It started with the toss - playing Watson and White with absolutely no match practice behind them was the first indicator.
White's selection did not surprise me - Australia lost Perth because of over rates and they were not going to repeat that mistake again.
But playing 8 batsmen and going light in the bowling department pointed to a team that was intent on grinding things out, playing time and only when losing was no longer an option was it going for a win ( shades of Sydney 2007).
The second indicator was Ricky Ponting's innings - he had to exorcise his ghosts and so the 100 could not be better timed. It was the post 100 innings that surprised me. 102 in 185 balls was stretched to 123 in 243 balls - 58 balls for an additional 21 runs when the Indians were there for the taking.
The final indicator - the session by session breakdown of the runs scored
Lunch - 70/1 in 26 overs ( RR 2.69)
Tea - 91/1 in 30 overs ( RR 3.03)
EOD - 93/2 in 33.2 overs (RR 2.79)
Granted that the early loss of a wicket and the assistance available to the seamers called for consolidation in the first session. And the partnership between Katich and Ponting did well to turn the heat on India in the second session.
It is the approach in the 3rd session that intrigues me. India was there for the taking , Ponting had already scored a 100 and the game was favorably poised for the Australians. And yet, instead of ramming home the advantage, the Australians decided to adopt a wait and watch approach.
And the wicket in the last over of the day's play definitely did not help. Ideally, Australia should have had at least 300 runs on the board as this would have been the ideal cushion for a bunch of players making their debuts in India.
400 is the minimum Australia should be targeting. If they continue at the current rate, it will take them an additional 52 overs - effectively 5 sessions to get 400.
5 sessions out of 15 for 1 completed innings - not the intent expected from a team that has not previously lost at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Day 1 - Playing for the draw
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16 comments:
imagine watson and white scrapping around next. that would be the day!
Naked,
I would rather we bundle them inside 330 and do it quickly.
Our bowlers will need respite too so the less we stay out on the field tomorrow the better for us.
Also,we have to do all the running in this test.
We have to bat once and bat big and bat with all the time available to us.
Cheers,
I agree with you about the over rate, but I think White was picked ahead of Krezja because they figured that if Krezja didn't take a wicket again, which was likely, you might as well have the better batsman and fielder in the side.
I don't think they saw it as a defensive move, just that they couldn't pick Krezja and White was the only other option.
Also ponting was batting for the series and his series, so he batted slower, i think his batting at the end was for stumps. The really slow batting was more Katich and Hussey, and to be honest, they are Australia's two slowest scorers always.
UJ,
I think White would have played anyways.
It is the Watson selection that has the look of the defensive to it - the guy has been battling a chest cold, is as fragile as a flower and 4 pacers in India is overkill in the best of times.
A Watson-Krejza or a White-Krejza selection - a finger spinner who can come into his own in the third and fourth innings and buffeted by 4 other bowlers ( and two part timers) would have been more a statement of intent in my opinion.
And the approach, after playing 8 batsmen - hardly what you would expect from a team that is looking to press for a win.
And UJ, Ponting's batting upto his 100 was understandable, it was the latter part that was inexplicable. The guy gets his 100 in the first over after tea and then goes comatose.
30 more runs in the final session and Oz would have been 280 odd for 4.
Cheers,
Homer, you should know from my blog that Shane Watson selections aren't based on tactics, form or fitness, but based on if their is a slot available and he is alive he gets it.
Hence why he is so hated in Australia.
lol UJ.. When you put it that way .. :)
Cheers,
Homer, if Krejza had played, his role would have been as a specialist batsman, and he only averages 20 or so. I don't think Ponting would have trusted him much with the ball in a Test match.
I don't doubt that Australia will play defensively and grind out their innings in this series, but I think it's wrong to characterise 250 on day 1 as playing for the draw. It's just old-fashioned cricket.
David,
It is not so much the final score at the end of the day's play that I am basing my opinion as much as the approach - Australia went into tea completely negating whatever advantage India had in taking Matt Hayden's wicket early.
Post tea, Ponting got his 100 in the first over.
The momentum was with them as was the emotion.
And then they just played for time!
Old fashioned cricket, yes but whatever happened to sticking it to your opponent when you have him down?
Cheers,
Homer, I think the approach by the Aussies is understandable considering its the first day of a arguably a very long series ahead.
If Australia were to go after the bowling and failed, we would all be talking about a different story.
Perhaps they should have taken a more aggressive approach in that last session but I think to them ending up the day on a decent footing was more important than trying to out gun the team.
Its just the first day so its a trifle harsh to say they are going in for the draw.
Cheers.
Damith,
Winning the toss and batting on what everyone argues is a batting beauty and keeping the Indians in the game at the end of the day's play - I think the Australians did themselves a disservice.
Cheers,
What do you say now Homer?
Looks like India are dead in this match after Sehwag's dismissal. And batting 4th on this track is going to be a nightmare!
Slower ball has folled a lot of batsmen till now.
Chandan,
7 sessions into the match, I dont see any reason to change my view.
Cheers,
Kumble is really getting increasingly crap as the match goes on. No wickets, over a hundred runs conceded, five runs scored... And, perhaps worst of all, he "can't lift his arm" (Ravi Shastri) yet is ON the field. wtf!?
As a bowler, I would think thats the first priority really. And that means his fielding will get even worse- a couple of saves Badri made would have killed Kumble. Also, is it any coincidence two wickets fell in the brief, brief time Kumble was off the field. Would he have come up with the same plan Dhoni did for Ponting?
As soon as he came back on, the pressure-release was so obvious it might as well have been written all over the screen. Zaheer SHRUGGED when Kumble started making suggestions, as opposed to being actively involved in the field setting when Dhoni was captaining.
The selectors need to wake up, or at least pray Kumble's injury gets worse...
srishti,
Thanks for your comments and welcome to the blog.
I think there are two issues being discussed here - Kumble's captaincy and Kumble's bowling.
Kumble the captain I have never rated, he is in the traditional mould of Indian captains. Which is why a lot of us are excited with MS Dhoni's captaincy.
Kumble the bowler is a whole different proposition altogether. Hurt shoulder or not, there is no better bowler to exploit an up and down wicket like him.
And for all his ineffectualness in the first innings, remember that Bhajji did not make much of an impact either.
On a fourth day Bangalore wicket, Kumble and Bhajji are our go to guys.
Cheers,
"On a fourth day Bangalore wicket, Kumble and Bhajji are our go to guys."
Nah! It didn't happen then too. The pitch as it turned out wasn't as bad as it was expected to be. And Kumble has indeed lost the plot completely as a bowler as well as a captain!
Will he play the next test?
Chandan,
Delhi and Nagpur are where we should play the double spin attack.. Mohali, 3 pace, 1 spin
Cheers,
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