Chat: 'This Test will give India a lot of confidence’

New Delhi: Nishant Arora, Associate Cricket Editor, CNN-IBN, chatted with the readers during the five days of the Banglaore Test between India and Bangalore. He will once again be back on Cricketnext on Thursday, October 16th to to chat with you on the second Test in Mohali.

Here is the transcript of the chat after the fifth day's play in Bangalore.

Umesh: Dear Nishant! In your opinion was it Zaheer and Bhajji, who saved this Test match or was it the rain?

Nishant Arora: I think we must not forget the effort of Zaheer and Bhajji. Just add 42 overs and 100 odd runs to the equation and you can imagine this could have been different ball game all together. To their credit Sachin, Laxman played totally out of character to save the game. But Zaheer and Bhajji have really played their part.

Shashank Jain: Do you think that in the next match Kumble should give chance to Ganguly to bowl as the third seamer?

Nishant Arora: If India is playing with same team, conditions in Mohali will certainly favour his style of bowling. Weather and condition in Mohali always have something for seam bowlers. He can be an option to break partnerships and give breathers to regular bowlers.

Ritwik: Do you think India will tinker with their batting order? Perhaps push Sourav Ganguly to No. 3 as he would feel less pressure?

Nishant Arora: I don’t think so. In an ideal scenario I am fine with this order. Gautam and Veeru both are aggressive players, and after Rahul, even Sachin, VVS and Sourav are strokeplayers. So someone like Dravid brings stability to this line-up.

Ajit: Do you think that Watson is overrated? I think he is over-hyped due to his success in the IPL.

Nishant Arora: No, he is not. He is one of the most talented all-rounders in world cricket today and can change the match with bat or ball. Look at this Test match -- he took crucial wickets and got runs when it mattered the most. He has a role to play in Australian cricket.

Sudheer: What do you think about the next match? Do you think any changes should be made? I think Kumble is in poor form and his captaincy is also not up to the mark, so Dhoni should be made the captain.

Nishant Arora: I think it will entirely depend on the conditions in Mohali and Anil Kumble’s fitness. If Kumble is fit then I don’t see India changing their line up. Although, Mohali has reputation of assisting seamers but I don’t see that happening this time. It will be a hard and dry wicket and spinners will come into play at some stage. Anil just said that he is hoping to be hundred percent fit before Mohali.

Alloutfornoloss: How severe is Kumble's injury?

Nishant Arora: I think it’s a sore shoulder and Kumble is under some treatment. During the presentation ceremony he told Ravi Shastri that he is hoping to be hundred percent fit for the next match. So let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Alloutfornoloss: Do you think India will try to go with three pacers in the next Test match?

Nishant Arora: If Kumble is fit I don’t see India making any changes to the side. And I will repeat again that Kumble said that he is hoping to be hundred percent fit before Mohali. However, they may re-think their stand on dropping Gambhir and asking Dravid to make place for one more seamer in the team. But that won’t happen unless conditions are really in favour of Australia.

Alloutfornoloss: Do you think India could have pushed for a win?

Nishant Arora: How many sides have chased 300 runs on last day on crumbling pitch? I don’t remember many sides doing that. India had an outside chance only if Sehwag had blazed and given India a ballistic start. But the moment Sehwag got out, winning the game was out of question.

Chris: India did have a lot of positives in terms of their bowling as well as lower-order batting in this drawn match. But do you think India should address the negatives urgently, as the middle-order as well as the openers are yet to stamp their authority?

Nishant Arora: Yes they failed in the first innings. But I am very pleased with their effort in second innings. Tendulkar, Laxman, and Ganguly’s effort saved the match for India. I am sure this will give them a lot of confidence. I couldn’t see anything negative about their batting today. They will be used in all given scenarios. If they had lost they would have been rightly critcised. Now they have saved the match, we want them to stamp their authority. Are we not expecting a lot from them?

Chris: Are there any weaknesses in the Australian side which India should work closely on for the second Test?

Nishant Arora: Their spin bowling options are very limited. If India win the toss and put a decent total then Aussies bowling resources will be tested. So that is one area India have an advantage.

ali_ahtesham@hotmail.com: Has Gambhir done justice to his selection?

Nishant Arora: No, not at all. In the last series in Sri Lanka he was one of our best batsmen. He looked good today before that beauty from Johnson crashed his furniture. We need to be bit patient with our players. Young or old -- it doesn’t matter.

Priyanko: Is Kumble next after Ganguly?

Nishant Arora: Looks like....but what is the hurry to know…enjoy as long as it goes.

Utkal: Do you think that experience speaks in itself?

Nishant Arora: I think we must give credit to Indian batting. In the past we never expected them to save or win matches from this situation. And record was also against them. But they batted with lot of patience and grit to save the match. This will them lot of confidence.

Merwin: I honestly think that bad light saved India this match, not because of the time lost but because their main bowlers (Lee, Clark, Johnson) did not get to bowl much because of the light. Clark and White bowled the majority of the overs and made it easier for India. Your opinion?

Nishant Arora: Yes that could have been one of the factors. But India saved the match because of Zaheer and Harbahajan's effort on third day and add to it Laxman and Sachin's efforts also. Don’t forget wicket didn't crumble much and once ball got soft seamers weren't getting any help.

Nav: When is the next match?

Nishant Arora: 17th to 21st Oct in Mohali. Are u coming?

Raghu: What do you think about Sourav’s performance in this Test?

Nishant Arora: Very good. Could have been better. In both the innings he walked in at critical point and did well to score his runs. One must not forget before the start of the match his selection was the most debated and scrutinized. But he did well.

Thanks for all the questions I will be back with you on 16th – the day before the Mohali Test match and then we will chat. Bye for now!!