Australia v India: 1st Test, Melbourne

First topic message reminder :

Monday, December 26, MCG
Start time: 1030 AEDT; 0500 IST; 2330 GMT

Australia:
1 David Warner, 2 Ed Cowan, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey,
7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

India:
1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Virat Kohli,
7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Getting very dodgy for India now. Sachin has to make 100, 100's to win the match for India i feel now

Over for India

Feel for Sachin here ... never mind his quest for a milestone century , he is playing Australia on his own here. Australia has earned this win and I think the crowd deserves to see a finish this afternoon , but I rather hope he carries his bat...

... alas , no

Sachin departs , sadly , not looking back. Don't think we'll see him in Melbourne again.


India sinking fast.

Come on you Aussies dont take your foot off the throat now.

eirebilly wrote:I was thinking that its Indias game to lose given the time but its on

Morning Line

Hi Billy... sorry for the delay in my reply. I was not logged on for a few hours. Riveted to the telly though. What a day!

It's a relief to have the top 6 Indian batsmen back in the hutch. Some excellent bowling from our 3 pacemen. Those extra runs this morning were so valuable and have put a lot of pressure on India.

Beware of a side with nothing to lose mate.

Want the Aussies to win but i am not going to write the Indians off just yet

You'll get very good odds down the betting shop , billy

... even better now as Siddle gets another one

This is well over...

You offering odds alfie?

Gotta love Bill Lawry:
"Takes a dolly of a catch,jumps up and down then pokes the bowler in the eye".

Aussies have bowled pretty well today (and indeed yesterday)

TV chaps are announcing a New Dawn led by a super pace attack - I am holding judgement. Not that long ago they were raving about Bollinger Harris and Johnson... as I say they've bowled well , but India haven't really made them work except on Tuesday , at which time it all looked a bit less threatening.

Three matches to go , and India have the batsmen to come back at Australia , especially as their own batting looks pretty ordinary.

And Billy ? You can write your own odds here

No odds asked here alfie except fpr 300-1?

Congrats Australia,and well played Richie.Bill.Tony,Tubby and Heals at cannel Nine.

Tidy finish today. They still have a lot of hard work ahead of them but I'm happy with our bowlers especially.

It looks like Watson will be out for the next Test at least. Cummins to come back but who would he replace?

The batting is still a huge concern. They haven't really even 'papered over the cracks'... they're still pretty visible!

Well done to Australia, a comprehensive victory at the end. I must admit, I thought it would have been the Indian bowling that would be the weak element to their chances of victory, but in this match it has turned out to be their much vaunted batting.

Once again, the Aus quicks, coming to the rescue, now just the fragile batting to repair.

The Aussies won this with their bowling. But will the win mean they stick with the same side? The issues are with the top order in particular with the batting. Will the win not tempt them into a rash move and see if someone up the top order can put on a few more runs or anchor the innings? Or will they tinker with a few batsmen who haven´t been performing.

What´s clear is that all is still not well with the batting. I can´t help but feel that if India had batted first and the yips hadn´t occurred early on, we would´ve seen this test go into the final day. Sometimes when collapses occur in each innings, your mindset is that the same is going to happen to you. You find demons in the pitch that aren´t really there.

Well done Australia. You were short on runs but not short on fire with your bowling. Bowl a good line and length to these Indians - which really is a difficult thing - is the key. Just short of a good length and rising in to the batsman. Too short and they clip you over the slips or keeper. Too full and they drive on the up or turn it onto the on-side. The key is pace. Hurry them into a rash shot. It´s not only the Aussie batters who are short on runs.

Well done Aussies, a much deserved win, now when the BCCI clowns going to chuck Gambhir and Kohli out? Rohit Sharma would have done better at least in one inning, to get India to a reaonable score.

