Anuj Jajoo:

Hi Prem,
 
Thats excellent and very real time commentary. But sometimes a mistake is infavour of truth...
"3.81 the ruin rate" -(your commentary at ind 124/4)
Just kidding ;)

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M K Jain:

Hi Prem, Personally and frankly let me tell you that I am very much frustated with the output of Sachin Tendulkar [Images]. Why he is unable to bat properly he know the best. When he is needed he is in pavallion without scoring any significant runs. If you see the record of last 4 ODI, except the one he has returned to pavallion without contributing his due share of runs. In my opinion our team selectors should think twice before selecting Sachin for any future International ODI or test matches. This time too he should be penalised by depriving his 4 ODI match fees and 2 test match fees. It is sheer waste of national money on a player who does not play well at the time of need.

------

Bharath:

Hi,

The treat meted out to saurav ganguly by the indian public is not at all correct. It really speaks volumes of the attitude of Indians who boo their own captain and do not even clap when he hits a four. When somebody is low on confidence, it is our duty as sincere cricket fans to back him when he is on a low.

And lets remember, a batsman who has scored close to 10000 runs , is not a bad player by any stretch of imagination. I would like to add that I am not a great fan of ganguly  myself. But I would not clap when he is declared out by the third umpire.

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R S Rawat:

Is this match fixed ? why dinesh is sent to bat at this stage ? they are playing for a defeat. thay are playing with our money, time & emotions. Shame on these peoples...

------

Royce:

Hi,
Do you think With the kind of spin attack we have, 240-250 could be a winning score? The wicket seems to be getting slower.

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Dev:

Folks,
I can see the score-board reads 205/5 in 45. Any forecast on the total after 50 overs.I guess it will be near around 250. But again is that 250 a respectable total on Kanpur soil.Where as the stats say that the team batting second scores easily.Lets hope Zaheer proves his sharpness again and Kumble apply his engineering techniques to wash oway the likes of Afridi, Inzy n Younis.
Cheers to the Indian Team.Cheers once again to Prem for going short commentry on each ball.............Excellent work Prem.....
Cheers

------

Pritish Narayanan:

Hemang Badani never seems to be in contention these days, despite good domestic performances. Dont you think that he deserves another go? He has proved himself a capable batsman at the death in ODIs, a decent part time spinner, and an excellent fielder. Dinesh Mongia comes into the side time and again and is dropped after lacklustre performances but still the team management seems to back him a lot. Badani's avg is mid 30s, better than Mongia, Kaif or Yuvraj

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Mukund Joglekar:

Prem:
 
you took my 'favourite' comment well.
 
I'm impressed with your intelligent writing.  Fast, under pressure, and still incisive.  Your reporting via the keyboard is a welcome oasis of cricketing intelligence among the wall-to-wall 'human-interest' crap that one sees everywhere else.
 
A suggestion: Won't it save a lot of keystrokes if you addressed balls as, e.g., 'Ball 37.3' ?
 
Keep up the good work.  I'm proud of you.  Can't help  wishing that you were a 100% Indian resident, though...
 
Hell, can't win'm all, what?

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Sudip Gupta:

Mr. Panicker,
 
Good to hear that you think that 245 is a defensible total and that Dravid is batting responsibly though he has scored 69 of some 100 deliveries.I am sure if it was ganguly doing the same thing you would have been going hammer and tongs at the slow run rate due to his slow run rate. Your bias and dislike for the bengal tiger is amazing and extremely disappointing.

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Ravindra:

Hi Prem,

Can u pls pass message to MR Mongia to have through learning process in Cricketing school & have a know abouts of playing slog overs...

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Sunil Laxman:

Hi Prem,

Just like the pakistani's ran like crazy in the last game, Dravid and Kaif have done an excellent job running between the wickets. Kaif is by far the best runner we have in the team, and Dravid is just such a complete player. I really think the rest of the team (especially Shewag and Saurav) need to learn a lot about percentage cricket and running at every opportunity from these two.

Kaif's innings might just have done enough in this match.

Wish i was watching the match here in the states. All i've got is your running commentry, and some live radio webcast. Keep up the good work.

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Atul madhavan:

hi prem
wanted to express my views on the repeated selection of dinesh mongia. dont u think hemang badani deserves a chance? he as we all know is one of the most talented players in the country and has added advantages of being a terrific fielder and a good bowler. The stats show badani had
perfomed better than mongia. and he wsnt dropped from the team, he had to sit out becoz of an injury in domestic cricket. what do u think?

