1st test AUS V IND

[SSA.]

457 in just under 5 sessions.

What are the chances of India actually winning this one?

Can they Draw the test?

Or do most people think India is definitely going to lose this one?

[Occasional Fan]

I think my money would have to be on Australia to win. May go into a fifth day, but that's not guaranteed at this stage - India now 1 for 1, Sehwag apparently bat before leg before wicket for a duck to that man McGrath.

Oh dear! 7 for 2.

[SSA.]

Well I have joined the list of Most people now I think ... India are nicely on way to defeat here.
What is with Ganguly and run outs? And Laxman goes to Warne again.

I have no faith in Yuvraj Singh and I am not expecting him to prove me wrong either. So the match will be over soon.

Well there are three more tests to go - Indians, especially the batsmen, had better learn to apply themselves better before then.

[Zainub]

Another ordinary batting display from India today - slumped to 105-6 by stumps with only Dravid with 47 not out managing to play a relentlessly accurate Australian new ball attack with some measure of composure. I'm afraid though, that he has run out of partners, and even though Pathan is no mug with the bat the result of this match and even chances of Dravid taking some momentum from this test match into the next as regards to his own form remain slim. This was after another 6 wickets for Harbajjan Singh halted Aus's possible plans of posting a total in excess of 500.



The umpires have not had the best of test matches but I do not blame them at all, the Indian top order has been guilty of misjudging the line of the balls all through this test match, and whenever there has been a close call gone against their favor they have been found rock inside their crease, in most cases not offering a shot. When you do that you always give your self a better chance of being an LBW candidate, and marginal calls will go against you more often than not.



I therefore disagree with both cricket info and BCC Sport who have deemed Chopra's and Laxman's dismissal respectively as being dubious. To be fair to Bucknor and Bowden they were justified in giving Chopra and Laxman out. And in future too whoever is given out LBW not offering a stoke should not complain even if the impact was outside the line of the stumps. The LBW law after all was put in place in the first place to encourage stoke making and discourage kicking - you are supposed to be a batsman not a legman.



I have never understood to be honest the terminology behind the rule that states the ball must hit in line and even if it is marginally outside the line but the balls seems to be heading straight towards middle you can't give it out - I think that is giving too much leverage to the batsmen and especially if the batsmen are not exactly offering a proper shot - I agree with Rachael here who has often been critical of the huge number of factors that are always going in the batsmen's favor , if it would be in my powers I'd change the rules to ensure players pad out as few balls as they can, and if they don't they shouldn't expect umpires to show any liberty towards them what so ever.



The Sehwag one though was a pretty straightforward decision, the guy had actually smashed the balls into his pad the impact was so significant and I'm disappointed the Aussie appealed as robustly as they did - in India and the sub continent umpires pay more attention on players' reaction then they would normally since the chance of picking up an inside edge are lower because of all the noise in the stands. But then these things happen. I don't think that any one will disagree here; luck has evened it self out more or less - India just haven't played well enough.

[Nikhil]

This is turning out to be a night-mare of a batting display. It's not the loss, but the abject manner in which they have folded, which is so disgraceful.

The only question now remains unanswered, is certainly not the outcome of this match, but how much time will the Indian batsmen take to settle down and give a fight?

On the brighter side, Harbhajan seems to be bowling as good as he did ever before. Eleven wickets in this match and 39 in the last three against the world champions is a great achievement. But, it's the batting that's letting us down and they need to sort things out. Hopefully Sachin will be back at Chennai, and things should improve.

Credit to the Aussies, who bolwed straight and at the stumps and are reaping the rewards.

[Nikhil]

Well, we lost and the Aussies won.

They played better and did the basic things much better.

I must say I'm impressed by Pathan. That kid has got some talent and a lot of courage. Playing Warne on a day-five pitch and playing him well, is something that should be applauded and more importantly noticed by the more distiguished batsmen in the side.

Having said that, it was a bad performance, least to say. Massive improvement in batting and seam bowling is required to stage any sort of comeback.

[SSA.]

Nikhil,

If India want to compete they have to get out of this mindset of if I dont do it someone else will. Especially Ganguly - Well set in 1st innings and he threw it way, shocking run-out in the second. Dada you are the captain you have to take more responsibility as a player then just be there to be counted as a good captain.

Pathan continues to impress and I must Parthiv has not been too bad.

A couple of changes for Chennai - Yuvraj needs a rest - a long one really from Test cricket - bring in Kaif. Khan must go - bring in Agarkar.

Indians have to show a lot more application and determination if they want to win this series.

"Following Indian cricket is a heck lot of despair."
So is following Liverpool sometimes is'nt it?

[Nikhil]

Yes Shalini,

Agree with you completely here. The way Ganguly threw away his wicket was plain stupid. Regarding, Yuvraj, I also believe he should be given a rest from test cricket. He was woefully out of form through the entire season, so there is no need to pick him immediately. But with the return of Sachin, I think the following things are going to happen :

{1} Yuvraj will be asked to open along with Sehwag. Yuvraj is a real pet of Ganguly
{2} Chopra, to my unbelievable consternation, will be dropped.
{3} Agarkar will play (hopefully).

The key term now, is how many runs do Indian batsmen score in the first inning. There is no way, we will bounce from a deficit of over a 100 runs in the first inning. India needs to score more than 400 in the first inning every time. Dravid, Sachin and VVS will be the key. I do not think Ganguly will fair too well in this series.

The main concern is VVS' lack of form and Sachin's lack of practice. I saw some video of him practicing batting y'day. So, hopefully he will return in time for the second test. Ganguly and the openers especially need to show a lot of gumption and shield the middle order from the new ball. That's how India succeeded in the tour down-under.

"Following Indian cricket is a heck lot of despair.
So is following Liverpool sometimes is'nt it?"

Yes, it indeed is. Especially, when they have been playing away this season. The loss to Olympiakos especially was most frustrating. Also, losing to Mancs was a very sad from an entirely different perspective.

[Shaka]

As a neutral, I have to say I'm not too sure I'd drop Yuvraj ahead of Chopra. Chpora looked really ordinairy in Pakistan whereas Yuvraj looks like a potential match-winner, although he does appear out of form. But who does that not apply to in the Indian batting line up? I think Sachin's return will be a massive boost if he comes back for the Chennai test.

Congrats to Oz, and especially McGrath who was being written off by some quarters as being over the hill. I don't think i've seen a better exponent of new ball bowling in recent times. The guy is an object lesson in where to pitch early on in an innings. Absolute class.

[Nikhil]

Yuvraj is a match winner, when the ball is not moving around. India does not need someone who plays away from his body from over no. one. Chopra is a shield. He's a blocker. As we saw, after the first few overs, the Aussie seamers were quite playable. If the openers can see those overs off, India has a much better chance of posting a decent score. That's why Chopra must play and play his natural game, which is blocking the new ball. Sehwag is there at the other end, and Chopra does not have to worry about the run-rate. No one really has to worry about the run-rate from the very beginning of an inning.

Yuvraj has been found out and has a weaker technique, which is much easier to exploit.