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Game, Set and
Match - Australia |
A Review on the 1st Test
at Bangalore by Venkat
It was one of the four Test matches of the most
keenly awaited series
of the season between India and Australia played
at Bangalore's
Chinnaswamy Stadium between the 6th and the 10th
of October 2004.
Having had a dismal run in the recent season in
one-dayers, the
Indians did not need a second reminder about
their lack of quality
performances at Bangalore, where in the last 3
tests, they have won
NIL and lost two - against South Africa in 2000
and Australia in 1998.
With such a poor run in a particular venue
behind them, were the
Indians ready to turn it on or did they let the
Aussies get going in
the series? Cricketfundas.com gives its readers
an exclusive
analytical review of what exactly happened at
Bangalore.
Toss:
India might have won a lot of matches under the
leadership of Saurav
Ganguly, but its ill fortune with the coin toss
continues. The 1$
Jamaican Dollar proved to be something that
worked against the Indians as the toss proved to
give a partial advantage to the team batting
first, and on this occasion, it was Australia.
Hope Ganguly practices some toss calling before
Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai beckons.
India:
The Indians came into this game in a confused
position - not sure if
they were favourites because of the home
conditions, or the underdogs because of their
lack-lustre performances in the current season.
The fact that they were playing no test cricket
before this match, went against them as it takes
time to transit from two different formats of
the game. There were certain players whose
individual form was in serious question and in
the overall situational context, the team's
morale was in doubt. Besides, there were certain
external forces and factors that perhaps might
have played its part like the continuing and
growing confusion within the BCCI and the
contracts issue. But, having said that, the
Indians are traditionally bad starters of a
series and one cannot technically pin-point a
reason as to why is it a recurring phenomenon !
Having gone down one-zip in the series so far,
one hopes that the boys will pull their socks up
and give a better performance in the matches to
come.
Batting:
There have been an overdose by the media on the
probability of
Sachin's absence in the batting order as a
strong reason for this
continued brittleness in the top order. Akash
Chopra, might have as
well summed up his career after playing no part
except his sharp work as a close-in fielder. He
failed to do his primary job as a batsman, and
may have to hand over the tough job to either
Parthiv Patel or Yuvraj Singh at Chennai. Like
Chopra, none of the batters made notable
contributions. In fact, the entire first innings
of India went on without a half-century from
their batsmen - something rare. Everyone felt
that the lower order had it in them to resist
the Aussie bowlers more than the top half. The
second innings wasn't any different except for
the fact that the Indians got two consolatory
fifties - one from Rahul Dravid and the other
from Irfan Pathan. One reason for this lack of
solidity in the top order has been complacency.
The batsmen need to really make a statement
about themselves and their abilities in the next
game, a virtual do-or-die for India, else suffer
in the hands of the Aussie bowlers.
Bowling:
The Indians, over the past few months have had a
good time with the
ball. Although the pacemen bowled with a sense
of vigour and
enthusiasm, the results showed very little.
Irfan Pathan troubled the
Aussies a fair bit with his swinging deliveries,
but yes, one can only
feel that they lacked penetration of any sorts
as compared to the
Australians, whose pacemen virtually won them
the match. The pacemen did bowl well in patches,
but failed to make any major impact on the
Aussie batting in both innings and that looks a
concern for the Indians ahead of the Chennai
Test. The spinners did bowl well, more so
Harbhajan Singh, who yet again cast a spell on
the Aussie batters with 11 wickets for the
match. Anil Kumble bowled decently well, but the
only thing he will take from this match is the
400th wicket he took. Apart from that
achievement, he did not seem to be a major
threat to the Aussies especially to Michael
Clarke, the debutant who played him as well as
anyone else. Its time for the Indians to rethink
their strategies, especially in the bowling
department with regards to how effectively they
can use their other bowlers apart from Harbhajan
Singh.
Australia:
After a good workout against the Mumbai team,
this was the first real
big thing for Australia. They have over the
years had a good track
record at Bangalore and were certainly looking
forward to replicate it
this time too. The Aussies came in here as
strong favourites, because
of their past record at the Venue and their
recent successes in
sub-continental conditions. This game was a good
starter for them, as
they competed well and eventually won. Their
belief in winning
sessions paid off as they won a possible 12 out
of the 14 sessions in
the game. Will this be the start of History in
the Making ?? We have
to see how they carry the momentum forward at
Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai.
Batting:
As the Indians have been whining about the
Master's absence, its
celebration time in the Aussie dressing room, as
a new wonderkid in
Michael Clarke has been unearthed. Clarke's
innings, according to me, defined the match for
Australia, especially the way he handled the
spinners with a better experience gave them a
renewed confidence to boost their success on
Indian shores. Adam Gilchrist, also seems to be
in a mood, good enough to make the Indians
shiver a bit ahead of the remaining three tests.
Not to forget the role played by Simon Katich in
the first innings as he looked in complete
control of himself and the conditions and of
course the Indian bowling. The best part of this
batting performance was that, never a moment in
the match that they felt the absence of Ricky
Ponting, their man in the form of his life.
There are one or two problems to sort out for
the Aussies. Darren Lehmann and Damien Martyn
are in some pressure to hold their place when
the skipper returns and they know how tough it
is to get into this great Australian XI. On an
overall note, it was a job well done by the
Aussie batters, and if they continue the same
way, it could be Game, Match and Series for
Australia.
Bowling:
The bowling attack perhaps played a crucial role
in the win for
Australia. The combination of spin and pace
worked for them, as Glenn McGrath, Kasprowicz
and Gillespie gave it their best shot and picked
early wickets. Shane Warne was in a comfort zone
as his pacemen had already done the damage, and
although the Indians played him comfortably,
there can be a criticism of the legend that he
was bowling too short at times and too many four
balls, something we are not used to from his
fingers. Adding to their bowling performances,
was the inspired bowling changes by Gilchrist,
which produced a wicket whenever a demand was
placed by the captain. The fielding backed their
bowling up brilliantly and if there was only any
criticism about the team, it was their catching,
although they did not make a huge difference to
the outcome of the match.
This series expects something better from the
Indians and its time for
them to stand up and show what they are made up
of - the nerves of
steel or the minds filled with the fear of
losing. It would be
interesting to see if this series promises to be
one sided, or India,
like in the past strongly bounce back from a
crushing defeat to
provide all the series needs.
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