India is back to cricket after a gap of 1 month while Sri Lanka have been playing some cricket recently. Sri Lanka started this year with a test series against Bangladesh. And then they took part in a tri-series with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for 3 ODIs. SL won all of the 3 series.
India will want to maintain their dominance while the Sri Lankans will certainly be making every effort to take revenge for their 3-2 loss in the ODI series at home against India in Sep'08.
If either team wants to win, the following players are going to hold a lot of the responsibility...
India:
Virender Sehwag - Gautam Gambhir:
This opening duo has been in sparkling form and have given excellent starts most of the times. The opening stands by this pair are important for the series result to go India's way. Sachin may open the innings with Sehwag while Gambhir comes at No.3 . In any case the performance by both of these players will be important for the team.
Zaheer-Ishant :
Both these bowlers are on roll. They have made invaluable contributions in India's wins recently. They are capable of performing in any conditions and early breakthroughs by these bowlers will be important for India to win.
The middle order is strong with Dhoni, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina. India are without Harbhajan which may give some advantage to Sri Lanka. It is now a good chance for Ravindra Jadeja and Ojha to prove themselves.
Sri Lanka:
Dilshan : Dilshan has been in good form in recent times and his promotion to opening slot against Pakistan worked wonders for Sri Lanka. Dilshan has been a crucial part in Sri Lanka's wins in the recent times. His innings will be an important one for Sri Lanka.
Mendis-Muralitharan : The spin duo has to strike to turn the series in Sri Lanka's favour. Most of the Indian batsmen struggled to face Mendis in India's tour to Sri Lanka last year and in Asia cup. Their attack from both the ends can worry Indian batsmen and help Sri Lanka gain some advantage. Sri Lanka is strong in spin department as India is without their main spinner Harbhajan.
The main worry for Sri Lanka is the form of their captain, Mahela Jayawardena. He did not have a great tour against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Coming to the pace bowling..Nuwan Kulasekara has been in good form..He is the No.2 bowler in ICC ODI Rankings..
I am eagerly waiting for Mendis vs Sehwag..it will be a cracker of contest....
My playing XI(India): Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Ojha, Munaf Patel.
Showing posts with label gambhir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gambhir. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Was the selection good?
Indian selectors, on Jan 18th, announced the squad that tours Sri Lanka in Jan-Feb 09. Out of Ravindra Jadeja, Pujara, Rahane and D Kulakarni who performed well in recently concluded Ranji Trophy, only Jadeja earned a place in the 15-member Indian squad. Dhoni, Sehwag, Sachin, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj, Zaheer and Ishant are sure selections.
It's a little unfortunate that Kohli wasn't selected despite his good performance. Badrinath is another unlucky one. He lacks the support to perform..Although he had given chances, he did not get a chance to bat most of the times.
Pathan brothers, Raina, Ojha and Munaf have retained their place. Praveen Kumar, who was left out for ODI series against England, has been recalled. A hamstring injury had ruled out Harbhajan Singh's selection.
I am eagerly waiting to see Uthappa back in the team who has been in good form..
The lineup is good but there are some questions to be answered.
Harbhajan was fit during the 2nd test against England and he hasn't played a match after that test. How and when was he injured?
Why are there two left-arm spinners in the squad? There is no right arm spinner in the squad. Either Piyush Chawla or Amit Mishra should have been selected.
Dhaval kulkarni could have been given a chance. He was the highest wicket taker along with Jadeja in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He should have been selected ahead of Irfan Pathan/Praveen.
Why is Praveen selected as extra seamer? Why wasn't he selected for ODI series against England if he is considered a quality bowler?
Jadeja has been awesome at domestic level..let's see how he performs at international level....
It's a little unfortunate that Kohli wasn't selected despite his good performance. Badrinath is another unlucky one. He lacks the support to perform..Although he had given chances, he did not get a chance to bat most of the times.
Pathan brothers, Raina, Ojha and Munaf have retained their place. Praveen Kumar, who was left out for ODI series against England, has been recalled. A hamstring injury had ruled out Harbhajan Singh's selection.
I am eagerly waiting to see Uthappa back in the team who has been in good form..
The lineup is good but there are some questions to be answered.
Harbhajan was fit during the 2nd test against England and he hasn't played a match after that test. How and when was he injured?
Why are there two left-arm spinners in the squad? There is no right arm spinner in the squad. Either Piyush Chawla or Amit Mishra should have been selected.
Dhaval kulkarni could have been given a chance. He was the highest wicket taker along with Jadeja in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He should have been selected ahead of Irfan Pathan/Praveen.
Why is Praveen selected as extra seamer? Why wasn't he selected for ODI series against England if he is considered a quality bowler?
Jadeja has been awesome at domestic level..let's see how he performs at international level....
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A great year for cricket
The year 2008 will be remembered in cricket history forever... 2008 is the beginning of the end of an era of Australia's domination in the world cricket. 2008 brought a new life to test cricket. India and South Africa are the stars in 2008. Both these teams are the strong contenders for the top spot in test cricket.
IPL was a great success... "We don't even watch one day cricket...then how can we watch test cricket....the future is Twenty20 cricket's"....This is what we have been hearing recently...All the cricket fans, former players, cricket analysts.....everyone who is attached to cricket have been saying just one thing..."Test cricket is in danger"...
But the two test match results, at the end of 2008, in a span of a week gave a new life to test cricket....one is the first test between India and England Chennai in December, and the second one is the first test between Australia and South Africa at Perth in December...And also out of 46 test matches that took place in 2008, 35 matches got the results which shows that test cricket has gained some speed.
And the year ended on Australia losing a test series to South Africa, at home, after 16 years..
The performances of teams in 2008.
India: No doubt 2008 will remain as a wonderful year in India cricket. Dhoni took on the test captaincy and now he is the captain of team India in all formats of the game. There are so many unforgettable moments like test series win against Australia in India, CB series win, test and ODI series win against England, IPL etc.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan and Dhoni's captaincy took India to great heights.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar and Laxman crossed 1000 runs in tests in a calender year..The year marked the end of an era with Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble bidding adieu to international cricket.
South Africa: South Africa is on a roll under Smith's captaincy. SA won 11 of their 15 test matches played in 2008. SA has been very consistent in all the formats of the game. Smith is the leading run scorer in tests in 2008 with 1656 runs in 15 test matches. Amla also crossed 100 runs in tests in 2008. Steyn is the leading wicket taker in tests in 2008. SA has got a new talent in the form of Duminy. De Villiers has been in good touch..If they continue this form, they will surely be No.1 in all formats..
Australia: 2008 is the year Australia don't want to remember. 2008 marked the end of an era of Australia's dominance. Australia's great wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist retired in 2008 after CB series. The effect of the retirement of McGrath and Warne was completely visible on the team's performance. Australia lost to India and SA in successive test series at the end of the year. The form of their top order batsmen like Hayden, Ponting and Hussey has been their main concern. Bowling department is also looking weak with no one, except Johnson, performing well. Retaining Ashes is their main focus in 2009.
