Cricket: Review Second Test, Mohali.

The today’s match was not as exciting as the Australia vs South Africa one last night. It was one hell of a match. There were n number of records that were broken. We will realize the importance of this match once the feeling dies down. India today got 1-Nil up in a three match series with one more test match to go. The next is match in Mumbai.
A formula victory for Indians.
The script is as follows. It has two patterns depending upon who is batting first. There are in all four innings. In this series, we have seen only the first pattern until now. I hope second pattern comes into play in Mumbai where India bats first.
First Pattern: The Opposition bats first
First Innings: The Indian spinners curtail the batting as much as possible. There is little assistance though. The fast bowlers come in handy if they get a toe into the door. The opposition makes a decent score.
Second Innings: The Indian batsmen then get into the act. They plunder runs of tired seamers and not so good spin attack.
Third Innings: The opposition is glaring at a huge score the Indian batsmen have piled on. The fast bowlers are pressed into operation. If there is some luck, the bowler gets a few wickets. Then the spinner who is already dreaming to bowl on a dusty pitch is called upon to search for wickets. Then the “procession” starts. The batsmen come and go in quick succession.
Fourth Innings: The bowlers have made sure the target is not too big. The cake is already ready for celebrations. The batsmen go there. There are a couple of hiccups and there are a few sparkling strokes which results into an Indian victory.

This match saw everything going to their script for the Indians. It was a formula victory for Indians. The writers of this script happen to be couple of batsmen and a spinner. This time it was skipper Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. There have been a few changes in the script. The fast bowlers bowl does tend to get in among wickets. This time it was Munaf Patel. It was amazing to see that he has the confidence and ability to bowl those toe crunching Yorkers. It was good to see that ball just zoomed into toes and wickets.
The Indian tailing wagged yesterday. This shifted momentum towards Indians. A substantial first innings lead was very vital. It meant the Indians would be chasing a lesser score on the basis on first innings lead. The Indian bowler first made handy contribution Pathan with a fifty, Harbhajan a thirty, and Kumble a thirty. Harbhajan’s innings helped him carrying the momentum into his bowling. He kept one end tight while Kumble made the English batting look quiet ordinary. Ian Bell is still clueless. The ball, which dismissed Collingwood, was an amazing piece of bowling. He never looked like he could play Kumble; he had presented the opportunity to get out thrice before. Flintoff to my surprise looks very cool. Pietersen was unlucky to get out. This morning Dravid did the right thing by calling upon Patel. He took some quick wickets making sure the last innings chase is not above 150.
The Indians have an unassailable lead and they will hopefully notch up the series in Mumbai. The players from Mumbai will be certainly looking to do well in Mumbai. I hope to see Kaif in and Yuvraj out.