Australia would win the Bangalore Test

A 2 Test series is always less for such exciting and enthralling contests between 2 of the best Test playing teams. Damn Ashes, this rivalry is the best in the world in Tests.  A Mohali repeat seems to be in the offing for the final day’s play in Bangalore.

That would depend on 2 factors:

1. How soon the tail is wrapped up. Mitch is there nd he is another Gillespie. Frustrating but effective,

2. Sehwag factor.

If the target is in the range of 225- 250 then a quick fire 50 – 70 from Sehwag would win it for India. And if Sehwag drops out soon then expect India to apply a safety first approach. They have teh men to defend and they also have the men to go all out in absence of Sehwag (given he falls early). Which way India applies is yet to be seen. The Australian attack is not the best ever they had, yet they cannot be discounted.

Zaheer Khan would be the key in the first session of day 5 as he would look to reverse swing to bounce out the tailenders.

Move aside meek people and T20 fans, this Test series is like oyester in the sea/desert. Much wanted and we are greedy to have more, more, more of it.

Benn does not deserve 2 game ban

A close look at the video of the row between Benn and Haddin suggests :

• Benn wasnt at fault when he went for the collection of the ball to stop a single and Haddin ran into him. That was by chance, not intentional.
• Haddin provocated Benn with the show of the bat. 
• Benn was taken aback when he saw he being provoked. He just walked to the batsman and natural exchange of words. Nothing done yet by Benn that earns him a 2 game ban.
• At the end of over Benn walks over to Haddin down the umpire end and  there you see Johnson altercating with Benn. Not needed. 
• And then a physical contact between Benn and Johnson.

The questions arise why was Johnson handed just 10% of the match fee as fine and Haddin as 25%. It was Haddin who began the altercation with an intentional provocation and poor Benn fell prey to it.

And what wrong did Benn do to earn 2 game ban which was serious and an intentional provocation from Haddin wasnt so serious offence ?

Jaundiced eyes, biased vision and perhaps even racism ? No white player ever is banned by this match referee.

By the way how did Broad return to refereeing when he was pitched for a ban by our honoorable Ijaz Butt ?

Day 5, Lord’s Test

I would rather be cautious and keep my fingers crossed. I would want the Aussies to defend their 75 year old glorious record of being undefeated in a Lord’s Test. I would want Aussies to win or draw this game. Aussies are missing n this is an Aussie B team playing. I would want Haddin and Clarke to win it for Australia. They have given away the max runs chase and it would be just apt for them to do the same honors to England.

Mitch is yet to come and if there is an occasion when he needs his willow to crush the ball its NOW. One wicket less and it would have meant Aussies have their nose ahead. Right now its 60-40 England.

Perhaps the life of Test Cricket in danger, which few blogs mention and MCC wants me to believe, would be saved if this chase is finished off successfully. It would really be legendary test and then it would worth alll the hype of a Ashes Test. Otherwise not.

Ashes day 3

Prick in the ass Ponting scores 38th 100 and now he has put his team firm positioned to win it handsomely weather permitting.

England were simply without plans or plan B when Pupps and South got going North with their partnerships.

Panesar and Swann were expected to wringle Aussies in a jeans and dump in the sea nearby, instead they got swamped for runs.

Anderson who was supposed to be the reverse swing master, couldnt even swing the ball. After all not all can reverse swing it like Zakso. Well m talking of Tests, so no Umar Gul mention here. And he was a dud in the Galles Test.

North and Haddin are still batting and not to mention Mitch is yet to come. So a quick fire batting with over 120 runs in first session, day 4 would mean England would go down 0-2 very soon. Not even 10 days of tight contest. Oh my, Ashes would be decided so soon.

England are screwed, big time. Only Indar bhagwan can save them. Yeah ask them to please Indar bhagwan for some rains. Thats the only saving grace for Pommies.

Ashes day 1

Its been a Australia’s day till now. England have lost their key and best batsmen. Flintoff and Prior are the last recognized pair on the crease. KP crossed 1000 runs against Aussies in just 11th Test, but he would also know that 69 would not be the score England look from him.

