England Vs India 3rd Test!

[pak4life]

will india go for it or shut up shop like they did against pak last yr and paid for it

 

[UJ]

I think they'll set themsleves up for an assault in the final session tomorrow...if they are still batting by then

 

[Waseem]

England all out for 191 (run rate of 2.06)

It was simply PATHETIC batting from English team, is that what you do after getting 120+ runs lead???????Had they scored at around 4 runs an over, they might have been all out about an hour ago but their lead would have been around 375-400 which was definitely winning score.

 

[b0wld]

I dont understand.... England 1 down in the series... puts up a big score... then bowl india out and get a 127 riuns lead... bat absolutely stupidly, grossingly, pathetically, etc. & then let it all down the drain... i mean wat type of strategy r they applying when they go out to bat in the 2nd innings of any test...

The 3 tests they played in pakistan they were really poor in their 2nd outing.... wat psychological pressure do they hav on themselves ... get get in front & then just wobble it out in a jiffy.... its like he way australians did in the Ashes...can anyone comment

 

[MIG]

Pathan departs.....India opening with a night watchman - total disarray

Indian test match skills are really looking poor right now - in ODIs, India will do much better

 

[Waseem]

Anderson gets Pathan cheaply and now Indians send in Kumble

They pretty much know what Sehwag is capable of in 2nd inning

 

[Daoud]

So whos hiding behind tailenders now...

 

[UJ]

I find that really amusing....Pathan opening the batting..

 

[MIG]

In Karachi (??) Sehwag had an upset stomach ? Whats the excuse now ? This is pathetic - Sehwag is smart - he knows that this is the last test for a while and the Indian selectors and public have short memories - he will be back again in the next test!

 

[Monsee]

So whos hiding behind tailenders now...

Try telling this to Tariq Jamshed and co, who have been calling Inzi/My cowards for not coming in at 3/4 down and instead coming in at 4/5 down

 

[Waseem]

It would have been fun, had india lost another wicket, Sreesanth or Patel would have come to save Sehwag

 

[Big Mac]

Anderson gets Pathan cheaply and now Indians send in Kumble

They pretty much know what Sehwag is capable of in 2nd inning

I imagine the fact he's been off the field all day with a back injury and can't bat higher than 7 might have had just a little bit to do with it.

 

[Monsee]

I think Flintoff missed a trick here...he should have bowled an over or two himself to see if he can get Kumble with the extra bounce he generates and off course his extra pace, and the fact that ball was still Brand New

One more wicket and it would have been a real dilema for India, who to send out?

The tailender Sreesanath or Tailender Tendulkar

 

[James]

All set up for an exciting final day with all 3 results still a possibility. Can't wait!!

 

[Amoeba]

I imagine the fact he's been off the field all day with a back injury and can't bat higher than 7 might have had just a little bit to do with it.

I'm not a fan of Sehwag but some won't let little things like facts and the rules stop them in their criticism of Indians. If anything Dravid should have opened but maybe wanted to show some positive intent. Good move but backfired.

 

[James]

I dont understand.... England 1 down in the series... puts up a big score... then bowl india out and get a 127 riuns lead... bat absolutely stupidly, grossingly, pathetically, etc. & then let it all down the drain... i mean wat type of strategy r they applying when they go out to bat in the 2nd innings of any test...

The 3 tests they played in pakistan they were really poor in their 2nd outing.... wat psychological pressure do they hav on themselves ... get get in front & then just wobble it out in a jiffy.... its like he way australians did in the Ashes...can anyone comment

If England end up winning it will look like the right approach, if England lose or draw then they will get criticised. I am not gonna comment about the slow England batting and Flintoff's patient fifty til the end of the match.

 

[XFactor]

290+ in 90 overs with 9 wickets in hand, that will make a very interesting fifth day..

 

[Amoeba]

Kumble & Dravid have been thorns in England in this series. Get rid of them quickly then they should have enough time to get the rest out. Yuvraj and Dhoni are the only ones who will give the Indians a realistic chance of chasing down the target. If Dravid holds up an end then these two in particular can play around him.

