Sree, Ashwin and Raina should play : Shaz

Shastri, an expert commentator on a popular TV Channel, was on TV yesterday saying that Ashwin, Sree and Raina should play at Chennai instead of Nehra, Munaf and Kohli.

Raina is an all rounder. Also Ashwin. Sree is anyday better than Nehra. Both Nehra and Munaf are liabilities in the field. Instead of giving one run, Munaf gives two runs as a fielder. Batting will be strengthened by Raina and Ashwin. Give Pathan another chance.

There are outrageous conspiracy theories that the WC schedule has been made to suit India and Pak. In the last WC, India and Pak both made inglorious exits and the WC 07 was a financial disaster. Yesterday, reports from the mighty Eden Gardens suggest that only 2500 tickets were sold, out of 1 lk tickets. The reasons are clear. Yesterday the match was between SA and IRE and Indians were not interested in watching the game.

When India play, the stadiums are full. More than 70% TV viewers are Indians ! Hence India is the Redeemer of cricket and the Organisers cannot be blamed !

Now India after playing in Chennai will be moving over to Ahmedabad, Mohali and Bombay ( unless the Indian Dream Express derails somewhere ) ! The Law states that if the co hosts figure in QF or SF, then the first seeded team should be the host ! India is the first seeded and then only SL and BD come !

Shaz went on to add that it is good that India had committed mistakes in the league matches. It is good that India had not peaked early. This team is enough, said the formidable allrounder, to get WC2011 ! Raina and Sree will bring inspiration to the team with their aggressive attitude. Ashwin had scored 2 centuries and seven fifties in first class cricket. WI has good left handers in Gayle and Darren Bravo ( who is extolled as another Lara ). So India going with off spinners will definitely bring home the bacon.

If you analyse the previous WC winners, they all had southpaws in their batting. So Raina coming in will bolster the batting, as he has scored centuries in all the three formats of the game. Shaz said he will play Pathan for Kohli, even though it is a calculated risk ( Pathan is a pinch hitter. He can either score a century or go for a duck )!

There are 'other' condsiderations. Raina and Ashwin play for Chennai Super Kings in IPL and Chennai, the venue for the Sunday, WI-Ind match is their home ground. Sreeshanth is a Keralite and all Keralites are known as Madrassis in the North. So they will have the home advantage !

SA against the WI opened with Botha and Botha got the prize wicket of Gayle in the first over, caught in the slips. SA against opened with Peterson against England. The move was sucessful as Peterson took both Strauss and Pietersen. Poets and other literary blokes had a good laugh when Peietersen was out to Peterson !

Should Dhoni open with a spinner aginst the mighty WI ? We have offspinners in Ashwin, Bajji and Pathan. Raina can also spin !

Indian fielding will improve with the 'slow in the field' Munaf and Nehra out.

Meanwhile, Sidhu said that now Dhoni is being adamant and this is not a good attitude. One fan from South India opined that the three South Indian players - Ashwin, Sree and Raina - will change India's fortunes !

Meanwhile, Mark Waugh has opined that Australian batting is now ready for WC. Australin bowling is formidable and the only question mark was the batting ( after the loss of Gilchrist and Hayden).

In the last match, the pace attack cannot be criticised. They did not get enough from the spinners.

Mahela has opined that Suspense is moving to the Zenith in the coming matches in Gp B. If Eng win and Ind lose, then they both will be tied at 7 points and then the Net Run Rate will come into play. Eng is struggling for survival. But then their chances are not yet nil. Only if they win against WI, can they hope to enter QF.

Similarly placed are India and WI. The Saturday match between SA and BD and the Sunday match between Ind and WI will be very crucial.

Sl is only aiming for the second place, having lost to Pak. We hope to defeat NZ. If the Kangaroos defeat Pak, there is chance of an Indo Pak match at QF. This will be the most closely fought match in the entire tournament.

From the Indian perspective, India should follow good strategies to get Gayle and Pollard out. Gayle showed weakness against Botha, the offie who opened the bowling. Same way Darren Bravo, the potential Lara, can be trapped. Pollard should be tied down by accurate wicket to wicket bowling and then he will try to hit out or get out and he may give you his wicket on a platter.

From the WI perspective, Kemar Roach should strike first, as Indian batsmen are a bit vulnerable against the short pitched 145 km stuff. Gayle and Pollard should lead in batting.

In the match Ind - SA, Rohini, a favourable star for India, was ruling in the afternoon and India did well, being 267/1. Then suddenly India's Death Star or vadha nakshatra, Mrigasira or Makeeryam took over. The Death Star is the worst star for a nation or individual. India floundered in the Powerplay, players were confused and they panicked. Vital catches were dropped and the last over proved to be Nemesis ! So it was all Fate and human helplessness and let us pardon the Indian performance !

One South Indian fan jocularly remarked that it was North India which lost the match to SA, not South India. Include these three S Indians and see the result !