar

 

[Sanz]

Who were the SL Bowlers today ?