------

Gopinath Amargol

Hi Prem,
Keenly following on both rediff and cricinfo.
It was interesting to see how this pair (Kaif and Dravid) have slowly increased the run rate from around 3.6 to current run rate of 4.4.

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Sivaram Shrikrishnan:

Prem,

Good job .. Thanks a lot..

What's the prognosis.....

230..240... ? Whats a challenging total ?

But you have to give it to Dravid.. I wish I was half as committed as he is at work.

Thanks

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Neeraj S. Bhavani:

Prem,
 
Dravid can really accelerate and slog toward the end. With good support from Kaif a total of 260-270 is not out of reach. This will be a great recovery considering we were 26/3 and 59/4. I am glad Kaif is coming good after a long time. Yuvraj continues to fail.
 
I really hope Ganguly comes back to the team. He should use this break to his advantage. He is clean hitter of the ball and can tear apart the opposition when he returns to form.
 
It is important we win at Kanpur and close series in Delhi 4-2.

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Amol Deshmukh:

Hi Prem,

This is Amol Deshmukh from Australia , Thx for such an comprehensive live commentary , after seeing todays match progress i was just wondering as why we as an team is not performing when we need

Whenever there is a need of big score we collapse , sachin has again disappointed , dont you think that we need to change the way we are playing , players are getting more then enough money and publicity then why they are not able to perform in matches.

Does it also reflects that saurav in unavoidable player of team or the team is not playing intentionally just to show the importance of saurav , some of my friends are also have an opinion that this match is fixed and next match india will win.

Thx

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Sampath:

Hi Prem,

Keep up the good work of commenting on every delivery bowled.

What do you think of the final score? Will India be able to reach 250!!!

Thanks.

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Narendra:

Hi Prem,

Score 195/5 42 overs even 6 runs an over from this point would around 50 runs that will take India to around 250. is it a fighting total?

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Giridhar Golconda:

Hi Prem, Do you hear commentary on cricinfo. That arrogant Anupam Ghulati is irritating, he says they should score 150 runs in last 15 overs. I really donno what to think of him...he is there commenting sinece my child hood and continuing in the same vein. Start some audio commetary
man. we are fed up with these idiots on cricinfo commentart

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Ajeet:

Hi Prem,
 
Thanks for the nice work . I wonder why the team stick with the same batting order knowing  the strenght and weaknesses of it's team member ? Depending upon the pitch and situation why don't they change the batting order to get maximum use of the players. Why don't they play professional game..what is the use of sending Dhoni [Images] at number three in this kind of situation..don't u thing it's wasting of resources..
 
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Vinay:

Prem,

Though Yuvraj has the ability to turn around a match in a short while (a la Afridi), I seriously suspect his temperament for the long haul.

I dont know why Laxman is not considered for the one day version.. he would be the ideal for the no. 3 slot... i believe. In fact, I think
laxman has what it takes to lead the side in over  a period.

Any thoughts on this?

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Ravindra:

Hi Prem,

I feel one the best way India can win this match is to get rid of Afridi early on & control the run flowing in the first 15 over of the match & call off Kumble immdtly in the 10th over itself. Hope Captain Dravid hears it.

All the best for our new Indian Captain.

Regards,

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Debasish:

Hi Prem.

Don't you think Kaif is vastly under rated and under utilized? Can only play a couple of over in usual days, when the top order batsmen playing well and he has to start slogging from ball one, which does not suit him well. I think the batting order should be such that Dravid and Kaif can play in the middle overs, when singles are necessary.

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Aditya Dua:

Is the pitch really hard to bat on, or have the Indians been forced on the back-foot due to the early wickets? Its a vicious circle you know...I guess we'll find out the truth when its Pakistan's turn to bat. I hope India can get Afridi out soon, he is like a bull in a China shop when he gets going, pardon the cliche.

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Srinivas Jonnalagadda:

Prem sahab,
 
I should really shower praises (cannot find the adjectives needed) for the most excellent work that can ever be done on commenting. Probably you should ask one of these TV channels to have you "on line" commenting for TV though only on holidays :).
 
Yesterday you had mentioned that within the 1st 1/2 hour you would or could guess who the eventual winner of the ODI series would be. I am interested to know your thoughts on this.
 
