England Versus India - 1st Test (9 Nov - 13 Nov)

[Gingerfinch]

I like that team. It's a winner!

[Dr Cricket]

Cricinfo reporting the pitch looks like kanpur.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-new ... 30213.html
be interesting to see if it will be like that game where 350 was about par and not 450 or whatever they expect before the game in Kanpur and in Rajkot as well right now.
should be interesting since I not sure it will be as flat as some of the english pundit are claiming it to be.
looks like a key toss for england to win, not sure they will like to bowl first on that deck, not sure india will mind much with the cracks and Ashwin likely to cause issues in the first innings as well.
he did take 4 wicket in the first innings and 9 wicket fell to spin.

[Dr Cricket]

lol Nasser think India doesn't have all round depth but england does, this is a team that is batting Saha/Jadeja at 9 lol and they got the best all rounder in the world playing for them.
Also what planet is he living in if he suddenly thinks the pitches in india will suddenly go from raging turner to flat decks, only one draw test match since 2011 let that sink for a moment with majority of the games having a result easily and not many occurrences of team scoring more than 500 in an innings, think stats will show india and Sri lanka are the toughest places to bat since 2010.
also wander where the raging turner against NZ were considering most in india didn't even think the pitches turned much.

[Dr Cricket]

Although saying that this will be a series where both lower orders are strong, remember seeing a stat in WI when the lower order routinely doubled the score from the top order that in the past two years india and england have scored the most runs from the lower order and they actually scored more runs than the top order as well.
Not really sure if Ashwin batting at 6 will give england a glimmer of hope of dismissing india cheaply when he followed by Pandya or Nair then Jadeja plus Saha and then two pace bowlers that are no mugs with the bat either.
if anything I would be more scared if ashwin bats at 6 since that means india got 5 threatening bowlers playing although not sure Pandya counts yet, but mishra could easily replace him.
England probably prefer Ashwin batting at 7 or 8 and india going 4 bowlers so they can tire Ashwin more if England bat long, but then india batting does get longer but not much different to playing 5 bowlers either considering Nair will be making his debut and the batting order will look to have the same vulnerability as Ashwin, Saha, Jadeja and pandya.
At the moment it is tight call between mishra, Pandya and Nair, guessing if the pitch will be flat but more helpful to spinners Mishra plays, if pace might do something Pandya plays and if the pitch is a rank turner not lasting long then Nair plays since Ashwin and Jadeja will be enough, quite laughable to claim india doesn't have lower order depth.
Really you can claim England tail starts from 4 with the way the English batsman are batting these days with Stokes or Ali batting at 4.
no different to Ashwin batting at 6 for india.

[shankycricket]

Rashid still?????

[Dr Cricket]

Rashid still?????

Athers on the times web chat said Ansari is more likely to play but he would play rashid, but management likely to go with Ansari.

[Dr Cricket]

Anyone read Botham views yet.
http://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/1 ... es-preview
lol

[Gingerfinch]

Well he's right, there's not much point betting on India to win the series. 12-1 in a two horse race are not bad odds, though my money will be staying in my wife's pocket!

[Dr Cricket]

Well he's right, there's not much point betting on India to win the series. 12-1 in a two horse race are not bad odds, though my money will be staying in my wife's pocket!

yep that is the only think he is right, that and putting his money on Rahane topping the run list.

[sussexpob]

Well he's right, there's not much point betting on India to win the series. 12-1 in a two horse race are not bad odds, though my money will be staying in my wife's pocket!

yep that is the only think he is right, that and putting his money on Rahane topping the run list.

Asking a number 5 to score most runs is asking a lot. Generally openers and number 3 play more innings and face more balls.

As an example, Hayden averaged less than Steve Waugh but scored near 20 runs per test more.

[Dr Cricket]

Well he's right, there's not much point betting on India to win the series. 12-1 in a two horse race are not bad odds, though my money will be staying in my wife's pocket!

yep that is the only think he is right, that and putting his money on Rahane topping the run list.

Asking a number 5 to score most runs is asking a lot. Generally openers and number 3 play more innings and face more balls.

As an example, Hayden averaged less than Steve Waugh but scored near 20 runs per test more.

not sure it is a tough ask for Rahane to be the top india runs scorer in this series really.
but yes get your point about openers and number 3 generally scoring more runs.

[Dr Cricket]

Nice England win the toss, want india to lose the toss in all the test.
don't think the toss would make any difference to india, looks like kohli doesn't mind either from the interview.
Ansari plays and bats at 10 and pandya plays for india.

[hopeforthebest]

Cook wins toss and England bat first.

[hopeforthebest]

No Batty, Ansari and Rashid play, maybe their batting strength gives them the edge over Batty. England are obsessed with bowlers who can bat.

[Dr Cricket]

No Batty, Ansari and Rashid play, maybe their batting strength gives them the edge over Batty. England are obsessed with bowlers who can bat.

long batting line up, bats till 11.
but bowling will be the key.