So that ends a wretched year for India in test matches.
Of course they won the world cup, but ever since it has all been downhill. Reminds me of the Pakistan tour of 2004. India managed to draw a closely fought series against Australia in Australia, then went to Pakistan after 15 years and comfortably won the series. New stars such as Irfan Pathan emerged and everything looked rosy. But then it all came crashing down, and ended with the Sourav Ganguly Greg Chappell saga, or you can even say the humiliation of 07 world cup.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain has achieved a lot with India and even with his IPL side. But has he achieved everything? Are we already passed the high points of captain cool?
The batting failed in foreign conditions far too often this year. After the newyear test against SA, the Indian batting consistently failed to post half decent totals overseas. The lineup didn’t post any decent total against the West Indies, the England tour needs no mention, and here we have it all again, another couple of collapses.
Tendulkar looks as fresh as a sixteen year old even today, although the body has naturally become more demanding. Rahul Dravid produced runs in England when none else did. But other than the 2, not a single Indian batsman has had any substantial contribution on a consistent basis this year, and that unfortunately includes VVS Laxman, India’s official crisis man of recent times. Of course Laxman scored runs in West Indies just when India needed it, but he gave away far too many starts in England, and didn’t manage to rectify his poor MCG record either. Laxman has won more matches in difficult situation for than many others managed, and its Australia we are playing, so natural law suggest he’s bound to come good sooner rather than later.
But the concerns are a plenty otherwise. Virender Sehwag can win matches on his days. He scored quick and big runs in different conditions including that of Australia. But ever since the South African tour, Sehwag has been very inconsistent. The particular thing with Sehwag was that he managed to provide quick and effective starts more often than not in all conditions. However this year, he is averaging under 30, and hasn’t scored a ton. Of course he has had injuries, but India has to get more from Viru.
Gautam Gambhir is a man of mental strength. He has had technical issues in the past, but possessed the mental might to deal with, and conquered swinging conditions in New Zealand, seaming conditions in South Africa, and spinning conditions of Sri Lanka. But this has been a terrible year for Gambhir. For the last 2 years, he hasn’t scored a test ton, although he did play important knocks otherwise last year. It seems he’s down on confidence, and his technical issues are made more glaring because of that. He seems unsure of his off stump and is too tentative at the crease.
Virat Kohli’s magnificent ODI record and the composure he showed suggested a bright test future, but so far, it has by and large been a serious disappointment. He failed in the West Indies against Fidel Edwards’ short balls, and yet again his defensive technique is found to be wanting. Has Kohli got the technique and the temperament to bounce back?
MS Dhoni hasn’t been half the test batsman he has been in ODIs. Particularly overseas, although he has played important knocks in between, his record in general has been average. He seems not sure of the way to go, hasn’t found the right mix between attack and defense.
So there are huge, huge problems. Are we going to have more of the same next year as well? Where are the answers? Is Rohit Sharma good enough to become a good test batsman? He seems to have all the shots in the book, but he has had attitude problems in the past, has time out of the side, and the wait for a test cap made a positive impact on his temperament? Is Ajinkya Rahane up to playing quality test cricket in tough conditions? And what is Cheteshwar Pujara doing at home?

One happy aussie here. A good team performance with a number of players putting their hands up at crucial times. The Aussie pace trio were the difference with their performances with both bat and ball.

A very good test pitch which tested batsmen techniques and rewarded good bowling. Love to see more like it, although some Indian batsmen are clearly struggling with the extra bounce.

Hopefully India keep leaving Sharma out of their team - he scares me.

Best line of the day to my hero Michael Slater .. commenting on Dravid leaving a gaping hole to be bowled (for the second time in a row) ..

'it looks like the Wall has put in a gate!"

Looking forward to Sydney for another classic match

that is a classic line from Slats.

Excellent stuff by the Aussie pace men, but big problems for India - they really must learn to play fast bowling again, and look all at sea against it on anything but the deadest of tracks.

Great Test match track as you rightly say, slaterslc, and it is good to see England, South Africa and Australia preparing such pitches of late. It isn't great for batsmen's averages (unless they really grit their teeth and graft - surely the point of Test cricket), but it makes for exciting spectacles, and ultimately that is what gains popularity for the sport.

Well done Australia, looking forward to the SCG Test now.

Great win by Australia, I'll think they'll take the series comfortably now. What amuses me is that a lot of Indian cricket fans who are on Cricinfo and their forum say that England only dominate at home! What about their own team?!

MSP - thoughtful analysis - what do you think should be done to get Indians on track....?

I'm sure msp will be on with his ideas , but in the meantime I'd suggest the first point should be "Don't Panic !"

Australia have been very up and down lately , and while their bowling looked very good in this match the batting always looks a couple of balls away from a complete collapse. So the series is far from over.

