***Official Australia in India***

[Top_Cat]

Krezja made the best point of the series, I think, when he said a spinner will always be hit. It is what you do in between that counts...



If you think about it, Warne, Murali, Bedi etc. have been tonked around too... But they were always prepared to throw it up and ready to buy a wicket. Even if the guys today aren't as talented, at least as long as you throw it up and give it a chance to do something (dip, turn, bounce or whatever), you will be rewarded... Hope they can drill some sense into our spinners today evening... OTherwise, it is bye bye game and bye bye series..

If India blow the series from here, there needs to be some serious kicking of behinds. They've been the better side by some distance and 1-1 would be a real bitter pill to swallow for them. They really shouldn't but geez, if they do....

 

[Johnners]

FFS Ponting

Good to see Katich & Huss still there at stumps though, the game isn't over yet.

 

[social]

Krezja actually bowled very well at times and showed a very good temperament.

As I said earlier, if he can sort out the technical issues, he could have a real future.

The Indian bowlers were disappointing and really went back into their shells in the face of some pretty good batting

As we've seen this happen before, this was not surprising and it's simply disappointing that the Australian batsmen havent taken a more positive approach throughout the series

 

[social]

If India blow the series from here, there needs to be some serious kicking of behinds. They've been the better side by some distance and 1-1 would be a real bitter pill to swallow for them. They really shouldn't but geez, if they do....

Despite all their problems, Oz had marginally the better of both the 1st and 3rd tests but punctuated those by a miserable performance in the second.

If they somehow manage a victory here, 1-1 would be a fair result.

India, on the other hand, would be disappointed because this is the weakest Australian team for years

 

[Uppercut]

The Indian spinners were extremely disappointing. If after 300 Test wickets and 70 Test matches Harbhajan doesn't yet understand the virtues of flighting the ball, I don't know what to say of him. I think Prasanna, who must be in his mid 60's, would even today bowl better on this wicket as far as that particular aspect of spin bowling is concerned.

It was interesting to see a clip they showed today of both Mishra and Hirwani, a portly, unfit, forty year old Indian selector bowling on the same wicket in his formal trousers and shirt and polished leather shoes.

Hirwani still showed a beautiful side on action and the ball was flighted tantalisingly, fell just on the perfect length on the off stump and moved sharply away.

Mishra who had whetted our appetite with his beautiful flighted deliveries on his debut which brought him great returns on a wicket probably less helpful than this one, today bowled flatter and faster. Looks like one Test with less than great figures (2 for 144 at Delhi) has put the fear of God in young Mishra and he is as scared as his off spinning senior of batsmen coming down the track and driving him.

Agree regarding Mishra, he's been very disappointing. At Delhi he was always a threat, had Clarke dropped and could have had much better figures had things gone his way. Today he just bowled poorly, flat and unthreatening.

Krezja still bowled with poor control, but he sure does get some bounce. As i said before, it's funny how Australia have an erratic but dangerous offspinner and an economic but blunt legspinner.

 

[pup11]

Dare I say it, Krejza showed how well you can do on this deck when you bowl with flight. I guess he figured he had nothing to lose because he was getting spanked so he just kept throwing them up there and boy did it pay off. 5 wickets today alone and brought Australia back into contention.

No matter what else happens, the Aussies would be staring down the barrel of a massive, massive score had Krejza not taken wickets and at the very least struggling to hold on for a draw. Surely, player of the match even if, say, Kat scores a ton tomorrow. Krejza is the reason the game is still a contest.

Agree with this and it clearly shows that if you are not afraid to go for a few runs and ready to give the ball good air you can trouble the best of the batsmen and get good spin and bounce of this track, so well done Krejza for showing such character, if Australia can bat well and get some sort of a decent lead here then he could also come into play big time in the 2nd innings too.

Krezja actually bowled very well at times and showed a very good temperament.

As I said earlier, if he can sort out the technical issues, he could have a real future.

The Indian bowlers were disappointing and really went back into their shells in the face of some pretty good batting

As we've seen this happen before, this was not surprising and it's simply disappointing that the Australian batsmen havent taken a more positive approach throughout the series

Yeah he bowled really well in this game so far but i am afraid he would get hammered on Aussie tracks or for that matter most non-sub-continental tracks the way he bowls atm, he bowled with plenty of flight on this track and was able to extract plenty of bounce and turn too because this track was offering help for the finger-spinners, but in other parts of the world that isn't the case, so he would have to develop a good top-spinner and he would also have to learn the art of varying his length acording to the nature of the pitch, if he can do that then he could have a very good future, he has got a very good temprament and his way of thinking is very positive, so that's pretty much half the battle won for a developing spin bowler.

 

[SJS]

Dare I say it, Krejza showed how well you can do on this deck when you bowl with flight. I guess he figured he had nothing to lose because he was getting spanked so he just kept throwing them up there and boy did it pay off. 5 wickets today alone and brought Australia back into contention.

No matter what else happens, the Aussies would be staring down the barrel of a massive, massive score had Krejza not taken wickets and at the very least struggling to hold on for a draw. Surely, player of the match even if, say, Kat scores a ton tomorrow. Krejza is the reason the game is still a contest.

Agree completely. For me as the game stands today, Krejza is the man of the match and if Australia go on to win this Test he is at least the Australian player of the series for his bowling in this innings and what it did to transform Australia's chances.

Ponting screwed up big time by leaving out Stuart Clark. That may still prove too expensive an error. It is also one of the most ridiculous selectorial decisions I can remember in recent times.

 

[silentstriker]

Hey I was right. I suppose it had to happen just once by chance. Australia are winning this Test, you heard it here first.