Much will depend on the opening session tomorrow. England need to grab at least 2 wickets - hopefully 3-4.

 

[Monsee]

I have a feeling that India's chase, to realistically overhaul the target, has already started on the wrong foot, with the dismissal of Pathan (One of their more aggressive players)...

if India looses one or two quick wickets early in the day, I am afraid they will try to play for a draw

 

[James]

We need to get Kumble a.s.a.p, then get Dravid before he can play himself in (he has to fail SOMETIME, surely?!)

If that happens I think we will win.

 

[Uzzy]

It was a mistake sending in Pathan and then to follow with another nightwatchman. If Kumble was to go first ball then the next batsman would have been under huge pressure and its evident in the 4th innings, when one wicket falls the rest will tumble.

But it will be great from Englands POV. Kumble does have a tendency to linger around for a while which can be very frustrating for the bowlers. Dravid is the key once he is out then the rest will follow but i dont think Dravid knows what failing is.

 

[James]

If Dravid gets in tomorrow to save the game, or in a much more unlikely case wins the test for India, for me he will have gone past Ponting to be the best batsman in the world.

But I wouldnt mind if Dravid got caught in the slips first ball of course...

 

[Monsee]

It was a mistake sending in Pathan and then to follow with another nightwatchman. If Kumble was to go first ball then the next batsman would have been under huge pressure and its evident in the 4th innings, when one wicket falls the rest will tumble.

But it will be great from Englands POV. Kumble does have a tendency to linger around for a while which can be very frustrating for the bowlers. Dravid is the key once he is out then the rest will follow but i dont think Dravid knows what failing is.

Note: See Karachi 05/06 for an example

 

[James]

Getting Kumble or Jaffer very early tomorow would be a dream start for England, so Dravid will come in while the ball is still new. Who knows what could happen then?

 

[Amoeba]

When Dravid fails India fails. So if England are to win then Dravid has to fail. If he gets anywhere near 58 - his average then you can bet that India willl have almost saved the game.

For me, as I've said many times, technically Dravid is the best batsman in the world. He is also carrying the rest of the lineup as well - one which I have long stated isn't as good as many may think. These last series may have confirmed this to the wider public.

 

[James]

India are overhyped. I have a lot of respect for Kumble and Dravid who are superb cricketers, but lets look at the facts.

They were apparently going to bat us out of 3 straight matches, all the wickets would be from India spinners, England would struggle to take 10 Indian wickets in a match let alone 20, England would lose 3-0 with an innings loss in there for good measure. How much of that has come true?

Tomorrow is a huge day for English cricket but for now I can say that our young team has done us proud.

 

[Amoeba]

What I would say is that England haven't been great in this situation before, where they have to bowl out a team on the fifth day. Old Trafford and Nagpur are recent examples. The reason may be because they lack a world class spinner.

It's time for Panesar to stand up! Go England!

 

[James]

Old Trafford and Nagpur were pitches with a lot less in it for the bowlers than this rather tricky surface. Plus in both cases the captain played a great knock which saved the game. Take the captain out of the equation in both cases and England would have won. So the strategy should be to attack Dravid tomorrow and not let him settle.

I have a feeling tomorrow could be Monty's day

 

[Sheikh_Ji]

Note: See Karachi 05/06 for an example

) ) ) ) )
I need to see highlights of that match again

 

[Oxy]

So Pak fans - what game will you be watching tomorrow? Pak v SL or Eng v Ind???

 

[sehsan]

So Pak fans - what game will you be watching tomorrow? Pak v SL or Eng v Ind???

poochnay wali bat hai koi. It have to be pak vs srilanka and will also keep an eye on the test match. I believe england would win tomm

 

[Rickz]

India needs another 295 runs to winn off 90 overs, it will be hard to come, and England will need 9 wickets to sqaure the series and that will be hard to get.

