Deepti Patwardhan, rediff's special correspondent, hosted a chat on how the Lahore match is looking after play on the opening day of the first Test. Below is the transcript:
viren : hiiiiiii
Deepti : Hi. what r u doing on the cricket pitch?
akram : Deepti! Please say Ganguly Zindabad
Deepti : Yes..Ganguly Zindabad! but not sure about the BCCI and the team management..they are the ones who keep on taking embarassing decisions
reena : Do you thing the series with Pakistan would be dull?
Deepti : Dont know about dull but it has taken some time to take off!!
Deepti : If today was an indicator Pakistan will romp through. This was the first day..supposedly good for the bowling side and Indian were not able to make any sort of impression..even the one wicket they got in the morning was a run out!
Shanker : Why did India choose Agarkar, they could have played Jaffer or Gambhir and used Ganguly as an opening bowler....???
Deepti : People are talking about using Ganguly as an opening batsman thats bad enough...think about him opening the bowling in a key series!!
mantu : heloo deeptywhy Zaheer drop ?
Deepti : Because Agarkar and Pathan had did well in the home series..Zaheer is coming after a big break
nani : had to miss the match due to lot of work .........so apart from the score can you someup the day
Deepti : Doesnt the score tell the story in itself..all the Indian bowlers had to show was one wicket..the other was because of a silly run out..and the Pakistan batsmen couldn't have climbed on the Indians better!
Deepti : It was a bit surprising to see Pakistan opting for a dfead track like that..pace would be their biggest strength in the series..and one of India's known weakness
Deepti : Don'nt think so. As Pathan and Agarkar showed there was absolutely nothing in the pitch for the pacers.
Deepti : Hi Jaiho
Deepti : Ya Pakistan stole the show completely today..and India's body language in the last session wasnt encouraging either
sandy : deepti you are very beautiful.i always liked to see shows which you anchors..
Deepti : ????which shows did i anchor
Mogambo : Deepti do you believe Ajit Agarkar is fit to be in a test match sqaud?
Deepti : the biggest problem with agarkar is that he's too erratic for international level
kprabha : deepti why gambhir was droop
Deepti : to accomodate Ganguly..simple
pradeep : What was the cause of such a list less display by Indian team?
Deepti : wish i had an answer for that! ya it was pretty listless considering it was the first day of such a hyped series!
kevinrhyne : hi deepti, kev from australia...is the match worth the hype that media in asian countries create
Deepti : Hi Kev. I think the hype has been more on the media's part..guess the audience is becoming weary of Indo-Pak cricket..the small crowd was an indication enough
kazakhstan : Hello from Kazkhstan. What do you think of the enlarged sight screens?
Deepti : not sure its been done before..but Tendulkar has had that problem earlier and guess Pakistan are very good hosts..actually the sight screen dimensions can be altered by the respective curators
shan : plz reply on this "Are we gonna miss Balaji Zara Dhire Chalo.... magic"
Deepti : sure..there doesnt seem much colour in this series. 2004 was special!
Easwar : What equation would think would be at the end of the series - 3-0??
Deepti : wont go that far..we are only one day into the series
prashant : deepti i am in office i am unable to see the match how was india in field is it like a looser side or side who wanna resist
Deepti : The pitch seemed to have sapped them of any enthusiasm..and taking just two wickets in an entire day can be demoralising
srinivas : Pak looking solid now and they can score aroung 600 if our bowlers won't take any wickets tomarrow morning. And for India , they are goin' to be tough time as they have to face Shoaib and co. What you say???
Deepti : On today's form Pakistan look set to cross 500..i think the true pace of the pitch will be tested with Shoaib comes out to bowl..but remember he was ver successful with the slower ball also against England
Subrat : Hi Deepti, saurav has been included for his experience. Does India lack experienced players? Well I can't find a single inexpeienced player in our side. You comments please.
Deepti : Ganguly's experience is just a shield. Basically they are trying to say you cant drop such a senior person after taking him on tour
pratik : Hi Deepti.......how r u doing today? I m Pratik from sydney. I just wanna know what bowling change did rahul try to break partrnerships?
Deepti : Hi Pratik. No Dravid didn't try to do anything out of the ordinary..it was pretty much the routine stuff..fast bowlers followed by Ganguly followed by the spinners..the field placements were also extremely defensive
Sunny : Hi Deepti, is it right that Indians have short memories ( Regarding ganguly)
Deepti : Hi Sunny. Short memories? We would need a long one to come to the last match-winning knock Ganguly has come up with
riaz1 : why be an hypocrate why cant u face the fact u need him coz he as got u so many victories in the past rather than takin sheild . why dont u remember ur past reply
Deepti : I do remember the past, and probably thats wherer Ganguly belongs. He has done great things for India but we cant play on those for eternity
Devinder : Deepti.. what do you think.... this series is going to be dominated by spinners or pacers??
Deepti : Pakistan has been harpiing about giving India fast tracks..clearly they know thats where their strength lies..but guess the groundsman are not cooperating. This match will be decided by spinners
Unni : Hi deepti,It seems pakistan is very much in the driver's seat.They cannot lose with 500-600 on the board.What should be India's strategy for tomorrow?
Deepti : To get quick wickets..thats the only strategy really..maybe bowl Harbhajan a lot more than they did today
shan : Gambhir haven't done any great work against Sri Lanka and SA... don't you think Wasim also should get enough time and chance to proove himself...