Regards,

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Pratyusha:

Prem

I love you commentary! it's great. well looking at the way India is going, i am afrai the team would have to work hard in the second
innings to win this match. I understand that the pitch is helping a great deal to score runs but what do you think about the strategy the
indian's are applying? Do you think the match is still in our hands?

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Balaji:

Hi Prem,

Has the match been fixed ? Why is Inzamam doing the same "mistake" as Ganguly did on the previous one day ? Is the script made out in such a way, that India wins here and Pakistan win in front of Musharraf in Delhi. And thus they lived happily ever after !!!

kind regards,

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Amit Tiwari:

Prem,

Is the pitch looking so terrible that Indians are not able to play here? What is the safe score do you think? 230 ? Dravid and Kaif are playing a sensible inning but I feel Dravid should increase the momentum little bit otherwise it'll be too late.

Match is happening at my home town so I am very curious and very rarely India loses the match in Kanpur so I am still hopeful!

You are doing really nice job. Hats Off!!

Regards,

------

Dwarkesh Vakharia:

Is Yuvraj worth keeping in the team?  I cant remember a long innings from him in a long time and that too when we need it.  I would have promoted Kaif who seems to be in better form and demoted Dhoni down the line.    With the quality of batsmen Pak has, chasing 225 or 250 would be a breeze (assuming we get there,  I know it is wishful thinking....), .  Unfortunately this is a lost cause. Sorry, Prem, you have to keep reporting such a lousy match where we have no semblance of a chance to win.  Its close to 2am in Eastern US and I am calling it quits,  Good night and keep up the good work Prem.

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Suresh:

Hi,

I want to know the pitch status for 2nd innings? how it will behave? can we depend on the around 225?

with regards,

------

Sridhar Prabhu:

Are you kidding me...?????!!!....you are urging pak on as if they are the ones who are under the gun....are you trying to prove you are neutral ?....heck bring out the nationalism in yourself and talk more about kicking some paki ***

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Kiran Godbole:

Prem,

Looked at the ODI data for last 20 ODIs. And you know what -- Ganguly fares far better than Sehwag, Kaif, Yuvraj. If you take out the last 4 ODIs against Pak,  Ganguly actually almost leads the show, just behind Sachin but ahead of Dravid.

Wonder why there is hue and cry about Ganguly's batting. Is this only about the current series?

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Divij Chopra:

Dear Mr Panicker,

I just had a look at the scorboard, and noticed Iftikar Anjum and Naved-Hasan have just 4 overs between them left. The pair of Dravid and Kaif need to use the overs of the remaining bowlers to the maximum effect. Given the bounce of the wicket, and India's current predicament, what in your opinion would be a competitive total from here?  

I reckon if we can push 220, we can certainly make a match of it, but our bowlers should be taking note of their Pakistan counterpart's actions with respect to wicket to wicket bowling. The Pakistani bowlers have cut down greatly the number of extra deliveries they have bowled, and it will make a difference. We need to show the same discipline.

Warm Regards,

PS: This is the first time I am writing in, but I have been watching many-a-game courtesy Prem Panicker, so thank you, and keep it up.

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Mohan:

Hi Prem,
Can kumble be a dangerous proposition on this pitch given that it is up n down???

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Balaji Ramaswamy:

Prem,

You said you can predict the series score line after 1 hour into today's match. Isn't it 4-2 in favour of Pakistan ?

kind regards,

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Ameya Subhash Naik:

Hi Prem,

You have done a wonderful job typing in a beautiful commentary for each ball. Keep it up. One question about Kaif. Shouldn't he always be playing higher up the order like 4 or 5? He is generally wasted at 7, although he has managed to play some cameo's there, but players like Irfan and Dhoni, are capable of that. Kaif is just too good a team player to be ignored and it will only increase his confidence coming higher up? Do you think he is a future captain?

Thanks,

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Puneet Khunger:

Prem,

Why do you think Dinesh Mongia was chosen ahead of Laxman? I kinda feel Laxman was made a scapegoat by Ganguly coz Ganguly wanted to bat at no.3 and Laxman was most useful in that position and was making it ghis own...I mean, Didnt Laxman have the best average of all Indian ODI batsman last season?

------

Subu:

Why is sachin being still retaned in the team inspite of his repeated failure? is it any kind of 'power' game?

------

Inigo:

Prem, good to see today that all FOURS, LBW, OUT etc are in capital letter...good value addition and improvement.

