India in South Africa, January 2018

[PKBasu]

Ridiculous that Pandya comes in ahead of Dhoni, especially since the latter has form and momentum on his side. Poor batting performance so far: slow! 125/3 after 15 overs.
Awful 16th over: just 5 runs, and one wicket (Dhawan run out by a zinger of a throw from Dala).

[PKBasu]

Just horrible by Dhoni and Pandya: 6 runs off the 16th over in a T20, after 5 in the previous one.

[PKBasu]

172/7 at the end. No real acceleration at the end, but apparently the bowlers will get some help. I hope that's true. Good night.

[prasen9]

Thank god, Dhoni was out. Karthik's hitting at the end made the difference. Dhoni's inconsistency has become maddening!

[Sin Hombre]

Excellent bowling from Bhuvi and Bumrah wins us the match and the series.

[prasen9]

In the series, Kohli and Rohit failed. All other bats did well. On the bowling side, Bhuvi was stellar and the rest were ordinary to bad.

[Sin Hombre]

Biggest positive from the T20 series is Raina's international return.

Going back to the previous discussion about the middle order leading up to WC next year, Raina hopefully will make one of those slots his.

A monster IPL from a Mayank Agarwal or Shubman will hopefully sort out the other.

[prasen9]

Raina can hit. But, we need someone who can hit and play a long-ish innings if we are looking at him as the #4. Or someone who can finish without getting out if we are considering him for #5. Or, someone who can hit and finish and bowl a bit for #6. I doubt he can be a good #4. Now, for a #5 or #6, he may be a decent choice in England. On the bouncy pitches in Aus and RSA, I do not have much faith in him with his technical issues. But, he has done fine in swinging conditions (Eng, NZ) in the past in ODIs. So, perhaps he can be fine.

Also, last time I saw him he had put on some weight. I did not watch the RSA series. Is he still fit and a good fielder?

[PKBasu]

Mayank Agarwal has earned a slot in the LOI squads with his spectacular domestic season in all formats. His form this season has been phenomenal, and he simply cannot be ignored any longer.

[PKBasu]

Raina is right for T20s, where his record is spectacular. But his vulnerability against the short ball is too well known, and makes him less useful in other formats.

[PKBasu]

All said and done, the South Africa tour has proved a triumphant one for India. I only wish that India had played the ODIs and T20Is before the tests rather than at the end. As a traditionalist, nothing can quite compensate for the loss of the test series. That India dominated the ODIs was mild recompense -- but only highlighted the idiocy of jumping into a test series without any acclimation at all.

[prasen9]

Acclimatization or lack of it played a role. But the stupidly idiotic selections where Mumbai's blue-eyed boy was selected over its quieter, classier one played a major role. Bhuvi was dropped. No wrist-spinner was picked. Etc.

[PKBasu]

Raina can hit. But, we need someone who can hit and play a long-ish innings if we are looking at him as the #4. Or someone who can finish without getting out if we are considering him for #5. Or, someone who can hit and finish and bowl a bit for #6. I doubt he can be a good #4. Now, for a #5 or #6, he may be a decent choice in England. On the bouncy pitches in Aus and RSA, I do not have much faith in him with his technical issues. But, he has done fine in swinging conditions (Eng, NZ) in the past in ODIs. So, perhaps he can be fine.

Also, last time I saw him he had put on some weight. I did not watch the RSA series. Is he still fit and a good fielder?

Raina is still a good fielder, but not the electrifying fielder he was when younger. He looks a bit tubby, and his throwing isn't as sharp as it used to be. But he is a very useful bowler, as he showed in the last T20I. So I think he is at least as good a choice as Jadhav for the #6 slot in ODIs -- actually substantially better. Jadhav hasn't shown any real ability to bat outside India.

[Sin Hombre]

@prasen, I would have Raina at 5 in the next ODI squad as things stand.


Squad for T20I series against SL and BD - hopefully Shankar and Pant will get some chances. Bit disappointed to see no Mayank Agarwal though he is a better 50 over player than 20. Would have liked to see Krunal as well.

Out - Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav

In - Washington Sundar, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant

[prasen9]

I would be fine with giving Raina 10 ODIs at #5 to see if he still has it.

We should have another thread for the Nidhas or whatever-ass tournament just for the sake of organization. I am (reluctantly) creating one.