Batting with tailenders and Sachin's strategy in the Sydney Test, 2008

[Ram]

And yet Tendulkar had pretty much the same strategy in the first test as he did in Sydney. So yes, proof yet again that it's not essential to shield the tail and hide them from the strike in order to boost your total with the tail.

Huh? Sachin followed the exact OPPOSITE strategy in the first at test Chittagong, when compared to his tactics at Sydney. While in the partnership at Sydney, he routinely took singles off the first/second balls of the over, at Chittagong, he regularly refused singles in the initial parts of the over, even the field was spread far and wide (just like Sydney) and decided to go for the boundaries in the latter half of the over. For the sake of comparisons, I am going to take his partnership with Ishant at Sydeny and his combined partnership with Sreesanth and Ishant (I have no problems with him giving the strike to Zak, coz Zaheer is more than an adequate batsmen) at Chittagong. Please look at it for yourself and tell me if you're able to spot the near-opposite approaches that Sachin followed in the two instances.

[Ram]

First, the Sydney p'ship. http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvind/engine/match/291352.html?innings=2;page=3;view=commentary Notice, the field the is spread far and wide and Sachin takes single off the first ball.

The field is spread far and wide for Tendulkar, apart from a slip and a gully. 130.1 Johnson to Tendulkar, no run, short ball outside the off stump, Tendulkar cuts but mis-times it 130.2 Johnson to Tendulkar, 1 run, Tendulkar flicks the ball off his hips and takes the single, he isn't farming the strike then, Ishant has four balls to face The flied comes in, the slip cordon is populated once again. 130.3 Johnson to Sharma, no run, left alone outside the off stump, Johnson needs to make Ishant play 130.4 Johnson to Sharma, no run, another one is wide outside off stump, Ishant comfortably lets it go Johnson goes round the wicket. 130.5 Johnson to Sharma, no run, pitches short and wide outside off stump, what is Johnson thinking? Ishant lets it go again 130.6 Johnson to Sharma, no run, the fuller ball which is angled into the stumps finds the outside edge of Ishant's bat as he gets squared up in defence, the edge doesn't carry to Hayden at first slip

Another single off the 1st ball

131.1 Clark to Tendulkar, 1 run, full ball on off and middle stump, Tendulkar drives down the ground and takes the single once again Ishant has five balls to face, I don't fancy his chances. 131.2 Clark to Sharma, 1 run, he's made me take that back, Ishant fends a short-of-a-length ball off his hips behind square leg to get off the mark 131.3 Clark to Tendulkar, no run, Tendulkar flicks off his pads towards midwicket 131.4 Clark to Tendulkar, no run, good length delivery on off stump, Tendulkar moves across and nudges the ball towards the leg side The field comes in to stop the single, will Tendulkar look for the boundary? 131.5 Clark to Tendulkar, 1 run, he moves across towards the off side and flicks the ball to the right of the fielder at midwicket for a single Clark has one shot at Ishant. 131.6 Clark to Sharma, no run, he pitches it short and angles the ball down leg side, back to Tendulkar now

Single off the first ball;

132.1 Lee to Tendulkar, 1 run, he brings up 150 by steering Lee through point for a single, he gets another standing ovation from the SCG Is Lee's going to look for that fast searing yorker? 132.2 Lee to Sharma, FOUR, no he isn't, it's a length ball outside off stump, Ishant lofts it uppishly but he clears mid-off and the ball rolls to the boundary 132.3 Lee to Sharma, FOUR, this time Lee looks for the yorker but over-pitches it, Ishant gets on to the front foot and drives past Symonds at mid-off for four, he takes everyone by surprise 132.4 Lee to Sharma, no run, full ball in the blockhole but the line is outside off stump 132.5 Lee to Sharma, no run, another full delivery on middle stump, Ishant pushes the ball towards cover One ball to go. 132.6 Lee to Sharma, no run, Ishant gets on to the back foot and defends with a straight bat, loud cheers from the Indian fans at the SCG

Single off the third ball;

Brydon Coverdale tells me that this is Ishant's highest first-class score. 133.1 Clark to Tendulkar, no run, defended towards to mid-on 133.2 Clark to Tendulkar, no run, Clark bowls a short ball which Tendulkar ducks under 133.3 Clark to Tendulkar, 1 run, low full toss on middle stump, Tendulkar flicks behind square for a single 133.4 Clark to Sharma, no run, Clark tests Ishant with a short ball, he sways awkwardly out of the way 133.5 Clark to Sharma, no run, another short ball outside off stump, Ishant lets it go again, is Clark setting him up for the yorker off the last ball? 133.6 Clark to Sharma, no run, no, it's another short ball which Ishant defends towards the vacant short leg region, why doesn't Ponting have a man catching there?