Sri Lanka: Mendis is SL's new weapon. Asia cup win was their biggest win in 2008. The team was not up to the mark in a series with Zimbabwe. With Mendis and Murlai in the bowling department, and Jayawardena, Sangakkara, Dilshan in batting department, SL looks ahead for a great future.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming retired after the test match against England in Napier. Except Vettori and McCullum no other player performed well for New Zealand. New Zealand has many new players. It will take a little time before they all adjust. NZ got mixed results in 2008.
England: After England lost the four match series against South Africa, captain Michael Vaughan stepped down from the captaincy. England appointed Kevin Pietersen as their new captain. England's whole concentration has been on Ashes. England won the hearts of many people by coming to India and play the test series after Mumbai blasts. Pietersen was their star in 2008 with Flintoff, Strauss, Collingwood performing consistently. Stuart Broad is a rising talent. England's bowling department is also good with Sidebottom, Anderson and Harmison.
West Indies: The form of West Indies was very bad. They won only one test match in 2008. The team depends a lot on Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul.
Pakistan: 2008 is a worst year in Pakistan's cricket. Pak did not played even a single test. They played some ODIs and won many matches but all of them came against weak teams. Pak is pleading other teams to come and play in Pak. Neutral venues seems to be the only option for Pakistan. Pakistan's great player Mohammad Yousuf joined ICL. It was a big shock to Pak. Aisf was accused of using drugs in IPL and banned from all formats of cricket.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh cricket was under shock when 14 of their cricketers joined ICL. But with many other youngsters like Shakib-ul-Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mortaza, the team performed well under the captaincy of Ashraful. But the results were not satisfying. On a whole, their performance improved a little bit.
Smith, Sehwag, Gambhir, Steyn and Mendis were the stars of 2008.
Hoping for a much more exciting cricket in 2009...
IPL was a great success... "We don't even watch one day cricket...then how can we watch test cricket....the future is Twenty20 cricket's"....This is what we have been hearing recently...All the cricket fans, former players, cricket analysts.....everyone who is attached to cricket have been saying just one thing..."Test cricket is in danger"...
But the two test match results, at the end of 2008, in a span of a week gave a new life to test cricket....one is the first test between India and England Chennai in December, and the second one is the first test between Australia and South Africa at Perth in December...And also out of 46 test matches that took place in 2008, 35 matches got the results which shows that test cricket has gained some speed.
And the year ended on Australia losing a test series to South Africa, at home, after 16 years..
The performances of teams in 2008.
India: No doubt 2008 will remain as a wonderful year in India cricket. Dhoni took on the test captaincy and now he is the captain of team India in all formats of the game. There are so many unforgettable moments like test series win against Australia in India, CB series win, test and ODI series win against England, IPL etc.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan and Dhoni's captaincy took India to great heights.. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar and Laxman crossed 1000 runs in tests in a calender year..The year marked the end of an era with Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble bidding adieu to international cricket.
South Africa: South Africa is on a roll under Smith's captaincy. SA won 11 of their 15 test matches played in 2008. SA has been very consistent in all the formats of the game. Smith is the leading run scorer in tests in 2008 with 1656 runs in 15 test matches. Amla also crossed 100 runs in tests in 2008. Steyn is the leading wicket taker in tests in 2008. SA has got a new talent in the form of Duminy. De Villiers has been in good touch..If they continue this form, they will surely be No.1 in all formats..
Australia: 2008 is the year Australia don't want to remember. 2008 marked the end of an era of Australia's dominance. Australia's great wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist retired in 2008 after CB series. The effect of the retirement of McGrath and Warne was completely visible on the team's performance. Australia lost to India and SA in successive test series at the end of the year. The form of their top order batsmen like Hayden, Ponting and Hussey has been their main concern. Bowling department is also looking weak with no one, except Johnson, performing well. Retaining Ashes is their main focus in 2009.
Sri Lanka: Mendis is SL's new weapon. Asia cup win was their biggest win in 2008. The team was not up to the mark in a series with Zimbabwe. With Mendis and Murlai in the bowling department, and Jayawardena, Sangakkara, Dilshan in batting department, SL looks ahead for a great future.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming retired after the test match against England in Napier. Except Vettori and McCullum no other player performed well for New Zealand. New Zealand has many new players. It will take a little time before they all adjust. NZ got mixed results in 2008.
England: After England lost the four match series against South Africa, captain Michael Vaughan stepped down from the captaincy. England appointed Kevin Pietersen as their new captain. England's whole concentration has been on Ashes. England won the hearts of many people by coming to India and play the test series after Mumbai blasts. Pietersen was their star in 2008 with Flintoff, Strauss, Collingwood performing consistently. Stuart Broad is a rising talent. England's bowling department is also good with Sidebottom, Anderson and Harmison.
West Indies: The form of West Indies was very bad. They won only one test match in 2008. The team depends a lot on Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul.
Pakistan: 2008 is a worst year in Pakistan's cricket. Pak did not played even a single test. They played some ODIs and won many matches but all of them came against weak teams. Pak is pleading other teams to come and play in Pak. Neutral venues seems to be the only option for Pakistan. Pakistan's great player Mohammad Yousuf joined ICL. It was a big shock to Pak. Aisf was accused of using drugs in IPL and banned from all formats of cricket.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh cricket was under shock when 14 of their cricketers joined ICL. But with many other youngsters like Shakib-ul-Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mortaza, the team performed well under the captaincy of Ashraful. But the results were not satisfying. On a whole, their performance improved a little bit.
Smith, Sehwag, Gambhir, Steyn and Mendis were the stars of 2008.
Hoping for a much more exciting cricket in 2009...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Advantage India
Just 3 days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India is ready to take on England.
India has the destructive opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir (M Vijay as back up opener) compared to England's Ian Bell and Matt Prior (A Cook as back p opener).
Both teams have a good pace attack. England has no quality/experienced spinner while India has got Bhajji.
Both teams have strong middle-order. England's middle order has players like Pietersen, Flintoff, Collingwood, Bopara and Owais Shah while India has Rohit Sharma, Raina, Dhoni, Kohli and Yuvraj.
The teams are almost equal in terms of their batting, bowling and fielding.
But India is mentally strong after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0 while England goes into the series after thet were humiliated by Mumbai Cricket Association XI in the 2nd practice match and Stanford Super Stars in the Stanford Twenty 20 match.
India has clearly an edge over England.
It will be interesting to see how the new powerplay rules are going to effect the game.
India has the destructive opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir (M Vijay as back up opener) compared to England's Ian Bell and Matt Prior (A Cook as back p opener).
Both teams have a good pace attack. England has no quality/experienced spinner while India has got Bhajji.
Both teams have strong middle-order. England's middle order has players like Pietersen, Flintoff, Collingwood, Bopara and Owais Shah while India has Rohit Sharma, Raina, Dhoni, Kohli and Yuvraj.
The teams are almost equal in terms of their batting, bowling and fielding.
But India is mentally strong after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0 while England goes into the series after thet were humiliated by Mumbai Cricket Association XI in the 2nd practice match and Stanford Super Stars in the Stanford Twenty 20 match.
India has clearly an edge over England.
