India vs Australia 2008-09: Day Four, First Test, Bangalore

India vs Australia 2008-09, Day Four 1^st Test at Bangalore.


Bare facts till now:

• Dates: 9^th Oct - 13^th 2008


• Time : Play at 9.30 am (0400 GMT); Coverage 8.30AM


• Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore


• Forecast:WeatherCity, Yahoo! OurCity, CNN-AccuWeather


• Live Telecast (Cable TV and Web): Neo Sports


• Current Weather: Mostly cloudy, light breeze


• Toss: Australia won the toss and elected to bat


• Pitch: Uneven bounce, cracks opening out, variable pace


• Stumps 3^nd: India 313/8 Zak 35* Kumble 0* - Trail by 117 runs with 2 in hand


• Australia 1^st: 430


• Performers 1 : Hussey 146, Ponting 123, Zak 5/91, Ishant 4/77


• Performers 2 : Harbhajan 54, Dravid 51, Ganguly 47, Mitch Johnson 4/62


• Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Asad Rauf


• Scorecard

There were some reiterations yesterday. Some facts reemphasized. Australia, the champion team, though vulnerable, is no pushover. It's veteran backbone still works.

We also saw how Sehwag can irritate followers of the game - in a trice, from the fearsome, teflon-coated, rapacious marauder of bowlers, he turns into a manic puppet on a string drawn my mental forces away and out of the task in the blink of an eye. Like a robot seizuring on a brief power surge following an internal short-cut, the smooth simple polish of mystically drafted three-dimensional geometry of his shot-making ambiguates into a crude grass-cutting exertion, and a most complicated one at that! He gave Mitch and Australia the first boost of the day. (Gambhir still doesn't count that way in test matches)

The second boost was kindly provided by our cricketmeister who in his profoundly ageing wisdom, is discovering strange dissonances between the will of mind and obedience of limbs. We shall hear a treatise about it sometime later, but for the moment it shall be the curt brush-off down the tip of his nose for those who dare suggest they already know. Sachin Tendulkar played like a mortal. The spirit powered him to a couple of breath-sucking boundaries, "something else" made him reach out from a half-cock front-foot to prod at a ball slanted away. The rest was catch-practice. Maybe the uneven bounce of the pitch had a role in making the master look like a silly boy - I do not deny that - but look like a harkback to the Vassy dominance days, he did and strikingly so. We saw a bit of that in Lanka as well, but then the ankle was injured...no..it was the elbow..no...there was something which was injured for sure...I'll leave you to find out what.

Suddenly Mitch had become that ogre India fears....the bowler who took the wicket of Sachin (and Sehwag to boot)! We know such bowlers can ssume fascinating forms, often confusing to the batsmen, till some little boy with a toy bat comes in lower down the order and swats the fly away. It was a fly after all...not an ogre! We have seen this fable transpire repeatedly. Mitch was on song, and he was stronger, both because of his efforts and as a result of the effect his efforts had in the minds. He wrecked the batting order.

Sourav and Dravid shored it up before succumbing to caution or mental tiredness following the long period of concentration.

Dhoni will have to be given yet another chance to bat if he has to convince me that that imagery of him being the test class, wicket-keeping main batsman of the middle-order cum captain zen master, is actually no figment of publicity. Hopefully he bats and saves this match for India...or transforms it. Either that, or quit touting yourself as all that above - I'm quite OK with you simply as test captain and wicket-keeping zen master - and I'm sure most of India would be comfortable with a realistic version of you. The problem perhaps could be for the ad-libbers and your cash manager with that.

Why sell lies when you have a beautiful truth with you Dhoni?

I'm could also do a bit of hypothesizing with Laxman....but suddenly it is becoming tiresome writing an article with a recurring theme. Maybe it is my ageing which prevents me from concentrating beyond a point in constructing an article and going through with it. Change, for better or worse, is more welcome than this.

Thankfully today is a Sunday, a holiday, and hopefully I can watch some test match cricket live.

Maybe India bundles out Ozzie for 130-150 what? However, at the moment, it looks like shaping up into a typical hot Bangalorean bissibelebath ^Recipe of a test match for India without any change. It is likely to be consumed by it, yet again...blame the spices!

But, but, since it is a Sunday and I'll probably be twiddling my toes in front of the television, let me stay busy with the mantra...Ishant, Zak, Bhajji, Kumble (repeat 180 times at a go). Bhajji's aroused us with the scent of a fight!

Sunday Morning Read

While the Indian tail wags and wags hard, enthralling as that sight is, one could kick off the Sunday morning with some nice reads.

Ottayan on Kumble's records^{In the Name of Cricket}, Victoria's taut take on the third day^{VM'sRandom Ramblings}, and Gaurav plays chess with cricket^{Naked Cricket} in his own foot-tapping, soul-searching, guitar-strumming, drum-beating style.