Single off the first ball;

134.1 Lee to Tendulkar, 1 run, Tendulkar flicks the ball towards midwicket and sets off for two, he has to settle for one because the fielder in the deep covered ground quickly to get to the ball 134.2 Lee to Sharma, no run, defended on the back foot towards point 134.3 Lee to Sharma, FOUR, how about that? Ishant stands on the back foot and opens the face of the bat to run the ball past the slip cordon, he wasn't in complete control but he did his bit to keep the ball down 134.4 Lee to Sharma, no run, defended once again towards gully off the back foot 134.5 Lee to Sharma, FOUR, and another one runs down to third man, Sharma drives off the front foot but gets the outside edge once again, Lee can't believe it 134.6 Lee to Sharma, no run, Ishant begins to feel at a short of a length ball outside off but pulls his bat out of the way in time

Single off the first ball;

135.1 Clark to Tendulkar, 1 run, the yorker on off stump, Tendulkar pushes it off the front foot towards cover and takes the single Here's another banner which says "SCG - Sachin's Cricket Ground". There's a short leg in place for Ishant now. 135.2 Clark to Sharma, no run, defended watchfully off the back foot to the off side 135.3 Clark to Sharma, no run, Clark bangs it in short down leg side, Ishant fends at it but gets beaten 135.4 Clark to Sharma, FOUR, another short ball on leg stump, there's a short leg and a leg gully but Ishant somehow manages to pull it away in the gap to the fine leg boundary 135.5 Clark to Sharma, no run, now he does splendidly to dig the yorker out to the fielder at short leg 135.6 Clark to Sharma, 2 runs, the length is full and the line is on middle and leg, Ishant flicks confidently towards the vacant space at deep square leg, Lee runs around from long leg to fied

Single off the first ball;

136.1 Lee to Tendulkar, 1 run, Tendulkar defends a good length ball towards the off side and takes the single off the first ball once again, well the ploy has paid off so far so you can't really complain 136.2 Lee to Sharma, no run, Ishant plays an ambitious drive off the front foot at a good length ball outside off stump, he misses Siddhartha Vaidyanathan tells me that Ishant had 17 runs from his 15 first class games. He's more than doubled his tally in one innings. 136.3 Lee to Sharma, no run, beaten outside the off stump 136.4 Lee to Sharma, no run, Ishant drives a full ball angling into off stump, he's hit that firmly towards mid-off 136.5 Lee to Sharma, no run, good length ball on middle stump, Ishant jumps on to the back foot and defends with a straight bat 136.6 Lee to Sharma, no run, left alone outside the off stump, Ishant hands the strike back to Tendulkar, you get the feeling that Ishant will get it back soon enough

Maiden;

Or will Tendulkar change tactics because the chinaman bowler Brad Hogg has been brought on by Ponting? 137.1 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, Tendulkar leans forward to a tossed up delivery and pushes it to midwicket 137.2 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, defended watchfully off the front foot 137.3 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, Tendulkar stretches forward once again and blocks 137.4 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, full delivery on off and middle stump, Tendulkar pushes the ball to long-on and, yes, he does refuse the single 137.5 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, Tendulkar doesn't read the wrong one and gets hit on the pad while trying to defend on the front foot, lovely delivery but it was missing off 137.6 Hogg to Tendulkar, no run, the quicker one to end the over, Tendulkar tries to paddle sweep but misses, he's a little upset with himself

Sharma to face Lee, gets dismissed;

Lee is looking for his fifth wicket. 138.1 Lee to Sharma, no run, Ishant gets behind the line of a short ball, takes the bottom hand off the bat, and defends to the off side 138.2 Lee to Sharma, OUT, Lee gets his fifth! He bowls another short ball right at Ishant's body, he fends at it with the bat well in front of the body, the ball hits the face of the bat and lobs up towards Lee who takes a comfortable catch

So, in short, Sachin shared a partnership of approximately 8 overs with Ishant, in which in he took singles off either the first or second ball SIX times, took a single off the third ball ONCE. Not only that, he scored ZERO boundaries and even though the partnership lasted more than 8 overs and added 32 runs, Sachin's contribution was a mere 8 runs.