It will be interesting to see how the new powerplay rules are going to effect the game.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 Review
India created a history yesterday by regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India is on its way to the No.1 spot in test cricket. It was not just one or two individuals who made this historic series win possible but a perfect team effort from India. Australia was outclassed in all the departments.
This series has seen two great Indian cricket legends retire, the wall cracking, master breaking the world record, Australians struggling in all the departments, Ishant evolving as one of the best bowlers in the world, Ponting under fire, and many more....
This is a sincere effort to review this entertaining series....
India:
Opening: Sehwag and Gambhir proved they are the best opening pair. They have been very consistent and they provided excellent starts in this series. The left-right combination also gone well with this pair. The understanding between these two is amazing. They played an important role in putting up big totals by scoring the runs quickly. Vijay, who played last test match in place of Gambhir, also gave India good starts with Sehwag.
Rating: 4.5/5
Middle Order: No doubt India has got the outstanding middle-order with players like Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid and Dhoni. They all were upto their mark except Dravid who has to forget this series( in terms of his performance) as soon as possible. Sachin and Laxman came up with excellent innings at times they needed. Ganguly played well in his last test series. Dhoni too came up with good innings when the team was in trouble. This series is a disaster for Dravid in terms of batting and fielding. He dropped a few simple catches.
Rating: 4/5
Pace Bowling: This was the major difference between the two teams in the series. Everyone thought that Indian pitches are not suitable for the pace bowlers. The job of pace bowlers is to make the ball old, give it to the spinners and let the spinners do the rest. But Zaheer and Ishant proved it wrong. They made good use of reverse-swing. Australian batsmen struggled against these two bowlers. They have taken 26 wickets together.
Rating: 4.75/5
Spin Bowling: On Indian pitches, spinners have been threat to the visitors. This time it was not all their show though they contributed much to the series win. Anil Kumble was struggling in the first test and did not play the second test. He came back for the third test and yet he was not effective. He finally announced his retirement after he was injured during the third test. Amit Mishra, who replaced Kumble for the second and fourth tests and Harbhajan for the third test, was a hit on his debut match. But he had to fight hard in the third test. He came up with a good performance at an important time in the last test. Harbhajan was quite beautiful with his bowling. Actually he played an all-rounder role in this series. Sehwag too tried his hand at bowling and bowled well to take 5 wickets in the third test.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fielding: Indian fielders missed a few simple catches. Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni and Ishant missed many catches among them. Had Ishant taken the catch of Clarke in the third test, we would have won the series 3-0. Viajy did excellent to run out Hussey, Hayden while Mishra did well to run out Ponting. On a whole, fielding is a bit disappointment. Fielding standards are average and India should concentrate on this.
Rating: 3/5
Captaincy: Dhoni has already evolved as a successful captain in the shorter versions of the game. He is now the captain for India in all forms of the game after Anil Kumble announced his retirement during the third test. Dhoni had taken a very timely and wise decisions in the series (2nd and 4th tests) and India won both of them. Both Kumble and Dhoni were successful in inspiring the team. They came up with a plan and executed their plan to perfection without mistakes.
Rating: 4.25/5
Australia:
Opening: Hayden struggled through out the series, especially against Zaheer. He did well in the last match but could not win the match for Aussies. Katich was consistent throughout the series. But these openers failed to give good starts for Australia.
Rating: 3.5/5
Middle Order: With the batsmen like Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, Watson and Haddin at the middle of the order, one would expect big partnerships among these batsmen. But that was never the case in this series. Hussey was impressive. Clarke made a century which helped them to draw the third test. Watson was OK... Haddin was a big disappointment with the bat and behind the stumps.
Rating: 3.25/5
Pace Bowling: The fast bowlers had a lean time. If I had to pick one bowler from Australia who bowled quite well in this series, I would prefer Shane Watson. Watson bowled beautifully in the last test match. Mitchell Johnson bowled well and is the leading wicket taker for Australia in this series. Lee and Stuart Clark were average. The weakness of Australian bowlers was exposed when they could not break the partnership between Harbhajan and Zaheer in the first innings of the first test.
Rating: 2.75/5
Spin Bowling: Australia struggled through out the series with their spin department. Krejza was very impressive in his debut match. He was smart and patient. White, Clarke and Katich were the other spinners who were below average.
Rating: 2.75/5
Fielding: Fielding was good except for a few occasions where they dropped some catches. Haddin was not good behind the stumps. He gave away many byes.
Rating: 4/5
Captaincy: Ponting never looked like a captain he used to be. A captain has to lead his team from the front. Except for a century in the first test, he did not play a big innings. His tactics in the last test match, where he used his part time bowlers instead of pace bowlers, raised questions over his captaincy. Instead of trying to win the test match, he was afraid of his ban because of slow over-rate and used his part-time bowlers. He could not inspire his team in this series.
Rating: 3.5/5
India has to be consistent in order to be the No.1 in the test cricket... But with this hectic schedule, India need to protect its players from injuries by rotating the players which would otherwise be an obstacle for its aim to be No.1... India has a great bench strength in the form of many youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Vijay, Munaf RP Singh, Irfan Pathan etc...Use them wisely and protect the players...
Congratulations and all the best India....
This series has seen two great Indian cricket legends retire, the wall cracking, master breaking the world record, Australians struggling in all the departments, Ishant evolving as one of the best bowlers in the world, Ponting under fire, and many more....
This is a sincere effort to review this entertaining series....
India:
Opening: Sehwag and Gambhir proved they are the best opening pair. They have been very consistent and they provided excellent starts in this series. The left-right combination also gone well with this pair. The understanding between these two is amazing. They played an important role in putting up big totals by scoring the runs quickly. Vijay, who played last test match in place of Gambhir, also gave India good starts with Sehwag.
Rating: 4.5/5
Middle Order: No doubt India has got the outstanding middle-order with players like Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid and Dhoni. They all were upto their mark except Dravid who has to forget this series( in terms of his performance) as soon as possible. Sachin and Laxman came up with excellent innings at times they needed. Ganguly played well in his last test series. Dhoni too came up with good innings when the team was in trouble. This series is a disaster for Dravid in terms of batting and fielding. He dropped a few simple catches.
Rating: 4/5
Pace Bowling: This was the major difference between the two teams in the series. Everyone thought that Indian pitches are not suitable for the pace bowlers. The job of pace bowlers is to make the ball old, give it to the spinners and let the spinners do the rest. But Zaheer and Ishant proved it wrong. They made good use of reverse-swing. Australian batsmen struggled against these two bowlers. They have taken 26 wickets together.
Rating: 4.75/5
Spin Bowling: On Indian pitches, spinners have been threat to the visitors. This time it was not all their show though they contributed much to the series win. Anil Kumble was struggling in the first test and did not play the second test. He came back for the third test and yet he was not effective. He finally announced his retirement after he was injured during the third test. Amit Mishra, who replaced Kumble for the second and fourth tests and Harbhajan for the third test, was a hit on his debut match. But he had to fight hard in the third test. He came up with a good performance at an important time in the last test. Harbhajan was quite beautiful with his bowling. Actually he played an all-rounder role in this series. Sehwag too tried his hand at bowling and bowled well to take 5 wickets in the third test.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fielding: Indian fielders missed a few simple catches. Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni and Ishant missed many catches among them. Had Ishant taken the catch of Clarke in the third test, we would have won the series 3-0. Viajy did excellent to run out Hussey, Hayden while Mishra did well to run out Ponting. On a whole, fielding is a bit disappointment. Fielding standards are average and India should concentrate on this.
