India Versus England - First Test (25/7/02 - 29/7/02)

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[quote]
Originally posted by ehsan:
** Not really, did you hear Naseer Hussain's interview after he lost the final of the ODI to India. He had scored a century and when giving the interview he said I would have rather won the match then make a century.**
[/quote]

ehsan bhai, I am sure Agarkar would have felt the same way... I mean hes playing for the Indian cricket team, and this is what I believe, each and every player (no matter what team he is, and hes not involved with bookies) would ever actually think of personal victories over his teams victory... There have been countless incidents where Inzi missed out centuries or fifties because he let the other striker score runs whenever the remaining overs were limited...

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AOA

Well I think the Indian batting should be more blamed than the bowlers.
Yes bowling was 3rd class but India have won numerous matches with their solid batting and 3rd class bowling.

There needs to be major changes in the batting lineup to win the next test match.
Not necessarily new players but shuffeling around the batting order.

I think Tendulkur should open.
Many people think that the Indian batting lineup depends on Tendulkur all the time but we have seen that proved wrong on so many different occaisions.

I think his partner should be Virender Sehwag. Great talented batsman.

Rahul Dravid should definately come at no 3.
Followed by VVX Laxman at no 4.

They are more like Inzis and Youhanas of India. Typically one of the openers go cheaply and they have to play the role of the opener.

Coming at no 5 should be allrounder Sanjay Bangar. He did so well in warmup matches.
I was surprised he was picked over Agarkar.

No 6 spot will be automaticaly taken by Sauruv Ganguly

Followed by Ajit Agarkar at no 7

Tendulkur
Sehwag
Dravid
Laxman
Bangar
Ganguly
Agarkar
Ratra
Harbajhan
Khan
Nehra

Harbajhan Singh should be picked over Kumble who looks in out of form and plus he needs a break.

I would have replaced the bottom 2 bowlers with Srinath and Mohanty but they are not in the squad for England.

I heard alot of my Indian friends talk about Prathieve Patel.
I have never seen the guy play before but he is very hyped up.
Maybe he can replace Ratra.
If that doesn't work than Mongiya wouldn't be a bad choice.

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http://sports.yahoo.com/m/sk/news/reuters/20020730/reu-indiareax.html

Former skipper Kapil Dev has led the criticism after India lost the first test against England, blaming the team’s lack of self-belief and weak bowling.

“It has been 16 years since we won abroad,” said Dev.

"I feel very sad. We have the capability. But we have to believe in ourselves.

“We also lack in the bowling department,” he told reporters.

India’s last test series win outside South Asia dates back to 1985-86 in England, when Dev was captain.

Indian hopes of ending the drought suffered a setback on Monday when they capitulated by 170 runs on a perfect batting track at Lord’s despite the absence of three mainline England pacemen due to injury.

Brittle top-order batting and Sachin Tendulkar’s failure – he made 16 and 12 – saw India dismissed for 221 in the first innings, before adding 397 in the second after being set an improbable victory target of 568.

Dev, though, said Indian bowlers have struggled to dismiss sides twice in away tests in recent years. He also said the country had failed to live up to its tradition of producing quality spinners.

Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly confessed after the Lord’s defeat he should have included off-spinner Harbhajan Singh alongside leg-break bowler Anil Kumble on a dry pitch.

POOR APPLICATION

Chief selector Chandu Borde, meanwhile, blamed “lack of application” and said a re-think on selection was needed.

“Losing like that is bad. They (batsmen) must try to stay at the wicket for longer periods,” he told Reuters.

The Indian media also highlighted the top-order batting while praising all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, whose maiden test century narrowed the margin of defeat in the first match of the four-test series.

“Stubborn Agarkar fails to prevent the inevitable,” ran the Asian Age headline while The Indian Express added: “Agarkar the smile in the same old sob story”.

The widely-circulated Times of India daily focussed on Tendulkar’s batting on its front page.

The report quoted former players saying he was succumbing to the pressure of Indian expectations.

It quoted former England captain Michael Atherton as saying: “No other player suffers so much from pressure of expectation. It must be remembered that England have bowled very well to him.”

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There you have it... The great Kapil Dev has also said Indians bowling is extremely weak. Remember the response I got from some Indian guppies when I said the same thing?

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So those who attacked me when I said India had a weak bowling attack prior to this match, where are they now?