Archive for the ‘India in Australia 2011-12’ Category

Day Three, SCG: Michael Learns To Rock

Posted: January 5, 2012 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in Australia 2011-12
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Goutham Chakravarthi

There are many ways to look at Clarke’s declaration. For now the divide is even. Some say it was Pup putting team before self: the Australian way. And some say it is more to do with Pup was deliberate to declare there to show he put his team before self: desperately wanting to show that he does it the Australian way. He still has some way to go before he can win the public over. But, it is certain that an Indian captain wouldn’t have declared with another two and half days left, bowlers jaded, fielders disinterested and with a batsman closing in on a world record. And Clarke’s celebrations on reaching 100, 200 and 300 were stories in themselves. He has said the right things through the summer and has been intuitive and impressive for a young captain.

Clarke: Ace batsman and captain. He'll hope his image of a person with questionable lifestyle is all about to change.

Not another wicket fell for the visitors in another day of uninspired effort on the field. Barring Ishant, the bowling lacked penetration. It was like watching a perfect cover drive over and again. It is hard to forget that Clarke walked in to a crises on Tuesday. Those who remember it as a big score on a flat track against a blunt attack have short memories. It could all have been a different story if he had nicked one early. It has been Clarke’s Test so far, and might have firmly established himself in to the job and begun the turn around for Australia.

For the Indians, there is little point in staring at the obvious. It is all fancy to call Dravid as the wall with an open gate after he has been out bowled thrice this series. And Sehwag can be more annoying than gum sticking to your shoe on his bad day. There are reasons for them being on this tour and that cannot be forgotten. Gambhir’s determination came through and Haddin will have played his part should Gambhir go on to play a marathon innings. India will rely on Gambhir to anchor and Tendulkar and Laxman to find their Sydney magic. Their best deeds have come in this land, and there is still hope that there is time for magic even on their last series in Australia.

India’s fall from grace has been spectacular over the last year. They, evidently, seem to find more holes than they can sew every passing Test and seem to lack direction. Their reputation on being a tough side to beat seems now to be a fading memory, in black and white. India are now at crossroads and need something spectacular to lift them up (and not Kohli’s finger-lifting kind).

It is but obvious that changes are inevitable sooner than later. India’s rebuilding cannot mean dismantling the current, but needs vision on how best to use the tools at hand to be in a position to challenge for a top spot at the test level in 18 months’ time. India’s administration and selection aren’t known for forethought and vision. It might throw Indian cricket back a decade nullifying the efforts of a generation of committed players.

For now, the immediate goal of salvaging this Test should be its sole objective. There is enough happening during a Test to be worried about introspection. That can happen when the Test is done. For now, the mission would be to bat determinedly and put up a fight.

Though much of the last hour was a struggle for survival, it is apparent that the wicket has not played any tricks. Australia might have to work harder than earlier in the series to bowl India out this time around. Their quicks have been impressive and they would love to see Lyon give them some control from one end. Australia are still odds on favourites to win this in a canter, if anything, it is only a question of day 4 or day 5.

Day Two, SCG: Pup is now a full grown dog

Posted: January 4, 2012 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in Australia 2011-12
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Goutham Chakravarthi

What’s the fuss all about? Like you didn’t know that Ponting could bat? Or that Clarke’s bat could outshine his spartkling teeth that he brushes between four and a dozen times everyday?

Yes, Zaheer lacked penetration and seemed disheartened. Yes, Ashwin did put various spins on the ball, but still the ball did little off the wicket and only met Clarke’s dancing geet. Umesh was down on pace and Ishant was effective but unlucky. Ponting was made to play across the line. Plan checked. Clarke was made to fish at out swingers. Plan checked. Ponting inside edged, was beaten, was all but run out on 99, but he survived and brought up a memorable hundred. Though Clarke went past Doug Walters’ score at the SCG, Ponting still was the hero of the day. There was no back-up plan.

There was more sparkle in Clarke's bat than his teeth at the SCG. Photo: AP

The sun was out and the conditions were good for batting. And so it was yesterday, but a different set was bowling and another set was batting. After today you might say if Indian bowlers bowled to Indian batsmen, then at least, they might make some runs. But the bowlers might fancy their chances. A lot was riding on them to pull India back in to this Test. And for once Zaheer looked ineffective and Ponting and Clarke took great advantage of it.