Rating: 3/5
Captaincy: Dhoni has already evolved as a successful captain in the shorter versions of the game. He is now the captain for India in all forms of the game after Anil Kumble announced his retirement during the third test. Dhoni had taken a very timely and wise decisions in the series (2nd and 4th tests) and India won both of them. Both Kumble and Dhoni were successful in inspiring the team. They came up with a plan and executed their plan to perfection without mistakes.
Rating: 4.25/5
Australia:
Opening: Hayden struggled through out the series, especially against Zaheer. He did well in the last match but could not win the match for Aussies. Katich was consistent throughout the series. But these openers failed to give good starts for Australia.
Rating: 3.5/5
Middle Order: With the batsmen like Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, Watson and Haddin at the middle of the order, one would expect big partnerships among these batsmen. But that was never the case in this series. Hussey was impressive. Clarke made a century which helped them to draw the third test. Watson was OK... Haddin was a big disappointment with the bat and behind the stumps.
Rating: 3.25/5
Pace Bowling: The fast bowlers had a lean time. If I had to pick one bowler from Australia who bowled quite well in this series, I would prefer Shane Watson. Watson bowled beautifully in the last test match. Mitchell Johnson bowled well and is the leading wicket taker for Australia in this series. Lee and Stuart Clark were average. The weakness of Australian bowlers was exposed when they could not break the partnership between Harbhajan and Zaheer in the first innings of the first test.
Rating: 2.75/5
Spin Bowling: Australia struggled through out the series with their spin department. Krejza was very impressive in his debut match. He was smart and patient. White, Clarke and Katich were the other spinners who were below average.
Rating: 2.75/5
Fielding: Fielding was good except for a few occasions where they dropped some catches. Haddin was not good behind the stumps. He gave away many byes.
Rating: 4/5
Captaincy: Ponting never looked like a captain he used to be. A captain has to lead his team from the front. Except for a century in the first test, he did not play a big innings. His tactics in the last test match, where he used his part time bowlers instead of pace bowlers, raised questions over his captaincy. Instead of trying to win the test match, he was afraid of his ban because of slow over-rate and used his part-time bowlers. He could not inspire his team in this series.
Rating: 3.5/5
India has to be consistent in order to be the No.1 in the test cricket... But with this hectic schedule, India need to protect its players from injuries by rotating the players which would otherwise be an obstacle for its aim to be No.1... India has a great bench strength in the form of many youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Vijay, Munaf RP Singh, Irfan Pathan etc...Use them wisely and protect the players...
Congratulations and all the best India....
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Master reaches another century
After Indian skipper Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first, India got off to a flyer on day one of the second Test against Australia in Mohali before Australia came back to remove 3 wickets in quick succession.
After being selected into the side to replace the banned Gautam Gambhir, Vijay started confidently and played well for his 33 before being dismissed by Watson. Sehwag and Vijay scored 98 for the first wicket. The debutant Krejza took 3 wickets on day-1. But Sachin was not his first test wicket :). He dismissed Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman. But he gave mway any runs. Sehwag was looking dangerous but got out playing a bad shot. Rahul Dravid once again failed to score and was out for a duck. The wall is cracking... The pressure is on him and I think we are going to hear about his retirement soon.
After the collapse both Tendulkar and Laxman played some beautiful strokes and rebuilt the innings. Theyscored 146 for the 4th wicket. Laxman scored another fifty in this series. Ganguly came to the crease after Laxman departed. Tendulkar reached his 40th century after being dropped by Lee when he was on 98 and was dismissed by Johnson for 109. He was dropped by Haddin already and missed a run-out chance too.
India is on 311/5 with Ganguly and Dhoni are on 27 and 4 at the end of the day. This was Tendulkar's day. Jason Krejza made a decent debut too. India need big runs from Dhoni, Ganguly and the lower order if they want to make the best use of winning the toss and batting first.
After being selected into the side to replace the banned Gautam Gambhir, Vijay started confidently and played well for his 33 before being dismissed by Watson. Sehwag and Vijay scored 98 for the first wicket. The debutant Krejza took 3 wickets on day-1. But Sachin was not his first test wicket :). He dismissed Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman. But he gave mway any runs. Sehwag was looking dangerous but got out playing a bad shot. Rahul Dravid once again failed to score and was out for a duck. The wall is cracking... The pressure is on him and I think we are going to hear about his retirement soon.
After the collapse both Tendulkar and Laxman played some beautiful strokes and rebuilt the innings. Theyscored 146 for the 4th wicket. Laxman scored another fifty in this series. Ganguly came to the crease after Laxman departed. Tendulkar reached his 40th century after being dropped by Lee when he was on 98 and was dismissed by Johnson for 109. He was dropped by Haddin already and missed a run-out chance too.
India is on 311/5 with Ganguly and Dhoni are on 27 and 4 at the end of the day. This was Tendulkar's day. Jason Krejza made a decent debut too. India need big runs from Dhoni, Ganguly and the lower order if they want to make the best use of winning the toss and batting first.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
India Vs Australia 4th test preview
India is going into the 4th test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 1-0 lead. Australia must win this test match to retain the Trophy.
Indian team composition:
The selectors called up M Vijay as back up for Gambhir as Gambhir is banned for one test match. Vijay has been in good form. He scored a double century against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. If he gets a chance, it's Vireder Sehwag who has to score for the team as Vijay will be under pressure in his first match. This looks to be the only change in the indian team apart from Bhajji returning to team in place of Anil Kumble. Bhajji is one wicket away from his 300 test wickets. Amit Mishra is confident and is bowling well.
There is also a possiblity of Dravid and Sehwag open for India and bring Badrinath in. But I do't think it happens. Dravid is under pressure as he hasn't played a big innings in the series. If he is sent to open the innings, it will add more to his pressure.
So, Vijay will make his test debut.
Indian Team(Probable) : Virender Sehwag, M Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Gangly, MS Dhoni(captain & wicket-keeper), Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra
This is the last test for Sourav Ganguly and the 100th test for VVS Laxman.
Australian team Composition:
Australia won the series in India after nearly 34 years by winning a test match here in 2004. It was for that match Ganguly and Harbhajan were absent. Gilchrist mentioned this in his auto-biography.
Asutralia is in a better position to win/draw the 4th test as all their batsmen are in good touch and have got some runs in the 3rd test match. Australia's only concern is their bowling line-up. They are looking at all possible options for the last test match. Ponting indicates that Stuart Clark may have to sit out and Krejza might debut. But I think Australia should drop White and bring in Krejza. White never looked dangerous and he struggled against the Indian bastmen.
Australian Team(Probable) : Simon Katich, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting(captain), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(wicket-keeper), Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza
Gambhir's ban might help Australia and they might be happy as he is not playing. He is the leading run scorer, with 463 runs with 2 centuries and a fifty in three matches, in the series.
