The 1st Test match between India and Pakistan at Delhi has lived up to its expectations and proved to be a cracker of a contest. Ofcourse there were no demons in the pitch and scores of below 300 by both the teams suggest that it had more to do with the players and their mind. The title does not suggest that the team with fortunes has emerged as the winner, but rather, it indicates how the fortunes kept veered from one team to the other, as each day passed.
In the end the players with character weathered the storm, whereas the others just wilted under pressure. Misbah was the man who steered the boat out of difficult waters for Pakistan and once again he proved that unless he does something really silly, it is quite difficult to get him out. And he is getting better and better at it. So much so, that for a moment I thought he would catch himself out in the second innings ( I was just wondering how innovative he could get!). I just feel bad that he is already 30+ and he sure has lot of cricket left in him. Akthar was at his fiercest best, but sadly he did not get many support. I wonder why Malik did not bring himself to bowl, just to ease the pressure off the four main bowlers. Pakistan clearly did not have many options, unlike India, who had the privilege of additonal bowlers in Sachin and Sourav.
Kumble's debut match as captain has swung in India's favor and he will be remebered in this match for the way he shuffled the bowlers and how he used Ganguly as the 3rd seamer with great success. Ganguly responded well by removing Yousuf in the 1st innings and Misbah in the 2nd. He has also justified the move to send him ahead of Laxman, in the 2nd innings. However, I feel Laxman should come ahead of Ganguly. That will give him more freedom to bat, if he knows there are 2 genuine batsmen to follow him, rather than leave him to play with tail enders. I wonder who the man of the match will be. The choices are between Laxman, Kumble and Ganguly. I have a feeling it is going to be Kumble, with Ganguly having almost equal chance. Should not take more than an hour to knock off the remaining 32 runs and the overnight batsmen should do it without further loss.
In the end the players with character weathered the storm, whereas the others just wilted under pressure. Misbah was the man who steered the boat out of difficult waters for Pakistan and once again he proved that unless he does something really silly, it is quite difficult to get him out. And he is getting better and better at it. So much so, that for a moment I thought he would catch himself out in the second innings ( I was just wondering how innovative he could get!). I just feel bad that he is already 30+ and he sure has lot of cricket left in him. Akthar was at his fiercest best, but sadly he did not get many support. I wonder why Malik did not bring himself to bowl, just to ease the pressure off the four main bowlers. Pakistan clearly did not have many options, unlike India, who had the privilege of additonal bowlers in Sachin and Sourav.
Kumble's debut match as captain has swung in India's favor and he will be remebered in this match for the way he shuffled the bowlers and how he used Ganguly as the 3rd seamer with great success. Ganguly responded well by removing Yousuf in the 1st innings and Misbah in the 2nd. He has also justified the move to send him ahead of Laxman, in the 2nd innings. However, I feel Laxman should come ahead of Ganguly. That will give him more freedom to bat, if he knows there are 2 genuine batsmen to follow him, rather than leave him to play with tail enders. I wonder who the man of the match will be. The choices are between Laxman, Kumble and Ganguly. I have a feeling it is going to be Kumble, with Ganguly having almost equal chance. Should not take more than an hour to knock off the remaining 32 runs and the overnight batsmen should do it without further loss.
1 comment:
Gostei muito desse post e seu blog é muito interessante, vou passar por aqui sempre =) Depois dá uma passada lá no meu site, que é sobre o CresceNet, espero que goste. O endereço dele é http://www.provedorcrescenet.com . Um abraço.
Post a Comment