Indians batted like school boys’

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar blamed poor technique for India’s dismal show in the Test series in England, saying the tourists looked like a ‘school boys team’.

India went 2-0 down in the four-match series after losing to England by 319 runs on the fourth day at Trent Bridge. Drawn games in the last two matches will enable England to dethrone MS Dhoni’s Indians as the top-ranked Test team.

“India were totally outplayed by England in the second Test so much so that it looked like a contest between a professional team and a school boys team,” said the former opener. “The batting has failed to get to 300 in four innings and the bowling in both Tests has faded away after a bright beginning.

‘Technique missing’

“India’s lower order is just not technically sound enough, and if a player knows he is technically struggling then mentally he stops fighting too,” said Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs. “Not that the top order has shown any great technique, especially the youngsters who plunder millions of runs on Indian pitches getting onto the front foot and then suddenly find that when it comes to overseas pitches and the quicker bowlers, they just don’t know how to play off the back foot.”

Rahul Dravid has looked the best Indian batsman on the tour with two hundreds, while VVS Laxman has made two half-centuries and Sachin Tendulkar one.

‘India needs hunger to win’

India can bounce back in the ongoing four-Test series in England if they get their ‘hunger and intent back’, says former captain and leg-spin great Anil Kumble.

Injuries to key players Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh also added to their woes in the last two Tests at Lord’s and Trent Bridge. Hard-hitting opener Sehwag is set to return for the last two matches, while Gambhir and Zaheer are expected to be fit for the third Test starting at Edgbaston on August 10.

“I am hoping Zaheer, and everyone else in the squad, will be 100 per cent fit,” said Kumble the world’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests. “Sehwag will help for obvious reasons, so I am confident this team can bounce back.

“India are capable of winning the next Test but they have to get that hunger and intent back. The 10-day break, as well as the fact that Sehwag and Gambhir are coming in, will definitely help because the batting will look more settled,” he added.

Sunil Gavaskar

“The guys scoring the runs are those who have honed their technique on the longer version of the game. Others, who destroy bowling where the ball does not come above the waist, are finding how tough Test cricket really is.”

Anil Kumble

“The way we lost hurt more than the loss itself. These are the same players who have taken Indian cricket to such great heights. Sehwag joins the team and even if he fails in the two-day warm-up game he must still play in the next Test.”

news by Express Tribune

Saeed Ajmal 4 Wickets vs Derbyshire (August.4th.2011)

India don't deserve to be No.1 Test side in the world

Thousands of those who saw India's craven surrender at Trent Bridge on Monday will find it hard to believe that this is really the world's No.1 Test team. Actually, it isn't. This team is on top of the heap because of a statistical sleight of hand.

What are the stats? Since October 2008, India have played 11 series before this one, winning eight of them and drawing the other three. That's impressive statistics. But they hide the fact that five of those series wins have come at home and the other three are against Bangladesh, West Indies and New Zealand - the three weakest teams.

India have played South Africa at home and away in this period and only managed drawn series on both occasions. Similarly, they have been unable to get past the Sri Lankans on their home turf.

Still, India were No.1 on the charts. And the England series was the acid test. So, how did the "champions" approach the challenge for the crown? With total lack of preparation, physically and mentally, and without the requisite hunger to remain No. 1. They carried some players with niggles and injuries, and some others, like Harbhajan Singh, by virtue of past reputation.

While India have been without Virender Sehwag, a key player, and have also missed Zaheer Khanand Gautam Gambhir for most of this series, West Indies under Clive Lloyd and the Aussies under Steve Waugh have also missed key players from time to time, but they didn't simply throw in the towel. The truth is that this Indian team doesn't seem to have a champion's strength of character.

The statistical miracle, sadly, is over.

WHY INDIA LOST? 

1. Failure to seize key moments: 

India reduced England to 124/8 in the first innings before letting them reach 221. When they batted, India were firmly in control at 267/4 in the first innings before slumping to 288 all out.

2. Still missing key players: 

With no Sehwag and Gambhir, India were virtually topless in the batting department. Zaheer's absence meant bowling was without its spearhead.

