Story [c2005] India vs Australia One-Off match at Sydney

[harishankar]

Instant Update:

Pathan and Sehwag counter-attack brilliantly. India race to 95/6 in 23 overs. Warne was given some special treatment by Pathan who clonked him for another six, this time over long on.

 

[harishankar]

Lunch Day 1:

Ravi Shastri - Welcome to our lunch-time show. We have with us Ian Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar for analysing the session. And it has been a disaster for India, hasn't it, Sunny?

Sunil Gavaskar - Oh, absolutely. Australia have devastated India's top order and once again, we see their weakness when it comes to playing on the harder, bouncier tracks. The ball was new and they played far too many shots for my liking. No batsmen applied himself at all and it was a dreadful session for India.

Ian Chappell - Horrendous batting, really. Yuvraj Singh I thought played a pathetic shot to get out just as he had walked in to bat. That was really irresponsible of the Indian middle order. Except Sehwag, no batsman seemed to have an idea of how to play the quick bowling of Australia on this track. It was not a bad pitch at all and the scoreline is hardly a reflection of it. Rather, we saw some poor application from the Indian batsmen.

Ravi Shastri - Looking ahead Sunny. India made a mess of winning the toss now. The advantage is clearly with Australia. How do you see this one going?

Sunil Gavaskar - Hopefully Irfan Pathan can stick around with Sehwag after lunch. Provided they play sensibly, they can take India to a reasonable total here. The pitch is very good for batting and India would probably try and reach 200 as a first target and take it from there.

Ravi Shastri - Thanks Sunny and Ian. Well, we'll now take a break and when we come back, it'll be the post-lunch session on day 1 of India vs Australia here at Sydney. India winning the toss and batting first and they couldn't have got off to a worse start. However, it looks like Sehwag and Pathan are enjoying themselves out there and who knows... if these two stick around for a while, they can score quickly and put some respectability for the Indian scorecard.

 

[surendar]

Nice presentation mate!

Good to see Sehwag performing an different role i.e rescuer role here! Horrible collapse from Top and middle order!

 

[harishankar]

Thanks Surendar.

 

[plympilgrim]

great pres, sehwag going well and pathan starting to play nicely too

 

[gamerkid22]

Now this is brilliant presentation mate .But bad performance by India .

Hey mate 1 suggestion . If u cancel out the instant updates and directly post such update like u have done with the screens then it will be more interesting. Just a suggestion its upto u if u want to follow it or not but do it the way with which u feel comfortable and easy.

 

[harishankar]

I'll probably post less instant updates. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[harishankar]

Update: India reach 150 without losing another wicket. 150/6 in 36.5 overs. Pathan and Sehwag looking very comfortable and taking their partnership to impressive levels.

 

[harishankar]

Update: Sehwag dismissed by Ricky Ponting. Loses concentration after a long innings and plays a loose flick shot straight down to square leg. Vital wicket by part-time medium pace. India 155/7 now. Can the tail stick with Irfan Pathan?

 

[plympilgrim]

india stil struggling and ponting got a wicket :o

 

[ZoraxDoom]

How could you let Punter get a wicket......
Ah well, it's just a one-off test :o

 

[Ramz]

^^ lol.. was thinking the same thing!!! good fightback by veru and pathan.. pathan is now the key wicket..

 

[harishankar]

Update: India eke out 200. 200/7 in 51.0 overs. Pathan looking strong and Kumble giving him good company.

 

[harishankar]

Tea day 1:

Ravi Shastri - Well, at the stroke of tea here on day 1, India have been bowled out for a meagre 219. Good hand there by Irfan Pathan to give some respectability to the Indian total. With me is Sunil Gavaskar and Tony Greig, but my first question to you is this, Sunny - what do you make of this total?

Sunil Gavaskar - It is a respectable total, all right and thanks to Irfan Pathan who showed so much of application, India have managed to go past 200. I was a bit disappointed in the way Sehwag got out - playing a casual shot to square leg when he should have looked to make a century. But Pathan played brilliantly all right. He showed up the pitch for what it was - if you hang in there, the runs will come and come quickly because it's a true pitch, with even bounce and once the ball got older there was hardly anything in it for the seamers. Pity that the Indian batsmen played so impatiently and got themselves out. If Anil Kumble could show a bit of grit in hanging around, why couldn't the top order do the same?

Ravi Shastri - Yes, he applied himself superbly. Tony, what do you think of Pathan's innings? And the way he finally got out - holing out to long on. But he had to go for it at that stage, didn't he?

Tony Greig - Yeah, look... you cannot blame Pathan for trying to score a few more runs towards the end there. He had to go for it especially against the part-time medium pace of Ponting. But it was a brilliant innings wasn't it? Really superb... he applied himself well and showed the Indian batsmen what a good pitch it was. Really, if you get in on that pitch, there are lots of runs to be made there. Well, the Indians will feel disappointed after winning the toss and making just 219 on the stroke of tea on day 1. But really, they have only themselves to blame.

Ravi Shastri - Thank you, Tony. Yes, it's been a good bowling effort by Australia. Especially Lee who was fiery early on. McGrath, immaculate as always. I was a bit surprised Ricky Ponting had a bowl himself, but he too picked up a few wickets towards the end there. All in all, an excellent effort by Australia. India will really have to fight back hard if they want to have any chance of winning this match from here.

 

[harishankar]

Update: India strike early after tea. Australia 6/1 in their second over. Justin Langer out hooking one to Sreesanth and top edging the delivery straight to square leg.