It's not over yet...

[King]

I mentioned somewhere yesterday if India has to win against the Aussies roughly 5-6 should play exceedingly well. I don't reckon you can restrict Aussies on these pitches. They are adept at playing all forms of bowling. Gone are the day they used to struggle against spin. They didn't even let the great Murali go unpunished in the WC'07 finals. India has to win by batting well and unfortunately the top order hasn't fired so far (there's only been one hit for most). Australia's bowling should be targeted. India was able to push the Aussie bowlers on the back foot yesterday for a while but couldn't sustain long enough. The pressure almost got to Gilly when he came up to the umpire and questioned a no ball call. Figure that, he questioned a line no ball call from behind the stumps :haha: It wasn't the no ball but it was the six Yuvi hit that hurt Gilly. I'm quite sure he came up to the umpire and discussed with him after the six was hit not right after the no ball was bowled. I believe India can put the Aussies under good pressure if they are able to post a decent score even once. Most are annoyed quite a bit and that could be stemming from the fact they were put out of the Twenty20 tourney in the semis. They haven't a loss for a long time in a big tourney like that and now they will do everything to avenge that defeat. If India can sew together some good performances in the next game they can put the Aussies under pressure. It's going to be tough but it is possible India can put them under pressure. It was great to see Lee being hit over his head for six by Uthappa. That is ultimate shame for the fast bowlers, being hit back over the head for a six. I hope India doesn't succumb under pressure and continues to play aggressive cricket rest of the series.

[Rajiv]

First, Gilly can't keep questioning umpires like this..remember that Ponting Video. I mean it wasn't an silent inquiry, he was sorta threatening the umpire Sorry..bad stuff from Gilly and folks trust this guy to walk when he nicks something..nice freaking drama

[Mr. Wicket]

Well said Ravi! When we're cribbing about the figures Powar, Yuvraj and Harbhajan are getting, we're forgetting just how brilliant the Aussie batsmen are at playing all forms of bowling. Didn't Murali end up with figures of 0/99 in a one day game around a year ago against them? Australia cannot be stopped by bowling at them, especially with a side that - barring a few members - will generally get demotivated and listless as the runs pile up. The best thing (as I've said for a long time) is to win the toss, bat, bat, and bat. Australia are under the most pressure only when they have a large number of runs to face up to. Give them even seaming conditions, and they will bully an attack into submission. Give them a big total, and then they can sweat. It's no surprise that the few tests they've lost in the few years have seen batting collapses in response to big scores. Remember Adelaide and their panic-filled approach when their 500 was matched by one of India's own. Or Edgbaston, when England started by piling up 400 on day 1, and set them a stiff target. Or Trent Bridge, where England again piled up a big first innings score and immediately put them on the back foot. Or even Kolkata, when they were just standing in the face of far too many runs. Australia's batsmen do not perform as well when chasing under pressure. Small targets that can suddenly produce nerves and pressure get to them after a few early wickets. Big targets work even better for the large part. Heck, even among matches they've won, they've come closest to defeat in games where the opposition batted first and batted big (Bangladesh at Fatullah, South Africa recently in SAF...) india really needs to look to their batsmen to deliver. Between Ganguly and Tendulkar, someone must deliver a stable, solid platform of runs for others to bat around with Uthappa, Rohit, Yuvraj and Dhoni playing their shots. Only then will Australia be beaten.

[THX_1138]

as i said in another thread... you cant chase down a target posted by these guys. and notice, they rarely have a maverich display, its always two or three significant contributions. the idea is that to beat australia, you need to at the top of your game. no disrespect to our players, but with the exception of dhoni, tendulkar and yuvraj, the rest of the aussies are significantly more talented than our team. hence, to beat a superior force, you need to bring you game up to their level and then force an error.

[Shehezaada]

that's better ravi...showing some enthusiasm finally! But yet..the forumla should be to bat first, then unleash some quality spin bowling on them. Khan and Sreesanth have done well for us...time for Bhajji to buck up. Also let's play 7 batsmen and leave Tendulkar and Yuvraj to fill the gap of the 5th bowler. Sachin Tendulkar Saurav Ganguly Gautam Gambhir Rahul Dravid Yuvraj Singh Robin Uthappa Mahendra Singh Dhoni Irfan Pathan Harbhajan Singh Zaheer Khan Sreesanth

[Tugga]

that's better ravi...showing some enthusiasm finally! . Also let's play 7 batsmen and leave Tendulkar and Yuvraj to fill the gap of the 5th bowler.

Bad idea....they will kill the 5th bowler.... how many times has it come back and bit us bad...?? go with 5 (good) bowlers and its time for all the 11 players 2 pull up their socks - bowlers and batsmen both..!