Boxing day test - Australia take 1-0 lead

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the test series by dismissing the Indian team for a paltry score in the second innings on the penultimate day of the MCG test. It was a good performance by the young bowlers against the batting might of the Indians who were expected to fare much better than this. Continuing a run of low scores in away test matches, the Indian team struggled to score against a target of 292.

The stats reflect the travails of the Indian batting - 1 score of 300   during the England tour as well as 1 score of 300+ in the 3 Caribbean tests does not do justice to a team that has four players in excess of 8000 runs in their career. Now, the Indians will do well to put this defeat behind them and look at the same time last year when they made a remarkable comeback against the Proteans on their soil (who had a much better bowling attack than the current Aussies). From a position of 200 for 2 when they were primed to take a good lead over their opponents, the Indians succumbed in the next 2 days to lost by more than 130 runs.

The day started with the Aussie tail scoring valuable runs and taking the target to a formidable 292. The Indian attack would take their deficiency to wipe the tail as an area of improvement for the forthcoming tests. Even then, the likes of Dean Jones thought that the Indians were favorites to score the runs required in the last innings. If the target was less than 300, Sehwag was confident of chasing it down. But, he was the first one to leave the crease even before lunch was taken. This dismissal raised the hopes of the entire Oz team so much so that after the lunch break, the bowlers were all over the Indians. The bowling coach, Craig Mcdermott, would have been very happy with the way his wards responded to his suggestions.

The Indians seemed to have lost the battle in the mind more than on the ground. Gambhir was once again dismissed poking to a delivery outside the off - a failing he had few years before his big innings. Sachin started well but failed to continue the show once again. The 2nd innings savior, VVS, once again failed in MCG - a bizarre statistic in his Oz tours. Dhoni and Ashwin tried to score runs but the Aussie win was just a matter of when and not if. Ashwin, meanwhile, showed that he can be a suitable No.7 (if Dhoni takes the No.6 position) batsmen for the tour and thus accommodate an extra spinner in the playing eleven. This will give the much needed depth for the bowling attack while putting the onus on the batsmen to contribute more.

Once again, a defeat in the first test match of the series for the Indians. But, there are many positives they can take from the match as well as areas of improvement. With the arsenal in their army, they should be able to mount a comeback in the series very quickly. Will the New Year seem them coming back? If I were a betting man, I will still put my money on India!

Related articles

• Boxing Day test - Bowlers rule the MCG (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Boxing Day test - India grit their way vs Oz (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Down Under - who will shine for India? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Boxing Day test - Bowlers rule the MCG

It was a fascinating battle at the MCG where the bowlers from either side held the upper hand. Only the veteran pair of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey managed to survive the carnage to put up a well-paced and crucial partnership in the second innings for Australia.

The day started with India in a good position to use the momentum of the partnership between Sachin and Dravid to score further and possibly take a handy lead. Hilfenhaus thought otherwise. Pitching the ball up and generating just enough movement to beat the batsmen and remind them of their old weaknesses, Hilfenhaus had the Indians play to the hands of the cordon behind the stumps. Dravid was bowled by a peach of a delivery while Kohli continued his overseas test match form by nicking to the keeper. Laxman was cleaned up by Siddle's well-pitched delivery while Dhoni continued his miserable run in test matches by edging to gully. All this while, Ishant was patient enough to continue his stint as a night-watchman but not for long. Ashwin showed what the top-order batsmen could have done by adding runs to the total and thereby reducing the deficit to a better-looking 51.

Australia's recent record has not been so great in the second innings - remember 47 vs South Africa as well as the recent debacle vs Black Caps in Hobart! There was a danger of a repeat performance when four batsmen perished to the bowling of Umesh and Ishant. Zaheer was bowling well and maintaining the pressure from the other end while the batsmen were getting out to the other bowlers. It needed the experience of Ponting and Hussey to stop the rut and keep the scoreboard ticking. Ponting looked more relaxed compared to the first innings while Hussey was on a mission to show his worth to a squad that cannot afford to miss him. Zaheer came back with late strikes but Hussey's miss by Dravid might prove to be costly.

Overall, a close dashboard for the test match with the Indians having a slight edge over Australia. The only difference will be the runs on the board that India will have to chase down. If the last 2 wickets are dismissed quite early tomorrow, India will expect their famed lineup to come to the party the second time.

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Boxing Day test - India grit their way vs Oz

The Indians put up a better bowling display in the morning to wrap up the last four Oz wickets, led by the swing of Zaheer Khan. The Aussies will be dreading the very sight of this bowler from now on, the bowler having retained his rhythm back after bowling a good number of balls this innings. Ishant and Umesh was supportive in their efforts to restrict the run-scoring without managing any wickets on the day. Ashwin came to the party to take the last two wickets, especially the last one was a wonderful sight to watch. A flighted ball on the middle-wicket that straightened to defeat the sweep and hit the stumps, must have given the Aussies another headache to deal with.