They have to concentrate on their bowling and come up with a better team effort to win the test and retain the trophy.
Indian team composition:
The selectors called up M Vijay as back up for Gambhir as Gambhir is banned for one test match. Vijay has been in good form. He scored a double century against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. If he gets a chance, it's Vireder Sehwag who has to score for the team as Vijay will be under pressure in his first match. This looks to be the only change in the indian team apart from Bhajji returning to team in place of Anil Kumble. Bhajji is one wicket away from his 300 test wickets. Amit Mishra is confident and is bowling well.
There is also a possiblity of Dravid and Sehwag open for India and bring Badrinath in. But I do't think it happens. Dravid is under pressure as he hasn't played a big innings in the series. If he is sent to open the innings, it will add more to his pressure.
So, Vijay will make his test debut.
Indian Team(Probable) : Virender Sehwag, M Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Gangly, MS Dhoni(captain & wicket-keeper), Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra
This is the last test for Sourav Ganguly and the 100th test for VVS Laxman.
Australian team Composition:
Australia won the series in India after nearly 34 years by winning a test match here in 2004. It was for that match Ganguly and Harbhajan were absent. Gilchrist mentioned this in his auto-biography.
Asutralia is in a better position to win/draw the 4th test as all their batsmen are in good touch and have got some runs in the 3rd test match. Australia's only concern is their bowling line-up. They are looking at all possible options for the last test match. Ponting indicates that Stuart Clark may have to sit out and Krejza might debut. But I think Australia should drop White and bring in Krejza. White never looked dangerous and he struggled against the Indian bastmen.
Australian Team(Probable) : Simon Katich, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting(captain), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(wicket-keeper), Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza
Gambhir's ban might help Australia and they might be happy as he is not playing. He is the leading run scorer, with 463 runs with 2 centuries and a fifty in three matches, in the series.
They have to concentrate on their bowling and come up with a better team effort to win the test and retain the trophy.
Probable Indian Squad for ODI series against England
The selectors will meet today in Nagpur to pick the 14-member Indian team for the ODI series against England starting on Nov 14. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who missed the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, are set to return to the Indian squad. The squad may consists of 8 batsmen, including wicket-keeper, 4 pace bowlers and 2 spinners.
Batting:
There is no doubt about the selcetion of Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvra, Raina. So the remaining two slots may be filled by Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Uthappa and Virat Kohli. There is a tough competetion among these four. But I think the selectors will stick to Rohit and Badrinath considering their recent performances. Uthappa may have to wait for some more time before he gets a call up. Yusuf Pathan, a big disappointment with bat in the Challenger Trophy, is likely to be left out.
Pace Bowling:
Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma lead the pace bowling attack. The other options for the remaining two places are Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar. The selectors may stick to Munaf and Praveen Kumar. Irfan Pathan's recent performance, except in the Challenger's trophy, is not upto the mark. But if one of Zaher and Ishant is rested, Pathan might get a chance.
Spin Bowling:
Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla are the other options for the second spinner besides Harbhajan. Amit Mishra is a better option for the selectors considering his form in the on-going test series against Australia. There are also a few chances for Pragyan Ojha to be selected.
Probable India Squad: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni(captain & wicket-keeper), Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra.
My Favourite Playing XI (in that oder):
Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni
Zaheer Khan
Praveen Kumar
Harbhajan Singh
Ishant Sharma
Batting:
There is no doubt about the selcetion of Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvra, Raina. So the remaining two slots may be filled by Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Uthappa and Virat Kohli. There is a tough competetion among these four. But I think the selectors will stick to Rohit and Badrinath considering their recent performances. Uthappa may have to wait for some more time before he gets a call up. Yusuf Pathan, a big disappointment with bat in the Challenger Trophy, is likely to be left out.
Pace Bowling:
Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma lead the pace bowling attack. The other options for the remaining two places are Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar. The selectors may stick to Munaf and Praveen Kumar. Irfan Pathan's recent performance, except in the Challenger's trophy, is not upto the mark. But if one of Zaher and Ishant is rested, Pathan might get a chance.
Spin Bowling:
Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla are the other options for the second spinner besides Harbhajan. Amit Mishra is a better option for the selectors considering his form in the on-going test series against Australia. There are also a few chances for Pragyan Ojha to be selected.
Probable India Squad: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni(captain & wicket-keeper), Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra.
My Favourite Playing XI (in that oder):
Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni
Zaheer Khan
Praveen Kumar
Harbhajan Singh
Ishant Sharma
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Kumble retires as the third test ends in a draw
The third test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia ended in a draw. Michael Clarke's century helped Australia to save the test. However, it was the Indians who created the chances for Australia to save the match by missing the simple catches.
Starting at the overnight score of 43/2 India lost Dravid early. Brett Lee dismissed Dravid by a beautiful delivery. Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir tried to build a partnership before the opener was given out for a lbw off Mitchell Johnson. But TV replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump. Gambhir was a bit unlucky there.
The early breakthrough gave Ozs some hope of dismissing all the Indian batsmen early and win the test to level the series. But Laxman along with Tendulkar and Ganguly shattered their hopes by giving them no chance. Tendulkar missed another half century. White dismissed him when he was on 47. Following his double hundred in the first innings, Laxman added another half-century in his second innings. He played some delightful drives in his unbeaten 59. Ganguly was on 32 when the declaration came.
Finally India declared at 208/5 after tea setting Australia a target of 245 runs to level the series. Australia scored 31 runs with both the openers remained not out.
Laxman was the man of the match for his wonderful double hundred in the first innings and a half century in the second innings.
There are a few positives to be taken for Ozs.
Unavailability of Harbhajan and fielding mistakes made India to compromise on a draw. Dravid's form is also a concern for India. Dravid disappointed once again and the focus will now be on his retirement now after Ganguly and Kumble.
India skipper Anil Kumble announced his retirement after the third test against Australia.
Anil Kumble said "It's a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped making the decision and also, this injury. I had already made the decision yesterday as I knew I won't be hundred percent for the next game. I had already decided to leave the game after this series any way."
It was a disappointing end to Kumble's great career.
India now leads series 1-0 with only one test to play at Nagpur. The fourth and final Test will be played in Nagpur from Nov 6-10.
First Day Report
Second Day Report
Third Day Report
Fourth Day Report
Starting at the overnight score of 43/2 India lost Dravid early. Brett Lee dismissed Dravid by a beautiful delivery. Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir tried to build a partnership before the opener was given out for a lbw off Mitchell Johnson. But TV replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump. Gambhir was a bit unlucky there.
The early breakthrough gave Ozs some hope of dismissing all the Indian batsmen early and win the test to level the series. But Laxman along with Tendulkar and Ganguly shattered their hopes by giving them no chance. Tendulkar missed another half century. White dismissed him when he was on 47. Following his double hundred in the first innings, Laxman added another half-century in his second innings. He played some delightful drives in his unbeaten 59. Ganguly was on 32 when the declaration came.
Finally India declared at 208/5 after tea setting Australia a target of 245 runs to level the series. Australia scored 31 runs with both the openers remained not out.
