Pakistan vs India

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Pakistan vs India

Pakistan in India – Series Preview

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The cricket world continues to revolve and we come to what can arguably be called the most intense rivalry in world cricket when Pakistan visit India for a 5 game one day series (there will also be 3 test to follow, but more of that later).

Both teams will be keen to bounce back from recent defeats and there is no better way of doing it than by beating your closest neighbours. However, both teams could both be said to be in a state of transition, trying to replace ageing, retired or injured players.

India have once again made the hard decisions and left out former captain Dravid as India begin to look at life without their holy triumvirate. Dravids absence had been put down to him needing a break, according to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar. Vengsarkar also backed Dravids replacement, Sehwag, by saying that he is in back in from; however, many fans will feel that he has only been included due to his past successes against Pakistan.

Other than that it’s pretty much as you’d expect on the batting front with the usual suspects named. One to watch may be Tendulkar, who will surely be looking to sign off in style if the persistent retirement rumours are to be believed.

On the bowling front that things begin to look more interesting, although Zaheer and Irfan look a safe bet to open the attack, at least for the first two games. The final pace spot will be contested by Sreesanth, RP Singh and Kumar. Spin options will come from either Singh or Kartik.

Looking at Pakistan and their first choice XI is probably easier to guess but Lawson will have his work cut out making sure that they are all there to make the first game, especially if recent history is anything to go by.

They will certainly be without the injured Asif (elbow) but will welcome back Ahktar, who will surely be trusted with spearheading the attack. Elsewhere, it will be pretty much the same as the recent South Africa series with the likes of Anjum, Tanvir and Rehman fighting over the remaining place.

Batting wise, Pakistan look strong with experience coming in the form of Yousuf and Younis who will be ably backed up by Butt, Misbah and the captain Malik. Afridi, will I’m sure, be providing the fireworks.

One area of concern for Pakistan is the form of keeper Akmal, who has been under increasing pressure due to poor form with both bat and gloves. How he performs in the one day game may well have a say on whether he makes it to the test series.

Summing up and you’d have to stay that we are in for a topsy-turvy series (or we can at least hope!). India have the home advantage but Pakistan have recent history on theirs, having won an amazing 15 of the past 20 one-day internationals in India, and eight of the past 10. Despite this I have to call this series too close to call and am for once glad I’m a neutral who can simply sit back and enjoy what is sure to be a highly entertaining series!

November

Fri 2
Delhi v Pakistanis
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Mon 5
1st ODI - India v Pakistan
Nehru Stadium, Guwahati

Thu 8 (Floodlit Match)
2nd ODI - India v Pakistan
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Sun 11
3rd ODI - India v Pakistan
Green Park, Kanpur

Thu 15 (Floodlit Match)
4th ODI - India v Pakistan
Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior

Sun 18 (Floodlit Match)
5th ODI - India v Pakistan
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Thu 22 - Mon 26
1st Test - India v Pakistan
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Fri 30 - Tue 4
2nd Test - India v Pakistan
Eden Gardens, Kolkata

December

Sat 8 - Wed 12
3rd Test - India v Pakistan
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
 
Re: Pakistan in India

Akhtar was not fully fit when he played against South Africa. He was jogging in and it was only due to abuse of his hyperextention that he got over 140kph consistantly. Not only does this pay horrible use of his elbow but it means that he is not fully fit and I do not think he will last the whole tour unless he is given a few ODIs of rest.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

When was the last time that Ahktar was fit though? He's over 30 yet is still trying to run in as if he was 20.

A great bowler would have realised this and would have started to use his brain instead of raw pace.

I would just use him for the tests but let's see what happens.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

Almost_Austwick said:
When was the last time that Ahktar was fit though? He's over 30 yet is still trying to run in as if he was 20.

A great bowler would have realised this and would have started to use his brain instead of raw pace.

I would just use him for the tests but let's see what happens.
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I disagree somewhat. I am happy for him to sprint in, but he does not need to run in as far as he does. When Woolmer made him run in off a shortened run, he bowled at about 80-90mph which is hardly bad and he showed the same effectiveness as before. Shame he began to ignore him as time went on.

Shoaib Akhtar is a product of Pakistan cricket. Extremely talented, extremely fast, controversial and all in all, not as successful as he should be.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

Yes:

India

Squad for first two one-dayers: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik.

Pakistan

Shoaib Malik (c), Younis Khan (vc), Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (wk), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif*, Mohammad Yousuf, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul Yasir Hameed.

