Cricket: Wrong end of the barrel

Nothings gone right for Indians, neither the team selection,batting performances, bowling performances and fielding. India plays well they field well, when they don’t fielding is perhaps the worst hit. The team is bludgeon by injuries,the top batsmen is busy nursing a groin, the top bowlers is edged out coz of a bad ankle, the up coming bowler is labeled injured, Kumble may break down, atleast a last minute fitness test was passed, Sreesanth hasn’t had muc bowling in tests, RP is coming of injury. Pathan is already blunted out.

It was a startling performance.

Talk of sublime to the ridiculous. The Indian performances between the test matches/consecutive test innings were a distant dream they were as distant as Chennai is from Ahemdabad and summer is from winter. They bat well on batting pitch and the application was missing, not lasting even a session, Greame Smith might be thinking that he is still in Bangladesh. The delivery which got Dravid was a peach, no shame getting out to that, while Laxman was foxed by Ntini, he trusted the pitch, but I imagine Ntini understood the pitch better and the ball hit top of the off stump, another India batsman was bowled, Sehwag inside edge.
The bowled did not end here, ganguly lso got out, seeing his dismissal I, LMAO. It was highly comic, well there were some fours as well, but those boundaries would have please the bowlers much more than the batsmen.

Why is this happening?

Well Safs had a good tour of Bangladesh. There is nothing like match practice. I say that any team coming to play in the sub continent should play in Bangladesh first. The batsmen get back to run making ways and even if bowlers are not quiet there in terms of rhythm and confidence, a few freebie Bangla wickets add to the confidence. I mean even if there aren’t free the wont hammer u for runs when u end up bowling for 4 session giving 150 runs for a few morsel in terms of wickets.
While the Indians had decent ODI performances, those players are missing. One bowler in test match wont win you test match provided you aren’t Shane Warne or Muralitharan. Indian think tank missed a few clues in the jamboree of some good ODI performances in Australia and hype of IPL happen to undermine preparation for Tests.
But I don’t think India batsmen can lay bricks and draw test matches, The last match which India drew was against England, by the way rain and bad light only happen to assist India and England were just a wicket away from a test match win. Rahul Dravid can do a job provided people can bat around him.
Kaif can happily be part of the dressing room but I don’t imagine him palying in the eleven, not that he is capable of it, but I don’t think he is a favourite to be chosen. I still have doubts for Yuvraj’s capability as a batsmen.

Five bowlers seven wickets.

Back your strengths, Safs did it and perhaps will take away this match and I fear the series as well. Nothing has gone Kumble’s way, playing a bastemn short India skittle out in first session of the first day. The bowlers have been trailing for more than five sessions and only have got seven wickets, knowing Indian often find hard to cleam the the tail enders wicket it looks a long haul.
Even if India match Safs score and may be overhaul their score with over 150 runs lead, which is like asking to run a Marathon backwards, then too I don’t imagine Indian bowlers having enough to scythe through.

Second day of a test, Safs should win.

If Safs don’t win and India do something dramatic, as dramatic as Sehwag’s second triple century in as many innings, then it would be perhaps the greatest comeback after Eden Gardens test in which India came back from the back door to find Aussies surprised, despised and went on to win the series.

Ifs and thens.

If Safs win it they should go on to win the series. Ifs India bats well then too India is the most likeliest to lose the match. If India draws it though, courtesy the weather they will win the series. I heard it rained in Ahd. Ifs India does make a third innings big score, who will play and who will defend he score.

Get out of the ifs loop.

Safs should win it from here.