Ponting looks for a draw

[amit_S]

Ponting has played too defensively and has made only 79 runs at such a slow pace knowing that aussies dont have a chance in this match and the only result they can try hope is a draw. Just 260 runs in the entire day . going at a snail's pace

They [edited pending mod review] lost the match at Perth where no one expects them to lose and now here [edited pending mod review]

[Edited pending mod review] IF WE CAN BEAT THEM AT PERTH , WE CAN BEAT THEM HERE AGAIN .Just a few doosras and Googlys from kumble on a fourth day wicket and aussies will start falling like ninepins .

And my favorite player sehwag has echoed the same words

Australia are scared to lose the match, says Sehwag
PTI

ADELAIDE, January 26: India’s dashing middle order batsman Virender Sehwag believes Australia were "scared" to lose the fourth and final Test against India and were therefore very defensive in their approach.

"They are scared and playing very defensively. It's not like Australia (of old). Last time we played them here they made 400 runs in a day," said Sehwag as Australia scored only 260 runs on the third day of the crucial Test.

Australia ended the day on 322 for 3, still 204 runs adrift of India's 526 but Sehwag obviously was not very impressed with their approach.

"They are worried about defeat, they are scared. It was definitely a surprise considering they lost only three wickets and yet batted defensively on a flat wicket. "Something is wrong about their batting line-up, their thinking," he said. Sehwag also cited Ricky Ponting as an example of slow batting on the third day as the Australian captain made 79 runs in a very slow manner.

"He is not in a good form and that's why he is trying to play like that, it's not his natural game. May be he is playing for a draw", he said.

"It's a very unconventional approach by Australia who usually tries to force the issue and not go into a game with an intention to draw the match. Indian bowlers, I think, deserve praise. In RP Singh’s absence, the pressure was on four bowlers. We went into the game with five bowlers but if RP was there, the workload would have been evenly distributed", he said.

Sehwag deflected any criticism on his bowlers as questions were asked whether Indian bowlers and field placements were defensive. "If someone is playing defensive, we can't do much. Wicket is so flat that it’s not easy to get them out. You have to work hard for each and every wicket."

Sehwag chose the moment to describe Ishant Sharma as a find of the tour for India. The young fast bowler from Delhi picked up just one wicket but during the afternoon he bowled nine overs for a mere 10 runs and the wicket of Matthew Hayden.

India delayed taking the second new ball and Sehwag said it was because they realised that at least the ball was reverse swinging. With the new ball "it was unlikely to have any seam or swing movement."

Sehwag was hopeful that India would be able to take a sizeable lead over Australia and put pressure on them on the final day. "Hopefully the cracks would open up on the final day. If we can get two sessions to bowl at the Australians, they could be in trouble," he added

Sehwag: Australia scared to lose match || Indian Cricket Fever - Unofficial Indian Cricket news and views

[Rachael]

The biggest contributions from the Australian side have been from Hayden and Ponting, both of whom have scored more quickly than Pathan, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman did for India.

In the last 10 years, 41 innings have been played at the Adelaide Oval. Of those, 17 innings have had a run rate has of less than 3.0 and a further 10 have had a run rate of 3.0 to 3.15. In truth, only 7 innings out of 41 have seen a run rate of more than 3.5 - so fast scoring at the Adelaide Oval is NOT common.

In 2004, Australia won against NZ despite scoring at 2.48 runs per over.

Last year, Paul Collingwood scored a double century at an almost identical rate to Ponting and Hayden's rate today. Pietersen's 158 wasn't much faster. In reply, Australia posted over 500 at 3.09 / over - with Hussey scoring 91 at 2.58 runs per over.

Recall India playing at Adelaide in 2003? Dravid posted 233 at just over 3.13 an over... and Laxman posted 148 at the same rate (3.15 to be precise).

The Adelaide Oval rewards traditional virtues of patience and application: runs come easily enough... and there's rarely any excuse for a batsman to lose his wicket... but the ball doesn't come onto the bat at the sort of pace liked by batsmen when they are looking to push the score along.

ps. Australia got after Kumble (3.71 / over) and RP Singh (3.5 / over). I'm not sure whether Pathan, Sharma and Harbhajan bowled well to restrict the batsmen, or whether they merely failed to make the batsmen play... but if it's the former then perhaps some credit should be claimed by some of the Indian bowlers...

Edit:

India opted for a holding game rather than attacking Australia's openers, and Harbhajan Singh was the biggest culprit, bowling well wide of off stump on a pitch that offered spinners some assistance

That's Ian Chappell's verdict: that Australia were intimidating Indian bowlers who didn't back themselves to try and get the batsmen out.