3. Poor application: 

It was not an impossible pitch to bat on but the batsmen, generally, failed to show technical nous to put up a fight.

4. Swing and bounce India's bane: 

Indian batsmen could not cope with the movement and bounce English bowlers extracted from the Trent Bridge pitch. The conditions are vastly different from what they are in India.

5. Quality opposition 

England were a formidable foe who are brimming with all-round strength. To compete with them, India needed to play out of their skin.

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Pakistan looking for reserve pacemen – Mohsin

Pakistan’s chief selector Mohsin Khan has said the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe is an opportunity to blood a few young players in the company of more experienced senior players.
“Zimbabwe cannot be taken l
ightly and our squad was picked with full respect for the opponents,” Mohsin told Pakpassion.net. “There was never any real consideration for sending an entirely experimental squad made up of youngsters and players with little or no international experience. With international cricket not returning to Pakistan yet, we seem to have a reduced number of international fixtures and therefore we have less opportunity to experiment.”
Pakistan have rested their two strike bowlers Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz, opting for a new-look pace attack that includes Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan. Mohsin said Gul and Riaz needed a rest and that Pakistan needed to build a reserve of fast bowlers in any case.
“Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz have been playing constantly in all formats of cricket recently and Umar had a slight injury problem ahead of the tour of the Caribbean. Both Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan have proved to the selectors that they are capable of bowling in all formats of cricket; they have shown that their fitness problems are behind them and they have bowled long spells in domestic cricket without any problems. Both of these boys have shown a great deal of promise in all formats and we felt deserved a recall.”
While some of Pakistan’s cricketers have had a couple of months off after the tour of Ireland, Gul and Riaz have both been playing for counties in England. Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan are both making comebacks to the Pakistan side. Tanvir was last in the squad for the tour of New Zealand early in the year, while Khan has been ignored since he played one test &  four ODIs back in 2008-09.opener Imran Farhat, who has not played for Pakistan since the England tour last summer. Farhat’s return comes after Ahmed Shehzad failed to cement his place in the Pakistan limited-overs side. “We were looking for an outstanding, reliable young opening batsman for the Test arena, but we did not find one for the longer version of cricket,” Mohsin sad. “Imran did not have a good tour of England last year and he was subsequently dropped, but he’s bounced back well in domestic cricket and had a very good season last time around.”Another player making a comeback to the squad is Adnan Akmal is back in the Pak

Mohsin also explained the return of Adnan Akmal for Mohammad Salman in the wicketkeeper’s slot, saying Adnan had actually been the first choice for the West Indies tour as well. He also said Sarfraz Ahmed, who has been named among the reserve players, is very much on the selectors’ radars.
“Adnan was selected, he was our first choice but after some confusion Salman went to the West Indies. That is history now and after a positive meeting with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, that matter was resolved amicably and the confusion cleared up. We also have another bright wicketkeeping prospect in Sarfraz Ahmed who we have named among the standby players.”
While Pakistan have gone in with a new-look bowling attack for the tour, the batting line-up has more familiar faces such as like Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. But Mohsin said the time had come for some of the younger players to prepare to fill the positions Misbah and Younis will vacate when they retire.
“We are trying to create a group of responsible batsmen to back up the experienced batsmen and the likes of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are definitely in that mould. Umar Akmal is another young exciting batsman who I feel has a bright future. The onus now on the selectors is to ensure that we have enough middle-order backup so that when the two senior batsmen do eventually call it a day, then there are able replacements.”
The squad for the Zimbabwe tour includes three uncapped players: Cheema, Rameez Raja and Yasir Shah. Raja’s call-up comes on the back of consistent domestic performance in all formats. He was the leading run-getter in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One last season, and was top of the run charts again during the recent Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup. Mohsin said what also influenced his selection was Raja’s reputation as a lively fielder.
“We felt that the tour of Zimbabwe was the ideal time to give Rameez a chance in international cricket. Rameez is a cricketer who also fields well and this is something that my colleagues in the selection committee and I have really focused upon.”
Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe begins with a two-day practice game starting August 28, and will feature one Test, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.