Strauss, Cook, Bopara didnt score high and got carried away in hype and hoopla. Fell to cheap dismissals.

Hilfy and Johnson have been the bowlers for the Australia who have bowled quite well. Somehow Australia right now lack a genuine pace bowler like Lee who could run down the opposition in a torrid spell.

Not so long ago Clark was their best bowler, but he is not in the side today. Hauritz hasnt bowled that bad so far. Right now Ponting is trying to run through the 80 overs to may be get the new ball. 17 more balls to go right now.

Australia would be happy to restrict England below 335 or 340. All in all a good Test match cricket on day 1 of Ashes.

Session wise scoreline :

Session 1 : Australia
Session 2 : England
Session 3 : Australia so far.

Australia go 1-0 up

So Aussies go 1-0 up and I take one step to win my bet, which is quite popular now across blogsville. It was a perfect win. Excellent cricket by both teams. Rivetting test cricket. Much to the contrast in Pakistan and West Indies which are nothing but batting draws and big bores. Its amazing that SL still play the same brand of boring cricket. 606 runs in 2 days and then M&M thrashed.

Oh man gimme a break.

For Australia the debutants stood out esp North who hit his 1st hundred. Johnson got wickets, Hussey got ducks, Ponting got yorkers, Smith got jitters. Now his 2 big wins in Australia stand negated. It cud well have been 3-1 for Aussies rather than 2-2.

Today morning it seemed that Saffers would go for the kill. But then Kallis continued his selfish run with the bat and never assumed the threatening proportion to put Aussies on backfoot. Perth hero JPD didnt click and Boucher was all alone to put up a fight. Hilfenhaus played supporting role to perfection and Siddle assisted Johnson to wipe out the tail once Kallis was gone.

It was a game of 15 sessions where Aussies won handsomely 12-3. Perhaps that answers few distractors who questioned my logic to go behind Aussies. But even though Saffers lost, they played intensive cricket and that to me rates above the boring brand we get to endure with the Asian giants sans us and Carribean torture where England is fast falling the steep slope. Its pretty much clear that they aint going to win a series now in West Indies this time.

Australia has upper hand

Australia lost a bit of their intensity this morning with madness setting in their camp. Much of that credit to Kallis the bowler and the fielder. 75 runs in to the first session and 8 wkts lost. Thanks to Haddin and Hughes, they still sit 420 runs ahead than Saffers. Yet they won’t feel secure given the ease with which Saffers chased down 415 in Perth. Amazing is the history. It gives jitters not to the team but to the supporters. SA would bat in the 4^th innings and Graeme Smith is the undisputed king of 4^th innings 100s. So he would still like to back himself up for the heroic innings. Few more runs from the last pair on the wicket would be a bonus and would mean more pressure on the Saffers. They would have max 4.5 – 5 sessions to save / win / lose the game. Not long back India defeated them in Jo’burg by 278 runs, now its turn of Aussies to beat them and go 1-0 up.

Aussies were touted to be the underdogs and weaker links amidst the 2 teams. Though their batting worries haven’t been resolved, the bowling attack gives them a hope. Lee and Clark would be back by Ashes. And till then if Siddle and Hilfenhaus make steady progress, the Aussies would look good for another Ashes triumph. Mitch Johnson is touted to be the next Aussie great alrounder, though that’s a bit of far stretched imagination. Alright, he is having good times. But still he needs to do that consistently. This has been a riveting test match, much to the hype and hoopla created before. However I still don’t feel that SA are deservers to upstage Aussies from # 1 throne. Its still India who deserve more than the Saffers just cos they were able to beat Australia when the later had its strengths at peak and had the best of talent which is now retired. Saffers in that era failed to win a single test match home and away, let alone win a series. India in that duration won 2, lost 2 and drew 1. No other team came close to that record. I am a chauvinistic, but then there are facts to prove. I would always rant for the support of Indian test team which for now doesn’t have the young buggers in. I don’t know how it would be when the Raina would be # 3, Sharma (if) would be # 4 and some other dude would be # 5. Yuvraj has seen it all, so its very unlikely that he would like to lose the focus and so his test spot. The young buggers who have all seen is nothing but easy money and fame would falter away when they would be put under pressure of 5 days. I don’t think so the likes of Raina and Sharma are Test class.

