posted Oct 12, 2008

Actually, Amit Mishra is the one who is in the squad of 15.
He is a good leggie himself and international batsmen do not know him well yet.
I am pretty sure he'll make an impact if he is included from the 3rd test onwards.

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posted Oct 12, 2008

Its been a fascinating test match. Every time I expect Australia to pull away, India makes it close again. Lets hope India can hang on.

Dhoni's captaincy instincts are strong and I find his judgement calls regarding when to bring on bowlers and fielding placements to be better than Kumble's. It may be a better idea to just have Dhoni as captain from now on (or beginning the end of the Aus series) although...

I find Dhoni's batting technique more suspect at the test level and I think he needs to keep working on it; more generally, I find the batting technique of the youngsters to be wanting at the test level (with 20/20s & ODIs everything looks fine however).

Kumble is injured and we can't expect him to be strong in this match; however, for other recent matches he may have been going through a dry spell - I'm not sure whether its a case of him losing his touch.

Umpiring: I think we need to bring a review system on for all test matches played akin to what we had in the SL series - not perfect but better than nothing at all.

Final comment: Although in the past the Bengaluru pitch has been known for crumbling on day 5, I'm not expecting it to be a major headache for batsmen. As long as India doesn't panic this match should be headed for a draw.

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posted Oct 12, 2008

This match is an excellent example of why Test cricket is real cricket!! Well played India for relentlessly attacking the Aussies. The Aussies are still the team to beat on the international stage.

Looing forward to tomorrow.

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posted Oct 12, 2008

You guys are a fickle lot Kumble is the leading Indian wicket -taker and a tireless servant for the country and you can't wait to see the back of him, whilst Dravid, who hasn't averaged more than 40 for 2 years continues to be an almost unquestioned automatic choice! I think you should start applying the rules across the board and then see what the team looks like...

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posted Oct 12, 2008

watch out for kumble's retirement at the end of series

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posted Oct 12, 2008

dhonis batting will improve if hes captain. as odi captain he has become the best odi batsman in the world as he is currently ranked no1

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posted Oct 12, 2008

Kumble's downfall in form started in the home series against Pakistan. Misbah played him easily and since them so has everyone else.

If he wasn't captain he would surely have been dropped or retired by now.

Yes, he has been a good servent to India but his stay is now starting to hurt the team.

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posted Oct 12, 2008

Point is, it doesnt matter. Check out these Aussies - they show up in India with no spinner, several players never having played in India before and it being hot as hell. And still they put this team on the back foot for 4 days.

Only two results are possible, an Aussie win and a draw, with the former a likely possibility as we go on to day 5.

Kumble, or Bhajji, or Dhoni or Mishra or whoever else they got doesnt really matter. The playing 11 need to show nerve and grit and not let up for even one moment. Check out all the missed catches and opportunities and see how Aussies will make you pay if you do not sieze them.

Every single fellow there who is not giving his 200% should be sacked for life. And that includes Kumble, Sehwag, Ganguly, Tendulkar or whoever it may be.

Unless you play professionally you cannot beat the Aussies. India has the best record against Aussies but still cannot beat them consistently because they have the talent but not the head.

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posted Oct 12, 2008

Nightrider

If India had won the toss, it might have been a different story. Aus arn't certainly unbeatable.

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