India vs Australia, 2nd Test, Day 5
I said on Day 3 that I wasn't hitting the panic button just yet. Now on Day 5, I'm jabbing away at the panic button like Mr Burns frantically pressing for security after Homer asked for money to operate on his dog. Obviously, Australia are going to be crushed and crushed big time in the 2nd Test. The big question about Australia's performance - is it a blip or a trend?
In other words, has Australia come back to the field or did they just have a bad game? After the 2005 Ashes loss, many concluded Australia had already come back to the field. The 2006/2007 Ashes whitewash showed that it was more a blip than a trend. Or more accurately, a blip on top of a trend. Has our golden age finally ended?
Anyway, let's see what happens today. Hopefully Australia will muster enough backbone to last till lunch. Batting through the day is extremely unlikely. The cruelest result - Michael Clarke bats through the day then with 9 wickets down, he's dismissed in the last over of the day. Live score courtesy of cricinfo...
| Posted by JC on Tue 21 Oct |  14 comments |
The question is: can Australia last 10 minutes today?
Posted by TA on 2008-10-21 15:15:17
Posted by TA on 2008-10-21 15:15:17
There goes the last wicket. India 1 up.
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-21 16:35:12
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-21 16:35:12
Opposite day!!!!!!!!!!!
'Straya lose, Inds outstanding for the last few days.
Oh, well there ya go - no sour grapes from me, better side won, nay SPANKED my boys - might be the beginning of Dhoni's lads becoming a cricketing force!
Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-10-21 16:35:52
'Straya lose, Inds outstanding for the last few days.
Oh, well there ya go - no sour grapes from me, better side won, nay SPANKED my boys - might be the beginning of Dhoni's lads becoming a cricketing force!
Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-10-21 16:35:52
The cruelest result - Michael Clarke bats through the day then with 9 wickets down, he's dismissed in the last over of the day. Little correction in your comment, Clarke out as 10th wicket but not in the last over of the match.
Posted by postpraveen on 2008-10-21 16:46:52
Posted by postpraveen on 2008-10-21 16:46:52
So that wasn't the last over of the match then PP?
Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-10-21 16:53:12
Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-10-21 16:53:12
Praveen Dude,
JC made the post before the match started & Clark's comment was a Hypothetical situation.
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-21 16:54:08
JC made the post before the match started & Clark's comment was a Hypothetical situation.
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-21 16:54:08
India have a good record at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, and it doesn't appear that the wicket will be as quick as Mohali. I might be stating the obvious, but without a spinner, the Aussies are in really serious trouble.
Well done India, a near perfect game for them. You'd have thought the honours were even on day 1 but the Ganguly-Dhoni partnership was the one that gave India that momentum they never lost throughout the remaining 4 days.
Also we understand that the Australians should have been a bit positive in the 4th innings but it was foolhardy playing utterly reckless shots in the last over before tea. Who knows..maybe along with JC, Hayden and Australia are pressing the panic button too!
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-10-21 19:46:15
Well done India, a near perfect game for them. You'd have thought the honours were even on day 1 but the Ganguly-Dhoni partnership was the one that gave India that momentum they never lost throughout the remaining 4 days.
Also we understand that the Australians should have been a bit positive in the 4th innings but it was foolhardy playing utterly reckless shots in the last over before tea. Who knows..maybe along with JC, Hayden and Australia are pressing the panic button too!
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-10-21 19:46:15
If you lot turn up the Ashes with Cameron White and number one spinner and Shane Watson as fourth seamer you are going to get beaten. How can you go and play a series in India without one frontline spinner?
Posted by The Village Cricketer on 2008-10-21 23:21:54
Posted by The Village Cricketer on 2008-10-21 23:21:54
Well Played India, and this one comes from Aussie Fan (Though I have not remained much of Aussie Fan post Steve Waugh). As I had mentione before the series started and on Day 1 Ponting and company needs to do some sould search, Lack of penetrating bowlers who can bowl the opposition out twice is the call of the day. unfortunately post McGrath, Warne, thats not happening ( Of course McGrath and Warne , never had great record in India).
Firozshah Kotla , will be a snoozefest draw, given the size of stadium (short boundries) and nature of Kotla Pitch, it will be batters paradise. (Remember makeshift opener, Nayan Mongia scored his only career century against a better Aussie team on this ground).
