***Official*** South Africa in India

[Laurrz]

Sharma and SS average 15 and 21 respectively.. pretty decent

 

[Sanz]

He had to go for it though, with Ishant and Sreesanth not likely to last long.

I disagree. When you are the last recognized batsman, you make sure that you get the most of what is left.

 

[Manee]

But with Dale Steyn in the attack, Ganguly felt it likely that the tail would barely last another over or two.

 

[Manee]

Sharma and SS average 15 and 21 respectively.. pretty decent

The product of not outs, tbh.

 

[Sanz]

Btw, has anyone noticed how friendly this series has been ? I mean Sreesanth and Steyn walking together at the end of the day, that is got to be one of the rare things in world cricket today.

 

[Sanz]

The product of not outs, tbh.

No. Ishant's not outs are 0 0,0,2,4, 14. Ishant's highest score is 23 in Sydney. So he is capable of staying. Sreesanth is capable of scoring in 20s and his avg reflects rightly of his batting talent.

 

[andruid]

Btw, has anyone noticed how friendly this series has been ? I mean Sreesanth and Steyn walking together at the end of the day, that is got to be one of the rare things in world cricket today.

Its preety common where egos are put to one side....

 

[ret]

Another fascinating day of cricket comes to an end and still the two teams are neck to neck with India getting the little lead but it's batting last so ....

Ind with 23 runs ahead and 1 wkt remaining will be looking to add a few to the tally tomorrow but the game plan for them should be to restrict SA under 200 [ideally 150] in the 2nd innings .... Gary Kirsten should be working on how to bowl out SA tomorrow

and nice performances by Laxman, Yuvi, Dhoni and Ganguly. I would have liked Ganguly to get a 100 but with the two tailenders to come who could get out to two quick balls, he had to go for it. It's unfortunate that he missed out

 

[honestbharani]

Argh, Dravid out.

I've noticed (and I'm hoping its just a prolonged form slump) that Dravid has continually failed to go on with it when he gets starts and has battled his way to a 20-30 off 90-110 balls. Its unlike the Dravid of old.

Fair enough that its a tricky wicket to bat on, but we needed at least 60 from Rahul.

Quite ironic, I felt, because Dravid is injured above the palm area of his hand... If the ball hit him there, then it shouldn't be out, right? Or is it still out if it lobs off the arm guard????

 

[honestbharani]

Anyways, a really terrific day of test cricket, for me. And I have been one of those who have been less than generous about the way we rate the likes of Ganguly, Dhoni and Yuvraj here... But THAT knock today by Ganguly is easily one of his best ever... Difficult track, hot conditions, not much in terms of support from the other end (in the sense that Yuvi and Dhoni are not exactly reliable in test cricket) and to play the way he played was quite amazing.....


Also, I get the feeling that Dravid seems to have definitely lost something about his batting in the last year and a half..... He never used to bat this slow in his peak period and back in the mid and late 90s when he did bat this way, he always made sure he carried on. And his ability to rotate the strike with singles seems to have diminished amazingly right now. Just hope it is a temporary phase.... Would absolute hate to see a day when he has to be dropped from the test side.

 

[Manee]

To this day, he has not gone one year averaging under 35, that is an amazing record. I hope that when Dravid goes, it will be on his own terms. I also feel that he has the mental strength to delay and fight against the inevitable decline that he is very slowly plunging in to.

I am not sure about others, but I really like this pitch. There is a massive amount of reverse swing and the uneven bounce makes the battle between fast bowlers (especially Morkel) and batsmen, a thrilling one. I have to admit that I did not expect Ganguly to be the one to step up and perform, but by doing so, he has justified himself to many as a class batsman. The pitch also assists the spinners greatly. Unfortunately, the only thing which is missing from this pitch is the pace for a bowler to bowl even a reasonable bouncer.

 

[social]

Quite ironic, I felt, because Dravid is injured above the palm area of his hand... If the ball hit him there, then it shouldn't be out, right? Or is it still out if it lobs off the arm guard????

