What do you mean 2 more days left?!!

Sri Lanka are already ahead by 165 runs at the end of the 3rd day's play. And, by the looks of it, will probably declare sometime during or after the 2nd session tomorrow with a 300+ lead.

Jayawardena, the former captain coasted to a double hundred, while the 'keeper Jayawardena is nearing his century. The 200 partnership between the two seems to have sqeezed out whatever enthusiasm there was in the fielders. if there was any.

what I fail to understand is how can Jayawardena bat with such great technique and still be a li'l boring to watch?

SL still scored 300 odd today, but it was more of grind-the-opponent routine, rather than a dash for victory. Fair enough. They still have a lot of time on their hands. You better not leave anyone even a window of oppurtunity on such tracks.

The Indian bowlers have been toothless over both days of play. especially today.

The field placing was mostly defensive throughout the day.

Harbhajan needs to be given a break, a dressing down, a friggin tatoo on his arm ... whatever.... to remind him it's TEST cricket. Flight the darn thing and stop firing it on middle and leg, damn it.

Mishra's looked mediocre really, may be the he's trying a bit to hard. Given the rare oppurtunities that he gets.

Zaheer, Ishant barely have made a difference. The bowling really needs to tighten up, if India want to be in with a chance in this series

The pressure will shift back to the batting now, given the lack of penetration with the ball. Sehwag and Gambhir need to put up a better start.

Somehow, i see this as a last series for VVS, just a gut feeling.

If the Lankans apply some pressure late in the evening tomorrow, i wouldn't think it's beyond India to collapse in a heap on a perfectly fine wicket.

Seeking Divine Intervention

I've been supporting the boys for a long time, giving subtle hints at times, also unleashed the fast bowler's fury at BCC! to make the boys to fall in line. But all seems to have failed.

as a final measure, yours truly is gonna be off to Shirdi, tonight. To pray for the well being of the Indian Cricket team.

It has been said that, no one comes away empty handed from the court of Sai Baba. Hopefully with some divine intervention, all will be set straight.

So, with the interest of a billion people at heart, off i go.

If this doesn't work, nothing else will.

Heading towards embarassment

5 for 27 after 9 overs.

The record for the lowest ODI total is in danger.

Are these really the back up bowlers we're facing here?

How come Johnson is even hitting the pitch?

Run MSD, your intelligence will be questioned for batting first. But RAF still thinks you are ace.

Lack of application on part of the batsmen can't be blamed on you.

Could our bowlers have been trusted to make use of the 'bowler friendly' conditions early on?

Fuck, i'll just go hide somewhere now.  

India travel back in time

Well it was more like a time warp where everyone went back to the mid and late 90's period of Indian cricket.
You know, those days of shit bowling, comic fielding and Sachin.
Do you even remember the last time Sachin was running down the track against the spinners?
That pull shot wasn't quite like Nairobi 2000 against McGrath but it got most of us going alright.
Those audacious flicks over midwicket and mid on were something most of us had thought he'd dropped for good.
That cover drive off Hilfenhaus had me spilling my tea over the keyboard.
Even though Raina threw it away, I still knew Sachin would take us home, he had to.
And then he played that scoop and the rest just folded up.
I'm normally supportive of the team through wins and losses. But yesterday's loss just left me drained.
India would have had to face embarrassment yesterday if it wasn't for Sachin's innings.
Australia are playing with a pretty much second string side. Going down to them in two straight games is still nothing to be proud of.
To start things off, the bowling just fell apart. What's with gifting Blondie so many short balls?
I've always maintained that Nehra is not the answer to India's fast bowling problems.
Neither is Munaf.
But I'd still keep Nehra in the field for the LOL moments when he is fielding.
In fact, the entire fielding effort was shoddy. Wonder whether Mohali was a fluke after all.

It's a bit difficult to blame the batting.
Sehwag had to play the way he did, given his role in the team and the stiff target.
Voges took a blinder to send Dhoni back.
Raina could have gone for a duck and did get out at the wrongest of times, but some of his hitting did help in maintaining the run rate to get this close.
Harbhajan should never be led to believe that he is an allrounder. Sending him in front of Jadeja was a bit of a blunder.
Ravindra Jadeja should get his ass tied down to the crease to stop him from running himself out every time.
A part of me says Sachin should have really finished it off, the likes of Jadeja aren't too great at handling pressure but it is also true that it was still there to be won when Sachin got out.