Laxman was the man of the match for his wonderful double hundred in the first innings and a half century in the second innings.
There are a few positives to be taken for Ozs.
- Brett Lee finally finds his rhythm.
- All of Australian batsmen performed well.
Unavailability of Harbhajan and fielding mistakes made India to compromise on a draw. Dravid's form is also a concern for India. Dravid disappointed once again and the focus will now be on his retirement now after Ganguly and Kumble.
India skipper Anil Kumble announced his retirement after the third test against Australia.
Anil Kumble said "It's a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped making the decision and also, this injury. I had already made the decision yesterday as I knew I won't be hundred percent for the next game. I had already decided to leave the game after this series any way."
It was a disappointing end to Kumble's great career.
India now leads series 1-0 with only one test to play at Nagpur. The fourth and final Test will be played in Nagpur from Nov 6-10.
First Day Report
Second Day Report
Third Day Report
Fourth Day Report
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Gambhir and Laxman propel India to a big Total
It can't get better than this....two double centuries in an innings by Gambhir and Very Very Special Laxman followed by brisk knocks from Kumble, Zaheer and Dhoni took India to 613/7. India declared after Laxman reached 200.
Starting at his overnight score of 149, Gambhir went on to reach 200, after lunch, before Watson dismissed him. Gambhir played some superb shots. He was catious and aggressive. It is a good achievement to score back to back centuries against a team like Australia. Gambhir has been really enjoying his time since T20 world cup.
Laxman reached his hundred before lunch and went on to reach 200. It was Laxman's second double hundred and both of them have come against Australia. Out of his 13 centuries, Laxman scored 6 of them against Australia including the century today at Ferozshah Kotla. He was very wristy and played some beautiful shots. It was very delightful to watch him play those wristy shots. Most of his bounderis were perfectly timed. He completely dominated the Australian bowlers.
Gambhir and Laxman scored a record 278 runs between them for the 4th wicket. Both these players frustrated Australians on a perfect batting pitch which is expected to assist spinners from day-3. Australian bowlers were hopeless against these two.
Ganguly joined Laxman after Gambhir departed. But Ganguly departed early. Dhoni came and played aggressively for his 27. He hit 2 fours and a six in Cameron White's over and then edged a Watson's delivery after hitting him 2 consecutive fours in the first two balls. Kumble and Zaheer too scored runs quickly while Laxman slowly moved to his 200. Kumble declared Indian innings immediately after Laxman's double.
Australian openers started their innings confidently. Australia is on 50/0 at the end of the day. Both the openers, Hayden and Katich, are unbeaten on 16 and 29 respectively. But the pitch is expected to produce more turn and bounce from day-3. This will surely trouble the visitors.
Starting at his overnight score of 149, Gambhir went on to reach 200, after lunch, before Watson dismissed him. Gambhir played some superb shots. He was catious and aggressive. It is a good achievement to score back to back centuries against a team like Australia. Gambhir has been really enjoying his time since T20 world cup.
Laxman reached his hundred before lunch and went on to reach 200. It was Laxman's second double hundred and both of them have come against Australia. Out of his 13 centuries, Laxman scored 6 of them against Australia including the century today at Ferozshah Kotla. He was very wristy and played some beautiful shots. It was very delightful to watch him play those wristy shots. Most of his bounderis were perfectly timed. He completely dominated the Australian bowlers.
Gambhir and Laxman scored a record 278 runs between them for the 4th wicket. Both these players frustrated Australians on a perfect batting pitch which is expected to assist spinners from day-3. Australian bowlers were hopeless against these two.
Ganguly joined Laxman after Gambhir departed. But Ganguly departed early. Dhoni came and played aggressively for his 27. He hit 2 fours and a six in Cameron White's over and then edged a Watson's delivery after hitting him 2 consecutive fours in the first two balls. Kumble and Zaheer too scored runs quickly while Laxman slowly moved to his 200. Kumble declared Indian innings immediately after Laxman's double.
Australian openers started their innings confidently. Australia is on 50/0 at the end of the day. Both the openers, Hayden and Katich, are unbeaten on 16 and 29 respectively. But the pitch is expected to produce more turn and bounce from day-3. This will surely trouble the visitors.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
India in driver's seat on day 1
Gambir had Australia in a spot of bother on the first day of the third test at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi today. An unbeaten 149 by Gambhir, a good knock of 68 by Sachin and a quick unbeaten 54 by Laxman have put India in a commanding position at the end of Day 1 of the third test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008. The way Gambir, Sachin and Laxman batted, India looked set for a big first innings total.
Everything went in India's way from the time Kumble won the toss. The day clearly belonged to Gautam Gambhir who scored an excellent century. Brett Lee gave the perfect start to Australia by removing Sehwag in the third over. Sehwag was one run away, when he was out, to become the leading run scorer in 2008 in tests. Dravid was out for a wide delivery from Johnson. India were 27/2 when Dravid was out.
Tedulkar joined Gambhir after Dravid was dismissed. Gambhir started slowly while Sachin played some excellent shots at the other end. He looked dangerous in their 130 run partnership. He played most of the shots on back foot today. He was well set to score a century. But he was dismissed by Johnson just before tea. Gambhir played his natural game after Sachin's dismissal. Gambhir brought up his third century in style by hitting a six when he was on 99. He scored back to back centuries, that too against Australia. He must be happy. Gambhir was absolutely delightful to watch. Laxman too scored quickly in contrast to his natural game. The unfinished fourth-wicket association of 139 between Gambhir and Laxman promises to be a big one.
The Australian pace bowlers were all working on reverse swing in the one week gap between the second and third tests. But none of them could reverse swing the ball in this test match except Brett Lee for some balls. The pitch was very sluggish and only Stuart Clark bowled well with his nagging deliveries. Ponting was once again in trouble for the slow over-rate. He used Simon Katich, Michael Clarke to reduce the slow over-rate. One should wonder what is the role of Cameron White in the playing XI for Australia. He was used for only 4 overs today.
There were a couple of heated moments in the game today.
The first one occured in 51st over. Gambhir hit the ball off Watson for 2 runs. Watson said somethig when Gambhir ran the first run. Gambhir then hit Watson with his shoulder as he went past him for the second run.
The second one occured in 78th over. When Laxman hit a ball off Katich straight to him, Laxman wanted a single. But Katich did not allow Gambhir to run by blocking his way. They exchanged some words there and Billy Bowden intervened and calmed them down.
India is on 296/3 at the end of day 1. India have a great chance of sealing the series 2-0 at Ferozshah Kotla, which is considered a fortress for India.
Everything went in India's way from the time Kumble won the toss. The day clearly belonged to Gautam Gambhir who scored an excellent century. Brett Lee gave the perfect start to Australia by removing Sehwag in the third over. Sehwag was one run away, when he was out, to become the leading run scorer in 2008 in tests. Dravid was out for a wide delivery from Johnson. India were 27/2 when Dravid was out.
