Mid-match thoughts

It’s dangerous to post in the middle of a match, because so much could happen that could make these thoughts redundant over the next couple of days. Especially in an India-Australia Test match. But I have to say that, at lunch on Day 4, it looks like the beginning of another cracker-jack series.

I must confess that I gave India little chance in this game to start with. Bangalore is one of our four or five worst grounds, and our middle order going into this game was either woefully out of form or out of match practice. The two batsmen who did reasonably well in Sri Lanka, Dravid and Laxman, have terrible records in Bangalore. So it felt to me like it was really only the openers who provided our batting with any substance at all. This is really ironic, when you think about it, given that for much of the past two decades, it was the absence of good openers that invariably led to India’s downfall. Now we have an outstanding opening pair, with Akash Chopra pushing hard for a comeback, and Wasim Jaffer showing in the warm-up game that he shouldn’t be completely written off.

I still think Australia are favorites to win this game. If they bat the next two sessions, they should be about 225-odd ahead. Unless they are bowled out by then, they might not press for a declaration that early. But an hour into Day 5, and they could stretch that lead close to 275, which on this wicket would probably be too much to chase in the remaining time unless Viru really gets stuck in. This would leave India with two-and-a-half sessions to save the game, which, given the way the pitch is breaking up, would actually be quite a tough ask. The good news is the gumption that Dravid and Ganguly showed in the first innings. But Laxman and Dhoni looked completely out of sorts, and Sachin’s second innings vulnerabilities are well known. So in those circumstances, saving the game could well depend on the openers and on the weather gods in Bangalore being kind to us. Otherwise, we could well be left with a Sydney-like finish, where it would be up to our tail to see us through to Mohali without damage.

Some thoughts, then, on the game so far. Really the difference between the two sides at this point has been the fielding and running in between wickets. The Indian in-fielders in the first innings were supposedly in “run saving” positions, but there was no evidence of them saving runs. Compared to that, the likes of Clarke and Hussey were swooping around all over the place for Australia. The 70 run difference, and then some, can be located just in this difference. While India will miss Kumble’s bowling on a second innings pitch, the good that could come of this is that Badrinath will be on the field. In the first few overs, he has already been chafing around the covers in predatory fashion, and I bet having him out in the field will make a substantial difference to the number of easy runs the Indians concede.

The other difference between the sides lies in team balance. India has predictably gone in with just four frontline bowlers, and two of them bowled their hearts out to keep the Aussies in check. But good Test teams play five bowlers. We cannot afford to play only 6 specialist batsmen in this series, especially because Dhoni to me has not yet proven himself as a number 7 Test batsman, so the thought of him batting at 6 is not an edifying one. Hence, the absence of quality all-rounder in the mold of a Watson or a Symonds or a Kallis or a Flintoff is really hurting us. Irfan Pathan is the closest we have to that, and his bowling form at the moment doesn’t warrant him a place in the one-day side, let alone in Tests. And I don’t see anyone in domestic cricket at the moment who is a good enough all-rounder to be batting at 6 or 7 in Tests. This is the biggest obstacle to our being the unquestioned number 2 Test team in the world.

Given that we have only four frontline bowlers, it becomes imperative to imaginatively use our part-timers, Sehwag, Ganguly and Sachin. This wicket has very little swing in it, so it’s not really a wicket for Ganguly. But I think Kumble was very unimaginative in his use (or rather, non-use) of Viru as a bowler. The last time he was used properly as a fifth bowler was in the West Indies a couple of years ago, on wickets not that dissimilar to those found in the sub-continent. And he rose to the occasion, consistently out-bowling Harbhajan Singh in that series. Viru really is a good enough bowler to be getting 12-15 overs an innings consistently, like the Aussies get out of Michael Clarke when playing on slow turners. In Kumble’s absence, Viru will perforce have a job to do later today, and I hope that he will do well enough to force the captain to consider him more often later in the series.

Indeed, I’m happy that Dhoni will be leading the side today. I have great respect for Kumble as a captain, but he is a captain who leads by example rather than by proactive strategizing on the field. So when his own bowling form is off, as it has been ever since his return from Australia, what we are left with is a conventional and rather defensive captain. I have real doubts about Dhoni as a Test batsman, but there is little doubt about his leadership skills. These have been witnessed not just in the one-day and T20 arena, but also most dramatically in the Kanpur Test against South Africa, where his captaincy had a lot to do with our leveling the series.

Indeed, Kumble’s shoulder injury might be a good alibi for him to sit out of the Mohali Test. It seems clear from this Test that India will be better off with three frontline seamers rather than two specialist spinners, especially given the form Munaf Patel has been in compared to Kumble and Harbhajan, and especially if Viru is used intelligently as the second spinner. Don’t get me wrong – I still think Kumble has some cricket left in him, and I would absolutely want him playing the Third Test at the Kotla, his favorite ground. But if we are thinking horses for courses and form selections, then Munaf in Mohali is worth a thought. And Bhajji’s batting and the fact that the next Test is on his home ground might mean that he is a better bet for it than Kumble.

Okay, post-lunch session is about to start, so time to run. Here’s to hoping that we can draw this. But I’m anxious, and I think Michael Clarke with the ball could be a real threat tomorrow. Cheers for now.