***Official Australia in India***

[NZTailender]

Hauritz looking good in domestic cricket of late, would actually like to see him recalled, and at least, should be ahead of Krejza, White, Casson et al.



IMO.

 

[Nate]

Hauritz looking good in domestic cricket of late, would actually like to see him recalled, and at least, should be ahead of Krejza, White, Casson et al.



IMO.

Haha really? You going by stats or have you watched him?

 

[IndGunner]

Selection of White looming as disasterous at this point. Gambhir, and at times Tendulkar and Laxman, simply too good today. The over-rate bowling of Clarke and Katich hasn't helped.

Laxman not so great (his footwork has been rusty) but i feel he is being overlooked as Aus is to eager to try to attk and pressure Gambhir.

 

[Top_Cat]

Hauritz looking good in domestic cricket of late, would actually like to see him recalled, and at least, should be ahead of Krejza, White, Casson et al.



IMO.

Would definitely prefer if he took some wickets first.

 

[NZTailender]

Haha really? You going by stats or have you watched him?

Haha, been found out. Have gone on reports by people who have watched him who have said he looks alright. Have always liked him a bit as a bowler, never fully understood a lot of the hate, as whenever I have seen him bowl he's always gotten turn, plus drift and varied flight.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Haha really? You going by stats or have you watched him?

He's bowled well from what I've seen of him over the last year. Admittedly I haven't seen him this year but that will change, no doubt.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Would definitely prefer if he took some wickets first.

When picking Australian spinners you don't really have that luxury.

 

[Demolition Man]

Haha really? You going by stats or have you watched him?

didn;t he play his first mach for the year last wednesday ??

Saw him being interviewed on fox sports last week.

 

[pup11]

Selection of White looming as disasterous at this point. Gambhir, and at times Tendulkar and Laxman, simply too good today. The over-rate bowling of Clarke and Katich hasn't helped.

Its one thing picking White match after match, but if Ponting has no confidence whatsoever in his bowling (which has always seemed to be the case right through the series) then what's the point of picking him, he bowled 4 overs today got whacked around a bit and after that he was off the attack, now that sort of treatment isn't going to help any spinner whether he is a good one or a bad one.

 

[Nate]

Haha, been found out. Have gone on reports by people who have watched him who have said he looks alright. Have always liked him a bit as a bowler, never fully understood a lot of the hate, as whenever I have seen him bowl he's always gotten turn, plus drift and varied flight.

Missed out on a lot of footage of him from seasons past, but have seen a lot of him this season, live and on TV.

He's good at not getting smacked. Reckon that's about it tbh. Flights a few up but if they don't go well, he goes back into his shell. Likes his darts.

 

[Demolition Man]

Its one thing picking White match after match, but if Ponting has no confidence whatsoever in his bowling (which has always seemed to be the case right through the series) then what's the point of picking him, he bowled 4 overs today got whacked around a bit and after that he was off the attack, now that sort of treatment isn't going to help any spinner whether he is a good one or a bad one.

There is no point picking him, would be better off picking another batsmen.

 

[pup11]

Awful, awful day from an Aussie POV, couldn't have hoped for a better start to the day with two early wickets but after that its just been a long unfruitful day for the Aussie bowlers, who to their credit toiled hard without much luck, Australia would need to have a superb morning session with the ball tomorrow if they have any hopes of coming back into this game, otherwise it could get worse even then Mohali.

 

[Mister Wright]

Missed out on a lot of footage of him from seasons past, but have seen a lot of him this season, live and on TV.

He's good at not getting smacked. Reckon that's about it tbh. Flights a few up but if they don't go well, he goes back into his shell. Likes his darts.

Wouldn't be a Heal fan yourself at all?

 

[Demolition Man]

Apparently Gambir called katich a cheat. LOL, Gambir reminds me of a young harbhajan.

 

[Mister Wright]

They were mentioning on the radio this evening that the worst thing about the Australian performance is that the bowling attack is pretty much at full strength. And they're pretty much right unless Australia don't play a spinner.

