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I think NZ may gamble with a "Wonderbra" next up...

What have they to lose?

^ Yes Birbal, in fact the NZ coach has pretty much confirmed the same. But the thing is that unless the Kiwis show a lot more discipline in both bowling and batting, they will struggle to compete against this Indian team...on any kind of pitch.

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India's Test record against Australia over last 12 years:

Played 26, Won 10, Lost 10, Drawn 6

Now they have trotted out the excuse of a grass FUNGUS...to change the pitch...

Hhahahaaha... and these were the pitch experts BCCI hired...

But the point is they may put in a DROP-IN pitch at the last minute...which is what the Wonder bras were last time...

But as Max says, this time around it is a BIGGER gamble for NZ to even use Wonder bras...they have no Bond...and India has Zakky, Ishant and Munaf...

According to the followin extract from cr@pinfo, their coach Andy Moles has got into the act.

This seems very illegal. He cannot be allowed to direct pitch preparation efforts.

He has already said that he wants a seaming pitch with sideways movement, and that he does not want a dry pitch which may assist turn.

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Andy Moles, the New Zealand coach who wanted a seaming pitch for the Test after India took the series lead in Hamilton, said the surface had been moved two to three feet so that it now included half the original pitch and half of the adjacent one which was used for the one-day game between the two sides earlier this month.

The pitch was reseeded after the Test against West Indies in December last year and the fungus affected the grass growth.

Blair Furlong, the Central Districts chief executive, said the grass was patchy on the old pitch and the new surface would have an even spread. "It will be a good pitch, it will do something at the start and then flatten out," Furlong was quoted as saying to the Dominion Post. "It certainly won't be a greentop, we don't want a two-day Test."

Yes that is certainly too much interference in the pitch preparation and selection process...

If an Indian coach or captain did that...the ICC would be on them like Flies on Sh.y.te

I call that being desperate.. They have panicked the way Indian team have responded to every challenge they have thrown.. If what Blair says is true, we will have similar pitch to what he had in 1st test...

The farce pertaning the pitch continues.. the curator is laughing his a.r.s.e off at the reports of fungus..

[content.cricinfo.com]

So the only Fungus was in the head of the CI writers...eh?

I guess so.. i bet CI writers' g.a.n.d would be on fire after indian win..

You got it..their GAANDS are on FIRE BIG TIME...

Check out this article by one of the GAANDUS...




Bullish India shed 'conventional' methods

Sidharth Monga in Napier

March 25, 2009


India don't want to breach the line that separates confidence from arrogance, no matter how confident their captain is © AFP




India are on a rampage. Not only are they making a mockery of jinxes that have haunted their cricket for long, they are also breaking long-standing traditions. There aren't many at this point who can argue with them. Virender Sehwag had questioned the utility of a tour game in the country that has caused India so much grief and now MS Dhoni has defied the logic that dictates that a team should reach the venue of a Test match at least two days in advance.

So when the Hamilton Test finished a day early, the Indian team packed off to Auckland - which is more cosmopolitan and more happening - enjoyed its rest there, practised hard for a day and then made it to Napier about 18 hours before the toss. That would have been scandalous in an earlier era or even with many current teams that are very particular about preparations at the actual venue. Not anymore. Not for this victorious Indian side. Teams anyway don't get to train at the McLean Park, they have to use the adjacent Nelson Park. How different can it be from Eden Park?

They could afford to take it easy simply because they have a largely settled team. Ten of them selected themselves going into the series opener and now Munaf Patel has added his name to the list. India had a gruelling session in Auckland and another in Napier. The game and preparation have been broken down to the bare essentials.

"The day before the game, we'll practice, one good hard session, and we're ready for the game," Dhoni said. "Whatever suits the team."

Dhoni took it a step further. "Mentally we are right there. When it comes to the mind it depends on what you're feeding into the mind. The mind doesn't know if it's Napier or what you're feeding. You come and say 'this is Napier', and it believes it's Napier. If you see, it's an abstract. When people say 'he's in form', nobody has seen form. It's a state of mind where you are confident and you think very positively and everything you think about, you think it's very achievable. It's about how you treat the mind. One day here, one day there doesn't really make a difference. Preparation-wise, we are up to the mark."

This will look arrogant to the traditionalists. It also seems a bit strange when the captain comes to discuss a Test match without even taking a look at the pitch. But it is not criminal as long as they win cleanly and with grace.

They did so in Hamilton, stylishly and easily, enough to raise hopes for a first series win in New Zealand since 1967-68. The sense of history will tell them they are in with more than a realistic chance to achieve what was till now regarded as fanciful. Only twice has a visiting Indian side gone into the final Test with the series in the bag. Only twice has it won back-to-back Tests in an overseas series, not counting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. India also sense a first whitewash. The last time they came close in an overseas series was in 1986 against England.

That said, India will also know they will seem incredibly stupid if they let history come back to haunt them. They wouldn't want to breach the line that separates confidence from arrogance. Of the last five times India have taken a lead in an overseas Test series, they have won only twice, not counting Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

But the past, Dhoni said, doesn't matter much to them, much like the traditions which they don't find relevant. "We think more about the small steps rather than having a long look at what we want to achieve. If you look too far ahead, you get a bit relaxed or maybe you don't care about those small things that really matter in achieving the big milestone. We think about series and we break the series into games. And every game is a different game and we start from scratch. So we always think about the small steps."

The next small step is from Nelson Park to McLean Park. And Dhoni promises that India are prepared

The way the article is written you can see that this GAANDU is just ITCHING for India to fail...or stumble...

That's just a weird article.

These people seem unable to produce sensible sports journalism.

Quote:

That said, India will also know they will seem incredibly stupid if they let history come back to haunt them. They wouldn't want to breach the line that separates confidence from arrogance.

Funny how they are willing to call the team "incredibly stupid"...not just foolhardy or unwise...(which they would have used if it was Aus or England they were talking about)... What is confident for Gora teams is Arrogant for India...according to Mongia the Coconut

They are still in denial that Indian team is winning overseas.. infact we have been doing it quite consistently compared to any other team in last decade.. And still we have to win it "graciously" when other teams can win with charging opposing players with racism and claiming catches and believing captain who refuses to walk when there is a nick..

Yeah that part was INSULTING too..but then the whole FRIKKING article is INSULTING...and typical Cr@pinfo...

The coconuts there have to prove their loyalty to the Editorial view point...to earn brownie points... or should we say whitie points...

I don't know why a so-called Indian writer finds it necessary to abuse the team after an overwhelming victory.

Let's say Australia starts a Test series in India with a huge win -- in conditions fairly alien to them -- which writer in their right mind would use the word "incredibly stupid" in a review?

Oh believe me, they will still use the term "incredibly stupid" but not to refer Aussie win but to refer "Indian loss"..