Sachin Tendulkar is not playing in this next Test. So that should give the team and opportunity to move Sourav Ganguly and V. V. S. Laxman up the order. This would give them an opportunity to play another bowler. My bet would be on Irfan Pathan playing instead of Sachin Tendulkar. The team would then need to decide on whether or not it wanted a mildly fit and listlessly lethargic R. P. Singh or the spin option of Piyush Chawla. I'd go for the latter. Although there is grass on the pitch, the Motera track has assisted spinners on days 3-5 of Test matches.

This would then give the following Team India: Sehwag, Jaffer, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Dhoni, Pathan, Chawla, Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth

After his splendid innings at Chennai, the South Africans are wary of Virender Sehwag. They have decided to target Sehwag with short stuff aimed at his rib cage! Not a bad ploy particularly if the South Africans are able to bowl rib-cage stuff from around the wicket. After all, Sehwag has shown his ability to handle anything short and outside off-stump! South African coach, Mickey Arthur, indicated, "We had a look at Sehwag's fantastic innings. He cuts the ball very well but we saw he played his first pull shot only after scoring 312."

It would be interesting to see how Sehwag copes with this approach.

India blew a perfect platform in the last session and collapsed to 297 for 6. If you look at the six wickets that fell, most of them went to lose/rash shots. Virender Sehwag was out to a lose slash outside off. The ball could have been left alone on bounce alone; although it could have been left alone on width too! Sachin Tendulkar continues to have his nightmares with umpires. Rahul Dravid got out to a really bad hoik-pull-heave-slap-dash-drive-cut shot (Sorry, I can't describe that shot in any other manner!) that would, I am sure embarrass him in years to come. V. V. S. Laxman got out pull-hook-ing a short ball that grew on him.

So, while the Indian team says that a score of 350 to 400 would do on this pitch, I am not really sure. The pitch played well and will be easy for batting on days 2 and 3. It is quite likely that the Australians will bat on and on and ensure that they only bat once in this match!

Unlike Paddy, I don't think that this match will be over by Tea on day-3! However, I think India are behind.

On the Session-By-Session count, I give the first session as even, the second to India and the third to Australia. Although the resulting SBS score reads 1.5-1.5, I do believe Australia is ahead in this game, thanks to the strokes that Rahul Dravid and V. V. S. Laxman played to get themselves out.

Brett Lee was superb throughout the day. He bowled with heart, purpose and direction. Given that the much touted Shaun Tait was ordinary throughout the day, Lee had to step up. He did. He bowled in short spells. He was quick. He was effective. This is, I believe, the summer that has made him the top bowler in Australia.

It was good to see Tendulkar and Dravid get amongst the runs. Tendulkar was playing with such control and majesty. He played all the shots and played with utmost control. It was a pity that his innings had its legs chopped off when he was looking set for a long stint.

The pitch was hyped up prior to the match. It was somewhat placid for a Perth wicket.

Finally, the Over rate. Australia just did not rate. Despite the match having been extended by a half hour, Australia bowled 6 overs less in the day! This is just not good enough for International cricket. Something must be done about it. I would be willing to bet that consistently, the Australians bowl the least number of overs in a day. Their tactics of putting the pressure on the batsmen -- Michael Clarke to Rahul Dravid -- in a bid to catch up on their earlier ineptitude was galling. Unfortunately, given that Mike Proctor thinks that the sun shines out of the collective hinds of the Australians, he will do nothing about it.

-- Mohan

Sehwag wasn't in the initial list of 24-probables. However, he got the call ahead of Gautam Gambhir who has been advised three weeks rest with a sore shoulder. The Indian fan cannot be blamed for being a tad cynical of these mysterious injuries that do have a habit of troubling Indian players when tough selectorial decisions have to be made! And here we have yet another instance of a mysterious injury rearing its ugly head again!

Ian Chappell did write a few days back that the Indian selectors erred in not picking Sehwag in the initial list of 24 probables. Were the selectors swayed by his outpourings? Were they honest outpourings or was it a red-herring? One never knows. Many on this blogsite too felt that Sehwag ought to have been included. However, this move to induct him from outside the list of 24 makes a bit of a mockery of the whole selection process. In particular, Aakash Chopra would be right to feel a bit miffed at the craziness of the selection process! Having said that, I do think that Sehwag's choice is a smart decision. He has performed well against Australia and his aggression at the top will work well for India. One slight problem is that he hasn't been setting the Ranji world alight with his bat in recent times.

The 16-member squad also includes Pankaj Singh, the young Rajasthan pacer. This is again, in my view, a smart move. He has bowled impressively in the U-19 squad and has started his Ranji season well this year. Pankaj Singh ejects Munaf Patel from the team. Patel has been advised to play more domestic cricket.

If nothing else, Pankaj Singh's pick can be seen as a smart move because the unhealthy ghost of Ajit Agarkar was hovering around in the list of probables :-)

Ishant Sharma probably picks himself after a decent showing in the 3rd Test against Pakistan. However, as I said in my post yesterday, a day after bagging the world record for the maximum number of byes in a Test innings, Dinesh Kartik can consider himself a tad lucky to be on the plane, although it is probably the right decision in my view.