Tommorow might be a classic as I said earlier, dont write off India if Darvid fails tommorow, they have got other batsmen who can get India to that win.

I think the English media are overconfident, they think England will win tommorow, and they said India have got no chance of winning it, overconfidence sometimes kills.

We will soon find out tommorow who comes out as the winners.

 

[James]

Fletcher said that they had gone out with a plan to score a lot more than they did, and said Flintoff had to change his whole plan for the day when he came out to bat. They hadnt anticipated how difficult the pitch had become.

295 in a day sounds very unlikely. Most runs that have been scored to win a test in 4th innings in Bombay are less than 200, and highest 4th innings ever in Bombay was around the 250 mark (that was in a losing cause)

History favours England.

 

[Amoeba]

Old Trafford and Nagpur were pitches with a lot less in it for the bowlers than this rather tricky surface. Plus in both cases the captain played a great knock which saved the game. Take the captain out of the equation in both cases and England would have won. So the strategy should be to attack Dravid tomorrow and not let him settle.

I have a feeling tomorrow could be Monty's day

I agree about Nagpur but I felt England should have won at Old Trafford. Yes, fantastic knock by punter but Vaughan should have attacked Hayden a lot more early on. Hopefully Flintoff won't be so negative - not in his nature.

As for what I'll be watching - well give me a test over a jamodi any day of the week!

 

[dan hudson]

I worry whether our bowling is good enough to get nine Indian wickets, especially if Dravid stands firm. There's a lot of responsibility on our seamers to get some early wickets as I do not think our spinners are capable of bowling India out.

 

[KaSaNoVa_G]

Sehwag can only bat at number 7 the highest .. because he was off the field for a long time...

 

[James]

I think a draw is the favourite result at the moment. Thats unfortunate because this has been a very hard fought match and it deserves a result.

 

[dan hudson]

At least the 'Flintoff can't play spin' comments can be put to bed once and for all now. His improvement over the past three years has been absolutely incredible. He is now such a well-rounded cricketer whether it be with bat or ball.

 

[Rickz]

Stats favour England to win tommorow, no team in India ( including India) has ever chased done above 276!

Big blow for India, Sachin out of the odi series due to Injury, let hope that he comes back and be fresh and ready for the world cup in 2007 and wins it for India.

India will bat positivly tommorow, Kumble will be hard to getout, he has got the technique to survive out thier and recently Kumble is in good form, I feel Kumble will contribute with the runs tommorow. and only 2 more balls were left but Kumble chose to take the run and what more, he decided to go for a very close second run. So India will come out bat positive tommorow.

I back India to win it, I feel that the slow batting might cost it for England, if they batted a bit faster leaving India 370+ runs to chase then it might have been game over for India.

Bhajji bowled terrific today, like the old Bhajji I know.

I feel Sehwag will come out good tommorow batting in the middle-order, altough his normal spot is the opening spot, I feel he bats better in the middle-order, he has done it before and done well.

 

[dan hudson]

I back India to win it, I feel that the slow batting might cost it for England, if they batted a bit faster leaving India 370+ runs to chase then it might have been game over for India.

I think they were forced to bat defensively due to the loss of five early wickets.

 

[James]

Definitely. He has been by far our best batsman in this series, in fact only batsman that has been better from either team is Dravid, and I dont think Flintoff will mind that Dravid is averaging more than him. If he stays in this resposible yet powerful mindset, Flintoff can become a truly world class batsman! The natural talent has always been there, he just needed to turn it into consistent run-scoring and he has now.

Flintoffs last 5 innings are 43, 70, 51, 50, 50. Thats an average of well over 50. He got a bad decision in Nagpur and got himself out in Mohali and Bombay, thats the onyl reasons he has got out.

 

[Rickz]

I think they were forced to bat defensively due to the loss of five early wickets.

They might have, but I feel that they would have put it beyond India if they batted faster.

It was a good day for India, but England has still got the upperhand.

 

[dan hudson]

They might have, but I feel that they would have put it beyond India if they batted faster.

