Matthew Hayden proudly proclaims that India's bowlers dont know how to get him out and that by focussing on keeping him quiet, Australia's openers built up good first-day partnerships.

Surely, if one of the best batsmen of modern times averaged 30, lower than what Parthiv Patel managed, India's bowlers do know how to get him out. If Australia's bowlers manage to tie down Dravid, Laxman etc. it is part of a plan. If India's bowlers tie down Hayden its because they cant get him out? Nice one!

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:05 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Mark Waugh calls for Ganguly to be replaced as Indian captain. I am fairly sure he has a vote in the Indian selection committee.

He mentions about how India needs to get out of its comfort zone of home pitches. But wasnt Buchanan nicely and snugly sitting in his comfort zone when he claimed that the Bangalore pitch was terrible?

I have this nagging feeling two people wrote his column since he first says 'In Australia, each Test match ground has its own features and those pitches rarely change, no matter the strengths of the Australian side of the day.' Then he goes on to ramble 'India performed well last summer in Australia, but that result was achieved on the flattest Aussie tracks I've seen for a long time and against an attack minus its two best bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.'

Putting those two statements together you have Mark signing off 'contradictorily yours'. If Aussie pitches rarely change their nature and are distinct from each other, how on earth were they all flat wickets last time around? Surely when all the wickets are flat, it implies no diversity, which contradicts his first statement. Come on Mark, you can do better than that! Watch out for a riposte from Ganguly soon. As it is, he has asked questions about Ricky Ponting staying away for the first three tests.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:04 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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It was always on the cards that the Aussie media would go to town over the state of the wicket at Bombay. Of course, there are some fairly balanced views as well, but by and large, everyone felt that the pitch was a disgrace. I dont however recall a single Australian wicket caused due to the pitch exploding. In the 97 overs bowled on the final day, nearly 300 runs were scored. That doesnt look like a hopeless wicket, does it?

Australia's mistakes in their chase will be covered nicely amidst the talk about the nature of the pitch. What about allowing Tendulkar and Laxman to score rapidly during their partnership? How can a great team lose 10 wickets in 30 overs on the same pitch where India batted 69 overs for 205 runs? Why isnt anything said about Gilchrist's reckless sweep when there were three fielders placed for the mishit?

Justin Langer doesnt think this would be among his favourite tests. If I were in his place, I wouldnt think so too, after scoring 12 and 0, getting out to a seamer rather than a spinner on both occasions.
Peter Roebuck continues to croak about the pitch
McGrath calls it a farcical end to a great series
Greg Baum on how pitches affecting games are a unique thing to cricket.

Some Indian views on the test:

Harsha Bhogle feels that Australia batted as if it was a horror movie , no pitch is supposed to do that to a champion team.
Sunil Gavaskar wonders if Australia anticipated a Nagpur like wicket, furthering the generosity that has been doled out to them.
Polly Umrigar, who the curator at the Wankhede, rightly questions Ponting's use of the heavy roller before Australia batted.

Labels: aus v ind 2004, pitch

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:30 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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India's consolation win at Bombay, on the back of some superb spin bowling by Murali Kartik and Harbhajan Singh, means that Australia have won the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2-1. On an engrossing third day at the Wankhede, effectively just the second day since there was hardly any play on day one, Australia dismissed India for 205, setting themselves a fairly measly target of 107 to win. Michael Clarke, who seems to be unable to do anything wrong this tour, took 6/9 in 6.2 overs, cleaning up the lower middle order and tail after Tendulkar and Laxman had forged a wonderful 91 run partnership.

Australia's chase got off to a bad start with Langer gone in the second ball of the innings. Wickets fell at regular intervals with Murali Kartik in particular bowling superbly. Australia were 58/7 with just the tail left. However Hauritz and Gillespie put on a 20 run stand and Gillespie, who has been a total pain in the butt this series with his batting, put on 15 runs with Kasprowicz edging Australia closer. Harbhajan cleaned up the last two wickets sealing the victory.

It certainly makes Indian cricket fans wonder about what might have been, had day five at Madras not been rained out. 2-2 anyone? 3-1 India? Perhaps ... perhaps not.

People have every right to crib about the nature of the wicket. But they werent complaining when Australia won at Bangalore on what was described by coach Buchanan as being terrible. Different rules when you lose, eh? I wonder who Peter Roebuck is talking about when he writes "It is a mistake, of course, to rattle on about pitches because it reveals a fragile state of mind" in the same piece where he blasts the Bombay wicket.

In fact if Ponting has a modicum of consistent thinking, he would not complain about the pitch, just as he didnt subscribe to others' views on the Darwin wicket four months ago.

So much so for the dead rubber syndrome, eh? Oh, and credits here for anyone who points out the last Aussie captain who lost a game inside three days.

Labels: aus v ind 2004, clarke, pitch

Thus spake Jagadish @ 5:50 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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After the humiliating loss to Australia, the Indian team received further shock when Andrew Leipus decided to stand down as the team physio. Or is it not a shock, given the recent injuries in the team ?

