Here is an all-star franchise of the 2009 IPL, selected with age and nationality requirements in mind.
Matthew Hayden
The top scorer of the tournament, he showed what Australia are missing in the shortest format of the game. He was typically aggressive but also revealed finesse in his batting that helped him score all around the wicket.
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
He smashed the fastest IPL half century in the semi final and was the key figure in Deccan Chargers’ victory. His keeping was reliable and captaincy shrewd. Perhaps still the best opening batsman in Twenty20 cricket.
Manish Pandey
He played only four innings but his impact was such that he deserves an all-star place. Stylish and unflappable, he proved quick scoring can be done with classical cricket shots. A number three place beckons in this team, the spot he might end up occupying in India’s Test team.
Suresh Raina
He hit a fine 98 but passed 50 only once more, a lack of consistency which reflected Chennai Super Kings’ campaign. He broke partnerships with his economical offspin and fielded sharply in the ring.
Rohit Sharma
He promised much but delivered only fleetingly, a microcosm of his international career. He was perhaps batted too low by Deccan, as he has the ability to score quickly from the outset. A bowling revelation.
AB de Villiers
The in-form South African hit one of only two centuries and was a key figure in Delhi Daredevils’ successful middle order. He took the most catches in the tournament.
Andrew Symonds
A late introduction to the Chargers’ line-up, he had a big influence on the latter stages of the event. His aggression and intent gave Deccan the edge in the final. A big ICC World Twenty could be round the corner.
RP Singh
The top wicket-taker of the tournament, he bowled with guile at the start and finish of innings. He used his variations to good effect and fully deserves his place in the national squad for the ICC World Twenty20 .
Lasith Malinga
His form tailed off in the latter stages, but he was at times unplayable with new ball and at the death. Injury troubles appear to be a thing of the past.
Ashish Nehra
One of many successful left arm seamers on display, Nehra showed his experience in bowling under pressure.
Anil Kumble (c)
He finished as he started, ripping through opposition batting line-ups for very few runs. One of the old guard who showed experience and it seems a safe Twenty20 bet that this is an important factor in Twenty20 cricket.
Showing posts with label kumble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kumble. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
What RCB should do?
This is not written keeping in view of today's match...
1. KP and Ryder should open
2. Uthappa doesn't look confident at the top and he has not been aggressive. It will be good if comes down the order, may be at No.5
3. Dravid is the only batsman for BRC to score consistently ...He came to bat when the team had almost lost the match....He can't do anything when he comes to bat in that situation... He should come at No.3...Unfortunately for today's match he is not available...
Finally the batting order should be like this
1.Ryder
2.KP
3.Dravid
4.Kallis
5.Uthappa
6.Taylor / B Akhil
7.Kohli
8.Praveen
9. Pankaj Singh/ Steyn
10. Vinay Kumar
11. Kumble
For today's match, it's going to be interesting who's gonna replace Dravid. Will it be Gaurav Dhiman or Wasim Jaffer?
1. KP and Ryder should open
2. Uthappa doesn't look confident at the top and he has not been aggressive. It will be good if comes down the order, may be at No.5
3. Dravid is the only batsman for BRC to score consistently ...He came to bat when the team had almost lost the match....He can't do anything when he comes to bat in that situation... He should come at No.3...Unfortunately for today's match he is not available...
Finally the batting order should be like this
1.Ryder
2.KP
3.Dravid
4.Kallis
5.Uthappa
6.Taylor / B Akhil
7.Kohli
8.Praveen
9. Pankaj Singh/ Steyn
10. Vinay Kumar
11. Kumble
For today's match, it's going to be interesting who's gonna replace Dravid. Will it be Gaurav Dhiman or Wasim Jaffer?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Oldies Shone on First Day
The much awaited IPL Season 2 has arrived atlast and what a day it was ....
The first day of IPL2 has some surprises and proved that hittig fours and sixes is not that easy on South African soil... The finalists of last year's IPL lost their opening matches. Last year's runners up Chennai Super Kings lost to Sachin's Mumbai Indians. Defending Champions Rajastan Royals were humiliated by Pieterson's Banglore Royal Challengers.
Sachin gave a good start to IPL by winning a match against Chennai super kings in the first match of IPL2... He proved that it's not always about try to hit every ball for four or six....it's about playing according to the situation and pitch condition...In the other match, Dravid did the same....Wickets were falling on one end..but Dravid stayed there till the end and took his team to a comfortable total...Kumble's 5-wicket haul was another highlight of the match between Rajasthan and Banglore...but the match was almost over before kumble came onto bowl...