And they might also have been bowled out for a low score allowing India to become favourites of winning the game.

I think the day worked out pretty well for England in the end.

 

[Rickz]

And they might also have been bowled out for a low score allowing India to become favourites of winning the game.

I think the day worked out pretty well for England in the end.

Fair enough.......Flintoff had 4 lives!

 

[Team Slayer]

Freddy's showing his class yet again. What a fantastic player this guy is turning out to be. I expect some fantastic bowling from him tomorrow as well.

Disappointed (overall) with England's batting. I didn't watch the entire day (only 1st hour and bits of last hour) but they should have accelerated IMO at some point in time. I feel that now they might possibly run out of time. The wickets of Kumble, Dravid and Sehwag are crucial. Kumble Dravid are the ones who can deny England the win, whereas Sehwag can take the game away from them (even with his poor form).

 

[dan hudson]

As soon as Flintoff tried to accelerate he hit a six and then got stumped...

 

[James]

Like I said Fletcher and Flintoff were shocked when they recognised how tricky the pitch had become. Read Fletchers post-day comments, he said they had to change their plans completely, which tells me there was gonna be some happy slogging otherwise.

If England win then todays performance will look like the compltely right way to bat. Don't condemn them yet.

 

[Rickz]

I'v read Fletchers post-day comments, Flintoff done the right thing by batting with the situation.

 

[Rob H]

Hoepfully the pitch really cracks up. We need some disciplined and ruthless bowling tomorrow. Hoggard and Flintoff are the key men. Hopeufully we can win to get a famous draw there.
Who do you lot think will win? All my Indian friends are convinced they'll get home with on 2 or 3 wickets down.

 

[Easa]

Hoepfully the pitch really cracks up. We need some disciplined and ruthless bowling tomorrow. Hoggard and Flintoff are the key men. Hopeufully we can win to get a famous draw there.
Who do you lot think will win? All my Indian friends are convinced they'll get home with on 2 or 3 wickets down.

England win.

 

[zushy_786]

Hoepfully the pitch really cracks up. We need some disciplined and ruthless bowling tomorrow. Hoggard and Flintoff are the key men. Hopeufully we can win to get a famous draw there.
Who do you lot think will win? All my Indian friends are convinced they'll get home with on 2 or 3 wickets down.

I reckon if England can get at least 4-6 wickets down before mid-lunch session, they have a good chance of winning.....Otherwise I see it heading for another draw....

 

[sehsan]

Hoepfully the pitch really cracks up. We need some disciplined and ruthless bowling tomorrow. Hoggard and Flintoff are the key men. Hopeufully we can win to get a famous draw there.
Who do you lot think will win? All my Indian friends are convinced they'll get home with on 2 or 3 wickets down.

I doubt india can win this one. I really think england can win just after tea

 

[GQ]

Excellent effort by the English players. India will rely on Dravid as usual. If England can get him out, the rest of the wickets will fall. If Dravid stays, India will go for the draw and not a win. English bowlers are capable of taking 10 Indian wickets and anything can happen tomorrow. Go England!

 

[floatingslip]

Could not be a better opporutnity for Tendulkar to play a match winning innings in a test match - lets see how this unfolds.

 

[Monsee]

Could not be a better opporutnity for Tendulkar to play a match winning innings in a test match - lets see how this unfolds.

Yeah that would be a unique first for a man with a 16 year old career

 

[James]

I am glad Flintoff gave Anderson the new ball in the end. I feel that Anderson can be a good bowler throughout the innings, but is especially good opening. Him and Hoggard at either end tomorrow morning with swinging new ball could be a killer.

Also without Flintoff bringing himself on to open the bowling, he can conserve his energy for old ball bursts later on, will be especially effective if some reverse swing gets going.

 

[Rickz]

It will be hard for India to get 295 runs tommorow, but I am thinking positive, the Indians have lost a lot of matches in the last innings, and inside a day.

England will have got thier work cut out, they have probs made plan A to plan E to certain players.