------

Satheesh:

Look at the way Indians groom a new / rather relatively new youngster.

Score read at :

FoW: 1-10 (Tendulkar, 2.5 ov), 2-11 (Sehwag, 4.3 ov), 3-26 (Dhoni, 6.6 ov), 4-59 (Yuvraj Singh [Images], 16.2 ov).

To bat reads as:
To Bat: Harbhajan Singh [Images], D Mongia, L Balaji, Z Khan, A Kumble.

Ok, if not exactly, he will come maximum, ahead of Harbhajan. Is this the way a reentry should be treated. What kind of support are we giving to Dinesh Mongia. If he does not have the talent
then why even pick him in the squad, forget giving a chance. I can clearly see what is going to happen. Mongia without any partners provided he performs and scores a 20/30, he will happily
be sitting the bench for the coming matches. In the next series, selectors comment would be we discussed the case of Dinesh Mongia, he did not use the opportunity provided to him and so we overlooked him. What the hell is going on and they say grooming for World Cup '07. We all know what role Dinesh played in last world cup. Never ever learn and never ever think. Yet India is a entertaining team in both extremes and thats the reason we are still the (innocent) fans.

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Chandresh:

Hi Panicker,

Read your commentary for the last match. Many thanx from me and my colleagues in office here for being able to follow the matches from our desktops. I know how difficult it could be to give live written/typed commentary given the pace at which the one-day matches go and how boring, uninteresting and tiring it can get BUT please keep up the good work!!! I believe on this sort of pitch where the bounce is low and a difficult batting track, even 230-240 will be a very defendable total. What do you say ?

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Raj:

Prem,
Would a total of 225 be adequate in this pitch?

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Venkatesh:

Dear Prem

I'm a great fan of cricket i have even missed my university exams for cricket. But once i started working things changed i hardly find time to watch cricket. Your commentry really makes me visualize the game and i feel as if im watching it love.Thank you for your service.

My question:

When saurav Ganguly fails for few games the entire worlds starts pulling his leg. But dont you think Sachin is also not contributing and playing as he used to play?

You might say he scored a hundred in the previous game. But to be honest he has scored more hundreds on batting first and when the pressure is less. And not many of his hundreds are match winning ones. Same goes to the previous one day match. If you study the statistics of Ganguly and Sachin you will find saurav has won more games by scoring hundreds than sachin. Also Saurav has scored well even while chasing. Sachin i cant remember one good innings during chase apart from the ones he played in Sharjah. How about finals? Yet again saurav the devastater not sachin his avg is not even over 20 in the finals.

People tend to forget things easily but forgetting sauravs contribution to the Indian cricket is very hurting. let the people look back as when saurav has taken the role of the captain not when India was playing good cricket. he took over from sachin when sachin openly said he cannot continue any more and he has really performed so badly as a captain. There came saurav stood
beside the Indian team developed it slowly and now its as good as any team in this world now.

Saurav is the most devastatic oneday player in the Indaian team. May be Shewagh now taken that position even that case i still feel he is better than most of the others.

I would really appreciate if you put forward your points on these and let the people know facts.

Best Regards

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Vinayak Kini:

Hi Prem,
Maybe its time the popular focus shifted from cricket to any other upcoming sport in the country. Sport should make a person feel enlivened and not depressed like the way the Indian cricketers are making us feel with their pathetic and unpofessional attitude towards this sport. What they don't realise is the depressing impact they are having on 1 billion indian fans... hence maybe its time for these fans to shift their focus to other sports which will be mentally more enlivening and make them more positive...maybe its time for India to shift its focus to tennis or better yet F1. Narain Kartikeyan deserves it and then some more....

"Change is good. You go first".
Dilbert

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Manju:

Prem,

Don't you think Sachin has become highly unpredictable now and almost "non-dependable"?

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Raj Shyam:

Respected Sir

I think we are expecting too much from our tendulkar. I think we should collectively think and give some rest to our aces batsmen.

Please I plead the ICC [Images] to think on this issue and give some rest to our tired batsmen Mr. Tendulkar. Because he is not only involved in Cricket and too much of advertisement where he is not able to concenrate on the one which is thing which brought him in this world of exposure.

Regards

A FAN of Tendulkar

------

Veera Tamu:

1. Whats the point of choosing D Mongia over Sriram who has better credentials overall than Mongia in both batting and bowling?

