This is what makes them the world Champions

[Ram]

I was hugely surprised to see Aus declare late on day 3. They were ahead by close to 500, a mammoth score by itself, but not insurmountable in the absolute sense. Most world captains would have batted on for longer, maybe an hour into day 4, get the lead close 550 and then declared, but Ponting chose to not to do so. Even an acclaimed former captain like Mark Taylor seemed to be of the opinion that Aus should bat for an hour on day 4. But as I think more about it, the logic behind the move slowly dawned on me. When Ponting saw the scoreboard and realized they had a lead of close to 500, he must have asked himself " Are our bowlers good enough to dismiss India before that ? ". The answer, understandably is a "yes". He therefore saw the remaining 8 overs in the day as a chance to make some early inroads into our batting line-up, rather than using it to further fortify his team's position. What this means is, had the conditions been much more bowler friendly and the time left a lot less, Ponting wont hesitate to declare even with a lead of just around 300 to force a win. Now, how many captains in world cricket would be willing do that ? And that is where i feel that the difference lies between a world beating team like Aus and a good team like Ind. Aus, now, have chosen to back their strengths and beliefs to declare when they did, but India, on more than one occasion this year, have fallen for their doubts and misgivings in not declaring a few times when they have had to. Consequently, their test record in this year so far, which should have read "Played 8 won 5" , now reads " played 8 , won 3". EVEN if India manage to overhaul this target, I am sure Ponting would say that , if given a chance again, he would again declare at the same score. His logic would be that if his bowlers arent good enough to dismiss an opposition for less than 500 on days 4 and 5, they wouldnt defend even a 600+ score. This is the way the Aus play their cricket, they chose to back their strengths and convictions, rather than their doubts. When you have such an approach to the game, its no wonder they win so often. Such an attitude ALWAYS wins you more matches than it may lose you. On the three occasions that India chose to play it safe this year wrt declarations, they would have at the most, lost one of the match, but had things fallen their way, they could have easily won all the three of them. Will India learn ?

[Donny]

Excellent observations, mm. It's quite a leap of faith but a necessary one to achieve the heights the Aussies have.

[kablooee87]

I wrote a post on PP talking about how he declared too early but by the end of it I thought "or many it's just an aussie attacking mentality thing that I just wouldn't understand." I think Ponting was looking to sneak a wicket before stumps AND get the good bowling conditions in the morning tomorrow. Declaring just before tea could have gotten a wicket before a break too but then afterwards you have to go out and bowl in the best session for batting. Just to play devils advocate though, instead of think of it in the "if the bowling attack can't defend 500" logic, what if we say "if the bowling attack can't take 10 wickets in 5 sessions, it can't get em anyway." Personally, I don't think you ever need more than 5 sessions to bowl a team out in the 4th innings. If it goes that long, the bowlers have pretty much given up.

[fineleg]

MM, Aus have the bowlers who *will* deliver 100% to finish the match on Day-4. That is why Ponting is able to declare. Big difference. Ponting knows its 0-1 for India, and it will be very soon. He knows it.

[flamy]

one thing for sure. we will atleast get a result instead of an asinine draw

[putrevus]

Excellent MM, it is their positive mindset which sets them apart from any other team, if look closely he declared after all his main batsmen were out ,but the message it sends to opponents we are going to get you out show the belief he has in his bowlers. Indians bowlers are not that good to get their batsman out of jail in both innings , they got them out relatively cheap in the first, it was the batsman who failed to deliver, if they had scored at least 100 more in first innings this could have been a different match but no the famed batting line up which always has crumbled when it matters, sure some guys may score few runs and 100s in the series but collectively as team this batting line up has never delivered when it mattered most. You can look back Indian batting has never backed indian bowlers overseas they couldnt score 120 odd to win a match in west indies when sachin was captain, they couldn't score in Karachi in 2006 in first innings after irfan pathan started the match with hattrick,even in south africa recently. If India want to win even one test match in australia, they need the positive mindset and attack rather being defensive, they batted for almost 72 overs if they had just taken singles more often and run their twos harder they could have score easily near 270 in first innings, this could have been different match now.Aussies dont take matches off once the series is over like indians did they look to win every match they play which sadly is not case with Indian team as MM mentioned

[kabira]

even if they had batted bit longer, how many runs would have been scored..Remember it was tail batting.. If Gilly was still around, he would have not declared..