One major gripe I have is that one of the best ODI and Test innings of Sachin have come in a losing cause. Y'all remember the Chennai test, right?

With Aus rolling us over with a second string bowling attack, It's any one's guess what a full strength side could have done.

Scores Level

Since this is a 7 match series, I've decided not to do match reviews and stuff, to keep burnout and exhaustion away. Aren't those two things the same more or less?

anyways.

Just a few observations that I'll put up after every match.

Match 2:

a)Welcome back Ishant, where have you been?

b)Just as I praise Ricky in the previous post for being a great fielder, He goes ahead and drops a regulation skier.

c)Does Harbhajan have to bowl over 90 k, even after he has a 350 run cushion?

d)Dhoni must be a happy chap. Not because of the century but because his helmet manufacturers provide him some good stuff. A bouncer at 140 Ks at the back of your head is not very pleasant. Moreover, dead or paralyzed captains, can't be of much use.

e)PK's quota of overs should be used up while the ball is swinging. He's cannon fodder, at the death if the ball isn't swinging.

f)The Delhi boys should open. or are we doing sacrifice the opener ritual like Sri Lanka?

g)Gautam Gambhir is timing the ball sweetly. A big score is around the corner. Just the thing, in support of the above case.

h)How effortless was Yuvi's six over mid off, off Hauritz? Six hitting looks rather easy when he does it.

i) Although Jadeja took 3 wickets today, Ojha is the right guy, to do the spinning duties. He is.

j)As ugly as it is, I love watching the Dhoni swipe over midwicket

k)HA HA HA @ Shane Watson.

l) Marsh at 7, you gotta be kidding me!

Aus draw first blood.

Always wondered how Ravi feels while saying it on air everytime the first wicket falls.
Now
I'm writing this with a lot of pain........ or is it in a lot of pain?
Ok, whatever it is, there's pain involved. Not because India lost(I know this series is gonna be rough for the blues), but because I banged my hand against a machine while practicing my bowling action..... in office...... at 4 am in the morning.
Alright, now that the customary nonsense is done, back to cricket.

Harbhajan and PK almost took India to over the line, but that doesn't mean that the match was as close as the 4 run difference suggests.

A few things that I've observed.
a) India's fielding is well, er... hard to put in words. The diving over the ball is getting increasingly difficult to laugh at.

b) While we still have belief in Dhoni's captaincy, what gets past us is the logic behind Kohli's promotion in front of Dhoni.

c) Ravindra Jadeja is alright, but not the amazing talent that Laxman Sivaramkrishnan thinks he is.

d) Why is everyone sucking up to Ashish Nehra so much? I'm gonna throw up soon.

e) The Delhi boys should open.

f) What does Praveen Kumar have to do to get someone to catch an edge off his bowling?

g) Ishant seems to have understood that short and wide is not the way to go during the slog overs.

h) Is Tim Paine really the third choice wicketkeeper batsman after Haddin and Manou?

i)Regardless of how unhygienic he is with all that spitting on the hands and being a pain in general and the fact that he is almost 35, Ricky is still a sharp fielder in the ring or elsewhere. Do I have to say that he is right up there in the all time best batsmen list?

j) Watson should really stop looking so surprised/aghast/disappointed after bowling shit full tosses.

k) Wasn't Hussey supposed to be leaving straight ones and looking like he couldn't even hit a beach ball?

A day for celebrations

Yep, its' all happening at BCC! today.

We're celebrating Jatman's and Allan 'White Lightning' Donald's birthday today.
some great posts to take you back through the careers of the two gentlemen

Go check it out.

Bring your drinks and chips, though. As always.

Also, Straight Points from SP completes 2 years today.

Moreover, BCC! also put up an entire post for yours truly since its my birthday today.
Much appreciated gesture that.

So go on over and join in the fun