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Ganesh @ 2:26 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Ricky Ponting praises guys like Watson and Hodge and bemoans the fact that Australia arent allowed to have 15 players in a test. Indian fans would point out that they've had close to 15 all along. Eleven Aussies, two umpires and Parthiv makes it 14.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 4:25 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Shane Warne's possibly last bowling performance in India ended last week with a pasting at the hands of India's tailenders as Australia won the series at Nagpur with a massive victory. Perhaps that was the contribution he talks about having now been ruled out of the Bombay test due to injury. Turns out that the injury was as a result of vanity. Then again, you do expect vanity from someone who allegedly took a diuretic to look good at a press conference.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:51 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Steve Waugh is obviously quite emotional as he congratulates the victorious Aussie team and rightly claims to have played a part in the development of this side. But the Aussie team we saw in India was a far cry from Steve Waugh's side. No ring of 4 slips + gully. We saw deep point and third man. Nightwatchman Jason Gillespie came out at Madras. Australia have so far scored at 3.3 runs per over [only?!].

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 5:16 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Ian Chappell rightly faults the furore over the pitch at Nagpur and the BCCI's administrative fiascos as distracting India and giving Australia a psychological edge.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:49 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Now that they have tasted success in India, Australia want to tour India more often. Would Bob Merriman have come out saying this, if the score was 2-0 in favour of India ?

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Ganesh @ 4:41 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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India were crushed by 342 runs at Nagpur, their biggest margin of defeat ever. Australia thus wrapped up the series with one more to go at Bombay. This is Australia's first test series win in India since 1969/70, their final frontier conquered. But given the way Australians approach their cricket, I am fairly sure this is not their final frontier. It was Steve Waugh's final frontier. Australia will keep redefining their boundaries. Last year it was winning two world cups in a row and becoming the first team to win three. This year it was winning the ICC Champions Trophy [they failed] and winning in India. Next year? Possibly winning the Ashes 5-0? Champions keep redefining their goals. Never satisfied, was the title of a Steve Waugh diary a few years ago. It is completely applicable to the Aussie team.

Except for the first three days of the Madras test, Australia won just about every single session. The little battles added up to the big war being won. Aside from Hayden, none of the Australian top seven has really failed. Even if you add in Lehmann and Langer, you still have four other batsmen who've made centuries [or 99, in case of Katich]. Contrast that to India's batsmen. Only Sehwag made a century and Kaif has batted fairly consistently. The second highest rungetter for India is Parthiv Patel. Tells the story, doesnt it?

India lost to a much better prepared side. Australia did their homework and more importantly, executed the plans to perfection. India may have also done their background work, but ultimately its how your bowlers, batsmen and fielders go about executing the plans which matters. By cutting off access to the boundaries, Australia's fielders and bowlers out-thought India's batsmen. Even after three tests, if the batsmen, save perhaps Sehwag, have not been able to adjust to the tactics, then questions need to be asked about what their preparation for the games has been.

I hope that Parthiv is retained for the Bombay test so that he is given an opportunity to prove his supporters wrong. He really ought to be sent back to domestic cricket for a year or two to pick up elementary keeping skills. The problem though is that none of the other claimants for the wicket-keeper slot are being talked about on the basis of their keeping ability. It is Dhoni's and Karthik's batting ability which has brought them on the verge of [or to] international cricket. Perhaps its time to look at Ajay Ratra again, who kept quite well in the chances he got. Yes he never did make runs the way Parthiv has in the last year. But I cant remember him messing up things. I certainly cant remember him letting balls slip through his gloves to hit the helmet causing five penalty runs.

South Africa and Pakistan visit India over the next few months. Its not going to be easy, even if South Africa will bring a largely experimental side with lots of new faces. Pakistan are not doing too well against Sri Lanka at the moment, but if they switch on, they are deadly. I hope the lessons of this series are not lost in case we get back to winning ways during the rest of the season. Just as Australia kept its 2001 defeat in mind while planning for 2004, India must keep this defeat in mind while playing any side, let alone Australia.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 7:49 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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India was straightaway pushed to the back foot after losing the toss for the third successive time. This time around though, it was Dravid's turn to do the honours as Ganguly has a groin strain. The other absentees from the second test are Yuvraj, Harbhajan & Pathan. Tendulkar, Akash Chopra, Murali Kartik & Agarkar will play instead.

Australia ended the first day well in control at 362/7. The game went on similar lines to the Madras test. Australia were off to a rollicking start, suffered a mild collapse, Damien Martyn stroked a superb century, Lehmann batted aggressively for a while, Zaheer bowled very well while Parthiv looked like he was more likely to catch a cold than the cricket ball. India have an uphill task ahead, they need to dismiss Australia for less than 400 and bat well and bat big, score 600 perhaps to put Australia under some sort of pressure. Its a tall order. If India win or draw this, the series is still alive. That is a whole lot to play for!

