Forward Defence

Guy on the right should be invited by our news media immediately

Hope he remembers that ridiculous reverse sweep he played against Moeen Ali at this ground. Wasn't so enjoyable for us fans then

I like how Mamoon pops up when Pak are at their lowest and says things like "We deserve this humiliation"

I remember it quite well. Its just that Laxman's effort came in 2010. Point me to a heroic 4th innings effort in a successful chase since then. Btw Sachin is the still the greatest in my book, no questions asked. Why do fans have to get all riled up over a simple observation? Here is the scorecard https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/13112/scorecard/464526/india-vs-australia-1st-test-australia-tour-of-india-sep-oct-2010-2010-11

The run up looks a tad clumsy though. More of a Doug Bollinger than a Starc or a Johnson.

Laxman's effort came at a time when we were already in a big hole. We were 8 down with almost 100 to get. The other efforts while commendable had decent starts from the top order. Pujara Dravids efforts were at no 3.

Actually nobody since Laxman has done anything like this in the 4th innings. Kohli's Adelaide innings is all we have which again was in a losing cause.

Woakes should be the MOM. Key wickets and this gem of an innings.

A left hander against the leggies is not such a bad idea.

Yeah still haunts me that one. Probably why I had a resentment for Mongia and Joshi even on their good days. Sachin was so upset he didnt even come out to receive the MOM award.

Only a Chennai 1999 esque choke can save Pakistan now.

Yeah that too. However the last few runs turn out to be the most difficult ever so often. Notice how both batsmen's strike rates are gradually falling now. Which is fine given the situation. A new ball with 40 - 50 more to get would still be interesting.

Next 20 -30 runs are the difficult part. Luckily for Eng the bowlers are tired and the new ball is still 10 overs away. Pakistan will rue the fact that they failed to control the rate of scoring.

Our lower middle order hasn't contributed enough. Rahane did very little and Pandya isn't quite the finished allrounder yet. Karthik let us down big time in Edgbaston. Ashwin's batting ability has deserted him. Not that our top order has done great either but you have to account for the early assistance for the seamers. Even the windies now are banking on their lower middle order Dowrich Holder Blackwood etc. We only had the one good innings by Pant and one by Jadeja. However I agree with your overall assessment. The performances of the other not so strong sides have glaringly exposed our failures.

This is shaping up into quite an exciting contest. Feel like a final Holder vs Stokes contest will decide the fate of the match. Blackwood and Chase are doing well so far.