October 22, 2008
India triumph over Australia to go 1-0 up in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2008-09 with a historic win in the second Test at Mohali. Team effort and proactive captaincy made this possible. Australia have been bringing the best out of India for the past 5 years now, with each victory arguably better than the other in quality.
Congratulations, India! A well earned victory! Cheers!
But the series isn’t over yet and there is still some good work to do.
Where now from here for India? India need to keep the intensity just where it is, if not turn it up another notch. The bowling attack with Ishant, Bhajji and Zaheer is rocking. Mishra had a compelling debut. Delhi will be key and the selectors will have one hell of a task picking a playing XI. I shall save that for another discussion, but I must add that for once, I’m glad that this selection isn’t my job!
India’s batting is still a bit of a concern. Ganguly has been the best performer so far – he’s looked solid in defence, characteristic in attack and has played his natural game. Viru and Gambhir closely follow. There are still a few question marks around the others in the batting order with respect to solidity, based on current form.
As for the Aussie, I would give anything to hear from Greg Chappell. 🙂 I’ll save my comments on him till the end of the series. Ponting has some sorting out to do. Clarke is good only in patches. I don’t understand how Shane Watson and Cameron White made it to the side. The only reason I can think of is thier familiarity to the conditions from IPL. Watson, course played for the Rajasthan Royals and White, rather unimpressively for Bangalore Royal Challengers. I find it hard to believe that the Aussies don’t have anything better in the closet. Haddin has a long way to go – an average keeper and below-average Test batsman. Siddle was hyped beyond proportions, might be (along with Johnson) the better ones from the newer lot. Lee is obviously out of form/rusty. Two players hold the key – Hayden and Hussey. While lashing out at the apparent lack-of-quality/experience in the Aussie line up, in the back of my mind, there is this dark thought that India might face this very situation (maybe even worse with the batting) when the Fab four disappear from the scene. But that is not for this day.
This day, we celebrate for going one step ahead to re-gaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy! Cheers!
13 Comments |
Bhajji, Cricket, Dhoni, Dravid, Ganguly, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, Zaheer Khan | Tagged: Amit Mishra, Amit Mishra's debut, Aussie team, Australia, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Bhajji, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Brad Haddin, Bree Lee, Clarke, Cricket, Dhoni, Dhoni captaincy, Dravid, Fab Four, Fab four of Indian cricket, Gambhir, Ganguly, Gautham Gambhir, Greg Chappell, Haddin, Harbhajan, Harbhajan Singh, Hayden, Hussey, Ind vs Aus 2008-09 Day 5, India, India vs. Aus 2nd Test Mohali, India win 2nd Test at Mohali, IPL, Ishant, Ishant Sharma, Johnson, Lee, Michael Clarke, Mishra, Mitchell Johnson, Mohali, MS Dhoni, Peter Siddle, Ponting, Rajasthan Royals, Ricky Ponting, Sehwag, selectors, Shane Watson, Siddle, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, Test Cricket, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, The Big Three of Indian cricket, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Watson, Zaheer Khan |
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Posted by vmminerva
October 13, 2008
After what seemed like an eternity, India has managed not to lose a match batting 4th. I had mentally written them off and that mostly due to the poor show in Sri Lanka. I’m still trying to tweak Cricinfo’s statsguru to spit me the results of India’s draw percent when batting second. I’m pretty sure this must be low (esp in the last 3 years). From memory I recall only 2 from the last 3 years – the one at Lords (which really shouldn’t count) and one against South Africa.
Going by that, this is an achievement. But what that also says is that the Aussies have lost some of their sting without McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist (behind the stumps). Haddin has a long way to go. Watson, Haddin, Cameron White (who also plays for Bangalore Royal Challengers) don’t really strike me as great Test cricketers. Unless they go the Symonds way with their game, we may see some mediocre results from them in the near future.
As for India, NB from Soulberry’s TCWJ puts so succinctly, what seemed so muddled in my mind. To me, here are the worries:
- Middle order: Granted, we’re getting some stinkers from the umpires from time to time, but the middle order isn’t really on strong footing. There are flashes of brilliance, but only flashes, and that’s causing anxiety. Ganguly seems best of the four at the moment. Doesn’t that tell a story in itself (with due respect to Gangs of course)? Meanwhile at the top order, Gambhir has not had too many answers either.
- Spin bowling: We all know about Harbhajan’s “I-need-a-wicket-to-start-thinking”. That apart, Kumble has been very worrisome.
- Fielding: Allright, we’ve never really been a great fielding side, not even when the Fab four where in their prime. Gambhir’s dropped catches were atrocious! So much for the “young-agile-fielding-sides”
Interestingly this time, both teams have seen some decline from previous glory. Can India put a 300 plus total? Can the middle order post 200 runs by themselves? Can India bat better than Australia? Can Australia take 20 wickets? Will they bowl better than the Indian quicks? Strange how it can become isn’t it?
Maybe we will get only 2 results from this series.
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Anil Kumble, Bangalore, Cricket, Dravid, Ganguly, Gilchrist, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Kumble, Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, Umpiring | Tagged: Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Anil Kumble, Australia, Australia's tour of India 2008, Bangalore Royal Challegers, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Cricinfo, Cricket, Dravid, Fab Five of Indian cricket, Fab Four, Fab four of Indian cricket, Gambhir, Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Haddin, India, India batting, India draws 1st Test, India's tour of Sri Lanka 2008, Indian middle order, Indian spin bowling, Kumble, McGrath, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Sourav Ganguly, Spin bowling, statsguru, Symonds, Tendulkar, Test Cricket, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, The Big Three of Indian cricket, Umpiring, Warne, Watson, White |
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Posted by vmminerva