Tedulkar joined Gambhir after Dravid was dismissed. Gambhir started slowly while Sachin played some excellent shots at the other end. He looked dangerous in their 130 run partnership. He played most of the shots on back foot today. He was well set to score a century. But he was dismissed by Johnson just before tea. Gambhir played his natural game after Sachin's dismissal. Gambhir brought up his third century in style by hitting a six when he was on 99. He scored back to back centuries, that too against Australia. He must be happy. Gambhir was absolutely delightful to watch. Laxman too scored quickly in contrast to his natural game. The unfinished fourth-wicket association of 139 between Gambhir and Laxman promises to be a big one.
The Australian pace bowlers were all working on reverse swing in the one week gap between the second and third tests. But none of them could reverse swing the ball in this test match except Brett Lee for some balls. The pitch was very sluggish and only Stuart Clark bowled well with his nagging deliveries. Ponting was once again in trouble for the slow over-rate. He used Simon Katich, Michael Clarke to reduce the slow over-rate. One should wonder what is the role of Cameron White in the playing XI for Australia. He was used for only 4 overs today.
There were a couple of heated moments in the game today.
The first one occured in 51st over. Gambhir hit the ball off Watson for 2 runs. Watson said somethig when Gambhir ran the first run. Gambhir then hit Watson with his shoulder as he went past him for the second run.
The second one occured in 78th over. When Laxman hit a ball off Katich straight to him, Laxman wanted a single. But Katich did not allow Gambhir to run by blocking his way. They exchanged some words there and Billy Bowden intervened and calmed them down.
India is on 296/3 at the end of day 1. India have a great chance of sealing the series 2-0 at Ferozshah Kotla, which is considered a fortress for India.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
India crushes Australia in the second test at Mohali
When it comes to rivalry in cricket, people talk about India Vs Pakistan matches and Australia Vs England matches. But India Vs Australia matches seem to surpass the traditional rivalries and the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the two teams proves so.
India beat Australia to take 1-0 lead in the series. Australia was totally outplayed by India. It all worked for India from the moment Dhoni came out for the toss. India never looked ot of touch from the moment it won the toss. India registered a 320 run victory which is the biggest margin of victory by runs for India. Resuming at the overnight score of 141/5, Australia slipped to 144/8 when Zaheer Khan grabbed three quick wickets on the fifth day. Leg-Spinner Amit Mishra got the last two wickets and that made 7 wickets in his debut match. India's bowling performance throughout the match is superb. All the bowlers played their part prefectly and contributed to their victory. Dhoni was named Man of the Match for his aggressive batting and his captaincy.
Here's the progress of the match.
Day-1:
It was the day of records as Sachin broke Lara's record of most test runs. Ganguly crossed 7000 runs in tests. After a flying start from the openers Gambhir and Sehwag who added 70 runs to their first wicket, India lost 3 quick wickets. But Sachin and Ganguly ensured that the good start wasn't wasted. They added 142 runs between them. They became the sixth pair to score more than 4000 runs when batting together in tests. India were 311/5 at the end of the day with Ganguly batting on 54.
It was all Sachin's day.
Day-2:
Ganguly's elagant century, Dhoni's aggressive 92 took India to a massive total of 469. Dhoni played his natural game after a long time. Dhoni played agressively and carried the momentum set by Sachin Tendulkar. It was nice to see him playing this way. Ganguly makes his last test series a sweet one with his hundred in the first innings of the second test and a good performance in the first test. He was cool and confident throughout his innings and did not play a too many unnecessary shots. He constructed his innings with ease.
Zaheer Khan removed Hayden third time in a row in this series. After Harbhajan Vs Ponting, it is Zaheer Vs Hayden now. Ishant Sharma dismissed his favourite batsman, Ricky Ponting with a good length ball that nipped back into right hander after pitching. The bebutant Mishra joined the party by removing Katich and Clarke. Australia were 102/4 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Ganguly and Dhoni.
Day-3:
It was the spinner's day, especially the debutant Mishra's. His 5 for helped India to restrict Australia to 268 and take a first innings lead of 301 runs. Amit Mishra is the sixth Indian bowler to take five wickets in his debut. Ishant Sharma removed Hussey for a fantastic delivery. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin resisted Indian bowling for sometime before Harbhajan removed Haddin with a flighted delivery. Australia were all out for 268. Watson played well for his 78. He showed sense in the difficult situation. His 78 came in handy when his team needed a good innings.
Aggressive batting from the Indian openers Sehwag and Gambhir took India to 100/0 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Amit Mishra and Shane Watson.
Day-4:
Gambhir went on to score a magnificent century where as Sehwag fell for 90. The pair added 182 for the first wicket. Dhoni promoted himself up the order to score the runs quickly. He scored an unbeaten 68 to set Australia a mammoth target of 516.
Australian openers started their chase aggressively. But that did not help Australia as both the openers fell in one over looking to play for big shots. Harbhajan removed both the openers in an over before tea. He dismissed Hussey just after tea. It was Ishant Sharma then who carried the momentum. He bowled two top class deliveries to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. Both the balls were pitched just outside off and nipped back into right handers sharply. It was an excellent stuff from Ishant Sharma.
It was the day of Gambhir, Harbhajan and Ishant.
Day-5:
Starting the day with the overnight score of 141/5, Australia was slipped to 144/8 thanks to the excellent bowling from Zaheer Khan. He grabbed 3 wickets in a span of 4 balls.It was then Amit Mishra who took the last two wickets to end the match.
Here's my ratings of both the teams in this match.
India:
Batting: 4.5 out of 5
Indian batsman made use of the batting conditions and scored well. They were amazing in their own conditions. Sehwag and Gambhir played aggressively from the start of the match. Both of them faced the Australian bowlers well. Tendulkar and Ganguly set a big partnership and they crossed some milestones. Dhoni too played aggressively to take his team to a big total. Dravid too played his part in the first innings. It was a bit disaponting for Laxman in the first innings. Dravid and Laxman did not get a chance in the second innings. It was a collective performance from all the batsman.
Bowling: 5 out of 5
This is the main difference between the two teams. On a pitch where Australians struggled to swing the ball, Ishant and Zaheer swung the ball very well and troubled the Australians throughout the match. Ishant's bowling was superb. His deliveries to Ponting and Watson in the second innings were top class. The two pacers claimed 8 wickets between them. Harbhajan bowled excellently in the second innings. He took 5 wickets in the match. The debutant Amit Mishra got 7 wickets in the match. His variations made the Australian batsman struggle. The spinners claimed 12 wickets between them. Full marks to India in the bowling department. Indian bowlers were on song throughout the match.
Fielding: 3.5 out of 5
Indian test side is full of senior players like Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly. But it did not affect their fielding in this match. Sachin took a terrific catch off Simon Katich. It was a fine fielding from India though there were some minor mistakes.
Australia:
Batting: 3 ot of 5
Except Hussey, Clarke and Watson to some extent none of the batsmen peformed well. Had Hayden, Ponting performed well, the reslt would be different. Hussey, Clarke and Watson faced the indian bowlers well. These batsman batted with focus and determination. They held the Austrlian innings together for sometime.