The credit for Mumbai's win goes to Abishek Nayar and Sachin, and the credit for Banglore's win goes to Dravid and their collective bowling performance...
I wonder why Dhoni did not give Ashwin a chance to bowl....He should have selected an extra batsman then...And also why Albie Morkel was not chosen?
Chennai's most valuable player (also IPL's) Flintoff cost them the match by giving 3 sixes in one over :)
I enjoyed Abishek Nayar's innings and Shane Warne's bowling...
The first day of IPL2 has some surprises and proved that hittig fours and sixes is not that easy on South African soil... The finalists of last year's IPL lost their opening matches. Last year's runners up Chennai Super Kings lost to Sachin's Mumbai Indians. Defending Champions Rajastan Royals were humiliated by Pieterson's Banglore Royal Challengers.
Sachin gave a good start to IPL by winning a match against Chennai super kings in the first match of IPL2... He proved that it's not always about try to hit every ball for four or six....it's about playing according to the situation and pitch condition...In the other match, Dravid did the same....Wickets were falling on one end..but Dravid stayed there till the end and took his team to a comfortable total...Kumble's 5-wicket haul was another highlight of the match between Rajasthan and Banglore...but the match was almost over before kumble came onto bowl...
The credit for Mumbai's win goes to Abishek Nayar and Sachin, and the credit for Banglore's win goes to Dravid and their collective bowling performance...
I wonder why Dhoni did not give Ashwin a chance to bowl....He should have selected an extra batsman then...And also why Albie Morkel was not chosen?
Chennai's most valuable player (also IPL's) Flintoff cost them the match by giving 3 sixes in one over :)
I enjoyed Abishek Nayar's innings and Shane Warne's bowling...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 Review
India created a history yesterday by regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India is on its way to the No.1 spot in test cricket. It was not just one or two individuals who made this historic series win possible but a perfect team effort from India. Australia was outclassed in all the departments.
This series has seen two great Indian cricket legends retire, the wall cracking, master breaking the world record, Australians struggling in all the departments, Ishant evolving as one of the best bowlers in the world, Ponting under fire, and many more....
This is a sincere effort to review this entertaining series....
India:
Opening: Sehwag and Gambhir proved they are the best opening pair. They have been very consistent and they provided excellent starts in this series. The left-right combination also gone well with this pair. The understanding between these two is amazing. They played an important role in putting up big totals by scoring the runs quickly. Vijay, who played last test match in place of Gambhir, also gave India good starts with Sehwag.
Rating: 4.5/5
Middle Order: No doubt India has got the outstanding middle-order with players like Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid and Dhoni. They all were upto their mark except Dravid who has to forget this series( in terms of his performance) as soon as possible. Sachin and Laxman came up with excellent innings at times they needed. Ganguly played well in his last test series. Dhoni too came up with good innings when the team was in trouble. This series is a disaster for Dravid in terms of batting and fielding. He dropped a few simple catches.
Rating: 4/5
Pace Bowling: This was the major difference between the two teams in the series. Everyone thought that Indian pitches are not suitable for the pace bowlers. The job of pace bowlers is to make the ball old, give it to the spinners and let the spinners do the rest. But Zaheer and Ishant proved it wrong. They made good use of reverse-swing. Australian batsmen struggled against these two bowlers. They have taken 26 wickets together.
Rating: 4.75/5
Spin Bowling: On Indian pitches, spinners have been threat to the visitors. This time it was not all their show though they contributed much to the series win. Anil Kumble was struggling in the first test and did not play the second test. He came back for the third test and yet he was not effective. He finally announced his retirement after he was injured during the third test. Amit Mishra, who replaced Kumble for the second and fourth tests and Harbhajan for the third test, was a hit on his debut match. But he had to fight hard in the third test. He came up with a good performance at an important time in the last test. Harbhajan was quite beautiful with his bowling. Actually he played an all-rounder role in this series. Sehwag too tried his hand at bowling and bowled well to take 5 wickets in the third test.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fielding: Indian fielders missed a few simple catches. Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni and Ishant missed many catches among them. Had Ishant taken the catch of Clarke in the third test, we would have won the series 3-0. Viajy did excellent to run out Hussey, Hayden while Mishra did well to run out Ponting. On a whole, fielding is a bit disappointment. Fielding standards are average and India should concentrate on this.