[Ram]

Now, contrast this to the approach Sachin took in the Chittagong test, when he added 34 runs with the same Ishant (and Sreesanth). He did take singles of the first few balls of the 60th and 62nd over but I can perfectly understand that because they were the last overs of the day. It makes perfect sense for the specialist batsmen to not go for the big shots and get dismissed and get off the strike and allow the tail-ender to face most of the deliveries. Single off the third ball;

59.1 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, short of a length and he turns it off the stumps toward square leg, then turns down the single 59.2 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, similar ball and this time he defends to the on side 59.3 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, 1 run, gets back and chops a wider ball just in front of square Three slips, gully, short leg ... 59.4 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, short ball, he gets back and covers off stump, defends and inside-edges onto his thigh pad 59.5 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, well played, just covers off again and defends the ball with soft hands to the off side, telling Tendulkar to wait 59.6 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, too wide, he needs to make him play

Single off the last ball;

60.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, short of a length and he gets back and across to defend 60.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, now out comes the reverse sweep, not timed well, in fact off the back keg but well outside the line of off stump 60.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, comes out and mistimes the booming drive to cover 60.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, again makes room, opens the face but can't beat point 60.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, dances out, looking to go over the top, Shakib fires it down leg and Tendulkar kicks it away 60.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, 1 run, heaves across the line and inside-edges to square leg

Single off the first ball;

Shahdat steams in 61.1 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, 1 run, takes the single, Ishant is exposed for the next five deliveries, shortish on middle, worked away to fine leg, thought hard but then finally decided to display come confidence in his partner A slip and a short leg 61.2 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, short of a good length on the off, prods forward and taps it straight towards extra cover 61.3 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, hurled it short on leg stump, Ishant tried to play at it but then withdrew, went past his glove to the keeper 61.4 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, 1 run, another short one and fends at it this time, uppishly behind short leg for a single 61.5 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, short of a good length outside off, nipping back in, chops it towards point 61.6 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, comedy of errors, short on the off, goes for the pull, gets a top edge and there are three fielders converging but all hesitant waiting for the other guy to make a call, none took the ultimate step and it lands in front of all of them, Shahdat is distraught, Tendulkar can't believe his luck

Maiden;

62.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run, appeal for lbw, went on straight from round the wicket and Ishant, prodding forward, tries to defend but misses and is struck on the pads, was struck in line and the height was ok, the umpire says no and the batsman is luck to get away 62.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run 62.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run, tossed up on the off, pushed away into the off side on the front foot 62.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run, leans forward and pats it towards extra cover 62.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run Ishant is surrounded. Three slips, a silly point, short leg and a leg slip 62.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Sharma, no run, slips in the arm ball from round the wicket, short of a good length on the off, pushed back to the bowler

Thats the end of the first day's play. Now, as we get into the second day, watch the RADICAL change of approach in Sachin's batting. Keep in mind, this is the exact same Ishant who partnered him in Sydney Field is far and wide to start with, Sachin refuses singles for the first 4 balls. Field comes in for the 5th ball, Sachin gets a 4 and gets a single off the last ball

63.1 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, back of a length and he defends to backward point 63.2 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, straighter ball, he gets across and turns it to midwicket 63.3 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, back of a length on the stump and he presents a full face 63.4 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, 2 runs, wide ball, short too, and he slaps it past point for an easy two The field comes to encourage the boundary ... what will Tendlya do? 63.5 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, FOUR, he pulls, that's what he does! Expects the short ball and knows there is no cover in the deep so pulls over square leg, not a perfect shot but he gets four 63.6 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, 1 run, smartly done, gets his back leg to cover off stump and then dabs a length ball in front of backward point, hesitates for a second but then calls Ishant across

Refuses singles again, gets four off the last ball;

