Cricket Blog

If the first three days were anything to go by, this match was going to be won by one team only. But cricket and maths don’t go well together. There is always hope for the unexpected, a quick fire 50, a match-winning spell of bowling, a run-out against the run of play. There are so many things that could go wrong, or right depending on how things happen. The champions, however, do not let their opposition take control. And if Australia are champions, then they need some serious contemplation to do as India dominated their 4th consecutive day in this test match.

Resuming at 100/0 and already in front by 301, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir kept scoring at a belligerent pace regardless of what field placements Ricky Ponting could conjure up. Despite having 4 men at the boundary, he was unable to stem the flow of runs. Gambhir reached his 50 during the day, and the two now have become the most dangerous opening pair in the game. Both Gambhir and Sehwag score freely and have a wide array of shots. They can easily manufacture shots depending on the situation and it is their aggressive attitude to dominate the bowling that sets them apart from other opening pairs.

Sehwag, however, was the first to depart edging Peter Siddle to Brad Haddin. Siddle picked up his first wicket of the innings and so did Australia. Dhoni came in at one-down, a rather unusual position for him in tests, although he has played a few match-winning knocks at that position in the shorter format of the game. He was quickly into his stride as he saw Gambhir score just his second test century, which was also his first against Australia.

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A day to remember for an cricket fan. The man who had promised so much when he started at the age of 16, has finally lived up to all those promises after 19 years of playing. Sachin Tendulkar finally became the Greatest Ever Batsman in the history of the game as he reached the magical mark of 12000 runs in test cricket.

The second test had promised to be a cracker. The pitch at Mohali has deceived everyone by staying bone-dry on the first day. With Anil Kumble out due to shoulder problems, Amit Mishra gets to make his debut against the world’s No 1 test team. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as skipper, won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. If there is one shrewd customer, then it is MS. His analysis of the pitch was spot on. There was hardly any movement on day 1. The first session was unlike any ordinary test match session. This was a passage of play where India wanted to take the “bull by its horns”. And they did that in spectacular fashion. Going at almost a run a ball, Sehwag and Gambhir smashed Lee, Johnson and Siddle all over the place.

It wasn’t until Sehwag fell, quite a tame dismissal, that some sense of normalcy arrived in the batting. India, however, had made their point. They were going to make life extremely difficult for the Aussies. Gambhir reached his half century in the last over before lunch and was ably supported by Dravid, who himself was looking like his old self, aka The Wall.

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In an explosive Test series like this one, there are always going to be the favourites whom you would depend on getting a mountain of runs or getting bucket loads of wickets. However, I have decided to have a look at the wildcards from both the squads.

Peter Siddle - > Australia -> Fast Bowler

At just 23 years old, Peter Siddle is a future prospect for Australia. In the previous domestic season, he 33 wickets from 5 matches at a measly 15.75 runs a scalp. Siddle maintains that he wants to bowl like Donald whilst maintaining the accuracy of a McGrath. Combine these two qualities, and you have a lethal bowler capable of ripping through the best of attacks in the worst of conditions.

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