Sourav Ganguly tried swapping seats in the ESPNSTAR box and thereby hoped to change India’s luck, but still Ponting’s inside edges missed the stumps. Repeatedly. The Swamy Army sang and danced, but nothing seemed to distract a determined Clarke from scoring a memorable double hundred. Kohli had a tiff with the spectators. And Richie Benaud’s many doubles in the crowd enjoyed piling the misery on the Indians. In short, everything in the ground but for India’s cricket seemed more lively.

Cape Town last month might well be remembered as among Australia’s lowest points. But it cannot be forgotten that Clarke played one of the finest innings in recent times in the same Test. A lot has been said about his fast life and posh girlfriends, but he has been impressive in dealing with his teammates and the media. Of course, he has been the impressive of the two leaders on show. And, perhaps, with this innings, and looking good for many more tomorrow, he has announced himself as the captain of the boat. A captain at the prime of his powers is good news for Australia.

India seems despondent and clueless. Often, the planning seemed non-existent. Field placements and bowling changes were debated, as they often do when things do not go well. Channel 9 feasted on Dhoni’s supposed incompetence as a captain and lacklusture body language of the Indians on the field.

India are a long way from home and even longer away from safety in this Test. Ganguly says India will have to bat out of their skins to save this Test. It has been done before, and by the same people in the team. Gambhir, not too far back, batted more than 10 hours to save a Test, but seems hard pressed to last 10 deliveries this series. John Wright once said he wished to see Sehwag bat 10 hours in a Test. And also said, if he did, he would score 800. If he does, India might fancy winning. For now, the only possibility of the number 800 seems to be with Australia’s first innings total.

It is not impossible for India to save this Test. But it is difficult to imagine the Test going into the fifth day at the moment.

Day One, SCG: Another batting collapse, but Ganguly saves the day for India

Posted: January 3, 2012 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in Australia 2011-12
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Goutham Chakravarthi

It was the most fascinating twenty minutes of the day. Sourav Ganguly and Ian Chappell had spent twenty minutes on air both talking two separate things. Ganguly spoke of Tendulkar’s solid defence. Chappell responded saying Chopra and Sehwag ran well between the wickers and that Gambhir and Jaffer, previously, were walking wickets at the top of the order. “Coming back to the point,” said Ganguly “Tendulkar’s defence is solid. See how he takes his foot out to reach for the ball.”

An all too familiar Indian collapse put Australia on top Photo: Reuters

It was bizarre. May be that is how any conversation between any Chappell and any Ganguly transpires. I didn’t know which was weird: the commentary or India’s batting out in the middle. It had been an hour and half of poor cricket: Gambhir came and went, Sehwag lived on the edge before nicking one to Ponting who promptly dropped it only for Pattinson to send back Sehwag shortly thereafter. Dravid and Laxman look more like the Dravid and Laxman of 1999-00 than of 2003-04. They struggled. Tendulkar and Kohli took India to the brink of lunch when Clarke summoned Hussey to deliver the final over. After 20 minutes of rambling, finally Ganguly and Chappell struck a conversation.

Ganguly: This is a smart move by Clarke. Everyone expected him to bring in Lyon for the last over, but he springs a surprise. Tendulkar has a history against these dibbly-dobbly bowlers. He hated facing Hansie Cronje.

Chappell: Then he must have nightmares facing Kiwis!

I pictured Greg Chappell chuckling at this back home and perhaps throwing a couple of air punches in delight at his brother’s clever retort.

Ganguly: Not sure about that Ian, but am sure you guys have problems. You just lost to them in Hobart last month!

The cameras panned to the Indian dressing room and they were clapping. You’d think for Tendulkar. Surely, they were clapping for Sourav. If you can take out two Chappells in one sentence, it is worth more than the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

I punched the air in delight. At least waking up at 4 in the morning didn’t go waste. We were one up going in to lunch even if the score card said something else!

And that was that! Nothing went India’s way. Even a determined Tendulkar who looked in tremendous form dragged one on to his stumps. It was another day of good fast bowling by the home team. Their lengths to the Indian top-order would have done their bowling coach, McDermott, proud.