2. If the captains read the pitch so well then why send Dhoni at one-down. Beats me

3. Green Park has a hopeless pitch. One time India was shot out for 74. Couldnt they find a better place to hold onedayers where the stroke makers in India's line up could fire?

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Debanjan Bhattacharjee:

Prem,
Excellent work in execution by you. Never feel like missing the match anymore.Reading 2 balls a time is quite reasonable as far as considering the scope of the live written commentry.

But the million dollar question, it the same India team which played so well in the past couple of series...i am really suprised.If the specialist batsman compromises their wicket to judge the wicket and thats too the likes of Sewag and Sachin...its too much.But anyway I have a feeling the Indian team is lacking the basic instincts today without DADA not in his chair..Still lets hope the best. May Dravid and Kaif come up with flying colors.....My best wishes for the Indian Team........... n thanks to prem for your splendid work..

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Rahul Joshi:

Hi Prem, what's your view on Dinesh Mongia's selection. I think he was given ample chances earlier but failed to capitalise on them. He technique is definitely questionable. Do the selectors take into account a player's performance in county cricket for National Team selection? Is it fair to the players who prefer to play domestic cricket (Ranaji, Duleep etc trophies)? I would even have gone for Rohan Gavaskar instead of Mongia. Your comments please.

Thanks and Regards

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Yash Jhaveri:

Hi Prem,

Excellent work !!!!!. I do not fell that I am not watching the Live match. your Commentary is as good as watching the Live Match.I just saw the early part of the match and just got the feeling that the a 240 score on this wicket could be a winning one(provided we bowl and field well). What do you say?

Also one suggestion after every bowl please press the Enter Key. Otherwise excellent job . God Bless you.My gut feeling is that we will win the match. What say?

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Kishore JS:

Dear Prem,
 
India 92/4.
 
We are a group of friends in Dubai on our weekly day off, who were planning to have a get together and watch some quality cricket today. Should we?
 
Rgds,
 
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Sriram Somasuntharam:

Hi,
Was it logical to send in Dhoni as Sachin was out? It would have been logical if at least Sehwag was out. Anyway this is not a 300 wicket. So Dhoni who hits through the line would have found it very difficult. And Why do Indians stick to the Batting line up so strictly? Also what is the use of Kaif at no. 6 or no.7 while he is not at all a hitter. He is just as Dravid who can play well at no. 3 or even at no.4. Why do these simple facts don't seem to strike any Indian Captain or for that matter even the coach?

------

Rakesh:
 
Hey Prem
 
any buyers for my optimism- India will make 230, Dravid would get a hundered maybe in 120 balls or so, Kaif would cross 50 and we would win a close match - thanks for ur commentary.
 
cheers

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Arpan:

Prem,

First of all thanks for your effort. Know that is your job, but still much appreciated for your commitment.

I was concerned about the captaincy of Ganguly. Last few months, it seems that innovativeness and good tactical moves were lacking. I felt he has let the game to be drifted other side. Not sure if this is true, but that is my feeling.

Now questions to you, after seeing today's match can you tell about any refreshing changes in Rahul's team handling. I always felt, you should never try to let things happen but if you are losing though try to be in the upper hand. Like Richards more than Border (thanks, Ravi) !

Enjoy your smoke, in control !

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Navin Bishnoi:

Prem, Now since john wright is leaving the job, why don't we promote
Ganguly to be the Indian team coach and let a more suitable person be in
the team. I'm a very big fan of Ganguly but out of form for more than a
year means he needs rest. Michael Bevan [Images] is a same example.

------

Ravi:

My mails don't seem to reach. Taking a chance again Good going on the commentary...

What's your gut feel on the outcome of this match ??

If India is putting up a fight, it is thanks to the team that Saurav has built over the last few years -- no one can take away that from the greatest captain India ever had

Cheers

------

Murali:

As I see the Indian top order fail once again and looking at some of the prescriptions you are giving (eg: Prescription to play on this pitch etc), it almost seems like anyone other than the 11 Indian players can use their common sense better. I can understand if Sehwag does not alter his style of batting based on pitch conditions (he can play only in one mode), but a player like Tendulkar who has so much experience and cricketing brains cannot be excused for throwing his wicket away without settling down. Settling down in the initial overs and accumulating runs (via singles and twos) is the key on this pitch.

I can see only one batsman time and again playing text book cricket and altering his style to suit the conditions and it is Dravid. It is time the players use some of their brains in addition to using their skills for cricket is so much a brain game.

