[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Some1: *
Say that to Kumble who hasn't learnt how to hold a bat after playing 10000 tests.
[/QUOTE]
Same is true about Agarkar.They way he batted in this series is Pathetic.
I have been watching every minute of this series, and with this test I noticed a different attitude by the Indians.
Ganguly’s field placement obviously is NOT good, but I am wondering whether that’s Ganguly’s fault or Kumble’s? Will India please get rid of Kumble.. the guy takes ALL India’s wickets, after the opposition scores 1000 runs and bowls 500 overs. 
Patel is a true fighter. Did you see his command he had on the other tailenders? He even got Nehra pissed off, because he refused Nehra strike on many occasions.
Supposedly, Australia never has spread out their field for a Test Match for a player. (Last time was some time in the early 1980’s). Patel should be honored that Steve Waugh considered him of that calibre.
Patel kept hitting those ones, but never went for it which made the crowd boo him. 
Williams, and Langer was giving him lots of lip. Langer was literally swearing his head off when Langer was batting in the 2nd innings and got out the same over. 
Unfortunately India doesn’t have any decent bowlers. Agarkar was swinging the ball in a lot on Day 5. Nehra needs to be pulled from the team. He just gives up too many runs, and bowls them pretty wide of offstump, getting dispatched for four.
The solution? who knows!
The Sydney Test is a spiners ground. Nehra SHOULD be dropped. Tendulkar and Sehwag can do part time spin, with Kumble, Kartik. Pace will be Pathan and Agarkar.
After watching this series. I think they’re was only real 2 positives. Batting Of Dravid and Bowling of Agarkar. I was surprised to see Agarkar troubling the best batting side in the world. He used to be a below average bowler but now it seems like he has really worked hard on his bowling as he was the best Indian bowler in the series:k:
Did you guys see Agarkar's wife cheering him on?
I think Agarkar has focused on his bowling, rather than batting. He was troubling the Aussie batsman immensily! Sure, he's not at a high level but he was trying really hard. He was the only one to swing the ball so much (besides Brett Lee).
Good improvement by Agarkar.
i think India should play 5 Bowlers + 5 Batsmen + 1 allrounder (Keeper) ..... The wicket at the SCG isn't a spinners paradise anymore ..... this year it's a more seamer friendly wicket so so atleast (according to Greg Chappel) 3 seamers (Agarkar, Nehra and Irfan) and 2 spinners (Kumble and Kartik) as the wicket will deteriorate on the 4th and 5th day so the spinners will come into play ...... nevertheless India have to put a total beyond 400 in the 1st innings to have a say in the end ..... according to Geoff Boycott the tailenders were pathethic and i personally don't have a better word for it .....
There've have been also below par umpiring especially against India ..... Chopra was too late on the shot so he couldn't have a nick onto it any way ...... Hayden was plumb in the 1st innings but Shepard was sleeping obviously ..... also AUS got their part from Shephard ...... Langer had an inside edge to Agarkar's inswinger + the ball was heading down the legside missing the leg ...... but in the end it had little impact on Australia but more on India ..... if Hayden headed to the pavillion and Chopra could hang out longer it could've been all a different story ...... i know all these IF's and BUT's ..... average bowling and below par batting by India were the downfall
Good luck in Sydney u'll surely need it
Realizing how important this series is...... Brad, Nathan and Stuart did their work - well done to them.
Lee struggled but he was able to give major breakthroughs - Jason is fit and will be played in the decider test game - it's a shame Glenn will missed the farewell test game of Stephen.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Zero_one: *
i think India should play 5 Bowlers + 5 Batsmen + 1 allrounder (Keeper) ..... The wicket at the SCG isn't a spinners paradise anymore ..... this year it's a more seamer friendly wicket so so atleast (according to Greg Chappel) 3 seamers (Agarkar, Nehra and Irfan) and 2 spinners (Kumble and Kartik) as the wicket will deteriorate on the 4th and 5th day so the spinners will come into play ...... nevertheless India have to put a total beyond 400 in the 1st innings to have a say in the end ..... according to Geoff Boycott the tailenders were pathethic and i personally don't have a better word for it .....