*Injured for first three ODIs, replacement has not been named.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

My XI for the match

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Uthappa
Pathan
Harbhajan
Zaheer
Kartik
RP

i think if we win the series before the last game then they will give the youngsters the chance.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

deer said:
My XI for the match

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Uthappa
Pathan
Harbhajan
Zaheer
Kartik
RP

i think if we win the series before the last game then they will give the youngsters the chance.
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Very good team in a smart batting order but I am partial to go with:

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Robin Uthappa
Praveen Kumar
Irfan Pathan
Murali Kartik
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth

I would go for the inform Praveen Kumar in place of Harbhajan Singh who does not take enough wickets in my opinion. Containment may work against a very strong team like Australia but you must look to bowl out weaker ODI teams like Pakistan. Kumar also provides batting in depth too useful for chasing targets and extremely useful for late order acceleration in the first innings.

Sreesanth instead of RP Singh simply because either of them will play the attacking option and Sreesanth is the far better wicket taker. In the future, maybe they could both be in the team bowling at an excess of 140kph but currently, they are too inaccurate to be together. To be honest, at present, I do not rate either particularly highly in ODIs.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

manee said:
I disagree somewhat. I am happy for him to sprint in, but he does not need to run in as far as he does. When Woolmer made him run in off a shortened run, he bowled at about 80-90mph which is hardly bad and he showed the same effectiveness as before. Shame he began to ignore him as time went on.
Click to expand...

That is true to some extent but what else can Ahktar really offer apart from raw pace? Even the great fast bowlers of the game realised that they had to have more than 2 or 3 tricks in their armoury as they got older.

True, he was able to cut his run and still bowl in the early 90's but he is older, more damaged by injury and if he wants to play for a few more years needs to add to his repertoire, otherwise after an initial blast he'll be bowling pies at 80mph and getting hit all over the place.

manee said:
Shoaib Akhtar is a product of Pakistan cricket. Extremely talented, extremely fast, controversial and all in all, not as successful as he should be.
Click to expand...

That sums him up nicely! A talent that only reached 90% of his potential.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

Almost_Austwick said:
That is true to some extent but what else can Ahktar really offer apart from raw pace? Even the great fast bowlers of the game realised that they had to have more than 2 or 3 tricks in their armoury as they got older.

True, he was able to cut his run and still bowl in the early 90's but he is older, more damaged by injury and if he wants to play for a few more years needs to add to his repertoire, otherwise after an initial blast he'll be bowling pies at 80mph and getting hit all over the place.
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I really do not understand why Akhtar does not look to slow down his normal delivery to about 80-85mph and only crank it up for the bouncer or yorker. It would be a good way to conserve his energy and preserve his body.

His stock ball being at about 87mph (140kph) means that the ball just races faster off the bat to the boundary and batsmen get used to the pace.

Akhtar is one of the less intelligent cricketers I have had the privledge of watching. Sprinting in from the boundary only to bowl a half volley or no ball...whats the point?
 
Re: Pakistan in India

manee said:
I really do not understand why Akhtar does not look to slow down his normal delivery to about 80-85mph and only crank it up for the bouncer or yorker. It would be a good way to conserve his energy and preserve his body.

His stock ball being at about 87mph (140kph) means that the ball just races faster off the bat to the boundary and batsmen get used to the pace.

Akhtar is one of the less intelligent cricketers I have had the privledge of watching. Sprinting in from the boundary only to bowl a half volley or no ball...whats the point?
Click to expand...

He's a show pony, like Afridi. You enjoy watching them as they bring a sense of excitement but ultimately you know that they aren't role models nor is the cricket they offer anything but sugar coated.

Maybe Lawson can get through to Ahktar but I doubt it, I think he's a lost cause.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

dont think akhtar will ever listen to anyone. he has done it all i wouldnt be surprised if hes involved in match fixing next and gets away with it. i dont think akhtar or afridi have as much talent as people say. it doesnt requre that much effort to average 20 odd with a 100+ strike rate.
 
Re: Pakistan in India

india is in stronger postion because pakistan have been in bad form.....but rp singh and sreessnth are problems for india
 
Re: Pakistan vs India

i think it will be a close series. both teams are evenly matched and if they play like they did in the t20 world cup then it will be very exciting.
 
Re: Pakistan vs India

I see looking at the betting India are slight favourites for this series, although Pakistan aren't far behind.

How much of a part will home advantage play in this series? Also, the unrest in Pakistan must be at the back of the minds of the players, which surely has to have an effect as well.
 
Re: Pakistan vs India

i think pakistan had a very disappointing series against us. but india got something going for them in the last two games so they got the advantage. still its going to be tight
 
Re: Pakistan vs India

Pakistan have chosen to bat first. It's a early morning start so there could be some moisture in the pitch. The boundaries are short and the pitch is flat so it could be high scoring match, but the average 1st innings score is just 217. I'm surprised that India have left Sehwag out in favour of Gambhir. No point in having Sehwag in the squad if he's not going to play.
 
Re: Pakistan vs India

Pakistan are playing slow now but India need to get butt out because he plays well against India. Akmal was doing badly they should give afridi the opening or get a new opener. 250-260 should be a good score.
 
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