Meanwhile the action resumes in Jo’burg. Go Aussies.

Updates on SA- Aus Test series and my bet with Achettup

Hey doesn’t cricket seem to be a great leveler. Over confident Indians brought down in a format where they are world champs and have played their last game before they go to the defence of the title they won 2 years back. I would hate to see Indians do a 1987 in 2009. And the other one is for Graeme Smith. Man of the series in Australia for his heroics, falls for a duck. Australia is in a soup at 38/3 on day 1. And then 182/5. A debutant scores a 100, Haddin scores a 50 and then Mitch Johnson enjoys himself in the middle to remain stranded for 96*. Wow, he has now a test average of 32. Way greater than Pidge and Lee.

SA stuttered at 5/2. The heroes of down under series were back in hut in a flash and then boy. Kallis gone too but with a selfish milestone. DeVilliers and McKenzie still on crease though, but still. I am on course for a victory in the bet with Achettup. 2-1 or 3-0 for Australia or even 1-0 or 2-0, I win. Any other scoreline than the ones here I lose.

So its kinda back to the old world order. Australia thumping Saffers and Indians being blowed away by star less Kiwis. Gotta ask for Sharma and Raina, how much beer they had and how many babes they wandered with ?

Tidbits all round the cricketing world

So finally the tour to Pakistan has been called off. That was just a formality. I have been a vociferous supporter of this even before 11/26.

Some things never change……in context of pure cricketing sense. All around the world….

Dont agree, have a glance :

1. Dravid’s failures. Once a wall ran out of runs and we ran short of brickbats for him. Now the latest buzz is that he would be batting down the order. Laxman for # 3 ?




2. South Africa would be perennial and eternal chokers. They would always speak high about their preparations, their plans, talk absurd of somebody being informer n spy to them, their pace attack, their ambition to go # 1…When it comes to deliver the talk on the field when it matters the most, they choke. 234/3 to 243/8.




3. English media. Anything English is too good for them. Chauvinistic even in modern age. Living in feudal times. Anything scored against England would be huge for them. Be it Smith’s 154 in Edgbaston or 103 by Tendulkar in Chennai (Athers calls Madaras)…India vs Australia wont matter much to them. A win and they feel they are ready to take on the Aussies only to end up 0-5.




4. Sri lanka ‘s eternal love for minnows. If ODIs with Zim when they were embarrased in last 3 ODIs were not enuf, then now what follows a Test series with BD and a tri series with Zim as 3rd team :). They scrapped England tour, agreed for BD tour…meaning more cheap runs and more wkts for M&M. hell, Mahela even bothers to speak to motivate his team against BD…..Wonder has SL confidence came down to this level ? I hate M & M. They pushed Saurav and Anil to retirements.
5. Dilip Vengsarkar’s tounge. Continues to remain loose and suffer verbal diaorrhea. Now he questions awarding Mohali the 2nd Test. And he also put a ? on exclusion of some Rahane and Dhawal Kulkarni from Mumbai for central contracts. Ok dude, you love Mumbai cricket but then there should be a criteria to judge the players on quality. Just cos a player hails from your state, he should be given a contract ? Will you accept me in your academy ? I am from MH and have worked in Mumbai for 2 years….Ok if not Mumbai then in Pune, i hv been here for 4 years now……..Deal ?

Michael Johnson is the new BOWLER who has now come of age for Australia. Can he step into the mould of McGrath ? Time will tell. But then the signs are omnious….

WI is playing NZ and nobody is bothering.

If there is one team which has been the team of year in every form of game in 2008, then it is INDIA. Wonderful results all the way except SL loss. Victories, home and away. What more you need ?