64.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, leans into a drive but cannot time it, the bowler fields 64.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, tossed up too straight, he sweeps past square, there's a fumble by the sweeper and Tendulkar refuses the single No close catchers by the way ... 64.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, tossed up wider, no shot offered 64.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, gently tossed up, he comes forward and pushes to cover Field comes in now ... 64.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, makes room and skips out, Shakib follows him and spears it down leg, Tendulkar gets a bit of bat on the ball but turns down the single to mid-on 64.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, FOUR, again he dances out, again Shakib follows him, but this time Tendulkar clears mid-on by some distance with a nice shimmied lofted drive

Ishant plays out a maiden;

Two slips, gully, short point, forward short leg ... 65.1 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, overpitched outside off, very full, Ishant wafts and misses 65.2 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, hits a length and stays low, wobbling off the seam, no shot offered 65.3 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, bouncer down the leg side and Ishant gets inside the line and raises the arms, allowing the ball skim past his ribs 65.4 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, short again, not as fine, and this time he gets across and fends the ball just wide of the catcher under the helmet at short leg 65.5 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, aims for the yorker but pitches wide, still manages to beat the bat 65.6 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, short down the leg side, easily left alone for Mushfiqur

Refuses singles again, hits 6 off the last ball;

Defensive field, allowing a set Tendulkar some runs ... 66.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, short ball, he pulls it past midwicket but again declines the run 66.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, tossed up this time, gets some turn, no shot offered 66.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, again well flighted outside off, inviting the drive, Tendulkar drive hard to extra cover where Tamim fumbles 66.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, arm ball on the stumps, he pats it back watchfully 66.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, no run, tosses it up wide, Tendulkar comes out and makes it a full toss, then steers it to gully where the fielder dives and fumbles 66.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Tendulkar, SIX, again uses his feet and launches the ball over mid-on for six They are not attacking Tendulkar, instead allowing him an open field.

Ishant falls in the first part of the over, Sachin finishes it by hitting 2 boundaries;

67.1 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, pitches outside leg stump, Ishant turns it in the air but it does not carry to a diving Tamim at short midwicket 67.2 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, no run, fuller length, again outside leg, turned to short leg Only the eight ball Ishant has faced today 67.3 Shahadat Hossain to Sharma, OUT, edged and taken, the angle works as the ball pitches back of a length and leaves Ishant who stands there and gives Mushfiqur catching practice I Sharma c †Mushfiqur Rahim b Shahadat Hossain 1 (41m 24b 0x4 0x6) SR: 4.16 Well done, Shahadat. He gets his fifth wicket and India lose their ninth. This is his third haul of five or more. Sreesanth walks out. Last man in. 67.4 Shahadat Hossain to Sreesanth, 1 run, full outside leg stump and he plays a nice nudge past the catchers Wide field now, men all around the circle ... boundary? 67.5 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, FOUR, yes sir! Banged in short, he makes room and dances out, slaps the ball in the air over cover to move to 97 67.6 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, FOUR, there it is, century No. 44! Gets on top of the bounce and steers the ball in the air but wide of backward point and gully and raises his arms, two fours in row take Tendulkar to three figures and what an innings it has been, terrific to watch Raises his arms and looks to the skies. The fans clap. Shakib joins in. His second ton in Chittagong, fourth against Bangladesh. This has helped India immensely.

Sreesanth plays out a maiden;

68.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, beaten outside off, feeling for the turn 68.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, tossed up again and he leaves it be 68.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, on the stumps and he pats it back 68.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, slower ball, wider too to invite the drive and he does so, hitting it hard to cover 68.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, wider ball, sharp turn and no shot offered 68.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, ah ha, beaten! Turn, drift and bounce, pitches on off and spits away at a sharp height, beating the forward prod and very nearly the wicketkeeper too

Refuses singles, 4 off the 5th ball;

69.1 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, gets back to ride the bounce of a short ball, taps it to point 69.2 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, too straight and he pushes the ball to midwicket 69.3 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, pitches it up and he drives, bit too much bottom hand, to mid-off 69.4 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, flashes at one pitching shorter but cannot connect 69.5 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, FOUR, another inventive shot, gives Shahadat the charge, he bangs it short and wide but Tendulkar reaches out and goes through the covers for four more 69.6 Shahadat Hossain to Tendulkar, no run, aims the yorker outside off, Tendulkar starts to come out but then holds back and the over ends with a dot

Sreesanth dismissed in this over;

