*Official* Sri Lanka in India

[Oli Norwell]

agreeing to play a cricket match on a motorway.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Interesting fact just came up on TV, the most runs ever scored by India in a day in tests. That surprised me slightly.

I'm not surprised that test cricket is struggling in India. Two wickets down after 80 odd overs, without a true contest between bat and ball it's basically just a net session out in the middle.

I don't think it's down to bad bowling. Look at all the bowlers, all have been expensive. Usually if it's down to bad bowling you'll get two or three bowlers who have been smashed around and the rest quite economical. Here though it seems nobody can stop the runs flowing (up until about 30 mins ago at least!)

I was almost going to create a separate thread on this, but what does everyone think about the commentary? Seems like the BCCI has control over exactly what kind of things can be said and can't be said. If this was the Sky Sports team they'd be going on and on about how pitches like this are ruining test cricket. But not one negative comment here! Only discussions on how exciting it has been!!!! Ridiculous.

 

[Jono]

^ Haha re: commentary. Wouldn't surprise me if its true.

That being said, there were plenty of dissenting articles, including from Dada Ganguly himself, about how bad the first test pitch was.

They may be able to prevent commentators from speaking out (if they really were bothered), but enough people complained about the first test.

 

[Prince EWS]

funny how it is only idiotic when Indians score these hundres..

I wonder what New Zealand would've scored on this pitch... McIntosh probably would have failed altogether and the rest of their batsmen would've got starts and then thrown it away between 40 and 70.

As sad as it is, the increasing regularity of flat pitches around the world has made the ability to cash in consistently on flatties a really important part of batting. These games often end up in draws but if your batsmen don't have the required concentration levels to make really big scores you can easily end up losing them regardless of how good your bowling attack is. Runs in more difficult circumstances should obviously be valued more but I've faced the reality of the fact that guaranteed runs in games like this are almost as important - if not actually moreso these days.

 

[Jono]

I don't think it's down to bad bowling. Look at all the bowlers, all have been expensive. Usually if it's down to bad bowling you'll get two or three bowlers who have been smashed around and the rest quite economical. Here though it seems nobody can stop the runs flowing (up until about 30 mins ago at least!)

I haven't seen a ball, but no team should ever give away 400 in a day.

Surely they've bowled inaccurately, or Sanga hasn't set good fields.

Other teams have played on such wickets and AT LEAST managed to keep the scoring down.

 

[honestbharani]

bcoz they score big boring hundreds on their own flat pitches which makes a test match dull

if the opponents score hundreds on the same flat tracks, it makes the game exciting????

 

[DingDong]

i think the indian grounds should be banned from holding test cricket until they start producing wickets that are at least 80-20 in favor of batsmen. atm is 100-0. this is just killing test cricket.

 

[Shri]

i think the indian grounds should be banned from holding test cricket until they start producing wickets that are at least 80-20 in favor of batsmen. atm is 100-0. this is just killing test cricket.

Bull ****.

 

[Xuhaib]

i think the indian grounds should be banned from holding test cricket until they start producing wickets that are at least 80-20 in favor of batsmen. atm is 100-0. this is just killing test cricket.

how do we judge its 80-20 not 81-19 or 79-21?

 

[Uppercut]

Congratulations to Gautam Gambhir, fourth consecutive test match in which he's scored a century.

The contrast between this match and the one going on in New Zealand could not be more stark.

 

[G.I.Joe]

We'd have had more of the 90s style turning tracks, and not these roads, had the Aussies and Saffies not thrown a fit everytime they encountered one here.

 

[Uppercut]

Newsflash: you're not a colony anymore. You don't have to do what other countries say.

Besides, remember Smith and Arthur being perfectly diplomatic when they encountered that dustbowl last year.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Newsflash: you're not a colony anymore. You don't have to do what other countries say.

So you're saying ignore it when the ICC censures you after the touring team writes an angry angry letter to them? I don't get what being a former colony has anything to do with it, stop with the pseudo-psychology.

 

[Uppercut]

It just looks like an attempt to render Indian groundsmen not responsible for doing their bit to kill test cricket. Clive Lloyd and the ICC are doing their bit too, obviously, but you can't excuse the groundsmen either. It's not a straight choice between a pure dustbowl and a cricket-killer.

 

[andyc]

The contrast between this match and the one going on in New Zealand could not be more stark.

Was just coming in here to post something along those lines. One game is relatively well poised for both teams and any result is possible. The other is pretty much long gone, save for something incredible. Just so pointless.

 

[Furball]

It just looks like an attempt to render Indian groundsmen not responsible for doing their bit to kill test cricket. Clive Lloyd and the ICC are doing their bit too, obviously, but you can't excuse the groundsmen either. It's not a straight choice between a pure dustbowl and a cricket-killer.

It worried me when I read a cricinfo article and the UP cricket board had instructed the curator to prepare a wicket that would last 5 days.

It's a damn shame, because there looked like quite a decent crowd in the morning session.

 

[honestbharani]

It just looks like an attempt to render Indian groundsmen not responsible for doing their bit to kill test cricket. Clive Lloyd and the ICC are doing their bit too, obviously, but you can't excuse the groundsmen either. It's not a straight choice between a pure dustbowl and a cricket-killer.

How much do you know of pitch preparation anyway?


And no it is not.. But when wickets have their own character and that makes them a dustbowl, you don't want that. So you try to water it up and flatten it and harden it and then it becomes a road and you do not want that either. So what do you want? Wild guess: a greentop.... How is that good for cricket?

 

[Uppercut]

Good point, my bad, great pitch, massive thumbs up to the groundsman, will DEFINITELY watch the rest of this match, should make for some seriously entertaining cricket.

 

[honestbharani]

Good point, my bad, great pitch, massive thumbs up to the groundsman, will DEFINITELY watch the rest of this match, should make for some seriously entertaining cricket.

overreaction much??



What I mean is, let us wait till both teams have played before passing judgements. If anything, pitches in Australia have been even flatter... And anyways, there have been flatter tracks that started turning on Days 4 and 5.. Is it too much to expect some perspective or is it juz always "lets bash BCCI and Indian cricket"???

 

[Uppercut]

You don't think I'd bash the groundsman if he was Australian?

Anyway, you're probably right about waiting til both teams have batted before passing judgment. I'll return to my groundsman-bashing in a few days.

 

[Furball]

Good point, my bad, great pitch, massive thumbs up to the groundsman, will DEFINITELY watch the rest of this match, should make for some seriously entertaining cricket.

I didn't see the afternoon or evening sessions, but I thoroughly enjoyed the morning session.