Team India (probably in batting order for the 1st Test):
Wasim Jaffer
Virender Sehwag / Dinesh Karthik
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman / Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
Anil Kumble (capt)
Irfan Pathan / Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma / RP Singh / Pankaj Singh

A good selection effort in my opinion especially when considered in the background of the recent form that V. V. S. Laxman an Sourav Ganguly have shown. Sourav Ganguly, in my view, is in the form of his life. Although I have always been an unabashed Ganguly-fan, I can say -- with a degree of objectivity -- that I haven't seen him bat as effectively, doggedly and in as determined a manner as I have seen in the last 6 months or so. Of course, all of this can come to naught in the bouncy pitches of Australia. However, his defence has tightened. He doesn't hang his bat out to dry outside off as often as he used to. And more than ever before, he has developed a dogged mental edge to his game.

The team appears to be right for Australia.

• The right batsmen are there.
• Ishant Sharma is peaking at the right time.
• A rookie pacer like Pankaj Singh is better than a break-down specialist (Munaf Patel) especially when the break-dance specialist is injured! Pankaj Singh will learn a lot from this tour even if he doesn't get a game.
• Ajit Agarkar is not there!
• Virender Sehwag's omission from the initial 24 was befuddling. He just had to go. He is.
• The team has only 2 spinners -- the second spinner would be mostly irrelevant on this tour apart from, perhaps, Sydney.
• The captain is a good one.

Anil Kumble appears to be captaining the team well, although I will point out that he delayed the declaration in todays' 3rd Test against Pakistan by about 10 overs. A ruthless captain would not have waited for a teammate -- Dinesh Karthik in this case -- to score a 50 in Test cricket! However, he has shown enough inventiveness and aggression to convince me that his "better late than never" quip on being chosen as Team India captain is a truism of sorts!

However, there is no time for the team to settle and for that, once again, the BCCI should take a bow. Team India has to play its Test XI in the 2-day tour match - the only practice game before the Melbourne Test match!

-- Mohan

• India play under a new captain and it will not be easy for everyone to adjust.
• The openers are under a lot of pressure to perform. For instance Karthik has not done well in the two early Ranji games he played. Jaffer is suspect with his slow footwork and Shoaib Akthar will test that out.
• The middle order though strong on paper has not set the world alight in recent times.
• The fast bowling department with a suspicious Munaf Patel is not very encouraging.
• Harbhajan comes back after his ODI performances but can he get wickets again at the test match level?
• This is an ageing side and the fielding will be tested thoroughly. Watch out for a few drops in slips early on, some desperate dives to prevent boundaries and some lethargic running between the wickets.
• Finally the team will miss the enthusiasm and bubble of youth.

The Optimist when asked declined to give a comment.

-- Sanjay

Interestingly, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the selection team, handed the team out in a media release and did not address the media as he normally does.

The team is (perhaps in batting order):

Dinesh Karthik
Wasim Jaffer
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman / Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Anil Kumble (capt)
Harbhajan Singh / Murali Kartik
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth / RP Singh

-- Mohan

But India did the right things right on Day-1 of Test 3. India won the toss, elected to bat and came out in a sensationally positive frame of mind. If this mindset was evident in the mercurial nature of of Wasim Jaffer's batting, it was palpable in the purposefulness of Rahul Dravid's stride. This team meant business and they would have reached a much more satisfying destination at the end of Day-1 but for the fact that a certain Ian Howell appeared to have got up on the wrong side of his bed! After giving a marginal caught behind decision to send Dinesh Karthik back to the hut, he chopped Sourav Ganguly at the knees with a shocker of a decision! India ended the day at 316 for 4. India had had a good day, but England are still in the game.

Karthik was playing extremely well and had composed his 91 runs in style; with confidence and energy. On that score he wafted with minimal footwork at a ball from Sidebottom for Matt Prior to pounce on the catch. The England players went up as though they had just won the lottery or a date with Catherine Zeta-Jones, or both! Ian Howell, the umpire, lifted the dreaded finger and Karthik had to make the slow long walk back. I did not hear the snick. Snickometer did not think there was a snick either. However, Karthik did say at the end of days' play, "there was a small nick, there is no doubt about that"! Phew! One less effigy to construct and then destruct for the folks in Kolkata! The Ganguly decision, however, will have generated a few thousand effigy orders!

Up until that lapse in concentration, Karthik had batted very well. He was all poise, determination, inventiveness and concentration. A step down to caress Andreson through extra cover as well as an inside-out six off Panesar were special shots.

