Sri Lanka in India

[Dhoni]

Dilshan is looking dangerous!!! Kumble isn't bowling well after picking up the wicket.

EDIT: Paw bhajji stuck for India. Young Maharoof is out. Bhajji picks up his 5th wicket.
PAV BHAJJI TOO SPICY FOR LANKANS!!!

 

[SaiSrini]

Dilshan is looking dangerous!!! Kumble isn't bowling well after picking up the wicket.

EDIT: Paw bhajji stuck for India. Young Maharoof is out. Bhajji picks up his 5th wicket.
PAV BHAJJI TOO SPICY FOR LANKANS!!!

Are you watching the game LIVE? Because that phrase "Pav Bhajji too spicy for the Lankans" was shown in the live telecast where it was written on a local Ahmedabad newspaper after the end of yesterday's play!

Two wickets now for India! Sri Lanka are pretty close to the 198 needed to avoid follow on (26 more needed!). Even if India get the other wickets before they avoid follow on, India should not enforce it. India can play better on this wicket and can score 200-250 runs and then set a total of 450 or so for the Lankans with at least 4 sessions remaining!

 

[sid_19840]

Good performance by India again,I agree with sai here even if we get a chance to follow on,we shdnt do so and play till abt mid day-4 after which the pitch will start talking even more,and batting in the 4th innings will be really tough.

 

[SaiSrini]

Good performance by India again,I agree with sai here even if we get a chance to follow on,we shdnt do so and play till abt mid day-4 after which the pitch will start talking even more,and batting in the 4th innings will be really tough.

Already the pitch is behaving badly. Even a score of 200+ is going to be highly challenging by the end of the 4th and the whole of the 5th day!

 

[sohum]

I don't think the pitch is that bad to bat on if you apply yourself. Although you can never count out the luck the spinners can extract from a crumbling pitch.

 

[aditya123]

Murali in and entertainment as always . EDIT : Murali goes . 201/9
Not many teams enforce the follow on these days though England did enforce the follow on in the 4th test of the Ashes .
India , if you remember did not enforce the follow on at Sydney test in the 2003 series even after scoring 705/6 dec !
In the end it proved to be the difference as Australia managed to salvage a draw .

 

[cricket_lover]

neither is this a sydney test nor is india playing against Sri Lanka. I'm sure sehwag would have opted to bat again. It has been the trend for a while now and with India scoring quick runs, it'll be tough for SL to play the spinners on the fourth/fifth days.

 

[sohum]

Yeah. Murali could destroy India in the fourth innings on a fifth day pitch. The better idea would be to get about 200 runs on the board (even if you are all out) and set a highish target that would be difficult to achieve with class spinners at both end.

 

[SaiSrini]

Harbhajan, take a bow! What a performance this has been!

Sri Lanka all out for 206, trail by 192 runs!

I enjoy watching Harbhajan picking wickets more than Kumble! Dont know why but that has been my case! I am extremely happy for hiM!

7 wickets??? Fantastic! India now need a score of around 200-225 to shut Sri Lanka out of this game! I think they surely can get to it considering the form and depth of our batting order which runs till No.8!

Murali in and entertainment as always . EDIT : Murali goes . 201/9
Not many teams enforce the follow on these days though England did enforce the follow on in the 4th test of the Ashes .
India , if you remember did not enforce the follow on at Sydney test in the 2003 series even after scoring 705/6 dec !
In the end it proved to be the difference as Australia managed to salvage a draw .

That was because the wicket was good for batting and India did not want to be on the wrong side of the coin and give the moral victory to Australia! Australians are known to force wickets even on placid pitches and who knows, India might have lost too had they enforced the follow on!

In the end, they ended up with the moral victory having went so close to a win on the final day!

Yeah. Murali could destroy India in the fourth innings on a fifth day pitch. The better idea would be to get about 200 runs on the board (even if you are all out) and set a highish target that would be difficult to achieve with class spinners at both end.

