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11:15: Cowan out! Zaheer can do no wrong. Pitching full just outside
off, Cowan comes half-forward to defend. But the ball has other ideas
and swings in sharply. Thuds into Cowan's pads on off stump, huge appeal
and the umpire feels it would have hit middle-leg. Cowan out for 16 and
India are in this thanks solely to Zaheer.
Steve Waugh is at the ground! This is his home ground and the
fans love him. He is surrounded by autograph seekers. No smile, not even
a hint of emotion from Steve Waugh. Just like his playing days. Good
ol' Steve! Bet he could teach the Indian batsmen a thing or two about
preserving a wicket when times are tough.
11:08: Almost an unbelievable dismissal! Ishant Sharma slides one way
down Ponting's pads. Ponting nudges it, Dhoni to his left dives but
drops the one-hander. Ishant is unhappy, but the umpire signals leg-bye.
Replays, of course, show the ball came off the bat.
11:06: Ishant Sharma is introduced.
11:03: Zaheer Khan is right on the money. Not a single short ball, not a single ball drifting onto the pads.
Ravi Shastri and Ian Chappel remind viewers of Dhoni's mistake in the
first Test when he spread the field and became defensive when Ponting
barely reached 20. Cannot ease the pressure this time, they say. You
have to agree. 22/2 is a good time to go 'all in'.
10:52: Umesh Yadav strays onto Ponting's pads, and Ponting takes the gift with a four through fine leg.
10:50: Ricky Ponting is here. 2 fifties in the first Test and you could say he is slowly inching back to form.
10:49: Ed Cowan is playing just his second Test, but showed his
mettle in the first Test when he made a composed, gritty 68. What is he
made of, ask demanding Australian fans.
Ujwal Deole reckons the pitches have been prepared differently this time -
'The pitches that Australia have prepared for this tour are very
different than the ones in 03/04 and 07/08 – which were India’s best
tours to Australia. Even the perth victory in 08 was on a batsman
friendly perth wicket not the traditional bouncy perth wicket. These
pitches are much like the ones in 91/92 and 99/00 – bouncy and seamer
friendly. It feels like 99/00 all over again. The highlight of the 99/00
tour was the VVS Laxman century in the Final Test. That resurrected his
career and may be gave some respect to India’s performance in that
tour. May be this year, it will be Gambhir – but we will have to wait
for the final test for that to happen!'
10:46: Ponting negotiates the hat-trick ball with a flick for a single.
10:43: Marsh departs! Zaheer at his best here. Keeping it simple,
doing the basics right. Full just outside off, no movement or extra
bounce. Marsh just plays down the wrong line and gets an edge to Laxman
at second slip. First ball duck for Marsh.
Sreekanth Prasad N.S. -
'India needs definite changes. Laxman and gambhir needs to be relooked by selectors.'
Cannot ask for better start if you are an Indian fan. Zaheer does it
again for India with an early breakthrough. Shaun Marsh is first drop.
10:37: Warner gone! Zaheer does the trick! Full and straight with a
hint of away movement. Warner tentative and gets the outside edge to
Laxman at second slip. Laxman cannot hold on to it, the ball bounces off
to Sachin at first slip who holds on. Warner dismissed for 8.
And once again, the bowlers are under severe pressure to compensate for the batsman's inadequacies.
10:33: David Warner and Ed Cowan are here. Zaheer with the new ball.
The key, if India wants to make a match of this, is to adjust their
length and keep the ball full. The pitch does assist seam bowling, but
only if you get the batsman on the frontfoot. Set them up with the odd
short ball for sure, but keep it up consistently.
Terrible, terrible show by India. This is not a 191 pitch, despite what
the experts might suggest. Even bounce, perhaps more bounce than
expected, but consistent nevertheless. Swing in the air and off the
pitch, once again along expected lines. Poor shot selection, coupled
with accurate and effective Australian bowling brought India's downfall.
Dhoni remains unbeaten on 57.
10:22: Umesh Yadav departs and India bowled out for 191. Yadav no match for Siddle, gets and edge and another catch for Haddin.
10:10: Back after Tea and Ishant Sharma is the first to go.
Join us at about 10.05 (IST) for the final session.
K. Preethi feels it's time to take bold decisions -
'Why can't Rohit Sharma come in place of Kohli, and Rahane in place
of Gambhir? Gambhir is mentally out of form. Let the Indian management
take a stern decision and decide on the seniors also.'