The Indian reply started in the usual fashion with their openers taking quick singles and rotating the strike. Gambhir was fleet-footed and ended his innings with a poke to the keeper. Sehwag continued merrily, chancing his arm and keeping the bowlers (and fielders) interested. Viru's batting is good to keep the captain and his bowlers occupied in thinking of various strategies to put in place. Whether they implement or not, the non-striker benefits from this by settling down at the crease. Rahul played a very typical innings that was very much in-sync with his nature and character. Grinding down the attack while Sehwag and later Sachin scored boundaries, Dravid accumulated runs in his own way.

Tendulkar had decided to score runs when it was offered, especially with his patented upper-cut with which he scored many boundaries on the day. He was picking runs with a great flourish and steady run-rate that was adequate for an ODI. The impending close of day was a distraction that slowed Sachin down, sending him into a shell. Peter Siddle was unlucky not to have Dravid dismissed because of his over-stepping nature. It was a similar delivery that  dismissed Sachin in the fag end of the day.

A good day for the Indians when they captured all the three sessions of the day to take a lead over the Aussies in the Session dashboard. Tomorrow, they will hope to consolidate their position and take a lead of hundred runs before being dismissed.

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Boxing Day test - Australia have noses in front of India

India's fortunes in the 1st test on Boxing Day was expected to be hinging on the ankle and hamstring of their opening bowlers. Michael Clarke had this thought on the back of his mind probably and opted to bat first after winning the toss. Not surprisingly, the opening bowlers from India started gingerly, opting to be careful with their bodies than anything else. Warner and Cowan had a steady start before the introduction of the third pacer introduced runs and more importantly, wickets for India.

Warner tried to hook Yadav for another six but the extra bounce took his glove en route to the wicket-keeper. Shaun Marsh came and went without troubling the scorers, thanks to a full-pitched ball from Yadav. Ricky Ponting came to the crease and was promptly pinged on the helmet by a short-pitched one. This mislead the bowlers to focus on the short ball against Ponting, thereby playing into the hands of the Tasmanian Devil. The legend was losing his balance at the crease early on but with the diet of easy pickings, calmed his nerves and adopted a much better approach at the crease.

After the highest Australian partnership this year between Ponting and Cowan, Zaheer Khan decided to make his presence felt in the test match. Bowling with the older ball, he improved with each spell that he bowled and  made the ball talk. This energized Yadav to bowl the perfect ball to Ponting. Shocking him with a short ball, Yadav followed with a full-length delivery that took the edge to slips. Once again, the century eluded the veteran but he was looking good at the end compared to the start when he resembled a cat on hot tin roof.

Zaheer castled Clarke after the short partnership between the captain and Cowan. Bowling around the wicket to bring the ball back, Clarke's cut was not enough to stop the ball from hitting the wicket. The very next ball, out-of-form Michael Hussey got what the commentators called a jaffa !! Though all technological evidence showed no clear signs, the umpire gave Hussey caught behind to loud shouts from the slip cordon. Ashwin chipped with the wicket of Cowan to reduce the Aussies to 214-6. Even-stevens in the day till then. It was then that Haddin and Siddle put their heads down to bring the score to a respectable 277 at the end of day.

It was good news for the Indians to finish the day with the scoreline, especially compared to the tea-time score of 170-3 but not good enough compared to the score when Siddle came to the crease. But, Dhoni would have felt happy that none of his front-line bowlers broke down after bowling 20 overs each (Zak bowled 23 in fact). Ashwin gave a good impression in his first stint Down Under by extracting spin and bounce on the first day of the test. Will the pitch deteriorate further to help him in the second innings is to be seen. Dhoni could have perhaps used Virat Kohli, Sehwag and Sachin for few overs in between to reduce the load on the bowlers but it was not to be.

Overall, an intriguing day but the session score-board at the end of Day 1 shows the Aussies slightly ahead at 2-1.

Down Under - who will shine for India?

India has their best chance to win their first-ever series in Australia, thanks to a combination of strong batting line-up and not-so experienced team from the home team. To win the series, the Indian batsmen no doubt will have to lead the way ahead on pitches that might suit the Aussie team. Placid, flat pitches will not be offer - this will only play to the Indian team's hands. The pitches will offer bounce and seam in no small measures so that the young bowling attack will enough to trouble the Indian heavy-weights.