Rather surprisingly , India's bowlers seemed to be well up to the task of dismissing Australia in their own conditions. Zaheer will surely be better for this match and Yadav looks like a prospect. Perhaps Ashwin needs to work on his length because he was cut way too often in this match - with only 4 real bowlers he needs to exert a lot of control to help his pace bowlers
finish the job , as they couldn't quite do in either innings here.

India's batting problems stem from the top. It is particularly important in Australian conditions for the openers to do a job , and right now Gambhir looks incapable.of doing his...while Sehwag is inevitably going to fall a few times early , given his approach. So he needs a rock as a partner and if Gambhir isn't it , then Rahane must be tried ... if he can't do it back to the drawing board but they won't know unless they try him.

Dravid and Laxman (who was totally at sea!) will play better in Sydney and Tendulkar is still the Master so it is still all to play for...

Though replacing those three - when it comes time - is going to be a task indeed.

msp83 wrote:So that ends a wretched year for India in test matches.
So there are huge, huge problems. Are we going to have more of the same next year as well? Where are the answers? Is Rohit Sharma good enough to become a good test batsman? He seems to have all the shots in the book, but he has had attitude problems in the past, has time out of the side, and the wait for a test cap made a positive impact on his temperament? Is Ajinkya Rahane up to playing quality test cricket in tough conditions? And what is Cheteshwar Pujara doing at home?

That is the question every one asking, how much more milk these old cows like Laxman going to give?
why they are so soft on Delhi Bully boy Gambhir? he proved he is not made for test format, why give him more chances?
Well this was Pattson-Hilfenhaus Vs Umesh Yadav-Zahir battle, Pattison-Hilfenhaus came on the top, by removing wickets at crucial point of the game. and credit goes to Hilfenhaus too, for sparking a Indian collapse.
On the whole India can blame the batsmen for the defeat.

goood result for the aussies....

my 1st test ratings

AUSTRALIA:

Warner: 5
Cowan: 7
Marsh: 3
Ponting: 6
Clarke: 4
Hussey: 7
Haddin: 5
Siddle: 7
Pattinson: 8
Hilfenhaus: 9
Lyon: 6

INDIA:

Sehwag: 7
Gambhir: 4
Dravid: 6
Tendulkar: 7
Laxman: 5
Kohli: 2
Dhoni: 4
Ashwin: 5
Sharma: 7
Zaheer: 8
Yadav: 9

I have to echo alfie's thoughtful post. Let's not forget that at times in this test India were well on top. This is still an inconsistent Australian side, and the batting is fragile. This is not really surprising (or in the long term that worrying) given the inexperience of the top order and the downslide of the lower order.

But there were signs that Ponting is getting back to form (I wasn't surprised) and Hussey isn't done yet clearly. Warner batted nicely in the first innings I thought. Marsh is a good player I believe who will come good again.

The bowling looks promising. Pattinson bowled some absolutely world class spells in both innings and at the risk of repeating myself looks to me like a potential superstar. It was interesting that a few times in the first innings when Aus needed a wicket Clarke turned to him. Siddle has found his length. Hilfenhaus did what Hilfenhaus does but very well. Even Lyon looks like a decent bowler but I don't think he'll get much out of this series.

Interesting dilemnas ahead for the selectors, with Watson, Cummins and even Harris set to return. As a big believer in the man in possession I would drop Cowan who looked ok, but limited and hasn't made himself undroppable (whereas Warner did with the ton against New Zealand, and Hussey and Ponting did this time). The bowling question is tougher: Harris looked Australia's best bowler for quite a while and maybe should come back in the side instead of Hilfenhaus, well though the latter has bowled here. But can you drop Siddle or Pattinson for Cummins? Do you consider going in with 4 seamers (I'm no fan and it hasn't ever really worked for Australia)? On a possibly slightly less meaningful change, Pattinson surely must bat at number 8, his technique is easier better than any of the other bowlers. With Siddle at 9, Hilfenhaus/Harris at 10 and Lyon at 11 it is actually not a bad tail.

For India, the positives are the way the quick bowlers bowled for the most part. Yadav looks raw but will get wickets, while Zaheer warmed into the game and produced a jaffa to get Hussey. Sharma bowled well also. Ashwin was a bit disappointing, particularly given that Yadav will go for runs it is vital he can at least hold down an end. India will be hoping for better from him.