Rating: 3/5
Captaincy: Dhoni has already evolved as a successful captain in the shorter versions of the game. He is now the captain for India in all forms of the game after Anil Kumble announced his retirement during the third test. Dhoni had taken a very timely and wise decisions in the series (2nd and 4th tests) and India won both of them. Both Kumble and Dhoni were successful in inspiring the team. They came up with a plan and executed their plan to perfection without mistakes.
Rating: 4.25/5
Australia:
Opening: Hayden struggled through out the series, especially against Zaheer. He did well in the last match but could not win the match for Aussies. Katich was consistent throughout the series. But these openers failed to give good starts for Australia.
Rating: 3.5/5
Middle Order: With the batsmen like Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, Watson and Haddin at the middle of the order, one would expect big partnerships among these batsmen. But that was never the case in this series. Hussey was impressive. Clarke made a century which helped them to draw the third test. Watson was OK... Haddin was a big disappointment with the bat and behind the stumps.
Rating: 3.25/5
Pace Bowling: The fast bowlers had a lean time. If I had to pick one bowler from Australia who bowled quite well in this series, I would prefer Shane Watson. Watson bowled beautifully in the last test match. Mitchell Johnson bowled well and is the leading wicket taker for Australia in this series. Lee and Stuart Clark were average. The weakness of Australian bowlers was exposed when they could not break the partnership between Harbhajan and Zaheer in the first innings of the first test.
Rating: 2.75/5
Spin Bowling: Australia struggled through out the series with their spin department. Krejza was very impressive in his debut match. He was smart and patient. White, Clarke and Katich were the other spinners who were below average.
Rating: 2.75/5
Fielding: Fielding was good except for a few occasions where they dropped some catches. Haddin was not good behind the stumps. He gave away many byes.
Rating: 4/5
Captaincy: Ponting never looked like a captain he used to be. A captain has to lead his team from the front. Except for a century in the first test, he did not play a big innings. His tactics in the last test match, where he used his part time bowlers instead of pace bowlers, raised questions over his captaincy. Instead of trying to win the test match, he was afraid of his ban because of slow over-rate and used his part-time bowlers. He could not inspire his team in this series.
Rating: 3.5/5
India has to be consistent in order to be the No.1 in the test cricket... But with this hectic schedule, India need to protect its players from injuries by rotating the players which would otherwise be an obstacle for its aim to be No.1... India has a great bench strength in the form of many youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Vijay, Munaf RP Singh, Irfan Pathan etc...Use them wisely and protect the players...
Congratulations and all the best India....
This series has seen two great Indian cricket legends retire, the wall cracking, master breaking the world record, Australians struggling in all the departments, Ishant evolving as one of the best bowlers in the world, Ponting under fire, and many more....
This is a sincere effort to review this entertaining series....
India:
Opening: Sehwag and Gambhir proved they are the best opening pair. They have been very consistent and they provided excellent starts in this series. The left-right combination also gone well with this pair. The understanding between these two is amazing. They played an important role in putting up big totals by scoring the runs quickly. Vijay, who played last test match in place of Gambhir, also gave India good starts with Sehwag.
Rating: 4.5/5
Middle Order: No doubt India has got the outstanding middle-order with players like Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid and Dhoni. They all were upto their mark except Dravid who has to forget this series( in terms of his performance) as soon as possible. Sachin and Laxman came up with excellent innings at times they needed. Ganguly played well in his last test series. Dhoni too came up with good innings when the team was in trouble. This series is a disaster for Dravid in terms of batting and fielding. He dropped a few simple catches.
Rating: 4/5
Pace Bowling: This was the major difference between the two teams in the series. Everyone thought that Indian pitches are not suitable for the pace bowlers. The job of pace bowlers is to make the ball old, give it to the spinners and let the spinners do the rest. But Zaheer and Ishant proved it wrong. They made good use of reverse-swing. Australian batsmen struggled against these two bowlers. They have taken 26 wickets together.
