Test 2 Day 2 - Looking ahead

If I was India captain, here is how I would like tomorrows day to unfold-

India needs to push its overall lead to at least 300.

India bats new ball to new ball. India needs to set stall for 80 overs tomorrow and score at around 3.5 -4.0 runs an over.

This will give us around 280-320 runs for the day which, coupled with the 56 run lead India has in the bad already, pushes the overall lead to 336-376 runs.

If India is not all out in this 80 over span, I would expect India to declare and let our bowlers get around 8 overs at th England batsmen.

The 300 plus run cushion will allow India to attack right through the English innings. And even if the English play out of their collective skins, barring for rain, India will not have too stiff a target to chase in the 4th innings.

And the declaration will give India the better part of 6.25 sessions to get 10 English wickets.

If rain is a factor, we have time. If rain is not a factor, England will have to front up on an increasing wearing pitch.

Our approach tomorrow will determine whether we go to the Oval all square or 1-0 up.

The ball is in India's court.

Test 2 Day 2 - Rahul Dravid hands England a sliver of hope

With things going swimmingly well and India needing to bat once, bat big and bat England out of the game, India's captain had a brain fade

76.2	Panesar to Dravid, OUT, got him! Tossed up outside off, Dravid never got his foot to the pitch of the ball - poking at it without conviction, much as he has done against Panesar on occasion throughout his innings, and Bell takes an excellent diving catch to his left at short extra
	R Dravid c Bell b Panesar 37 (94b 5x4 0x6) SR: 39.36

For all the comparisons with Cape Town, the Indian tactics ( with Dravid and Sachin batting) in this test seemed sound.

The new ball was due and India would not have liked a new batsman facing first up.Plus there were 3 more days of Test Cricket left after today.

And from Englands point of view, they had to play damage control given the batsmen India have in the pavilion. Every ball, every over that they are on the field added to the pressure and frustration.

Also, Vaughan's ability to attack with the new ball would have been blunted with two set batsmen at the crease.

And India could afford a go slow at this stage of the game and at this time of the day because they were in total control.

Which is why Rahul Dravid's dismissal is inexcusable.

How much of an opening will his late dismissal give England? And how much time will India take to consolidate tomorrow before opening out?

And what lead will India and conversely England feel satisfied with?

An intriguing day's play beckons.

Test 2 Day 1- Advantage India

England 169/7

India did two things right on the first day- won the toss and elected to field.

From that point on, it was just a question of not trying too much, keeping the ball there and thereabouts and letting the conditions do the rest. And the Indian bowlers, barring RP Singh to some extent, did just that.

Couple of things that made no sense

1. The persistence with Ganguly for a prolonged spell post tea. And then replacing him with Sachin Tendulkar with two new batsmen at the crease.
   
2. The tendency of the Indian bowlers and fielders to lose the plot somewhat in the last half and hour before tea. England was under the cosh. India needed to keep the pressure up by stemming the flow of runs and letting the pressure get to Collingwood and Cook. Instead, we had a flurry of fours and a 44 run partnership was conjured up in double quick time.

So, going into Day 2, India holds three of the four aces. The first task for India is to wrap up the tail in the first hour while restricting the score to below 200.

200 and upwards is a huge psychological boost for the English team, given their travails today. And India will do well to deny England any crumbs of comfort.

Which means that India show positive intent with the bat. English commentators have not stopped reminding is that this is a second string bowling attack and just how wonderfully they performed in spite of being a second string bowling line up.

Now is the time and the opportunity to remind them why exactly this bowling line up is not considered England's first choice bowling attack.

India needs to be relentless with the bat, despite loss of wickets.

Forget the Fab 4 or Famous 5 or Secret Seven or whatever else the hype meisters call them, India needs to overhaul England's first innings total as quickly as possible. And the reason for this is that with every run that India scores, England shifts to damage limitation/damage control mode.

And if England cannot attack the Indian batsmen, the English bowling becomes less potent. And that opens up the possibility for India to target Madhusuden Panesar for sustained periods in this game.

Which in turn sets the platform the remaining Test and ODIs to follow.

And if conditions get more batsmen friendly, as they are supposed to on Days 2 and 3, India's batsmen have a huge advantage to do just that.

England played to India's batting reputation in the first test in spite of bowling friendly conditions. This is the time to remind them exactly why India's batting has the reputation in the first place.

The Fab 4

Sfx has an interesting take on the entire Fab 4 debate - here

Woo Hoo!!!

India recorded its second straight win in the Under-19 triangular limited over series in Sri Lanka by outclassing Bangladesh by 97 runs at Colombo’s Sara Stadium.
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Rain saved India at Lord’s but there was no such luck for Sharad Pawar’s board today as the rebel Indian Cricket League smote it in the face by announcing its first big catch, Brian Lara.

The negative Indian media

Heartbreak for England, lucky for India

It’s another great escape

Weather denies England win

Rain Check

Rain saves India as first Test is drawn

Lord saves India at Lord's

Flabby in the middle

Dear Rahul

Your theme song for this season is here ( lyrics here)

Rain denies England deserved win

saye the banner on the CricInfo site.

The live scorecard reads thus

6.20 pm Well that's it. The match has been called off. England have been denied by the rain, India have been let off the hook, it's a draw. Lots of relieved faces in the Indian dressing room. There'll be several frustrated ones in England's for sure.

Hello??

Denied? Is victory some god given right that the Poms were deprived of?

Everyone, his uncle and his grandfather knew that rain will be a factor in this test match.

Everyone, his uncle and his grandfather knew that rain will become a significant factor on the last day.

And yet, Vaughan did not declare to give his bowlers that extra half an hour to have a go at the Indians.

In the morning session, the Pom over rate was 13.4 overs/hr. Hello?

There was a test match to be won. The Poms dragged their feet. They did not push hard enough.

They were not denied.

They got the result they deserved.