***Official*** Sri Lanka in India

[dinu23]

well Jason, the selectors have tried several openers this year haven't they?
Kalawitigoda(didn't get enough matches)
jayantha
tharanga

from those three i liked the look of tharanga. can't say much about kalawitigoda as i haven't seen much of him.
then we have Vandort and Daniel.

 

[chaminda_00]

They also gave Gunawardene a decent run as well, but out of the four tried only Tharanga is really a long term option, the other guys were just stop gap options.

It should be interesting to see who they use in the super sub role, if they go in with five bowler then Arnold likely to come in as the super sub. But i wouldn't mind seeing them play seven batsmen and have a bowler as the super sub. But to do that you need a geniune all rounder, so they can be effective if we bat first or bowl first.

 

[adharcric]

For the Indian side, the batting shouldn't be much of a problem. As long as Dravid and Tendulkar are still there, the rest just need to support these two. The lack of strike bowlers is a concern. With Zaheer dropped, Nehra out injured and Agarkar who's anything but a tournament-winning striker, a lot will depend on Irfan and the in-form rookie Sreesanth. The young lad from Kerala is a lot faster than his more illustrious rivals bar VR Singh and Abid Nabi, and he will make an excellent new-ball partner for Irfan. This is a risk worth taking, because the gains that will come are huge. Wonder how RP Singh will perform with an older ball.

Really looking forward to watching Sreesanth bowl. I've been hoping that VRV or Nabi break into the national team so we have a genuine fast bowler, but Sreesanth seems impressive. I've heard he has good swing and seam ... how fast does he usually bowl?

 

[Salamuddin]

Really looking forward to watching Sreesanth bowl. I've been hoping that VRV or Nabi break into the national team so we have a genuine fast bowler, but Sreesanth seems impressive. I've heard he has good swing and seam ... how fast does he usually bowl?

Yeah.....how quick is Sreesanth - to anyone who wtached the Challenger series ?

 

[dinu23]

Arnold will probably get the super sub role or Dilshan.

 

[honestbharani]

I think he would be as quick as Zaheer, and he seems to skid the ball on as well. He got decent movement both ways, and my only problem with him was that he was inconsistent with his line and length.

 

[JASON]

well Jason, the selectors have tried several openers this year haven't they?
Kalawitigoda(didn't get enough matches)
jayantha
tharanga

from those three i liked the look of tharanga. can't say much about kalawitigoda as i haven't seen much of him.
then we have Vandort and Daniel.

Dinu did you see the Indian selections. They are trying lot of new comers . Why can't our bloody selectors take a little gamble and pick a couple of new comers once in a while without being so damn frigid ?

I mean what the hell losing one ODI won't be the end of the world . Why not try Van Dort / Daniel ? What about Weerakoon the spinner ?

Jayantha is 32 so he would not be worth giving too many opportunities , but what about Kalawitigoda - why not give him another go in India ?

 

[adharcric]

I think he would be as quick as Zaheer, and he seems to skid the ball on as well. He got decent movement both ways, and my only problem with him was that he was inconsistent with his line and length.

"as quick as zaheer" doesnt mean much, if you're talking about zaheer in his prime when he could hit 140, that's good, if you're talking about zaheer's crap around 130 kmph at some times lately, that's nothing special. anyone watch the challenger series?

 

[honestbharani]

"as quick as zaheer" doesnt mean much, if you're talking about zaheer in his prime when he could hit 140, that's good, if you're talking about zaheer's crap around 130 kmph at some times lately, that's nothing special. anyone watch the challenger series?

I did see the Challenger series. They didn't have a speed gun for the coverage though.

 

[shankar]

"as quick as zaheer" doesnt mean much, if you're talking about zaheer in his prime when he could hit 140, that's good, if you're talking about zaheer's crap around 130 kmph at some times lately, that's nothing special. anyone watch the challenger series?

His average speed is probably around the the high 130s. He's very similar to Agarkar when he came onto the scene.

 

[lionheart]

Dinu did you see the Indian selections. They are trying lot of new comers . Why can't our bloody selectors take a little gamble and pick a couple of new comers once in a while without being so damn frigid ?

I mean what the hell losing one ODI won't be the end of the world . Why not try Van Dort / Daniel ? What about Weerakoon the spinner ?

Jayantha is 32 so he would not be worth giving too many opportunities , but what about Kalawitigoda - why not give him another go in India ?

Van Dort should be playing in the test team no question. He has made runs at that level, all be it again Bangladesh, but then so did Tharanga. He is easily the most exciting prospect we have in terms of a test match batsmen. Ian Daniel should be soon behind him. As for Weerakoon, i think it will be hard for him to make the team as long as Chandana and Murali are in the team. You can really take anyone else out, our batting lineup is collapse prone, and Maharoof can't carry the attack with Vaas.

