Lights on Indian batting at MCG

[jacky007]

Talking about the positive approach and the aggression of the Indian team, in my opinion the only batsman who has come up with the right techniques as the right temperament/mind set to bat on versus kangaroos is Sachin. And in bowling is Kumble, even though Zaheer has bowled few good spells in the first inning but he needs to hit the deck much harder. Begin with Dravid and Jaffer, Jaffer has followed the ball and nicked behind in both the innings in a similar manner in very early of his innings, which shows he is not a quick learner and Ausses are always looked to work on the weakness of the batsmen. So its very hard for Jaffer to survive in this series. Coming on to Dravid, Dravid has some kind of mind set that he is not playing good these days, which he will have to work on. Rest, we all know he has techniques to play long and score big, but it seems his lake of confidence is really spreading in to the dressing room itself. So why not bring him back on his original place to bat for rest of the series. Laxman has shown the potential to score big but after getting start he’s once again not being capitalized on the early start of his inning. As I said before Tendulkar has shown the right temperament to handle the situation. Even though he didn’t get the big score for his second inning but it was well batted in terms of his approach towards the game and his aggression. On his 100th test, many eyed on Ganguly to score big in boxing test. But unfortunately, he has been cleaned twice by Hogg in early 40s. It seems Ganguly has been standing out side of his crease to face pace bowlers in order to avoid the LBWs, which surely displays that Ganguly is thinking hard about his batting and a biggie is being awaited to be picked in this series. Yuvraj has let down in this test after a great come back test against Pakistan. Not only Yuvraj has failed to score but he has also played a very important part to weaken the Indian middle order and the top order. Just to fit in Yuvraj in to the test side, Dravid is asked to open regardless of his own will, which has not worked out well in this test either for Dravid or India. Dhoni was good behind the stumps but he somehow needs to lift his batting up. The only few words I would like to put in Dhoni’s ears is just go out and play your natural game. It seemed to me that he wasn’t 100% on the field when he came to bat both the times. So words to pass are focus and just play your natural game. Lake of all-rounder has always troubled India and has done the same this time as well. Sharing 52 runs (Kumbla contributing 35 runs in his two innings) between four bowlers in two innings at the average of 6.5, it never looked to trouble Ausses in any manner. by: Jacky007

[Bumper]

Good writeup. But IMO Dravid did not bat any differently than he did vs Pakistan. Against Pakistan, with the likes of Tanvir & Sami bowling, there were two or three mandatory freebies every 3-4 overs. In Indian conditions, when the ball pierces the infield (aided by the Pakistani ball escorting service) it reaches the boundary in no time. A boundary every couple of overs from each batsman, is enough to keep the scoreboard moving. At MCG, none of the above were true. Which meant that batsmen will have to go hard at the ball to make things happen. When you do that (as Sachin did), you take considerable amount of risks. And in Sachin's case, he too perished in both innings, because of the risks he took. Hopefully other grounds wont be as sluggish as the MCG. Otherwise, the difference between the Indian and the Aussie athleticism will continue to make a big difference in the outcome.

[fineleg]

Good writeup. But IMO Dravid did not bat any differently than he did vs Pakistan. Against Pakistan' date=' with the likes of Tanvir & Sami bowling, there were two or three mandatory freebies every 3-4 overs. In Indian conditions, when the ball pierces the infield (aided by the Pakistani ball escorting service) it reaches the boundary in no time. A boundary every couple of overs from each batsman, is enough to keep the scoreboard moving.

:haha:

At MCG, none of the above were true. Which meant that batsmen will have to go hard at the ball to make things happen. When you do that (as Sachin did), you take considerable amount of risks. And in Sachin's case, he too perished in both innings, because of the risks he took. Hopefully other grounds wont be as sluggish as the MCG. Otherwise, the difference between the Indian and the Aussie athleticism will continue to make a big difference in the outcome.

Absolutely spot on Bumps.

