India dominate the match - Kanpur first day

What was supposed to be a 'more bowler-friendly wicket' turned out to be a graveyard for bowlers. Especially with Sri Lanka packing their side with 3 spinners, it proved to be a nightmare for their bowlers. Never have the Indian batsmen played so dominantly in their history. MS Dhoni did the right thing by opting to bat, after winning the toss. The first day, first session show his top-order performed in the first test was absent - to the misery of the Lankans.

Sehwag was dropped at 0 and made the best use of the chance - a century to him and a double-century opening stand with Gautam Gambhir set the tone for India. It was batting at its best. After the initial overs where he was circumspect, Sehwag opened out and his Strike Rate zoomed from thirties at one stage to more than hundred by the time he was out. Again, the bowling was at his mercy and only he could get himself out by a false stroke - this was evident by the way he stayed at the crease after his dismissal - a golden opportunity lost.

Gambhir continued his good run at the crease and reached his own century in the company of Rahul Dravid. The two continued the good work with a decent strike-rate (4 runs per over) to take India to 300 before Tea. Probably the fisrt time that a team had scored 300 in the first 2 sessions of a test match. He continued to accumulate runs after tea till a good catch by Murali sent him back for a well-made 167.

Rahul Dravid picked up the baton from Sehwag and started turning over the singles with Gambhir - he played his usual act while the stroke-maker made merry. The Wall is well and truly in full force - it will be a big hole to fill, if and when he decides to hang up his boots. He is on course to complete another century tomorrow - as is Sachin Tendulkar.

Sri Lanka suffered from their over-dependence on spin. Ajantha Mendis had his bowling smashed to all parts of the ground. The opening bowlers did not receive any support from the pitch to make any dent. If India gets its act together, the SriLankans are on their way to a loss in this test match. Obviously, a very early statement but Sri Lanka can do their best to prove me wrong.

The Session-dashboard does not show the exact dominance of the Indian team - because there is no points for dominating the match in such a manner. Each session is worth one point only and that is what India got in every session. The Lankans should get India out quickly tomorrow and hope for a good start. The pitch still looked good and I dont see any reason why the batsmen to follow Dravid and Tendulkar should not improve their averages.



Want to know how this works - check this blog post.

Tame end to the first test - Final Day at Motera 2009

India had made their plans to survive the final day by playing watchful cricket - this was evident in the way Gautam Gambhir set out to bat. Amit Mishra gave him good company till a superb catch by Dilshan sent him back. Sachin Tendulkar came out and played the ball on its merit. He crossed 30,000 international runs during his knock - 6000 more than his next competitor (Ricky Ponting) and scored his 43rd test century.

All the way, Gambhir played with a fluency that was hard to ignore - he has always raised his hand when such efforts are required by the team. Especially the last two years has been his age of coming (four of his centuries, including his last three, have come in the second innings, two of them in match-saving scenarios). He did stay after lunch before getting out to Herath. VVS Laxman also decided to score a half-century in the 2nd innings to show that there was not anything dangerous in the pitch.

The Srilankan bowlers toiled just like the Indians did in the first innings but got their first three wickets by a combination of poor shot-selection, marginal umpiring decision and a wonderful piece of catching - nothing to do with the magic of the great man, Murali. The fourth fell again to a poor shot-selection by a batsman reaching a bigger milestone (hundred).

The match promised much but failed to deliver. Overall, the bowlers toiled hard but could not deliver much. The performance of the Srilankan bowlers in the second innings might have saved Harbhajan's place in the playing eleven of the next match. The only entertainment was provided in the first session on the first day when the 4 Indian wickets fell for 32 - after that, the remaining play could see only 17 wickets fall - that is not sufficient to produce a result.

Tweaked the Sessions-Dashboard to indicate the situation more properly - let me know what you think about the dashboard - whether it gives a good indication of the situation in the match.

Indian test team announced for Srilanka series

The Selection Committee announced the squad for the India-SriLanka test series. Couple of surprises in the squad

• Sreesanth - Why he is in the team is a big suspense? He has played just one match (Irani Trophy) after his county stint. Of course, one more Ranji match where he didnt get any wickets. More than his form, his temper and temperament is a big question. Of course, if Zaheer and Ishant back & 3 spinners in the squad, he will be a backup option.
• Vijay - Maybe the selectors want to give him more big-match experience as well as backup for any injury scares to Sehwag and Gambhir.
• Badrinath - Similarly, backup option to the middle-order. Dont think he will play as well.

3 of the squad have no chances to play the test match in normal course.

The choice of spinners - there are 3 of them - will be Harbhajan and Amit Mishra. Though, I would prefer Pragyan Ojha instead. Looks like he will be the one dropped.

The Indian team would start as the favorites - for that, they will have to leave the Oz series debacle behind.