Going by how the pitch is behaving now, the signs are its going to be a nightmare facing the spinners on the final day! Thank god, India won the toss!

 

[Dhoni]

Excellent performance by Bhajji. India just need to score about 250 runs. Come on India!!!

 

[SaiSrini]

Sehwag GONE off the very first ball! India 0/1!

Atrocious shot from the captain off the very first ball! Senseless at its core!

Laxman now in an almost opening slot! And only god knows how Gambhir will play on a given day!

 

[aditya123]

Sehwag GONE off the very first ball! India 0/1!

Atrocious shot from the captain off the very first ball! Senseless at its core!

Laxman now in an almost opening slot! And only god knows how Gambhir will play on a given day!

Had it gone for a six, you would have said ` What a great shot ` !
That`s the way it goes ! Sehwag had been playing this shot for the past 3 years and had invariably succeded with it . Whrn you are in bad form , everything seems to go wrong for you .
Had he played the same stroke last year, it would have cleared the fence !
That`s the way it is ! You`ve got to accept it .

 

[SaiSrini]

VVS Laxman GONE for 5! India 9-2!

Is it (the match) turning here at Ahmedabad? I sincerely hope not! C'mon Sachin! Faintest of nicks for Laxman to be out!

Aditya, it was not a great shot off the first ball and that too, being a captain! He has to face some criticism for that since he is the captain!

Sri Lanka looking to build pressure now! Both batsmen playing very cautiously. Sachin needs to know that caution here will invariably lead to his dismissal as in the first innings and in the innings at Chennai!

 

[aditya123]

don`t worry !
I think it is just a brief period where SRL will dominate . It happens in test cricket.
With the lead we already have, it is just a matter of 2 partnerships to get us a good lead .

 

[SaiSrini]

don`t worry !
I think it is just a brief period where SRL will dominate . It happens in test cricket.
With the lead we already have, it is just a matter of 2 partnerships to get us a good lead .

I too hope that we get some 2-3 good partnerships!

I dont think this match might last well into the fifth day! The wicket is not too good for batting!

Terrible decision! Tendulkar GONE for 19!

38-3!!

Serious signs of this game turning! I have no faith in Yuvraj even against Dilshan! Time for Kaif, Dhoni and Pathan along with Gambhir to do something!

It was there to see that the ball would have easily gone over the stumps! What was Nadeem Ghauri thinking? It was too high and should have gone in favor of Sachin!

Gambhir GONE after a good fruitful partnership of 47 runs with Yuvraj!

India still need at least 67+ runs to be in a more secure position! If Dhoni and Pathan can repeat their feats of the first innings, well India can be in a near winning position!

Yuvraj 53* off 63 balls! India lead by 326 with Dhoni and Yuvraj building another solid partnership!

Man, this Yuvraj!!!! He is starting to be another Laxman! Just when he is under pressure, he comes up with a superlative innings! So far, it has been superb and stunning with his shots all over the field! Sri Lanka are fighting really hard but India's new found resilence and depth is battering them!

Still I wont be too happy! India need to get a target of 450 and that too in quick time to checkmate Sri Lanka (no win, no draw) from this game! Its possible if they keep scoring at this rate (3.7 per over!). With Dhoni and Yuvraj to come out after tea, a very exciting session on our hands!

Read this! A perfect case of looking too early into the future thereby ignoring potential potholes!

Dravid 'n boys to rule hood; England to fall?

I think its too early to say if India will challenge Australia for the crown in 2006! For that to be realised, first they have to beat Pakistan in Pakistan and England in our own backyard! If we come out these two series with our heads held high, then YES! We have the right to say that we are ready to challenge Australia! But its too early yet to start saying that we are ready for the race of No.1!

England will be waiting to prove that the Ashes was no fluke and Pakistan are highly rejuvenated and are having an even more flow of form than our own rejuvenated India!