Four days of Test cricket.
Two and quarter days of fighting cricket. The remaining was trash. Add in some vaseline, Bell runout gate and all you get is a waste of time.
India’s 2nd innings was a joke. Laxman and Dravid perhaps were too frustrated and let the others do some of the cleaning. What did the others do? Sachin made another meaningless half century. Harbhajan forgot to feign injury while batting to score 40 odd. Dhoni and his ODI boys did the usual. There is no excuse for this.
One cannot blame the bowlers too much. They toiled hard on day 1 and on day 3 without support. Some of field settings at key times were the most defensive I’ve seen in a decade. It felt like we were back to the post-Azhar Sachin and second-innings-Azhar age. Granted, the bowlers caved at time, bowling outside off, wide, and making it easy for the batsmen to score. What was required was some unity and team spirit. There was nothing like that going on. Maybe that had to do with divisiveness on Bell run-out-gate.
Ganguly was right. This season will tell us just how good a captain Dhoni really is.
As after any drubbing, there are more questions than answers. But I don have one answer – India are losing this series.
I will eat crow if they level!
VM\'s Random Ramblings 
angry angry post! 🙂 my guess is a win at Birmingham and Draw at Oval.. that would atleast help us keep the top spot! 😀 the cricket was very poor.. all day yesterday, usually when a team is scoring at more than 6 an over; its supposed to be loads of fun; i was fuming.. 478; i was still having hope; it all vapourised when Dravid nicked.. he was on the field the whole of the damn test; a tired man.. i had a little left when VVS was there, but what a ball he got.. wonder if an Indian bowler can ever bowl a peach like that! Ishant did that to Trott at Lords but for Indians it seems to be coming by chance.. with Sehwag and Gambhir all set to open at Birmingham and order returning to the batting line-up; we can expect a good fight back.. hope never dies when you are a crazy fan!!
Hope never dies, indeed. 2-1, is still a series lost of India. I will still watch the cricket, but with some anger. It will take something special for it to subside.
The bowlers haven’t been able to close two innings quickly. They managed just one good session in two matches and couldn’t make that two in a row…or three if required.
Less said the better about batsmen.
England were tops.
I really do wish you end up eating crow, I do! 🙂