Uthappa comes really good in this innings but still there are few matches before the world cup selection if he performs like this he can confirm his ticket to the world cup.

one swallow doesnt make a summer. all we need is consistency!!

Now that Gambhir has wasted his chance, we should pair up Uthappa with Shewag and ask them to go for gold. Then we pack the batting with Saurav,Sachin, Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni. This will give us fire power until the 50 overs.

And the basis of judgement being what? This one inning? Other than that his domestic record speaks for itself and then his 4 outings in ODIs haven't been bad. So, surely a promise - as everything else starts.

Uthappa's inning serves two purposes. 1. it gives a hint into the bench talent India has and that the selectors are finally drawing on that 2. it serves a reminder to the players in the team to not take their place for granted and spur them to give their best at all times

I think robin is the man of the moment, a player in form although he needs at least two more matches to prove and if he proves it consistently than my first choice openers will be ganguly and robin.That solves opening. Spot 3 is still not decided so lets wait and see.

I feel this can be deemed as a pleasant distraction, but the situation India are IN, it may yet be sill a resolve towards their World Cup campaign!! I think there's no harm in trying Gambhir, Uthappa and Ganguly to find your most stable opening pair in the next few weeks....no matter what kinda pitch. Confidence helps, so who knows!! Atleast these guys wanna belong!!!

India can only have one among Gambhir, Sehwag or Uthappa in their playing eleven (for the World Cup) taking the role of the slam-bang opener. There is no doubt about each of their abilities in doing so. In the end it comes down to who among them can we expect to do the job consistently. That's a difficult question to answer right now.

Yes, it does not solve India's batting problem. Uthhapa will surely fail in big matches because he does not have the necessary technique to score against the likes of Macgrath and Akhtar. In big matches we need Ganguly and Sachin as openers.

Well, There is no doubt that Uthappa has played a peach of an innings today but I relly dont think that he will make it into the final playing 11 in the world cup.Sehwag will be back at some point and even though he has recently been in poor form, he has done well in west indies before with both ball and bat.Yuvraj's return to the team also creates few problems for the indian think tank and if he performs today I am sure he will be picked for the world cup team.....

The problem is that with very few matches left with world cup, if any of the players come good in one-off matches, should they be considered? I think India should get a stable team lined-up instead of experimenting. There's no doubt that odi sides should be younger than what india is stabilising for world cup. However, why didnt we test these players earlier?

I really dont think its a permanent soultion......its just one of those days where in you go in the middle and every shot u play finds the rope.....no need to get pleased abt it....u framed it bang on "A PLEASANT DISTRACTION!"

Uthappa has just managed to confuse everybody. Good innings, but short and also under helpful conditions. But the question is, can he be relied upon as a solid opener, especially in place of Sehwag?

I think everyone wants a place in the Indian squad as the World Cup is coming up!It is indeed pleasant to see someone attacking the opposition which gives an indication to them that the INDIAN TEAM is not complacent about their 2-0 lead.They want to prove a point after their loss to Windies in West Indies. After Ganguly back in the team with some good solid knocks, it really boosts the moral of the team & sets up our preparation well for the big world cup race! Uthappa is good - But a better controlled opener in my opinion is Gautam Gambhir - Lets see how it goes from here!!

Cheers!
Tarun Kumar

He is welcome change and pleasant surprise. He has matured also since his erlier ODI''s and we can expect more from him.

Robin Uthappa's swashbuckling innings today will only add to the selection problem. We have Sehwag in wait for the opener's slot, Ganguly is almost certain for inclusion, then there is Gambhir and now Robin worth a consideration. I believe, dropping down Tendulkar in batting order is a good move for future as we have four candidates in race for the two opening slots. Moreover, experience may prevail over current form in deciding between Sehwag,Gambhir and Robin. Overall, I wouldnot draw a conclusion with just one good innings from Robin. He should be tried in the next match in hopefully under a different situation like batting second and chasing a big total.

It's always encouraging to see somebody new do well - and how! However, it's way too early to assess this as a distraction or otherwise. There are obvious places where he'll be tested (e.g. on bouncier tracks with his eagerness to jump onto the front foot) but these days the argument is - who the hell does play well with bounce around!

Personally I am happier about the fact that it'll probably put some pressure on Sehwag which may shake him out of his slump. Competition seems to work wonder for players in the Indian team. :-)

Its a difficult task for Dravid to choose between, Uthappa & Gambir for the opening slot. Both have proved in couple of occassions (atleast once in this series), but failed to carry on to have a big scores (+100 !). And with Ganguly back in Squad and fighting for opening slot, Shewag will be the worried man. I should say, they should retain all 3 openers for World Cup squad and shuffle based on needs. And Shewag should always come in middle order along with Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Dravid & Karthik/Dhoni/Raina. That will atleast have a better batting line up for World Cup !