My 0.02 cents worth and I hope we dont loose more wickets at this stage (64/4 of 18).

BTW, thanks for the awesome commentary.. Almost feels like watching the game live.

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Srini:

Hi Prem,
 
It is the wrong thing to do to let a bowler like Arshad Khan look good. Some risks are worth taking occasionally.
 
They have to push 4 to 5 an over till the 40th and then 8 an over in the last 10 to get to 240 which is a minimum. No point making 200
 
------

Debajyoti Bhattacharjee:

Do  you  think  the  pitch  will  ease  up  during  the  second  innings? Do  you  think   on  this  pitch  Anil Kumble [Images]  can  be  very  useful? And  great  job  done  by  you.  I  find  your  commentary  even  better than that  of  Ravi  Shastri  or  Tony  Greig.

Thanks and regards.

------

Dr. Aman:

Prem why to blame Ganguly for bad form see the other Indian bat are they really committed to play longer innings for the country. See the way they all got out. Its really pathetic.

------

Abhilash:

Hello Mr Prem

Why do you think the indian batsmen are struggling. Is the pitch so bad. What do you think is a good total.

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Ganesh:

Hi Prem,
Just wanted to get your thoughts on the rationale behind dropping Irfan Pathan [Images] and picking Agarkar in his place. Pathan is obviously a much better "allrounder" than Agarkar and till not so long ago he was the blue-eyd boy of the selectors. Agreed he hasn't performed all that well in this series but which fast bowler has covered himself with glory anyways?

------

Shakeel Abedi:

Prem
 
I about to pull the remaining few strands of hair from my head.

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Prasath Chandrasekaran:

Hi Prem,

This is Prasad from Sanfrancisco. First up, let me congratulate on the excellent commentary of the ODI series.

Coming to this match, I remember in some of your replies to the other e-mails, you had mentioned that you should be able to predict the winner of the series  30 minutes into this match. The score now is 47/3 and it looks like you have an easy guess. What say you?

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Prasad Adhikari:

Prem,
 
My suggestion to indian dressing room is Instead of blaming on the batsmen now..
 
The right way of attacking is do the bowling with a right attitude that is get the wickets and maintain the line and length.. No wides no short pitch and no extra pace required..
 
This(kanpur) pitch is a complete bowling pitch and better the bowlers on your side and you will win the game. Kumble was a good pick on this pitch.. No chance for harbajhan here..
It has to get from balaji or zaheer.. (although zaheer is not a wicket taker..) The best has to come from all the bowlers..Lot depends on kumble and balaji here noww.
 
------

Anand:

Hi Prem,
 
Sad! After just 4 matches on flat, batsman friendly wickets, it's actually hurting our batsmen in slightly swinging conditions.
 
Don't you think the curators should be allowed to make pitches that bring out the true charachteristics of the venue?
 
Isn't that when a match is a match?
 
All this appeasing the crowd is taking out so much out of cricket and the cricketers!!

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Raghavan Vinjimoore:

This is the difference between India and the Australians -- on our home ground we make the Hondos, Prices, Giles -- all innocuous and not much experienced bowlers -- heroes and make them look unplayable! Look at Arshad Khan -- how many ODIs has he played and how many ODIs Yuvraj, Kaif and Dravid have played; just can't understand the Indian psychie!!

------

Anit Jain:

Few years ago you used to have area for users comments on your commentary screen. I am  listening" to your commentary after long time. Was thinking that it was a good feature.

------

Sundar:

Prem

Let me know what do you think on this.

Dropping Kartik for Harbhajan was wrong

Harbhajan and Kumble as a ODI bowlers are not effective at all these days. Kumble is no more the accurate bowler. Bhajji's inability to get breakthroughs between over# 15-35 has affected India's performance a lot.
Kartik has done very well in ODI format in every match he played. He contains as well as takes wickets. Even in the last match his was the best performance from either side.
So it beats me. The once excuse everyone can says is that there are already too many left arm spinners in the team but still that is invalid as we have now 3 off spinners in the team.

