Day 5, Second Test from Calcutta

[GoEagles]

I know a lot of folks will be online looking at BaggyGreen throughout the day, so here's the place to keep everyone updated with how the match finishes up.

When play starts again India will be 4/589 with Dravid on 155* and Laxman on 275* with an overall lead of 315 runs.

I'd say anything over 350 will be very tough. (I said In an earlier post, chasing a score over 200 would be hard).

 

[jod23]

Do you think that we lose a couple of wickets quickly early we will take the gas off the pedal and try to get the draw or do you think we will continue to go for it seen as the big streak is on the line?

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All the people in the broken homes dont wanna fight no more. All the people nursing shattered bones dont wanna fight no more. But theres no profit in peace so we gotta fight some more.

 

[RogerC]

Right now I think Steve Waugh is much more conscious of not losing than he is of winning. The target looks daunting already, not once has our batting line up looked dominant right throughout the top order (all have made contributions, but as a collective unit they still look shaky), and I doubt India will declare before lunch, especially if Dravid and Laxman are still there.

The West Indies hold the record for consecutive matches without a loss at 27. That's the one we'll be chasing now.

 

[Visro]

I unfortunately cant see Australia winning the game but they may draw. If Australia does get India out quickly by some miracle and Australia does go into bat it should be great to see them slog everything they can get their bat on

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I was put on this Earth to complete a certain number of tasks. I am so far behind, I will never die...

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

If Ganguly had any guts of all he would have decalred at stumps last night and then gone all out to bowl Australia out today.

I know Steve Waugh would have.

 

[Darky]

Originally posted by Bloodstained Angel:
If Ganguly had any guts of all he would have decalred at stumps last night and then gone all out to bowl Australia out today.

I know Steve Waugh would have.

No way! Would you seriously declare with a lead of 315, with 90 overs to get those runs (more if the spinners bowl long spells) ? Suicidal when you have guys like Gilchrist and Ponting who can really push the run rate along.

 

[ptw]

I don't have my ABC cricket guide with me but 315 would have to be one of the all time highest 4th innings scores to win a game. Not too many other teams have ever reached such a total.

If he had the balls he would declare...at least when they get to 350.

Forget the streak....the issue is Australia winning a series on India. There is no way Waugh will risk losing this game and put the series in doubt.


ptw

 

[elt]

Laxman out for 281. Fantastic knock to get his team back in the game.

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The early bird gets the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.

 

[Guest]

Finally, Laxman c Ponting b McGrath 281.

India lead by 349 with 81 overs remaining. If they declare now Australia would need to score 4.47 an over which on this pitch would be possible but obviously difficult. I'd like to see Gilly open and smash a few because as we know, the Indians do fall apart very quickly.

Does the 20 overs in the last hour rule still apply?

 

[elt]

Two more out and with one of them being Dravid you would think the runs will dry up. They still haven't declared and the longer they drag it out the more likely a draw.

I hope the Aussies get in soon and have a go. No need for anything silly but with this pitch and outfield it is worth a go.

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The early bird gets the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.

 

[WCE2000]

I would love for Australia to win this test and i reckon they can.

75 overs, 384 runs. 5 and a bit an over, the Auzzies can do that any day.

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[elt]

They have delcared!

Aussies chasing 384 off 75 overs.

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The early bird gets the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.

 

[Guest]

Can't wait to get home and watch this tonight. In the end, I'm not sure why Ganguly bothered declaring at all. There is no way that the Indians can bowl Australia out in 75 overs and they know it.

The wicket is turning but very slowly and if you take away Singh's dubious hatrick, the Indian attack was very ordinary. Australia really is in control of the game now and can put the shutters up at any time thanks to some very unimaginative captaincy from Ganguly.

 

[Visro]

We're gone 167/6...gilchrist just got out for a duck. No way we can win this now with only the tail end to come. We need a run rate of 7.61 runs an over and we're only getting 3.59. Oh well all good things come to an end.

PS If India doesn't get Australia all out does that mean its a draw?

Vis

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I was put on this Earth to complete a certain number of tasks. I am so far behind, I will never die...

 

[Guest]

8/174 Bloody Hell!!!!

 

[WA]

9 out

We've lost 6 wicket for 30 since tea.....

What the hell are we doing?!?!?!

 

[Visro]

Its impossible to win now....Kasper and mcgrath batting...

not exactly the best batsmen in the world

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I was put on this Earth to complete a certain number of tasks. I am so far behind, I will never die...

 

[WCE2000]

its all over

oh well, all good things come to an end.

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[RogerC]

Well, there you go. It has been one of the most incredible matches in Test history. And one of the most unlikely wins to boot.

I for one have found this Australian team very hard to like. The only members I don't have some kind of a problem with are Hayden, Gilchrist, Gillespie and Kasprowicz (aside from the fact that I didn't think Kaspa should even be there). Balancing dodgy decisions for and against, I think the two teams came out about even.

For all the talk about Ganguly being a bad captain, etc, it looks like he's done a pretty good job. Harbhajan and Tendulkar did look like the two best bowlers available in the last session, and I'm glad Ganguly stuck with them.

This Australian team has had this kind of loss coming for a while now, and I'm glad it has happened, if only so as we can get our egos back in check. Plus, I don't like the idea of one team dominating world cricket for too long, be it West Indies in the eighties or us now. It makes the game less interesting.

The very least we can say under the circumstances is congratulations to India, and thanks for bringing a dangerously ailing series back to life. I look forward to a good contest in the Third Test.

 

[ptw]

when was the last time a team won a game after following on ?

ptw

 

[Visro]

the real question is when was the last time as team followed on and scored 600 odd runs in that innings...bloody amazing!!!

