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.