I can understand Dravid due to pressure length of inning's etc getting out slogging. And it was a committed slog once he started he went the whole way with it.

Laxman though sought of looked as if he decided to slog at it late, then got caught in two minds whether to slog outright or pull out.

In the end it was a half committed slog. I would not blame Kumble for having some serious words with him and Jaffer tonite for both getting themselves out.

Sehwag did well today I thought, but lacked match practice and confidence. Tendulkar brilliant and robbed by a poor umpiring decision. Dravid terrible first half of innings but then pleasingly worked it out and returned to the form of the "true Rahul Dravid we used to admire" in the second half of his innings. Ganguly extremely unfortunate fairly good shot that was a whisker off being a boundary caught by a freak catch by Hussey.

Jaffer..lazy drive looking for an edge that found it ?

Laxman.. slack slog partially committed late in the day ?

Day 1 in my opinion even; my personal comment it should have been slightly better for India (Laxman grrrr..)

Best players India Tendulkar and Dravid...Australia Johnson and Lee...

Hayden's 84 test consecutive streak has come to an end. Wonder if this will prove an Omen for Australia.

Haven't seen the highlights yet, so a can not really comment. Looks good for India if they can keep it going. Batting last at the WACA is not something the Aussie bats will look forward to.

As i said a few days ago, i believe Kumble will do very well on this wicket. Symonds and Clarke's spinners may have a crucial part to play in the second innings too i suspect.

Four fast bowlers may prove surplus to requirements in the end too. Will watch with much interest over the next few days.

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Great batting pitch unlike Melbourne I reckon around 420 is par.

Depends on how well the wicket holds up. Traditionally, the WACA starts cracking up from day three onwards.

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Is that adjusting for a 93.3% usage rate? Six overs short in a 6 1/2 hour day, even with quicks bowling all the time, is not excusable. Come on chaps, please: there's really no excuse for this.

(I'm not knocking Australia here: the test teams really are as bad as each other on this matter and it wears a bit thin, in my opinion.)

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Not saying you are right or wrong here OF, but did these slow over rates start at the advent of the great West India quicka?.

I am sure before that 90+ a day was the norm prior to this, but playing 4 pace bowlers with long run ups could be a reasonable excuse for sub 90 over rates in a day IMO, in particular on a very hot day.

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Ern

Despite all the pre-match talk about the speed/bounce of the pitch, it appears to be an excellent batting surface. In my opinion the Indian batsmen particularly Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman threw their wickets away and hence the advantage. Tendulkar was unlucky once again. It remains to be seen how much does the tail wag for India. From the Australian bowlers, only Lee is worth mentioning.

I do not see the Australians scoring anything less than 600 on this pitch.

From both their innings? Quite possible, I guess .

One interesting point was how much a part-time bowler like Symonds turned the ball at WACA - no less - on the first day of the match. Clarke was not so bad either. Therefore, pace might not be the only useful weapon here, especially in the last 2 days. Oz have to bat last.

He really is an extremely useful cricketer. We shouldn't be surprised of course;

he is an Englishman after all

Just joking for all my oz mates acks, quags, and the mighty seam etc in response to their numerous posts on Strauss, Pietersen et al!! What will they say when we pick Saqlain next summer? Joking again boys. Maybe????

I just wanted to say what a great days cricket, no nonsense in the sides behaviour, no idiotic posturing. Just two sides giving their all for their respective countries. Excellent batting, quick fiery bowling and one of the finest catches you are ever likely to see. After all the rubbish of the game before and as a "neutral" (well kind of)

I have to say "AH THATS BETTER!!)

It was a real shame to see Dravid throw away his wicket, did anyone see Symonds face when Dravid went out. It was a bit like 'oh no what have you done!!'

Shocking decision against Tendulkar, but it evens out there was a shocking decision that went against Michael Clarke when he was bowling. My question is that would India be happier with a West Indian umpire or a Pakistani umpire?

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