In the morning, after Rahul Dravid had won an important toss and elected to bat, proceedings ran against the normal script. Karthik, the normal aggressor was quiet while Wasim Jaffer, the dour accumulator was in his elements! It was a very different Wasim Jaffer that came to the crease this morning. Indeed, it appeared as though Jaffer and Karthik had reversed roles! We saw a quiet Karthik and a different player to the Jaffer, who normally plays well within himself. Instead, he was playing out of his skin! There were some great leaves by both Jaffer and Karthik initially. Of course, the bowling was shocking to start with. Karthik and Jaffer were served some dross by James Andreson, who gave both the openers 'ample opportunity to have a look at the ball and what it was doing'. Both Anderson and Tremlett had poor opening spells and they did not make batsmen play enough. Although Sidebottom bowled tightly, he slid too many across face of the batsmen. The openers settled down and slowly opened their shoulders.

I liked the way the openers saw off the new ball. A shot by Jaffer to send an Anderson ball for 6 over third man was so Sehwag that one wondered if Sehwag himself would have been able to execute that shot any better!

The only way Jaffer was going to get out was through a brain explosion. And it did happen. He played a shot that would have done Sehwag proud! It was a strong statement from Jaffer, but I'd think he needs to work on his square-off-the-side strokes to do well in Australia.

India went in to lunch at 117-1 off 28. It was an innings that was paced well. India were well-placed with Karthik on 50, Dravid on 25 with Dravid looking very very determined.

Dravid's stride to the crease was purposeful. He opened with two fours and looked extremely focussed, determined and positive. If he had a message to convey to the team, he did so with panache. In the days leading to this Test match, he had already telegraphed his positive intentions. He had said that the previous two Test matches were-result oriented even though they only featured 350 overs. He said that with 450 overs expected to be bowled at The Oval, he expected a result. This was positive and tone-setting stuff from the captain.

The hour after lunch saw some awesome batting; perhaps even the best batting-phase of the series from either teams. Dravid and Karthik were scoring at will. They took nearly 70 runs in 17 overs. In this passage of play it was interesting to note that England maintained a very good over rate too. One particular shot by Dravid was really special. Panesar had two men in front of Dravid -- one at short extra cover and one at short mid off. The two fielders were really close to each other -- within hand-shaking distance. A flighted ball from Panesar invited the cover drive. Dravid leaned into a classic cover drive and threaded the ball through these two fielders with unforgettable panache and sheer style.

He really did look set for a 100 or even higher! After all, the last time he played at The Oval, he had scored over 200 runs! And then suddenly the ball started moving around quite a bit. Although Dravid was bowled by Anderson off a beauty -- and normally, it is a beauty that gets Dravid out -- it was really the previous over from Sidebottom that probably set up the dismissal. It was a fantastic and searching over; an over in which Sidebottom swung the ball away and asked a few questions. Dravid had played and missed a few times in that over and was clearly annoyed with himself. The first ball of the next over was a terrific yorker length ball that moved slightly away. Dravid lost his middle stump!

Although the ball was a good one, but for the previous over, Dravid may have, on most occasions, presented a straight bat to the ball. Instead, he closed the face and tried a cute flick to leg, perhaps in an effort to score a few off Anderson to compensate for the tightness of Sidebottom's line, movement and length that did not afford any "gimme" balls.

Soon after Karthik was out too. How Howell could have given that out, I really do not know. There was no sound of a nick. Nor was there any deviation. The benefit of doubt should have gone the batsman's way. It did not.

All of this happened during a phase in play when it was a wee-bit gloomy and there was some swing around. Andreson was in the middle of a good spell of fast swing bowling. The 50-over old ball was suddenly seaming around. Was it the overcast conditions? Or was there some jelly beans involved too?

Ganguly and Tendulkar set about the reconstruction job. Once again, Tendulkar appeared shaky while Ganguly was playing reasonably well, albeit with some initial scares. I thought England bowled badly to Tendulkar. They overdid the "chin music" stuff to Tendulkar when fully pitched outswingers that invited the drive may have been a better option. Matt Prior, who was asked to "put a sock in it" had a forgettable day. He let through some 20 byes and dropped Tendulkar off Sidebottom! A costly lapse perhaps?

But both teams are still in the game. I'd say that India won 2 sessions (session-1 and session-3) with the middle session being called an even one.

The new ball is only 8 overs old. So, Laxman and Tendulkar will need to see off the first 10-15 overs and then start to play their shots. The stage is set for a crucial 1st session on day-2. If one of Tendulkar, Laxman or Dhoni make a big hundred, they can put the match beyond Englands' reach. But if England manage to get 1 or 2 quick wickets, they are right back in the game. All of this makes for a fascinating day-2.

-- Mohan

Simon Briggs in the same newspaper -- The Telegraph -- thinks that both sides must take the blame for the state of play. He chides "the gracelessness of both sides' conduct" and goes on to suggest that Alistair Cook is possibly the most likely jelly bean offender.

Will the match referee fine Alistair Cook too?

