First test between Pakistan and India being played at Mohali from 8th to 12th march. The game starts on 8th march at 4 am GMT( which is 11pm eastern US time on the 7th)
With the pitch being proven to be devastating for the batsmen in the past, it seems like it will not be a draw.
On the other hand, there seem to be chances of rain on wednesday evening and then on thursday.
Best of luck to both the teams.
Can the mods please make this thread sticky. I will post my team soon.
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
Rain 
cant they Voodu it some how …errrrrmmmm Kala mantar like that 
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
This match migh be affected by rain :-/ Allah khair karay.
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
My team for the first test:
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
only one fast bowler...and why does it have to be khalil...where did Rana go?
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
Given the condition of the pitch, my guess is that Pakistan will play 3 pacers. My team for the first match:
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
**Inzamam confident despite setback **
Report: Board XI v Pakistan
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq insists his side will be ready for Tuesday’s first Test against India despite bad weather hitting their warm-up match.
The tourists batted once and bowled only 34 overs against the Indian Board President’s XI in Dharamsala.
Inzamam said: "It would have been nice had we got a full match because every team needs practice before a Test, but I am confident it won’t affect us much.
“Our boys are coming after playing first-class cricket back home.”
Pakistan were bowled out for 273, with the top-order batsmen failing to fire, while pace spearhead Mohammad Sami and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria finished wicketless.
But the skipper is confident his team will get it right when the Test series begins in Mohali.
“We would have liked more batting and bowling practice, but I am sure the boys will get in the right groove for the Test,” Inzamam said.
The tourists had complained before the game about the choice of Dharamsala, a northern town in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Getting out of the area also posed difficulties. It’s going to be damp and overcast in Mohali - the swing bowlers are going to have the conditions in their favour
The town, which is the headquarters of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, is served by a tiny airport.
But Inzamam, who celebrated his 35th birthday at the ground on Thursday, says the goodwill of the local people had provided ample compensation.
"It was not an ideal place to hold cricket matches but the people and their warm reception helped us forget everything.
“I have never celebrated a birthday with such fanfare. I cut six cakes. I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the people,” he added.
Meanwhile, coach Bob Woolmer says Pakistan’s batsmen will have to bat for long spells if they are to have any chance of winning the Test series.
“They need to do the basics right, bat for four-and-a-half hours. That is something they’ve not been able to do of late,” he said.
"The key to winning matches here, or anywhere else in Test cricket, is to bat big, especially in the first innings.
“You need to get at least 400-500 runs to be in a good position. Unless the pitch is doing something, this is a total a team should get.”
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
ya Allah Khair - oye!!! abhi bhi koi kasar hai 
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
**Kumble and Inzamam vital - Kapil **
Kumble and Inzamam have both starred against their arch-rivals
Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev says spinner Anil Kumble and rival batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq will be the key players in the Test series against Pakistan.
He told BBC Hindi: "I think if we look at bowling, a lot depends on Anil Kumble. If he gets going, then he could change the match within two hours.
"Similarly from Pakistan point of view, their skipper Inzamam holds the key.
“He has a good record against India, and in the conditions here, he could perform well.”
Left-armer Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings at Delhi when Pakistan last toured in 1998/99 and has a total of 37 wickets in six Tests against India’s arch-rivals.
We have many big names, but it is crucial that the names should match their performance
Kapil Dev
Pakistan captain Inzamam averages 34.66 against India, well below his overall career mark of 48.97.
But the 35-year-old hit a century in Pakistan’s last Test victory over their neighbours, in Lahore last April.
He first match of the three-Test series begins in Mohali on Tuesday, and Kapil Dev believes that match will be crucial in setting the tone.
“I think the first five days of the series - the first Test is very important,” said the 131-Test veteran.
"On paper, one may say the Indian side looks better, but remember in actual match play, one brilliant performance can change the match.
“Both teams want the first Test to pass, so that they can study the other side, but to make the series interesting, attacking is the best policy at the moment.”
And Kapil cautioned against making India favourites simply because of their star-studded batting line-up.
He added: "We have many big names, but it is crucial that the names should match their performance - this is our biggest strength and weakness too.
“Sometimes when many big names are there, one thinks the other might steady the innings, but it does not happen always.”
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
Is he selling his right arm on ebay
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
seems like kapil dev forgot ... :D
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
my team for the first test would be
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
not gonna happen kaun, you have better options like yasir Hameed or younis khan however it will be stupid to make such move.
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
My team for first humiliation in the series. oops sorry guys!
Playing Razzaq in test match is useless. He can bat but his bowling is pathetic. I would have selected Afridi as allrounder, but with pitch condition I will use whatever pace is available with specialist Kaneria. If six specialist batsmen can't do their job, the team better get an inning defeat than hiding behind excellence of some hard hitting allrounder.
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
Razzaq would be even less useful because he can’t really play spin. By the time he bats the Indian spinner will be bowling and who knows how long he can last for. Besides that I agree with your team, although I would bat Sami higher than Khalil or Kaneria. The one solace I take in this team is that Rana has a big heart and I think he can earn wickets from his smarts and variation over the test. Also our batting is fairly deep if you assume that both Rana and Sami can score a few runs we might be able to hang around for a while.
Truthfully the best I hope for is drawing most of the Test series. I think that we should be able to easily win the ODI’s though. Our ODI team is far superior to Indias.
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
i wanna see what india put forth. the batting line up would be rather predictable but it would be interesting to see what options in bowling gangs chooses.
Re: 1st test...Pak Vs India at Mohali
Ironically, it is Pak's batting that appears very strong (at least on paper).
Even the guy coming in at No. 10 (Sami/Naved) can bat.
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
yar, shroo to honey dey series… abhi se dara rah hai…
mujhe lagta hai k is baar youhanna will win the match for us.. double century likh lou… its long overdue.. INZI will play INZI… kaneria has got to prove himself now…
Re: 1st test…Pak Vs India at Mohali
** Yuvraj, Nehra dropped for Mohali **
MOHALI, March 7: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly made it clear on Monday that Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra won’t get a game in the first Test against Pakistan at Mohali starting March 8.
This means that Zaheer Khan or L.Balaji might just get a call for the Test since Irfan Pathan is a cetainity.
so India will play 2 or 3 pacers???