India's tour of Australia - December/January 2015

[namin96]

its just typical sydney wicket will spin form 3rd/4th day onwards

Will it bring a result though? With their tight bowling on day 3, we scored only 270 runs. It doesn't seem like a result will occur and even if it does I think India will end up on the losing side again. The only way I see a result happening is if we somehow bat most or the whole day 4 today and score around 700 runs and ashwin could possibly spin us to a win on day 5 but I don't think we can do that with 5 wickets down now.

 

[namin96]

Excellent stuff from Rahul! After a horrific debut at the MCG, well done to the team to give him another chance and also well done to him for getting out of those nerves pretty quickly. Yes, he has played those occasional aerial strokes, but other than that, he has looked immaculate at the crease and shows pretty solid technique.

Not wanting to talk too early, but one left hander in the dressing room must now start to feel pretty uneasy in his stomach. It would be good to watch Vijay and Rahul bat together.

Really liked the embrace that Rahul gave Kohli. It was very reminiscent of the hug that Ganguly gave to Yuvraj Singh when the latter scored a century (in the same game where Dada scored a double hundred; probably against Pakistan in Bangalore). Kohli seems very much like Ganguly in terms of passion. Hope the results follow.

Yeah he showed good fight and grit. His stroke play was good too. Now the real question is whether selectors will make him a permanent opener along with Vijay in tests. Will Dhawan have to sit now? There's no doubt that Rahul is a better player than Dhawan, but will the selectors see this and make the change?

 

[namin96]

Rahane has been at the receiving end of some really bad decisions which have been potentially match changing. He was given out to a huge inside edge at Auckland when we needed just about a 100 runs to chase and same at Adelaide in this series where we should`ve won with him at the crease. Our batting has been very solid this series and has been hard done by a lot of rough decisions going against us. The lower order has to start contributing if we are to capitalize on the strong top order performances.

Flat pitches or not, its not been a poor Aussie attack by any stretch of imagination. For a young side on its first tour, its been the best batting effort by a touring team in Australia for a while (except SA). If we had won the key moments, the series outcome might`ve looked much different. I would like to even say that our batting lineup looks more settled than Australia. Pujara should be in the side for either Nohit or Raina. I would prefer Raina ahead of Nohit, just for his overall contribution. Raina might actually score when it matters unlike Nohit.

Yeah the flat pitches is just an excuse. Whenever India bats well overseas, the opposition players blame it on the pitch. Also, they really haven't had an answer to Kohli, their bowling has been good and tight but I think we have batted really well. Also, in the first innings when India was bowling the Australian commentators kept mentioning how our bowling hasn't been good well how about the Australian bowling? The Australia bowling definitely hasn't been better by much as we have scored 400+ runs in each match so far. Whenever Australia bowls bad, I don't hear the commentators mentioning how their bowling was but whenever India bowls bad, they are all over us in their commenting.

 

[namin96]

it's still far too early, but i think kohli has the ability to go on and become india's 4th greatest test batsman ever.

fearsome tweak... can't blame rahane for that one. uneven bounce. aaaand it wasn't even out...

4th greatest test batsman ever for India?? I think he has a shot to be the 2nd best after Sachin.

 

[lion100lion]

4th greatest test batsman ever for India?? I think he has a shot to be the 2nd best after Sachin.

I would rate Rahane higher than Kohli

 

[abhi_jacko]

it's still far too early, but i think kohli has the ability to go on and become india's 4th greatest test batsman ever.

Who are the top 4 ? I am guessing Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid make the top 3.

 

[greymatter776]

I would rate Rahane higher than Kohli

You are free to make your decisions but still

 

[abhi_jacko]

The lower order has to start contributing if we are to capitalize on the strong top order performances.

Both with the bat and the ball :P Especially with the ball since they are specialists in that aspect.

 

[lion100lion]

Who are the top 4 ? I am guessing Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid make the top 3.

I doubt that order... It should be Dravid, Gavaskar, Sachin or Gavaskar, Dravid, Sachin..
No disgrace to Sachin(infact I am more a fan of Sachin than Dravid, but still I rate Dravid above Sachin as a test player)

 

[abhi_jacko]

It was not in order

 

[abhi_jacko]

Apparently the SwamiArmy has been singing this occasionally - "We do what we want, we do what we like, we're BCCI, we do what we like," they go. Follow that up with "We're so rich it's unbelievable."

Haha

 

[lion100lion]

I don't know how many of you know this -
Virat Kohli took every player in the squad (may be barring Dhoni) to tattoo on their body, in order to bring aggression while playing... (Just before the sydney match)
(I heard this on the radio on the first day itself, but just forgot to post)

 

[abhi_jacko]

Virat Kohli took every player in the squad (may be barring Dhoni) to tattoo on their body, in order to bring aggression while playing... (Just before the sydney match)

Hmmmm. That sounds nuts, no offence lol. Are you sure it wasn't a joke ?

 

[lion100lion]

Hmmmm. That sounds nuts, no offence lol. Are you sure it wasn't a joke ?

Yeah that's not a joke...

 

[SaiSrini]

When you are succeeding, people don't talk about your linkups and relationships. But when you are failing, you are not allowed to have linkups, famous girlfriends accompanying you on tour (the GF will then be called a bad omen, etc.). Anushka must seriously be laughing within herself now. She was made the scapegoat during that England tour. Wonder what those morons (who called Anushka the reason for Kohli's failure, blah blah blah) have to say now? She has been seen in almost every test in this series, and Virat has reeled off hundreds after hundreds. She has even attracted the attention of the commentators who have at times called her "Virat's wife".

On an off-note, maybe Anushka should have a chat with Rajkumar Hirani (the director of her blockbuster hit 'PK') and think about making a new film on "finding silly and ridiculous reasons for failures". And have Virat as the hero of that film.

Back on the match - India still not out of danger yet. A victory is definitely ruled out, but to get a draw here, India still need to do a lot of work. They need to bat out time as much as possible. They can't think of anything else, not even victory. Kohli needs to try and get a double ton to cap off a sensational tour. Hope Saha, Ashwin and Bhuvi give him good support (all 3 of them are more than capable enough, especially on a track like this)