I think even if Dravid gets out early, we can still win, we have got the players to take us thier.

We are in for a classic.

 

[ZM]

england will win inshallah
never supported india in my life and never intend to
plus india are good at crumbling under pressure

 

[Easa]

India 33/3, the Litttle Maestro in.

 

[Easa]

Jaffer out lbw to Flintoff, latest wicket:

Flintoff to Jaffer, out Lbw!! That pitched just outside off, nipped back in, Jaffer tried to block it but hit the pad first, Taufel upheld a big shout by the England players, big wicket for England W Jaffer lbw b A Flintoff 10(57) 4s-1 6s-0

 

[Monsee]

Battle of the Kachuu Kuumaas startes:

The Slow Wall vs the Squatting Wonder (fresh off his 4.76 Strike Rate)

Who will win

 

[Monsee]

24.6 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run, nicely turned away off the pads but the ball goes straight to the fielder at short fine leg, Panesar starts off with a decent over

24.5 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run, tossed up on the stumps, defended stretching well forward, ball rolls away on the leg side

24.4 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run, bit wide outside the off stump, Tendulkar gets a good stride forward and shoulder arms, ball clips the pad and rolls away behind the stumps on the off side

24.3 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run, good delivery on the stumps, driven straight back to the bowler

24.2 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run

24.1 Panesar to Tendulkar, no run




The guy bowls a Maiden OVER to the supposed World's Best Player and he gets the due credit by cricinfo person "Panesar starts off with a decent over "

 

[b0wld]

do u guyz agree that nowadays ravid has become very SLOWW in scoring Runs... i mean he;s the most tastless batsman in test cricket.... Deano (Dean Jones) got so fed up o him tht he said that when Dravid comes to bat he comes with a desk & all the paperwork he has to do for the month..

 

[Monsee]

do u guyz agree that nowadays ravid has become very SLOWW in scoring Runs... i mean he;s the most tastless batsman in test cricket.... Deano (Dean Jones) got so fed up o him tht he said that when Dravid comes to bat he comes with a desk & all the paperwork he has to do for the month..

Nice comment Deano

 

[Easa]

Tendu and Dravid gone,

76-5

Big trouble.

 

[Easa]

Sehwag in.

 

[Easa]

Udal got Sachin, Freddie took care of the wall.

 

[Rickz]

India are in trouble @ 77-5, Sachin was looking good but got out, our chances of winning looks slim now.

 

[the true passionist]

India are in trouble @ 77-5, Sachin was looking good but got out, our chances of winning looks slim now.

Yuyraj will have to play a typical Yuyraj knock...he is the only Indian hope...Sehwag and Dhoni would wilt....

But India will do great job to save the test from here on.

 

[Rickz]

Sehwag gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Daddy]

playa, still the best batting lineup ?

they have collapsed twice when it mattered most. once against pakistan and now against england?

 

[SOLAR]

Sehwag out

 

[SOLAR]

in the ground

 

[sneekysneeky]

chokers

 

[Rickz]

I dont think they am, no.

England should win from here, but I wonder what will Dravid say to his decision to bowl first.

Indias 2nd innings callpase hunted them again.

1-1 draw cant be bad.

 

[Hash]

my cricinfo for the India Eng game has crashed. Is this the same with everyone?

Why does cricinfo always seem to crash when India are being humiliated?

 

[SOLAR]

i thought sehwag was batting when he got out

 

[SOLAR]

Where is dhoni when u don't need him?

 

[Big Daddy]

I dont think they am, no.

England should win from here, but I wonder what will Dravid say to his decision to bowl first.

Indias 2nd innings callpase hunted them again.

1-1 draw cant be bad.

how is 1-1 not a bad result

for one half the england team is injured

india were already 1-0 up

india won the toss , chose to bowl God knows why

then to collapse twice.

but at the end of the day, the indians fans will agree its the number 2 team still

 

[Monsee]

Playa, I see your Maharaj did save the game for India...AGAIN