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I was put on this Earth to complete a certain number of tasks. I am so far behind, I will never die...

 

[Dipper]

Originally posted by Spogs:
In the end, I'm not sure why Ganguly bothered declaring at all. There is no way that the Indians can bowl Australia out in 75 overs and they know it.

Australia really is in control of the game now and can put the shutters up at any time thanks to some very unimaginative captaincy from Ganguly.

Spogs I kind of agreed with these sentiments I felt that Ganguly had to declare overnight at the very latest or even have upped the run rate for a declaration last night BUT it just goes to show that batting last in the sub continent on the last day is always a nightmare & any target reached of over 150 is a class showing.That's why England's win in Pakistan & the last Test in Sri Lanka were such good victories as both times we chased on the last day on turning wickets.

I think Australia committed a couple of errors in this Test

1/Firstly enforcing the follow although it looks the correct thing to do is not always a wise thing to do on turning pitches (albeit slow turn) as batting last is never easy, even if the pitch doesn't deteriate the fielding side get excitable which transmits to the umpires who get jumpy & start giving dodgy decisions.Also as the Aussies only have a 4 man attack they must have been tired after bowling in those conditions even if it was only for a total of 170 odd so they go into the 2nd dig feeling a bit under par.

2/For such an attcking side who bat all the way down & who possess a wicket keeper who is one of the best batsmen in the world I think the make of the Aussie side is slightly defensive in that they pick 6 batters,wctk,4 bowlers-surely they could have dropped a batsman for Miller (who's a decent bat) so that they had a more balanced attack,I've noticed that when Australia play 2 spinners they only play 2 quicks but my view is that you should always have 3 quicks & if you're playing in the sub-continent you also need 2 front line spinners.Even England who are a much weaker batting side than Australia(both in terms of top six & tail end batting)have gone into all their Tests in Paksitan & Sri Lanka this winter with 5 batters,wctk,3 quicks & 2 spinners the thinking being that our quick bowling is our strength & so we can't afford to leave any of them out & that we also need 2 spinners in those conditions & so far it's worked reasonably well for us.I'm sure if Miller was playing as well then there is no way that India would have piled up such a score & certainly not as quickly as they did.

3/The Aussie fast bowlers, with the exception of Kaspa(who's not a great bowler anyway) don't seem to be able to reverse swing the ball & in these coditions it's invaluable when the old ball has gone soft & is doing nothing for the quicks especially when you're spinner is taking some hammer.

Having said that I expect the Aussies to hit back hard in the next Test & they're still the best in the world but we can put the winning streak in context that none of the Tests were played AWAY against strong sides.

 

[Darky]

Originally posted by DIPPER:

2/For such an attcking side who bat all the way down & who possess a wicket keeper who is one of the best batsmen in the world I think the make of the Aussie side is slightly defensive in that they pick 6 batters,wctk,4 bowlers-surely they could have dropped a batsman for Miller (who's a decent bat) so that they had a more balanced attack,I've noticed that when Australia play 2 spinners they only play 2 quicks but my view is that you should always have 3 quicks & if you're playing in the sub-continent you also need 2 front line spinners.Even England who are a much weaker batting side than Australia(both in terms of top six & tail end batting)have gone into all their Tests in Paksitan & Sri Lanka this winter with 5 batters,wctk,3 quicks & 2 spinners the thinking being that our quick bowling is our strength & so we can't afford to leave any of them out & that we also need 2 spinners in those conditions & so far it's worked reasonably well for us.I'm sure if Miller was playing as well then there is no way that India would have piled up such a score & certainly not as quickly as they did.

I am not a fan of Miller at all, however when he is selected the side is more balanced, as a four man attack still contains 3 quicks and 2 spinners (Miller bowling as both). And if he takes wickets, surely you've got to pick him!
What the hell Hacksprowicz is doing on this tour, I will never know - I suppose it goes to show that our all-star bowling attack isn't exactly stacked with depth*.

*BTW, did anyone notice Andy Bichel is 12th man for Queensland in the Shield game vs NSW?
Surely he is being rested for the final, the Bulls probably confident they can use Dale-Dawes-Noffke against a depleted NSW batting line-up.

 

[Guest]

My "India can't win" comment looks pretty stupid now. I still can't believe it.

I made the comment before the tour started that I thought Greg Blewett would be a good selection for the tour because not only is he a very good batsman, but he is a more than handy bowler and very capable of filling a third seamers possy allowing the selectors to play 2 quicks and 2 spinners. Australia does need to play 2 spinners and Mark Waugh just isn't in the same class as Miller.

Full credit to India though, they've got more balls than I thought they had along with some real class batsman. Still not totally convinced about the quality of their attack though.

 

[Bernie]

Amazing number of LBW decisions in the last session. I thought Ganguly made a great move in the last 10 overs to have Singh change ends - he'd been bowling from one end the entire game. The only reason I could see - and it was a very good reason in the end - was that the Indian umpire was at that end and Singh was the only bowler looking composed at that stage. Within the next over - LBW not playing a shot. Brilliant captaincy.

The Australian batsmen must show more respect to the bowling and bowlers - some of their efforts were ill-considered to say the least esp. when 9, 10 and 11 nearly hung on.

It took a number of extraordinary efforts from the Indians to win this test. We must respect that, acknowledge that the cricketing Gods have been kind but are fickle and really knuckle down. Not every test needs to be over in 3 days - we in fact won the first 3 - and each session requires full concentration.

Having spent some time in India , and during cricket tours, I can imagine how thrilled the fans are there. These guys take their sport far more seriously that even we do, and everyone has an opinion. We've been basking in the sporting sunshine for a couple of years and now the clouds have come in. Time for some new blood I feel - some new traditions.