Cricket Blog

TheBangalore franchise has named its team as the Royal Challengers and Rahul “The Wall” Dravid is the captain.

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I have never seen an India-Pakistan test series that was this boring and dull. Except for a few moments of brilliance, the intensity just wasn’t there. With injuries to key players and some defensive approach from Pakistan, the series was really dead from the moment the second test began. Saurav Ganguly was the “find” for India in this series, his best ever in 11 years of cricket. He also crossed 1,000 runs in one calendar year for the first time in his career and will be the man to watch out for in Australia.

For Pakistan, it was Misbah ul-Haq all the way. Had it not been for him, the final score would have been 3-0. Younis Khan seemed to have regained his form in the second test. Kamran Akmal got amongst the runs in the final test. Shoaib Malik’s captaincy was thoughtless and questions must be asked about the coach and team management. There was no plan or strategy in the bowling and field placements. On the other hand, Kumble looked to be in full control. Had it not been for the placid pitches which failed to offer turn to the spinners, India would have a better series win.

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Day 1 Report

Pakistan needed desperately to bounce back as this was a do-or-die match for them. They have to win no matter what. But considering the first day’s play that may seem too far fetched now. Kumble won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. Despite an early hiccup losing Karthik cheaply, Jaffer and Dravid ensured that there would be no further mishaps. The two put on a valuable 136 run partnership for the second wicket before Dravid was unlucky to be given caught behind to Danish Kaneria. India were 138/2. In walks the little master. Who would have thought that the master blaster would be overshadowed by someone called Wasim Jaffer, but that’s exactly what happened.

Jaffer was in the Zone and his strokes were sublime and effortless. He caressed the ball to all sides of the park and soon reached his first test century against Pakistan. India were 206/2 at the tea break from 55 overs. The partnership was going at around 5 runs per over. The final session saw the floodgates opened up. India amassed 146 runs from 29.3 overs and finished the day at 352/3 with Jaffer unbeaten on 192 from only 255 balls. He could very well be the second Indian ever to reach a triple hundred at the test level. Tendulkar was the third wicket to depart falling for a googly from Danish Kaneria. A long day awaits Pakistan tomorrow with Ganguly, Laxman and Dhoni to bat and Jaffer looking in ominous form. India need to get to 600+ and then declare. The pitch has been predicted to slow down and crumble during the third day making Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh as key weapons in the host’s arsenal.

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Day 1 ReportThe test series is finally here and Day 1 belonged to India and Kumble. Losing the toss, the home team was asked to field first. However, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the seamers ripped through the Pakistani top order with Zaheer Khan doing most of the damage and Munaf Patel providing able support.

After the Pakistanis were reduced to 83/5, there looked to be no recovery and the Indian bowlers continued to apply the pressure. A classy knock from Misba ul-Haq saved the day for the visitors as they managed to reach 210/8 in 85.4 overs with Mohammad Sami offering some resistance.

Before the day began, India were on the backfoot due to RP Singh and Sreesanth not being able to prove match fitness. India then had to go with Munaf Patel who was called in as replacement. I would have loved to see Irfan Pathan back in the team on the back of his terrific comeback into the ODI team. However, Munaf justified his inclusion by bowling a tight line and length and supported Zaheer Khan superbly.

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Click here for the match highlights

Phew! Amazing. Spectacular. Astounding. Thriller. Sensational. Exhilarating. I am actually out of words to describe this match. No anti-climaxes here. The ending justified why these two teams made it to the finals. It was a day to remember, for both teams played like there was no tomorrow. The edge-of-the-seat thriller that only an India-Pakistan tie can create. I know there are already a million or so articles on this match, but I had to write this one down as I am still in a dream daze.

The all important toss was won by Dhoni and once again the Indian skipper decided to bat first. There were no surprises here. The theory is to get a big total in a final and then defend it letting the other team try and chase the total, preferably a bigger one. They say that a final match always brings some kind of surprises. Man, there weren’t just some but plenty of surprises in this match.

The first, and perhaps not really a big surprise, was that Sehwag pulled out due to the thigh strain that he had sustained during the start of the India-Australia semi final. And surprise surprise, look who walks in to open. None other than the “other” Pathan. In what could only be described as a gutsy move, Dhoni decided not to go with Dinesh Karthik or the most experienced player in the squad, Ajit Agarkar. So Yousuf Pathan was given an opportunity to play at the biggest stage any debutante could have ever dreamed of. And that too opening the batting in a pressure cooker situation. India needed a good start and it was really asking too much from a youngster. Confidence in your own men is one thing, but over-confidence can make or break careers.

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