I am surprised to see a few comments by readers that it really is not a solution = For all those, i take them to the Domestic season where Uttappa created tremors with his heroic innigs all the time. Those who've talent, bring'em, expose them to international cricket and inturn you will get the desired results - As far as I am concerned, I feel and strongly believe that he is the right person 10 times ahead of Sehwag. Insofar as the world's best combi of Dada v. Sachin is concerned, look at their age (here i am talking keeping the future of indian cricket in mind). Thanks.

Uttappa played brilliantly,in my opinion he should be on the world cup squad,also he a very attacking batsman with very good techquine who is not afraid to come on to the front foot.He is the highest scorer in the Ranji Trophy this year.

I Should suggest the opening pair to be a Right & Left hand combination, to disturb the line of the bowlers. Our latest failures (when Ganguly out of team) was mainly the missing of Left hand batsman to open. Shewag & Dravid opening will help only on few occassions & not always, thats what we have seen ! We should have Uthappa or Shewag to pair with Gambir or Sourav. It also depends on the to oponents opening bowling Pair ! You should adjust accordingly !

Yes, It does solve the issue strategically for World Cup if one would look so & in no way its a pleasant distraction. Remember he scored 90+ on his debut with a good strike rate. Now the strategical scenario is hat 1) Both Rahul & Chappel have given press reports in the past one month about looking to add 'middle order solidity' for the world cup in West
Indies where the pitches would be slow & low. Hence they need middle order bats capable to hit powerful strokes & good running between the wicket to get the opposition on their toes. So they need No.3~6 to provide solidity & excellent run-rate in middle overs of 20~40. They have identified them to be Dravid, Sachin, Yuvraj & Raina/Karthick. These 8 ODI's are the testing ground to fine-tune the same. 2) It leaves the openers slot open for hard-hitting/aggressive stroke players like Uttappa/Gambhir. Still the commonsense says that the openers must be experienced especially for a World Cup, hence it will be Ganguly & Sehwag who also provide bowling variations as an addition. 3) But the over-riding rule being Form & Fitness for all strategy, Uttappa shall be drafted as an opener alongwith Ganguly for Right/Left combination & Sehwag if selected can fill No.6/7 slot depending upon team & pitch factors. 4) Between Uttappa & Gambhir, the former is in terrific form at the moment & has a sehwag-like predictability unlike Gambhir. 5) Also Gambhir is relatively a tested player in the International circuit scrutinsed & sorted out by all many Intl.teams being a test-opener, but Uttappa being new & raw he always brings that 3~6 match unpredictability nullifying the opposition team plan for the openers to start with.
CONSIDERING all above, Uttappa shall surely be flying to West Indies & team up with Ganguly for W.cup., What do you say????

How does a batting friendly pitch like this help towards our prepartion for the World Cup?? We won't get tracks like this in the Windies. Adminstrators please wake up!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, he did play well today, but then this is an absolute beauty for batting. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but it shouldn't count for much as far as a long term solution goes. We do have some more matches to play before the World Cup, so if he does perform consistently, then that would be great.

David

Tendulkar and Sehwag are best options as openers since Ganguly is dangerous at one drop (as shown in a recent 'The List')Utappa wont fit well.Hez an option er the future for now.

We all are short tempered. Tommorrow all news paper will say "India got another Dhoni" etc. And one or two failures will kick Utthappa in never ending darkness. Similarly we talk too much about Tendulkars failure. He is still capable of lot of things and should be made captain of India.

I think, we need solid opener partnership to get a good score on any pitch. Thats what we got either from Uthappa or gambhir or Ganguly.
we have to consider them as openers to have solid foundation in world cup 2007.

I wonder why uthappa was first selected for this series, when the selectors had almost decided with gangully and sehwag, I am sure this is going to be the case. If sehwag not in form gambhir. The selectors are to be blamed for this mess. India will hv a perfect balance if pathan is back in form. If uthappa keeps on performing, its a sorry state for gambhir really, he needs some more time. But the people can understand what int'l cricket is about, they wanted gambir to replace jaffar, if gambhir had failed, its the end of gambhir, and i am sure he would have failed.

These shows are of no use. The world cup Probables (especially the big Guns cannot be axed) and no one would take the responsabllity to make them sit out. so better we keep our finger crossesd and see what the decission the selectors take. One Thing I would say that one or 2 innings cannot prove the worth of a player.

