India tour of Australia, Nov 21 - Jan 18

[sussexpob]

I actually thought Harris looked ok technically for the first part of his innings. But he was definitely sloppy for that dismissal.

He wanted to go after Ashwin, it seemed. He went to him, and although he caught one and put it over the bowlers head, a coupe of other times he was loose. And that short ball that flew between slip and gully, well it depends on how you look at it; the commentators thought he guided it, I thought he was in an awful position to that ball and was lucky he reacted late to tilt the bat. Id certainly be throwing in a few short balls straight up to him in the second innings.

For the first time i feel we have actually improved in pace attack department. A lot of credit has to go to the administration for setting up NCA, having world renowned pace bowlers as coaches and the management. The fast bowling culture has been caught up in India now which is very evident not only from the number of pace bowlers in our domestic and international teams bowling consistently over 140 kph.

Its good to see. Mohammed Shami must be the most unlucky bowler I have seen in a while. He got numerous drops in England, and in all the tests he played he deserved far more wickets; he remained wicketless today, that last over he had Travis Head beaten all heads up three times.

Must smash mirrors as a hobby.

[sussexpob]

Where is Kumar anyhow? Is he out on merit? He played in the T20s didnt he? Did he get injured again?

[bigfluffylemon]

I actually thought Harris looked ok technically for the first part of his innings. But he was definitely sloppy for that dismissal.

He wanted to go after Ashwin, it seemed. He went to him, and although he caught one and put it over the bowlers head, a coupe of other times he was loose. And that short ball that flew between slip and gully, well it depends on how you look at it; the commentators thought he guided it, I thought he was in an awful position to that ball and was lucky he reacted late to tilt the bat. Id certainly be throwing in a few short balls straight up to him in the second innings.

Yes, he definitely wanted to go after Ashwin. Before that, I thought he played the quicks quite well, which I guess is the primary duty of an opener, so some encouraging signs there. But it seems to me that Australians at home always want to go after the opposition's best spinner, try and get after them as quickly as possible. That upsets the balance of the attack, especially in a four-man attack, keeps the scoreboard ticking over quickly, and forces the field to be spread. It often works too - not many finger spinners prosper in Australia. But I thought Ashwin was excellent yesterday - refused to be cowed, found the right line, and kept it tight. It helped that there was a bit of turn on offer (more than I'd expect on a day 2 Aussie wicket to be sure), but his experience definitely showed vs a relatively inexperienced Aussie line-up.

[bigfluffylemon]

Where is Kumar anyhow? Is he out on merit? He played in the T20s didnt he? Did he get injured again?

No idea. I can't find any news article saying he's injured. I'm surprised he wasn't there. Maybe he's just fourth in the pecking order these days after Bumrah coming to the fore in England. I'd have him above Sharma personally, and possibly Shami too, but that said, Sharma bowled well yesterday.

He's also not particularly quick, relying more on swing and seam, so maybe thought of as less of an asset on Australian wickets than the others.

[GarlicJam]

I was surprised to see Ishant playing too, nut as you say Fluffy, he bowled well. Som e good steepling bounce and accuracy. Great work to completely squash Finch.

Nothing like back in the days when he terrorised Ponting, but he showed he warranted selection.

[bigfluffylemon]

I recall that spell in Perth in 2008 being brilliant, and I thought he had a good tour then and a good record in Australia as a whole, but the stats don't bear that out. He only took 3 wickets in that game in Perth. But I guess since he got Ponting in both innings, it made everyone sit up and take notice.

Meanwhile, rain in Adelaide? WTF Adelaide? Rain in December? It's the end times.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Going to start in about 20m.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Mitch2 farming the strike.

[bigfluffylemon]

And gone for his trouble. Another big unnecessary drive. And horrendous timing, as they go off.

The second part of both innings has played out uncannily similarly:

India 127-6, 189-7, 210-8
Australia 127-6, 177-7, 204-8

Can Nathan Lyon hang on like Shami did while Head has a go? You wouldn't bet on it. Still, I wouldn't have bet on Shami sticking around for a 40 run partnership, although Pujara did farm the strike well.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Sounds like there's a lot of rain about.

Draw?

[meninblue]

Where is Kumar anyhow? Is he out on merit? He played in the T20s didnt he? Did he get injured again?

He is in squad. Not at all injured. Without swing the others get ahead in selection and rightly so because at that pace it doesn't works in his favor to be a wicket taking bowler. Totally okay with his non selection over other bowlers.

[meninblue]

Good to see Starc did not trouble much. Lyon can also bat so no time for complacency. Keep Jas bowling from one end.

[meninblue]

Moral victory for Team India to lead by 15 runs. Excellent show at end of both first innings.

Ash and Jas have been superb. Picked 3 fers while choking runs. Shami got two wickets but he has leaked 1 to 1.5 runs more per over as compared to our other bowlers. Also his rhythm is not there, neither is he bowling to his regular speeds. In low scoring matches these extra runs he gives is an issue.

15 runs lead is something I will happily take from a touring team nowadays. Now the batsmen will hopefully bat better in second innings.

[bigfluffylemon]

Sounds like there's a lot of rain about.

Draw?

Forecast is ok for the next two days. Unlikely but possible.

Virtually a one innings game, but India have their noses in front with a 15 run lead and batting first. It's been fascinating so far.

[meninblue]

First over by Starc dealt with. Good bouncer which Vijay managed to keep it down with the short leg fielder positioned.