Pattinson set up Sehwag and Laxman with the guile of a veteran while Siddle bowled a hostile over to knock over Kohli who had looked very comfortable till then. Between the three quick men, they had India in knots for the third successive innings. Given India’s repeated weak response to good quick bowling, the three quick men will fancy a rich harvest this summer.

Jokes of Indian batsmen’s lack of patience and feet movement fill the entertainment sections of Australian newspapers. “If you want to see fancy Indian footwork, bypass the SCG and take in a Bollywood musical,” read one of the newspapers. And the taunts of No Country For Old Men seemingly now a dig at the Indian middle-order than their own ageing greats.

It has been a miserable time for Indian batsmen over the last one year playing outside of India. No longer can the batting unit continue to surrender meekly. Yes, the Australian bowling has been hostile and good, but the application and hunger they were famous for seems lacking. It is highly unlikely that they will all survive should this series pan out like their last English summer.

All is not lost. There are another four days left in this Test to redeem themselves. Meanwhile, Ponting, Clarke and Hussey will know that two sessions of batting tomorrow could well seal the Test in their favour.

Preview Sydney: Indian Camp

Posted: January 2, 2012 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in Australia 2011-12
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Goutham Chakravarthi

India hadn’t won the Boxing Day Test in its three recent attempts before this tour. They didn’t this time either. They come to Sydney with a similar track record: no wins in their last three attempts. And the last of those Tests will be remembered as the bloodiest among all India-Australia tests. It wasn’t cricket. Reputations were scarred. Careers suffered – both cricketers and umpires. Cricket burned.

Thankfully, the relationship between the two sides are more amicable these days and some credit for it should be given to the IPL. Four years have passed, and Symonds and Harbhajan are now teammates and reigning champs of Champions League T20. But Symonds might still feel let down by his Aussie teammates and the board with the incident four years ago. It affected him and eventually ended his Test career. He never made peace with the incident and felt more let down by his board and his teammates.

Neither India or Australia are the top Test team any longer, but cricket between the two sides, for most part of the Boxing Day Test, was exhilarating. It is a great moment for SCG as it is all set to host its hundredth Test. And Tendulkar’s quest for his hundredth ton has now reached Sydney (On the occasion of Sydney’s hundredth Test, Sydney Morning Herald listed the top 10 innings played there and Tendulkar features twice in it).

India have won only one Test in 1978-79 in Sydney in all their tours (in 9 attempts) of Australia so far. That it is supposed to be the ground that suits them the most in Australia is not translated in to more Test wins at least. When India walks in to the SCG on Tuesday, they will know that it is still their best chance of putting it across Australia in a generation.

SCG is all set to host its 100th Test. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

India’s batting has shown up to be brittle over the last year. A famed batting order has been tamed. And as much can be inferred from their recent performances, it must not be forgotten what they are capable of. Each of them have defined some great batting moments of the decade gone by, and some, like Laxman’s 281, have redefined the fortunes of their country.

Sometimes, it takes an enormouns effort to change the tide. Viv Richards’ decline in his last three years of his career were offset by Richie Richardson’s backfoot strokeplay and the emergence of Walsh, Ambrose and Patrick Patterson. The swagger never really disappeared and Australia seemed to be more worried about hosting the first three Tests on bouncy wickets before going to Sydney and promptly lost the series before the Sydney Test came along in 1988-89. Yes, it was an Australian side still re-building and West Indies was still the overwhelming champion concealing its cracks rather well.

But this is more the opposite for Indians. They are not fighting Steve Waugh’s Australia of 2000. Their batsmen made their names with performances against the great Australian sides and then some others. This is more a case of a heavyweight boxer returning to the ring after being felled by a young challenger. Often, adversity was tackled and overcome. But apparently, not so over the last year. The mind knows what it takes to be the champion again, but it also wonders if the punch is as strong as before, if the reflexes are still good enough to sway out of strong punches and if the legs can survive twelve rounds of boxing.

