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Watch the full highlights of India vs England 1st ODI. Yuvraj smashed an unbeaten century. Sehwag and Gambhir got India to a flying start. Then Zaheer and Munaf bowled a terrific opening spell to get 4 England wickets before they could score 50. Hugely convincing and a completely one-sided game.
Short Highlights of First Inning
As an Indian supporter I was ecstatic with the enormity of the win yesterday. At the same time I was a bit depressed by the antics of some Indian players. If we claimed the moral high ground after the Test match in Sydney, then shouldn’t the players lead by example. There was no point for Zaheer Khan to display his childish celebrations in front of Matthew Hayden. This was in direct contrast to what the Indians always claim - that Australian players are too vocal on the field.
And then there is MS Dhoni. There was no point for him to say that he doesn’t mind a little bit of banter on the field as long as its within boundaries. It seems that Indians have lost the plot here. At one point they insist that only one team is playing in the spirit of the game (flashback Sydney test in January) and at another point they do the exact same thing.
I would also like to blame the Indian media here for not bringing this issue up. In the euphoria of this historical win, they have forgotten how vicously they attacked the Australian team after the Sydney test. They were the one who put BCCI under pressure to respond to the situation.
Zaheer Khan was rightfully fined 80% of his match fee. And if he had been a repeat offender, he would have received match suspension. His conduct was unbecoming of an international player representing their country.
Post your comments as I believe that their conduct during the second test needs to be debated.
If yesterday was Sachin Tendulkar Day, then today surely belonged to three players - one about to end his cricket career, another just beginning, and finally a swashbuckling captain that just gets better with additional responsibility. Saurav Ganguly got his 16th century, his second against Australia and his first against Australia in India. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leading the side for just the second time, took the attack to the Aussies and displayed to the world just how frail the bowling department has become for the once mighty Australians. And finally, Amit Mishra, bowling in his first match, picked up 2 key wickets to rattle the visitors on the second day of the match.
But first lets talk about Ganguly. He had declared before the start of the series that will quit from International cricket at the conclusion of the fourth match. This series belongs to him, more so than anyone else in the Indian cricket team. This is also a key moment in Indian cricket history as it marks the beginning of an end of the Fab 4 that have captured the minds and souls of cricket fans over the last decade.
Ganguly was never in control today, as much as he was on the first day. The pressure was definitely on him. India started the day with 5 wickets down. Batting on this pitch was still paradise. India only had Dhoni left after Ganguly. This was Ganguly’s time and the old fox did no disappoint his plethora of fans (some of who are adamant that he reconsider his retirement). Ganguly got to the magical 3 figure mark with a lot of grit and patience. And the moment was absolute bliss for a man who wanted to go out on his own terms. THIS will prove a point to all his past and current detractors and the old selection committee, who had been unfairly harsh on this legend.
What a day and what a match. Intriguing so far. Perfect to up the ante. Australia under pressure, yet come back strongly in the final session. Indian bowlers kept the pressure pretty much for the while day, however, it seemed that the energy was completely drained out of the Indian bodies in the final session as two Aussies, with not much test experience, fought the pressure and came out on top.
India looked aggressive and the fielders were attacking when they started their second innings. Perhaps they were buoyed by the performance of the tail enders. Perhaps it was Dhoni’s aggressive tactics (yes Kumble was did not come in for about an hour and a half due to a sore shoulder). Indian bowlers made the first move by picking up Hayden and Ponting early. Zak and Ishant have been a revelation in this series, as a pace combination.
Harbhajan finally got his sting back, more so because of the assistance he got from the pitch. But whenever he bowled, he looked like getting a wicket. Dhoni made all the moves initially to get wickets. I think that Anil Kumble has lost the plot. His tactics are not aggressive and he is way too by-the-book. Perhaps the reason why he has failed to grab a wicket in this test match. Definitely a cause for concern for him and the selectors. India, fortunately, have a couple of talented, yet inexperienced, leg spinners in Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla, the latter already made life miserable for the tourists in their tour game.
The day belonged to the men from Oz, but the evening was India’s. A gritty fightback at the end of day’s play means that India have some hope going into the last 2 days of play. Day 3 started with India in a seemingly comfortable position of 68 for no loss. How that turned to 106/4 is anybody’s guess? Perhaps it was the variable bounce. Perhaps it was the Aussies’ game plan. Whatever it was, the visitors had quickly reminded everyone why they are still the Number 1 test team in the world.
The hyped and under-pressure Fab 4 had mixed results. Whereas Dravid and Ganguly got amongs the runs, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman had a miserable outing, the former going out at 13 and the latter at a big fat DUCK. All credit must go to Mitchell Johnson who has always been India’s nemesis in the shorter format and it looks like he is going to continue that title in the longer format, aka pinnacle, of the game.
All is not lost for India though. The fightback from Harbhajan and Zaheer in the final session proved that there is not much to worry about in this wicket, especially if you have a little luck and apply yourself properly. The fact that Bhajji made 54, the highest Indian score in the innings, proves that its only a matter of time before one of the experienced batsmen get a big score.