Slip, gully, silly point and short leg ... 70.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, tossed up and defended nicely 70.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, turn and bounce, breaks away from middle and leg, he stabs at it and does well to remove the top hand as the ball drops short of the catchers 70.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, gets a bigger stride forward and defends well 70.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, no run, pitches leg and turns across, he covers the line and leaves 70.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Sreesanth, OUT, all over, and five for the captain! Pitches well outside leg stump and turns in to Sreesanth who tries to turn it away past short leg but instead gets a leading edge that balloons up and settles in silly point's hands as he takes a few steps back

So, on the morning of day 2, Sachin added an extremely similar 30 runs off 7 overs with Ishant and Sreesanth. Only this time, in SHARP contrast to his previous approach at Sydney, in the 7 overs, he took singles of the first/second/third balls of the over ZERO times, hit FIVE fours and a single SIX

[Ram]

So, I dunno where you're getting your 'And yet Tendulkar had pretty much the same strategy in the first test as he did in Sydney' as it is CLEARLY not the case.

[Mr. Wicket]

The point is that when the field was up in the last few balls of the over, he often went for a boundary and didn't take a single on many occasions - meaning there were a number of times the lower order batsman with him ended up facing a full over and being 'exposed'. Sachin did not go out of his way to try and protect the tailenders from the strike, instead sharing the strike almost equally but making sure he maximised scoring opportunities. Again, rather than trying to nitpick ball by ball, try and look at the bigger picture - of the 30 overs that SRT batted with the tail and the partnerships he had with each lower order player, how much of the strike did he actually take through manipulation? Overall he faced about 50% of the strike in the last 30 overs (after Mishra came in), hardly a case of him shielding the lower order.

[Ram]

The point is that when the field was up in the last few balls of the over' date=' he often went for a boundary and didn't take a single on many occasions - meaning there were a number of times the lower order batsman with him ended up facing a full over and being 'exposed' [/quote'] As opposed to taking a single off the first ball and allowing the tail-ender to face the rest of the over? That makes a lot of sense, doesnt it?

Sachin did not go out of his way to try and protect the tailenders from the strike, instead sharing the strike almost equally but making sure he maximised scoring opportunities.

Wrong, Sachin played more balls than Ishant did in Chittagong (Ishant played only 9 balls off the total 30 balls of the partnership on the morning of day 4), while in Sydney (Ishant played 34 off the 54 balls), it was the opposite.

Again, rather than trying to nitpick ball by ball, try and look at the bigger picture - of the 30 overs that SRT batted with the tail and the partnerships he had with each lower order player, how much of the strike did he actually take through manipulation? Overall he faced about 50% of the strike in the last 30 overs (after Mishra came in), hardly a case of him shielding the lower order.

Dude, who is nitpicking? I had to paste all those to prove my case, which i think I did. Here we have TWO completely OPPOSITE approaches taken by the VERY same batsmen (Sachin) when batting with the EXACT same tail-ender (Ishant) in two different instances (Sydney). And when I said the approach he took at Sydney was wrong, people defended Sachin. Now, its when Sachin took the approach at Chittagong that I wanted him to take in Sydney, people are defending that as well.. Anyways, am outta here.

[observer1]

needed the strike to get to 100 this time?

[Mr. Wicket]

Wrong' date=' Sachin played more balls than Ishant did in Chittagong (Ishant played only 9 balls off the total 30 balls of the partnership on the morning of day 4), while in Sydney (Ishant played 34 off the 54 balls), it was the opposite.[/quote'] Try and look at the bigger picture; you're going on and on about only one partnership - look at the whole series of partnerships with the lower order. 7th wicket partnership: 75 balls, out of which Mishra faced 41 8th wicket partnership: 27 balls out of which Zaheer faced 18 9th wicket partnership: 54 balls out of which Ishant faced 24 10th wicket partnership: 20 balls out of which Sreesanth faced 12 A straightforward question: Does this suggest a pattern of Tendulkar trying to *shield* the tailenders from the strike? Does this support your conjecture that Tendulkar actually protected the tailenders this time (as per your criticisms of the Sydney innings)?

[Anakin]

This is exactly what I don't like about SRT. He needs to learn how to play cricket from an arm chair expert.

[Ram]

needed the strike to get to 100 this time?