Dhoni is still at the crease, and is the only hope India have now if
they even want to reach 200. This series is slowly turning into an
England-like nightmare. India in a deep, deep hole.
Another session, and Australian mini-victory. Four more wickets fell in
this session, including the key of Sachin Tendulkar. Ashwin and Dhoni
put up a fight, but the Australian quicks had the final say. Kohli
looked comfortable too, but his dismissal proved how much thought the
Australian bowlers put in. Bouncers, keep the batsman on the back foot,
then bowl full and get him out. That's the key difference. The
Australians have plans for every Indian batsman, and they come out and
execute. Short-leg for the Dravid inside edge, fly deep square leg for
the odd bouncer, bouncer first-ball to Zaheer with a short-leg just a
few examples.
Well, Hilfenahaus will have to wait because the umpires call Tea.
09:40: Hilfenhaus sends Zaheer packing! Nasty bouncer for Zaheer
first ball, heading straight to the throat. Zaheer ducks, takes his eyes
off the ball, hangs his bat out to protect his neck, ball hits the
gloves and short-leg is around to pouch it. I just loved this dismissal.
Hostile, brutal bouncer had the batsman in serious strife. So
Hilfenhaus on a hat-trick.
Ashwin the fifth Indian batsman to get out behind the stumps. Indicates late swing and bounce.
09:38: Ashwin out! Full ball on middle from Hilfenhaus, slants away
slightly, Ashwin is deceived and closes the face the bat to flick. Ball
gets the edge and Clarke holds on to a regulation catch at first slip.
Ashwin gone for 20.
09:34: Vital partnership between Ashwin and Dhoni yields 50.
09:31: Ashwin taking on the Hilfenhaus bouncer. First bouncer is
hooked without much control, just evades the deep square-leg positioned
for exactly this shot. Second bouncer is neatly played by Ashwin this
time, rolls his wrist, keeps it on the ground. Rolls on the turf to deep
square-leg and takes a single. Quick learning.
09:27: Heartening to see some fight from the batsmen, at last.
India, by the way, have crossed 300 just twice in all of 2011. Trend
will continue in its first Test of 2012, most likely.
Dhoni and Ashwin lead a mini-fightback with a 37-run partnership.
09:24: Nathan Lyon has bowled 7 overs with zero impact. Dhoni and
Ashwin are playing him comfortably. Time to get Pattinson or Siddle
back.
09:14: R. Ashwin, meanwhile, is keen to do some damage himself. Steps
out to Lyon and drives with elegance through cover for four.
09:09: Huge crowd in to watch today's play. Near full house.
Great crowd response at the MCG for the first Test too. They have seen
high quality bowling, not so much high quality batting though.
08:55: So how will Dhoni go about things now? If he attacks,
which is his best chance of making runs, he might get out and people
will label him irresponsible. If he defends, he will perish eventually,
simply because the wickets and bowlers here will sort him out. I reckon
measured attack with quick singles is the way to go for Dhoni.
08:50: So once again Sachin is dismissed when you least expect
it. Was middling literally every ball, but felt the pressure as batsmen
fell regularly at the other end.
08:45: Sachin gone! Pattinson does it again, can you believe it!
Overpitched way outside off, almost a yorker on the sixth stump. Sachin
bends low and drives, but gets a thick inside edge and the ball crashes
into the stumps. Sachin is disgusted and stares at his bat, but he's got
to go for 41 and India in all sorts of trouble now.
I reckon it must be easy for Australia to work out Dhoni. Keep it really
full outside off, swing it away and hope for an edge while Dhoni
slashes/drives without moving his feet. Happened time and again in
England.
Sachin has employed the upper-cut today as well. Very safe shot to play
when there is no third-man on bouncy wickets such as these. His first
upper-cut went for four, so let's see when he uses it again.
08:33: Nathan Lyon is introduced for the first time. Slip and short-leg in place for Sachin. Negotiated the over with ease.
08:24: Dhoni reluctant to come forward as well. Drives an
overpitched ball while stuck on the backfoot. Very Calypso, very
visually appealing, but fraught with danger.
08:19: M.S. Dhoni in at no.7 and you got to say his presence does
not inspire confidence, given his poor batting record overseas.
Yesterday, some reporters at his press conference even asked him to go
all-out attack and get a few runs like he did in a couple of innings in
England.
