India vs Australia, 3rd Test, Day 3
The 3rd Test is poised similarly to the 2nd after India have just spent the first 2 days grinding the Australian bowlers into the ground. Here are all the gory details from day 2:
Ricky Ponting has captained surprisingly defensive - it's easy to attack when you have Shane Warne bowling at one end and Glenn McGrath at the other. But what does a captain do when he doesn't have two of cricket's best ever bowlers in his attack? Set defensive fields, bowl part timers and remove all pressure off the batsmen, apparently seems to be the answer.
The big question now is how will the Australian batsmen respond? Will the pitch suddenly morph into a raging minefield a la the 2nd Test? Will Kumble exploit the conditions more successfully than Katich, White and Clarke? Hard to see how not. But this will be a good test of Australia's character in this post-Warne era. Fight boys!
| Posted by JC on Fri 31 Oct |  23 comments |
Posted by TA on 2008-10-31 14:49:09
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 16:34:29
Matty is playing beautifully at the moment.
The worry for Aussies is Ishant is bowling at Punter. Will the bunny bite the bullet again?
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 16:48:41
Please, I watched every ball of this test so far live on TV. As Gambhir ran for the first run towards the non-striker's end, Watson clearly put out his right hand in a right-angle position, blocking his way. You can imagine what he was mouthing away. Gambhir responded by elbowing Watson's ribs (no accident that) on his way for the second run. Clearly, a clear tit for tat. Even stevens!
Anyway, much before this elbowing incident, in full view of the camera, Watson said f*** something many a times to Gambhir, and the impotent ICC elite umpires did nothing. But when Gambhir appeared to give back to him after the elbowing, Billy Bowden promptly appeared to prevent Gambhir from going any further. Why not prevent Watson and even Katich later on, from going any further?
Questions which ICC refuses to answer.
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 16:54:38
It is not certain from the footage whether Watson's action was deliberately meant to obstruct Gambhir or not, Mahesh. The same cannot be said for Gambhir's reaction. You will get no disagreement from me though that both players were equally childish. Clearly the Australian team are fed up with Gambhir for two reasons. One is that he is batting like a man possessed and no one can get him out. The other reason is because he has a big mouth which he never shuts on the field. No doubt this incident plus the Afridi incident is a reflection on his character. The Australians cannot complain about the sledging but they certainly have every right to complain about on field violence.
Posted by TA on 2008-10-31 17:11:26
So, in that respect, elbowing is wrong and Gambhir was childish in responding in that fashion.
All the 'f**k' that Watson said to Gambhir was not picked up by the mic, though Bowden and Aleem Dar would have heard very clearly. So he is docked 10%.
But I now hear that Gambhir will miss one Test as penalty for his elbowing. That, I think is unfair. Say, docking 80% would be fair for his physical outburst.
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 17:44:17
They may soon fall asleep since it is only a few minutes after lunch!
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 17:45:43
202-2 !!
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 18:47:40
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 19:08:20
Posted by JC on 2008-10-31 19:12:50
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 19:15:06
What about Punter walking directly to the umpire and non-stop appealing with his finger pointed at the umpire in the last test match when Sehwag was batting?
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 19:23:02
Posted by JC on 2008-10-31 20:01:46
JC - You began this post deploring the lack of attacking bowlers in the current Aussie squad.
Actually, if Lee was bowling up to the mark, that would make a difference. At the other end, Stuart Clark (my fave Aussie bowler at present) has been miserly and attacking. All Indian batsmen without exception (save for the Sachin backfoot cover drive on day 1) played him very carefully. His figures (SR Clark 33 9 69 0 ) tell the story.
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 20:14:24
As for Brett Lee, sure, he's fast and looks dreamy when singing in Bollywood music videos. But he just doesn't take enough wickets.
Posted by JC on 2008-10-31 20:20:05
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 20:42:08
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 21:21:13
Posted by JC on 2008-10-31 21:29:35
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 21:38:08
Posted by Mahesh on 2008-10-31 21:44:54
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 21:54:26
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 21:55:27
Posted by ssukhdial on 2008-10-31 22:03:04
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