India has shown a lots of "Intent" when they play against Australia and that seems to bring out the best of the team (They revert back to their old ways against other team - Else there is potential to match Australia in 1995-2005)
Posted by unsuidojo on 2008-10-22 00:05:40
Firozshah Kotla , will be a snoozefest draw, given the size of stadium (short boundries) and nature of Kotla Pitch, it will be batters paradise. (Remember makeshift opener, Nayan Mongia scored his only career century against a better Aussie team on this ground).
India has shown a lots of "Intent" when they play against Australia and that seems to bring out the best of the team (They revert back to their old ways against other team - Else there is potential to match Australia in 1995-2005)
Posted by unsuidojo on 2008-10-22 00:05:40
@The Village Cricketer
I know everyone's gonna put the blame on the lack of a quality spinner but remember even greats like Warne and Murulitharan haven't been successful here. Yeah, they may have taken wickets but not at crucial times.
Any non-subcontinental team that has been successful here, won due to their immaculate batting and good pace bowling. The Australians made a mess of their batting in this test match and that cost them. You can't expect a team to score 250 and 200 odd on a Mohali pitch. It's a batsman's paradise.
Then the bowling. Once you are giving away boundaries to Indian batsmen, you shouldn't bother to think of getting them out, cause they won't anyway. Indian batsmen rely heavily on boundaries and once those are stopped, they are known to play extremely stupid shots. So you need bowlers a la Stuart Clark from both ends. Choke the boundaries and the batsmen will do the rest for you.
The next match is in the Kotla. India have won 7 out of the last 7 test matches here. It's a pitch where Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings. There, from day 1 onwards, the bounce is variable, erratic. Temperatures have no upper limit. It's like the mysterious jungles of India that forced Alexander the Great to retreat after some initial hard work. Nothing is predictable here. However, the way the last battle was fought, the outcome is easily predictable.
Posted by zapper on 2008-10-22 00:25:01
I know everyone's gonna put the blame on the lack of a quality spinner but remember even greats like Warne and Murulitharan haven't been successful here. Yeah, they may have taken wickets but not at crucial times.
Any non-subcontinental team that has been successful here, won due to their immaculate batting and good pace bowling. The Australians made a mess of their batting in this test match and that cost them. You can't expect a team to score 250 and 200 odd on a Mohali pitch. It's a batsman's paradise.
Then the bowling. Once you are giving away boundaries to Indian batsmen, you shouldn't bother to think of getting them out, cause they won't anyway. Indian batsmen rely heavily on boundaries and once those are stopped, they are known to play extremely stupid shots. So you need bowlers a la Stuart Clark from both ends. Choke the boundaries and the batsmen will do the rest for you.
The next match is in the Kotla. India have won 7 out of the last 7 test matches here. It's a pitch where Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings. There, from day 1 onwards, the bounce is variable, erratic. Temperatures have no upper limit. It's like the mysterious jungles of India that forced Alexander the Great to retreat after some initial hard work. Nothing is predictable here. However, the way the last battle was fought, the outcome is easily predictable.
Posted by zapper on 2008-10-22 00:25:01
Until India can win 16 tests in a row then they will never be better than our great Australian teams of the last 10 years. It seems in India if you win the toss you more often and not win the match. Australia lost this test in the first session day one by losing the toss. The journo should be cutting our team a bit of slack, especially our bowlers seeing that none of them have bowled in test conditions in india before. Oh yeah one more thing why haven't the indians been more harshly criticised by their unrealistic appealing, poor sportsmanship when given out and conitinual abuse towards the aussies. God help me the journos where quick to jump on us back in the summer here. Come on Aussies
Posted by boonie\ on 2008-10-22 20:14:40
Posted by boonie\ on 2008-10-22 20:14:40
As anyone ever seen a test match where our bowlers have so rarely beating the bat or had close LBW appeals. Gee we need to lift! Also can good old Rudi K please retire! How the blue blazes he didn't refer the "Hit you in the gangules" stumping decision to the third umpy is beyond me! Who knows we might of only lost by 250 runs instead!!
Posted by boonie\ on 2008-10-22 20:20:07
Posted by boonie\ on 2008-10-22 20:20:07
VG&SSUKH Just I mean JC guessed the result correctly except that "he's dismissed in the last over of the day".
Posted by postpraveen on 2008-10-23 19:46:04
Posted by postpraveen on 2008-10-23 19:46:04
Judging from the dynamics of cricket I think that this is the beginning of the Aussies decline. Though i think they will give they Indians a fight, they (Aussies) will not win or draw the current series.
Posted by Criavid on 2008-10-26 04:58:45
Posted by Criavid on 2008-10-26 04:58:45
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