Is there anywhere we can watch the games online?

 

[ramkumar_gr]

well Jason, the selectors have tried several openers this year haven't they?
Kalawitigoda(didn't get enough matches)
jayantha
tharanga

from those three i liked the look of tharanga. can't say much about kalawitigoda as i haven't seen much of him.
then we have Vandort and Daniel.

BTW, what happened to Jayantha. Whatever little i have seen of him , he is a very good player and can hit the ball as hard as anyone and he is also a useful bowler.
I am surprised he is not getting a look in these days.

And also i feel Dilhara should be a permanent fixture in the Srilankan ODI side atleast a supersub. He is a clean striker of the cricket ball.

 

[ramkumar_gr]

For the Indian side, the batting shouldn't be much of a problem. As long as Dravid and Tendulkar are still there, the rest just need to support these two. The lack of strike bowlers is a concern. With Zaheer dropped, Nehra out injured and Agarkar who's anything but a tournament-winning striker, a lot will depend on Irfan and the in-form rookie Sreesanth. The young lad from Kerala is a lot faster than his more illustrious rivals bar VR Singh and Abid Nabi, and he will make an excellent new-ball partner for Irfan. This is a risk worth taking, because the gains that will come are huge. Wonder how RP Singh will perform with an older ball.

I feel India should go in with Irfan,ShreeSanth,Murali Karthick and Harbajan as the first 4 bowlers and JP yadav can fill in as the fifth.

 

[ramkumar_gr]

Here's a link to Siddhartha Vaidyanathan's article on the CricInfo fornt page. It's written well, but the author seems to be afraid of taking risks. Frankly, at this stage, no risk will hurt them. If they play safe, they will stay at the bottom, since the 'best' Indian side has been at the bottom of the table, and have a horrible record agaisnt the visiting Lankans. But these unknown elements in this Indian side have it in them to unsettle the Lankans and should be backed fully, rather than treated as extras, which has often been the case in the Indian side in the last five years.

And any thoughts on LR Shukla, he was in the top 4 run getters in the last season and not found to be in the top 39 players of India. I feel he should be given another chance. He is 24 years old and his heroics in last years duleep trophy was very significant.
Let us hope he repeats the same in this years duleep trophy too.

 

[dinu23]

Van Dort should be playing in the test team no question. He has made runs at that level, all be it again Bangladesh, but then so did Tharanga. He is easily the most exciting prospect we have in terms of a test match batsmen. Ian Daniel should be soon behind him. As for Weerakoon, i think it will be hard for him to make the team as long as Chandana and Murali are in the team. You can really take anyone else out, our batting lineup is collapse prone, and Maharoof can't carry the attack with Vaas.

Is there anywhere we can watch the games online?

i agree with u on Vandort and Daniel. but I think if Chandana doesn't diliver in this series Weerakoon might find a spot in the team. we difinitely need three seamers. Vaas and Maharoof are automatic selections so third spot is available for Zoysa or Dilhara.

 

[dinu23]

BTW, what happened to Jayantha. Whatever little i have seen of him , he is a very good player and can hit the ball as hard as anyone and he is also a useful bowler.
I am surprised he is not getting a look in these days.

And also i feel Dilhara should be a permanent fixture in the Srilankan ODI side atleast a supersub. He is a clean striker of the cricket ball.

Jayantha is too inconsistant. when he gets going he's great to watch but that happens once in 20 matches. i think Dilhara has been used incorrectly so far. he's not really suited to pinch hitter role.he needs time to settle in before going for shots. so if they use him properly he could be a good prospect.

 

[ramkumar_gr]

Jayantha is too inconsistant. when he gets going he's great to watch but that happens once in 20 matches. i think Dilhara has been used incorrectly so far. he's not really suited to pinch hitter role.he needs time to settle in before going for shots. so if they use him properly he could be a good prospect.

But some of the shots he plays in the offside were really breath taking.
But Srilanka is too good a team and it can afford to drop him,considering the talent found in the 15 men squad.
I dont see a single weakness in the squad.
I would say Srilanka will win atleast 5 matches.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

His average speed is probably around the the high 130s. He's very similar to Agarkar when he came onto the scene.

... that isint quick imo?
with all this talk of a pace talent for India.. whatever happend to Munaf Patel?

 

[honestbharani]

... that isint quick imo?
with all this talk of a pace talent for India.. whatever happend to Munaf Patel?

That is quick by the current Indian bowlers' standards. Munaf Patel has been struggling to make his zonal side (only got in because AA is on national duty.).

 

[shankar]

... that isint quick imo?
with all this talk of a pace talent for India.. whatever happend to Munaf Patel?

It's not. I should have written it as 'only high 130s'.
Reg. Munaf Patel - He had a shoulder fracture last year and is now fully recovered. Should be interesting to see how he goes this season.