England In India

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futureblackcap

futureblackcap

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This must surely be England's best chance to beat India in India since forever. While England won't have KP, what bowlers do India have that are really going to trouble England's batsmen on a regular basis? India haven't seemed to have named their squad yet but I'd imagine the bowling line-up for the series will be something like this:

Z Khan (past his prime but still probably India's best seamer)
U Yadav (got pace on his side but is inconsistent from what I've seen)
I Sharma (got pace but is terribly inconsistent)
R Ashwin (looks the goods as far as a spinner, England probably have to be most careful against him)
H Singh (not sure he's as good as he use to be)
P Ojha (a decent bowler but will probably be the third choice spinner)

Compare that with England:
J Anderson (5th in the world Test bowling rankings but has a history of struggling in the subcontinent)
S Broad (a good bowler, always seems to pick up wickets)
S Finn (looked great against SA, I've always believed he's had the goods)
T Bresnan (don't really rate him but he's seems to pick up wickets on a regular basis, don't think he'll get much game time with Finn doing so well)
G Onions (a good bowler but probably won't play unless there are a couple of injuries)
G Swann (2nd best spinner in the world if not in the rankings, in my books)
M Panesar (can really rip the ball for an offie, should get some game time)
S Patel (please don't play him England!)

As far as batting: get V Kohli out early and your half way there.

For India: need to get out J Trott, A Cook and I Bell out early-ish to be within a chance of a victory. A draw is a more likely option.

I'm sorry if I'm being cynical but India are no where near where they were once upon a time. Can blame the board for that.
 
Pietersen is actually back for this tour. Agree that although they have had a poor 2012, England still have a quality Test side and have a chance to knock off a declining India on their own dung patch.
 
Kram81 said:
Pietersen is actually back for this tour. Agree that although they have had a poor 2012, England still have a quality Test side and have a chance to knock off a declining India on their own dung patch.
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Okay, on what arrangement are the ECB on with KP? Will he be playing in the Tests?
 
Just looking at it after a stellar 2011 going undefeated England's form this year has been quite poor this year, apart from going 2-0 against the WI (with 1 draw) and 1-1 in SL they've been swept 3-0 by Pakistan lost 2-0 (with 1 draw) in SA.
 
Kram81 said:
Just looking at it after a stellar 2011 going undefeated England's form this year has been quite poor this year, apart from going 2-0 against the WI (with 1 draw) and 1-1 in SL they've been swept 3-0 by Pakistan lost 2-0 (with 1 draw) in SA.
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True, their form has been poor but it only takes one series to turn it around and they have the edge on paper.
 
India's bowling attack may look ordinary but they are generally pretty good at home. They'll play two spinners most games, perhaps even three if the the pitches there are low, dusty and really conducive for spin. This won't be an easy tour for England and they will definitely have their work cut out for them.

Swann will be a massive key for England, he needs to bowl well if they are going to win the series as I imagine the pitches there will suit the spinners which will render their seam attack to a support cast for most of the series. He is not in the best form however and he is going to need some help which is where Panesar comes in. Monty doesn't install a lot of confidence though in my opinion so a guy like Patel may get a crack if the Monty experiment doesn't work.

Will be an interesting series for sure though.
 
Ljp86 said:
India's bowling attack may look ordinary but they are generally pretty good at home. They'll play two spinners most games, perhaps even three if the the pitches there are low, dusty and really conducive for spin. This won't be an easy tour for England and they will definitely have their work cut out for them.

Swann will be a massive key for England, he needs to bowl well if they are going to win the series as I imagine the pitches there will suit the spinners which will render their seam attack to a support cast for most of the series. He is not in the best form however and he is going to need some help which is where Panesar comes in. Monty doesn't install a lot of confidence though in my opinion so a guy like Patel may get a crack if the Monty experiment doesn't work.

Will be an interesting series for sure though.
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Yeah, won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination but I still think it's England's best chance and don't think anyone is disputing it. Swann is crucial to England's effort and regarding Monty, what I saw of him against Pakistan I think? He was bowling much better than Swann so we'll see how he goes. I wouldn't like to see Patel play as I don't really see him as a wicket-taker in Test cricket.
 
Watched a bit of day 1 today, pitch looked like your typical Indian highway, naturally Sehwag got a ton ;) Swanny bowled well and took all the wickets, Poms might regret not also playing Monty.. India ended up on about 4 for 323.
 
Kram81 said:
Watched a bit of day 1 today, pitch looked like your typical Indian highway, naturally Sehwag got a ton ;) Swanny bowled well and took all the wickets, Poms might regret not also playing Monty.. India ended up on about 4 for 323.
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Swanny getting wickets is a great sign for England as he was really the key to them doing well.
 
Patel is as about as threatening as a wet train ticket from what I've seen of his bowling so far.

India have now passed 400 without further further loss, the game really drifting away from England. Batting for them on this pitch after drying out and breaking up from the baking heat against India's spin bowlers will be an arduous task.
 
India decide to declare at 8 for 521..

Would hate to be one of the English openers now, last thing you would feel like doing now is going to bat out there with little to gain after chasing leather for 2 days, especially in these conditions.
 
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