 

[SJS]

Agree regarding Mishra, he's been very disappointing. At Delhi he was always a threat, had Clarke dropped and could have had much better figures had things gone his way. Today he just bowled poorly, flat and unthreatening.

Krezja still bowled with poor control, but he sure does get some bounce. As i said before, it's funny how Australia have an erratic but dangerous offspinner and an economic but blunt legspinner.

Harbhajan was worse than disappointing. Unfortunately Indian fans are so much in love with the guy they just cant find faults with him.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Stuart Clarke

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

 

[SJS]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Corrected to Stuart Clark.

It is still a minor error compared to Ponting's

 

[ret]

Day 2

It was Krejza's day all the way. He was the difference b/w India getting less than 500. I m sure if Krejza wasn't played, India would have got a 500+ total

It was disappointing to read all the negatives about Krejza and laughable suggestions like Australia should field in a 4 pace bowling attack .... i know that this is not a place where everyone is an expert but i haven't read such poor cricketing concepts on other forums. the suggestion that Australia play 4 pace attack tops the list in my book, followed by Kallis offering value to B'lore in IPL

 

[Demolition Man]

Best I have seen Katich bat, very impressed, Australia in a very strong position.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

It is still a minor error compared to Ponting's

Haha, great call.

 

[Johnners]

The more I think about it, the less I think it was actually Pontings call re: Clark or White. If he wanted White, why isn't he bowling him? He isn't the most tactically astute captain, but considering his reluctance to really give White a bowl this series, it just doesn't make sense that he would want White in the team ahead of Clark.

 

[pup11]

The more I think about it, the less I think it was actually Pontings call re: Clark or White. If he wanted White, why isn't he bowling him? He isn't the most tactically astute captain, but considering his reluctance to really give White a bowl this series, it just doesn't make sense that he would want White in the team ahead of Clark.

Yup it seems like big Merv had a beer too many before selecting the side, and thought oh this Stuey Clark reminds me so much of Glenn McGrath, so i should get rid of him from the side..

 

[Ikki]

I know I tend to turn everything into a tribute to Warne but what Krezja did today is the reason why I admire Warne the way I do. Warne's done that throughout his career. Chips are down, falling back...and then...a change and we're back in it.

 

[aussie]

Krezja still bowled with poor control, but he sure does get some bounce. As i said before, it's funny how Australia have an erratic but dangerous offspinner and an economic but blunt legspinner.

It depends on what you consider good control for a test off-spinner at test level, because i don't think he even bowled 5 long hops..

 

[aussie]

The Indian spinners were extremely disappointing. If after 300 Test wickets and 70 Test matches Harbhajan doesn't yet understand the virtues of flighting the ball, I don't know what to say of him. I think Prasanna, who must be in his mid 60's, would even today bowl better on this wicket as far as that particular aspect of spin bowling is concerned.

All true, his reliance of flighting the ball has really dimished on a yearly basis since his heroics of 2001. It think you can blame ODI cricket to a level, unlike Vettori, Warne, Murali other bowlers who displayed Krezja toughness to keep flighting it while batsmen go after you, Harbhajan just gets quicker & quicker.

 

[SJS]

Brilliant article by Sambit Bal
Australia have lost their presence

Excerpts

Watching Australia's struggle on the field, it is easy to sense the subtle difference: they have not looked to take 20 wickets.

It will be wrong to say this is a poor imitation of the great Australian teams of the recent past. This team feels decidedly un-Australian. Admittedly the bowling resources have been thin, the spearhead hasn't fired, and till this Test they haven't played a bonafide spinner. More than anything, though, they have lacked intent. It has been apparent from the first Test, the one they had the chance to win, that their big strategy has been to bore the Indian batsmen out.

The strategy drew inspiration from Australia's tour here in 2004-05, when they adopted defensive tactics to choke the free-stroking Indian batsmen. But then Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz strangled the Indians by bowling straight and homing in on the stumps. This time the strategy has mainly involved bowling four feet outside off stump and begging batsmen to have a go.

It's a plan based more on hope than expectation. It has made for tiresome watching, and it has sent a clear message to the Indian batsmen: we can't get you out without your collaboration in your dismissal.

Occasionally the Indian batsmen have obliged. Rahul Dravid has twice got out chasing wide balls - uncharacteristic strokes that speak of an uncertain mind; Sachin Tendulkar has twice lobbed catches to cover; and Virender Sehwag dismissed himself on Thursday by trying to create a stroke. Mostly, however, they have been ruthlessly professional and have ground out the runs clinically. They have manoeuvred the balls skilfully into the gaps and still managed to hit plenty of boundaries. Consequently the Australian gameplan has looked effete and confused. By depending on the batsmen's charity, they have let the opposition dictate the course of the match.

Ponting has been eager to push his men back at the first hint of an offensive. When Sehwag welcomed Krejza on the first morning with a four and a six, mid-on fell back to the ropes and out went forward short-leg. It was Krejza's first over in Test cricket and only the 13th over of the Test and there were four men on the boundary.
..........
On the evidence of Krejza's performance in this Test it would now seem a scandal that Cameron White, who doesn't even think of himself as a bowler when he captains Victoria, was preferred to Krejza in the first three Tests, and to Stuart Clark and Peter Siddle in this Test. The most plausible explanation for this could be that Ponting values White's batting at No. 8, a strangely diffident approach from a team that must win the Test to keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It mustn't be missed that Krejza earned his wickets. Eight wickets are a bit flattering, but he worked for them. The Indian batsmen went hard at him, lofting, sweeping, pulling and reverse-sweeping, but he didn't panic into lowering his trajectory or quickening his pace. Along with his eight wickets he also secured the unflattering record of having conceded the highest number of runs on debut; without him, though, India might have got to 600. Single-handed he has kept Australia in the game.​