-- Mohan

Zaheer Khan was referring to his exchange of pleasantries with Kevin Pietersen when Zaheer was batting on day-3. This had apparently been sparked by the presence of jelly beans on the pitch. Zaheer Khan flicked the offending beans away from the pitch only to find a few more on the pitch the very next ball! He apparent used that as a spur to bowl, on day-4, what was the best spell of his career so far, thereby turning the jelly-throwers into jelly themselves!

This has been a series marred by on-field pranks and verbals. I do believe Vaughan and Dravid have a responsibility to get their players to focus on the game instead. A bit of lip is perhaps good for the game. Matt Prior seems to think so anyway. But a continuous carry-on takes the sheen away from what has been a terrific contest between bat and ball. The worst offenders have been Sree Santh and Matt Prior. In my view, they should be given a hair cut, thrown into a cold shower, clipped behind their ears and asked to focus on their games instead.

But to be brutally frank about it, it was a slice of luck that brought India back into the game. Dravid took the 2nd new ball as soon as it was due. At that point, the game appeared to be slipping away from India's control. England had squared off the deficit and were moving ahead with alacrity. Vaughan was batting well and Collingwood was steady at the other end. After having bowled Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar for a few overs to usher in the new ball, Dravid took it as soon as it was due.

And talking of Sachin Tendulkar's bowling, it must be that Dravid sees more in his bowling than most others. Or is it a case of the captain being in awe of his illustrious team-mates' prowess? Who knows what the reason is, but it still was baffling to see Tendulkar fling leather for a few overs before lunch when the best man on the park had bowled a stirring spell of 6 overs in which he had taken 1 wicket for 9 runs. That apart, Dravids' handling of his bowling resources was good. His field placings were good and he handled Sree Santh reasonably well too. He egged his players constantly. This was once more evident as soon as the new ball was taken.

Instead of getting on with the game as soon as the second new ball was taken, Dravid called for a mid-pitch huddle instead! This was certainly a first! Vaughan and Collingwood looked on in bemusement! Even the umpires looked. David Gover said with dripping sarcasm, "Hello, hello! The game will have to wait. We have a meeting going on", or words to that effect. Dravid must have pleaded for some more intensity and focus. And that's what he got. The Indians seemed hungry and desperate and altered the course of the match!

The first over with the new ball, bowled by Zaheer Khan, went for 14 runs and the second over, bowled by Sree Santh went for quite a few too. Dravid may have been wondering about his decision to claim the new ball. He may also have been wondering if his huddle-assemble-call had had any effect at all! However, a few overs into the new ball, Zaheer Khan thudded a fast ball into Vaughan. It clipped the bottom of Vaughan's thigh pad and ricocheted onto the stumps.

India had prized the door open. And thanks to some smart cricket, India proceeded to smash the door open.

It was appropriate, in my view, that Zaheer Khan got Vaughan's wicket. In the morning session, just as Sidebottom had made Tendulkar dance to his tunes on day-3, Zaheer Khan had Vaughan in all sorts of trouble. Vaughan had been extremely lucky to have survived that amazing spell of intense swing bowling from Zaheer Khan. Incidentally, Zaheer Khan is the 4th highest wicket taker in the list of left-arm-seamers. He is in illustrious company -- Wasim Akram, Chaminda Vaas and Alan Davidson are the others. Zaheer Khan had bowled to Vaughan like a champ. Just as Tendulkar congratulated Sidebottom on day-3 after that left armer had completed his spell, Vaughan too seemed appreciative on more than one occasion!

Zaheer Khan was clearly the best bowler on view. He bowled with purpose and venom. While one could say that he was lucky with the Vaughan wicket and the Andrew Strauss wicket -- a lazy, post-lunch waft -- the deliveries that got Alistair Cook and Ian Bell was brutes. And the manner in which he set up Collingwoods' wicket was smart.

I don't believe Zaheer Khan was supported well. R. P. Singh was the only other India bowler who, in my view, bowled well. He is, in my view, a smart young bowler with maturity that defies his 22 years. Micheal Atherton claimed that the two left arm seamers, together, bowled the best spell of left-arm swing bowling that he had ever seen, apart from the spells bowled by the great Wasim Akram. I am quoting almost verbatim. David Gower's response to that statement was, "High praise indeed."

Although Kumble's figures, at 3 wickets fro 104 runs, read reasonably well, he did have a poor day at the office. He did not pose too many threats and he did not ask too many questions.

But the worst culprit was Sree Santh. He started steadily but was mostly erratic. He nearly felled Pietersen with a terrible beamer. The fact that Pietersen got out a few balls later may have meant that Sree Santh had rattled him with the beamer. It just showed that Sree Santh wasn't on top of his game. He once bumped into Michael Vaughan on his trudge back to his bowling mark. It may not have been a deliberate shoulder-contact. Nevertheless he has been fined for this transgression. Fair enough. He should concentrate on his game more.

