[redCherry]

KL has the lowest average (33.87) among top-order batsmen who have played 50+ tests.
In fact Jadeja & Dhoni have better average than him, who is a specialist batsman
His away avg. is only 31, and in Australia it is just 20.7

I can't see why he should still be given more chances at the expense of Sarfaraz. Sarfaraz could/may get exposed in Australia, we'll know only if he's given enough chances.
How can someone be dropped who has just scored 150, who has scored 4500 runs at avg of 70 and strike rate of 70 in First-class cricket?

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

Sarfaraz inspiring very little confidence against pace bowling means KL will be needed in the BGT next month. Do we dent an already insipid KL's confidence or rob Sarfaraz of his very, very well deserved place in the XI?D

Oh, I definitely like that. That would be advantage team India

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

My solution? Drop Kohli to dent his ego and unleash him against the Australians

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by redCherry

How can someone be dropped who has just scored 150

Well, historically Karun Nair was dropped after scoring a 300 to make way for a returning regular player and never got a chance again.

So hope better sense prevails this time round.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

Sarfaraz inspiring very little confidence against pace bowling means KL will be needed in the BGT next month.

With Sarfaraz, his range of unique shots whether they'll work on slightly quicker pitches down under is yet to be seen. Everyone knows KL has the more sound technique but then you also need to score runs! Sarfaraz is worth a try for a few Tests & him batting with Pant will be very interesting.

Drop Kohli to dent his ego and unleash him against the Australians

He's no longer that hot-headed Kohli but its worth a try!

[harry10]

Defensive Captaincy once again by Rohit. NZ could have easily been 4 down in first session if not for gifting easy singles readily since start. I miss Kohli aggressiveness in captaincy.

Spin will win this game. Will have to see which teams.
Ash was fantastic. Playing Washington over Kuldeep made little sense. If they wanted to replace Kuldeep then Axar is the best choice among everyone. Atleast they dropped KL and Siraj rightly.

[AtheK]

This guy Rachin Ravindra loves batting against us and our bowlers seem clueless on how to get him out. New Zealand working towards a good healthy first innings total!! They just won a test after decades, will they break impressive unbeaten run of series victories in India.

Edit: Finally Washington gets him!

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Fx14

Well, historically Karun Nair was dropped after scoring a 300 to make way for a returning regular player and never got a chance again.

So hope better sense prevails this time round.

That is actually not true.
He got 7 more innings after that 300. He made collective some 70-80 runs in those 7 innings. That's why he was dropped. Could have made a comeback if he did well in domestic after that but he has been rubbish in domestic since then.

Whereas Sarfu has been a beast in domestic and now made runs in last test too so he deserves the chances. KL is a lost cause. 33 years old. Temperament when chips are down is worst. 33 Avg in 50 tests for a specialist bat in a country like India is unheard of. Should never be selected again in test team.

Rohit's captaincy has been absolutely rubbish since morning. Last test wasn't an anomaly. Right now NZ is running away with the advantage with only Ash making some dents.

[PPS]

If the pitch is a slow turner, then Bumrah should have been rested this Test! Red soil pitch in Mumbai would anyday be better for a Fast Bowler, offcourse it wouldn't matter if we lose this Test.

Originally Posted by harry10

Defensive Captaincy once again by Rohit.

Rohit's PR game is very strong. Now even acclaimed publication like Espn-Cricinfo have fanboy articles of legacy of Rohit 'rewiring his generation & transforming his multi-faceted team to prioritize winning above everything else'! All this when India under Rohit have lost 3 Tests at home in last 18 months. Now compare that to when Virat was Captain, we lost 2 home tests in some 6yrs!

[NomadSK]

Meanwhile Pakistan on Day-1, around 55 overs mark have used only 4 spinners till now and have shared 6 wickets among them. Waste of new ball though.

Looks like in the past they have made rank turners too which they themselves weren't able to read and played fast bowlers, eventually affecting their losses at home turf and their downfall. I won't be surprised them playing spinners now on fast tracks.

By the way, what happened to their fast bowling prodigy.

[Shumi_21]

A couple of club cricket teammates and I were discussing Rachin Ravindra after a intra-squad 10 over practice match, and one of them pointed out that Rachin like most SENA batsmen likes to play the spinners off the backfoot. The secret to his success so far is that he also sort of steps away and makes room while going back, turning a good length ball into a short of length which he usually cuts or drives through the offside. My team mate also pointed out that Rachin will struggle if he is made to play consistently on the front foot. And that's what exactly happened today. Every time the Indian bowlers challenged his front foot defence, Rachin missed, edged and was uncomfortable in general until he was beautifully set up by Washi.

A word of praise for Sundar too. Bowled a couple of top spinners that don't turn to Rachin forcing him to play the wrong line when the offspinner that turned came. Similarly to Blundell, Washi set him up with a straight one before bowling a ripping off spinner to bowl the NZ keeper through the gate. Sundar has definitely improved his bowling by leaps and bounds since the last time we saw him.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

By the way, what happened to their fast bowling prodigy.

The same thing that happened to their batting prodigy. Tasted initial success against B, C & D teams in the covid era, were hyped way too much on social media by fans, till everything came crashing down by reality.

If only Pakistan had made square turners the previous time England toured them, we would have been spared a lot of Bazball pontificating

[NomadSK]

Rohit & Co - Please no more tail wagging for NZ, last match it was a sore thumb, not again.

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

If only Pakistan had made square turners the previous time England toured them, we would have been spared a lot of Bazball pontificating

Yes that was my point. Probably they made turner tracks and failed to read it correctly, and what we saw was a birth of Bazball.

[PreludeSH]

Sundar is bowling very well. He is more thinking kind of bowler. With his batting also being good technically, he is a better replacement for Ashwin !

[Shumi_21]

Have NZ managed to make friends with Gandalf during the LOTR shoots or something? Right before India bats, there's drizzling and overcast conditions all of a sudden.

Edit: Southee gets one to leave Rohit and the latter is bowled! The ball did seam a little, but Rohit didn't play it all that well.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Sundar is bowling very well. He is more thinking kind of bowler. With his batting also being good technically, he is a better replacement for Ashwin !

With the way Jadeja bowling is losing the edge, he might well replace Jadeja. Sundar played a good hand in the famous win down under as well, so he has experience to perform there too.

Tough call for team management whom to play in Australia. Bumrah, Akash and Siraj (If Shami is not available) are sure starters.

Edit: Walking wicket walks back, his 5th below 10 score in last 7 innings, shameful. Sad captaincy, and equally bad batting. With all attention on KL, everyone forgot that captain himself is not performing.

[rx100]

Originally Posted by harry10

That is actually not true.
He got 7 more innings after that 300. He made collective some 70-80 runs in those 7 innings. That's why he was dropped. Could have made a comeback if he did well in domestic after that but he has been rubbish in domestic since then.

He was indeed made way for Rahane for the one off test against Bangladesh after scoring 300 against England few months before that. He also not featured in the first test against Aussies but played in remaining 3 matches. After the 4 innings against Aussies he never returned to squad.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Edit: Walking wicket walks back, his 5th below 10 score in last 7 innings, shameful. Sad captaincy, and equally bad batting. With all attention on KL, everyone forgot that captain himself is not performing.

Couldn't they have sent in a night watchman? Oh well, another duck.