Fast and Loose

[fineleg]

http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/fast_and_loose/ Fast and loose In discussing the great captains, a comment that invariably comes up is that they led great teams, and that perhaps their greatness cannot really be measured until we see them at the helm of not-so-good outfits. ‘Anyone could lead that side’ has been said of the West Indies of the eighties and of Australia of the mid-nineties through early 2000s. Those chicken-and-egg disputes came strongly to mind while watching Ricky Ponting stuff up in the third session. India had lost six in the middle session and a dramatic turnaround was on the cards; Australia had the opportunity to blast away the tail and, with plenty of time and overs on hand, actually mount a calibrated chase for the target. Instead, we got part-timers. And where reverse swing had worked wonders for the visitors in the middle session, we got all sorts of spin. The logical explanation is that Ponting, who through this series has invariably fallen behind on the over rate, was worried—he had managed just 48 overs across two sessions, and could have been facing a stiff fine or, worse, a suspension. But that does not really explain the tactics that allowed India not only to get away, but to climb back into the driver’s seat—had Australia knocked over the remaining four wickets, its over rate would not have been a problem. So what was Ricky Ponting thinking? India’s innings was a mixture of opposites: Sehwag and Vijay [who continued to impress on debut; there were two cuts, one orthodox, the other late, off Krejza that stands out in memory] motored along in a way that threatened to take total control of the game, but once Sehwag went, the Indian batting took a leaf out of Australia’s first innings, and deteriorated into an inexplicable stodge. Yes, the bowling was good and yes, for once Australia appeared to have learnt how to nurse the ball as a unit and set up the reverse swing, but even granting all that, there seemed little reason why the likes of Dravid [who has had one of his worst home seasons in his career, and should now be definitely worried ahead of the England tour]; Sachin, VVS and Ganguly [you felt for him—a first ball duck in his last Test innings might have reminded you of Bradman, but surely that was not the way he deserved to go; and for a batsman more adept than most at handling spin to present a tame caught and bowled to a debutant spinner must have struck an additional sour note] batted as though to save a Test. It’s becoming a theme with this Indian team—or rather, it is the same theme, with a different player. There was a time when Tendulkar was the only batsman in the real sense, while the rest struggled; increasingly, that role is now being played by Sehwag, and that is a pity. During the nineties, we have often enough lamented the lack of an opening pair that could free up the middle order to bat with freedom; now that we have found an opening pair and, in this game, a possible alternative, the middle order appears to have lapsed into under-confidence. To say that is not to forget the good knocks Sachin, VVS and Sourav have played earlier in this series, but even granting that, and granting some superb seam and swing bowling by the Aussies and some big hearted flight and spin by Krejza, the Indian middle let themselves down on the day. 369 to win, 10 wickets in hand, 90 overs to play—it’s the recipe for a great final day of a fascinating Test series. Despite the flurry of fours in Khan’s first over, you would have to say India holds the upper hand: the Aussie batting unit as a whole lacks the kind of confidence that powers such chases; India has already shown in the first innings that it knows how to implement Plan B—choking the Aussies down—if it comes to that, so it has two strings to its bow. Throughout this match, the second session—which almost everywhere else is the best time for batting—has proved decisive; the ball that is between 25 and 50-odd overs has proved the hardest to counter. That has been when it is soft, but still provides purchase for spinners, and the beginning of reverse for the seamers. To my mind, that makes the morning session doubly crucial: if Australia can get away in that time, it can build up a sufficient cushion and be in a position to bat with more care in the middle session. Against that, if India can either take wickets, or keep the Aussies in check, in the morning, it will be in a position to come out attacking in the afternoon. A fascinating day ahead—see you there.

[flamy]

Nah, we are more a team now and will become more like that when Dhoni gets the team he wants.

[Desi Cartman]

except for RD all other batsmen have done their job in this series. Yes Veeru has been awesome but other have contributed as well. How can he forget Gambhir , dhoni and even bhajji & Zaheer. In this series the whole team has performed well.