Both the openers have given a sparkling start to India's inning crossing the score of 100 in 22nd over only. Both Vijay and Dhawan are up to their feets and playing natural game. Specially debutant Shikhar dhawan is very impressive so far in his inning of 79 off just 70 deliveries with 17 glories boundries. Vijay is also giving a good helping hand contributing 35 off 65 balls.
Ausralian bowlers are having no answers yet to this batting performance. Every one was punished by these duos. Lets see what happens in the rest of the day.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Australia back in the game, Still the result possible
Three absorbing sessions of Test cricket followed the damp squib on the first day as India and Australia waged – for the first time this series – an almost even battle for supremacy. The visitors, having chosen to bat, benefitted from a big opening partnership between Ed Cowan (86) and David Warner (71), and a positive half-century from all-rounder Steve Smith (58*), but four wickets in the last phase of play confined their progress to 273/7 at close, on a day when 104 overs were turned in.
It took double-wicket bursts from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Ishant Sharma to neutralise the 139-run opening alliance, after Australia had battled for almost 50 overs without losing a scalp across the first two sessions. Jadeja engineered the first two dismissals, including Michael Clarke’s for a golden duck, and persisted with his usual tight line to claim another one near close, ending with 3/56.
Ishant toiled hard for 18 overs before dual successes came his way at the end of a long day. R. Ashwin’s solitary wicket was a poor reflection on how well he really bowled, while Pragyan Ojha, whose return to the side meant Harbhajan Singh sitting out of his home Test, also had a decent outing.
The bowlers would have done way better were it not for dropped catches. Virat Kohli dropped Cowan at least twice at first slip, while Pujara put down the same batsman at short-leg. The Aussie openers, however, worked up their first century-stand of the series not involving captain Clarke, on a pitch that offered little by way of movement or bounce in the initial stages, although some grip from the surface was available later.
Cowan, meanwhile, was blessed with more reprieves: on 64 Kohli put him down at slip, again off Ojha, and on 85 Cheteshwar Pujara flubbed him at forward short-leg off Ashwin. Luck ran out for the Aussie opener when he snicked the off-spinner to first slip, where Kohli finally held on.
Smith, the rationale of whose inclusion for Watson was hardly justifiable through statistics, began positively. He lofted Ojha back over his head for six, cleared the in-field when Ashwin erred in flight, and made room to punish Jadeja for fours through the off-side. He added a brisk 46 runs with Haddin (21) for the fifth wicket, before Ishant summoned his two wickets in three balls.
On third day morning the duos added brilliantly taking Australia to a respectable score. M Starc was unlucky to get out on 99 of Ishant Sharma taken by M S Dhoni behind the wickets. Finally Australia managed the toal of 408. India got mare an over to play in which they managed to get 3 runs only till lunch.
It took double-wicket bursts from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Ishant Sharma to neutralise the 139-run opening alliance, after Australia had battled for almost 50 overs without losing a scalp across the first two sessions. Jadeja engineered the first two dismissals, including Michael Clarke’s for a golden duck, and persisted with his usual tight line to claim another one near close, ending with 3/56.
Ishant toiled hard for 18 overs before dual successes came his way at the end of a long day. R. Ashwin’s solitary wicket was a poor reflection on how well he really bowled, while Pragyan Ojha, whose return to the side meant Harbhajan Singh sitting out of his home Test, also had a decent outing.
The bowlers would have done way better were it not for dropped catches. Virat Kohli dropped Cowan at least twice at first slip, while Pujara put down the same batsman at short-leg. The Aussie openers, however, worked up their first century-stand of the series not involving captain Clarke, on a pitch that offered little by way of movement or bounce in the initial stages, although some grip from the surface was available later.
Cowan, meanwhile, was blessed with more reprieves: on 64 Kohli put him down at slip, again off Ojha, and on 85 Cheteshwar Pujara flubbed him at forward short-leg off Ashwin. Luck ran out for the Aussie opener when he snicked the off-spinner to first slip, where Kohli finally held on.
Smith, the rationale of whose inclusion for Watson was hardly justifiable through statistics, began positively. He lofted Ojha back over his head for six, cleared the in-field when Ashwin erred in flight, and made room to punish Jadeja for fours through the off-side. He added a brisk 46 runs with Haddin (21) for the fifth wicket, before Ishant summoned his two wickets in three balls.
On third day morning the duos added brilliantly taking Australia to a respectable score. M Starc was unlucky to get out on 99 of Ishant Sharma taken by M S Dhoni behind the wickets. Finally Australia managed the toal of 408. India got mare an over to play in which they managed to get 3 runs only till lunch.
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