Labels: aus v ind 2004, martyn

Thus spake Ganesh @ 9:35 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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If Ricky Ponting feels that Tendulkar's absence has meant that Australia havent played the best Indian side so far, it may not be a bad idea for Ganguly to piss off the Aussies by claiming that India have currently been playing with the best Aussie side, thereby hinting that Ponting's inclusion in the XI will weaken the Aussies

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:35 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Peter Roebuck feels that Australia's ageing bowling attack is more likely to bite them than the retirement of batsmen. However he contradicts himself when he says that in a few years time when Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar retire, India will be hit hard.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:30 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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After the washout at Madras, I started wondering about why test matches should not have Duckworth Lewis [or any other rain rule] and overs limitation in case of rain [or other] interruptions. Ganesh also started thinking on similar lines and this is what we came up with. If the test had come to a stage where the umpires decided that play was possible for a max of 50 overs, then under the current rules, India would have had to get to the target of 229 in those many overs. Its possible, but the chances of a win were effectively reduced dramatically. In fact, Australia's chances of a win also decrease since they have to get 10 wickets in 50 overs rather than 90. This, by the way, is a flaw which I believe exists with the D/L rule. I think the chasing team must only be allowed to use a certain number of batsmen and not all 10. That number can be determined as a percentage of the total runs they've been asked to make.

Anyway, going back to what I was saying, effectively test cricket must not allow the weather to influence it too much. Having a roof cover over every test ground is not going to happen, so let us not bother about discussing it. If there is a possibility of a result, why not bring the D/L rules [or any other method] into the equation? Alternately, what if there were overs restrictions in the first and second innings. A team would only be allowed say at most 150 overs in the first innings and 100 in the second. This would mean a max of 500 overs in the test, which is higher than the current 450. If this means faster overrates, then we're all for it. Teams surely must bowl more than 15 overs an hour, under all circumstances. More overs means more wickets/runs and a definite chance of a result, which is what cricket is all about.

The split of 150 overs and 100 overs for each innings is not necessarily fixed. Teams will have to choose at the start of the test on their strategy. They are either allowed to pick one of three combinations (overs in first and second innings):

150 + 100

125 + 125

100 + 150

They're not allowed to change this midway through the game. This effectively means teams need to take a call on whether they are willing to try to build a bigger first innings and then possibly leave not too many overs for a chase. If it was a seaming first day wicket, should the captain who wins the toss [and very likely bowl first] choose 150 overs for his first innings in the hope that the pitch becomes better? What about the captain who is sent in? Should he pick a 100 over option in the hope that if the team is going to be shot out anyway, go for the option which will give him a better chance of a second innings recovery?

Would this eliminate the draw? Not perhaps, so why not penalize teams which bat a minimum of 100 overs and score less than 3 runs per over, which is really expected of any team worth its salt? The penalty must be in terms of runs given to the opposition since that hurts more than losing money.

We'd love to hear you out. Put in your comments.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 4:27 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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With the third test at Nagpur starting more than a week later, the scheduling by the BCCI has to be questioned yet again. Ganesh had bemoaned at the allocation of grounds for this series after India lost at Bangalore. Why is there a week's gap between two tests, unless there is an unannounced tour game still to be played? Why are we playing good hosts by allowing Australia to recover from various injuries, niggles, heat-strokes etc? Wouldnt we ideally want Gillespie to be carrying an injury into the Nagpur game, which would start 3 days after Madras, only to breakdown midway through the game? Then again, the scheduling may end up benefitting India since Tendulkar may become fit for Nagpur!

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:17 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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After losing all 10 wickets for just 99 runs in the first innings, Australia looked beaten in the Chennai Test until Martyn & Gillespie had other plans. Still Kumble & Harbhajan were good enough to skittle them out and now India need 229 for a series levelling win. But now rain seems to have rescued Australia and they would go to Nagpur 1-0 up, which they achieved in Bangalore.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Ganesh @ 10:13 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Sehwag finally came back to form with a brilliant 150 but Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman failed with the bat while Dravid missed out on a great opportunity for a century as India botched up a good first session to lead Australia by just over 50 runs at the end of day two. It could really have been ~ 150 runs, if not for some daft batting by the middle order. Pathan and Sehwag gave India a great first session which closed shortly after Warne chose not to take a dive in the Coovam when he snared Pathan.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:31 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Australia ended day one of the Madras test on the defensive. First they were bowled out for 235 courtesy a superb bowling effort of 7/48 by Kumble who was well supported by Harbhajan. India closed at 28/1 with Yuvraj out in the last over of the day, helping Warne draw level with Murali. Australia slumped from 136/0 to 235 all out in the course of 38 overs after the lunch break.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 7:07 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Australia were off to a flier after winning the toss at Madras. India made one change with Kaif coming in for Chopra. This means Yuvraj will open, having been out caught behind 4 times off quick bowlers in the 8 innings he has played.

Labels: aus v ind 2004

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:31 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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