India move ahead, need third power of 6

An Indian fast bowler cleans up the tail. Does anyone have any idea how satisfying that sounds? Any idea whatsoever? To see an opposition side go from 170-8 to 192 all out might not seem like much to many folks but trust me, its very comforting for moi.

Anyway, Australia 192 all out, India need 216 to run. Game set up nicely, given the vagaries of fourth innings, the slight lowness of this pitch, Aussie determination to not go down easily.

And as I write this, we have a contender for the Worst LBW Decision of 2010, as Bowden decides to get clever and hand out a sexy "pad first, then the bat" decision, not realizing that those are best left alone for the likes of Simon Taufel and Ian Gould. What makes that decision truly comical was that it was missing off as well. Poor Gambhir.

Did I say a lot depends on Viru?

Smell that leather!

Even though it's an Indian (and Delhi) batsman on the receiving end, those two bouncers by Jerome Taylor (1.3 and 1.4 in the Indian innings) were a treat to watch.

Up the creek without a paddle

I've seen some bad run-outs in my time but the one that just got rid of Gautam Gambhir has to go down as one of the all-time stinkers. All the ingredients were there: a partnership that is going great guns and is about to completely demoralize the opposition, a pair that normally runs well together, a senior partner that makes the call, a junior that is initially hesitant, and then, finally and fatally, a senior that changes his mind, and lastly the handing back of the momentum (at least temporarily) to South Africa.

Poor Gambhir. This series is a write-off for him, just as he was getting his eye back in, and just as the advantage of him as a counterweight to Paul Harris' line was about to become apparent.

A pack of pretty strong cards

Barring miracles, India will lose this first test match against South Africa by an innings on the fourth day or by a similarly large margin on the fifth (odds are on the former).

What if anything, have we learned from yesterday's collapse? Not that much. Indian batting line-ups (like lots of batting line-ups the world over) are susceptible to high-quality pace and swing. And this line-up was weakened by the absence of Dravid and Laxman (we had collapses even with those gentlemen present). Indian tails are still notoriously fragile, so its no surprise to see the bottom bit of the line-up buckle and fold. Perhaps the sole bright light for India yesterday was Badrinath, who when he looks back at this debut, will thank his stars that he was given such a searching examination. It will stand him in good stead as he goes forward. And he still has a chance to get out there and play a long innings. He has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. All those years of waiting, and now finally, a moment in which he can redeem himself.

If there is pressure anywhere in the line-up, I suggest it rests on one man: Gautam Gambhir. He has racked up approximately a quintillion tons in the past year or so, and drawn comparisons with Bradman. The sneaky sensation that he hasn't really been tested had never gone away and now in his first exposure to a class pace attack in a while, he has come up short. He is going to want Eden Gardens to turn out differently - for himself and for the team.

India's problems began much earlier, of course, when South African racked up 558-6 after being 6-2. But those sorts of performances are commonplace frankly. Many is the time that I have gone to bed on the East Coast (at least in the last seven years since I returned to the US) and woken up to find a gigantic partnership flourishing. India's bowling attack, whether its because they are dealing with dead pitches at home, or the lack of penetration after early breakthroughs, still remains alarmingly susceptible to this sort of smack-around-the-park.

All is not lost. I expect the Indian team to do better in the second test. The batting line-up will be stronger. Folks will be suitably mortified. Perhaps Mishra will get an edge or two. Maybe Harbhajan will get his act in gear. Perhaps Sharma will.

This current Indian team is by far, the most accomplished, and perhaps most consistent, outfit that has taken the field in a while. They are deservedly ranked #1 in the world. But given all that, they still remain a team with distinct patches of weakness that has the tendency to go off the boil a bit too quickly. Some of this is because old, classical weaknesses remain.

In a cricket world where no one team dominates, this is par for the course. Let us not forget that South Africa just lost at home to England by an innings. Inconsistency of this sorts seems to be commonplace. The world of cricket awaits a true dominator. Till then, lets enjoy this sort of back-n-forthing.