Deepti : enough? he hasnt got any chance in the last two years
pradeep : Why Dravid didn't try Yuvraj to atleast offer some vaiety in attack?
Deepti : True he should have..and not only Yuvraj but Sehwag and Tendulkar also
ashish : hi deepti why should ganguly open when he has probs with pace and short balls and he plays spinners better
Deepti : the question is would Ganguly open
DJAY : DEEPTI JI THIS IS SOURAV GANGULY,WHY DO U THINK I SHOULDNT B IN THE TEM??BOLO BOLO...TELL TELL..
Deepti : its out pleasure to have Ganguly on rediff chat!
abcdefgh : what were the reasons behind such a sluggish pitch for these international matches, when they will realise?
Deepti : When? your guess is as good as mine
anandin : Hi this is Anand from JapanHow was Ganguly's body language in the field today ? Please reply...
Deepti : Hi Anand. Ganguly was looking relatively alert in the field today..helped bowlers with some of the field placings too..
Bilal : Deepti, don't you think that Dravid has not been able to use his bowlers effectively today in Lahore?
Deepti : Yes that was part of the problem
Jaswanth : Hi Deepthi, I think the main problem that our Indians would face in this series is in the bowling department. What do you say?
Deepti : It will be..its been the problem whenever we've toured..not enough to run firepower to run through sides
Rohan : Hi DeeptiDont u think, India was Lacking the agression Which is generally seen in the India Pak matches?
Deepti : It did. i think the whole atmosphere was devoid of an Indo-Pak match
asterix : how come Younis khan always scores against us?!! I never see him score against any other country!
Deepti : He does and Big! three hundreds in four matches! guess he gets all fired up when he sees the Indians..and frankly the bowlers have only fed to his strengths today
ritZ : Who do u reckon is gunna open play for India? Is Dravid gunna have to brave the Rawalpindi express to protect Dada ?
Deepti : He just may. It would be suicidal for India to have Ganguly open..wont do any good to his confidence either
rock : why is dravid so against dada?He bowled decently.He could have used him a lil more and what abt sachin?Why did sachin not turn his arm around?Lousy captaincy from Dravid!
Deepti : i dont think Dravid is against Ganguly..guess he just got into a defensive mode today..trying to restrict the Paksitanis from getting more runs than they did
Prasaant : Is this match will bring any closeness between INDIA & PAKISTAN,IF YES HOW?SAY AS A SPORTSMAN WITH A HUMAN BEING
Deepti : The last tour was an example enough to show that the people dont have a problem with their neighbours..its all a stalemate in the diplomatic circles..i dont think cricket can either make it or break it
bijoymeethal : Lots here, If I say there is a chance for spinner tomorrow and we can expect around 10 wickets, what will be your opinion?
Deepti : Pakistan may be bowleed out tomorrow..we've rarely seen teams doing so well on two successive days of a Test
sachin_IIM CALCUTTA : dont u think, with the listless display today, India's best chance lie with trying for a draw?or can we expect some surprise tomorrow, with blowers blazing all cylinders
Deepti : thats what we'll hope.
Mumbaikar : Hi Deepti...how are you? I think India can win this tour....the Test for sure....whats your call?
Deepti : India definitely can lets not be demoralised after just a day's play!
adimk : as a journalist/ repoter, u shud be neutral to everyone, then why are you so much against ganguly in the public? arent you making a bad use of the power of mass attention that you are getting? so plz stop, dont make such comments on any individual player
Deepti : I am neutral..but thats doesn't mean we should shy away from the facts. I think the BCCI has done more harm to Ganguly by picking him for such a high pressure series..honestly he needed a break from all the talk to get back to his real self
sheetudeep : say something on dravid's and chappel's hidden agenda...
Deepti : its hidden right?
Priti : Hi Deepti...Priti from UK,,do you think they are treating Ganguly with respect and dignity that merits a former captain.
Deepti : Hi Priti. Let me ask you one thing did Ganguly behave as a great former captain by meeting Sharad Pawar to make sure of a place in the Indian side?
senthil : Y V DIDNT WENT WITH ONE MORE SEAMER(IN PLAYIN 11) KNOWING THAT ITS A FULL AND FULL SEAMY TRACK OUT THERE
Deepti : It wasn't a seaming track thats why. The grass was shaved off last evening and a dead wicket was presented..no it looks like India would've done well going in with three spinners!
shan : who will out perform from Indian in 1st Test?
Deepti : My bet on Sehwag and Dravid.
Bilal : Don't you think that India should have played Zaheer Khan instead of Agarkar as he lacked both pace and aggression?
Deepti : Its all good in the hindsight. Agarkar is an aggressive bowler and Zaheer as i said earlier is making a comeback after a long gap
pranand : I dont think one can expect a better performance on the first day of a tour... Y not every body starts off with one dayers first and then proceed with test matches
Deepti : Like what we saw on last tour, the one-days tend to saturate the spectators..
amitsingh_in@rediffmail.com : what do u think pakistan would be looking for their first innings total
Deepti : 530 should put them in comfortable position.
butthead : What went wrong? Or is it just going to be one-inning-each-side-1500-runs-scored-game in the end?
Deepti : India Pakistan matches are never THAT boring..so we may just see a turn around from the Indian team tomorrow.
Deepti : Thanks guys it wa sgreat chatting with you. Will be back tomorrow with hopefully better show from India to talk about!
Chat transcript: Day 2: 'Sehwag will have to be cautious'