India v Pakistan - Third Test at Bangalore - Thu 24 to Mon 28 March

[Maranello]

Please post all comments, pre-match views and match analysis here.

I will set the ball rolling by suggesting my ideal Pakistan team. As discussed elsewhere on the board, I would prefer to include Arshad Khan instead of Khalil, and Yasir Hameed instead of Taufiq Umar. A close one between Butt and Hamid, and I am still unsure who to go for; Yasir is marginally ahead in my book, but I am happy to be convinced otherwise.

India do not need to make any changes, seem to have the ideal combination.

[Zainub]

I'd probably bring in Arshad Khan too. But I'll persist with Taufeeq. Hopefully Inzi will win the toss, he's lost the last two. It's going to be his 100th test. So congrats to him. He's is a legend. And certainly one of my most favorite people ever.

[Shaka]

I have a nagging feeling that Taufeeq is better against out and out pace attacks, and he's struggled so far on this tour. It would be a brave decision to back him with many unknowledgable and delirious fans calling for him to be dropped, in a way I would love him to be retained and then score a century to shut them all up. Question marks are there over his form though, and he is under tremendous pressure, whereas Yasir can come in and do well with a carefree approach. I have no objection to him playing but I don't want to see him getting out in his usual sloppy manner. He is a good player with a substandard attitude.

Arshad I have never seen but I am always happy to see a specialist bowler playing, it's unfair to expect much from bowlers like Afridi who will always make an impact but are never likely to be able to bowl with as much control and discipline as dedicated counterparts like Kumble and Harbajhan.

[Maranello]

I agree Shaka, my reasons for suggesting the non-inclusion of Taufiq was not personal dislike. As you know very well, I am one of his staunchest admirers, and still feel that Taufiq is probably our best bet for a quality opening batsman in the long term. However, there is no denying that he is going through a very bad patch; what I don't want is for him to play the third Test and for that to be his last Test ever. I would much rather he was rested for a few games, but still kept in the frame, since sensible batsmen like him and Asim Kamal are quite rare in Pakistan.

[Shaka]

All good players go through a bad patch Maranello, and usually it's the idiot brigade's excuse to jump in with both feet, demanding they get dropped. I've seen it before with Youhanna before he established himself, and even more recently with Inzimam which shows just how ludicrous opinons can get. I think if Pakistan could just stick to their guns and back their players we would see the benefit in the long run. IMO unless a player has a clear technical weakness such as Imran Farhat's penchant for aerial hooking, they should be shown some confidence, especially if they have scored match-winning hundreds in the past.

I haven't actually seen too many of Taufeeq's innings this series so I can't judge whether he's struggling for form or is just unlucky. He can lapse into the odd technical problem but I would expect Woolmer could iron that out. I remember when he was last dropped it was because he was moving across his stumps leaving the leg stump exposed. Strangely he always looks much better abroad against the Brett Lees and Makaya N'tinis than he does against Pathan or Balaji on a slow low track.

[workkey]

hameed and arshad should be drafted in..i have seen arshad playing and let me tell you he is a big turner with the ball and was playing very good cricket when he was in the team but had been left out for saqlain as he was more better then him at that time ...and i have full confidence in my team that they can bounce back..another good news is that shoaib akhtar is feeling very fit as he played a match today...bowled 4 overs without feeling any pain but the selectors are still tight lipped whether to include him for odi:s and also there is news that yasir arrafat,hafeez and rao may be selected for the one day matches

[King Aragorn]

The team seems confident enough of drawing the series 1-1. Inzamam has made it clear that they'll be aggressive in their approach and will go outright for victory. We might not win in the end, but we certainly need to play some positive cricket and put up a good fight till the very end.

The toss, as Zainub pointed out, will be all important. Batting won't be all that hard on the first 3 days but if we can win the toss, bat first and then let our bowlers have a crack at the Indian batting lineup on the 4th/5th day(s), we can potentially secure a win.

Taufeeq Umar was in excellent form when the selectors did him a great injustice. The Taufeeq Umar - Imran Farhat opening combo was flourishing, but thanks to the Pakistani selectors, Taufeeq was shown the exit. I'm hopeful for the future though, because under Woolmer has made it clear that he will stick to a core group of players who can, by gaining more and more experience, succeed at international level.

Taufeeq Umar seems to be low on confidence at the moment. He has been greatly troubled by Balaji in the first two tests. I'm very double minded about his selection tomorrow though. Hameed did very well in Australia and he too deserves a chance. Taufeeq Umar needs to fine tune some little problems and hopefully he'll show all his critics his true worth.

Best of luck to Team Pakistan tomorrow. May Inzi's 100th test turn out to be a success for the whole team.

[Paoli]

Good to see you back King!!!

I hope it is drawn 1-1, it just leaves something more to play for the next time and the next time these 2 sides meet. However, the unfortunate thing for Pakistan is that they have lost Yasir and Afridi and with some stiff resillience from Inzi they are now 2/46

[Shaka]

In the end a fantastic day for Pakistan after a terrible start, thanks to twin centuries from Younis Khan and especially Inzimam who smashed an unbeaten 184 in his 100th test match. The wicket was flat as expected and Inzimam and Younis never looked like being dismissed in a record partenership of 313 runs to date. The decision to drop Taufeeq didn't pay off as Pakistan made a disatrous start with Afridi being caught behind off his first ball, then Yasir Hameed reminding everybody why he was dropped in the first place by swishing to a wide full ball outside his off stump and handing his wicket on a plate. Those of us who were less keen to hunt for scapegoats were left reflecting that Taufeeq even when not in the best of form was able to see of the new ball in 3 of his 4 last innings. While it's never good to see someone fail, especially a talented (although extremely stupid) batsman like Hameed, it might be a good thing in the long run if it teaches the selectors not to buckle at the first sign of pressure from the critics.

In the end though, once again Pakistan find themselves in a position to launch themselves for a really big score. We have been in this position so many times in the past only to let ourselves down recently that it's impossible to count out yet another collapse. This time though, Inzimam is there with his eyes on a double hundred, and crucially we have seen off the second new ball. If Asim Kamal and Yousuf Youhanna can avoid silly mistakes like run outs and join the party, a score of 500 or more is there for the taking. A draw on this pitch is the likely outcome but this game is all about getting the upper hand. Pakistan failed to take their chance in the last one, if they can put up a big score, India will be on the back foot and psychologically that can make all the difference.

[Nikhil]

A great day for Pakistan, specially for Inzimam playing his 100th test. India are far from out of the contest though. They were in similar (perhaps worse) position that this when Aussies amassed 400 runs on the first day in Adelaide. A couple of early wickets tomorrow, specially the one of Inzimam and India will be right back in it.