I think the series will be tight and don't want to predict a winner now, but it should be a very enjoyable summer of cricket. The comments from the Indian fans on Cricinfo are hilarious to read, it's almost akin to English football fans in their massive over-optimism. Claiming that Munaf Patel will tear through the batting line-up - I think Kahn is much more likely to do that!
Although so far at Taunton Strauss seems to be playing him well (that'll curse it!).
Yeah, most of us have a huge over inflated opinion of our team
But that's not very common among the more knowledgeable Indian fans. For example, as I wrote above, Munaf Patel might not even be playing.
Munaf Patel is a very talented cricketer though, that cannot be denied.
It's quite embarrassing to read at times. This also extends to many other areas too...
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@TheCenturion Having no pressure on you makes a big difference though. Also they won the toss, so batting conditions must be good.
Is the match streaming/on TV anywhere?
4 no balls by a spinner is laughable. By that I can tell they aren't taking it very seriously.
Yeah, I don't think it's a very serious match
It's probably more to give match practice to people like Zaheer, Sachin etc who haven't played in a while.
Mishra was having a few problems with no balls in the west indies as well
It's not on TV anywhere, nor is it on any stream
In terms of the toss, I'd say that it's almost always preferable to bat first in the longer format, barring a few exceptional situations.