There've have been also below par umpiring especially against India ..... Chopra was too late on the shot so he couldn't have a nick onto it any way ...... Hayden was plumb in the 1st innings but Shepard was sleeping obviously ..... also AUS got their part from Shephard ...... Langer had an inside edge to Agarkar's inswinger + the ball was heading down the legside missing the leg ...... but in the end it had little impact on Australia but more on India ..... if Hayden headed to the pavillion and Chopra could hang out longer it could've been all a different story ...... i know all these IF's and BUT's ..... average bowling and below par batting by India were the downfall
Good luck in Sydney u'll surely need it
[/QUOTE]
Zero,
I totally agree with your comments. Ideally India should go with 5 Bowlers.But to do this India will have to drop One batsman and most likely candiate would be Chopra.In this case probably Parthive patel will be asked to open and India will ahve tail like Agarkar,nehra,Kumble,Patah and kartik.And I dont think India think tank will like to have such a long tail.This is where I think Indian selectors missed a trcik.I always though they should have included Bangar.He is decent bowler and as a batsman he always delivered whenever he was asked .
Lets see what happes.My take is that Irfan and Murali will replace Zaheer an Nehra.
No way, 6 batsmen are a must!
FB, I want your take on the Sydney match, Mr Psychic. :)
And a very happy new year to everyone at KK!:)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
No way, 6 batsmen are a must!
FB, I want your take on the Sydney match, Mr Psychic. :)
And a very happy new year to everyone at KK!:)
[/QUOTE]
A Draw. :)
Everyone will be Happy.
Over to the spinners](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2004/JAN/033766_AUSIND2003-04_01JAN2004.html)
If it’s in Sydney, it’s a great time to be a spinner. Ask Stuart MacGill, the man with 31 wickets in four matches here. Only once in eight innings has he gone wicketless. Then there’s Shane Warne, who picked up 49 wickets in 10 games at just over 26.
Sydney has not been too generous to the pacers, as Jason Gillespie’s average of 53 and Brett Lee’s 32.5 will testify. Lee has taken 15 wickets in four Tests, while Gillespie has six in three. Luckily for India, Glenn McGrath isn’t playing. The last time India toured, in 1999-2000, McGrath finished with figures of 10 for 103, and India lost by an innings and 141 runs - the heaviest defeat inflicted on a team in Sydney since 1931-32.
It was the third Indian defeat in seven Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with three draws and one victory. The victory came way back in 1978, when Bishan Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, and Erapalli Prasanna dismissed 17 batsmen to give India a spectacular victory by an innings and four runs.
Australia’s win-loss record in Sydney is 46-27, and they have won nine of their last 11 Tests here. The only losses were inflicted by England and Pakistan, when Michael Vaughan and Mushtaq Ahmed batted and bowled their sides to victory.
The captain who calls correctly usually opts to bat, and that’s been the case 13 times in the last 14 matches played here. It probably has something to do with the suspicions that a fourth and fifth-day Sydney pitch arouses.
The average first-innings total is 321, the third is 287, while the fourth dramatically dips to 196. But Australia has an average first-innings score of 402, while batting last, they score an average of only 194.
Australia didn’t let the last Test against India at this venue go into the fourth day. India managed to bat a little more than 125 overs in the entire match, losing all their wickets, while Australia played over 140 and lost only five, with Justin Langer scoring 223 and Ricky Ponting, a blinding 141. But these were overshadowed by VVS Laxman’s 167, a sign of things to come for Australia. The runs came in 198 balls, and to put the knock into context, the next-highest score by an Indian was 25, with extras coming in third, at 21.
With Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh out, and the Indian seamers struggling, it’s the right game to opt for a second spinner. Murali Kartik has played Australia before, bowling with control and variation. And he doesn’t have to look too far back for inspiration from another left-arm spinner. In October, Ray Price picked up six wickets in an innings, including Ponting, Steve Waugh, and Damien Martyn, but a weak batting line-up failed him. Kartik doesn’t have the same problem, as five of the top six Indians are in good form, with the sixth ticking like a bomb.
