Mohali testing, testing

From 224-5 to 428 is a job well done. Pity I didn't write a post yesterday saying something like "Australia's 224-5 could easily turn into 425 all out", because that was on my mind, and this morning, when I staggered out sleepily into the kitchen, my fears were confirmed. A few seconds later, I had that thought which most Indian fans must have had: "So long as Viru is there, all is not lost". Well, that little comfort was gone by the end of the day, and Australia had inched ahead just a bit.

When battle resumes tomorrow, India will hope they can score enough to exploit the seeming degradation in bounce in the Mohali pitch. Under these circumstances, all bowlers will be a handful in the second innings so it is crucial that a decent lead be obtained for some scoreboard pressure to do its usual magic. On the plus side for India, Laxman, Tendulkar and Raina are all capable of scoring quickly, and the Australian attack is still not as threatening of years gone by. Game very much on.

Lastly, despite the slow pace of scoring on the first day, there was plenty to cheer about for the old-fashioned fan like me. Australia's defensiveness in the third session meant that a wicket would really set them back, and it was fascinating to watch them walk into a trap of their own making. Had Dhoni held on to the chance from Paine, the cat would truly have been amongst the proverbial pigeons. Test wickets are precious; as each falls, five percent of the task is done. A skipper should do better.

A good test promises many, many swings in momentum and advantage. This one has already had two subtle shifts. An early wicket tomorrow might not swing it any more Australia's way, but two definitely will. And another very intriguing battle awaits: Suresh Raina goes up against the Aussies. Go forth, young man, and meet your Antipodean foes. The stage is set.

A classic test in all the right ways

My intention, (a couple of posts ago), in highlighting the rate at which wickets fell in the third test between India and Sri Lanka, was to point to how even a contest the test was and concomitantly what a classic test it was turning into (and did). Think about this:

On the first day, Sri Lanka make 293-4 (almost 300 runs with almost half the side gone). The next day, a fighting ton made with the assistance of the tail takes them to 425. India reply in style, rattling up 180-2 in 35 overs. This means, they are almost half-way to the SL score, and have done it quickly, leaving them (and the Sri Lankans) a little time in the bank. The Sri Lankans fight back on the third by getting rid of all the recognized batsmen, but the Indian tail gets a small, but important lead (numerically and psychologically). India take two wickets by close of the third day to edge just a little bit ahead. On the fourth day, Sri Lanka collapse, but thanks to tail-enders (and some depressingly familiar, unimaginative captaincy by Dhoni) they put up a decent target. By day's end, they've decimated the Indian top-order, including the most dangerous man of all, Sehwag. On the fifth day, after the nightwatchman is dismissed, Tendulkar and Laxman weather the storm (and are again aided by defensive captaincy), and then after a little twist, when Tendulkar is dismissed, VVS and Raina take them through.

There you have it. This was a five-day battle, and it needed all that time to develop. There were shifts of momentum on every single day and the side batting second had to fight hard to keep wresting the initiative from the one batting first. When making the case for test cricket, this game should find pride of place in the evidence dossier.

Both sides had weakened bowling attacks; both worked manfully to overcome their limitations. (Sadly, both captains revealed their tactical shortcomings). And then finally, it needed some batting greatness to tilt the game India's way: Sehwag's first-innings brilliance, and then the Tendulkar-Raina-Laxman combine in the second. Tendulkar's dismissal occurred at a very awkward time; it is to Raina's credit that he turned it into a minor hiccup.

So Team India does it again: it disappoints, infuriates, and then comes through. There are too many inconsistencies things still wrong with it for any fan to relax. But their performance is strangely reassuring in another way: for when they screw up again, as they will, most assuredly, sometime in the near-future, one's teeth-gnashing should be attenuated by the knowledge that they are capable of getting up off the floor.

A fine balance

Numerical symmetry demands that eight wickets fall per day in a test match in order to get a result (actual test matches have their own way of securing those forty dismissals of course). As an Indian fan, one hopes that the third India-SL test doesn't need all of them for a result, just, say, a few less. For as far as averages go, we are on track. 32 wickets are down.

As Sri Lanka staggered to 8-125 in their second innings, Sehwag's thoughts might have turned to his opening duties, and whatever Mendis' capabilities with the cherry, Viru wouldn't have thought that the young spinner would have been the one holding up the Indian charge on the fourth day. That ninth-wicket stand is looking better and better now as Sehwag went for a duck, and Dravid, continuing his miserable run of form, has played on. Randiv has done all the damage, and in the annals of inspired captaincy moves, his early introduction by Sangakkara must count as a particularly distinguished entry. It robbed Sehwag of the chance to go hard at eager quicks and instead put him into a fatally tentative frame of mind. Dravid's dismissal spoke, too, of a similar mental frame.

As far as classic test tussles go, this one has cooked up nicely; the game couldn't be better set-up for a tense final day. What a pleasant change from the second test - and what a pleasant contrast now, from the potential no-contest developing in Birmingham. How the pendulum has swung.

Oh, and a chance for glory for both Vijay and Raina: early days in test cricket, and they have the opportunity to show whether they are capable of holding their nerves in tight situations.

Begging for mercy

Over at Different Strokes, I join the chorus in bagging the SSC test. I will have some thoughts on Suresh Raina tomorrow.