Anywhere below the wrist so long as hand is connected to bat.

Armguard, i.e. forearm area, is definitely not out

 

[social]

India, and inparticular Ghanguly and Laxman, were very good.

One feels that a collapse has to happen in this game, so who will it be?

 

[honestbharani]

Anywhere below the wrist so long as hand is connected to bat.

Armguard, i.e. forearm area, is definitely not out

he was hit ON the wrist, I believe... And his hand was holding the bat...... So not sure how the rule applies here...

 

[ret]

I just looked at Dravid's SR of 27.35 which translates into him playing 106 balls and getting 29

on such tracks, you have to play with a positive frame of mind because you are always going to get that unplayable ball that gets you. It's how much you do before you get that ball is what matters

in Dravid's case, it looks as if he is not doing enough before he gets that 'unplayable' ball .... when he gets out to that unplayable ball not enough runs are on the board and the opportunity to score of the relatively hard ball is lost .... may be a few positive moves by him would have fetched a few boundaries and got India over 300. It's rare to find that he would not have got some balls that he could have put away in the 106 balls that he faced .... and the way he is playing, he could be bringing the bowlers into rhythm, which may not be a problem for him but could be for other batsmen

not criticizing his contribution here but looking at it from a different angle

 

[social]

he was hit ON the wrist, I believe... And his hand was holding the bat...... So not sure how the rule applies here...

Sorry, should've been more specific - it's wrist and below, so he was out

Interesting case a few years ago where they introduced gloves with wristband-like inclusion.

Umps upheld many appeals where ball hit wristband area, despite it covering areas above wrist, as they felt it was part of glove

 

[Jono]

India, and inparticular Ghanguly and Laxman, were very good.

One feels that a collapse has to happen in this game, so who will it be?

Normally I'm very optimistic about India at home, and with Kumble in the team I would have said India to win.

At the moment, even with Harris not really threatening, I get the feeling SA's adv of bowling 4th is vital, and will be enough. India should try and pull a Stuart Clark/Mitch Johnson on South Africa tomorrow and just throw the bat and hope they can get 20-30 runs to piss off SA, and stretch the lead.

 

[Sanz]

Quite ironic, I felt, because Dravid is injured above the palm area of his hand... If the ball hit him there, then it shouldn't be out, right? Or is it still out if it lobs off the arm guard????

If it hits the glove, you are out.

 

[Sanz]

So much has been made about the pitch being so bad or batting and what not. Today at least 3 of the Indian batsmen threw their wickets, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Ganguly. All three were batting very fluently and rarely looked getting out. 20 run lead is nothing on this pitch. India had a chance to gain some decent advantage and their middle order batsmen blew it.

 

[Manee]

I just looked at Dravid's SR of 27.35 which translates into him playing 106 balls and getting 29

on such tracks, you have to play with a positive frame of mind because you are always going to get that unplayable ball that gets you. It's how much you do before you get that ball is what matters

in Dravid's case, it looks as if he is not doing enough before he gets that 'unplayable' ball .... when he gets out to that unplayable ball not enough runs are on the board and the opportunity to score of the relatively hard ball is lost .... may be a few positive moves by him would have fetched a few boundaries and got India over 300. It's rare to find that he would not have got some balls that he could have put away in the 106 balls that he faced .... and the way he is playing, he could be bringing the bowlers into rhythm, which may not be a problem for him but could be for other batsmen

not criticizing his contribution here but looking at it from a different angle

The pitch is not producing one brute per spell though, several deliveries are holding on the pitch or keeping low - so it is a tough pitch to bat on and to score fast on. Furthermore, he had to rebuild and ensure above all else that he did not get out and spark a dramatic collapse and so had to be super cautious. And finally, batting in a positive frame of mind is not easy, on the best of pitches, against Steyn, Ntini and Morkel with the new ball, especially for a naturally defensive player who is in bad form.