Overall, Sree Santh had another ordinary day at the office. He bowled some good spells. But there was some tripe chucked in there for good measure too. On a day when Zaheer Khan was bowling probably the spell of his career so far, what one needed was a steadying support at the other end. Sree Santh definitely did not provide this support. He was erratic at worst and enigmatic at best. In amongst his beamers and over-stepped-by-2-feet no-balls, he even managed to deliver a ball from about a foot behind the bowling crease! This young lad needs to learn to channel his energies and his undoubted skills more effectively.

His reaction to being denied Collingwoods' wicket was shocking. Collingwood had just gloved a Sree Santh ball to Dhoni behind the stumps. This was Howell's chance to get in on the getting-it-wrong act. Sree Santh reacted by going around the wicket and bowling two deliberate no-ball bouncers. In both, his front foot had over-stepped by about 2 feet! That could be nothing other than intentional and deliberate!

Dravid immediately removed him from the attack next over and brought on Ganguly instead. Good call.

The contrast with R. P. Singh was stark. Singh had just scored a Pietersen's snick to Dhoni and was celebrating with the slips by the time he turned back to see Simon Taufel deny him his glory. The snick was so obvious Blind Freddie would have given it out. Taufel's nightmare series was merely continuing. Singh, meanwhile, merely trudged back to the top of his run and proceeded to bowl what I thought was the ball of the series so far. The next ball was a viscious inswinger that swung at terrific pace from about a foot outside off to catch Pietersen plumb in front.

Singh produced a similar delivery later on to dismiss Matt Prior.

Aaah! MAtt Prior! I think this goof is another one that needs to spend more time in the nets and less time practicing his sledges. He gives the impression that he takes the verbal/aggression side of his game a bit too seriously. If he took his batting as seriously as the sharpening of his mental game, he'd probably be a better player for it. When he got in, he was understandably, given the verbal make over by the Indians -- and in particular from Sree Santh, his professional counterpart in the Indian team. Instead of getting on with his game, Prior reacted to the sledges. He air-kissed, winked, smiled and said something himself. It wasn't surprising that he was out soon and sent packing.

Despite the wickets of Cook, Strauss and Pietersen, in my view, England had taken the 1st two sessions of the day and my session-by-session scorecard read 5-4 when we got to the second new ball.

Vaughan had played delectably. His balance and his poise were amazing. His front foot drives and his cover drives were poetry. His reaction to the verbals -- and the shoulder-to-shoulder from Sree Santh -- were lessons in how to cop it -- Matt Prior should take note. The England captain was on top of his game. He had played a captains' knock with little support from the rest of the bats. Along the way, Vaughan had also survived a first ball scare from Kumble. Kumble had started his spell with a fast-low top-spinner that thudded onto Vaughan's pads. I am not sure why that was given not out! The nightmare on umpire street merely continued! But Vaughan put all of that behind him and built a wonderful innings.

Alistair Cook has a balance problem that has been rudely exposed by the Indian seamers. He has been found out to the inswinger thudding into his pads and on 4 times out of 4 in this series, he has been out in the same manner. A few years ago, Justin Langer had a similar exaggerated head-lean-to-the-left to compensate for the ball sliding down his leg side. Agarkar had exposed this weakness in his batting. Cook is going through a similar phase and needs to address this weakness. Strauss had lent support to Vaughan but his lazy post-lunch waft at a wide ball was a stupid lapse in concentration, especially from one who is vice-captain of the team! Pietersen came and went. Only Collingwood was able to lend support to Vaughan. The two of them had a good partnership going. England were motoring at that stage. And that's when, with the second new ball, the game turned on its head. Vaughan was out and Ian Bell came into play.

The Indians had been pre-warned that Bell had received a viscious knock to his head in the nets. Zaheer Khan greeted Bell with a bouncer. He then bowled a beauty to trap Bell adjacent. R.P.Singh produced a peach to get rid of Prior and Collingwood was snapped up by Karthik in 1st slip. This was a smart catch take inches off the ground. Kumble wiped off the tail, India were left with 73 to make. They had won the last session decisively and should go on to win the Test match.

The session-score reads 6-4 and that is an apt reflection of India's dominance of this match.

It is something we fans have been hankering for a long time and commonsense has finally prevailed.

To put things into perspective, while countries like Sri Lanka have been having regular A tours as well as playing visiting international sides, India have not had a proper A tour since the top-end series down under a year ago. No wonder the cupboard seems bare Mr Vengsarkar!

- Vish

Coming to my point, the first to hit across the line was Dinesh Karthik. The score was 124 and the match is just 31 overs old. The ball is pitched outside the off stump and Karthik goes for an ambitious pull and gets out caught at mid off. Surely did the situation warrant such a shot? Yet Karthik "is an honourable man!" Next the Prince of Kolkata. Just completed a hundred with an abysmal flinch off a short ball. Immediately goes for the shot that had actually come off a few times in that knock and gets caught at mid off. Yet Ganguly "is an honourable man!" Finally the great man goes the same way hitting completely across a wide short pitched delivery to get caught at cover! Of all places! Yet Sachin "is an honourable man and so are they all honourable men!"

