Thursday, April 03, 2008

I'm loving it!!!

India end up making 76 runs in 20 overs in the second test at Ahmedabad. The Cricinfo ball by ball commentary reads

India proved why they are the Twenty20 champs - bowled out in exactly 20 overs.
You lay out featherbeds, you get 500 plus scores at will. You dish out a seaming
surface and you get a capitulation inside a session. That's the beauty of Test
cricket.

Ouch!!

While the batting performance has been disappointing, it may not be such a bad thing after all. The ball is doing a lot and India has the bowlers who can exploit this. Plus, they have the advantage of bowling on the first day, when the wicket is still fresh.

And, if they bowl half as well as I expect them to, we should limit the South Africans to a not significant lead. And worse case, we should be batting sometime on Day 3, when the wicket should not have as many demons ( nor will the Indian minds as cluttered) as seen on the first day.

And, South Africa still has to bat last on this wicket!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like the law of averages has finally caught up with our batting.

Homer said...

It is a mindset problem more than anything else Ott.. I dont expect to see the same mistakes made in the second innings.

Cheers

Rashmika said...

Hi Homer

I just got back from Gujurat after an extended stay. Looks like I should have stayed to support the team!

I think they just got spooked by seeing a green top and had a negative mindset. The ball was moving and the Proteas did ball well and aggressively, but not to warrant such a paltry display. This was a real low after recent highs.

There is plenty of time left in the match but the Proteas have a healthy lead. Lets see if India have what it takes to surge a fightback.

Pontings_baldspot said...

well atleast the "young guns" of the team can stop spewing the rubbish that they have been for the last month or so - "we can be no -1"

Homer said...

Hey Rashmika,

Welcome back.. :)

I agree that the Indians lost it in the mind.. That said, the Indians have done the series yeomen service by getting out so quickly and so cheaply. At least a result is assured :).

When are you going to resume blogging?

Cheers

Homer said...

pontings_baldspot,

I dont see anything wrong with the team players expressing the wish to be the best in the world. What I have issues with is the attitude we display - we will do spectacularly well on green tops abroad but lose the fight before a ball has been bowled at home on similar wickets.

Truth be told, attitude reflects leadership and as long as we persist with captains who err on the side of conservatism for the most part, we are going to see more of the same.

On anoter note, isnt it strange that we always let the opposition team set the agenda on the pace of the game and the momentum :)

Cheers

Cricket Guru said...

And, South Africa still has to bat last on this wicket!

You still wanna bet on this? ;)

Anonymous said...

South Africa are mauling India... nice sight for the sake of quality. Seriously, India can;t look to beat them with such body language and effort on the field.... fast bowlers not willing to bend their backs, fielders catching rabbits... they look like beach cricketers at the moment. Forget the batting collapse just the rest of the cricket.

Homer said...

cricket guru,

with a lead of 418 and 3 wickets to go, no :)

Cheers

Homer said...

Scorpi,

Then I am glad I did not sit through this :)

Cheers