Could be..:winky:

Try and look at the bigger picture; you're going on and on about only one partnership - look at the whole series of partnerships with the lower order. 7th wicket partnership: 75 balls, out of which Mishra faced 41 8th wicket partnership: 27 balls out of which Zaheer faced 18 9th wicket partnership: 54 balls out of which Ishant faced 24 10th wicket partnership: 20 balls out of which Sreesanth faced 12 A straightforward question: Does this suggest a pattern of Tendulkar trying to *shield* the tailenders from the strike? Does this support your conjecture that Tendulkar actually protected the tailenders this time (as per your criticisms of the Sydney innings)?

Why are you repeatedly bringing in names like Mishra and Zaheer, when I have clearly said MANY times, I dont have a problem with whatever approach a top-order batsmen takes, when batting tail-enders with decent batting capabilities? I have held this line, even in the Sydney test, where I did not object to Sachin's tactic of sharing the strike with Bhajji and even RPS. My ONLY objection was, is and will be, with the way he played with Ishant, because Ishant then (and now), is not known to have any meaningful batting capabilities. So, I'll strictly restrict myself to comparing the two partnerships. And boy, they couldnt be more different to each other. In Sydney; The partnership lasted 54 deliveries, Ishant faced 34 off that. Sachin scored only 8 runs in the whole partnership with zero boundaries. In Chittagong; Even though the total partnership was 54 balls, part of it was on the *** end of day 1, when Sachin deliberately gave the strike to Ishant so that he wouldnt get dismissed. On the morning of day 2, the partnership lasted 30 balls, Ishant faced only 9 off that, in a CLEAR attempt by Sachin to have as much of the strike possible. So, for the umpteenth time, the two approaches followed by Sachin, when playing the SAME tail-ender in two different matches, couldnt be MORE different. So, I dunno about Sachin shielding the tail-enders or not, but there was a concerted effort on his part to face as much of the bowling as possible in Chittagong and score as many runs as possible. This was quite clearly missing in Sydney. I dont know how anyone can deny this with a straight face, especially after looking at all the FACTS.

[Ram]

But one thing's for sure, I simply cannot wait for guys like Shwetab, Graphic, two of the most vocal supporters of Sachin's approach in Sydney to voice their opinion now, especially when the same batsmen, playing with same tail-ender, followed the EXACT OPPOSITE strategy the 2nd time around. The only thing different was the bowling attack. While Ishant was then left to fend for himself against Lee and Clarke the last time, he was ably protected from guys like Shahadat Hossain and Shakib-al-Hassan this time..

[observer1]

needed the strike to get to 100

Could be..:winky: .

You are letting your admiration of the man cloud your judgement. What other reason can you think of to explain the frenetic hitting this time?

[Ram]

You are letting your admiration of the man cloud your judgement. What other reason can you think of to explain the frenetic hitting this time?

A'right Doc, I'll stop dithering 'round do some plain speaking. My guess is that Sachin, during the Sydney innings was already batting on 146 when Ishant came in and we had already crossed the 500 run mark. He probably thought it wasnt worth to go for some quick runs and get dismissed in the process. This time, when Ishant came in, the circumstances were HUGELY different. The team's total was less than 200 and he was batting on 73. There was need for some quick runs for more than one reason (hint), hence the near opposite approach.

[The Outsider]

But one thing's for sure, I simply cannot wait for guys like Shwetab, Graphic, two of the most vocal supporters of Sachin's approach in Sydney to voice their opinion now, especially when the same batsmen, playing with same tail-ender, followed the EXACT OPPOSITE strategy the 2nd time around. The only thing different was the bowling attack. While Ishant was then left to fend for himself against Lee and Clarke the last time, he was ably protected from guys like Shahadat Hossain and Shakib-al-Hassan this time..

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: The fact that the number 10 and 11 batsmen faced 36 out of 74 deliveries in partnerships with Tendulkar is your 'evidence' for him shielding the tail?

[Ram]

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: The fact that the number 10 and 11 batsmen faced 36 out of 74 deliveries in partnerships with Tendulkar is your 'evidence' for him shielding the tail?