Accelerating is necessary but it has to be done with some amount of discretion. There were times when GR Visvanath could pound the third man fence with two gullies, a point and a third man. Today batsmen prefer the vacant onside as a better option. But are they quick onto the shot? Do they have enough power to belt it across? Is the ball close to the stumps to warrant such shots? Or is it ok if you've scored a fifty or hundred and can afford to take that chance! While Ganguly and Tendulkar atleast had done a big job in consolidating the innings Karthik should be just that little bit more patient. Even Ganguly and Tendulkar play the cut shot so well that they are better off backing themselves against such wide balls outside the off stump. Just a thought!

- Sanjay

- Sanjay

While Sehwag has been criticised so much for lack of contributions etc what has Yuvraj done? Should he be taken in the Test team. Should not a more prolific newcomer be considered instead? 19 tests and 2 centuries and 3 fifties??? Ok so maybe those were early days, He was opening the batting or shunted up and down the order. Let us look at something more recent. Last 10 tests played

Just 1 hundred and 1 fifty in 15 innings!  Let us look at something even more recent. He played in all 4 tests against the West Indies last year and here is his stats.

With this kind of performances and stats what is he doing in the test team?

-Sanjay

- Sanjay

Sanjay

India : Perfect blend of youth and experience

The key is to do well in the first stage, where India often struggles to maintain form, so as to enter the second, better suited to India's traditionally spasmodic style of play

Australia : Adapatbility is its forte

An eternal favourite, Australia will be the team to watch. For sheer consistency and quality of cricket, there is no team to match Ricky Ponting's bunch of performers. History confirms that Australia has always been the team that has the character to win from hopeless situations.

West Indies : Consistency elusive

As host, the burden of expectations will be on the West Indies. The Brian Lara-led side is not without ability, but has, in the run-up to the World Cup, lacked consistency.

Sri Lanka : A side with good balance

The one significant advantage Sri Lanka has, going into the World Cup, is that none of its players are carrying injuries. The roster of casualties is long for other countries, particularly Australia, and for a side ostensibly loaded with geriatric men Sri Lanka isn't doing too badly

South Africa: Attitude is the question

Four years ago, the South Africans got the Duckworth and Lewis arithmetic wrong on a rainy night in Durban; the team-management had blundered. This time Caribbean sun could shine on them

Pakistan: Enigmatic ensemble

There is reason to believe that Pakistan has a realistic chance of winning the World Cup. It may be an enigma, but it surely is a strong contender for the title, provided the players discover the collective way to dominate and not depend on individual brilliance

New Zealand Peaking at the right time

Stephen Fleming's New Zealand has the variety and the depth to mount a serious challenge in the World Cup. It is one of the strong contenders for a place in the semifinals

England: Vaughan's fitness vital

The first World Cup final victory can be a turning point in the English game's history. It can obliterate the memories of more than 35 years in which they have underperformed and wipe out the dreadful defeats in Australia this winter

-Mahesh-

Top teams

Imran Khan - 1. Australia 2. India 3. Sri Lanka

Barry Richards - 1. Australia 2. India 3. Sri Lanka

Dean Jones - 1. Australia 2. South Africa 3. India

Top Batsmen

Imran Khan - Ricky Ponting & Yuvraj Singh

Barry Richards - Ricky Ponting & Jacques Kallis

Dean Jones - Adam Gilchrist & Ricky Ponting

Of course since the program was aired on an Indian channel, India featured prominently on everyone's list! But I think this is an indication that the experts think. The wickets might just favor sub continental teams -- Bangladesh's recent win against NZ is also an early pointer.

- Sanjay

"I've always felt there are probably places and times for minnow nations to be playing. I'm not sure if the World Cup and the Champions Trophy is one of those times"

which is completely different to what he said four years ago, when asked if they should play in the World cup:

"They definitely have a place. The game has to be strong worldwide. The developing countries such as Holland, Kenya, Bangladesh and Canada, you play against them in other tournaments as well, not only in world cups. It's good for cricket when you see them improving over time"

Speaking to a Bermuda newspaper, Michael Holding has even said that they diminish the World Cup. Do they really? Kenya was/is considered a minnow, but they made it to the semi-finals last time. South Africa, the current No. 1 ranked team and host didn't. Zimbabwe is considered to be one of the minnows, but in the '99 World Cup, they made it to the Super 6s. England didn't.

The World cup has always had the minor nations participating and it gives them the chance to rub shoulders with the big boys and even pull a few upsets. Bangladesh have beaten Pakistan. Zimbabwe have beaten South Africa. Kenya have beaten the West Indies, and so on. One similar upset in this World cup could actually see ICC's well orchestrated Super 8 schedule thrown into disarray. This can only be good for the game.

The argument for not having the minnows is that we may have mismatches where the minnows get beaten so badly that it has the potential to demoralize and damage the team. The other big argument is that the tournament now takes too long as we have too many teams. Both are valid reasons.

