Australian Tour 2nd Test - India lose Brisbane test, so?

Statistician Mohandas Menon has an interesting tweet in the morning today

During this series, India have lost wickets by the dozen

• Adelaide Test
• 77/6 in 22.4 overs
• 73/8 in 18.1 overs
• Brisbane Test
• 87/6 in 24.1 overs
• 148/9 in 38.3 overs

This batting slump has overcome the good start provided by the batsmen like Vijay (again) and Rahane, Kohli failed this test match after his twin centuries while Dhawan came well in the second innings. Rohit Sharma, Chet Pujara and MS Dhoni would do well to introspect further on their game and see where they have to improve for the next test. In fact, I am not so sure if Rohit has to play the next test at all! Rohit has his list of chances but so far, nothing to prove his presence in the playing eleven. 

Murali Vijay played a great knock in the first innings - a knock that would rank high in Indian test cricket in terms of endurance and effectiveness. If only the Indian team could manage Mitchell Johnson better in the second innings, they could have inflicted a record defeat on the Aussies in the test match - look at the Aussie performance while chasing a paltry score. Definitely, another 60-70 runs on the board would have shaken them big time. 

Where the Indians faltered was during the first innings of the Australian innings. After getting the first six wickets, the Indian bowlers tried to repeat the dose that was given to Brad Haddin. Obviously, they couldnt deliver well and what happened was that the last four wickets doubled the score. This meant that the Australian team not only overtook the Indian team but also gained a healthy 97 run lead. Ishant Sharma as the pack leader should have guided his colleagues better. Maybe MSD should have put in a word when the match was slipping away. Maybe Ashwin was a better option to bowl at that time. The match moved away from India so fast that they were caught napping. 

The second innings saw the Indian bowlers grab few wickets and put doubts in the Aussie batsmen. They will try to leverage this for the next test match but the think-tank should definitely look to bringing back Bhuvi for Aaron and Raina for Rohit.

The margins of victory have been narrow than ever before - will the next match see the Indians strike a victory? Let us hope so.

World Cup 2011 - Yusuf and India's trick

Harsha Bhogle observed (nothing unusual) the pinch-hitter theory adopted by Mitchell Johnson in the recent ODI between the Ashes rivals - as mentioned, it was being used by many teams years ago but of late, the occurrence has reduced. Harsha gives a good example of how the PowerPlay will be utilized:

The thinking is quite simple: throw in one of your lesser-valued batsmen, and therefore a lesser wicket, to take on the fourth, fifth and sixth bowlers of the opposition. If the attack comes off, you force the better bowlers to return and weaken the bowling in the third Powerplay. If it doesn't come off, you've lost only a bit. It is the good old pinch-hitter theory, but in the middle overs. Would it be possible, I wonder, to see a Harbhajan walk in during the 30th over?

This brought me to another similar thought. Yusuf Pathan, as we all know, has shown the world what impact he can have in the slog overs. But, he has a weakness against the short ball - though he has managed to negate it in his own style of taking it on the body. If the Indian team, after having a good start from Sehwag and Sachin, pick up the batting PowerPlay sometime in the overs 30-40 (when typically the likes of Dhoni and Raina will be at the crease), it will force the opposing captain to bring his faster (and better) bowlers to operate then.

What this means is that their quota will be reduced by the time the junior Pathan strides to the crease. It will give him lesser number of overs to face from the best bowlers in the opposition (thereby not having a problem with the short ball). If you remember the ODI in South Africa where Pathan and later Harbhajan took India past the winning post, this was exactly what happened. Ashish Nehra had the relatively simple task of facing Johan Botha in the final over while Steyn and Morkel had finished their quotas!!

Will the Indian Management use this technique in the World Cup?        

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Big-hitters to watch (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• SA ODIs - India level the series with luck (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Ashes series - new-look bowling pair for Oz

Chance to get his head straight

The Australian team management dropped Mitchell Johnson, who thought that this was a time to get his head straight. He struggled to make an impression in the first test and this decision will do him good. Ponting remarked that Hilfenhaus might be replaced by Bollinger, making it a new and fresh pair for the second test starting on Friday. The Australians will be expecting these changes to help them get twenty English wickets in Adelaide.

The English team must be feeling very confident after the first test batting performance - their captain making all the right sound-bites saying that they have not achieved much so far. Complacency is the one factor that might pull them down but the 2 Andrews - Strauss and Flower - will keep them motivated enough.

The pitch will be flat while rains might cause interruptions in the match. Ability to take wickets will be the key factor at play while Ricky Ponting will strive to put runs on the board. The Oz batting order will be under pressure to regain their form and score heavily. Will the English bowlers come to party once again or will it be the reincarnation of KP?

Related articles

• Johnson set for axe in favour of Bollinger (guardian.co.uk)
• Chappells split on Johnson (theage.com.au)

Ashes series - more trouble for Australia

The Australian team seemed to plunge into more problems on the Ashes series - recalling a person who was removed from the big original list of 17 only yesterday. Usman Khawaja was the beneficiary of a back injury to the vice-captain Michael Clarke - one that has been afflicting the batsman for quite sometime now.
The batsman was suffering from bad form in the previous tour to India - this injury coming at the start of the series must have given him and his captain a head-ache alright.

 
The captain himself is under pressure to get his act right in this series and bring back the urn to the Aussie sub-continent. He has lost two ashes series and another defeat now will put him under tremendous pressure. He put up a brave face at the conference today but agrees in the perception that his job is on the line.

Simon Katich and Marcus North however agree that Anderson will be handy in the Brisbane test. Even though Mitchell Johnson has mentioned that he will target the English captain in the test match, the general feeling that one gets on reading these articles is that the Aussies have really gone soft. Or are they really feeling the heat after the initial warm-up matches that the Poms played?

After today's development, I would feel that the English are slightly ahead (55-45) of the Australian team in this series. Let us see how the next 2 days pan out before the start of the first test.

Related articles

• English talk up Ashes chances (3news.co.nz)
• Ashes series - Australia prune their squad (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)