Before you get TOO excited; 27 of that 74 deliveries happened in the end of Day 1, when Sachin deliberately took singles to go away from the strike, which is the ABSOLUTELY sensible thing to do. No point in the only recognized batsmen exposing himself to the bowling in the last thre overs of the day. On Day 2, both Ishant and Sreesanth faced only 19 off the 42 deliveries faced by all Indian batsmen, which roughly translates to 41% of all the strike for the tail-enders and 59% of the strike for the main batsmen (Sachin) Now, wanna know that numbers for Sydney? Ishant faced 34 off the 54 total ball in the last wicket partnership, which roughly translates to 62% of the strike for the tail-ender and 38% for the main batsmen.. A complete role-reversal.. And guess how many runs Sachin scored in the Sydney partnership that lasted 54 balls? EIGHT, with zero hits to the boundary.. And guess how many runs Sachin in his partnership with Ishant and Sreesanth on day 2 that lasted 47 balls? 29, with fours 4s and a six! Is this enough, or need more proof?

[The Outsider]

End of day's play...blah blah blah....the innings would have ended if number 10 and 11 would have got out an the end of day's play. Very convenient of you to ignore that passage of play. And if you cannot see the difference between a score of 500+ and 200 on the board to argue that similar batting styles should have been adopted when Tendulkar did have the strike then I am certainly not going to waste my time trying to explain it to you.

[achilles]

Sachin is truly unbelievable :yay:

[Ram]

End of day's play...blah blah blah....the innings would have ended if number 10 and 11 would have got out an the end of day's play. Very convenient of you to ignore that passage of play. And if you cannot see the difference between a score of 500+ and 200 on the board to argue that similar batting styles should have been adopted when Tendulkar did have the strike then I am certainly not going to waste my time trying to explain it to you.

blah blah..? It makes perfect sense dude.. Also, very convenient of you to ignore how I was not just critical of Sachin repeatedly exposing Ishant to the strike in Sydney, but also of his near zero attempt to score during that p'ship (My view on this is clear, in a p'ship with a genuine tail-ender, its the duty of the batsmen to score), while he took it upon himself to score all the runs in Chittagong. Anyways, even after seeing the two direct OPPOSITE approaches taken by the same batsmen, when batting with the same tail-ender, if people are not convinced, then I rest my case. The thing is, if you think Sachin batted the right way in Sydney (which guys like Shwetabh and Graphic do), then I am waiting for your critique of his approach in Chittagong. If you think he batted the right way in Chittagong (like I do), then you must be critical of his approach in Sydney. You simply cannot be non-critical of BOTH those approaches..

[The Outsider]

blah blah..? It makes perfect sense dude..

Errr...how does it make sense for him to "protect" his wicket at the end of the day's play batting with 10 and 11? This wasn't the case of a nightwatchman in the center or a number 8 batsman in the middle where even if the nightwatchman or number 8 gets out at the end of the day, the main batsman has the opportunity to bat the next day. The innings would have ended here.

Also, very convenient of you to ignore how I was not just critical of Sachin repeatedly exposing Ishant to the strike in Sydney, but also of his near zero attempt to score during that p'ship (My view on this is clear, in a p'ship with a genuine tail-ender, its the duty of the batsmen to score), while he took it upon himself to score all the runs in Chittagong. Anyways, even after seeing the two direct OPPOSITE approaches taken by the same batsmen, when batting with the same tail-ender, if people are not convinced, then I rest my case. The thing is, if you think Sachin batted the right way in Sydney (which guys like Shwetabh and Graphic do), then I am waiting for your critique of his approach in Chittagong. If you think he batted the right way in Chittagong (like I do), then you must be critical of his approach in Sydney. You simply cannot be non-critical of BOTH those approaches..

Alright, now that we are in agreement that Tendulkar did not shield the tail, let's look at the different approaches he took when he did have the strike. The score was 500+ in Sydney and the score was 200 here for starters. And such judgments are made out there in the middle by Tendulkar and his batting partner, not by Morriz Mirror. Tendulkar would talk to his partner about whether he is feeling comfortable, he would analyze if his partner would be able to survive a particular bowler and come up with his approach. For me both approaches were right because both succeeded and they were taken by Tendulkar after putting his years of experience into some use rather than being adamant that there is only "one right way" to do things.

[saneindian]

Different matches, different situations, different conditions, different opposition, why should Sachin or some other batsman's approach be similar then? End of the day, the tail scored some valuable runs. Let the no 11 score 100 runs with SRT for the 10th wicket with Sachin contributing zilch, I wouldn't mind that at all, every run goes to the team's kitty after all.