It was also baffling why Dhoni was pitting left handed Cook against Ashwin all through rather than against left arm spinner Ojha !Anyway Ashwin has to learn to take in stride all these as part of the game and move on. Drop Ashwin for Bhajji at Mumbai ? No. Three spinners ? No, because Sachin can’t be dropped ! Pacers ? They have virtually become the support cast. Zaheer has completely lost pace.It looks more like Tennis ball bowling. Umesh Yadav thinks he is still under probation and ‘accuracy’ is not to be found in his dictionary. He got the benefit of the comedy of errors of the umpires . He should feel happy. But when is Umesh Yadav going to learn the virtues of accurate bowling ? At the time of retirement ? Now coming to the English, they have proved they can fight back. While their Top and lower order exhibited lot of character but it is their middle order which appears to be cause for worry.KP should better learn from his captain in application rather than go about in cavalier fashion exposing all is three stumps. Given this scenario what happens in Mumbai if England wins the TOSS ? Dhoni ready with his strategy ?
Now coming to the win itself , the single most factor responsible was clicking of the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir .The 130 plus opening partnership laid the foundation for a big score. Thus it was surprising that during presentation Dhoni chose not to make mention of it because it was this very failure which was primarily responsible for the 8-0 whitewash series. Actually Pujara’s double Ton eclipsed Sehwag’s innings otherwise the way Sehwag re-invented himself was easily one of his best innings ever.More than caution, it was his application and discretion which helped him score at brisk pace w/o taking risk. In fact he fell to his first indiscreet shot . On the other hand Gambhir appears still cluttered and confused in his mind. He needs to attend ‘Meditation’ camp badly to improve his concentration and focus. Pujara of course is the new no.3 find and already lot has been said about him. Dhoni and Sachin will have to get some runs for sure. Dhoni of course has an alibi as a captain although he did a decent job right from Toss to timely declaration. Spinners bowled well with P Ojha looking a better bowler not just because of wickets but he also maintained tight line and length. Ashwin bowled well in patches but looked distracted possibly due to perceived poor umpiring, missed catches ,missed stumping etc.
With the 1-0 win has India started its revenge series in right earnest ? Can they make it 4-0 or even 3-0 ? Will Sachin contribute ? We are not sure. But considering that before start of the series doubting Thomas’s were many it is to the credit of the Indian squad that they put behind the past humiliations and went on to make the beginning to make amends. It could be argued India should have won it more comfortably on 4th day itself but due credit must be given to Captain cook and his men for the valiant fight back as expected of a top team like England. It was here that the No.1 Indian squad let down its fans with its 8-0 abject surrender w/o even a semblance of fight both in England and Aus inspite of names like Sachin, Sehwag,Gambhir,Dravid, Laxman…It is going to remain as a permanent blot on their careers with Dravid and Laxman virtually forced to quit international cricket under the guise of euphemism of “Retired”.Inspite of all this Sachin is still not learning and it would be interesting to see how his exit pans out. It is not just that he is blocking a young man’s place but fact is because of his presence a new settled batting order is becoming difficult to arrive at.Ideally, Kohli no.4, Dhoni no.5, Yuvi no.6., No.7 a Rahane/Tiwary might be the new emerging settled batting order in case Sachin retires.
With both spinners operating at about 60-70 overs each for the Test, Ashwin broke down and went wicketless for 55 overs.
England almost forced a draw as a result and after Yadav who was sidelined for the first 46 overs in the 2nd innings broke through and with his double strike gave India a chance to bowl England out.
The absence of Aaron over Dinda is still baffling. With Ishant's form and Zaheer's injury concerns, the 3 seamers India need to develop for overseas has become again.
Dhoni seems to have relied more on winning in India with spin, but could repeat the 8-0 defeat again if he does not talk to selectors to incorporate Aaron in the bowling attack for Test matches outside India.
Re: Dhoni almost lets off England with a spincentric approach
by Dinesh K on Nov 20, 2012 07:32 AM
Aaron is not selected because he is injured. You need the ball to be old for it to reverse swing; that explains why Yadav was delayed.
Re: MOM - Pujara not Ojha
by Subhash Bose on Nov 20, 2012 08:21 AM
Pujara contributed to half the score. The bowlers can get wickets only if there is score to defend. I agree that one cannot win a Test without taking 20 tickets and bowlers are more important than batsmen in Tests compared to ODI/ T20. However, in this Test match, Pujara's contribution/ impact was more than that of any other player in the Team.
You made 5 runs and bowled by Swann, many of the batsmwen were cleanbowled? analyse, sachin scoreed just 13? Kohli 17? im sure if they dont raise up we will be in trouble as Pujara will be now scoring his 50 only after 2 years from now!!!
Re: Dhoni
by Sudarsan on Nov 19, 2012 11:12 PM
You think Pujara is a Sehwag or Gambhir?? Stop making such nonsense generalizations based on some players losing form now and then.
Re: Dhoni
by Ravi Iyer on Nov 20, 2012 08:35 AM
Anitha, go back two tests and you will find a 159 n.o. from Pujara. Don't be cynical for the sake of being so.
I think this is intentionally done to give pjara as man of the match. This shows clearly feelings and politics in team india. Ojha should get the man of the match instead of Pujara. Every batsman was in form. From which side Tejewar got the man of the match
Re: Re: Wrong Decission - Ojha Man of the Match
by Sunil Vaidya on Nov 19, 2012 08:55 PM
the award is stacked against bowlers...its a batsman's game after all...like kapil said bowlers are workers and batsmen and king...
Re: Re: Wrong Decission - Ojha Man of the Match
by BGK on Nov 19, 2012 10:13 PM
It is true. On a lifeless wicket, Ojha's consistency gave the win.Not that Pujara didn't play well. but bowlers deserve more support. Same thing with Ashwin- one innings he is luckless, people are threating to remove him!!
Re: Wrong Decission - Ojha Man of the Match
by venkataraman srinivasan on Nov 20, 2012 08:51 AM
I also agree with u sir MOM should be given to Ojha only he only bowled well without giving much runs
Re: Wrong Decission - Ojha Man of the Match
by Jim on Nov 20, 2012 12:06 AM
The award is given by ICC panel organizing the match and not by the team INDIA. ICC has been always biased for batsman and making game batsman friendly for years so no surprise!!