[living]

EVEN if India manage to overhaul this target, I am sure Ponting would say that , if given a chance again, he would again declare at the same score.

I don't think so .... One game in Kolkata changed the aussie follow on policy for good.

[Anakin]

It is a safe target 99.99% of the time, so common sense thinking by Ponting, nothing extraordinary about it.

[ludhianvi]

I reckon India will win, if not draw:D Then, we'll see the reaction

[gator]

Iit doesnt seem like tht agressive a deal considering the target is 500.... declaring with the target at 350/375 is a totally different ball game..... make no mistake, Ricky's was still a positive move, but i would not write an ode about it....

[arkay]

Well the target of 500 is certainly daunting. But they have 2 days to get it. So technically any team who can put their heads down can get this total. If Indians think the way ozzie bowlers think, then 500 is total that is attainable. Indians did the first thing right by not losing any wickets in 8 overs yesterday. Now Indians need to play according to each session. With the Jaffer and Dravid they have 2 batsmen who can control the innings. Compared to the 1st innings, both of them looked good yesterday. Jaffer and Dravid should look to rotate the strike and look to score. This pitch is still behaving true even though outfield is slow. So anything can happen. In this test, there are only 2 results. Win / Lose. The question would be, Does India have the stomach to put the fight? Can Dravid / Jaffer lead the way? They lost the initiative in the first innings. Can they seize the initiative. Can they score 2.5 to 3.0 runs an over ? Can they put a 100+ runs on the board and one of them goes to play a big innings?

[Guest Hiten.]

Its easy to say that the decision of declaring was easy. 500 runs is a big score, but given the amount of time we have to chase is not even funny. 2 days is a lot of time for a team to score 500 runs. Teams do score 500 runs in 1 and half days with attacking cricket (in 1st innings). Teams have to apply their plans properly while chasing these mammoth targets. I seriously don't understand why do Teams falter while chasing big targets. Its not like they have to chase the target, if they can't chase it then it'll be a draw. There is no reason why you have to play negative cricket and hand over the advantage to the opposition.

[fineleg]

Its easy to say that the decision of declaring was easy. 500 runs is a big score' date=' but given the amount of time we have to chase is not even funny. 2 days is a lot of time for a team to score 500 runs. Teams do score 500 runs in 1 and half days with attacking cricket (in 1st innings). Teams have to apply their plans properly while chasing these mammoth targets. I seriously don't understand why do Teams falter while chasing big targets. Its not like they have to chase the target, if they can't chase it then it'll be a draw. There is no reason why you have to play negative cricket and hand over the advantage to the opposition.

Yes in 1st Inn maybe. But in 2nd Inn, with the pitch bounce not consistent and rough areas around the batting area, it will be a struggle. So even if you try to play a positive shot like trying to whip a ball onto the onside, it can keep darn low and strike you plumb LBW. This is why survival is impossible. And, this is why we cannot afford to get out cheaply in 1st Inn. You have to make a big score in the 1st itself. 4th Inn will be a low scoring one usually.

[poori_meri]

Pak did the same at Karachi 2006 test match. Teams with quality fast bowlers always go for the kill unlike teams whose bowling spearhead is a spinner.

[fineleg]

Pak did the same at Karachi 2006 test match. Teams with quality fast bowlers always go for the kill unlike teams whose bowling spearhead is a spinner.

Quality fast bowlers like Shoaib Chuckter and "In Sami we trust" or druggo Asif? :hysterical:

[novpj]

I like the distinction made by a poster i.e. the declaration is not only because Aussies are aggressive its mainly because they have the bowling strength and the prepapration to get India out. India is not going to start performing liek Australia by declaring whimsically instead we need to up the talent level, preparation and fitness first. Too many posters here care about the talk and aggressive intent of Aussies but not a lot of discussion of how well prepared they are. Look at the field settings, the line and length the bowlers are bowling they have a plabn for everyone and are executing against it. So lets India do that first and then we can start being aggressive.