------

Arun:

Hi Prem,
I just can't understand the logic of Viru and Dhoni that without studying the nature of the wicket they tried to play as if there is no tomorrow. Although it is hard to guess for us without being there, but I think both Viru and Dhoni try to achieve the big scores too soon without settling on the wicket. This is irrespopnsible cricket and they must learn that you can't go for a blind shot like this on every ball. I think India is going to lose this one too. By looking at the number of players gone and such a slow run rate the writing is on the wall. Thanks

------

Ajayan:

Prem,

Don't you think it's a foolish decision to bat first here? I believe that when Pak start chasing, the game will be in their control in 1st 15 overs since there would not be any assistance for our fast bowlers! Poor guys are going to be hit everywhere. I was predicting the result as 4-2 in favor of Pak prior to the start of the one dayers. Looks like that is going to be happen. The team coming from behind will show better character at the end. I think we will loose this game as we have decided to bat first.

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Karthik:

Do you think that (ironically) having Ganguly in the team would have worked to our advantage on this sort of pitch?

------

RakSukum:

No worries -Today Dravid would hit a 100 off 120 balls (captain'sknock) well supported by Kiaf at say 45 or so - India would reach 230 - won't it be a fighting total for Kanpur?

------

Kiran Sham:

Prem,
 
Wonderful commentary, I almost feel as if I were watching the game LIVE on TV. One suggestion though; could you pease keep hitting Enter once you finish the commentary for each ball? That gives it more "real time" effect!
After the second match, my friend commented that Pakistan would make it 3-2 and then India would win the final game to draw the series! I didn't care about his words too much initially but now feel that could be true. Somehow want to prove him wrong now :-) and want India to win this and the next match to clinch the series!

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Ashutosh Parekh:

Any thoughts on why agarkar is not chosen. i would think he would be
better the zaheer khan.
 
what do u think ???.

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Vinit:

Prem,

Do you really think pitch is that bad right now and was it good toss to lose for Inzy? Or do you think pitch will be worse in second half?

I think its Friday factor in favour of Pakistan ,.. what do u say:))

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Subbu:

Can you imagine Ganguly batting on this track? that splits me up!
 
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Anand Sharma:

Srinath called it perfectly last evening on Sahara TV when he said that there is always assistance for the fast bowlers in the first hour. After that, he said,the wicket becomes easier to bat on;though the slowness of the wicket means that the ball would stop a bit. So one cannot just pick the line and swing the bat through. It has to be a workman-like approach, concentrating on the singles and on running between the wickets.
 
Perhaps we need Vengsarkar again !
 
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Nitin Bansal:

Just a pointer, In the last match , while the Indians were batting you said the pitch  would inhibit any strokeplay since its on the slower side, which was quite true to an extent from the way things were going on. But how's that the same logic doesn't hold good when Pak (say Afridi was batting).? I mean blasting 40 off 20 balls is trmemdous start by any standards.

Don't you think these external factors - climate, movement, pitch all assume bigger proportions when India goes to play but are meaningless when opposition teams bat. Case in point is - Bangalore test match.

Thanks for you good commentary.

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HS SURESH:

Hi prem, u r doing wonderful job bringing us the views on the pitch and i think , i am not missing the match too much bcoz of ur effective way of describing the match. But, why sehwag and dhoni dont understand the pitch conditions even after the curator has told them yesterday that there is sometyhing in for bowlers at the start.

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Satyen Kulkarni:

Prem,

Good morning to you (not a very good morning if one is an Indian cricket fan).

I think the team took to heart the allegations of match fixing and they want to prove everyone wrong by losing this game as well.

Anyways looking at the positives -- even after losing 3 early wickets, we managed to keep a good scoring rate.

After 26/3 in 7, I would have expected everyone putting the shutters down, but 53/3 in 13 is not bad

I still have a gut feeling that today we would have a fighting win. What say?

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Balaji Ramaswamy:

Hi Prem,

Why are they not taking singles?

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Amish Prajapati:

Hi Prem,

Whats disappointing is that given the conditions, we haven't learnt quick
enough.

Sachin going was fair enough, but surely the management should have figured
it out quick enough after the first 3 overs to realise this wasn't a 'hit
em' pitch!

It took 3 wickets and 7 overs to figure it out. Thats too slow!!!

Great work!!

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Satyen Kulkarni:

Prem,

Good morning to you (not a very good morning if one is an Indian cricket fan).

I think the team took to heart the allegations of match fixing and they want to prove everyone wrong by losing this game as well.

Anyways looking at the positives -- even after losing 3 early wickets, we managed to keep a good scoring rate.

After 26/3 in 7, I would have expected everyone putting the shutters down, but 53/3 in 13 is not bad

I still have a gut feeling that today we would have a fighting win. What say?