For the Indians, who will take the wickets that matter? Let us look at the last five Indian tours Down Under and see who has shone through

• 1985-86 series saw the Australian team in a rebuilding phase - probably very similar to what they are now. The new captain, Allan Border, took over the reins and this series was a hard-fought one. Only rain and the captain's stubbornness ensured that India left the shores without any win. Shivlal Yadav and Ravi Shastri were the leading wicket-takers in the series on both sides. Will Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha take clue from these performances? Kapil Dev chipped in with useful wickets in the series in a role that one expects Zaheer to perform now. One only prays that Zaheer does not break down once again 
• By the time India toured in 1991-92, the Australian team was a formidable one while India were not so great themselves. Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar were the leading bowlers but the lack of a support seamer who could penetrate the bowling hurt the team (Srinath was early in his career and did not have the incisiveness early in the career to help the team's cause). Of course, the batsmen's lack of runs also contributed to the 4-0 rout.
• Sachin Tendulkar captained the team during the 1999-2000 tour that was disastrous on many counts. A white-wash in the three-test series ensured that the Indian team was in shambles after the tour. The new-ball lineup consisting of Srinath, Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad could not strike against the powerful Oz batting. A lone spinner (Anil Kumble in his early days) could not help Sachin's team make any impact.
• 2004-2005 was one series that India, under Sourav Ganguly and John Wright, performed to their reputation. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh returned with the top 2 spots in the wicket-taking list. Zaheer played the four test matches but could not take as many wickets that one had expected him to. His partners - Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan - could not make much headway in the matches they played. Murali Karthik was another spinner who returned with his head held high (another pointer to Ojha's possible success)
• In the season of 2007-2008, India played a tempestuous series marred by on-field events on the ground. Ishant Sharma made an impact in the test match against Ricky Ponting though he did not have many wickets to show. It was the old war-horse, Anil Kumble, who picked up wickets by the bushel. Zaheer had matured on his second tour but broke down after playing one test. RP Singh and Irfan Pathan played the supporting roles to Kumble and Harbhajan in a series that was won by Australia.

If Zaheer can endure the series without any injury, the bowling attack with Ashwin and Ishant/Umesh/Mithun will prove more than a handful for the young Aussies. 

Will the Indian sun shine Down Under? Hopefully, yes. 

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Interesting series soon Down Under

Agneepath says the TV channels, announcing the start of a series that holds a lot of promise for many cricketers involved from both teams. India goes Down Under for their next series after the famous Monkeygate scandal. Things have changed, not just in the personnel involved but also in terms of improved relations with the players on both sides. The key protagonists during the last tour, Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh, went on to play on the same side for the IPL while both the then captains are no longer in the hot-seat (even though one of them plays for his team).

The Oz team has seen most of their star players leave and has seen some ordinary performances from their team (47 all out against South Africa and a defeat against NZ at home after more than 2 decades). The Indian team is rebuilding after their own debacle in England where they suffered a white-wash. They are still ranked high in the ICC rankings but that does not mean anything when both the teams go head to head on Boxing Day.

The Indians score on the batting front thanks to their strong lineup that has proven itself Down Under as well as everywhere else in the cricketing world - Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman will walk into any team that is currently playing international cricket. The supporting cast consists of players who are technically good as well as played key knocks for their state team in Ranji matches - Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli will be looking for the one slot that remains in the batting position. The 2 warm-up matches will prove a good pointer to who will make the cut. Rohit with his previous experience and recent form (even though against WI at home ODIs) will be my favorite.

Duncan Fletcher, after the English debacle, has favored the promotion of fast bowlers into the Indian line-up (though that seems to have been impacted by the injury to Aaron). Will Zaheer play a full series this time around (note that this is his third series and he has not finished one complete tour still) is the key factor for India's fortunes. Ishant will be itching to repeat his form of last tour while the third seamer's position is up for grabs. Considering his performance in WI and England, Praveen Kumar's absence will hurt. Mithun can bowl the long overs which is very vital for such a grueling tour. Umesh Yadav has looked fine in his appearances for the country but can he bring it all together for a longer period? Vinay Kumar can swing the ball both ways but his pace is nothing to write about - he has played in Australia earlier and how much he can impress the team management in the warm-up will decide who plays. The lone spinner's slot favors Ashwin more because of his batting talent. The Sydney test will see both of them coming into the eleven and that will represent India's brightest chances to win a test.

The Indians score better on the spin option while there is inexperience on both the sides in the pace bowling department. Zaheer Khan can stand out and make it count for the Indians - is he fit enough is one question that the entire country is waiting desperately. As Dhoni mentioned in his recent press conference, India can beat Australia this time around. Hope KJo and Hrithik Roshan bring their Agneepath luck to the Indian team!