But the counter argument is that the ICC have been trying to spread the game and to do it they need the money...and publicity - which the World cup provides. And this reason far outweighs the occasional big defeat or a long competition. Read this article which talks a bit more on this subject. It says :

In order to grow the game in any country, money is required. And the easiest way to gather money in sport is to put it on television. So Ireland, Scotland, Holland and Bermuda can offer their sponsors television coverage and, consequently, command a far greater sum of cash

I believe we need to come to a middle ground somewhere. My solution is to split the World cup into a preliminary round where the minnows fight it out with all teams ranked 7 and over. If we go by the current World rankings, it means England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would have to play Kenya, Scotland, etc in the preliminary round. The top two or three teams then get into the main round with the top ranking teams.

This means that the World cup campaign will be longer for the low ranking teams, which I think is actually good - it gives them the opportunity to play more and improve. The higher ranked teams have a shorter tournament and everyone is happy.

This debate on whether the minnows should play or not has gone on far too long. I hope the ICC changes the format of future World cups and puts an end to it.

Let me finish off with a link to a BBC Sports article on the minnow's realistic chances in the World cup. My opinion - they don't have a chance beyond the group matches. But hey, Good luck to them and may they cause an upset or two!

-Mahesh-

1. Budhi Kunderan
2. Farokh Engineer
3. Dilip Sardesai
4. Brijesh Patel
5. MAK Pataudi - Captain
6. Eknath Solkar
7. Salim Durrani
8. Abid Ali
9. Karsan Ghavri
10. S Venkatraghavan
11. BS Chandrasekar

-- Sanjay

-Mahesh-

For a brief period the ICC schedule website, had the following rule in it (copied from Rediff who were quick enough to clip it from there!):

"Team names for the Super Eight stage are indicative based on the top two teams from the Group Stage qualifying. If these two teams do qualify they will be seeded in position 1 or 2 as specified regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group. For example, if South Africa wins Group A and Australia comes second, for the purposes of the Super Eights, South Africa will still be A2 and Australia will be A1."

Note that the ICC runs two schedule websites, here and here -- the latter being the website being run for the ICC by its official Internet partner, www.indya.com!

Let us think this through logically. The Super8 stage is a league where every team plays every other team apart from the one from its own Group (which it would have played already and carried over points from). So, it doesn't really make a difference which team is named A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2 -- given that they will all play each other! For example, even if India wins all its 3 group games and tops Group-B, it would not make a difference if India is named B2 and Sri Lanka (say) is named B1 -- as long as India carries over 2 points into the Super8 stage.

Now, why would the ICC want to label India as B2?

Easy. If the ICC did that, India would play most of its games on Saturdays or Sundays. Big TV audience. Big moolah! Clever.

The ICC would maximise its TV revenue if it labels the teams in the following way (assuming no upsets in the Group games by the 8 minnows that are just there to make up the numbers and fatten the stats).

A1: Australia
A2: South Africa
B1: Sri Lanka
B2: India
C1: New Zealand
C2: England
D1: Pakistan
D2: West Indies

This will mean that marquee games (or showcourt games) that would have larger TV audiences would be on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays! Note the strategically positioned gap in the schedule between the Wednesday 4th April and Saturday 7th April. That's so that India can play South Africa on Saturday the 7th of April, if we follow the labelling as above. An alternative to the above labelling is that D1 and D2 are swapped -- this would make a toss of a difference to the "revenue earning" games that matter -- as far as the ICC is concerned! The swapping of A1 and A2 will also produce reasonable dollar results for the ICC -- after all, is that not their main concern?

However, I am pretty confident that India will be labelled B2 and Australia will be A1, regardless of the Group results.

In the event that the labelling is as I indicated above, India's Super8 games will be:

• Saturday 31 March: Australia V India
• Monday 02 April: New Zealand V India
• Saturday 07 April: South Africa V India
• Wednesday 11 Apr: England V India
• Sunday 15 April: India V Pakistan
• Thursday 19 April: West Indies V India

How convenient? This is smart, but devious of the ICC, in my view. Devious because I haven't seen this transparently explained anywhere. In the absence of such transparency, most people would like to believe that the labelling follows the normal rule which would suggest that the leader assumes first spot in the Group table...

-- Mohan

So, here is my team:

Opening

1. Sachin Tendulkar

2. Sourav Ganguly

Others who were considered for this slot were Virender Sehwag, Kris Srikkanth, Navjot Sidhu, Ravi Shastri and  Sunil Gavaskar.

Kris Srikkanth was one of the first openers in the world who attacked from the get-go. Navjot Sidhu could hit those amazing sixes coming half way down the pitch. But as far as openers go for an all time India XI, you can't go beyond the peerless Tendulkar and Ganguly combination. Together they have over 25000 ODI runs and over 60 centuries. Moreover, the left-hander-right-hander combination would make this a killer opening pair. Even a Sehwag in his prime would not be able to dislodge this opening combination at its peak.