Rating: 4.75/5
Spin Bowling: On Indian pitches, spinners have been threat to the visitors. This time it was not all their show though they contributed much to the series win. Anil Kumble was struggling in the first test and did not play the second test. He came back for the third test and yet he was not effective. He finally announced his retirement after he was injured during the third test. Amit Mishra, who replaced Kumble for the second and fourth tests and Harbhajan for the third test, was a hit on his debut match. But he had to fight hard in the third test. He came up with a good performance at an important time in the last test. Harbhajan was quite beautiful with his bowling. Actually he played an all-rounder role in this series. Sehwag too tried his hand at bowling and bowled well to take 5 wickets in the third test.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fielding: Indian fielders missed a few simple catches. Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni and Ishant missed many catches among them. Had Ishant taken the catch of Clarke in the third test, we would have won the series 3-0. Viajy did excellent to run out Hussey, Hayden while Mishra did well to run out Ponting. On a whole, fielding is a bit disappointment. Fielding standards are average and India should concentrate on this.
Rating: 3/5
Captaincy: Dhoni has already evolved as a successful captain in the shorter versions of the game. He is now the captain for India in all forms of the game after Anil Kumble announced his retirement during the third test. Dhoni had taken a very timely and wise decisions in the series (2nd and 4th tests) and India won both of them. Both Kumble and Dhoni were successful in inspiring the team. They came up with a plan and executed their plan to perfection without mistakes.
Rating: 4.25/5
Australia:
Opening: Hayden struggled through out the series, especially against Zaheer. He did well in the last match but could not win the match for Aussies. Katich was consistent throughout the series. But these openers failed to give good starts for Australia.
Rating: 3.5/5
Middle Order: With the batsmen like Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, Watson and Haddin at the middle of the order, one would expect big partnerships among these batsmen. But that was never the case in this series. Hussey was impressive. Clarke made a century which helped them to draw the third test. Watson was OK... Haddin was a big disappointment with the bat and behind the stumps.
Rating: 3.25/5
Pace Bowling: The fast bowlers had a lean time. If I had to pick one bowler from Australia who bowled quite well in this series, I would prefer Shane Watson. Watson bowled beautifully in the last test match. Mitchell Johnson bowled well and is the leading wicket taker for Australia in this series. Lee and Stuart Clark were average. The weakness of Australian bowlers was exposed when they could not break the partnership between Harbhajan and Zaheer in the first innings of the first test.
Rating: 2.75/5
Spin Bowling: Australia struggled through out the series with their spin department. Krejza was very impressive in his debut match. He was smart and patient. White, Clarke and Katich were the other spinners who were below average.
Rating: 2.75/5
Fielding: Fielding was good except for a few occasions where they dropped some catches. Haddin was not good behind the stumps. He gave away many byes.
Rating: 4/5
Captaincy: Ponting never looked like a captain he used to be. A captain has to lead his team from the front. Except for a century in the first test, he did not play a big innings. His tactics in the last test match, where he used his part time bowlers instead of pace bowlers, raised questions over his captaincy. Instead of trying to win the test match, he was afraid of his ban because of slow over-rate and used his part-time bowlers. He could not inspire his team in this series.
Rating: 3.5/5
India has to be consistent in order to be the No.1 in the test cricket... But with this hectic schedule, India need to protect its players from injuries by rotating the players which would otherwise be an obstacle for its aim to be No.1... India has a great bench strength in the form of many youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Vijay, Munaf RP Singh, Irfan Pathan etc...Use them wisely and protect the players...
Congratulations and all the best India....
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Kumble retires as the third test ends in a draw
The third test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia ended in a draw. Michael Clarke's century helped Australia to save the test. However, it was the Indians who created the chances for Australia to save the match by missing the simple catches.
Starting at the overnight score of 43/2 India lost Dravid early. Brett Lee dismissed Dravid by a beautiful delivery. Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir tried to build a partnership before the opener was given out for a lbw off Mitchell Johnson. But TV replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump. Gambhir was a bit unlucky there.
The early breakthrough gave Ozs some hope of dismissing all the Indian batsmen early and win the test to level the series. But Laxman along with Tendulkar and Ganguly shattered their hopes by giving them no chance. Tendulkar missed another half century. White dismissed him when he was on 47. Following his double hundred in the first innings, Laxman added another half-century in his second innings. He played some delightful drives in his unbeaten 59. Ganguly was on 32 when the declaration came.
Finally India declared at 208/5 after tea setting Australia a target of 245 runs to level the series. Australia scored 31 runs with both the openers remained not out.
Laxman was the man of the match for his wonderful double hundred in the first innings and a half century in the second innings.