 

[silentstriker]

Awful, awful day from an Aussie POV, couldn't have hoped for a better start to the day with two early wickets but after that its just been a long unfruitful day for the Aussie bowlers, who to their credit toiled hard without much luck, Australia would need to have a superb morning session with the ball tomorrow if they have any hopes of coming back into this game, otherwise it could get worse even then Mohali.

Understandable pessimism from an Aussie POV, it's not like your team ever wins anything.

 

[silentstriker]

Australia can still come back into this with a good morning session, and even if India get 400-450, Australia are not out of it on this pitch. If they can reply with 350+, it's game on and either side can win from there. There is a long way to go.

 

[Uppercut]

My foolproof-bet-your-house-on-it preview:

Feroz Shah Kotla is just about the worst venue for Australia to go at. India win there all the time, mainly due to the pitch suiting Kumble perfectly. Australia were humbled and suffered their biggest loss by runs in more than a decade, and India seem to be on the ascendancy.

Or so that's what everyone says. The devil lies in the details. First, Kumble, that match winner of yesteryear, is no longer the force he once was, and even if he is, cannot be expected to run through a side while recovering from an injury. To make matters worse, Harbhajan is also suffering and may not be fully fit. If he does not play, we'll have Mishra - who did well in the first match, but will not be an unknown quantity any more. Ishant still hasn't figured out how to take wickets consistantly even though he troubles batsmen, and Zaheer can easily get overconfident. Plus, if you attack him, sometimes he can get too defensive early on, and that could be bad. The Indian batting lineup is not what it once was either, and can be brittle and prone to collapses, especially if there is good pressure from both sides. Dravid is averaging 30 in two years, Tendulkar is on the decline, Laxman is a drag on the middle order, Dhoni is unproven in Tests and Sehwag is pretty much the only one that can put up a big score - and that too only in the first innings.

Add to this Australia have been hearing doom and gloom predictions about their stature in cricket, and Ponting is probably fuming that people are calling him a bad captain, and his personal performances aren't lifting him up. He can feel slighted, considering every team that visits India loses, including Aussie teams at their peak - and sometimes they lose by an innings too. The only difference is, now people are no longer giving the Australians the benefit of the doubt - after all, it's not like they've only lost two series in a decade or anything. So I think Australians will be pumped up and it'll be their big comeback - the entire team will have an us-against-the-world mentality and they'll go all out in winning this Test.

Krejza did not do well in the tour game, so he'll be pumped up, and India may underestimate him based on his one performance, and get carried away on a pitch that may suit him. White hasn't bowled badly and this'll be the first pitch that will go in his favor. And we know that Clarke can easily break the Indian lineup in the space of a few overs (remember his 6/9 or this three wickets in an over)? Add to that the Aussie bowlers will be picking apart any secrets of reverse swing, and Brett Lee will probably start getting used to the conditions here - a bowler of his quality simply won't be kept down forever.

You also have the best lineup in the world. Hayden looked to be aggressive before a freak sweep shot got him out - this is a shot he has gotten hundreds of runs with in his career. Hussey played a very un-Hussey shot to get out, and he certainly won't be doing that again. Watto is coming on strong, and Ponting will be wanting to rectify his bad run and go back to his first Test form. All the Aussies have something to prove, individually and as a team.

So you have potential Indian overconfidence not in line with their ability, and an Australian team that feels slighted and madly wants to prove everyone wrong - I think we have a recipe here for a big Aussie win.

Final Prediction: Aussies to win by 220 runs.

Damn your tactical jinxing skills... *shakes fist*

 

[Top_Cat]

Understandable pessimism from an Aussie POV, it's not like your team ever wins anything.

Yeah have to agree. On that pitch, was a decent effort for the Aussie not to conceded 400 in the day. Lee, Clark and Johnson will take plenty from today.

 

[Prince EWS]

They were mentioning on the radio this evening that the worst thing about the Australian performance is that the bowling attack is pretty much at full strength. And they're pretty much right unless Australia don't play a spinner.

McGain?