Kartikeya looks at what could happen from here^{A Cricketing View}, Samir Chopra opines it has gotten a little tough^{Eye on Cricket}, Aju John is a man after my heart - he elaborates what I also feel! ^{Island Express}. Just stop by that island...more worth with your morning cuppa chai.

After Ottayan reeled off the data, SP has a suggestion^{Straight Points} for Kumble. Scorpi thinks Ozzies have Bolted off the blocks!^Cricketfizz.

Hussey hasn't escaped attention - his deeds are being noticed^{King Cricket} and appreciated.^{Cover Points}

Braveneutral congratulates Ricky on his first blemish on a spotless record!^{Brave neutral & friends}

On a dfferent tack - Wasim tells us how Pakistan beat Sri Lanka with a ball to spare in the Canada T20 tourney. ^{Cricketfiles.com}

Back to the series - Trideep finds the tail-wag enterprising and believes there will be more fights in this series than just crcket.^Crickosphere

10.20 AM - Live play

While one was reading all that - put away your newspapers and magazines folks, these are far better - India has shaved off the deficit by a further thirty runs. So India are well within 100 runs of Ozzie. Now's the time to give them a spin-hug in the second innings!

Zak gets to his fifty - Congratulations me bwoy!

Cricinfo recorded it thus -

110.5 Johnson to Khan, 2 runs, that's it, Zak gets to a fifty, angling into the pads, and turned away towards backward square leg. What a reception, the whole dressing room stands up and applaud, Kumble gives him a hug. What rescue job, only his second Test half-century, his highest score, 75, against Bangladesh

What a time to get his second fifty - Javagal Srinath and Zak haven't quite done justice to their batting skills. That 75, by the way, is the highest for a number 11 I think.

The two MEN a certain Chappell labelled as good fer nothin' certainly have show us what they are good for - time and again.

And just as I was about to type that no further damage has been done, Shane Watson has Kumble where Asad Rauf thinks was plumb. Hmmm...let's see the replay for one thought it was a tad leg-sideish.

343-9.

Saw the replay - Out...that was out and a good one by Rauf.

Would you say Watson is the surprise package? Or India was focussed on continuing to deny Stu Clark?

10.36 AM

350 up for India!

It was Ishant who batted for some 20 runs in Australia wasn't it?

It is heartening to see the lower order advancing Haydenesque down the pitch to Lee, Mitch, Watson and Clark - Clark has gone wicketless though...India are bent upon denying this late-bloomer easy wickets and perhaps neutralie him.

The way the other Clark bowled - Michael or the Clark-e..Clarke, one would expect some purchase from the wicket when Hrbhajan let's it rip of a loop. he'll bring that loop back, slow it down a bit at times, in the second inngs fo' sho'. Ozzie better watch out then!


10.45 AM

Just as we were speaking about Clarke, Ricky Ponting brings him on.

Be good to watch how he does it.

On this pitch, spinners might prefer the slightly newer ball than the more old.

Nothing exciting from the fingers of Clarky yet....hey, maybe Clarke could be called Clarky to differentiate from Stu Clark (that man is so dimensional that one cannot imagine calling him Clarky).

10.51 AM

Zak 57* Ishant 5* India 359-9, pitch looks like it has gone to sleep. The fizz is going and ball is staying low. Victoria ^{VM'sRandom Ramblings} may have called it first among us dreamers.

10.59 AM

Ishant bowled by Clarky for 6 and India all out for 360.

He decieved Ishant with the loop and our enthusiastic beanpole played for the spin to find an arm ball instead. E copped it.

Flight can do things to batsmen even if Ishant isn't yet, at only 19, a proper batsman. India should try that too.

11.10 AM

Australia 0-0 in the second over. Ball tending to keep low. Spinners like Kumble and Harbhajan can find something with a newish ball on this pitch.

5.00 PM

Australia in a winning position t 193-5.

Just a few points there - 1) The Indian bowlers didn't allow Australia to get away. Kumble had a bad test all around and could be out of it. Despite which the remaining bowlers held Australia to a tight squeeze. 2) Poor fielding by India...a few dropped catches - I thought Gambo dropping Katich early on at forward short leg was important. 3) Australia might have declared in days gone by with a 300 target - famously Tugga had once said if a team scored 300 chasing against Australia, they deserved to win it - Ricky may want a quick 50-60 runs though if he does declare and go for a win.

Sehwag and Gambhir will be the men who will have to stand up for India. Difficult to expect the same with assurance of old from others.

Nothing happened for Kumble and he couldn't make anything happen either. Dhoni looked able leading the team but he's got to bat a little better than he does at the moment.

It shouldn't be outlandish to be expecting at least a rearguard 50 or more from Dhoni!