Its been quite long since we saw such an explosive player like Uthappa. He needs to be given a chance or two to prove that he is not a flash in the pan. I am sure he will definitely make it to the 30 World cup probables. Terming him as a pleasant distraction is not approriate. He along with Sehwag( If at all he gets things going his way) would be a great opening pair for the World Cup 2007.

I think we need a good start, which could help for the middle orders, to handle the track like Sehwag and Uthappa. It's very nice to see a good cricket from Uthappa and tracking the score in a good way by little master and dravid.

I think this isnt a pleasant distraction.. this will definitely solve batting problems... Indian selectors are looking for somebody who can replace sehwag's spot in the top and Uthappa clearly sent a message to the selectors that he is up for the challenge. Also this cannot be considered as a flash in the pan because uthappa did well in the chances given earlier. Infact he holds the Indian record for highest score on debut.But before deciding on anything, India should wait for the remaining 5 matches and give him more chance to prove his consistency.

One match wonderers, Ghambir is great example of it.

Okay for the opening combination, we can find a solution here itself - Like Dada & Sachin, we can have Gambhir & Uttappa, the former duo strengthening the middle order, well they have more experience than rest. As far as the latter duo is concerned, well, they are not afraid of their opponents. Come'n rarely we see players in India be such (scroll back to the dance of Sreesanth)

the issue is not whether uthaapa is going to solve the batting problem it is actually about bench strength and healthy competetion among players to get a berth . also about providing rest to players so that they can take up some time to re invent themselves and come back with more creativity.
in this view i feel that uthaapa is definetly an asset (rather than this one innings , his previous outings and domestic record speaks volumes).
in my opinion he is definetly a strong contender for WC along with gambhir , schewag and ganguly. only three / two out of four will be selected . lets wait and watch

Uthappa's innings is more of a revelation and not a distraction. Uthappa seems to have confirmed his air ticket to the Windies and simultaneously a given big wake up call to Sehwag. Our selection committee is still talking about Sehwag's hitting prowess, whereas he has not managed to display his scoring abilities in the last 12 months despite many chances. It's high time players like Uthappa are taken note of and persisted with in the team. May be his inclusion has come a bit late, but it is good to have a rookie like Uthappa, who the world doesnt know much about and he may probably make a name for himself before the likes of Lees and Pollocks figure out how to trouble him (as they have been doing with Sehwag).

Uthappa has finally done something great for his team.This Kind Of soild batting attack we need in every match we play.So from the view it seems that uthappa really wants a place in the world cup.but before that he need to show how much he is capable.this match was just the begining but there are other loads of matches in which he has to perform well and definitely he will find his place in WC.So after all he has done fine today the only word i can describe for him is 'SHABAASH' and keep it up.My Good wishes is always their For INDIAN TEAM.

I think Ganguly and Uthappa would do well as openers. Dravid at 3, Sachin at 4, Yuvraj at 5 and Dhoni/Karthik at 6. Though it would be good to see Laxman back at 7 to rescue India with the tail when then top 6 fail.... hmm, that rhymes!

Robin has proved himself once again( See his SR in entire career). We always enjoy the cricket when we have an opener like Srikant or Afridi. Selectors should give chance to promising young talents to fulfil India's future. Experience also counts.. So we need the right mix of Tendulker, Dravid and Young talents like Yuvaraj and Uthappa...

What do you mean by a pleasant distraction? The innings may have won the series. Not only would that mean India would beat the hosts of the World Cup months beforehand; but they would gain huge momentum and prove that even their fringe players can provide match winning innings.

Dravid and Tendulkar showed too that the established players are using their experience well too.

I think this is a distraction. We should probably go back to the tendulkar, ganguly openning. Thats openning tendulkar gains some form He has had 2 chances today. I do not know how much longer we have to wait. Shewag? His chances look bleak, but if we want to rely on experience then they are sure to chip in for him. So probably no Ghambir or Robin. Uthappa is a very good long term bet, to replace guys like a Shewag.

Yes! Utappa has brought an unexpected but, a pleasant chaos to the Indian batting line-up. If he is to be given a chance in the rest 5 ODIs (including against SL), he should make atleast 3 more 50s to completely eliminate Mr. Shewag's chances for this year. Two 50s can make Ganguly / Gambhir keep biting their respective fingers! One fifty ensures a place in the squad but final selection favours the experienced. Any 3-ducks or less than 10s can leave him as a disappointed member of ignored squad. Further, selectors may give a cold shoulder to him with a logical refrence to WC 2011, and as a member of 30-probables as on this day. Focus on next couple of matches well, Mr. Utappa... please look into the situation of Gambhir to brighten ur chances. All the best!!