As long as the right side wins I'm happy.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by dude20002000: *
As long as the right side wins I'm happy.
[/QUOTE]
yep...its gonna be exciting.
It is very important (in the context of this series and tours in the near future) that atleast two of our bowlers come good.
Zaheer/Harbhajan are out , so that leaves us with Kumble, Agarkar, Nehra, Pathan and Karthik(not counting Balaji). Kumble should be kicked out no matter how many wickets he takes in this series and Nehra has been a revelation in this series, but in the wrong sort of way... I did not think he was such a fake... if he cannot take wickets in Australia, he can't be expected to be successful anywhere else...plus his abilities with the bat(or the lack of it) means he should be shown the door . He can't remain in the team forever based on that solo performance against England in a world cup match.
So basically, we are down to Agarkar, Pathan and Karthik in the bowling dept. Agarkar has been taking wickets but its time he showed some spine as a batsman.
However, I am pinning my hopes only on Pathan and Karthik. India needs them to come good. If they dont, I say we dont need any so-called "specialist" bowlers in the side, I would much rather fill our lower order with utility players like Bangar, Yuvraj etc who can bat a little and bowl a little.
** Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2003-04, 4th Test
Australia v India
Sydney Cricket Ground
2,3,4,5,6 January 2004 (5-day match) **
4th Test: Australia v India at Sydney, 2-6 Jan 2004
** India won the toss and elected to bat first **
** Latest score **
132 / 2 {44.0 overs}
SEHWAG was out in the following fashion>>>>>
39.1 Gillespie to Sehwag, OUT:
just pushing at a good fullish ball that
holds its line, feathers it through to the keeper,
the Australians go up for the caught behind appeal
and umpire Bucknor dismisses him!!!
INDIA 123 / 1 THEN
CHOPRA was out in the following fashion>>>>>
42.6 Lee to Chopra, OUT:
pitched right up there again, this one swings
in and dips in perfectly between
bat and pad, yorking Chopra!!!
INDIA 128/ 2
virender sehwag out for 72 {104 ‘n’ 16}
Akash Chopra out for 45 {5*4}
@ crease dravid and tendulkar
:flower1: 4th Test: Australia v India at Sydney, 2-6 Jan 2004 day - 1 latest :flower1:](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/IND_AUS_T4_02-06JAN2004.html)
Chopra and Sehwag did their job... now its for the Indian middle order to deliver... Lets hope Tendulkar starts the new year with a bang...
latest score day - 1
Dravid gone!!! like so>>>>
66.3 Gillespie to Dravid, OUT: taken on the pad
by an excellent fullishdelivery, big shout goes up for lbw,
umpire Bowden has a think about it, deliberates
and then raises the bent :hehe: finger!!
billy bowden is a very colorful and unique character 
SCORE @ 194/3 {66.3 overs}
rahul dravid out for 38 {7*4}
:flower1: 4th Test: Australia v India at Sydney, 2-6 Jan 2004 day - 1 latest :flower1:](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/IND_AUS_T4_02-06JAN2004.html)
- 10dulkar reached 9000 Test runs on the score of 36* congrats’ to him, another milestone reached in his illustrious career, top man!!!
:k: *
With Dravid Gone...I think India are in deep trouble, unless Sachin comes back to his old form.
@ stumps day - 1
india r 284 / 3 (90.0 ov)
** 10dulkar unbeaton on 73* ‘n’ Laxman 29* **
honours go to india, a gr8 batting performnace, especially by sehwag and 10di’… gulli’ wil be pleased…
gillespie was pick of the aussie bowlers with 23 overs 7 maidens 2/51
:flower1: scorecard @ stumps day - 1 :flower1:](http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/NEW/LIVE/frames/IND_AUS_T4_02-06JAN2004.html)
Tendlukar coming back to his old self right before the Pakistan Tour 
Not good news for us 
Jokes aside, I think India have put themselves in strong position. Its good to see Tendulker step up when Dravid got out. If Him and Laxman continue to play good, India have a good chance of putting up a big first innings score, with Ganguly and Patel still to come. Sehwag once again proved his critics wrong. I think he is the most exciting batsmen to watch on the Indian team.