The series was settled. The trophy had already been prized out of our hands. India had only pride to play for. Which perhaps explains the large scale changes made to the line up. Dropping Pujara was a baffling decision, given that he was looking increasingly assured with every outing. But you can slice up the batting order any different way but it is merely lipstick on a pig as long as the bowling line up reads Yadav, Shami and Buvi.
Welcome to another episode of the Aussie openers accepting the largesse of the Indian trundlers. An hour into the first morning, Kohli was perhaps thinking of spreading out the field or turning to his part timers. Not an easy thing for any test captain within the first session. Especially if you have an aggressive image to maintain. Watching Warner bat, I realize how it must have been for opposition teams/fans when Sehwag was in full slow. Melbourne 2003? Multan 2004? And mind you, he was facing far more potent attacks than Warner and Rogers have faced in this series. With the average defying Smith helping himself to yet another century, it looked that Australia might only need to bat once.
Thankfully, for once, towards the fag end of the series, the Indian tail showed up. Up in the order, Rahul shook off his debut nerves and compiled a neat century. One could understand when he simply collapsed on Kohli's shoulders after reaching the century. I liked his defence and showed that he may possess the temperament required of a test opener. By the looks of it, India may well have stumbled upon a working opening combination. However, India will miss the services of Sehwag who played without fear, took the fight to the opposition, kept the scoreboard ticking and in the process, provided belief and confidence to the rest of the team. The tail put up over a 100 runs and more importantly spent time in the middle. And on day 5, hung by the nails, dug their heels in and refused to be rolled over.
If the first innings bowling made one grimace, watching the Indian bowlers being taken to the cleaners in Australia's second innings was beyond words. Embarrassing doesn't even begin to describe it. What was the plan? What was the field? And what were they doing? I find it difficult to believe that this is the best talent available. I'm not sure what was happening between overs - as I was watching the Indian TV feed that believes that an ad should come on when the bowler completes his follow through on the sixth legal delivery - but I could hardly see any discussion or chat going on between the captain and his bowlers or amongst the bowlers themselves. A word of encouragement or a pat on the shoulder was never seen and the bowlers appeared to be merely going through the motions. Although, in all honesty, there is not much that can be coaxed out of a bowling unit that has steadfastly refused to bowl to a set field throughout the series. Or even land balls in a good area consistently.
The prospect of India batting last on a deteriorating Sydney wicket will always evoke memories of 2008. Of close in fielders, high stakes, emotional battles, close calls and at the end of it all, another Indian defeat. With a 300 plus target this time, an Aussie win or a tense draw was on the cards in that order. After the Adelaide chase, there is now enough doubt in the Aussie camp that Smith preferred to ensure safety first rather than a bold declaration in both Melbourne and Sydney. Steve Waugh or Ponting, I'm sure, would have had a go at the Indians for a few overs on day four. Batting for a draw calls for special reserves of concentration, gumption and a better reading of the match. And it was pleasing to see the Indians tackle everything that the Aussies threw at them and ensured that the final scorecard didn't worsen than 2-0.
On the evidence of this series, the current Indian bowling cannot contain set batsmen on flat wickets. This group cannot clean up the tail quickly or cheaply either. The batting riches is really heartening to see and may bode well for the future. But with the profligacy of the bowlers, the big scores are becoming less useful. And as cliched as it may sound, no matter how deep we can bat, 20 opposotion wickets win test matches.
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After a long hiatus from blogging - more due to laziness than anything else - I'm pleased at this effort of four posts. Let me see if I can do one more on the entire series from an Indian fan perspective. I wish to keep posting something often. Let me see if the Blogging Gods are kind enough :)
Welcome to another episode of the Aussie openers accepting the largesse of the Indian trundlers. An hour into the first morning, Kohli was perhaps thinking of spreading out the field or turning to his part timers. Not an easy thing for any test captain within the first session. Especially if you have an aggressive image to maintain. Watching Warner bat, I realize how it must have been for opposition teams/fans when Sehwag was in full slow. Melbourne 2003? Multan 2004? And mind you, he was facing far more potent attacks than Warner and Rogers have faced in this series. With the average defying Smith helping himself to yet another century, it looked that Australia might only need to bat once.
Thankfully, for once, towards the fag end of the series, the Indian tail showed up. Up in the order, Rahul shook off his debut nerves and compiled a neat century. One could understand when he simply collapsed on Kohli's shoulders after reaching the century. I liked his defence and showed that he may possess the temperament required of a test opener. By the looks of it, India may well have stumbled upon a working opening combination. However, India will miss the services of Sehwag who played without fear, took the fight to the opposition, kept the scoreboard ticking and in the process, provided belief and confidence to the rest of the team. The tail put up over a 100 runs and more importantly spent time in the middle. And on day 5, hung by the nails, dug their heels in and refused to be rolled over.
If the first innings bowling made one grimace, watching the Indian bowlers being taken to the cleaners in Australia's second innings was beyond words. Embarrassing doesn't even begin to describe it. What was the plan? What was the field? And what were they doing? I find it difficult to believe that this is the best talent available. I'm not sure what was happening between overs - as I was watching the Indian TV feed that believes that an ad should come on when the bowler completes his follow through on the sixth legal delivery - but I could hardly see any discussion or chat going on between the captain and his bowlers or amongst the bowlers themselves. A word of encouragement or a pat on the shoulder was never seen and the bowlers appeared to be merely going through the motions. Although, in all honesty, there is not much that can be coaxed out of a bowling unit that has steadfastly refused to bowl to a set field throughout the series. Or even land balls in a good area consistently.
The prospect of India batting last on a deteriorating Sydney wicket will always evoke memories of 2008. Of close in fielders, high stakes, emotional battles, close calls and at the end of it all, another Indian defeat. With a 300 plus target this time, an Aussie win or a tense draw was on the cards in that order. After the Adelaide chase, there is now enough doubt in the Aussie camp that Smith preferred to ensure safety first rather than a bold declaration in both Melbourne and Sydney. Steve Waugh or Ponting, I'm sure, would have had a go at the Indians for a few overs on day four. Batting for a draw calls for special reserves of concentration, gumption and a better reading of the match. And it was pleasing to see the Indians tackle everything that the Aussies threw at them and ensured that the final scorecard didn't worsen than 2-0.
On the evidence of this series, the current Indian bowling cannot contain set batsmen on flat wickets. This group cannot clean up the tail quickly or cheaply either. The batting riches is really heartening to see and may bode well for the future. But with the profligacy of the bowlers, the big scores are becoming less useful. And as cliched as it may sound, no matter how deep we can bat, 20 opposotion wickets win test matches.
-------------
After a long hiatus from blogging - more due to laziness than anything else - I'm pleased at this effort of four posts. Let me see if I can do one more on the entire series from an Indian fan perspective. I wish to keep posting something often. Let me see if the Blogging Gods are kind enough :)
Siva - Really, really enjoyed your pieces. Even I hope the blogging gods are kind for the sake of your readers. Keep them coming. Thanks.
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