It is certainly a problem on whom to pick up for the WC now. All three given chance Ganguly, Gambhir and Uthappa are striving their selection. But I believe Ganguly is almost certain. Then if Sehwag is back then one among Uthappa, Sehwag and Gambhir has to be picked up. Gambhir having failed in two matches will be left out of WC squad.

uthappa has proved to be one of the best openers but as every one said..consistancy will decide who has the lottery to the world cut..his consistancy may decide him opening with sehwag or ganguly.

Uthappa's inning and Shewag's exclusion serves dual reasons . It gives a hint into the talent India has .It also serves a grim reminder to the players in the team that only best can earn place and to give their best of form and not take their place for granted . Tendulkar watch out and u r going to create another grim record of highest ducks by the batsman for the country!Bowling is a really a concern on consistent basis.

Robin has shown time and again that he is a good player. No doubt he has faltered while being agressive at times, but give him his due. He has to get a confirmed slot in the side, Till Sehwag can prove himself. Also India should adopt the policy of taking in form players and not based on past glory. Yes we do need experience but we need to kick the seniors who take their place for granted. ROBIN DESERVES A CHANCE- at least for a couple of games.

Well he is definitely a contender for the opening slot . The innings played was full of good and elagant criketing shots . I think he is a good find . Sehwag has to look out .

I am suprised to see some of them still supports Sehwag, he had done well for India but now all over. Let the young players play for India, otherwise when they will get a chance?. Uthappa had done a great job for India today so the later order also doing fine. I think the best option for opening is Saurav with Uthappa/Gambhir

India's batting performance has disappointed on more than one occassion in the last few series.While Uthappa played a brilliant innings today,i think its too premature to look at him as an opener for the world cup right now.Inspite of the inconsistency Sehwag has shown of late,he is still a proven performer.On his day he is capable of demolishing any international side.For me it has to be Sehwag as the 1st choice.

I am happy that Tendulkar finally played a decent innings. This would really boost his confidence. He also played at a decent pace (SR=90) and this would help India to resolve their middle order conundrum.
As far as the opening slots are concerned, it is nice to finally see 4 capable persons. It would keep pressure on them to perform and hopefully, this would help India to get good starts in world cup. Then dravid and Tendulkar can bat through the middle overs with Yuvraj/dhoni providing the required aggression towards the end. If dhoni gets injured, we have a very capable person to replace him (Karthik)

Robin is one who has taken the few international outings that he has been handed with both hands. A little more exposure and experience and he should be ready for the World Cup. We should open with Robin & Sehwag, pack the middle order with experience and then Dhoni and rest will be more than capable to add to the score. Fingers crossed !!!!! Cheers, Madhu

Uthappa's today's performance doesn't solve india's opening problem.We should focus on permanent solution for indian opening pair.Why don't we try with sachin and sourav which has been the most successful opening pair for over 5 years.

I think based on all the 4 innings he has played so far his batting is far better than that of Raina. India should have Gambhir and Uthappa as openers and have Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Yuvraj bat in the middle order. The team should like
Gambhir
Uthappa
Tendulkar/Ganguly
Dravid
Ganguly/Tendulkar
Yuvraj (if fit) or Dinesh Karthik
Dhoni
Kumble
Powar
Khan
Sreesanth

Those who think Uthappa is not a good option or has confused, are wrong. He was give a chance earlier also and at that time too his score was decent. On the other hand, those who are proven liability on the team are Yuvraj, Sehwag. Tendulkar was an asset, earlier, but from the days he started playing watchfully, he has lost his touch. His defence is not that good. If you see all his videos, he scored heavily when playing fast and furious, and not on a defensive note. In my view, Uthappa and Ganguly are the best opener pair.

Man in form should be always given a chance. So it is Uthappa and definitely not Shewag.
I would go with Ganguly and Uthappa in the opening slot and if Gambhir plays well, he can play at one down...followed by Tendulkar, Dravid. No: 6 is not solid yet...we should get the right pick. We can't have 2 wicket keepers in the playing eleven. We need five bowlers. I would go with Agarkar, his experience will really help. What happened to Munaf Patel?

Uthappa is definitely a good find....only his consistency and temperament has to be seen in the upcoming matches....the following is my team...

Uthappa/Gambhir/Sehwag(whoever performs consistently)
Ganguly
Yuvraj(Needs more time to get into the groove)
Sachin
Rahul
Kaarthik/Dhoni(Depending on the pitch)
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Kumble
Zaheer
Sreesanth/Pathan/Powar(Depending on pitch and weather conditions)