Men to Watch-out for
Paul Harris
This left-arm spinner will be a threat for the Indians. He made his debut against Indians when they toured South Africa last time. He had put Indian batsmen into a shell by his nagging, over-the-wicket line bowling.
Dale Steyn
He is red hot now. He has pace and swing to trouble the Indian batsmen. He has three consecutive man-of-the series awards coming into this series.
Kallis and Smith
Kallis is South African equivalent of Rahul Dravid and moreover he is in great touch. He has special liking for the Indian bowlers. South African captain Smith has been a prolific scorer for his team. Both these batsmen have great appetite for runs.
Ashwell Prince is a frustrating kind of batsmen like Jimmy Adams.
South African Squad
1.Graeme Smith (captain) 2.Ashwell Prince 3.Hashim Amla 4.Mark Boucher (wk) 5.AB de Villiers 6.JP Duminy 7.Paul Harris, 8.Jacques Kallis 9.Neil McKenzie 10.Morne Morkel 11.Makhaya Ntini 12.Robin Peterson 13.Dale Steyn 14.Monde Zondeki.
India’s Chances
I would like both Jaffer and Sehwag to open the batting. But I fear that in the name of team balance Jaffer would be sacrificed. In recent years Indian batsmen were found struggling at pitches with low bounce. They would like some bounce to play their shots. Regular partnerships have been the hallmark of Indian batting success in recent times and hopefully they would continue this. Success of Indian batting would depend on how positively they play against the spinners and how less the damage at the beginning.
Harbhajan is not as good as he has been hyped. He really needs to contribute with the ball than his mouth. RP Singh is back from an injury and Sreesanth is returning to Test cricket after a while. They would be little scratchy and slow to go full throttle. RP Singh has bowled well in the ongoing Deodhar trophy matches and that is an encouraging sign. Munaf Patel would have been the better choice for the second pacer. But no one seems to have confidence in him.
Proteas would be as tough and competent as Aussies. They would be more disciplined than Aussies but may not have the same level of self-belief as Aussies. If their self-belief is dented very early in the series then this Test series will be India’s. Otherwise it will be a very closely fought one.
Paul Harris
This left-arm spinner will be a threat for the Indians. He made his debut against Indians when they toured South Africa last time. He had put Indian batsmen into a shell by his nagging, over-the-wicket line bowling.
Dale Steyn
He is red hot now. He has pace and swing to trouble the Indian batsmen. He has three consecutive man-of-the series awards coming into this series.
Kallis and Smith
Kallis is South African equivalent of Rahul Dravid and moreover he is in great touch. He has special liking for the Indian bowlers. South African captain Smith has been a prolific scorer for his team. Both these batsmen have great appetite for runs.
Ashwell Prince is a frustrating kind of batsmen like Jimmy Adams.
South African Squad
1.Graeme Smith (captain) 2.Ashwell Prince 3.Hashim Amla 4.Mark Boucher (wk) 5.AB de Villiers 6.JP Duminy 7.Paul Harris, 8.Jacques Kallis 9.Neil McKenzie 10.Morne Morkel 11.Makhaya Ntini 12.Robin Peterson 13.Dale Steyn 14.Monde Zondeki.
India’s Chances
I would like both Jaffer and Sehwag to open the batting. But I fear that in the name of team balance Jaffer would be sacrificed. In recent years Indian batsmen were found struggling at pitches with low bounce. They would like some bounce to play their shots. Regular partnerships have been the hallmark of Indian batting success in recent times and hopefully they would continue this. Success of Indian batting would depend on how positively they play against the spinners and how less the damage at the beginning.
Harbhajan is not as good as he has been hyped. He really needs to contribute with the ball than his mouth. RP Singh is back from an injury and Sreesanth is returning to Test cricket after a while. They would be little scratchy and slow to go full throttle. RP Singh has bowled well in the ongoing Deodhar trophy matches and that is an encouraging sign. Munaf Patel would have been the better choice for the second pacer. But no one seems to have confidence in him.
Proteas would be as tough and competent as Aussies. They would be more disciplined than Aussies but may not have the same level of self-belief as Aussies. If their self-belief is dented very early in the series then this Test series will be India’s. Otherwise it will be a very closely fought one.
No comments:
Post a Comment