There are a few positives to be taken for Ozs.
Unavailability of Harbhajan and fielding mistakes made India to compromise on a draw. Dravid's form is also a concern for India. Dravid disappointed once again and the focus will now be on his retirement now after Ganguly and Kumble.
India skipper Anil Kumble announced his retirement after the third test against Australia.
Anil Kumble said "It's a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped making the decision and also, this injury. I had already made the decision yesterday as I knew I won't be hundred percent for the next game. I had already decided to leave the game after this series any way."
It was a disappointing end to Kumble's great career.
India now leads series 1-0 with only one test to play at Nagpur. The fourth and final Test will be played in Nagpur from Nov 6-10.
First Day Report
Second Day Report
Third Day Report
Fourth Day Report
Starting at the overnight score of 43/2 India lost Dravid early. Brett Lee dismissed Dravid by a beautiful delivery. Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir tried to build a partnership before the opener was given out for a lbw off Mitchell Johnson. But TV replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump. Gambhir was a bit unlucky there.
The early breakthrough gave Ozs some hope of dismissing all the Indian batsmen early and win the test to level the series. But Laxman along with Tendulkar and Ganguly shattered their hopes by giving them no chance. Tendulkar missed another half century. White dismissed him when he was on 47. Following his double hundred in the first innings, Laxman added another half-century in his second innings. He played some delightful drives in his unbeaten 59. Ganguly was on 32 when the declaration came.
Finally India declared at 208/5 after tea setting Australia a target of 245 runs to level the series. Australia scored 31 runs with both the openers remained not out.
Laxman was the man of the match for his wonderful double hundred in the first innings and a half century in the second innings.
There are a few positives to be taken for Ozs.
- Brett Lee finally finds his rhythm.
- All of Australian batsmen performed well.
Unavailability of Harbhajan and fielding mistakes made India to compromise on a draw. Dravid's form is also a concern for India. Dravid disappointed once again and the focus will now be on his retirement now after Ganguly and Kumble.
India skipper Anil Kumble announced his retirement after the third test against Australia.
Anil Kumble said "It's a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped making the decision and also, this injury. I had already made the decision yesterday as I knew I won't be hundred percent for the next game. I had already decided to leave the game after this series any way."
It was a disappointing end to Kumble's great career.
India now leads series 1-0 with only one test to play at Nagpur. The fourth and final Test will be played in Nagpur from Nov 6-10.
First Day Report
Second Day Report
Third Day Report
Fourth Day Report
Friday, October 31, 2008
Australia responds well to India's big total
It was a good day of test cricket.
An excellent start from the openers Hayden and Katich, a well built innings from the captain Ponting and a patient half century by Hussey put Australia in a safe position in the 3rd test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi.
Katich played well for his 64 and was bowled by Amit Mishra. Hayden(83), who has been struggling to score runs in this series, finally came up with a wonderful knock. He was dismissed by Sehwag. But Ricky Ponting played with patience and made sure they did not loose another wicket. He faced the spinners very well. He used his feet very wel against the spinners. He had some problems facing Ishant. He bowled beautifully to Ponting. Sehwag dismissed Ponting(87) with a beautiful ball. The ball turned much for Sehwag.
Michael Hussey(53) played a well composed innings. He did not play any loose shots. He was very cool and patient. Sehwag bowled him with another good ball just before the close of the day's play.
Sehwag used the conditions well and bowled pretty well today. He turned the ball, bounced it well. He was pick of the bowlers today. Amit Mishra too bowled excellently. One of his overs to Ponting was top class. Ponting had no answers to Mishra in that over. Mishra was simply superb with his turn. He ended the day with an excellent googly to Michael Clarke. Kumble was injured after lunch and he was out for the day's play. Ishant and Zaheer bowled well but they did not get any wickets.
None of the Australian batsmen looked uneasy against the Indian bowlers, except Ponting at sometimes against Ishant. They must be happy with the way they batted. The ball might turn much tomorrow and Australians have to be careful in facing the spinners in the next two days. This test is going to be an interesting one.
Australia is on 338/4 at the end of day-3. Michael Clarke and Shane Watson are at the crease.
An excellent start from the openers Hayden and Katich, a well built innings from the captain Ponting and a patient half century by Hussey put Australia in a safe position in the 3rd test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi.