The consistent bouncers have taken its toll on the Indian batsmen. None
apart from Sachin are keen to come on the frontfoot. That's what got
Kohli as well. Couple of bouncers from Siddle, then a full ball catching
Kohli on the back. Oldest trick in the book, but still effective!
The Indian top half is dismissed for just 96. Many Facebook statuses say
this Indian team is similar to the team from the 90s. Harsh, but not
without reason. The overseas form of this team has been poor, 90s poor.
08:10: Kohli gone! Spoke too soon! Length ball just outside off from
Siddle gets massive bounce and clips the top of Kohli's bat. Another
edge, another catch behind the bat. Kohli departs for 23. Fantastic ball
from Siddle.
08:05: Kohli gallops with confidence to 23 off 36. Take a minute
to understand the pressure on Kohli. The toast of the town after huge
performances in the ODI team this year. Comes to Australia and is hailed
as India's next no.6 in Tests. Failure in the first Test and everyone
calls for his head. And now, he comes in at 59/4 to face a hostile and
charged up Australian pace attack.
What do you make of Malcom Conn's article on Sachin losing the respect of some Australian cricketers after 'Monkeygate'? Here is the link to how it was reported in India. Send your views to liveresponse@thehindu.co.in
07:55: Sachin starts the second session with a delightful cut for four off a wide, poor delivery. He moves on to 27.
Massive responsibility on Kohli now. It's quite simple really, bat with
patience and keep Sachin company. Sachin needs partners to carry on in
his free flowing form. Back to the basics of cricket!
07:50: Here comes Siddle, pounding in. Day in and day out, pounding in.
S.N. Iyer has a few suggestions to improve the Indian team's performance -
'Our selectors do not consider the age factor and selected a team of
old players who find it difficult to see the fast moving ball. Our
bowlers are incapable of learning the same tactics when Australia bat.
We need a change of selectors and an absolutely new team where players
have an eyesight of 6/5 or even 6/4. An eye specialist with suitable
equipment should be part of the Team.
We need young bowlers who should be on a suitable diet to build their
muscles. Injury prone bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma should
be given a farewell.
These are all positive suggestions if we do not want our team to lose 4 wickets in one session.'
07:42: First ball after Lunch and Sachin gets a 2 through gully.
Be sure to tune in at 7.35 (IST) to catch the second session of play.
So Australia clearly on top, though the presence of an in-from Sachin
gives hope to Indian fans. Can Kohli and others to follow give him
company?
James Pattinson, the man-of-the-match in the first Test, comes to the
party again with 3 wickets already. What a dream start to his Test
career. Former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath is probably right in saying
Pattinson is going to be one of the world's best.
India go to Lunch at 72/4, terrible start to the Test. Gambhir's run
drought continues though he was dimissed with a beauty from Pattinson.
Sehwag looked edgy and fell for 30. Laxman dismissed cheaply and the
mainstay Dravid fell as well.
07:02: Lunch is called and India on the backfoot straight up.
07:00: Michael Hussey with his banana outswingers, the last over before Lunch.
06:45: Virat Kohli now. His place at no.6 has been in question
after a tough first Test. Tough situation to come in with your place in
the XI on the line.
06:39: Laxman out! Laxman cannot reproduce the Sydney magic, where he
has centuries at will. Pattinson again with the full ball outside,
Laxman reaches out and gets and edge to Shaun Marsh at third slip. India
slide to 59/4.
VVS Laxman in with India in trouble. Laxman failed in both innings of
the first Test, let's see if he can do his 'Australia' magic here.
06:25: Sehwag gone! Pattinson gets his man! Full and just outside
off, Sehwag prods while stuck at the crease. Outside edge, safely done
by Haddin behind the stumps. Sehwag gone for 30 and you got to say this
was a long time coming. Sehwag looked quite uncomfortable.
06:06: Back after drinks and Ponting puts down an absolute sitter at
slip! Sehwag survives. Genuine outside edge outside off, ball goes at a
decent speed and perfect height to Ponting at second slip. He grabs the
ball and spills it. Michael Clarke is at first slip and he cant believe
it. Ponting would usually catch those with his eyes closed.
Sachin looks good, no doubt. But I'm going to refrain from saying this
is the start to a big innings. Simply because it only takes one good
moving ball - especially in bowler-friendly Australia - to send you
packing.
06:01: Third four for Sachin, his second in the over. Overpitched
from Siddle, Sachin puts it through cover and mid-off for four. Easy
pickings.
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