Tendulkar played better than anyone on this wicket, but Australia look like they have a few plans to him. During his double ton at the SCG back in 2003 he basically cut out the cover-drive from his innings as it had been getting him out. It may just be time for him to do the same thing again, although that will mean the runs will be slower. Gambhir looks out of sorts. He has a good record and scored runs, but if he doesn't perform in the next test I'd be looking elsewhere, possibly Rahane. Kohli doesn't look mentally tough enough for test cricket, his reaction on being given out plumb LBW was a disgrace I thought, and was I think symptomatic of his struggles at the moment. Technically he is fine, I have a feeling with him it is in the mind. Surely Rohit Sharma must get his chance sooner rather than later.

But onto IMO India's main problem which is simply their combined age and the resulting lack of athleticism. It is understandable that guys like Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Zaheer aren't great athletes (they are after all getting on a bit and were never great athletes to start from) but Shewag and Gambhir and to a lesser extent Yadav and Sharma are simply not fit enough for international cricket these days. They perform with their natural abilities, and probably work hard on their batting and bowling, but it is clear they lack athleticism, which is unacceptable given the era they've been brought up in. Kohli was miles ahead of the rest of the team with his fielding, it was almost embarassing.

I reckon the difference in ground fielding and running between the wickets cost India at least 30 runs overall, which could have been crucial in the overall analysis. I think changing the attitudes in the Indian set-up towards fitness and fielding could be Duncan Fletcher's biggest challenge (and there are plenty of rumours it did for Greg Chappell). To that aim, the surely nearing retirement of the big 3 will surely be a help.

cricketfan90 wrote:goood result for the aussies....

my 1st test ratings

AUSTRALIA:

Warner: 5
Cowan: 7
Marsh: 3
Ponting: 6
Clarke: 4
Hussey: 7
Haddin: 5
Siddle: 7
Pattinson: 8
Hilfenhaus: 9
Lyon: 6

INDIA:

Sehwag: 7
Gambhir: 4
Dravid: 6
Tendulkar: 7
Laxman: 5
Kohli: 2
Dhoni: 4
Ashwin: 5
Sharma: 7
Zaheer: 8
Yadav: 9

Not a bad set of ratings altho a few id beg to differ on.

Ponting scored the most runs of any batsman in the test and contributed in BOTH innings. Has to be a 7 id say, if not an 8.
Kohli and Marsh contributed about the same with the bat (nothing) so they should both be either 2 or 3 (or 1)
A struck match between the 3 Aussie quicks. id give them all 8's and the same for Zaheer and Yadav.
I dont think Cowan or Sehwag did enough to get 7's. A 6 for both of them, Sehwag in particular getting out to an unnecessary shot just before lunch in the second innings and giving Aus momentum was a big moment.

Tendulkar looks like a 9 when hes batting. He just looks instantly comfortable and it always seems like a huge surprise when he gets out. He is still a class above the rest.

Anyway, no huge disagreements and thanks for your article CF.

Well, ideas, answers,solutions....... Where are they going to come from?
Its been 5 out of 5 overseas test matches they managed to lose now. They played Australia, England, West Indies and South Africa this year, and managed to win only against the West Indies.
And in all the losses, its been the batting that was more culpable. True England did score asmall matter of 710 against them ones, but the batting never posted 300+ in the last 8 overseas test.
Now if we look at ideas. What can Virender Sehwag do? As we all know, he can score big quickly. But if you look at his big scores in Australia, we can see that he took his time early, let himself get hit a couple of times, left afew!!, before exploding. Sehwag has to do the same, rather than going for it from the word go, he should get himself in before expressing himself, a task not beyond him by any means.
Gautam Gambhir's case is more complicated. The big scores have been missing from him for the last 2 years. and As I wrote early, the mental strength seems to have left him for now and the technique has come in for greater scrutiny on bouncy tracks. Gambhir had gone through all these earlier and came out better. He has to bring more discipline to his batting, should look to leave more, and make the bowlers bowl where he wants them to. If he can't summon enough willpower for the same, then its time for Ajinkya Rahane to have his first taste of test cricket, after the next test that is.
Dravid Laxman and Tendulkar can't have many more collective failures together, I am sure they are going to come good sooner rather than later. VVS always has had first test problems like his side has, and Dravid managed to score 68 when he actually looked out of touch. But Dravid has to put in more training, have more hits in the nets to feel the ball back on the bat.
Number 6? Is it time for Rohit Sharma? I had high hopes of Virat Kohli, and I have been very critical of Rohit's attitude in the past. I'd have loved to have Pujara in there, but he's not there, and so perhaps its time for Rohit to come in. The signs in the WI series, both home and away have been good from him, and if we belive friends such as Abhishek Nayar, Rohit's temperamental issues and attitude problems are behind him following the world cup snub. So, may be, just may be, he might afterall provide part of the answer.
The captain has to play a more atacking game for me, MS can score runs on these track, only if he adopts a rather busy approach.
The bowling looks fine for me, Ashwin does looke like a spinner who can take a few wickets in Austrlia, but he has to find better control. Zaheer Khan has a test high score of 75, and he can be better as a lower order bat. Yadav should learn from Ishant who has one of the best defensive technique for a tailender.