Katich played well for his 64 and was bowled by Amit Mishra. Hayden(83), who has been struggling to score runs in this series, finally came up with a wonderful knock. He was dismissed by Sehwag. But Ricky Ponting played with patience and made sure they did not loose another wicket. He faced the spinners very well. He used his feet very wel against the spinners. He had some problems facing Ishant. He bowled beautifully to Ponting. Sehwag dismissed Ponting(87) with a beautiful ball. The ball turned much for Sehwag.
Michael Hussey(53) played a well composed innings. He did not play any loose shots. He was very cool and patient. Sehwag bowled him with another good ball just before the close of the day's play.
Sehwag used the conditions well and bowled pretty well today. He turned the ball, bounced it well. He was pick of the bowlers today. Amit Mishra too bowled excellently. One of his overs to Ponting was top class. Ponting had no answers to Mishra in that over. Mishra was simply superb with his turn. He ended the day with an excellent googly to Michael Clarke. Kumble was injured after lunch and he was out for the day's play. Ishant and Zaheer bowled well but they did not get any wickets.
None of the Australian batsmen looked uneasy against the Indian bowlers, except Ponting at sometimes against Ishant. They must be happy with the way they batted. The ball might turn much tomorrow and Australians have to be careful in facing the spinners in the next two days. This test is going to be an interesting one.
Australia is on 338/4 at the end of day-3. Michael Clarke and Shane Watson are at the crease.
Friday, October 17, 2008
India Vs Australia 2nd Test Preview
It's a bit disappointing that the first test match did not produce a result where the result was definitely possible. Both captains will now make sure that they won't repeat the mistakes of the first test.
The biggest question now is 'What will be the India's team composition for Mohali test?'. Will India stick to 2 spinners on a pitch that assists pacers or will India play 3 seamers and a spinner?
Though Kumble said he is fit to play in the second test, the suspence over Kumble's appearance in the 2nd test continues. We have to wait for the decision till the match starts. If India wants to play 3 seamers and a spinner, it would be a better choice to rest Kumble and bring in Munaf. Kumble can be dangerous if the pitch supports him. But on a pitch that assists seamers, it's better Kumble takes rest. Harbhajan has a good record against Australia. He performed with the bat also in the first test. Munaf Patel is a talented bowler who can swing and cut his deliveries. This promising right arm fast bowler is known for his pace reverse swing and deadly yorkers. He bowled well in the match against Delhi in the Irani Cup. Munaf took 7 wickets against England on his Test debut here at Mohali in 2006. Munaf's inclusion will definitely boost the Indian pace strength.
The other possibilities for India would be
1. Unchanged playing XI
2. Drop Ghambir, bring in Munaf, let Dravid and Sehwag open. If the pitch assists the spinners on the last 2 days this will be a better option to play 3 seamers and 2 spinners.
Coming to Australian side, Stuart Clark is ruled of the the second test because of an elbow injury.
It opens the test doors for Peter Siddle's debut. His consistent performance earned him a place in the test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008/09. This might be the only change in the Australian team for the second test.
The biggest question now is 'What will be the India's team composition for Mohali test?'. Will India stick to 2 spinners on a pitch that assists pacers or will India play 3 seamers and a spinner?
Though Kumble said he is fit to play in the second test, the suspence over Kumble's appearance in the 2nd test continues. We have to wait for the decision till the match starts. If India wants to play 3 seamers and a spinner, it would be a better choice to rest Kumble and bring in Munaf. Kumble can be dangerous if the pitch supports him. But on a pitch that assists seamers, it's better Kumble takes rest. Harbhajan has a good record against Australia. He performed with the bat also in the first test. Munaf Patel is a talented bowler who can swing and cut his deliveries. This promising right arm fast bowler is known for his pace reverse swing and deadly yorkers. He bowled well in the match against Delhi in the Irani Cup. Munaf took 7 wickets against England on his Test debut here at Mohali in 2006. Munaf's inclusion will definitely boost the Indian pace strength.
The other possibilities for India would be
1. Unchanged playing XI
2. Drop Ghambir, bring in Munaf, let Dravid and Sehwag open. If the pitch assists the spinners on the last 2 days this will be a better option to play 3 seamers and 2 spinners.
Coming to Australian side, Stuart Clark is ruled of the the second test because of an elbow injury.
It opens the test doors for Peter Siddle's debut. His consistent performance earned him a place in the test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008/09. This might be the only change in the Australian team for the second test.
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