[jacky007]

Akhila Ranganna: Hello and welcome to Cricinfo Talk, I have with me former India captain, Ravi Shastri to look back on what was a disappointing day and Test for India. Ravi, there was a question mark over India's pace attack before the series, but it's their batting that has let them down, hasn't it? Ravi Shastri: India's batting was really disappointing - there's no question about that. When India came out here, it was the batting that was supposed to be their strength and to be bowled out twice, for less than 200 in each innings in subcontinental conditions is very disappointing. AR: You said yesterday that the start will be crucial for India. But once again a lot of time was used up for not many runs. Will this opening strategy will have to be reworked? RS: It [the opening partnership] was a lot better today. It's very easy to criticise someone like Rahul Dravid but I thought his footwork was a lot better today. You have to give credit to the Australians for bowling extremely well in both innings. I thought they were very disciplined and professional. They bowled in the right areas and I thought there were some interesting field placements from Ricky Ponting as well. He was proactive at most times, which also added to the pressure. AR: It was always a tough ask for India, but no one expected them to capitulate in the manner they did. RS: Certainly not, and that's why I think they will be most disappointed. If they sit back now and think about what they did wrong, I think it will be to do with their strategy, going forward into the next Test. They need to decide how to approach this Australian attack. They can't be over-cautious like they were in this Test and allow Australia to strangle them. They will have to think of who are the players who will take the attack to the opposition and who are the players who will hold the innings together. AR: Ravi you spoke about Australia's bowling. One big plus for them was Brad Hogg's performance. Didn't the Indians have quite a bit of trouble reading him? RS: He bowled well. I think he would have gained confidence and there you must give credit to Ponting as well. He persisted with Hogg in the first innings; he gave him a long spell which meant it didn't do any harm to his confidence. Hogg got his wrong 'un to spin in the second innings and a lot of the Indians didn't pick him. He will go into the next Test in a very positive frame of mind. But credit must be given to Ponting for giving him the confidence to bowl that long spell. AR: A couple of question marks over the composition. The first is Dravid opening, and VVS Laxman at No. 3. The second is playing two spinners. Do you see Harbhajan Singh having a bigger role to play in this series? RS: It all depends on the pitch. The Indians will leave for Sydney in a couple of days and once they see the pitch, the strategy comes into play. They might even think of Virender Sehwag at the top of the order. If someone will take the attack to the opposition, it is someone like him. Something that will be discussed in the team meeting is: will that [including Sehwag] be part of our strategy? Do we gamble with someone like him? And they well might do that. AR: India came very close to a win last time in Sydney. What do they need to look at now, going into the next Test? RS: They need to go there with a clear mindset. If you just allow Australia to strangle you, they are too good a side then. Once they have you on the mat, they will be all over you. Their fielding is good and they have got variety in their attack. Their fast bowlers were very disciplined and professional and I was particularly impressed with Mitchell Johnson - he's a great find. He's a left-armer, he's fast and even today, though it was a bit hot and humid today, he bowled with good pace, bowled long spells and also got the ball to reverse-swing. Stuart Clark and Brett Lee are known quantities. They've done well in the last 12-18 months but Johnson coming in adds a lot of strength to this attack. AR: Ravi, finally, you spoke about mindset. Do you think that is the problem with Dravid? Is his mind too cluttered when he goes out to open? RS: You know what I said today on television: Dravid needs to take a chill pill. He needs to go and relax, have a good New Year and stay away form the nets as much as possible and just go out and bat. He's a great player. AR: Ravi, thank you for your views. We'll hear from you during the second Test, till then it's good bye.

[fineleg]

Ravi Shastri: India's batting was really disappointing - there's no question about that. When India came out here, it was the batting that was supposed to be their strength and to be bowled out twice, for less than 200 in each innings in subcontinental conditions is very disappointing. .

Too often this is the case. People will say "batting is our strength", but will crumble in away series!

[Parth]

Too often this is the case. People will say "batting is our strength", but will crumble in away series!

In this test match our bowling was our strength, Prasad has done a good job, maybe we need a batting coach.