Middle order

3. Virender Sehwag

4. Rahul Dravid

5. Mohammed Azharuddin

Although I have not penned Sehwag as an opening batsman, with his "near 100" strike rate and attacking game, he would come out at No. 3 in my team. Rahul Dravid, aka 'The Wall' will easily slide into No. 4. His 40 plus average and 70-plus strike rate makes him an ideal bat in the middle order. I would slot Mohammed Azharuddin at No. 5. Although he exited International cricket in disgrace, he had accumulated over 9000 runs and was a great batsman and fielder.

The others who were considered but didn't make the cut included Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajay Jadeja, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, and Yuvraj Singh.

Lower middle order/allrounders

6. Ravi Shastri

7. M. S. Dhoni

8. Kapil Dev

As far as all rounders go, you can't beat that list. Ravi Shastri swatting the ball for a six after coming in in the 45th over was an awesome sight. Promoting him into the opening slot pretty much killed his slog game in his later years. He was also a useful spinner who could bowl out his 10 overs.

Dhoni's business card should actually read "Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Wicket keeper, Batsman, Slogger". Need I say more? He has got a strike rate of 98.49 and an average of 46.61. Dhoni comes in at No. 7 in my team. Kapil Dev, the allrounder, could easily bat up the order, but he would have to settle for No.  8. 

Full time bowlers

9. Zaheer Khan

10. Javagal Srinath

11. Anil Kumble

The No. 9 slot was a tough fight between Zaheer Khan and Manoj Prabhakar. Manoj Prabhakar at his best was a very good bowler at the death and wasn't bad with the bat either. But for sheer energy and the variety he offers with his left arm pace, Zaheer edges out Manoj Prabhakar for the No. 9 slot.

Srinath would easily grab the No. 10 slot ahead of the likes of Agarkar and Prasad. A lot of people forget that Srinath was the leading wicket taker for India in one dayers until Anil Kumble overtook his record. Bowlers like Chetan Sharma, Roger Binny and Madan Lal shined in the odd game, but they just weren't good and consistent enough to get into my pick.

Kumble, the highest wicket taker for India would get the lone spinners slot, ahead of the only other person challenging him - Harbhajan Singh.

To make up the XV, I would pick 2 other batsmen and 2 bowlers. The 2 batsmen slots would go to Jadeja and Yuvraj. Both very different players, but excellent fielders. Prabhakar and Agarkar would take up the two bowling slots.

So here is my final XV - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Mohammed Azharudin, Ravi Shastri, M. S. Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajit Agarkar.

The XI, I have picked contains 5 bowlers who can bowl all of their 10 overs in addition to the "batting" allrounders such as Tendulkar, Ganguly and Sehwag. In some matches where just 4 bowlers would suffice, we would have the flexibility of bringing in an additional batsman such as Jadeja or Yuvraj in to the XI (who can themselves bowl a few overs).

So who would be the captain? The team is filled with players who have captained India, but my choice would be Ravi Shastri. He has a shrewd cricketing brain, but was never given enough chance to lead India.

-Mahesh-

I would go one step further in this regard.

In terms of overall ODI experience, Team India with a combined total of 2203 games among its World Cup fifteen is only 14 games behind the Sri Lanka team total. Australia is in the third place on this metric. I did not bother looking at other teams since I do not believe they would even come close.

On paper, as a result, India and Sri Lanka are seemingly the most experienced sides in the World Cup. The World Cup is a different beast altogether when compared to a low-intensity ODI game. In these games, as countries like South Africa, New Zealand, and England for that matter, have realized, cumulative experience makes a big difference to the overall end-result. While youth and fitness are important factors in determining victory chances, I do believe big-match experience counts significantly when it comes winning the World Cup.

With the added complexity of uncertain pitches in the West Indies, this World Cup will most certainly be a tournament that is played out as much in the minds as it is on the grounds. India and Sri Lanka are most definitely ahead of the pack.

As a result, I would actually add more to the list of names that Sangakkara has referred to. Players such as Anil Kumble (Sanjay Subrahmanyan and Mohan Krishnamoorthy have already discussed his utility at length), Sourav Ganguly, Marvan Attapattu, Muthiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar are all going to be key figures.

I am predicting that this going to be World Cup for the experienced.

I am predicting that we are going to witness an India v Sri Lanka final.

-Srikanth

	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
1.	Australia	India	New Zealand	West Indies
2.	South Africa	Sri Lanka	England	Pakistan

The reasoning for these standings is that I believe the 8 teams shown above will beat the minnows easily and the real test is the match played between each other. Of these, I think Australia will beat South Africa, India will beat Sri Lanka and so on...

Based on these standings, these are the games India will be playing -

Date	Opponent
March 28	South Africa
April 01	Pakistan
April 04	England
April 12	New Zealand
April 16	Australia
April 18	West Indies

It is interesting to see that if this scenario plays out, India's last game of the Super 8s will be on the 18th of April against the hosts - West Indies. All other teams will have another game to go after that and I hope India would have already qualified by then - rather than wait on the outcome of the next three games, which they will have no control over...

-Mahesh-