Sometimes, you need to take a blow and stand the ground to know that you can still do it. It was the same for a young Virender Sehwag playing the Boxing Day Test in 2003. He was peppered with bumpers, and after an hour of ducking and weaving, he was hit on the head by a Lee missile. He stood his ground and scored one of the most celebrated near double hundreds in Australia. He would later say that getting hit made him realize that there was nothing more for him to be afraid of. He was hit and he was still there. He realized he could take it. And he realized he could scare the opposition as much as the quick bowlers scared him and his teammates. Perhaps that one ball was all it took to shape his career in the remarkable way it did.

There are more worries and question marks over India than Australia going into this Test. Once the game starts, it only takes one inspired moment of cricket to change things around. A top draw batting order will fight its battles individually and collectively and a celebrated captain has confessed to having been conservative when he had the chance to finish off the battle with the right call.

Remarkably, bowlers have come through well in the first Test, and the captain and the supporters will hope the fitness and form will continue through the remaining Tests. Australia still remains a fragile batting side and it will keep the Indian bowlers interested even when a strong partnership is flourishing.

It is still a battle of two teams capable of lot more than what they have achieved of themselves over the last one year. Series are won over jelly beans, and careers made in a single Test. India should believe Sydney’s hundredth has one inspiring moment in it that will change the fortunes for them.

More than that, let’s hope the cricket helps erase the pains of 2008.

You can read the match preview from the Australian perspective here

Preview Sydney: Australian Camp

Posted: January 2, 2012 by thecognitivenomad in Cricket, India in Australia 2011-12
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Chandrasekhar Jayaramakrishnan

So we enter another chapter of the Gregorian calendar with the Australian team poised to enter the Sydney Test with as much optimism as confidence, given that their young bowling attack is not only steering the visitors’ batting out of Aussie shores, but loving the challenge of it. It is the quality that distinguishes great teams from other mortals – teams that possess enough ammo to grab twenty wickets consistently.

Even during tough times, especially after defeats to South Africa and New Zealand, there seemed a resilience and determination that promised perseverance. And the Boxing Day Test wrapped up those beliefs, although cynics would argue that the result of the first test had more to do with India’s self-aggrandizing interests, and some dreadful decision making. No wonder ‘Pigeon’ McGrath’s crystal balls predict a 4-0 whitewash this Australian summer, albeit his share of grossly incorrect predictions in the recent past.

It only seemed logical that Michael Clarke decided to stick with the same eleven he fielded in Melbourne, given that a four man pace attack on a Sydney wicket would not only break tradition, but deprive Nathan Lyon to execute his reworked methods based on the learning imparted during the first test. Given that he, by far, looks the most likely of spinners from Australian soil to pick up wickets consistently in the big stage, the petulance of an average outing against the Indians can be excused knowing that even the great Shane Warne didn’t have his share of success.

Australia’s batting, on the other hand, still has a few significant question marks that require addressing. Cowan’s grit in the first innings, Ponting’s flashes of brilliance, and Hussey’s determined second innings knocks, coupled with strong performances with the bat from the tail, aren’t strong enough to support the batting foundation that has enough to claim bragging rights. You would have been forgiven for thinking that Marsh probably didn’t play the Test. To rely on to old veterans to steer the ship isn’t a great sign for the future – an issue that even the visitors are facing in parallel.

Clarke will need to score runs to ease the burden on the ageing Ponting and Hussey © TopNews

Skipper Clarke’s magic with the ball at the SCG Test towards the end of Day Five last tour brought one of the more controversial Tests to have ever been played to a nail-biting finish. Given that his contribution with the bat would hold more value in a lineup that clearly lacks experience and numbers, excepting the two veterans, his quasi-purple patch of late will demand more runs from his willow. As would Brad Haddin’s contribution with the bat – although Tim Paine, touted to be the next in line for the job behind the wickets, is out injured.

The Aussie public, without doubt, will be relishing the prospect of witnessing an eleven with the currently injured Cummins and all rounder Shane Watson, whose potential slot in the batting order is a matter of endless debate. But that is a discussion for another day. Meanwhile, the likes of the ‘stop-gap’ members would well bring out performances to ensure that they don’t find themselves in the shoes of the promising Hughes and Khawaja.

One can only hope that this year’s Sydney test is a lot more exciting, and a lot less controversial than its own course of events last tour.

You can read the match preview from the Indian perspective here

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