Tuesday 14 October, 2008

Test Cricket Lovely Test Cricket

For the uninitiated, a game played over five days and thirty long hours, without producing any tangible result would amount to colossal waste of time. For the aficionados though, the Bangalore match showcased the essence of what the Test cricket is all about…..the charm of a long and hard fought draw! That India came out largely unscathed from the series opener was a surprise bonus to many, but this Test would still have retained every bit of its charm, even if the home team had succumbed to its first test blues. Afterall, it had lived up to Lord Beginner's immortal calypso, 'Cricket Lovely Cricket'.

It was not just about five days of 'absorbing cricket', as the cliché goes, it was also about verbal joust started by Zaheer Khan which will keep things simmering troughout the entire series. Have Indians finally learnt the subtle art of sledging? I would be mighty pleased if they have. More so, because it was straight out of Kumar Sangakkara's books,something I would prefer any day, over the on-field rubbish sprouted by the likes of Matt Prior, Symmonds, Harbhajan and co.

Zaheer Khan does have a point though. It is not often that Australia bats for two full days (and 150 overs) to score mere 430 runs. A scoring rate of less than three, gave India a good chance to wriggle itself out of a tight (again clichéd) situation. It is interesting to note that Australia has won the last two tests played at Bangalore, in 2004 and 1998, and their run rate has been well over 3.5 on both occasions. A sure sign that they are badly missing Symmonds and someone like Gilchrist, late in the order.

On the other hand, Bangalore hasn't been a happy ground for India. They have not won a test here in last thirteen years, losing to Australia (twice, 1998 and 2004), Pakistan (2005) and South Africa (2000) in the process. From that standpoint, it was a best possible start to a long series. More importantly, the 'Fab Four' have finally managed to avert defeat by batting a whole day, after a spate of unsuccessful attempts over the last twelve years.

The caravan now moves to India's Perth – Mohali. A day after the Mohali test ends, on October 22nd, whole of India would be glued to the space centre at Sriharikota, from where Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its first ever unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan. A win at Mohali, therefore, would not only give Spaceman Spiff and his crew an almost unbeatable lead, but also add 'Chaar Chaand' to Diwali festivities that follow.

11 comments:

straight point said...

first of all welcome back...

most of us have already scaled down our expectation looking at the age of our middle order...it seems...

otherwise any team who is aspiring to be no.2 (if not 1) would have shown better test cricket against team who is uncharacteristically defensive and playing only with two and a half bowlers...

Cricket Guru said...

Thanks SP and welcome,

Yes, I did notice it browsing thru your post and even Balajhi's on TCWJ. And it took me by surprise, because I was expecting something more positive.

Mohali test will provide a clue to many of these questions.

kau kau goes the crow said...

Nice to have u back,almost like the swallow who visits only during summers ;-)Its a long Cricketing Season ahead now and hopefully shall see more of u.

I would like to hear your take on the ICL series too..someplace feel for the youngsters who play for a league which is not as visible

Cricket Guru said...

Welcome Kaustubh,

You will find me active mostly during test matches, when the 'real cricket' is played out. Although I must confess I am a huge fan of T20 version too.

As for the ICL, I haven't been following it closely like some of my blogger friends out here.

Into their second year, they have done a great job, given the handicaps they started out with. As for the visibility, it will come, now that ICC has taken a lead in bringing about a meeting between BCCI and ICL, something that looked improbable few days ago.

I have always felt that like the West Indies Cricket Board which compromised with Stanford League, BCCI, ultimately will have to do the same with ICL. They cannot ruin the careers of young playes, some of whom have the potential to represent team India.

fatmagülün suçu ne 2. bölüm izle said...

thanks

Cricket Gossip said...

Test Cricket is one of the best cricket game among ODI and T20

livescore said...

Test cricket is the base of cricket therefore it is the lovely side of cricket. In this scenario your shared points are very important and effective to learn deeply about test cricket.

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