This will be the last international game to be played at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati as the Assam Cricket Association is building a new ground on the outskirts of the city, which will host all future international games. The curator Sunil Barua copped a lot of criticism after the last ODI played on the ground, when a dicey pitch let Australia dismiss India for 170. “This is the best wicket I’ve ever made. It will suit batting,” Barua said this week. “All I can say is it will be a lively and sporting wicket. There will be a good total if a team bats the full quota of overs.” Barua said that he had given the pitch a top-dressing with special clay collected from outside to ensure less wear and tear. Dew is likely to play a role as there will be an 8.30 am start.
Teams
James Franklin has replaced Jesse Ryder and Ashish Nehra, who cleared a fitness test, was brought in for Praveen Kumar, who is suffering from fever.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Jamie How, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Kane Williamson, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 James Franklin/Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Daryl Tuffey/Andy McKay
India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Yusuf Pathan 7 Saurabh Tiwary, 8 Wriddiman Saha (wk), 9 R Ashwin, 10 Vinay Kumar, 11 Ashish Nehra.
Stats and trivia
Scott Styris is one of the seven New Zealand batsmen to have scored over 4000 runs in ODIs.
New Zealand have won only six out of their 16 completed games in 2010, and have lost their last six consecutive games.
Nehra averages 30.52 in the ODIs but does a lot better against New Zealand against whom he averages 22.47 from 16 games. His economy-rate too climbs down to 3.87 (his career rate is 5.12)
In the Indian inning, Yusuf Pathan while batting, hit a ball that he thought was going for a six and stopped running. While he could easily have got a 2, he got only 1, lost the strike, and after that did not get much of a chance to face the bowling. While India did win, I simply do not understand how he (and the non-striker) could have been so careless. As they say in baseball, you have to run it out - never know what may happen. In a close game or against a better opponent, that could have proven costly.
Also, in the Test matches, I was simply amazed to see how many times the Indian batsmen completed a close run without grounding the bat (dragging it through the crease).
with kohli doing so well you cannot ddrop him.. he is for the future... i would actually say he is the future captain.... he was the wining u-19 WC captain for india.. great performance all along.. he seems to be maturing and has his temper and ego under control compared from a year ago..
indias wc playing 11 shud be
sachin
viru
gambhir
kohli
yuvraj
raina
dhoni
bhajji
sree / ashwin depending on track, with ishant and ojha on standby
zak
nehra
sachin
viru
gambhir
kohli
yuvraj
raina
dhoni
bhajji
sree / ashwin depending on track, with ishant and ojha on standby
zak
nehra
What ? No Ravinder Jadeja. Are you out of your mind ?
btw, I prefer Munaf/Pravin over Nehra/Sree.
Munaf is a line-n-length bowler. He is not flamboyant but he has been performing admirably in the current series.
Pravin has the knack of taking wickets and also can throw his bat around (though he hasn't quite done justice to his batting talents at the international level).
Sreesanth tends to almost always go for a lot of runs.
Also, Ashwin's fielding abilities leaves a big question mark.
And its time we consider Bhajji a batsman who can bowl a bit. Yuvraj is a more reliable bowler than Bhajji (esp in ODIs).
What ? No Ravinder Jadeja. Are you out of your mind ?
btw, I prefer Munaf/Pravin over Nehra/Sree.
Munaf is a line-n-length bowler. He is not flamboyant but he has been performing admirably in the current series.
Pravin has the knack of taking wickets and also can throw his bat around (though he hasn't quite done justice to his batting talents at the international level).
Sreesanth tends to almost always go for a lot of runs.
Also, Ashwin's fielding abilities leaves a big question mark.
And its time we consider Bhajji a batsman who can bowl a bit. Yuvraj is a more reliable bowler than Bhajji (esp in ODIs).
Hahah jadeja.... I think his honeymoon is over..
You are absolutely right about PK.. I must be drunk for forgetting him.. he takes the spot over Sree/Ishant anyday.. PK Zak and Nehra would be the ideal combo.. I dont understnad why India sometimes only play 2 seamers in INdia..I meant I get it that Indian pitches are not very seamer friendly but sht we have soooo many good part time spin bowlers.. lets have the 3 seamers.. and then bhajji.. and then we have yuvraj raina and sehwag all three are VERY good spin bowlers on spin friendly tracks..
I hate Munaf. Yes he has bowled well in this series but that's just this series. He is a lazy kutta!!! Uski shakal par likha hua hai " i am a lazy kutta"... Ashwin's fielding? Bhai have you seen Munaf field? Lazy kutta I tell you. Don't let these 2-3 games rewrite your verdict on Munaf.
PK takes the 3rd seamer spot for me. And I would put Sree in line next... if need be.
^ Munaf Patel may not be a great fielder but he has the best ODI economy rate among the current crop. There isn't much to chose between them otherwise - as you can see from the stats below. btw, Nehra is no Jonty either.
I meant I get it that Indian pitches are not very seamer friendly but sht we have soooo many good part time spin bowlers.. lets have the 3 seamers.. and then bhajji.. and then we have yuvraj raina and sehwag all three are VERY good spin bowlers on spin friendly tracks..
.
I don't think India has sooooo many good part time spin bowlers. NZ is only making them look good.
India's bowling will be exposed sooner or later...just like Aussies.