At the end of the day, a change of year can bring change of luck, welcome 2012!.

I wouldnt get too stressed msp. This Test match was pretty evenly balanced and India had the upper hand on several occasions. When they were 2 for 220 odd in the first innings Aus were at long odds. When they had Aus 4/30 and then 8/170 in the second dig they looked winners.

The extra bounce in Aust pitches is always going to test their batsmen, particularly the less experienced guys. From what ive seen of Sharma I cant believe he isnt in the side. A couple of years ago I thought he was going to be the guy to (try and) fill Sachin's shoes. Maybe they just need to stick with him a bit longer. The batting lineup looks great on paper but its aging and it looks like a side facing some real transition problems if they dont invest in some young guys now.

India are carrying to many players, therefore are unlikely to beat this transitional Australian side.

Gambhir had a good couple of 20-24 mouths a couple of years ago, but has been the bride's maid for most of his career.

Kohli is fine on flat pitches, or limited overs cricket. But he lacks the technical ability for Tet cricket.

Dhoni is a great ODI player, but you can't just slog in Test cricket.

Laxman is also past his best.

They should include:

Rahane for Gambhir.

Rohit for Kohli.

Saha should replace Dhoni but it won't happen. Dhoni should consider batting below Ashwin.

They should've taken Pujara or M Tiwary as extra cover for the fading Laxman.

I think 4-0 is highly likely.

Msp's post is pretty much spot on. The rational coach inside me would say you've got to give Kohli at least one more chance, he wasn't involved in the debacle in England, and got out to good (although not extraordinary) balls here. But the intuitive side says I really think Rohit Sharma is in better mental shape right now (Kohli will be thinking "last chance saloon, got to save my career" i.e. negative thoughts, Sharma will be thinking "here's my chance, let's go and take it" so more positively) and at least the technical equal. Rumours and images suggest he's sorted out his attitude problems somewhat.

Gambhir has done enough in his career to start the next test, but I think he's rapidly approaching last chance as well.

What happened to Pujara? I saw him a couple of years ago and he looked quite a tough cookie and a good short-leg?

I don't think it will be 4/0 though, the two sides are fairly evenly matched from what I've seen. Australia have a few problems as well...

Mike, Pujara has had injury problems, underwent surgery and rehabilitation for more than half a year. Came back to FC cricket only recently, and although he scored a few 50s for his Ranji side, wasn't picked for the Australia squad, as his match fitness and form weren't quite proved. But I think India are missing him from their lineup.
And I have another bit to add to that. Pujara played his finest innings for India in his short test career, a delightful 72 against Australia to chase more than 200 in the last innings, and Dhoni had made him bat at 3 and pushed Dravid down to 5 and VVS 6. I think that is the way to go, Pujara should come in and bat at 3, not because Dravid is doing a bad job(in fact he is one of the alltime great in that position), but because that is the best way to groom him for tougher challenges, and that in turn will help them solve the number 6 problem for the time being.

Sadly, I think "fading" is the right words for Laxman. I think he's been a magnificent player but I think his match winning/saving innings have become too few and far between.

Would it be completely barking for India to play a second spinner, Ojha on the principle of why not play your best or at least in form bowlers? His recent performances against the Windies were:
1/126, 6/47, 4/64, 2/104, 6/72, 1/37