Bowling: 3 out of 5
Brett Lee was the major problem for Australia in this match. He was not upto the mark. He took just two wickets. Indian batsman were never troubled by Brett Lee in the match. Mitchell Johnson was the only Australian bowler to perform well. Peter Siddle, the debutant, was predictable. Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Cameron White shared just two wickets among them. Australia definitely needs a quality bowler. On a pitch where Indian bowlers could find some assistance, Australian bowlers could find no assistance in the pitch and struggled to trouble the Indian batsmen. Indian batsman played them comfortably.
Fielding: 3 out of 5
Rarely we see the Australians misfield. Australia's fielding in this match is not upto their potential. Ponting misfielded a few times and they given away so many extras in the form of over throws, byes.
This is one of the finest moments of Indian test cricket.The important aspect of this test was indians played attacking and sensible cricket. Dhoni once again led from the front. Australia were outplayed in every department.
India will look to wrap up the series in the third test match starts at Delhi on October 29. The Australians will need to regroup after this crushing loss.
India beat Australia to take 1-0 lead in the series. Australia was totally outplayed by India. It all worked for India from the moment Dhoni came out for the toss. India never looked ot of touch from the moment it won the toss. India registered a 320 run victory which is the biggest margin of victory by runs for India. Resuming at the overnight score of 141/5, Australia slipped to 144/8 when Zaheer Khan grabbed three quick wickets on the fifth day. Leg-Spinner Amit Mishra got the last two wickets and that made 7 wickets in his debut match. India's bowling performance throughout the match is superb. All the bowlers played their part prefectly and contributed to their victory. Dhoni was named Man of the Match for his aggressive batting and his captaincy.
Here's the progress of the match.
Day-1:
It was the day of records as Sachin broke Lara's record of most test runs. Ganguly crossed 7000 runs in tests. After a flying start from the openers Gambhir and Sehwag who added 70 runs to their first wicket, India lost 3 quick wickets. But Sachin and Ganguly ensured that the good start wasn't wasted. They added 142 runs between them. They became the sixth pair to score more than 4000 runs when batting together in tests. India were 311/5 at the end of the day with Ganguly batting on 54.
It was all Sachin's day.
Day-2:
Ganguly's elagant century, Dhoni's aggressive 92 took India to a massive total of 469. Dhoni played his natural game after a long time. Dhoni played agressively and carried the momentum set by Sachin Tendulkar. It was nice to see him playing this way. Ganguly makes his last test series a sweet one with his hundred in the first innings of the second test and a good performance in the first test. He was cool and confident throughout his innings and did not play a too many unnecessary shots. He constructed his innings with ease.
Zaheer Khan removed Hayden third time in a row in this series. After Harbhajan Vs Ponting, it is Zaheer Vs Hayden now. Ishant Sharma dismissed his favourite batsman, Ricky Ponting with a good length ball that nipped back into right hander after pitching. The bebutant Mishra joined the party by removing Katich and Clarke. Australia were 102/4 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Ganguly and Dhoni.
Day-3:
It was the spinner's day, especially the debutant Mishra's. His 5 for helped India to restrict Australia to 268 and take a first innings lead of 301 runs. Amit Mishra is the sixth Indian bowler to take five wickets in his debut. Ishant Sharma removed Hussey for a fantastic delivery. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin resisted Indian bowling for sometime before Harbhajan removed Haddin with a flighted delivery. Australia were all out for 268. Watson played well for his 78. He showed sense in the difficult situation. His 78 came in handy when his team needed a good innings.
Aggressive batting from the Indian openers Sehwag and Gambhir took India to 100/0 at the end of the day.
It was the day of Amit Mishra and Shane Watson.
Day-4:
Gambhir went on to score a magnificent century where as Sehwag fell for 90. The pair added 182 for the first wicket. Dhoni promoted himself up the order to score the runs quickly. He scored an unbeaten 68 to set Australia a mammoth target of 516.
Australian openers started their chase aggressively. But that did not help Australia as both the openers fell in one over looking to play for big shots. Harbhajan removed both the openers in an over before tea. He dismissed Hussey just after tea. It was Ishant Sharma then who carried the momentum. He bowled two top class deliveries to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. Both the balls were pitched just outside off and nipped back into right handers sharply. It was an excellent stuff from Ishant Sharma.
It was the day of Gambhir, Harbhajan and Ishant.
Day-5:
Starting the day with the overnight score of 141/5, Australia was slipped to 144/8 thanks to the excellent bowling from Zaheer Khan. He grabbed 3 wickets in a span of 4 balls.It was then Amit Mishra who took the last two wickets to end the match.
Here's my ratings of both the teams in this match.
India:
Batting: 4.5 out of 5
Indian batsman made use of the batting conditions and scored well. They were amazing in their own conditions. Sehwag and Gambhir played aggressively from the start of the match. Both of them faced the Australian bowlers well. Tendulkar and Ganguly set a big partnership and they crossed some milestones. Dhoni too played aggressively to take his team to a big total. Dravid too played his part in the first innings. It was a bit disaponting for Laxman in the first innings. Dravid and Laxman did not get a chance in the second innings. It was a collective performance from all the batsman.
Bowling: 5 out of 5
This is the main difference between the two teams. On a pitch where Australians struggled to swing the ball, Ishant and Zaheer swung the ball very well and troubled the Australians throughout the match. Ishant's bowling was superb. His deliveries to Ponting and Watson in the second innings were top class. The two pacers claimed 8 wickets between them. Harbhajan bowled excellently in the second innings. He took 5 wickets in the match. The debutant Amit Mishra got 7 wickets in the match. His variations made the Australian batsman struggle. The spinners claimed 12 wickets between them. Full marks to India in the bowling department. Indian bowlers were on song throughout the match.
Fielding: 3.5 out of 5
Indian test side is full of senior players like Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly. But it did not affect their fielding in this match. Sachin took a terrific catch off Simon Katich. It was a fine fielding from India though there were some minor mistakes.
Australia:
Batting: 3 ot of 5
Except Hussey, Clarke and Watson to some extent none of the batsmen peformed well. Had Hayden, Ponting performed well, the reslt would be different. Hussey, Clarke and Watson faced the indian bowlers well. These batsman batted with focus and determination. They held the Austrlian innings together for sometime.
Bowling: 3 out of 5
Brett Lee was the major problem for Australia in this match. He was not upto the mark. He took just two wickets. Indian batsman were never troubled by Brett Lee in the match. Mitchell Johnson was the only Australian bowler to perform well. Peter Siddle, the debutant, was predictable. Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Cameron White shared just two wickets among them. Australia definitely needs a quality bowler. On a pitch where Indian bowlers could find some assistance, Australian bowlers could find no assistance in the pitch and struggled to trouble the Indian batsmen. Indian batsman played them comfortably.
Fielding: 3 out of 5
Rarely we see the Australians misfield. Australia's fielding in this match is not upto their potential. Ponting misfielded a few times and they given away so many extras in the form of over throws, byes.
This is one of the finest moments of Indian test cricket.The important aspect of this test was indians played attacking and sensible cricket. Dhoni once again led from the front. Australia were outplayed in every department.
India will look to wrap up the series in the third test match starts at Delhi on October 29. The Australians will need to regroup after this crushing loss.
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